Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 02/06) - With 2005 gone, and a new year begun, people from Fort Smith to Tuktoyaktuk are reflecting on events of the past year and what they expect in 2006.

Deputy mayor of Tuktoyaktuk Merven Gruben saw too many deaths in 2005, but the community is coming together to keep people positive.

"I've lost count of the tragedies," said Gruben.

"All we can hope for in the new year is that this doesn't go on."

The coming year looks very promising for the coastal community, with the all-weather road to Inuvik finally on the drawing board, Gruben said.

Martin Male is the manager of Information technology at the Inuvialuit Development Corporation in Inuvik.

With the Mackenzie Valley pipeline coming closer to reality, Male wants people in the North to look farther than the economic benefits of the project and consider its potential impacts on the environment. With a federal election set for Jan. 23, Male wants to see more northerners cast ballots.

Voter turnout in June 2004 was an apathetic 47 per cent, "and that has to change," Male said.

Male said he wants people have to take more interest in what their government is doing and get out and have their voice heard.

Care of young people is on the mind of Dwayne Drescher of Inuvik.

Drescher doesn't think that enough attention is being given to youth, and that more activities should be available in Inuvik.

"We need to be more athletic," said Drescher.

Drescher spent his summer this year working with the Inuvik RCMP, and is aware of youth crime.

"This is an area that lacks the needed enforcement," said Drescher.

His concern is that these kids go out and do their time, but when they return nothing changes.

"It seems like nothing gets solved," said Drescher.

Wilfred Simon, a drug and alcohol counsellor in Fort Resolution, evaluates himself each year on his own healing journey away from alcohol that began nine years ago.

"Every year, it's better," he said.

As a community, Fort Resolution has also continued to improve in a process that began about five years ago.

Among other things, Simon said it's a safer place, volunteerism has increased, more people are becoming sober and co-operation has increased between groups, such as Deninu School, the RCMP and the community council.

"When people work together, it's incredible what can happen," Simon said.

Laura Rose, the president of the Hay River Soup Kitchen, said 2005 was quite busy. The Soup Kitchen supplies meals to needy people in Hay River.

"It's definitely going up," she said of the need at the Soup Kitchen, noting community support has remained strong.

As for 2006, Rose hopes it might bring an expansion at the Soup Kitchen, which operates in a camp trailer. About $5,000 has been collected for the project, but another $25,000 needs to be raised, and "that's easier said than done."

For Amy Mercredi of Enterprise, 2005 was a trying year because her husband, Joe, was in hospital most of the year.

"It was a difficult year, but he's getting stronger," she says, noting her husband has leg problems caused by diabetes and other medical conditions.

Mercredi, a retiree and deputy-mayor of Enterprise, is looking towards good things for the community.

In particular, she predicts a positive impact from Enterprise's $700,000 share of the Community Capacity Building Fund.

"It's going to make a difference," she said.

Looking back at 2005, Bea Campbell of Fort Smith said it was a good year for volunteerism, especially by seniors.

Campbell, the president of the Fort Smith and NWT seniors' societies, is also vice-president of Volunteer NWT.

She plans to continue promoting volunteerism in the new year. "Our goal in 2006 is to find more volunteers, especially young people."

In the northern-most reaches of the Sahtu, 2006 will be a big year for the residents of Colville Lake.

"We're looking forward to the completion of our water treatment plant," said David Kodzi, who works for the First Nation and its land corporation.

The plant will mean the arrival of indoor plumbing in this community of 135.

"People have always just gone down to the lake with buckets to get their water," he said. "Over the last couple of years all of the new homes have been built with tanks and lines so we just need the water."

Rather than buying a truck and delivering to each home, residents have decided they will pick it up from the plant.

"They built it with a faucet on the outside so people can go and get it when they need to," he said.

Colville Lake also expects 2006 to be a busy year with visiting exploration companies, Kodzi added.

"Depending on what happens with the pipeline, we'll probably see more oil and gas exploration," he said. "Come summer we're expecting at least one company will be here exploring for diamonds."

Exploration is also on the mind of Raymond Taniton, president of the Deline Land and Financial Corporation.

"2006 will hopefully be a good year - it's certainly going to be a busy one with all of the development in the Deline district," he said.

In addition to the activity surrounding the proposed pipeline, Taniton said there will be mineral and petroleum exploration companies active in the district again this year.

"We'll have one company here shooting some seismic lines and we've got an access and benefits agreement with them, so that will mean more employment for our people," he said. "I'd like to wish a happy and healthy holiday and new year to everyone around the NWT."

Glad tidings go out as well from Wekweeti, where Mary Football, Patricia Magrum and Virginia Lamouelle in unison said, "Happy New Year."

"We wish the whole wide world peace, love and safety in 2006," the trio added.

Excited and optimistic about the future in their region thanks to the new Tlicho government, the three vowed to do their part to make 2006 the best year yet in Wekweeti.

"It's going to be a great year," they exclaimed. "We've got a new start and we're going to make it better."

- with files from John Curran, Dez Loreen and Paul Bickford