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News Briefs: Monday, January 23, 2012
Union and GNWT continue talks
The Union of Northern Workers (UNW) and the Government of the Northwest Territories resumed bargaining talks last week, wrapping up the second instalment on Jan. 20.
The UNW is asking for a three-year pay increase for its workers.
"The union is proposing increases in pay for this agreement that are very reasonable given the general economic circumstances," the UNW website stated.
Additional talks will take place Feb. 27 until March 2.
- Sara Wilson
Behchoko house fire
The lone resident of a house in Behchoko emerged unharmed as fire engulfed a home during the early evening hours on Jan. 17.
Four Behchoko RCMP officers were on the scene to assist the Behchoko volunteer fire department. It took crews an hour and half to extinguish the fire. The resident took refuge in a neighbour's house, and did not sustain any injuries. The intensity of the blaze left the interior of the home with extensive damage.
The fire marshal was on scene to determine the cause of the fire Jan. 18, which is still under investigation, but isn't believed to be suspicious.
- Sara Wilson
House fire in Tulita
A fire destroyed a house in Tulita in the early morning hours of Jan. 20.
The RCMP was called to the scene at about 3:30 a.m. and found the Tulita Volunteer Fire Department on the scene battling the blaze.
The owner of the single-unit bungalow was uninjured.
According to the RCMP, the cause of the fire is unknown and an investigation is ongoing.
- Paul Bickford
Bulatci appeal heard
Emrah Bulatci, an Alberta drug trafficker who was convicted of killing Hay River's RCMP Const. Christopher Worden on Oct. 6, 2007, is appealing his first-degree murder conviction. The appeal was heard in Yellowknife on Jan. 17.
The Court of Appeal for the NWT has not yet released its ruling.
Among other things, the appeal focused on taped recordings between Bulatci, his girlfriend and family, submitted as evidence. The tapes, which were made by RCMP without his knowledge at the North Slave Correctional Centre, included references to sending people after witnesses. Bulatci was charged with obstruction of justice, but the charge was stayed when he was found guilty of murder. In November 2009, Bulatci was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
Bulatci originally tried to plead guilty to manslaughter, but that was rejected by the Crown.
- Paul Bickford
Schools to celebrate Family Literacy Day
South Slave
Family fun and learning will be taking place in South Slave schools this week as Family Literacy Day is celebrated throughout the region.
Family Literacy Day is Jan. 27, although schools in Hay River, Fort Smith, Lutsel K'e, Fort Resolution and the Hay River Reserve will hold events on a variety of dates.
The theme this year is Learning in Everyday Life.
Most communities will host 'breakfast and books' where parents and family members can share a meal and special reading time with their children before classes begin. Others are holding a series of fun challenges in which family teams compete to show off their competencies in different types of literacy, such as oral, digital, on-the-land, work-based and reading.
Parents, guardians and extended family members are encouraged to attend and see how they can support student learning at home in fun and simple ways.
Lutsel K'e Dene School and Chief Sunrise Education Centre on the Hay River Reserve have expanded Family Literacy Day to a week-long celebration of learning, with a variety of events and activities happening from Jan. 23-27.
Ian Patterson, the principal of Chief Sunrise, has issued a challenge to his students - if they read 750 books during January, he will dye his hair a colour of their choosing.
As Jan. 27 falls on final exam week for high school, some schools are planning their activities for alternative dates.
Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River will kick off Lots of Literacies (LOL) family events on Feb. 1.
Deninu School in Fort Resolution marked Family Literacy Day on Jan. 20.
- Paul Bickford
Fresh fish chowder and pizza
Tsiigehtchic/Arctic Red River
Students of the kitchen helper program at Tsiigehtchic's learning centre will be cooking a meal for the community on Jan. 25.
The program, which aims to teach students about working in the food industry, runs for six weeks.
As part of the course, they will be cooking lunch for students at Chief Paul Niditchie School, as well as for any staff, parents, elders and community members who wish to attend.
Course instructor Ruby Edwards said they will likely be serving fish chowder and pizza.
The lunch, served from noon until 1 p.m., will be available in the school's gymnasium.
"We'll be cooking (at the learning centre) and just rushing over there to have our meals ready," Edwards said.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Discussion group on food
Thebacha/Fort Smith
A discussion group will be launched in Fort Smith later this month as part of Ecology North's territory-wide Local Food Learning and Leadership Project.
The Fort Smith initiative - called Hungry for Change: Food, Ethics and Sustainability - will be a reading course with a weekly guided discussion.
The group will meet on Tuesdays from Jan. 31 to March 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Mary Kaeser Library.
Kristen Bradley, a community co-ordinator in Fort Smith with the Ecology North project, said each week participants will read a few articles or essays in the same book from the Northwest Earth Institute of Portland, Oregon.
Anyone interesting in participating should contact Ecology North in Yellowknife for information on registering.
- Paul Bickford
Old and new skills in Ulukhaktok
Ulukhaktok/Holman
Ulukhaktok's iglu village will likely start taking shape this week, according to Robert Kuptana, an elder who will help lead the project.
