Rankin Inlet (Jun 28/06) - It's time to clean up Rankin Inlet and that includes the cabin country outside the Kivalliq's biggest hamlet, one councillor said last week.

Too much trash has accumulated alongside the gravel roads that extend from Rankin and needs to be hauled away, Noah Tiktak said.

"Some areas are really bad. It's not too beautiful," he said during a council meeting June 19.

Senior administrative officer John Hodgson said municipal workers would make special trips to collect already-bagged trash.

What happened to doctor?

Several Rankin councillors want to know why the territorial government and its medical contractor did not renew the contract of the Kivalliq's longest serving doctor.

Councillor Robert Janes said the departure last week of popular family physician James Wiens is "really sad" and residents deserve an explanation. "This is an issue we need to pursue on behalf of the community," James said.

Wiens, who told the Kivalliq News last week he wanted to remain in Nunavut, saw his contract expire June 15 after four-plus years in the Kivalliq.

The health department and the University of Manitoba's Northern Medical Unit - which provides doctors to the region - have declined to comment on the decision.

Bad dog!

Elders on the outskirts of Rankin are getting tired of losing their catch to stray dogs, said one councillor.

Adele Angidlik said wandering canines often pluck meat from drying racks, a long-standing problem that has been especially bad this spring. "The elders are not too happy about losing their meat," Angidlik said. She suggested dog-owners could be letting their animals roam free knowing there was an easily accessible meal waiting for them.

Bylaw officers will be heading into the countryside "with rifles instead of shotguns" to deal with the problem, Hodgson, the senior administrative officer, said.