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The Northwest Territories Power Corporation will be asking to increase territorial power rates when it meets with the Public Utilities Board in the spring, according to chairman Brendan Bell.

As an added measure, its general rate application, which outlines the corporation's costs and revenue, is being audited by the GNWT.

"They want to make sure we've turned over every rock to find all the cost savings we can," he said.

Since the NTPC last met with the board five years ago, diesel costs have risen 34 per cent, wages have grown and revenues have dwindled, Bell said.

- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison

Dempster drug seizure

Fort McPherson RCMP seized approximately eight pounds of marijuana on Feb. 17 during a traffic stop on the Dempster Highway.

As a result, two men - Charlie Oscar, 59, and Arnold Kimiksana, 46 - were charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Kimiksana faces a second charge for failure to comply with a probation order. He was released by a justice of the peace and is scheduled to appear in territorial court on May 2.

Oscar was brought before a territorial court judge in Inuvik and subsequently released. He is scheduled to appear in territorial court on March 7.

- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison

Full defence assured

Betty Villebrun, president of the Northwest Territory Metis Nation, is assuring the organization's members that a full defence will be made against legal action recently launched by the Akaitcho Territory Dene First Nations and the Metis negotiation process will continue with the territorial and federal governments.

"Somebody is giving the Akaitcho leadership questionable information about aboriginal and treaty rights, but it will have no effect on the Metis Nation continuing to advance its self-determination rights," Villebrun stated in a news release.

The legal action is directed at the federal government, the Fort Smith Metis Council and the Hay River Metis Government Council.

- Paul Bickford

Society elects executive

The new Enterprise Senior Society elected its first executive on Jan. 26. The president is Shari Dives, while Richard Cadieux is vice-president and Rhonda Flamand is secretary-treasurer. They had been the interim executive since the organization incorporated in September.

The two directors of the new organization are Amy Mercredi and Jim Dives.

- Paul Bickford

Two running in byelection

Thebacha/Fort Smith

Two people are running in a byelection to fill a vacant seat on the band council of Fort Smith's Salt River First Nation.

The candidates are Olga Mansbridge and Helen Hudson-MacDonald. Voting is set for March 14.

The vacancy arose when Brad Laviolette resigned from council in December.

- Paul Bickford

Teachers and students on the land

Tetlit'Zheh/Fort McPherson

Chief Julius School will be closed for professional development this week. A group of teachers will be doing on-the-land courses in Rock River, Yukon, and Fort McPherson.

The justice committee will be organizing on-the-land activities for students during their days off. Some activities include snowmobiling and travelling into the bush.

All schools across the Beaufort Delta will be closing for at least a portion of the week, according to Jean Boudreau, supervisor of schools.

The most popular conferences for teachers to attend this year are the 86th annual Greater Edmonton Teachers' Convention, the 37th annual Crosscurrents Conference in Vancouver and Brain Gym in Inuvik.

- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison

Traditional games in Sachs

Ikaahuk/Sachs Harbour

A traditional games workshop was held at the Ajgaliaq Centre in Sachs Harbour last Tuesday and Wednesday.

Donald Kuptana, Lena Kotokak and Matt Anikina led the workshop, which ran throughout the day and included instruction on Arctic sports.

Students at Inualthuyak School were expected to attend, as well as youth co-ordinators from the community corporation and recreation department. The whole community was invited to take part.

On Thursday, the weekly Qaqgiagoaluk program, which promotes youth and elder literacy, is also planned for the community centre. Approximately 10 people take part each week, according to recreation co-ordinator Doreen Carpenter, although attendance depends on weather and the local bus schedule.

- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison

Workshops on food production

Thebacha/Fort Smith

As part of its Local Food Leadership and Learning Program, Ecology North will be offering two gardening workshops in Fort Smith in March.

The first workshop is Introduction to Permaculture, which is a method of food production modeled after natural ecosystems.

Instructor Susie Wegernoski of Fort Resolution was trained in permaculture in Olds, Alta.

The same course will be offered twice - March 17 and 18 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day at Northern Life Museum and Cultural Centre. There will be enough space for 15 participants each day and advance registration is required.

On March 24, Seedy Saturday will be held from 1-4 p.m. at the museum. It will be a seed and local food fair where people can pick up free seeds for gardens, and participate in workshops about gardening and local food production. All the events are free.

- Paul Bickford

Macaroni and muskox

Ulukhaktok/Holman

The Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority and the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation were set to host a cooking circle at Ulukhaktok's community centre from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Feb. 23.

Anybody in the community was welcome to attend. Participants were to cook macaroni casserole with muskox, a roasted vegetable side dish and pumpkin raisin muffins.