"The students just returned from Christmas, so once they get themselves pretty well settled, then we'll start on it," he said.
Kuptana has made three snow knives so far, and needs one more completed before construction begins.
The iglus will likely be built on Queen's Bay, so they need to make sure the snow is in good shape for building, he said.
In the meantime, senior students at Helen Kalvak School are keeping busy preparing for the Skills Canada competition to take place in Inuvik on Feb. 24.
Principal Chip Bryant said they have already started training for baking, hairstyling, small-engine repairs, electrical work, carpentry, cultural sewing and cooking, but that he was unsure how many would attend the competition.
"Students have been trying more than one event, so right now they have to choose the one they're the most proficient in," he said.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Their voice, their choice
Tuktoyaktuk
Senior students at Mangilaluk School in Tuktoyaktuk created their own hip-hop music videos on Jan. 17 with the help of Aaron "Godson" Hernandez.
Approximately 15 students took part in the full-day workshop, which included writing their own rap lyrics about the negative effects of drugs and alcohol, and then filming videos in groups to accompany the lyrics.
"It's really the perfect combination," said Andrew Silke, the workshop's videographer.
The workshop was run through My Voice, My Choice - a GNWT-funded program aimed at allowing youth to express their thoughts and opinions about how drugs and alcohol are affecting their communities.
On Wednesday a second workshop was scheduled for students at Moose Kerr School in Aklavik.
Students and the general public will be able to view the videos online in about a month.
- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
Fort Smith newspaper gets new name
Thebacha/Fort Smith
The Slave River Journal, an independent newspaper in Fort Smith, has been renamed after 35 years. As of its Jan. 10 edition, the weekly has been rechristened as Northern Journal.
Editor/publisher Don Jaque explained that, after The Slave River Journal won a national award in 2011 as 'Best All Round' in its class from the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, it was decided to be the time to go farther afield.
"The stories we carry are about the North and its people - from Northern Alberta all the way to the Arctic Ocean - on aboriginal culture, industrial development, the environment, wildlife, water quality, climate change and so on are widely read by interest groups who care about such things, but most Canadians don't even know the Slave River exists," Jaque said. "Canada's North has many stories to tell, and we want to do our part to get them out there so they resonate with a wider audience."
Although it has had stories about Fort Chipewyan, Alta., from the beginning, the newspaper's coverage of that community - and most notably issues related to the Alberta oil sands - has also noticeably expanded in recent years.
- Paul Bickford
Fish wins Sanikiluaq man trip to Winnipeg
Sanikiluaq
It took less than 10 minutes and one cod for Lucassie Oqaituk of Sanikiluaq to earn a trip to Winnipeg Jan. 14.
Keewatin Air agent Elijassie Sala went on local radio Jan. 12 to alert people of the fishing contest, telling them to listen again Saturday morning.
"I told the people, 'Warm up your snowmobiles, get your winter warm clothing ready,'" Sala said. "I said, 'Whoever gets the first caught fish is going to get a plane ticket, the second will get $100 cash, and the third will get $100 cash.'"
Johnassie Ippak and Simeonie Lucassie were the cash winners.
The prize was part of a giveaway by the airline, one of two that fly between the two communities. The airline gave Sala two tickets, but, with permission, he converted one to cash to allow for more contest winners.
Residents who were not able to leave their homes played for cash prizes over the radio, winning for mimicking a singer on the radio, or for being the right caller, Sala said.
- Casey Lessard
Teachers attend workshops
Taloyoak/Spence Bay
Netsilik School teachers in Taloyoak attended a two-day workshop in Kugluktuk last week.
Principal Gina Pizzo stated, via e-mail, elementary teachers worked with an official from Kitikmeot School Operations on a long-term planning session. She added the junior and senior high school teachers learned more about a new program for senior high students, which is to be implemented this fall. The program, featuring six options - trades and engineering; community caregiving and family studies; fine arts and crafts; information technology and communication/media; entrepreneurship and small business studies; and history, heritage and culture - is aimed at introducing the students to future careers.
"The staff is very excited about implementing this new initiative this fall," Pizzo stated.
- Jeanne Gagnon
TV channel may be used for emergencies
Nunavut
The territorial government has requested federal permission to use the legislative assembly TV channel to broadcast emergency messages should another satellite malfunction occur.
Telesat Canada's Anik F2 satellite failed this past Oct. 6, isolating Nunavummiut from the rest of the world as bank machines were down, flights were cancelled and long-distance calls were not going through.
The legislative assembly has requested the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) amend a regulation, allowing it to broadcast emergency messages on the legislative assembly TV channel, which airs through the Anik F1 satellite.
The CRTC is proposing to amend to regulation and is accepting comments from the public until Feb. 17.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Dangers of smoking
Qausuittuq/Resolute
By preparing posters on how cigarettes affect your body and through other activities, students at Qarmartalik School will learn about the dangers of smoking at the end of the month.
