 | Home page |  | Text size |  | E-mail this page |
News Briefs: Monday, Aug 20, 2012
Prime minister's visit
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be visiting Norman Wells Tuesday as part of his yearly tour to the North. Harper is expected to make announcements relating to the economic and social development of Canada's North while he is here, according to a press release. The prime minister is also set to visit Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut and Churchill, Man., during his four-day trip, which starts today.
- Miranda Scotland
Cemetery damaged
An 18-year-old male has been charged for allegedly damaging twelve crosses at the Paulatuk Cemetery. The man, whose name has not been released, faces three counts of mischief relating to the July 28 incident where 2 crosses were pushed down and another 10 were broken. The man is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 19 in Paulatuk.
- Miranda Scotland
Taltson shutdown puts communities on diesel
The Taltson River hydroelectric power plant - 64 km north of Fort Smith - is in a planned shutdown to undergo annual maintenance.
The shutdown began on Aug. 13 and is scheduled to end at 5 p.m. on Aug. 24. Until that time Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Resolution and Buffalo Junction are receiving electrical energy generated by diesel power.
There will be brief outages in Fort Resolution and at Buffalo Junction at the end of the shutdown, the NWT Power Corporation said.
- Paul Bickford
Former teacher denied bail
A former Inuvik teacher who is facing charges of sexual assault and making child pornography was denied bail last Monday. Hugues Latour is also charged with possessing child pornography, sexual interference and abduction for allegedly kidnapping his son. Six of the charges are from 2011, while the one relating to his son is from 2010.
When Judge Christine Gagnon gave her decision not to release Latour from jail he shook his head, making it clear he was unimpressed with the ruling. The bail hearing was conducted in French, at Latour's request, although English was provided by an interpreter.
Latour is expected to appear in territorial court in Inuvik from Nov. 21 to 23 for a preliminary inquiry on the pornography charges.
- Miranda Scotland
No decision yet
Mayor Janie Hobart of Fort Smith has not yet decided whether she will run for a second term. Hobart said she expects to make a decision in the next two weeks.
- Paul Bickford
Enterprise bursaries awarded
Enterprise
Bursaries in support of post-secondary education have been awarded by the Hamlet of Enterprise to two residents of the community.
The recipients are Jessica Kimble, who is studying business administration at Aurora College in Fort Smith, and Logan Clarke, who is studying science at Grande Prairie Regional College.
In April, the hamlet council established as many as three annual bursaries of up to $1,000 each for full-time students in college or university.
Council approved this year's recipients at its meeting on Aug. 13.
- Paul Bickford
Inaugural Star Party planned
Thebacha/Fort Smith
The Thebacha and Wood Buffalo Astronomical Society will hold its first-annual Star Party on Aug. 25 and 26 with an early-bird session on Aug. 24.
The events will be held at Pine Lake, about 60 km south of Fort Smith in the Alberta section of Wood Buffalo National Park.
The three days of activities will include presentations, workshops, family activities and sky viewing opportunities.
Information on registration fees is available from the Thebacha and Wood Buffalo Astronomical Society.
- Paul Bickford
Fort Smith museum plans AGM
Thebacha/Fort Smith
Northern Life Museum & Cultural Centre in Fort Smith has set its annual general meeting for Sept. 16.
The meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m. at the museum, will include the election of officers to the board of governors.
Anyone wishing to vote or seek election to the board of governors must be a member in good standing prior to the AGM. Memberships will not be sold at that meeting.
- Paul Bickford
Swimmers take their mark
Tuktoyaktuk
A Beaufort Delta regional swim meet was scheduled to be held at the community pool in Tuktoyaktuk from Aug. 17 to 19 for youth between the ages of 7 and 13.
The main goal of the swim meet is, "to create awareness about swimming and active living and enjoying the sport," said Geoff Solomon, aquatic supervisor for the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk.
Swimmers were signed up from Aklavik, Fort Good Hope and Tsiigehtchic, said Solomon. They will compete against roughly eight members of the Tuk swim team expected to participate.
- Laura Busch
Summer camp winding down
Ikaahuk/Sachs Harbour
Last week was expected to mark the end of summer day camp in Sachs Harbour because the sea barge was scheduled to arrive over the weekend and families were getting ready to go back to school in September, said Doreen Carpenter, recreation co-ordinator for the hamlet.
The day camp has been held in the afternoons, Monday to Friday, since the beginning of July, said Carpenter.
"It's something for the kids to do in the summertime," she said. "It helps the parents out, too, who are working."
The day camp was based out of the Ajgaliaq Centre and was been well attended this summer, said Carpenter. Children between the ages of two and 12 participated in daily crafts, baking, field trips and other activities planned by the supervisors.
- Laura Busch
Seven get aviation scholarships
NWT
Seven Northwest Territories aviation students are receiving scholarships worth $5,000 from the territory's Aviation Career Development Program.
The recipients are from Yellowknife, Norman Wells and Aklavik.
