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A 48-year-old man was attacked and severely beaten in Yellowknife early Saturday morning by a person wearing a ski mask .

RCMP were contacted at around 2:45 a.m. after the victim was found lying in the middle of a street and requiring medical attention.

Police say the victim was walking along Gitzel Street near Albatross Court when a tall, heavy set person wearing a black jacket and ski mask attacked him.

The suspect fled on foot in the direction of the McMahon Frame Lake Trail toward the downtown. Police attempted to locate the suspect with a G Division police service dog, however the attacker remains at large.

Police say the victim was medevaced to Edmonton with a broken leg and "significant" injuries to his head and face. Witnesses or those with knowledge of the attack are asked to contact RCMP.

- Simon Whitehouse

Elderly woman assaulted

Sometime in the evening of Sept. 4, Fort McPherson RCMP received a call that a female in the community had been assaulted in her home.

While details of the assault are still under investigation, the 53-year old victim was sent for treatment at Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife.

Mounties in Fort McPherson RCMP are asking anyone with information regarding this assault to contact investigators.

- Svjetlana Mlinarevic

Fall clean-up set

The Town of Fort Smith has set the dates for the annual fall cleanup in the community.

The cleanup will take place from Sept. 14-24.

- Paul Bickford

Governor General sends praise

Gov. Gen. David Johnston has praised a literacy initiative in the South Slave.

A video message from Johnston was played on Aug. 29 at a Hay River conference of educators from the schools of the South Slave Divisional Education Council.

The Governor General had previously discussed the literacy initiative with teachers, students and elders during a visit to Fort Smith in December.

Johnston said he was "inspired" to learn about the literary initiative and to hear of the impact it has had on students, especially the great improvement in reading scores by students in Lutsel K'e.

- Paul Bickford

Youth pitch in

Ikaahuk/Sachs Harbour

Five Sachs Harbour youth were hard at work last month, building new garbage containers for the hamlet.

The project had two purposes: to promote beautification in the hamlet and to increase youth employment, said Kowesa Etitiq, senior administrative officer trainee for the hamlet.

Kevin Gully, Kyle Donovan, Mariah Lucas, Shelby Lucas and Dusty Gully built and painted 28 garbage bins - one for every household - for the community, to replace aging metal bins that have become an eyesore, said Etitiq.

The youth were involved in other construction projects around the hamlet, including fixing up playgrounds, while they waited for supplies to come in on the sea barge, which was delayed until Aug. 19.

"The kids really pulled through to get it done on time," said Etitiq. "They get experience, and the community gets beautified through getting rid of those rusty barrels."

- Laura Busch

Youth interested in science

Aklavik

More youth than were expected came out to participate in a science camp late last month, said Aklavik recreation co-ordinator Dean McLeod.

Organizers of DiscoverE, from Edmonton, planned for about 20 participants but when double that amount showed up they made sure to accommodate everyone, said McLeod.

"In Aklavik, to have 40 kids take part, that was really successful," he said.

During the science camp that ran from Aug. 27 to 30, activities included making slime, creating cars that were propelled by balloons, and various craft projects.

- Laura Busch

Back to school

Beaufort Delta

Back-to-school season is upon us. These are the first dates back at school for students for each of the communities in the Beaufort Delta:

Ulukhaktok's Helen Kalvak School: Aug. 2

Aklavik's Moose Kerr School: Sept. 5

Fort McPherson's Chief Julius School: Sept. 5

Sachs Harbour's Inualthuyak School: Sept. 6

Paulatuk's Angik School: Sept. 7

Inuvik's East 3 School: Sept. 10, for registration

Tsiigehtchic's Chief Paul Niditchie School: Sept. 10

Tuktoyaktuk's Mangilaluk School: Sept. 10

- Laura Busch

Award to recognize excellent service

Thebacha/Fort Smith

A new excellence in service award has been launched by the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce 2012 and the Tourism and Trade Advisory Board of the Town of Fort Smith.

The monthly award, which will be presented to individuals, is designed to encourage businesses and employees to offer exceptional service to their customers.

The award's first recipient will be named this month.

Members of the public can nominate people for the award.

