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News Briefs: Friday, May 3, 2013
Roaster deconstruction consultation
The Giant Mine remediation team will be meeting with members of the public in Yellowknife and Ndilo over the next week to answer questions or concerns people may have about the deconstruction of the roaster complex, which is scheduled to come down this summer.
Friday and Monday, Adrian Paradis, acting project manager, and Jane Amphlett, manager of operations, will be at Javaroma from 10 to 11 a.m. and from 2 to 3 p.m.
Next Wednesday a public meeting will be held at the Ndilo gym from 7 to 9 p.m. There is another public meeting scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.
- Laura Busch
Garbage updates on Twitter
The City of Yellowknife has launched a new initiative that allows residents to sign up for e-mail or Twitter updates advising when garbage collection crews will be in any given neighbourhood.
"It's a way to provide a service for people who might benefit from an extra reminder," said Carl Bird, director of corporate services with the city.
The city is considering expanding the service to include snow removal updates throughout the winter months, Bird added. Sign-up for the service is now available on the solid waste management page on the city's website.
- Laura Busch
Community meeting
Five Yellowknife MLAs are sponsoring a community meeting on devolution Tuesday at the Northern Frontier Visitor Centre, beginning at 7 p.m.
"It's an opportunity for people to hear about what's in the agreement and ask questions about how it's going to be implemented," said Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro.
Martin Goldney and Charlene Woodward from the Office of Devolution will make a presentation, after which former premier Stephen Kakfwi will moderate an open-floor discussion.
- Laura Busch
Firefighters wanted
The City of Yellowknife is looking for new recruits to serve as paid-on-call firefighters. After an information session held last Wednesday night, the city's fire division is accepting applications until May 8.
- Laura Busch
News Briefs: Thursday, May 2, 2013
Deh Cho tour by Canadian author
Canadian author Lorna Schultz Nicholson is coming to the Deh Cho as part of TD Canadian Children's Book Week.
The author will be giving readings in three Deh Cho communities beginning with Fort Simpson on May 6. In the village, Schultz Nicholson will be speaking at Bompas Elementary School in the morning and at Thomas Simpson School later that day. At 7 p.m., Schultz Nicholson will be giving a reading at the community hall in the recreation centre and will be available to sign books afterwards.
Schultz Nicholson will be giving a reading at the Fort Liard community library on May 7 from 7 to 8 p.m. and at the community library in Fort Providence on May 9 also from 7 to 8 p.m.
Schultz Nicholson is the author of a number of children's books about sports, particularly hockey. She also writes adult mystery novels.
Official office opening
Nahendeh MLA Kevin Menicoche is holding an official opening for his new office in Fort Simpson.
The opening will include a barbecue at noon on May 8 at the office located at the corner of 101 Avenue and 100 Street in the village.
Celebrating mothers
Echo Dene School will be holding a Mother's Day lunch on May 10.
Everyone is welcome to attend the lunch that will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the school's gym. The lunch is set to include subs, potato salad and ice cream.
Kakisa students travel to Edmonton
Students from Kakisa Lake School will be going on a year-end school trip this month.
All six students at the school will be going to Edmonton for seven days beginning on May 11. While in the city, the students will be visiting educational sites including Telus World of Science, the Edmonton Valley Zoo, the Muttart Conservatory and the John Janzen Nature Centre.
The students will also be participating in fun recreational events including skating and swimming.
Soccer players compete in Alberta
Soccer players from Fort Simpson will be competing in a tournament in Grande Prairie, Alta., this weekend.
Five teams including boys and girls U12 teams, U14 and U19 girls teams and a U19 boys team are expected to participate in Ernie's Rock Around the Clock Indoor Soccer Tournament. The athletes will be leaving for the tournament on May 2 and returning on May 6.
Olympian dies of cancer
Shirley Firth Larsson, an Aklavik-born Nordic skier who trained in Inuvik, has died at age 59.
Firth, who resided in Yellowknife for many years, was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago. She competed in four Winter Olympics. Firth Larsson and her sister Sharon were the first aboriginal women to represent Canada in the sport. During her competitive career, Firth Larsson took home 42 Canadian national championship medals. She was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1987.
Former teacher gets new trial
Former Inuvik teacher Hughes Latour will receive a new day in court.
Northwest Territories Supreme Court Justice Louise Charbonneau ruled on April 24 to uphold his appeal and grant him a new trial, to be conducted in French. Latour was convicted of forcible entry, assault, and failing to follow court conditions on May 1, 2012, in Inuvik and sentenced to 60 days in jail. He appealed both the decision and the sentence on the grounds that the court failed to inform him of his right to have his trial held in French, at the beginning of the process in September 2011. Latour also faces charges of sexual assault, sexual interference and encouraging sexual touching with a person under the age of 16 and is set to be tried by judge and jury – in French – in Yellowknife on Aug. 12.
North West Company in the money
The North West Company Inc., which operates Northern and NorthMart stores in the NWT and Nunavut, saw a record $134.3 million in trading profits last year.
The Winnipeg-based, publicly-traded company released its 2012 annual report on April 8. The latest of 13 consecutive years of rising sales has seen the company bring in $1.514 billion, including $1.043 billion in Canadian operations sales, which increased by $14.7 million. Its sales amounted to $1.028 billion in 2011. In response to protests over high food prices, manager of corporate communications Connie Tamoto said North West profits are not excessive in its 129 stores. She said the company is passing on the money it saved through Nutrition North subsidies to consumers.
Film company in town
If you see a group of people with cameras scampering around Inuvik this week, it's a film crew working on a hush-hush project.
The crew, from a so-far unidentified company, is working with local company Black Fly Studios on the project. Director Gary Kout and Black Fly Studios' Tony Devlin were mum on details. Last week, the company had advertised on Facebook for several local people with snowmobiles to take part in the filming.
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News desk 
