Peter Maxwell addresses the Haggis prior to the meal. Photo by Dan Davidson.

Here’s to the Bards

by Dan Davidson

Since there are two poets named Robert whose birthdays share the month of January, and since dinners are often held to mark each of their birthdays, the Dawson Community Library Board decided a few years ago to combine the events into one “Double Bob Bash,” one dinner to celebrate the work of both Robert Burns and Robert Service.

This year’s event was held in the new Top of the World Curling Club and about two dozen people turned out on a very chilly (-42°C) evening for the affair, which was mostly casual except for a few folk who managed to find a bit of tartan.

The address to the Haggis was delivered in fine form by Peter Maxwell after it was paraded around the club room, and a filling pot-luck meal was enjoyed by all.

Since there was a curling rink at hand, the evening’s entertainment included a turkey shoot (on very heavy ice) for a gift certificate from Maximilian’s, which was won by Mark Lombard. To Jack Fraser went the honour of breaking the candy filled piñata towards the end of the evening.

In between there were readings of works from both poets by Maxwell, Barb Hanulik, Betty Davidson, Dan Davidson, Shirley Pennell and Marta Selassie.

The evening was a bit of light fun for everyone, and since everyone’s vehicles were still able to start three hours later, it ended successfully.

EDITORIAL

By Palma Berger

About this bridge business, do we really need a bridge?. There is all this talk about getting the tourists across the river faster and not having them waste time in the line-ups as they wait for the ferry. Just a minute, those line-ups are not all summer long. They are for only a few weeks in July. The tourists seem to not complain too much.

So what do we need a bridge for apart from that?

If we had a bridge would we really have a large volume of traffic going to and from Alaska all year round? The road on the Dawson side that goes up above tree line to get to the border is a rather dangerous road in winter. Witness the skidooers who come across. The winds blow strongly up there in winter; so we have snow fences.

Ask any Territorial maintenance crew who had worked on that road when Clinton Creek was running, just how welcoming it is, and how much maintenance it does need. Would the Territorial Government. budget for the maintenance of that expensive bit of highway for the amount of use it would get. When they did maintain it, when Clinton Creek was operating, they maintained it only to the Clinton Creek turn off.

The Territorial Government stuck by their rules when a school bus was requested for the outlying areas. Definitely you must have 20 children who will use the bus. We cannot afford the expense of running it otherwise. Does the same formula apply to traffic volume? How many vehicles does a bridge require before it will be built?

That is the Yukon side of the road. What about the Alaskan side of the road. Would the Alaskans be willing to spend all that money to maintain a road that is rarely used in winter, or a good part of the year? Does it benefit the Alaskans?

Certainly the truck bringing fuel would love to have the roads maintained year round, but how much other traffic is there for the road ? The Alaskans may love us, but would they spend that much money on us?

For the rest of the year, the bridge would service the golf course and the dwellings on the other side of the river. Neither of which have absolutely pressing needs for instant travel. Their times of travel can be arranged for when the ferry travels.

When the study for the bridge was done in the 1960’s it was pointed out that one of the routes for the road exiting the bridge would be up above 7th Ave. Then people began to remember what the sound of dogs barking on 7th Ave is like, and how the sound carries all over town. Put a line of traffic up there, and you would have quite a bit of noise flooding down to the town.

That of course is assuming the bridge is planned for the north end of town. Maybe they will island hop a bridge so that it comes out near the gold course area.

Either way it will still spoil the view of the majestic Yukon River.