Grade 4/5 teacher Erica Condon said the week-long event, originally scheduled the week of Jan. 23 but postponed until probably the following week, starts with students of all grades working on projects examining the ways smoking could affect them.
Students can also test their lung capacity, pledge not to smoke and receive information on how to quit smoking, she added. Elders will also talk about how smoking has affected their lives, said Condon. She added at the end of the week, the school will host a community feast with caribou stew and other traditional foods.
"If we can get it to them when they're young, before they've developed the habit, we have a much better chance they'll grow up and be non-smokers as they get older," said Condon. "It's very important to show them exactly what is happening so they know the reasons why they shouldn't smoke."
She said they want students to understand why it's important they shouldn't smoke, rather than just being told they shouldn't.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Positive signs
Qamanittuaq/Baker Lake
The Kivalliq Energy Corp. reported encouraging assay results from 1,732 metres of diamond drilling in 14 holes conducted in 2011 at the Blaze, Spark, Pulse and Joule Zones of its Angilik uranium project near Baker Lake.
The company stated the results demonstrate its success at identifying a growing number of mineralized targets near the resource area. The encouraging values from exploration drilling have verified its targeting techniques on previously untested conductive trends parallel to the Lac Cinquante main zone.
- Darrell Greer
Plane lands on one engine
Sanirajak/Hall Beach
A Keewatin Air charter plane made a successful emergency landing with one engine in Hall Beach on Jan. 12.
The Beech 1900 plane was flying from Arctic Bay to Iqaluit with 15 passengers and two crew.
"The flight crew experienced an engine malfunction, did a precautionary engine shutdown and declared an emergency landing in Hall Beach with no incident," said Wayne McLeod, president and chief executive officer of Keewatin Air.
He said another plane from Kuujjuaq, Que. picked up the passengers in Hall Beach about four hours after the incident and flew them to Iqaluit. Maintenance personnel are examining the plane in Hall Beach, said McLeod, adding he's waiting to get a report on a probable cause.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Elders build iglu for students
Iglulik
It has a porch, window and benches. An iglu two elders built for Ataguttaaluk High School earlier this month will be used an outdoor classroom in the coming weeks as part of the school's cultural program, said principal Vince Pickett.
He added both elders built the iglu to ensure it was done properly but they were helped by two students during the two-day construction. The iglu fits seven or eight people at once and is meant as a realistic perspective of living on the land in the past, said Pickett.
"We're going to keep it until it melts, like Frosty the Snowman," he said. "It has its place for lying down; it has its snow benches; it has a place for your food and for your qulliq; and it's outfitted with a porch so it will not be so cold inside. It's made to be as comfortable as possible as it was in the past."
It has caribou skins on which occupants can sit, he added.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Polar bear approaches unaware man
Sanikiluaq
A Sanikiluaq man narrowly escaped an encounter with a polar bear Jan. 12 thanks to keen-eyed residents.
Josie Cookie was getting ice from the lake near town, mayor Elijassie Sala said, when the polar bear started to cross the lake in his direction. A water truck driver noticed the bear and started honking his horn. A person on a snowmobile also noticed and drove out to tell Cookie to get moving.
Until he received the warning, "he had no idea that there was a bear nearby," Sala said.
Cookie could not be reached for comment by press time.
- Casey Lessard
Scrapbooking returns, quilt-making about to begin
Ausuittuq/Grise Fiord
Crafters in Grise Fiord are returning to their scrapbook projects, and are now starting to make quilts as well.
Scrapbooking and quilting classes run every other Wednesday, with the existing scrapbooking classes returning from the Christmas break Jan. 18. Quilting classes start Jan. 25. Both run at the school Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m.
"I just saw that there was lots of material at the co-op that is just kind of sitting," said organizer Anne Akeeagok, "so I figured if we do some quilting, I don't know 100 per cent how to do either, so we would all learn from each other."
Anyone is welcome to attend the scrapbooking sessions, and can either participate or hang out and have a coffee.
"We even have some children aged seven years old, and they work with their parents," Akeeagok said.
For now, participants bring their own materials, but Brighter Futures is supplying some scrapbooks, stickers, and glues for the scrapbooking, and 16 kits for the quilting sessions.
All spots in the quilting classes are full, and some of the kits are still in transit.
Participants are asked to bring sewing machines, although the school has some available.
- Casey Lessard
Moms and tots program starts
Qikiqtarjuaq/Broughton Island
Qikiqtarjuaq's moms and tots program started last week.
About half a dozen parents and their children are attending the playgroup, economic development officer Leelee Kakkee said.
The program runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. at the hamlet gym.
- Casey Lessard
Plane grounded
Arviat
A Calm Air flight had to be grounded in Arviat after its windshield cracked during a regularly scheduled stop in the community earlier this month.
A total of 13 passengers were on-board the plane on their way to Winnipeg and Thompson, Man., at the time of the incident.
The airline issued a statement saying the incident was not weather related, and the passengers and crew were never in danger as a result of the incident.
- Darrell Greer
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