Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Tuktoyaktuk (Jan 14/02) - The community's Internet cafe has been shut down indefinitely after someone broke into the Aurora College Tuktoyaktuk Learning Centre over the holidays and made off with $2,000 in equipment, including two digital cameras, a VCR and stereo.

The Internet cafe had been operated by volunteers since October, using the centre's eight computer terminals during off-hours. The hamlet's economic development officer, Tonya Skanes, would unlock the facility three times a week on Wednesday and Friday nights, as well as Saturday afternoons, providing Internet access to community members.

"It's upsetting for the simple fact that I was getting something like between six to 10 people coming per night," Skanes said. "I had phone calls before I even planned to reopen it, asking when it would be open."

Over the holidays, a maintenance person noticed that a door had been propped open from the inside, allowing the thief or thieves to enter and leave. But because there was no other damage to the property, the losses weren't discovered until the learning centre staff returned Jan. 4.

Skanes's sister, Michelle, is the adult educator who runs the learning centre. She called the thefts disheartening.

"We're doing a lot of this on our own time, so it makes you wonder why would you put in all the effort," she said. "It was a totally volunteer-run effort."

Michelle was planning to offer a digital imagery class beginning this spring, but her plans have been derailed by the loss of equipment.

"I find it really disappointing, because in my opinion, I think it was someone who was using the facility, and these are facilities for the whole community. It was very deliberate -- they knew what they wanted to steal and they took it."

Tuktoyaktuk RCMP Const. Urbano Ciccarelli said police have no leads and no suspects in the case, and they're unlikely to recover the equipment unless someone comes forward with information.