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NNSL Photo/graphic

Bursary recipients hold the $40,000 cheque from the Department of Transportation and Canadian North. Front row, left to right: Stacy Reid, Yellowknife; Lanita Thrasher, Paulatuk; Kyle Wheaton Yellowknife; Derrick Kocik, Yellowknife. Back row: Tom Ruth, president, Canadian North; Marvin Zaozirny, director of airports; Russell Neudorf, Department of Transportation; Jonathan Bembridge, Yellowknife; Ryan Chenkie, Yellowknife. - David Ryan/NNSL photo

Eight receive $5,000 each for aviation studies

David Ryan
Northern News Services

Paulatuk (July 31/06) - A bursary program is going to go a long way to help Lanita Thrasher reach her sky-high dreams.

She was one of eight students to receive a $5,000 Aviation Career Development Program bursary for aviation- related studies.

"I want to be a flight attendant and a pilot," said Thrasher, a resident of Paulatuk.

Thrasher attends Skywings Aviation Academy in Red Deer, Alta., where she will begin her second year of training for her commercial pilot's licence in the fall.

"It pays for about half of my commercial pilot costs," said Thrasher, who also received the bursary last year.

The $40,000 in bursaries are funded by the Department of Transportation and Canadian North.

The Northern Air Transport Association, which represents Northern air carriers, also supports the program.

A luncheon and ceremony for the bursary recipients was held at Adlair Aviation in Yellowknife.

Students who received the $5,000 bursary include: Lanita Thrasher of Paulatuk, Paul Sullivan of Inuvik, and Yellowknife residents Stacy Reid, Kyle Wheaton, Derrick Kocik, Jonathan Bembridge, Omar Ashley and Ryan Chenkie.

"Aviation is a thriving industry in the North. It needs people who have specialized training and skills," said Deputy Minister of Transportation Russell Neudorf. Air travel is a fact of life in the North and it is a vital link to communities who do not have road access, he said.

The bursary program helps train qualified aviation professionals from the North said Canadian North president Tom Ruth.

"If you're aspiring to do an aviation job in the future, there's no better place than in the North," he said.

"It's such a dynamic industry, and we need a lot of dynamic youth to promote industry in the North."

Adlair Aviation has joined as a partner for the 2007 bursary program with a $5,000 contribution.

The Department of Transportation will match that, increasing the number of bursaries to 10 next year.

The program has run since 2001 and has provided students with $240,000 towards their educations.