The NWT Department of Transportation, Discovery Air, First Air, Keewatin Air and North-Wright Airways fund the scholarships, which are awarded to aviation industry students every year.
The Government of Nunavut also provides six scholarships per year to residents of Nunavut. The application deadline for Nunavummiut is Sept. 28.
Scholarships were awarded to Dakota Miller of Norman Wells, Matthew Noland of Aklavik and Yellowknife residents Brittany Norris, Kylar Villebrun, Colby Wallis, Michael Gray and Dylan Wheaton.
- Kassina Ryder
Prime minister to visit Cambridge Bay
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will spend the night in Cambridge Bay Aug. 22, and it will be the only Nunavut community he will visit during his annual tour of Nunavut, NWT, Yukon and northern Manitoba from Aug. 20 to 24. Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Norman Wells, NWT, and Churchill, Man., are the only other stops the prime minister's office had confirmed by e-mail Aug. 17.
"Canada's North is a fundamental part of our heritage and our national identity and a region with unlimited potential," Harper stated in a release. "Our government continues to work hand in hand with Northerners to help the Arctic become a prosperous region within a strong and sovereign country."
It's Harper's seventh consecutive year visiting the North, and this visit will focus on his government's Northern Strategy. The strategy's priorities include Arctic sovereignty, devolution, social and economic development, and environmental protection, according to the release.
- Casey Lessard
Sanikiluaq elementary teacher faces sex abuse charges
Sanikiluaq
A Sanikiluaq teacher stands accused of 29 sexual offences dating between 1984 and 2006, police said Aug. 15.
Johnny Meeko, 58, is accused of abuse related to eight victims. The attacks are alleged to have taken place at Nuiyak Elementary School, where Meeko worked from 1973 to 2009, when he retired. The arrest was the result of an investigation that started July 19. He was charged Aug. 14. RCMP continue to investigate the possibility of other victims.
- Casey Lessard
Sex assault charges in capital
Iqaluit
An Iqaluit man faces charges after two women were sexually assaulted Aug. 14. One of the complainants called police, who found the distraught woman outside a home, RCMP stated.
Officers learned that the woman had been assaulted at another location and held against her will before the attacker released her. Soon after, a concerned citizen called police to say another sexual assault was in progress outside a nearby home.
Lucassie Ipeelie, 24, faces six charges, including two counts of sexual assault, and one count each of forcible confinement, uttering threats, assault and breach of probation. He was set to appear in court Aug. 16 to determine whether he would be released on bail.
- Casey Lessard
Mariner medevac from ship
Nunavut
A mariner aboard a sealift ship had to be airlifted to hospital after experiencing a medical emergency, the Canadian Coast Guard stated on Aug. 13.
The distressed mariner, aboard the Nunavut Sealink and Supply Inc.'s cargo ship Zelada Desgagnes, was medevaced on Aug. 10 as the vessel was navigating the Davis Strait, near the opening of Cumberland Sound, according to the coast guard.
The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Des Groseilliers stopped escorting commercial ships into Frobisher Bay, about 120 nautical miles away, to help rescue the mariner. As the weather deteriorated that evening, the Des Groseilliers transferred the mariner from the vessel to a coast guard zodiac - a rigid-hulled, inflatable, fast-rescue craft. According to the coast guard, the mariner was then brought aboard the coast guard ship while it waited for a Canadian Forces Cormorant helicopter from Gander, N.L. Two search-and-rescue technicians, lowered from the helicopter to the coast guard ship later that night, helped hoist the mariner to the helicopter, stated the coast guard. The mariner was airlifted to Iqaluit where he was taken to hospital.
The mariner has since been discharged from hospital and is recovering, stated Waguih Rayes, general manager of Desgagnes Transarctik, NSSI's managing partner.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Whiterow rebuild approved
Iqaluit
Nunastar Properties got the go-ahead to rebuild the Creekside Village units lost in a fatal Feb. 26 fire in Iqaluit. City council unanimously approved the rebuild Aug. 14.
The row of townhouses - popularly known as Whiterow - will be rebuilt in a slightly different configuration, with two components containing six back-to-back two-storey units to make a total of 24 units. The two components will make one building, but will be separated by a firewall. Unlike the building that was destroyed in the fire, the replacement will not have hallways in between, city planner Arif Sayani said. He noted it will meet the 2010 National Building Code, and will have sprinklers, despite the fact the code does not require them. Siblings Andrew Papatsie, 27, and Connie Papatsie, 25, died in the blaze.
- Casey Lessard
Cook walrus meat before eating, GN advises
Iglulik
Walrus meat distributed in Iglulik contains a parasite which caused trichinosis, stated the Department of Health and Social Services after some residents went to the health centre with symptoms of the disease.
It advises residents to cook the meat before eating it because cooking kills the parasite trichinella nativa. Freezing or fermenting the meat does not kill the parasite. As of Friday there has been one confirmed case of trichinosis.