The event, funded by the federal government's Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative, was originally scheduled for earlier in the week but facilitators were delayed leaving Inuvik because of poor weather.

Another cooking circle will be held in Paulatuk on March 1.

- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison

Hockey challenge in Fort Res

Deninu Ku'e/Fort Resolution

The annual Deninu School Winter Classic Staff/Student Hockey Challenge is set for March 2.

This will be the sixth year for the event in Fort Resolution.

Dan Summers, principal of Deninu School, noted some changes have been made for this year's event.

First, there will be three teams. In the past, a team made up of students competed against a team of staff members. This year, the players - students, teachers, other school employees and members of the RCMP - will be divided among all three teams by way of a draft.

Summers noted trading cards will also be created featuring the images of the players participating in the hockey challenge.

Admission will be free to the games at Lakeview Arena, beginning at 1:30 p.m. on March 2.

- Paul Bickford

Dropping the pop

Aklavik

Students at Moose Kerr School in Aklavik recently participated in activities as part of the Drop the Pop wellness campaign.

On Feb. 13 they participated in a poster and banner contest and on Valentine's Day students created radio commercials with the theme, "Spread the Word."

On Feb. 15 community health representative Gladys Edwards visited classes from kindergarten to Grade 6 to discuss the amount of sugar in pop and other drinks.

In the evening, students read their commercials on the local radio program.

Classes competed in nutrition trivia on Feb. 16 and on Feb. 17 there was a school-wide celebration, including exercises and healthy snacks.

Olive Pascal, the Grade 3 and 4 teacher who helped organize the Drop the Pop events, said teachers did a great job encouraging students to take part.

- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison

Vets visiting communities

Sahtu

Two veterinarians from the University of Calgary will be touring the Sahtu from Feb. 25 to March 8.

Dr. Susan Kutz and Dr. Gordon Krebs will be offering medical services to dogs and cats, including health examinations, de-worming, shots, spaying and neutering.

They are scheduled to be in Norman Wells on Feb. 25 and 26, Tulita on Feb. 27 and 28, Deline on Feb. 29 and March 1, Colville Lake on March 5 and 6 and Fort Good Hope on March 7 and 8.

For more details, contact your local hamlet or band office.

- Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison

Store manager recognized

Sanirajak/Hall Beach

A nice surprise was the reaction of the manager of the Northern store as he learned he was one of the recipients of the North West Company's 2012 President's Awards.

Barry Tarrant, who has been managing Hall Beach's Northern Store for a little more than five years, was recognized for his "deep understanding" of his customers' needs, stated the North West Company. Tarrant said he makes customers feel special because they are Number 1.

"It was very humbling," he said. "I always treat customer service as a number-one priority. You gotta to be good to your customers. Just give them top-quality service, that's all you gotta do - and smile, it's free."

Tarrant received an award and $1,000 cash. He arrived in Nunavut in November 2005, first taking his manager training in Qikiqtarjuaq before heading to Kimmirut as a relief manager. He arrived in Hall Beach in October 2006. Tarrant is originally from Lawn, in the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador.

- Jeanne Gagnon

Water woes over for now

Kinngait/Cape Dorset

Regular water deliveries have resumed in Cape Dorset, five days after the secondary pipeline froze, but a permanent solution is still weeks away.

A section of the alternate two-inch pipeline the community has been using for the last 10 months froze on Feb. 8. The alternate pipeline was installed last year by the Department of Community and Government Services to bypass a frozen and cracked three-inch water pipe.

The heat tracer was repaired on the two-inch line on Feb. 13, said Elissa McKinnon, spokeswoman at the Department of Community and Government Services. She added the two-inch line also froze in November and January.

"Due to the problems with the two-inch pipeline, we have hired a contractor to install a heat tracer on the three-inch line," she said on Feb. 17. "We expect that to be completed within the next four to five weeks."

As for repairs to the three-inch water pipe, McKinnon said CGS decided to extend the scope of work to include upgrades to the pump house and repair the heat tracer. She added it has hired an engineer to prepare design documents.

Olayuk Akesuk, the hamlet's senior administrative officer, said they've unclogged the frozen two-inch water pipe with ice picks and have since resumed regular water deliveries.

- Jeanne Gagnon

Drop the pop activities

Uqsuqtuuq/Gjoa Haven

Gjoa Haven high school students are encouraged not to drink pop and energy drinks this week, instead opting for water, milk or juice as part of Drop the Pop activities.

