Fort Mcpherson (Oct 23/06) - Fort McPherson's residents might soon vote to limit alcohol, if the town's mayor wins support for a plebescite.

Mayor Rebecca Blake, has said alcohol abuse is too prevalent in the community.

In an Oct. 17 interview with News/North, she called alcohol the "number one issue in the community," and said she'd scheduled a town meeting for Oct. 30 to discuss possible restrictions.

"We can't tell people not to drink, but alcoholism is a disease and we need to find ways to break that cycle," she said.

Blake said that restrictions would be put to a town plebescite, to ensure the town's support.

She added the bylaw would probably not prohibit alcohol entirely, but might prevent the sale of bottles by the case.

"I think the possibility of becoming totally dry is unrealistic," Blake said. "Our biggest concern is alcohol coming to community in cases."

Blake said the restriction of alcohol might prevent crime and abuse within the community, as well as help local police.

She offered praise to the Fort McPherson RCMP detachment, which she said has been increasingly involved in community events such as barbecues and the ongoing search for elder William Teya, missing since Sept. 21.

"We are getting regular reports to the hamlet office," Blake said, adding that officers were becoming better known and were well-respected in the community.

"I think we have a better idea of who the officers are now, which is a good thing," she added.

Another project Blake mentioned was the construction of a youth centre and elder centre, across the street from the hamlet office.

Blake said the centres will be a safe place for people to meet and have fun, without alcohol.

"I think it's definitely needed in this community," she said.

She added that many young people usually come to the recreation centre after school, so the program should have a built-in audience.

While it is perhaps a coincidence, or perhaps the sign of a trend towards alcohol restriction in the Beaufort, similar projects are happening in other communities.

In Ulukhaktok/Holman, teacher Barbara Memogana is collecting signatures to reinstate alcohol control, and Tsiigehtchic's Chief Peter Ross, said people have been complaining about alcohol in the community, which has been officially dry since the early 1990s.

Blake, who is on the second year of her first term as mayor in Fort McPherson, said the ban would merely make life better in what she called a good and friendly community. She said she hopes the plebiscite will show a majority of the town's residents agree with her, and will support a limit on alcohol.

"The first step is to have a discussion about it," she said.