Carpentry program benefits community
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Rankin Inlet (Apr 11/01) - Their handiwork could one day be seen in your home.
Rankin Inlet students in the carpentry trades training program have framed a house for the Rankin Inlet Housing Association and are working on two more projects.
The program, which is sponsored by the Community Learning Centre, will be finished in two weeks.
Carpentry tradesperson Sebastian Curley and assistant instructor Ben Porter head up the program. Curley says he was hoping his students would be more involved with the Housing Association project, but understands there are other factors to be considered.
"It's up to Housing, but I don't think our students are going to get to do the drywalling because there's a couple of contractors wanting to get in there, so it looks like they're going to give it to one of them," says Curley.
"But our 14 students did get in and do the stripping and the reframing, which was great experience for them."
In addition to the housing project, students have completed 14 community ashtrays that will be handed out to businesses and organizations around the hamlet.
The aspiring carpenters have also completed six qamutiks with boxes which will be used in local search-and-rescue operations.
"The local search-and-rescue guys provided us with the material to have the qamutiks and boxes constructed and we donated our time and effort."
Program participants are currently working to complete 100 gun racks before their program concludes, which will be given to gun owners in the community, as well as erecting two cabins for the Palaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre.
"We'll build the cabins right outside our shop here and the Friendship Centre staff will be in charge of hauling them to their destination.
"I understand they're going to be used for the youth camp programs they conduct on the land.
"It's been nice to have our students work on so many projects which have benefitted the community."
