Spence Bay (July 21/03) - The water of Moses Teeltak Memorial Pool remains unrippled by the splashing of kids learning how to swim and having fun in Taloyoak this summer.

The hamlet hasn't been able to hire anyone to staff the pool, and it sits unused.

"I wanted it open in the middle of May," said Scotty Edgertuk at the hamlet office. "It's now the middle of July. We've got another five or six weeks and it's over anyways."

Edgertuk says it's been hard finding someone to commit to the pool and the community.

"They say 'Can I have a day to think about it?' And then they don't call back."

He stresses that while Taloyoak may not be as flashy as other Northern communities, it has a lot to offer the adventurous spirit in search of a truly Northern experience.

"It's pure, it's clean," he said of his community.

Keith Peterson, mayor of Cambridge Bay, said it is tough finding staff for the summer season.

But having a well-staffed pool so youths can learn to swim is essential, he says.

"Prior to starting our pool program," said Peterson, "every few years we'd have a tragedy where kids would have accidents and drown."

Cambridge Bay got funding this year for a swimming supervisor and housing for the position.

"They are usually university students from the south with all their badges and certificates." The standard qualification is the Bronze Cross.

Edgertuk thinks the answer is to train Northern people to do jobs like working at the pool, so that the hamlet isn't always looking south to fill the job.

"We should send them out and get them qualified," he said.