At hearings Dec. 10, the board fined the establishments and suspended their licences for breaches of the Liquor Act.

The Caribou Lounge was the hardest hit. It was ordered closed from Dec. 13 to Jan. 11 and fined $5,000 for five incidents of allowing drunkenness on the premises.

In one instance, an 80-year-old woman passed out at a table and vomited, and was left at the table for a brief period after closing hours.

"You're very fortunate she didn't die at that table," board member John Simpson of Yellowknife told the licence holder, 4883 NWT Ltd., in delivering the board's decision.

Simpson said he was "personally disgusted" with the licence holder's conduct, adding the five-member board considered revoking the liquor licence.

Meanwhile, the Dynasty Lounge was ordered closed for two days (Dec. 20-21) and fined $1,000 for one instance of allowing drunkenness on the premises. The town's liquor inspector testified he saw a young man apparently falling asleep at a table. At the hearing, a Dynasty waitress said she believed the man may have been suffering from some sort of epileptic seizure.

The Dynasty's liquor licence is held by Top of the Line Enterprises.

The Zoo, operating under a licence to Hay River Hotel (1998) Ltd., was ordered closed for seven days (Dec. 11-18) and fined $1,000 for three instances of allowing drunkenness on the premises.