JUNE'S QUESTION: "WE ALMOST LOST THE THEME SONG TO HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA. IS THIS AN IMPORTANT SONG TO
CANADA AND TO HOCKEY OR SHOULD WE GET A NEW ONE?"

One entry so far! Make sure you enter!

Caddie Gillis from Barrie +wrote:
"The 'Hockey Theme Song' as it's called now, is a very influential piece of music for Canadians world wide. Kids grow up screaming it at the tops of their lungs - it's what tells them it's hockey time! Even ball hockey and road hockey is influenced by this great piece. How many games do you play where at least one person will start humming it at some time? And of course, there's always those moments when, after you hear anything about the song, you just burst out: "Dunt- da-DUNT- da-dunt"

I once heard either Mike Myers or Jason Priestly (hockey loving Canadians both of 'em) say that if you're in a crowded room all you have to do is start humming the 'Hockey theme song' and you'll find out who the Canadians are. Sure, you could probably do this with the American national anthem, but that's a national anthem! The Hockey theme song is Canada's second national theme song. It's important and makes us proud. Who else can say that their nation can all burst out, on time and off-key, in the same song as soon as one person starts without it being one heard everyday?

On the other hand, I'm glad that CBC is rid of it. They did not treat the creator of this iconic piece very well at all. Visit this link for proof: http://www.hockeytheme.com/ and click on "Important announcement" and scroll down. I'm glad to see that a partnership has been made with CTV and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics - this can only mean good for us all." June 11th, 2008

JUNE'S QUESTION: "WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS FACING TEENS IN THE NORTH TODAY?"

A RANDOM DRAW WAS DONE ON JUNE 10th AND THE WINNING ENTRY WAS BRANDON C. OF ESPANOLA. BRANDON HAS WON HIS CHOICE OF A CD FROM
THE SPARTAN YOUTH RADIO CORNER STORE OR A $5.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE OFF HIS NEXT PURCHASE OF SYR SWAG FROM EITHER TSHIRT MONSTER OR CAFEPRESS.

Brandon Courtemanche from Espanola wrote: "The biggest problem in the north today for the youth, is geting noticed in the music industry, nobody gets anywhere with their music as a band up here, nobody seems to want to have shows or liseten to our talent...and the second thing is skateboarding: no skate parks, and again no one cares to sponsor or see the talent in our area." May 7th, 2008

Tyler Akey from Espanola wrote:
"In the North, many teens face many problems, among them stereotyping. Stereotyping can be quite a pain for many teenagers to deal with. They get lumped into groups they don't want to simply because of how they dress or look. Nobody seems to notice that there are good among the bad. People see on the news how teenagers are always smoking, drinking, doing drugs and having sex and suddenly they think that all teenagers are like that. It's not true. There are some people who are the complete opposite of this, they don't smoke, they don't drink, they don't do drugs, etc. And since they're teenagers people automatically assume they are in the wrong and they're not trusted. People always say "Don't judge a book by its cover" but that's exactly what they're doing. June 4th, 2008

Scummy Assiniwe from Thunder Bay wrote:
"I believe that the biggest problem teenagers in the north are facing today are drugs and alcohol. Most teens in the north have tried some type drug before they even get to high school, in which case its causing them to fail very easily in high school. Alcohol is being consumed while in school its awful, you see teenagers that are in the nineth grade getting drunk in the middle of school and after a while they dont even bother going because they're either scared of getting caught for being under the influnce of drugs or just to messed up to even go. There are teenagers in grade 10 already checking into rehab centers. This issue needs to be looked at alot more and parents need to talk to their kids an get to know them better so theycan prevent this from happening. June 4th, 2008

Allanah D. from Guelph wrote:
"I grew up in Espanola, and I think the biggest problem in this town was something for teens to do. The town doesn't support anything for kids between the ages of 13 to 18. There's no youth group, there's no community center, there's not even a skateboard park. Sure the high school does provide sports etc. but after four o'clock what is there for kids to do? " May 12th, 2008

Brooke E. wrote:
"I would have to say the biggest problems facing Northern teens are drugs." April 24th, 2008

Cadie G. from Barrie. wrote:
"After living in Espo for most of my life, I moved to Barrie about 3 years ago. At first I thought it was hell baked over. But then, as I grew older and matured,
I learned to appreciate the decision my mother made for me. I feel that the biggest problem facing teens in the north today is the chances they miss by not
being able to travel. I know that many communities are lower-income and they can't offer the opportunities that bigger communities have. Many people have
never seen the C.N tower from the top, and many more don't know what the ocean smells like. Having experience both these and many more, I feel it's a sad
state of affairs. But living in Northern Ontario also has it's perks - the low crime rates, the ability to just say "I'm going out" and chill for hours without having to
call home, the ability to be able to walk from one side of town to the other in under an hour - plus many more.

Though I will always cheer for Northern Ontario when pitted against the big leagues, they do have their problems. Hope that answered the question! Love you
guys lots - keep it real and never give up on your dream!" April 21st, 2008

Ashley B. from Espanola wrote:
"Obviously, stereotyping is the biggest problem. Adults think we're all the same...we smoke, we drink, we do drugs and are sexually active. NOT
ALL of us are like that." April 18th, 2008