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News Briefs: Monday, November 21, 2011
Fort Smith decides on new fire chief
Wes Steed is set to become Fort Smith's next fire chief.
Steed, the town's acting fire chief, was recommended for the position at a committee of the whole meeting on Nov. 15 and will likely be given the title officially in mid-December, said Mayor Janie Hobart.
"He has been the deputy chief for a number of years and he has been with the department for well over 15 years," said Hobart.
- Herb Mathisen
Frozen pipes stop classes
Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School in Behchoko was closed for part of Wednesday and Thursday last week due to frozen pipes, according to principal Bob Salvisburg.
Students were dismissed after lunch on Wednesday after water stopped running in the school building, but classes resumed Thursday at 1 p.m.
It took steam machine workers just 20 minutes to defrost the main pipe joint that was frozen, Salvisburg said.
Aurora College's Mowhi Community Learning Centre was also shut down.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Program review
The Department of Education, Culture and Employment is currently in the process of reviewing the NWT Student Financial Assistance Program.
The department is working with Terriplan Consultants to determine if basic grants, supplementary grants, remissible loans and repayable loan levels are meeting post-secondary students' needs.
Confidential surveys on the program can be completed on the student financial assistance website before Nov. 30.
In addition, Terriplan Consultants will be holding focus group sessions in Behchoko, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith, Hay River, Inuvik, Norman Wells and Yellowknife.
Those interested in participating can contact their local ECE Service Centre.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Advance polling in Enterprise
While hamlet elections will be taking place across the NWT on Dec. 12, the hamlet of Enterprise will have an advance poll open in the hamlet office two weeks earlier.
Residents who are going to be out of town on the election date - or those wishing to vote early - can do so from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Nov. 28.
- Herb Mathisen
Fighting back against addictions
Behchoko/Rae-Edzo
In recognition of National Addictions Awareness Week numerous events were scheduled to be held in Behchoko from Nov. 13 to 18.
The first set of events, on Nov. 13, included a Sunday mass to remember those who lost their lives to addiction, a community support walk and handgames for elders and youth.
Community suppers were to be held from Nov. 14 to 17, culminating with a family dance on Nov. 18.
On Nov. 15 a drum dance and handgames competition was to be held and on Nov. 16, a talent show and entertainment contest was scheduled.
All events were held at the Behchoko Culture Centre.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Northern gifts, Northern crafts
Inuvik
The 2011 Christmas Craft and Gift Fair, set to run in Inuvik from Nov. 25 to 27, will be attracting artists from across the Beaufort Delta and the Sahtu region.
Approximately 55 of the 70 tables up for grabs have already been purchased, according to Sasha Webb, executive director of the Great Northern Arts Festival.
This year, only traditional art will be featured and Webb estimates that artists will rake in around $250,000 over the weekend.
The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment is sponsoring two artists from each surrounding community to attend. In addition, five artists from the Sahtu region - Betty Takazo Jr., Camilla Tutcho, Mary Jane Kunkel, Debbie McNeely and Phoebe McNeely - are scheduled to attend.
The fair will be held at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex from 6 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 25, from noon to 6 p.m. on Nov. 26 and from noon to 4 p.m. on Nov. 27.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
'Tis the season
Paulatuk
It may still be November, but recreation staff in Paulatuk are busy planning Christmas activities for the community.
The season will kick off with a school feast on Dec. 11, according to Lily-Ann Green, recreation co-ordinator.
On Dec. 13 there will be a merchandise bingo and on Dec. 14 Angik School is set to host its Christmas concert.
The annual Santa parade will be held Dec. 18 and on Dec. 20 there will be an outdoor decorating contest.
A youth talent show may be held on Dec. 19, Green said, and a community feast and adult talent show are scheduled for Dec. 22.
A formal dinner for youth aged 15 to 25 may be held on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day, Santa will hand out free gifts at the school to everyone younger than 25.
The Paulatuk Hunters and Trappers Committee is set to hold a feast and dance on Dec. 28 and on Dec. 29 the annual Bill S. Ruben volleyball tournament will kick off.
Green said now that the schedule has been set, organizers are busy making sure they have everything they need to run events.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Last stop: Tuk
Tuktoyaktuk
The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation's (IRC) corporate tour made a final stop last Monday in Tuktoyaktuk, following community meetings in Aklavik, Inuvik, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok and Sachs Harbour earlier this year.
The meeting began at 5:30 p.m. in Kitti Hall with a meal that included fish chowder, bannock and reindeer dry meat.
The group reported on the IRC's activities in 2010, including business developments and investments, and answered some questions posed by 60 beneficiaries in attendance.
Nellie Cournoyea, chair of the IRC, spoke on how the corporation is representing Inuvialuit nationally and internationally.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Learning the moves
Ikaahuk/Sachs Harbour
Four Sachs Harbour residents were in Tuktoyaktuk last week to attend a drum dance workshop at Kitti Hall, according to Doreen Carpenter, recreation co-ordinator for the hamlet.
Ashley Elanik, 13, Albert Kolola, 13, Cheyenne Gully, 12 and their supervisor Sherene Raddi, 20, participated in the course from Nov. 17 to 20.
