SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A trial date has been set for four of the five parties accused of safety violations in a 2008 accident that resulted in the amputation of part of a worker's leg at the Snare hydro power plant.

The trial will be held March 7 to 18 next year for the NWT Power Corporation, Carter Industries Ltd., Mandeville Engineering Inc. and Lloyd Mandeville, an employee of Mandeville Engineering, Crown prosecutor Marc Lecorre said in territorial court on Tuesday.

On June 3, 2008, Tim Mcauley, an equipment operator for Carter Industries, had to have part of his right leg removed after a Bailey bridge fell on his foot. Carter Industries was working as a contractor for the NWT Power Corporation at the hydro power plant, located 140 km northwest of Yellowknife.

NWT Power Corporation, Carter Industries Ltd. and Mandeville Engineering Inc., have each been charged with 15 counts under the NWT Safety Act. Lloyd Mandeville is charged with 21 counts under the act.

Judge Garth Malakoe set a Nov. 2 court appearance for Tim Boyce, an employee with Carter Industries, to enter pleas on 21 counts under the same act.

Crown prosecutor John Cliffe will take over the case at the March trial.

Preliminary hearing for drug trafficking charge

A man charged with possessing 270 grams of cocaine and almost two pounds of marijuana will be in court Nov. 1 for a preliminary inquiry. The date was set in territorial court earlier this week.

Rory Quentin Moore, 26, of Yellowknife was charged under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act with possession for the purpose of trafficking after RCMP pulled over Moore and another man while they were bound for Yellowknife on Highway 3, about 40 km from the city, on June 27.

The value of the drugs seized is estimated to be worth about $100,000.

Drunk driver with smashed out window sentenced

A 19-year-old man was fined $1,200 on Wednesday for driving drunk and with an expired licence last August.

The man, driving a white Grand Am, was pulled over by RCMP on Aug. 4 at approximately 2:19 a.m. while driving with a smashed-out back window.

The officer asked the man for his insurance and registration. The man replied he didn't have the paperwork with him because he took it out of the car for fear it would be stolen due to the broken window.

The man was asked to provide a breathalyzer sample after the officer found him to have slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and was smelling of alcohol, according to Crown attorney Marc Lecorre.

The man's driver's licence had expired three days earlier. Two breath samples revealed the man had a blood alcohol level almost double the legal limit of 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, at 0.15 g/100ml and 0.14 g/100ml, respectively.

The man told the court he was sorry "to society for putting everyone in danger."

Judge Garth Malakoe replied, "You're right," he said. "You should be sorry."

Malakoe sentenced him with the fine plus a 15 per cent victim surcharge and a 12-month driving prohibition.

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