Features

Virtually everything in Yellowknife, from the steel holding up the buildings, to the pavement hidden under the snow somewhere, to your groceries, arrived here on the back of a truck. Trucks are also the vital link in supplying the diamond mines driving our booming economy.

Without trucks, and the roads they travel on, Yellowknife would never have grown into the city it is today.

Trucks are our lifeline to the south.

That's why it's troubling to have an industrial park in Kam Lake that cannot be accessed by tractor trailers in full configuration. Truckers driving Rocky Mountain Doubles - a type of tractor-trailer with two trailers - have to stop and unhook their secondary trailers at Bristol Pit and return for them, meaning two trips through city streets.

And truckers say the Co-op corner, which lies on the only truck route to Kam Lake, is too tight a turn - forcing them to block oncoming traffic as they manoeuvre their vehicles around the bend.

Large trucks and city traffic are a poor mix. That's why large trucks weren't even allowed on city streets up until a few years ago.

With the new Engles industrial district, the city has a chance to get it right this time. A bypass road running directly from the highway to the industrial park will save truckers time and money while keeping the larger vehicles separate from city traffic.

Helping truckers get where they need to go with a minimum of fuss helps the city. Let's not treat their needs as an afterthought this time.

Yellowknife MLAs must lead the charge if there is ever going to be a 911 emergency phone system in the NWT.

For most of this decade the legislative assembly has sat on their hands when it comes to 911, saying they won't implement it because smaller communities, where street addresses are confusing or non-existent, are not ready for it.

Meanwhile, Yellowknife - where street addresses are marked and where half the population lives - must do without and risk lost lives because people can't remember what the fire department or RCMP's phone number is.

The last few years have seen Mayor Gord Van Tighem reduced to making pathetic annual addresses assuring residents that 911 is on the way, knowing full well that the city can scarcely afford the $5-8 million-plus system alone.

Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro, who chaired the 911 committee while on city council, recently asked Michael McLeod, minister of Municipal and Community Affairs whether the government was willing to help. She got a typical response: His staff will help with the research - already done by the city - but he won't commit any money.

This won't do. Yellowknife will provide the template for other communities to follow, and residents here cannot shoulder the entire cost.

Other Yellowknife MLAs should be joining Bisaro in demanding that the government provide some financial support. The GNWT, after all, is our government too.

What's more important? A $160 million bridge across the Mackenzie River with questionable economic benefits or a 911 phone service that will save lives?

Call me old-fashioned but I have no desire to own a cell phone.

Some people may find this shocking but I have resisted the idea of having a cell phone, a Blackberry or any of those other palm-sized communications devices that are supposed to make your life easier.

Living in Fort Simpson I was certain I was off the hook as far as cell phones go. Because the village didn't have cell phone service there was no need to own one. This, however, is all changing.

Popping out of my office in Fort Simpson to make a grocery store run on Dec. 5 I was surprised to see a tall tower being erected on the skyline. In a flash I was back to my office for my camera and off to discover what was happening. Little did I know that the tower signalled the end of my cell phone-free existence.

Fort Simpson is now home to a 46-metre high cellular communications tower. Erected for Northwestel Wireless Inc. the tower will deliver their Latitude Wireless service.

If all goes well, by the end of the week customers will be able to get a signal on their cell phones in the village. They will also be able to access a mobile internet service.

I'm all for progress and for giving people in the North access to everything that our southern counterparts have, but this is one southern technology that I'm not overjoyed about.

Imagine driving down the streets of Fort Simpson and seeing every second person behind the wheel of their vehicle holding a cell phone to their ear with their hand or shoulder.

While walking around the village the ringing of cell phones will be everywhere with no escape from some of the more annoying ring tones.

About to hold a meeting? You'd better tell everyone to turn off their cell phones now.

Even coffee at the Nahanni Inn won't be the same when the regulars start breaking off conversations mid-sentence when they have to check to see who's phoning.

To top it all off, parents will also never hear the end of cleverly-crafted requests from their children telling them about how their life will be over if they don't have a cell phone.

This isn't to say, however, that the world is about to end.

There will be some benefits such as increased communication between people and a greater ease of tracking where your family members, especially teenagers, are.

Those who already own a cell phone will also be able to use it as more than a flimsy paperweight while in the village.

Residents of Fort Simpson could realize that you don't know what you have until it's gone or it could be the dawning of a brave new world.

Either way, welcome to the age of cell phones Fort Simpson.

