Arthur Milnes
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 25/98) - Lupi is now in the building.

The ever popular wolf, who made friends from across the NWT, Yukon, Alaska, Greenland, Tyumen and Magadan while serving as the official mascot of the 1998 Arctic Winter Games (AWG), was officially welcomed to his new role at a Yellowknife school last Wednesday.

From now on, Lupi will serve as Weledeh Catholic school's mascot.

"Lupi loves to give 'high-fives' and hugs," AWG sport manager Deb Lougheed said at a school assembly this week. "Weledeh was an awesome school during the Games...Take good care of Lupi."

Lougheed said Games organizers chose the city school for Lupi's new home to mark all the help and support Weledeh gave to the AWG. It served as a dormitory and a cafeteria, and students, staff and all involved with the school helped out in numerous ways, Lougheed said.

"As soon as Lupi walked into a room, people smiled," Lougheed said of the mascot's performance earlier this year.

"Now the same will happen here... We're glad he has a good home."

Students who had gathered for a special assembly marking school achievers, clapped, cheered and hollered as their new mascot entered Weledeh's gym.

He's obviously going to be a popular member of the Weledeh family.