Symptoms of trichinosis include vomiting, fever, diarrhea, rash, muscle pain and fatigue. Anyone experiencing any of these symptoms after eating raw or undercooked walrus meet should visit the health centre immediately.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Students on Ice avoids near-cancellation
Iqaluit
The Canadian Coast Guard intervened at the last moment to save a Students on Ice expedition, which includes Repulse Bay's Kelvin Ivalutanar, from being cancelled.
The team was stuck on the shore of Frobisher Bay, in Iqaluit, while the research vessel they planned to board, the MV Akademik Ioffe, waited on the other side of a seemingly-impassable field of sea ice. The team was supposed to leave on Aug. 1, but were still landlocked by the weekend.
On Aug. 4, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Des Groseilliers, under the command of Capt. Sylvain Bertrand, provided the safe transfer of the 76 students and 40 educators from Iqaluit to the MV Akademik Ioffe, so Students on Ice can continue its journey to Greenland.
- Tim Edwards
New hamlet office
Kugluktuk/Coppermine
Kugluktuk hamlet staff were busy unpacking boxes and settling in to their new offices as they moved into the new hamlet building earlier this month.
Senior administrative officer Don Leblanc got the keys to the two-storey structure on Aug. 9, a building he described as very modern with carpet and an open ceiling with windows for the council chambers. Hamlet staff are more than excited about the move, he added. Previously, the hamlet had been renting space in another building.
"They've got beautiful new offices, spacious offices," said Leblanc. "The layout of the office gives them a better opportunity to work in more comfort. Windows are right around it."
Some departments, such as wellness, were in another building, said Leblanc.
"This building will contain pretty well all of our departments so it will mean, from our point of view, an easier operation, more order to it, better balanced," he said. "And we'll be able to better organize, have meetings every month because we're in the one building. So it will be a much smoother operation."
To give the opportunity for the community to see the new hamlet building, Leblanc said they will hold grand opening celebrations in early September.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Arctic Bay celebrates bowhead hunt
Ikpiarjuk/Arctic Bay
Residents in Arctic Bay were celebrating after hunters returned from Kakiak Point with a nine-metre bowhead whale.
"I gather that's what they were looking for in terms of ease of handling," economic development officer Clare Kines said.
Hunters went out Aug. 9 and killed the whale Aug. 11, which he heard was one of the fastest bowhead hunts in Nunavut.
- Casey Lessard
Music program expanded
Taloyoak/Spence Bay
The sound of music will echo in elementary classes at Netsilik School since it has expanded its music program.
Principal Gina Pizzo said the music program, started in 1993 for senior high students before expanding to include the junior high students in 1995, has again grown to include elementary students.
"We do full band. Like we have drums, piano, clarinets, saxophones, tuba, French horns, trombones, flutes. I also bought another piano this year and a set of guitars," said Pizzo. "We bought a set of recorders for each class as well so they can start learning how to read music at a young age and learning how to do fingering and playing with an instrument."
She added each classroom also has a set of traditional drums.
Pizzo starting buying instruments when she had the financial means to do so, she explained, buying 20 instruments the first year, enough for the senior high class when high school started. She added she would dedicate funding each year to buy more instruments.
"I just think it's really good for every school to have a fine arts program, including drama, music and fine arts as part of the offerings for students," said Pizzo.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Killer whales impress in Pond Inlet
Mittimatalik/Pond Inlet
It's not unusual to see killer whales each summer in Pond Inlet, but, this year the pod was a lot larger than normal numbering about 10, Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Association manager Joshua Arreak said.
"They've been known to roam around Pond Inlet area," Arreak said, "but not as many as we've seen recently."
The whales were in the open water about eight km away from the community.
"You had to really look for them because they were too far for the naked eye," he said, noting other mammals, including seals and narwhals, steer clear of the killer whales.
- Casey Lessard
Snowing already
Qausuittuq/Resolute
It's snowing already in Resolute, one month earlier than usual, according to the acting senior administrative officer.
Lisa Komangapik said it started to snow around Aug. 11, then it melted and snowed again. She added they usually get snow in the middle of September.
"We had a very good summer," said Komangapik. "In July, we had perfect weather for three weeks and then it got bad the end of July and it's been pretty bad."
She added the weather was set to improve.
- Jeanne Gagnon
Iqaluit offers five bear tags
Iqaluit
Iqaluit had five polar bear tags available for eligible hunters starting Aug. 15, but Amarok Hunters and Trappers Association vice-chair Methuselah Kunuk said they'd likely all be gone by the middle of this week.
"It's open for hunters who have NTI beneficiary cards," Kunuk said. "They have to notify us right away when they kill one."
The HTA has 28 tags that it releases throughout the year, and the next tags will likely be released in the winter. He said polar bears are usually found in Frobisher Bay, suggesting there are likely more than a dozen fairly close to town. Some community members reported this earlier this month, but their sightings could not be verified.
- Casey Lessard
| 
News desk 