Each day from 5 to 9 p.m., the youth were to learn about drumming, dancing and singing and on Nov. 20 a drum dance celebration was to be held at the hall for the whole community.
Once the four return home, they will help facilitate drum dance workshops of their own throughout the winter, according to Carpenter.
If interest is high, classes could be held every week, but if not they will likely run every other week.
Community members from other Beaufort Delta communities, including Paulatuk and Inuvik, also attended the drum dance workshop in Tuktoyaktuk. Brian Rogers and Nolan Green of Inuvik led the course with the help of drum dancers from Tuktoyaktuk.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
The biggest catch
Aklavik
The Aklavik Recreation Committee was scheduled to host a family fishing derby on Saturday as part of National Addictions Awareness Week.
The event was scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participants of all ages were welcome to enter.
Each participant was allowed to enter one fish, either jackfish or coney, by 5 p.m. at the Sittichinli Recreation Complex. All fish had to be caught by hook.
First place won $200, second place won $150, and third place won $100. There were also 10 consolation prizes of $50 and another 10 consolation prizes of $25.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
It's the most wonderful time of the year
Thebacha/Fort Smith
Christmas is fast approaching and reluctant shoppers will be happy to hear the annual Museum Arts Extravaganza (MAX) Christmas Arts and Crafts Sale is just around the corner.
"We've done it for a few years in a row and it's just a great way to kick off the Christmas shopping," said Kalina Hadziev, event organizer and administrative assistant with the Northern Life Museum.
"We have everything from gift-ware type items, to art from local photographers, carvings, jewelry, crafts and dog items," she said.
Hadziev added recycled glass ornaments from the museum will also be up for sale.
The event, which will include a bake sale, is set to take place in the Aurora College foyer from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 26.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the museum.
- Herb Mathisen
Fun in Fort Resolution for Addictions Awareness Week
Deninu Ku'e/Fort Resolution
Fort Resolution was home to a full slate of fun and sober activities last week.
In recognition of National Additions Awareness Week, residents were encouraged to participate in many of events, which included a sobriety walk, a family fun night, and an elders' tea night - which evolved into an elders' bingo.
Wilfred Simon, a wellness worker with the Deninu Ku'e First Nation, said a week-long open house was also held, where residents could drop in to talk about their problems, addictions or just how to make the community better.
"We had a forgiveness circle gathering ceremony where we let go of a lot of things. We didn't have too many people, but the main thing was that the people that wanted to be there were there," he said.
Simon said the fun's not over, as a family sliding party, originally scheduled for Nov. 14, was pushed back to Nov. 21 because there wasn't enough snow. A scavenger hunt, slated to begin at the wellness office, is also being planned for Nov. 22.
"That's what National Addictions Awareness Week is about: to have fun sober," he said.
- Herb Mathisen
Nordic walk, don't run
Enterprise
A month-long Nordic walking program will soon be wrapping up in Enterprise, but outdoor enthusiasts still have a couple chance to get active in the fresh air.
For the next two Wednesdays - Nov. 23 and Nov. 30 - residents are invited to the community recreation centre at 11 a.m. to take part in a one-hour Nordic walking session.
Nordic walking is a senior-friendly, low-impact exercise.
- Herb Mathisen
Cape Dorset hunters chase after floating pallet of pop
A change from the usual walrus or whale, two Cape Dorset men hunted a floating pallet of pop in the waters outside the community.
The 240 cases of 12-packs fell off the barge earlier this month as it was being offloaded from a sealift ship.
Paul Kowmageak and a friend went looking for the pop after they heard about the incident. He said they picked up about 50 cases and split up the loot so the pop will last him for about a month.
"We just picked it up from the water with a canoe. It was all in one trip. We just put it in the boat and just kept going. It was fun," said Kowmageak.
The pallet of pop was destined for the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op Ltd., said manager Grant Stovel. He was somewhat surprised it would float, but thinks the plastic wrap surrounding each two cases helped.
"It's a write-off and the shipping company will pay us," he said. "It was a very entrepreneurial thing to do, I guess. We have no claim on it and he's doing his own thing."
Radio 99 airing
Kinngait/Cape Dorset
Cape Dorset residents can now tune their dial to 99.1 FM for music and other programming as Radio 99 or Radio Sam Pudlat started airing on Nov. 1.
Scott Knox, a Grade 4 teacher at Sam Pudlat School and head of the radio club, said the station is broadcasting mostly music, but he eventually wants students to read the news, give school updates and the weather in the mornings. He said he is looking at having students play music, read books, talk about student work and interview people from 4 until 5 p.m.
"I am trying to get the radio to be a positive thing for the (Grade 6) class, so I'll ask that teacher to keep an eye open for who was exceptional today so they can go on the radio that day after school," Knox said.
School principal Dave Webber tested the radio's transmission in the school for a few weeks before the signal was made available to the community.
"We have students read and record stories and we call it bedtime stories," he said. "We want to broaden the amount of broadcasting we do from inside the school, but that's going to take time. Some of it will be in Inuktitut."
- Jeanne Gagnon
Quota raised
Kivalliq
The quota on polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay area is being raised to 21 from the previous three years' quota of eight.
