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News Briefs: Monday, January 2, 2012
House fire in Resolution
No one was injured in a house fire in Fort Resolution on Dec. 21.
The RCMP considers the fire suspicious. Police were called to the scene at about 6:40 p.m. and found the single-unit residence full of smoke. The fire was extinguished by the Fort Resolution Volunteer Fire Department. The family was not at home at the time.
A police spokesperson would not disclose the extent of fire damage because of an ongoing investigation.
The investigation is being conducted by the Fort Resolution RCMP detachment with assistance from the Yellowknife detachment's general investigation section and the NWT Fire Marshal's Office.
- Paul Bickford
Invitation to visit again
The Town of Fort Smith will be inviting Governor General David Johnston and his wife, Sharon, to again visit the community.
At the Dec. 13 meeting of town council, Mayor Janie Hobart received approval to invite the Governor General to visit in the summer.
Hobart noted Johnson had expressed a desire to visit in the summer on Dec. 9 while in the community during a tour of the NWT.
- Paul Bickford
GNWT appointments
Premier Bob McLeod announced the appointments of an associate deputy minister and two assistant deputy ministers on Dec. 20.
Gloria Latridis, originally from Tuktoyaktuk, will serve as associate deputy minister of Education, Culture and Employment; Kelly Kaylo, past president of the NWT Chamber of Commerce, will serve as assistant deputy minister of programs and operations with Industry, Tourism and Investment; and Sharilyn Alexander, the current director of human resources for the Department of Human Resources, will serve as assistant deputy minister of Human Resources.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Collective bargaining
Representatives of the GNWT and the Union of Northern Workers met from Dec. 19 to 22 to begin negotiating a new collective agreement.
Both parties tabled their proposals and were able to reach agreements on a number of points, according to the Department of Human Resources.
The government's initial proposal focused on ensuring the GNWT is fiscally sustainable, simplifying the collective agreement so that it is clear for employees and managers, and increasing flexibility in work scheduling.
The next bargaining sessions are scheduled to run from Jan. 16 to 20, Feb. 27 to 29 and on March 1.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Presents taken from post office in Pangnirtung
Residents of Pangnirtung waiting for gifts to come through the mail got the feeling there was a grinch in town after parcels were taken during a break-in at the Canada Post storage facility over the weekend of Dec. 17.
Post office staff arrived at work the following Monday to find someone had entered the store room, opened all the parcels and taken some.
Many of the opened parcels contained Christmas gifts for residents, RCMP said in a news release.
- Casey Lessard
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News desk 
