Premier won't run again

Premier Floyd Roland has announced he will not be seeking re-election on Oct. 3.

Roland, who MLAs elected premier in 2007, made the announcement in the legislative assembly on Wednesday.

"After much thought about the future and the work that I've done with the people of Inuvik, I feel it is time to let some younger, more energetic folks take a look at representing the fine community of Inuvik and the constituency of Inuvik Boot Lake."

Roland was first elected as an MLA in 1995, and has since served as deputy premier, and minister of the health and finance.

- Nicole Veerman

Steady water levels

The Merv Hardie ferry is in operation and water levels in the Mackenzie River are holding steady around 150.7 metres above sea level. In order to operate the ferry, the water needs to be at least 150 metres.

Earl Blacklock, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, said the government gets concerned when the levels sink to about 150.4 metres, but said the water has been between 150.7 and 150.8 metres, so there is nothing to worry about yet.

- Nicole Veerman

Spring cleaning

This weekend's the time to do some spring cleaning as amnesty week at the dump wraps up on Monday.

The Solid Waste Facility has been waiving its fee since May 15 and will continue to do so until Monday. Other tipping fees and the three-bag curbside pick-up limit are still in effect.

- Nicole Veerman

MLA receives award

Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro received an award for outstanding service by a woman in municipal politics by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

The NWT Association of Communities nominated Bisaro for the Ann MacLean Award, presented annually by the federation.

Bisaro has been an MLA since 2007, and has served on the Yellowknife Education District No. 1 school board and Yellowknife city council.

- Katherine Hudson

Fort Providence educator honoured

An educator from Fort Providence has been recognized at a territorial level.

Margaret Field was one of seven NWT residents inducted into the Education Hall of Fame on May 17. The hall of fame identifies and celebrates outstanding dedication to education in the territory.

This was the second annual induction ceremony. A selection committee chose one individual from each region of the NWT to be included in the hall of fame while a seventh was chosen to receive the Minister's Choice Award.

Field, who retired last June, spent 27 years as an educator in Fort Providence. She taught for 14 years at Deh Gah School before spending 13 with Aurora College in the community learning centre.

Liidlii Kue First Nation councillor position open

Liidlii Kue First Nation is holding a byelection to fill an empty band councillor position.

The position became available when Wesley Hardisty resigned after moving from the community.

The nomination period for the election opened on May 16 and will close on June 1. The advanced poll will take place on June 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the band office boardroom followed by the election on June 9 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Culture camp in Fort Liard

Echo Dene School is holding its annual spring culture camp this week.

The camp began on May 16 and will run until May 20. Throughout the week, students in kindergarten to Grade 12 will spend approximately 45 minutes each with their class at the camp located in the school yard.

Corrine Sassie, the Slavey teacher at the school, is running the camp with assistance from a group of community members. Students will participate in a variety of traditional activities at the camp including making dry meat.

Chief public health officer named

The territory has a new chief public health officer.

Dr. Lorne Clearsky was appointed to the role by Michael Miltenberger, the minister of Health and Social Services, on May 16. Clearsky was a deputy medical officer of health for the Calgary Health Region and served as program director in the Community Medicine Residency Program and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary.

Dr. Kami Kandola, who was the acting chief public health officer, will return to her former role as deputy chief public health officer.

Winter roads closed

With the warm weather finally arriving, all winter roads closed last week.

The Aklavik ice road closed on Friday, May 13, 10 days later than the five-year average of May 3. The Peel River ice crossing near Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic winter access closed for the season in the early evening on May 14.

The Louis Cardinal Ferry near Tsiigehtchic and the Abraham Francis Ferry near Fort McPherson are expected to open during the first week of June.

The remainder of the Dempster Highway remains open and in fair driving condition.

Spring melt

The Town of Inuvik is trying to clean the streets and keep flooding to a minimum during May's spring melt.

Steamers are out to clear ice and water out of the culverts and street cleaners are out to remove gravel and dust from the roads now that they are dry.

Due to the excess of snow and the late spring, the town used more sand and gravel to deal with the icy roads, which is why there appears to be more than normal.

New home for research centre

The Aurora Research Institute moved into the Western Arctic Research Centre during the last week of April.

The new building, on the old site of the Inuvik Research Centre behind the post office, has made improvements to benefit visiting researchers and the Inuvik community.

The new facility has a larger loading bay, state-of-the-art labs, increased storage space for equipment and samples, a classroom, display areas, and office space.

Dinner and dance

The annual barbecue dinner, auction and dance for the NWT Disabilities Council is on May 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex.

The event is aimed at raising awareness about the spectrum of disabilities and to fundraise for the council through a silent and live auction, raffles and door prizes.

The meal will include ribs, salads, baked potatoes and dessert.

Spring cleaning

The Town of Inuvik will hold a community clean-up week from May 30 to June 3.

Now's your chance to get rid of all that garbage that's revealed from the melting snow. Grab a garbage bag and start cleaning!

Non-profit organizations can even make a bit of money while making the community look beautiful. Take on one zone of town and earn $400 for your organization.