News Canadian Travellers Can Use!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 by admin.

All right, my globetrotting friends. It’s time for another update to keep you folks in the loop on what’s going on in local, national and world news. We’re going to start with the NWT and go outward from there, but first, a little note in regards to our last post.

Luke, Ian read your comment this morning and was very excited to hear from you. He wasn’t very clear on the whole blog concept when he wrote his post, but now he understands that you guys can “chat” as it were over the internet and write each other messages. He has said he would like to write more in the future. I will hold him to that.

Gracie was happy to hear from Luke, but a bit peeved that Alex didn’t write to her. I’m sure Alex will take of that little oversight soon…;-)

Anyway, great to hear from you, Luke. The kids will write again after we go through the India photos this weekend.

And now…the News!

Here in the NWT, the news is all about the cold. How cold is it? So cold, the planes aren’t flying. Not that Northwestern Air is having any issues. Those guys seem to fly no matter what is going on - extreme cold, earthquakes, alien attacks. But the wicked winter is not limited to the NWT by any means. It has hit the country from coast to coast in various forms: bitter cold, snowstorms, and so on. As we are all shivering in the painful cold, we hope you guys get a mild but uncomfortable case of prickly heat or something. We need to know there are downsides to being in warm climates.

In Fort Smith news, Frieda Martselos is back in as Salt River Chief, and the Band council is mighty peeved at the judge who put her back in. They are appealing the court decision, saying the judge had no right to overturn a band council resolution by using standards lower than those set by the First nation in question. Here is the SRJ story on it. You have to create an account to read the SRJ on line, but it is free and easy to do so.

Also, Alice Mawdsley is doing ever-so-slightly better. She is breathing on her own, and apparently responding to stimuli. It is hard to tell just how much is a desperate desire on the part of the family to see progress, but overall, the news seems to be on the postive side. Here is an SRJ story that includes some quotes from the Mawdsleys.

The Fort Smith Fury won the Chicks with Sticks Hockey Tournament in Fort Simpson Jan. 18-20. I’m sure Ann already gave you a rundown on this, Claudette, but here is an excerpt from the News/North story about the event:

The Fort Smith Fury have come a long way in four short years.

When the team first took to the ice, many of the players could not skate.

This year, the team dominated the Chicks with Sticks Tournament in Fort Simpson Jan. 18 to 20.

The team defeated the Hay River Hazard 3-2 on Jan. 20 in a final game that proved you are never too old to start playing the game. since their debut as a team in 2005, player Jessica Cox said the team improved a lot.

“We had a few core people who had played the game before,” she said. “Eighty per cent of our players had never played hockey before, and about 60 per cent couldn’t skate.”

Four seasons later, Cox can hardly believe how the team has changed.

“It’s been amazing how quickly their game has improved and developed,” she said. “How quickly everyone has picked it up is just phenomenal.”

The Fury had defeated the Fort Simpson Moosehide Mamas in the semifinals before facing Hay River.

“We went into it thinking it was going to be a tougher game than the day before,” she said.

Cox said the team was unsure going in to their final game against the Hazard, considering they had tied them twice the day before the final.

“I think the game against Simpson benefited us because it warmed us up a bit,” said Cox.

Cox said the final proved intense, especially in the thrid period when the Fury fought to keep their 3-2 lead.

“That last five minutes, the Hazard did everything they could to put the puck in our net,” said Cox. “In the end, our goaltender was outstanding and our defense played really strong and we held on for the win.”

Spinning outward from the NWT, let’s take a look at the national picture.

In Canada, this news story is getting a lot of play. It seems an Air Canada co-pilot had a nervous breakdown on a trans-Atlantic flight, forcing the plane to divert from London to Ireland. At least it is not only Air Canada passengers being driven crazy anymore. Enjoy your next flight!

If you have any Canadian currency you want to exchange, especially for the greenback, I’d do it now. The loonie is trading over 1USD right now, but this rate cut from the U.S. federal reserve could send it down sharply.

And now, a look at some new from the wider world.

Being a techno-geek, Rick, you’ll enjoy this little item about consumers fighting back against Apple’s exclusive iPhone deal with AT&T. Seems customers are finding ways to unlock their phone and use any carrier they want. Apple is combatting it with various software fixes, but there are an awful lot of iPhone’s missing from AT&T’s accounts. Techno revolutionaries - to arms!

Be very, very glad you decided to forego Kenya as a travel destination. The place is spiraling downward very quickly. Any country that is engaging in “ethnic cleansing” is not a place to be a tourist.

And that’s it for now. Hope you guys are enjoying these little missives. Please feel free to let me know what specifically you would like to be kept updated on and I will do my best to find out some news in those areas. until next time, travel safe and have fun!

Posted in Fort Smith & Area, Edmonton news, World News, Canada, Northwest Territories | 6 Comments »