From Feb. 20 to 24, students at Qiqirtaq Ilihakvik will participate in a Drop the Pop contest where they can sign up and pledge not to have any pop or energy drinks for the week, said Ashley Baer, a literacy support teacher at the school. She added other activities include serving the students a calcium-rich snack in the afternoons and having students in English class find calcium-rich recipes with traditional and non-traditional foods.

"I think it's important just because I think they get into a cycle where they think pop is the only thing to drink and they don't realize milk or a juice can quench their thirst just as well as a pop," said Baer.

She added at least half the school's 200 students drink one pop or energy drink daily.

Most schools in all three territories typically participate in one week of Drop the Pop activities, usually in February. Students are encouraged to stop drinking pop for a week, instead turning to healthier choices, such as water and calcium-rich beverages, said Mia Wuertz-Court of the Department of Health and Social Services.

"It's not just all about the beverages but it's a healthy diet in general that includes healthy beverages," she said.

The average consumption of pop per person in Nunavut is two to four cans a day, according to the department.

- Jeanne Gagnon

Pangnirtung Fisheries aims to hit turbot quota

Panniqtuuq/Pangnirtung

Pangnirtung Fisheries is aiming to reach the turbot quota this year for the first time, general manager Don Cunningham said Feb. 21.

"Tremendous year. We might get to it," he said of the quota, which is 500 metric tonnes. "They came close in the late '90s, but they sometimes had 100 fishermen going."

So far, anglers have brought in 70 tonnes since Jan. 20, but only one person was fishing for the first two weeks. Now, 35 people are fishing, and that number could reach 60 people.

The lower numbers hide the fact Pangnirtung has been developing a summer turbot fishery, which gives Pangnirtung Fisheries a second shot at meeting the quota.

"In 2010, we caught 40 tonnes in the summer, last year we caught 80 tonnes," Cunningham said, "and there's no reason we can't catch close to 200 tonnes in the summer."

For now, fishermen are out on the ice with snowmobiles and qamutiit.

"The fish comes in here in beautiful condition," he said. "Just as firm as you want to see because it's being landed at 0 C. We get a premium price for the ice fishery because buyers know the fish isn't sitting in the sun somewhere and getting soft."

Almost all of the turbot is destined for China. The season has already generated $150,000 in earnings for fishermen, and the workload keeps workers gainfully employed at the plant, he said.

- Casey Lessard

Diving into science

Mittimatalik/Pond Inlet

Students in Pond Inlet are spending the next few weeks immersed in science with the third annual visit of Elephant Thoughts, a science camp based in Ontario.

"They're learning how to build robots, archaeology by digging for dinosaur bones, and geology by panning for gold and crystals," said Nasivvik School teacher and program facilitator Tessa Lochhead.

All students take part in the workshops, with the senior high school students taking part the first week, the junior high school students the second week, and the elementary students the third week.

"It is worth every penny because every single kid in school gets this programming," Lochhead said of the program, which is funded by Kakivak Corporation.

This year, Elephant Thoughts is introducing a mentorship program and is hiring five people from the community to learn how to deliver the workshops. They will train the first two weeks and teach the third, she said.

- Casey Lessard

Sun returns to Grise Fiord

Ausuittuq/Grise Fiord

Grise Fiord caught its first glimpse of the sun for 2012 on Feb. 11.

"It was only a few minutes," said Umimmak School principal Leslie Turpin. "We just saw the top. It was nice. A lot of people were excited, especially the little kids. They couldn't wait. Some of the classes had bets on the go on which day it would come back."

A celebratory feast with soup, stew, baked goods and bannock was planned for this past Friday, Feb. 24.

"The K-3 class will perform some songs about spring and the sun coming back," Turpin said. "Then the whole community will gather and have a lunch."

A calendar at Sunrise Sunset's website says Grise Fiord had one hour and five minutes of sunlight on Feb. 11, and would have seven hours and 24 minutes by Feb. 27.

- Casey Lessard

Working with performers

Arviat

Aaju Peter and Guillaume Saladin arrived in Arviat last week to share some time working with members of the Arviat Qaggiqtiit Cultural Performers Troupe.

The performers have been garnering national attention during the past six months.

They were recently featured both on television and on an Internet website, which featured the throat song, The Love Song, being performed by Arviat's Karen Panagoniak and Maria Illongoyiok.

- Darrell Greer

Hockey Day in Coral

Salliq/Coral Harbour

A large crowd of hockey lovers came out to celebrate Hockey Day in Canada earlier this month in Coral Harbour.

The hamlet started holding the annual hockey celebration this past year to coincide with the special Hockey Night in Canada production of the same name.

A number of hockey games for players of all ages and genders are held during the Coral festivities, which also features numerous games, prizes and tasty treats at the arena.

- Darrell Greer

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