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News Briefs: Friday, September 30, 2011
No fee cap for Kam Lake
Council voted Monday not to add caretaker dwellings in Kam Lake Industrial Park to the list of dwellings eligible for the maximum $4,500 emergency fire response fee.
The cap for residential single-family dwellings - single, detached homes, duplexes and manufactured homes - was introduced in December 2010 after a Latham Island family received a $12,000 bill from the city for fighting a fire at their home. The cap came into effect retroactively Jan. 1.
- Nicole Veerman
Con contract expected
The city expects a contract will be signed in November with Corix Utilities to develop the Con Mine community energy project.
Mayor Gord Van Tighem said the Vancouver-based utility company is still completing its "due diligence" and he expects to enter into contract discussions with them soon.
The community energy project, if completed, would heat 39 downtown buildings with a mixture of wood pellet boilers and geothermal heat from beneath the now-defunct Con Mine.
- Nicole Veerman
Courts closed
Both territorial and Supreme Court proceedings in Yellowknife were cancelled this week from Wednesday to Saturday as 24 lawyers participated in the Intensive Trial Advocacy Program hosted by the NWT Law Society and the Canadian Bar Association.
Sarah Kay, one of the organizers, said the program is intended to give newer lawyers to the North more practical experience and skill development beyond what they learned in law school.
- Terrence McEachern
RCMP warns of scam
The Yellowknife RCMP is warning the public of a scam involving fraudulent advertisements in online classifieds for apartment rentals, according to a Sept. 22 press release. The individual responsible for the advertisement is identified as a travelling, working professional that can only negotiate apartment rentals by e-mail.
- Terrence McEachern
News Briefs: Thursday, September 29, 2011
Candidates on devolution
Dehcho First Nations has put its own questions to the candidates running for MLA in the Nahendeh and the Deh Cho.
Grand Chief Samuel Gargan asked the four candidates to state their position on whether the devolution process should be suspended pending the completion of an agreement-in-principle for the Dehcho Process. The candidates were given six days to respond.
According to Dehcho First Nations, Michael Nadli, Michael McLeod and Bertha Norwegian, who responded, all promised to oppose the devolution process and demand it be suspended until an agreement-in-principle has been signed. Dehcho First Nations will provide copies of candidate responses upon request.
Election appeal at standstill
The appeal process of the Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation election has been delayed for at least another week, according to Maggie Lavavasseur, acting band manager.
"We're just at a standstill for now until the appeal committee comes together," she said, adding there is a chance they could meet next week.
The election, which took place on Sept. 15 in Fort Providence, was appealed following claims that legitimate ballots were deemed spoiled.
Coffehouse for Culture Days
The Open Sky Creative Society will be holding a Culture Days coffeehouse on Sept. 30.
Culture Days, which began last year, is a pan-Canadian volunteer movement to engage Canadians in the arts and cultural aspects of their communities. The event in Fort Simpson will take place in the recreation centre beginning at 7 p.m. The coffeehouse is expected to include an open mic, craft workshop and baked goods and coffee for sale.
Family Violence Awareness Week recognized
A group of organizations in Fort Simpson has put together a series of events to recognize Family Violence Awareness Week.
On Oct. 1 there will be a cultural day at Harris Creek including a free lunch beginning at the boat launch at noon. On Oct. 4 there will be t-shirt painting at the Stanley Isaiah Wellness Centre from 1 to 4 p.m. followed by a feast and drum dance at the recreation centre at 6 p.m.
The Open Doors Society will have a family night from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 5 and there will be a Take Back the Night March the following day at 7 p.m. beginning at the Stanley Isaiah Wellness Centre.
The week will cap off with a barbecue at the RCMP detachment on Oct. 7 beginning at noon.
Youth centre built
The Inuvik Youth Centre has finished construction and has started moving in furniture.
The building, the former food bank beside the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex, has been completely renovated. The centre is now looking for staff who can help the board get the centre ready for use.
The Youth Centre will hire an executive director and a centre co-ordinator, who will supervise drop-in times and continue other programming.
The closing date for hiring is Oct. 14 and the board was unable to say when the centre will open.
New office building
The new office building located across from the Alex Moses-Greenland Building is almost finsihed construction and GNWT departments are moving in. The Department of Public Works moved into the so-far nameless building in August to de-bug it, and other departments such as Municipal and Community Affairs and Education, Culture and Employment have now moved in. Public Health and the NWT Power Corp. will move in later.
The building has three floors, measures 3,287 square metres and will have space for approximately 75 people. Also on site is the new regional record centre, which houses archived records and the technical service centre, which contains the technology which runs the government's servers.
Literacy Week
The Inuvik Centennial Library has hosted literacy events and will continue to do so over the weekend.
Tuesday saw lunch at Aurora College to celebrate Aboriginal Languages.
The education students at Aurora College will host after-school activities from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. all ages are welcome to learn more about graphic novels, comic books and why they're so interesting.
On Friday Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and 2 the library will hold a used-book sale in the afternoon.
NWT Literacy Week runs from Sept. 25 to Oct. 1.
Aboriginal Student Achievement Committee
Sir Alexander Mackenzie School held its first meeting of the Aboriginal Student Achievement Committee on Sept. 27.
The goal of the committee is to close the gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal students in terms of academic success. The four priorities the committee hopes to address are early childhood education, student and family support, aboriginal language and curriculum development and literacy.
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