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News Briefs: Friday, March 2, 2012
Chief to stand trial
Dettah chief Ed Sangris chose to face a judge and jury trial for a charge of sexual assault during a preliminary inquiry at the territorial courthouse Wednesday. Sangris is accused of sexual assaults against a woman between 1986 and 1990, and between 1994 and 1996 in Dettah. Due to a publication ban, evidence, testimony and court documents from the preliminary inquiry cannot be published. The date for his trial is yet to be determined.
- Kevin Allerston
Dennis Bevington endorses Paul Dewar
Dennis Bevington, Western Arctic MP, has endorsed Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar in the NDP leadership race. "Paul has shown to me over time he has the characteristics of strong leadership based upon team, equality, intellect and a keen understanding of this great country including the North," said Bevington on Thursday. Dewar, who announced his candidacy in early October, is one of seven candidates vying for leadership of the party. Early voting began March 1.
- Galit Rodan
First Air fright
A First Air flight departing from Yellowknife experienced mechanical problems Feb. 26 when crew members reported a smoke alarm, Earl Blacklock, communications manager for the Department of Transportation, confirmed yesterday. First Air flight 7F-852 was preparing to depart from Yellowknife to Cambridge Bay with 21 passengers Tuesday evening when the problem was noticed and the crew decided to return to the apron, according to another media report. While taxiing along the runway, the crew stopped and evacuated the plane after a strong odour of electrical fumes was detected, the report stated. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board reported that maintenance crew found the circuit breaker for a ground cooling fan tripped and the fan was overheating, according to the media report.
- Kevin Allerston
Citizens needed for Board of Revision
Today is the last day to apply to fill a vacancy on the City of Yellowknife's Board of Revision to hear Yellowknife property assessment appeals. The board is scheduled to sit on April 4 and 5. Residents can apply online or submit a letter of interest to the city clerk.
- Galit Rodan
News Briefs: Thursday, March 1, 2012
Deh Cho Bridge crosses the Mackenzie River
The Deh Cho Bridge has spanned the Mackenzie River.
On Feb. 26 truss sections connecting the north and south sections of the bridge came together. According to the Department of Transportation, work crews shook hands across the newly connected trusses to mark the milestone in the bridge's construction.
The next phases of work will include the erection of the second A-pylon and the placement of the deck panels. Once the panels are in place, grouting and paving of the driving surface is expected to occur over the summer, according to the department.
Work on the abutments and the placement of the guardrails are expected to follow this fall. Completion of the bridge is expected for the late fall depending on the progress of construction on the remaining work.
Students gather at Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference
For three days this week, Thomas Simpson School in Fort Simpson is hosting the Mackenzie Regional Youth Conference.
Approximately 200 students representing all of the communities in the Deh Cho will be participating in the conference from Feb. 29 to March 2. Twenty-four presenters will be leading sessions for the students.
The students wanted lots of physical activities so there are many sports and outdoor workshops, said Freda Blyth, the school's principal.
Blyth said the conference is about students coming together and learning as a group.
Students secure medals
Five students from Fort Providence won medals at the second annual Skills Canada South Regional Skills Competition held in Fort Smith on Feb. 15.
The medal winners included Cynthia Landry with gold and Jamie Norwegian with silver in graphic design; Lisa Constant with gold; Leroy Landry with silver; and Etoah Antoine with bronze in workplace safety. Twenty-seven secondary school students from six communities including Whati, Gameti, Fort Resolution, Hay River, Fort Smith and Fort Providence competed in the event.
Information session on proposed gas plant
Quicksilver Resources Inc. is holding a community information session in Fort Liard about its proposed Fortune Creek gas plant.
The session will take place at the community hall on March 7 from 4 to 7 p.m. If the plant is approved, it will be located approximately 70 km southeast of Fort Liard.
Storm aftermath shot for show
A crew from Omni Film Productions, a company based in Vancouver which produces Ice Pilots NWT, was in Inuvik after the storm on Jan. 17 to shoot its aftermath, said Corinna Hagel, director of marketing and communications.
"This was just a weather story to possibly use this season in an effort to emphasize the harsh weather conditions up North," Hagel wrote in an e-mail.
She said the show needs a lot of footage and there is no way of knowing if the Inuvik-shot scenes will be used for the show.
Power outage caused by processor failure
The power was out in some parts of town for about an hour and a half and in other parts for two-and-a-half hours on Feb. 23.
Mike Ocko, director of the thermal region for Northwest Territories Power Corporation, said the outage was caused by failure of a main system control processor.
"It's like if your hard drive failed. So since we do run the plant in automation, once that processor failed, that was the cause of the outage," said Ocko.
"It's not a piece of equipment that you consider that would fail on a regular basis. We do know how critical the processor is if it does fail, so we keep a critical spare in our inventory at all times. So we were able to install a new processor."
The power outage occurred at 10:55 a.m. and the majority of the town's power was restored by 12:20 p.m.
A change of location
Northern Industrial Sales has a new home. The business is now at 15 Industrial Rd. It moved from 135 Distributor St. beside the Royal Canadian Legion.
"We started to move in January," said Wade Midgett, manager of Northern Industrial Sales. "It's just a better location."
A weekend of sales
This weekend, keep your change purses handy because there will be quite a few places you can dish out the dough for some tasty treats or useful items.
On Saturday, the Anglican Church is hosting a bake sale starting at noon.
There is also an indoor yard sale at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday sponsored by the Inuvik Figure Skating Club.
TotSpot Daycare is also hosting a multi-family fundraising sale on Saturday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the daycare. Children's items, clothing and houseware items will be available for purchase with all proceeds going to the daycare. If anyone has items to donate, contact TotSpot Daycare.
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News desk 
