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Friday, December 9, 2016
King pleads guilty to NSCC escape
A 24-year-old man who was arrested around Sissons Court in August after a four-day manhunt has pleaded guilty to charges of escaping from North Slave Correctional Centre this summer.
Denecho Noel Calvin King is set to appear for a sentencing in Yellowknife on Wednesday for charges of escaping from lawful custody.
King is also set to face a jury trial for separate charges of second degree murder against John Wifladt, the attempted murder of Colin Digness and a new charge of aggravated assault against Colin Digness.
A preliminary inquiry that began in territorial court on Nov. 21 wrapped up on Wednesday.
- Kirsten Fenn
Man facing furanyl fentanyl charges in court
A 22-year-old Yellowknife man facing drug charges in relation to furanyl fentanyl discovered while RCMP executed a search warrant at a house on Borden Drive appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday. On Nov. 30, RCMP charged Darcy Oake with unlawfully importing a substance, trafficking a substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking, criminal negligence causing bodily harm and a breach of recognizance. Oake is currently being held in custody.
- Kirsten Fenn
Police seek tips after hit and run
Police are seeking information about a hit and run Dec. 2 at about 5:20 p.m. at the intersection of 52 Avenue and 51 Street involving two vehicles. RCMP responding to a report of a crash found one vehicle whose driver was injured. The other vehicle had "fled the scene," according to a news release. Mounties are looking for a dark coloured four door car with recent damage to the front passenger side, possibly driven by a non-caucasion female.
- Shane Magee
Walk to Tuk coming up
Registration is now open for the NWT Recreation and Parks Association's ninth annual Walk to Tuk. The fitness initiative encourages citizens, schools and workplaces to form teams and conceptually walk from to Tuktoyaktuk between Jan. 3 and Feb. 28.
- John McFadden
Thursday, December 8, 2016
Temporary pipeline re-start gets underway
Enbridge has temporarily re-started the Norman Wells pipeline in order to safely remove product from a section of line at the river crossing near Fort Simpson.
Area supervisor Mark Gerlock and Ann Marie Tout, manager for the Northern region, appeared before Fort Simpson's village council on Dec. 5 to update them on the situation and answer any questions.
The pipeline was initially shut down in late November due to concerns about slope stability.
According to a Nov. 27 e-mail from Tout to Mayor Darlene Sibbeston, the decision to re-start the pipeline was informed by a geotechnical and engineering analysis.
"Movement has stabilized and is monitored daily," Tout wrote.
Once the product is removed, the line will be shut down once more.
Temporary pipeline re-start gets underway
Enbridge has temporarily re-started the Norman Wells pipeline in order to safely remove product from a section of line at the river crossing near Fort Simpson.
Area supervisor Mark Gerlock and Ann Marie Tout, manager for the Northern region, appeared before Fort Simpson's village council on Dec. 5 to update them on the situation and answer any questions.
The pipeline was initially shut down in late November due to concerns about slope stability.
According to a Nov. 27 e-mail from Tout to Mayor Darlene Sibbeston, the decision to re-start the pipeline was informed by a geotechnical and engineering analysis.
"Movement has stabilized and is monitored daily," Tout wrote.
Once the product is removed, the line will be shut down once more.
'Tis the season
The Deh Cho Friendship Centre is gathering items for its 2016 Christmas Hamper program.
Donations can be dropped off at the centre.
Applications for the hamper program will be open until Dec. 16.
Each year, the program is supported by 40 hampers donated by Salvation Army. However, the centre usually gives out between 70 and 90 hampers.
Education discussed
Fort Simpson's district education authority met for its annual general meeting at Thomas Simpson Secondary School the evening of Nov. 29.
During the meeting, members of the authority and members of the public discussed new policies that had been drafted that year, including the authority's new head lice policy.
Dennis Nelner, a parent and an advocate on educational issues in Fort Simpson, said he felt the policy takes the wrong tack by singling out children with lice and sending them home.
"I don't think that's the right message," he said, adding that it can stigmatize young people.
Other topics discussed at the meeting included the need to prepare high school students for post-secondary and the district education authority's budget for the 2016-17 school year.
Contract awarded for firefighting aircraft
The territorial government announced it had awarded the contract for operations and maintenance of its water bomber fleet to Buffalo Airways Ltd. on Dec. 2.
The five-year contract will cover the wildland fire seasons between 2017 and 2021, with an option to extend an additional five years.
The fleet includes eight aircraft.
The Deh Cho Friendship Centre is gathering items for its 2016 Christmas Hamper program.
Donations can be dropped off at the centre.
Applications for the hamper program will be open until Dec. 16.
Each year, the program is supported by 40 hampers donated by Salvation Army. However, the centre usually gives out between 70 and 90 hampers.
Education discussed
Fort Simpson's district education authority met for its annual general meeting at Thomas Simpson Secondary School the evening of Nov. 29.
During the meeting, members of the authority and members of the public discussed new policies that had been drafted that year, including the authority's new head lice policy.
Dennis Nelner, a parent and an advocate on educational issues in Fort Simpson, said he felt the policy takes the wrong tack by singling out children with lice and sending them home.
"I don't think that's the right message," he said, adding that it can stigmatize young people.
Other topics discussed at the meeting included the need to prepare high school students for post-secondary and the district education authority's budget for the 2016-17 school year.
Contract awarded for firefighting aircraft
The territorial government announced it had awarded the contract for operations and maintenance of its water bomber fleet to Buffalo Airways Ltd. on Dec. 2.
The five-year contract will cover the wildland fire seasons between 2017 and 2021, with an option to extend an additional five years.
The fleet includes eight aircraft.
NWT film shows well at Whistler Film Festival
The Sun at Midnight, a film set in the Beaufort Delta influenced by Gwich'in culture, got a good showing at the Whistler Film Festival last weekend.
The film was screened twice during the festival, once to a sold-out crowd, and competed in the Borsos Competition, a category for Canadian productions.
Female lead Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs won a best performance prize for her role.
Jill & Jackfish Productions, made up of Amos Scott and Kirsten Carthew, produced the film, which was shot in the fall in the Beaufort.
Jill & Jackfish Productions have been invited to participate in the European Film Market in Berlin to showcase the film to international buyers in February.
Barren-ground caribou 'threatened'
The semi-annual Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada deliberations in Ottawa Nov. 27 to Dec. 2. assessed the barren-ground caribou population as threatened.
That means it's a wildlife species that is likely to become endangered if nothing is done to reverse the factors leading to its decline.
Caribou meetings talk herd status
Three days of meetings took place last week with the Advisory Committee for Cooperation on Wildlife Management (ACCWM).
The meetings were to discuss and determine herd statuses and management actions for the Cape Bathurst, Bluenose-East and Bluenose-West herds. Both scientific and community-based monitoring information were reviewed and an action plan for each herd is being finalized based on the information provided.
IRC intervenes in Supreme Court appeal
The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation delivered oral arguments before the Supreme Court of Canada Nov. 30 against a decision by the National Energy Board to authorize seismic testing in Baffin Bay and the Davis Straight.
"The Inuvialuit have many years of experience dealing with offshore oil and gas exploration," stated Duane Smith, IRC chair and CEO, in a news release. "We want to see development conducted responsibly without eroding the hard-won rights under the Inuvialuit Final Agreement."
Critics argue the exploration method, which uses high-intensity sounds to map the ocean floor, would affect whales and other marine life.
The Federal Court of Appeal ruled against Clyde River in August 2015 in the hamlet's attempt for a judicial review of the National Energy Board's approval.
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