The total allowable harvest of polar bears in the area had been set at 56 until it was dropped to 31 in 2007 and then down to eight in 2008.
The quota increase was announced by Nunavut Minister of Environment Dan Shewchuk this past month.
The raise to 21 bears is tentatively set to be in effect for one year and will then be reevaluated.
- Darrell Greer
Christmas bazaar fun
Ikaluktutiak/Cambridge Bay
Cambridge Bay's best shopping day of the year is coming as the community prepares to host a Christmas Bazaar on Nov. 26.
About 40 exhibitors are expected to sell everything from make-up, carvings, Christmas decorations and ornaments, amautis and other items from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Kiilinik High School gym, said Fred Muise, the hamlet's recreation co-ordinator. He added the annual event will probably attract 500 to 700 people.
"It's basically the best shopping day of the year in Cambridge Bay," he said, adding people started lining up 30 minutes before the doors opened last year. "Everybody stormed in and went shopping. I am looking forward to it because it was a fun day to watch people shop."
- Jeanne Gagnon
Ball hockey tourney raises $600
Sanirajak/Hall Beach
A day-long fundraising ball hockey tournament raised $600 for the Arnaqjuaq School's badminton team.
Principal Michael Westley said the girls and boys badminton team will use the money to attend the upcoming tournament in Iqaluit scheduled for this past weekend.
The team raised $1,200 in total during the last three weeks. He added the tournament on Nov. 12 was well attended and about 50 people, including teachers, students, DEW line workers and residents participated in the ball hockey tournament.
"It was a rousing success," Westley said.
A trophy resembling the Stanley Cup was given to the winning team of students, he added.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Weather near-miss shows readiness
Panniqtuuq/Pangnirtung
Environment Canada's predictions of a storm packing 150 km/h winds triggered Pangnirtung's emergency readiness plan, but a much weaker storm only served to demonstrate the hamlet is prepared for extreme weather.
Warnings went out Nov. 10 that the storm was coming Nov. 12, and the hamlet gathered its emergency measures committee. School buses, bylaw vehicles and handicapped vehicles picked up people to take them to evacuation centres.
"Then the winds hit maybe 75 or 80 km/h, and then died," said senior administrative officer Ron Mongeau. "But, you prepare for the worst and hope for the best."
Mongeau praised the emergency measures group and staff.
"It was a real good shakedown of a real-world situation," he said, "and the feedback we've had is that everyone was quite pleased about it."
- Casey Lessard
Tots program bridges gap
Qikiqtarjuaq/Broughton Island
A new program to bridge the gap between prenatal programming and kindergarten in Qikiqtarjuaq started Nov. 21.
The Little Tots cultural day camp was kick-started with an undisclosed amount of funding from the Nunavut Department of Education. A second proposal is awaiting approval.
"We have nothing in this community for kids aged 18 months to five years," said hamlet spokesperson Rikki Butt. "We were hoping it would be a drop-off, but it couldn't be, so parents will attend. Hopefully parents will make cultural toys on one side and the kids will be doing activities on the other side."
Two women from the area will run the program Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons.
- Casey Lessard
Educators prepare for Paatsaali grand opening
Sanikiluaq
Staff at the new Qajaq Paatsaali High School in Sanikiluaq are preparing for the grand opening Dec. 1, which will include a visit by Education Minister and Premier Eva Aariak.
The event is expected to start at 11 a.m., depending on when Aariak's charter arrives. There will be a feast in the school gym and a graduation ceremony for five students in the afternoon, principal Tim Hoyt said.
Superintendents and former principal John Jameson and his wife Margaret are also coming for the opening.
"There's still lots to be done," Hoyt said, "but we still have a couple of weeks to get it finished."
Students from Nunavut Arctic College's Office Administration Program have been helping set up the library by assembling shelving and furniture that arrived last month on the sealift.
The 12-classroom school has a full-size gymnasium with a stage, kitchen, multipurpose room, small engine repair and metalwork shop, and a stainless steel skin room.
- Casey Lessard
Mapping artifacts
Igluligaarjuk/Chesterfield Inlet
A group of Nunavut Arctic College students in Chesterfield Inlet have begun mapping Inuit artifacts and working with kayak stands.
The group is being led in the endeavour by firstyear adult educator at the Chesterfield facility, Glen Brocklebank.
- Darrell Greer
Airport terminal opening delayed
Qikiqtarjuaq/Broughton Island
The grand opening of the Qikiqtarjuaq airport has been delayed to Dec. 2 to enable Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak to attend, hamlet spokesperson Rikki Butt said.
The premier will attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. at the airport, and activities at the community hall starting between 2:30 and 3 p.m. including a feast hosted by First Air, draws for First Air and Canadian North tickets, and raffles for hunting gear and other prizes.
Aariak will also attend a private dinner with hamlet council and other dignitaries.
- Casey Lessard
Coroner appointed
Kangiqliniq/Rankin Inlet
Alexander William Napier has been appointed as the new coroner for the community of Rankin Inlet. The appointment was announced by the Government of Nunavut this past month.
- Darrell Greer
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News desk 
