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TuesdaySeptember3020145COLUMNS15YearsAgo...LiardhighwayamessTheLiardHighwaywhichconnectsFortSimpsonandFortLiardtoFortNelsonB.C.formsagravelloopthattouristscandriveontheirwaybacksouthfromHayRiverorYellowknife.Howevertheroadisinsuchhor-rendousconditionthatfewtouristsuseit.IssueSeptember28199920YearsAgo...FortChipresidentsconsiderturningofftheboozetapCommunitymembersinFortChipewyanwanttheircommunitydeclareddryinordertostoptheillegalsaleofalcoholtominors.Therearetoomanykidsdrink-ingintownsaysFortChipsdrop-incentredirectorJoeMartin.MartinhasaskedtheALCBtoholdapleb-isciteonthebanningofallalcoholinthecommunity.IssueSeptember28199430YearsAgo...VoterssaydamreferendumprematurePeopleinFortSmithareangryatthetowncouncilsdecisiontoholdayesnoreferendumonthedamissue.Thereisageneralfeelingthatmoreinformationisnec-essaryinordertomakeanintelligentdecisiononthequestion.DIZco-ordinatorMariaWallssaysthesitua-tionismuchtoocomplexforasimpleyesornoanswer.IssueSeptember271984ARCHIVESNorthernJournal2014JoinusonlineLikeNorthernJournalonFacebookandgettheweeklynewsdeliveredtoyourfeedFACEBOOKFEEDBACKAbillseekingtoestablishanombudsmansofceintheNorthwestTerritoriescouldbehittingthelegis-latureoorthisfallfollowingcommitteediscussionsthatcontinuetopushforanimpartialofceofappealintheterritory.CommitteeeyesfallsessionforNWTombudsmanbillSonnyLenoirGeorgeLessardHelenHudson-MacdonaldRodgerBrowningandBeaLepinelikethis.FortSmithdenouncesviolencebytakingbackthenightEdHunterlookintothethievingpracticeofnwtelByDAWNKOSTELNIKTwomajorslaughtersofthistypearedocumentedotherbutcheriesaremiserablese-cretsthateatawayatthepeo-plewhoparticipatedinthem.Thesearestoriesthatneedtobetoldsothedisgraceisneverrepeated.Ourchildrenhavetobetaughttorespectthattheanimalshavegiventheirlivestofeedus.Youonlykilltoeatandyouarethankful.Longtimeagothishap-penedthemwhitemenstarttocountcaribou.Theyhadtrou-blesndingsomeandsomehadtroublescountingtheonestheyfound.Afterthegreatslaughterthewhitemencouldnotndallofthemcaribou.WheredotheygoTheyhadbigmeetingsaboutthisthemKabloonakwhiteeyes-wherearethecaribouDidsomeonecounttoomanysometimeissome-onelazyandlieNonotheg-uresallsaythesamethereareWhiteGirlBloodLustFromtheHouseInvestinconservationforfuturepowersavingsByDENNISBEVINGTONNWTMemberofParliamentThehotanddryconditionsthatdecimatedourforestsintheNorthwestTerritoriesthissummeraregoingtocontinuetomaketheirpresencefeltthiswinter.Theworstdroughtinliv-ingmemoryhasplayedhavocwithavailablewatersuppliesontheSnarehydrosystem.Thedroughtmaywellgoonforanumberofyears.TheNWTPowerCorp.NTPCrecentlyappliedforanadditional20milliontocoverthecostofrun-ningtheJackshDieselPlanttoprovideelectricitytoYel-lowknifetoreplacetheshort-ageofwater.Thatapplicationwasrecentlycancelled.TheGNWThasde-cidedtosubsidisethecostbutthemoneyhastocomefromsomewhere.Simplypayingmoreforthenexttwoyearsisnotalongtermsolutiontothisproblem.WhatcanwedoinsteadWeneedtoreturntothebasics.Thesimplestwaytoreduceenergycostsistouseless.Weneedamassiveefforttoconserveelectricityshutoffunnecessarylightsreducethetimewepluginvehiclesturnoffelectronicequipmenthangupourlaundryandshortenourdailyshowers.Letsdothethingsthathavebeentalkedaboutbutnotpracticednearlyenough.Ourchildrenneedtogetthemessageinschool.Con-servationcanbeapathwaytoamoreprosperouslifestyleforfutureNortherners.AtthesametimetheGNWTcaninvestevenmoreinouruseofenergyefcientproducts.Everyincandescentbulbeverysodiumvapourbuildinglighteverystreetlightineverycom-munityintheNWTshouldbereplacedwithLightEmittingDiodeLEDproducts.Thisisthefutureandweneedtogothereasfastaspossible.PerhapstheGNWTcanbuytheseproductsinbulkanddis-tributethemforfreeIftheyarepayingfortheextrafuelthiswouldbesensible.TheexistingefficiencyprogramsthroughtheArc-ticEnergyAllianceshouldbeexpandedwithagoalofnotoneinefcienthouseholdapplianceleftrunningintheNWT.Theeconomicsofalltheseactionsarefarbetterforourcollectivefuturethansimplyspendingonsubsidiesforfossilfuels.Ourgoalshouldbetoim-plementthemostefcientuseofelectricityinNorthAmer-ica.LetusnotbedistractedbyNTPClosingrevenueovertheshortterm.Withsmartefciencyprogramsherewecansavebetween35and50centsperkWhonallreduc-tionsindieselfuelusealone.Collectivelythatcanpayforalmostanyefciencymeasureputinplace.DoubterssayIfIsavepowerthenNTPCorNorth-landsUtilitiesLtd.willsim-plyraisetheratesbecauseIamusinglessandtheywillbelosingmoneybutithastoberememberedthatlesspowergenerationbydieselmeanslessoperatingexpensesandthosearesignicantpoten-tialsavingsforthecompanies.Itistheresponsibilityoftheutilitycompaniestodemon-stratesavingtotheircustom-ers.TotheGNWTthelossofgrowthinourpopulationduetothehighcostoflivingmakesahugedifferencetoourfed-eralequalizationpaymentsthathaveapercapitacompo-nent.Everyonehasastakeinthisproblem.Onceconservationandef-ciencymeasureshavebeenfullyimplementedtheotherstepistoseriouslychangeourpowersystemfromdieseltore-newableenergy.Inallofthesechangeswehavetomakesurethattheconsumerwins.thousandsofcariboumissing.ThewhitemenvisittheeldersdoyouknowwherethecaribouwentHaventseencaribouforlo-o-o-ngtimetheelderssay.Thisistruethewhitemendontdiscoverthatthecaribouaremissingforafewyears.Thereisahugeholeinthiscaribouherdthathastobeac-countedfor.WhoorwhatcouldkillthatmanycaribouBlamemustbelaid.Awolfkillprogramisimplemented.BlackandwhiteopinionsmadelifeeasierformewhenIwasyounger.AsIgetoldergreyareasshowuptopresentmoreoptionsandcauseconfusion.Itiseasiertoliveinthenow.Dealinthepresentwithjusti-ablerighteousnesswithonlyoneprobableoptionvisibleatatime.WhybothertolookforotherfactorsthatonlyaffectothertimesandotherlivesInthe1970sagroupofhip-piesinWhitehorseprotestedtheAlaskapipeline.Mypart-nerRickCousinsmovedtotheYukonin1974withhopesofworkingonthispipeline.Iwasprotestingwithallofthevigourofyouthduringthedayandholdinghandswithapipe-linewelderatnight.Itsagoodthingthatatthetimeconver-sationwasntourstrongsuit.Ourfocuswassodirectedonpreventingoneparticularpipelinethatweforgotabouttheconsequencesasawhole.Thepipelinestillhasnotgonethrough.InourinnocenceweactuallybelievedthattheU.S.hadlistenedtousandhadstoppeditsinvasion.Weweremightywehadsavedthecaribouandlandfromgreatscarring.Whentheywantsomethingourwatertheywillcome.Therealityisthattheysim-plydidnotneeditatthetime.Youknowtherestofthestory.Theyshipthefuelonthemightyandnon-containableseasandwemurdertheoceans.Weeatwhatlivesandgrowsinthosewaters.ExxonValdezandtheGulfofMexicoarewell-docu-mentedoilspillslaughters.Ifthefueldoesntgoonewayitwillpresentitselfanother.IntheseyearsofwisdomIwouldprefertoseethefueltransportedthroughapipelineonthegroundatleastitwouldbesemi-contained.Iamforcedtolookatthemanyfacetsthegreyareasthatnowpresentthemselves.Untilwendanalternativemeanstofuelourliveslikeacreepingtideofwatertheforceofthefuelwillndanotherwaytomarket.Ortheywillin-jectchemicalsintotheveinsofMotherEarthandforcehertoreleasetheliquidgoldweareaddictedtoatwhatcostHowdotheygetthechemicalsbackoutoncethecontaminationhasbeendoneWhenholesarefoundincar-ibouherdstheanimalswith-outvoicesmaynotbetheonlyonesthathavecontributedtothelossoflife.Sometimesitiseasiertoplacetheguiltonbe-ingsthatcanttalkback.P.S.-ThePopulationSta-tusofCaribouintheNWTbyGeorgeW.CalefNWTWildlifeService1979isoneofmanysourcesthatdiscusscaribouherdslaughters.Thisstoryistolddeepinthenighttearsstreamingdownfacesthebrewpotempty.Thisisadeephurtadeepshame.PatriciaSeppYesHelenHudson-MacdonaldKristyJonesandJoeFergusonlikethis.