In a fast changing world with new technologies being introduced all the time, it's good to see that the Inuvialuit are keeping up with the times.

Last week, a group of dedicated language teachers, specialists and elders gathered in town to add some new words and terms to the Inuvialuit language.

Everyday items such as the computer keyboard I'm typing this on, the desk I'm leaning on and even the fax machine I ignore are relatively new to the people of this region.

Now, in an effort to bridge the gap that separates traditional life from the modern world, these items are now identified in Inuvialuktun.

It seems that throughout the years, language teachers in the region have had to use some English to explain things to their classes.

It could be confusing, because a few of the people I talked to said they don't know how to respond when a student asks why a word doesn't exist.

According to a linguist from Nunavut, the last gathering like this one was nearly 20 years ago, in Tuktoyaktuk.

One day soon, students of the language will be fully immersed in their culture.

I applaud those people who joined forces to work a few new phrases and words into the Inuvialuit culture. It goes to show that there are people who want to keep traditions alive.

I can only imagine how challenging it will be to integrate the new terms into the daily conversations of those who can speak it, but I've been assured that most Inuvialuktun-speaking people will be able to identify the terms.

These words will fit in nicely with the new curriculum that has been in place for over a year.

It was a wise decision by the language committees to focus on teaching young students useful phrases that will help them carry on conversations with others who know the slang.

Luckily, we have many people in town and in the Beaufort Delta who are still fighting the good fight for tradition.

With teachers such as Rosie Albert out encouraging others to speak the native tongue, we could see even more language teachers in the future.

Without the help of the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre, I don't know how this language update could have become a reality. A lot of hard working people really came through and hosted a week-long workshop that left everyone involved feeling proud.

The hosts of the event said that the new words won't be listed in the dictionary because it would mean re-publishing it, which would be a large feat in itself.

I guess those new words are going to have to spread like every other bit of information in this town, by word of mouth.

The holiday season is almost upon us and that means it's time to send out a komatiq full of Christmas cheer to those most deserving of our attention, and we're feeling particularly generous this year.

To Repulse Bay Mayor Johnny Tagornak we send a sealskin umbrella and Jose Kusugak's 10 tips to better hockey announcing to help him during his weekend in the timekeepers bench for the next Arctic Circle Cup.

Both the umbrella and tip No. 4 - don't stand under the melting snow - should keep the mayor from becoming all wet once again.

To Education Minister Ed Picco, who has been known to refer to himself as the political Muffin Man because he keeps popping up (we're not going there), we send his very own Pillsbury Doughboy doll.

To remind himself of how Nunavut reacted to the last Education Act tabled in the legislative assembly, the minister simply has to gently poke his new doll in the belly.

We also send Picco a get-out-of-Paul's-jail-free card, just in case the Health minister portfolio becomes vacant again.

To Rankin Inlet Mayor Lorne Kusugak we send the Harry Potter collection so he may properly prepare for the next territorial election.

But, just to keep things balanced, we've also sent his private phone number to every anti-witchcraft zealot in Nunavut.

To Baker Lake Mayor David Aksawnee we send a ton of respect for his comments on barge orders to his community this past year.

We also send the mayor the biggest set of luggage we can find, because that's the only way he'll get his own cargo into Baker next year.

To Baker's Peter Tapatai we send the darkest pair of sunglasses we can find, as we wouldn't want all that glitter to harm his eyes.

To Iqaluit MLA Hunter Tootoo we send a new copy of How to Make Friends and Influence People because he obviously misplaced the last copy we sent him.

To a certain female country singer we send an urban myth: If you play a country record backwards, you can get back your house, car, dog, boyfriend and dignity.

To Finance Minister David Simailak we send our apologies, as the list of things needed was just too darn big.

To Community and Government Services assistant deputy minister Shawn Maley - who once returned a Rolodex we sent - we send a limited supply of grandma's honey nuggets for the cabin, treasured by bears the world over.

To community-development director Darren Flynn we send our best wishes and a tip to play nice in 2008, as someone has just enough of grandma's honey nuggets to blaze a trail to his cabin from their own.

May these gifts be received in the spirit for which they were intended.

An error appeared in last Friday's Yellowknifer ("Double the gold," Dec. 7). Names with the accompanying photo caption were accidentally inverted. It should have read Mykle Grandjambe, second from left, and Cory Dunsford, far right. Yellowknifer apologizes for an embarrassment or confusion caused by the error.