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Friday, January 27, 2017
City assessment hosting open house
Have questions about your city property tax assessment?
The city is holding an open house Monday and Tuesday evening at city hall from 5 to 8 p.m. where the assessor will be available to answer questions.
Property tax assessment notices were recently mailed out to ratepayers - residents and businesses that pay property taxes.
More information is on the city's website.
- Shane Magee
Advisory board seeks members
Applications are now open to join the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness.
The City of Yellowknife is now accepting applications for a representative from an organization serving people with disabilities, serving seniors, a Yellowknife business and an indigenous organization.
The group will assist the city as advisers on homelessness issues. The deadline for applications is Feb. 10.
- Jessica Davey-Quantick
Snow angels sought
A city program matching residents physically unable to clear snow from driveways, walkways and stairs with volunteers is in need of more helping hands.
The snow angel program has a shortage of volunteers to help residents who have applied for help, a city news release states. It means the city isn't taking on additional requests until current ones have been fulfilled.
The program is specifically looking for volunteers in Northland Trailer Park, Bigelow Crescent, Calder Crescent, Forrest Drive, 47 Street, Range Lake, Burwash Drive and Mandeville Drive.
More information is available on the city website or by calling the community services department.
- Shane Magee
Trade show registration now open
Registration for the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce Spring Trade Show is now open.
The show runs from May 13 to 14 at the Multiplex, with exhibitor and vendor spaces in the Ed Jeske Arena, Community DND Gym and Shorty Brown Arena.
- Jessica Davey-Quantick
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Researchers pursue contaminant study
Researchers from the University of Waterloo will be at the Snowshoe Inn boardroom in Fort Providence on Jan. 26, 27 and 30 to conduct a study on contaminants and human health.
Dr. Brian Laird and Dr. Mylène Ratelle are inviting community members over the age of six to participate.
The study will help to answer questions about current levels of contaminant exposure in the body, sources of contaminant exposure to people in the Northwest Territories and the balance between risks and benefits from country food.
Participants can take a voluntary 24-hour food recall survey, a food frequency questionnaire, a hair or urine sample or a blood sample, which would be collected by a nurse.
Economic forum announced
Dehcho First Nations and the Dehcho Economic Corporation will host a regional Dehcho Economic Readiness Forum in Fort Simpson from March 27 to 30, Dehcho First Nations has announced.
The forum aims to augment the Deh Cho region's business knowledge and is expected to draw leaders, youth and aboriginal business representatives.
Education pilot projects announced
The GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment announced on Jan. 23 it would run a series of pilot projects throughout the 2017-18 school year with the goal of improving training and resources for teachers.
The initiative is a collaboration between the department, the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association and the Northwest Territories Superintendents' Assoication.
It aims to address the fact that the education system "is not meeting the needs of learners," according to the announcement, and will allow education boards to spend 100 hours on improved teacher planning, assessment, collaborative practice and ongoing professional development.
Air show preps for the Deh Cho
The Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour, a volunteer-run project bringing air shows to 97 Northern communities, has plans to stop in the Deh Cho.
Although exact dates were not available at press time, spokesperson Nancy McClure stated in an e-mail the project would bring "wheels on the ground" shows to Fort Liard and Fort Simpson, with above-community shows in Fort Providence, Wrigley, Nahanni Butte, Jean Marie River and Sambaa K'e.
GTC releases Gwich'in Legends DVD
The Department of Cultural Heritage at the Gwich'in Tribal Council recently released a compilation DVD called 'Yi'eenoo Dai' Gugwandak – Gwich'in Legends.'
Elders from the four Gwich'in communities recalled legends in the Gwich'in language as told to them by their parents and grandparents.
Produced by the GTC in association with the Native Communications Society of the NWT and Pido Productions, the DVD is offered as an original Gwich'in language production with English subtitles.
"Preservation of both our language and our stories is a vital part of our Gwich'in identity," stated Bobbie Jo Greenland Morgan, president of the GTC, in a news release.
The DVD will be distributed to all Gwich'in elders, program funders, schools in the Beaufort Delta and other institutions in the territory.
High participation rate for Walk to Tuk
As of mid-January, more than 3,400 people on 272 teams and from 29 communities had registered for the Walk to Tuk program, which challenges teams to walk an equivalent number of steps from Fort Providence to Tuktoyaktuk.
That number represents about eight per cent of the population of the territory and a 35-per-cent increase from last year.
"It is clear that Walk to Tuk has touched a real nerve in the NWT," stated Geoff Ray, executive director of the NWT Recreation and Parks Association, in a news release. "It's getting people excited about being active and getting in the outdoors during the cold, dark months of winter."
More than 12,788 people have participated in the program since it was started in 2010.
Community tourism program announced
A new program will provide funding for NWT communities to hire individuals dedicated to developing sustainable and marketable tourism products and packages.
"There is great potential to build our tourism industry in each region," stated Wally Schumann, minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, in a news release. "I encourage our local communities to apply for the Community Tourism Coordinator Program and take advantage of the economic benefits that the tourism sector can create."
Successful applicants to the program will receive up to $50,000 for a two-year period and are responsible for contributing a minimum of $15,000 toward their goal. Applicants can be municipal councils, band councils, land claim organizations, chambers of commerce or other organizations.
The tourism sector contributed $167.1 million to the territory's economy in 2015-16
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