- Paul Bickford

Minor hockey AGM in Fort Smith

Thebacha/Fort Smith

The Fort Smith Minor Hockey Association will hold its annual general meeting on Sept. 16. The meeting will include an election of officers for the coming hockey season.

There will also be a president's report, along with reports from the vice-president, treasurer and registrar. Coaching assignments will also be reviewed, and parents and players will be encouraged to offer their comments and suggestions.

The AGM will be held at the Rec Centre from 2-3:30 p.m. on Sept. 16.

- Paul Bickford

Girls' club being organized in Smith

Thebacha/Fort Smith

An initiative is underway to form a girls' club in Fort Smith. The club - called the Junior Youth Empowerment Program - will be for girls from 11 to 15 years of age.

The first organizational meeting for parents and girls will be on Sept. 15. The club is being organized by Lucy Tulugarjuk, Marylan Yanik and Laili Heidema.

- Paul Bickford

Grandparent's Day in Tuktoyaktuk

Tuktoyaktuk

An annual feast to honour grandparents was scheduled to take place at the community centre in Tuktoyaktuk on Sept. 7. Many community members normally come out for the annual event, said recreation co-ordinator Loni Noksana-Ruben.

"It's always a big turnout, so I'm hoping this year will turn out like that again," she said.

The feast is scheduled to start at Kitti Hall at 5 p.m., and will be followed by games for grandparents and grandchildren, she said.

- Laura Busch

Royals to visit Iqaluit this week

Iqaluit

The Earl and Countess of Wessex will make a stop in Iqaluit during a working visit to Canada this week, from Sept. 11 to 18.

Prince Edward and Sophie are the youngest son and daughter-in-law of the Queen.

Exact dates and stops were not available by press time, but the couple will be attending events hosted by the Nunavut YMCA, Nunavut Arctic College and St. Jude's Anglican Cathedral. The rest of their trip to Canada will be spent in Ontario.

- Tim Edwards

Permafrost 101 for homeowners

Nunavut

The territorial government has issued a tender, closing on Sept. 14, seeking a firm or consultant to establish a Homeowner's Guide to Permafrost for Nunavut. The firm or consultant will write, research, illustrate and design the 18- to 25-page guide, according to tender documents.

The final guide must be done before March 2013 with complete printing and translations completed no later than April 17.

"Because a lot of buildings and infrastructure is built on top of permafrost and because melting permafrost could severely impact these structures, we've decided to produce a guideline to inform, in this case homeowners, on how to protect their property," said Rob Eno, director of the environmental protection division at the Department of the Environment.

The guide would include information such as permafrost regions in Nunavut, how if affects houses, techniques to protect foundations, and factors that could affect permafrost under the house, he added.

The guide's intention it to better inform homeowners so they can make wiser decisions, said Eno.

- Jeanne Gagnon

Appeal for man convicted of triple murder

Nunavut

The appeal of a man convicted of a triple slaying in Cambridge Bay five years ago will be heard at the Nunavut Court of Appeal on Sept. 25 because "the jury didn't get a balanced picture," according to the defence.

Chris Bishop, 27, was sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility of parole for 16 years in August 2010 after a jury found him guilty of three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder that June.

Bishop's defence lawyer, Toronto-based James Morton, said both he and the Crown will present their arguments before the court. Following that, the court will either allow or deny the appeal, a decision the judge could do on the bench or take a few weeks or months before rendering, explained Morton.

"We say 'the jury didn't get a balanced picture - they heard things they shouldn't have heard; they didn't hear things they should have.' And so there should be a new trial. It will be an interesting appeal," he said.

"We'll see what the court does with it."

No witnesses will be called but Bishop will attend the proceedings in person, said Morton.

In the early hours of Jan. 6, 2007, four men broke into Bishop's Cambridge Bay home with the intent to physically harm him.

When they reached his bedroom, he opened fire on them with an assault rifle, followed them outside, still shooting, while they fled. Many of the shots were in the victims' backs and he shot one man dead while he was trying to crawl away, already injured by Bishop's bullets.

Keith Atatahak, 28, Kevin Komaksiut, 22, and Dean Costa, 29, died during the shooting. Antoinette Bernhardt and Logan Pigalak were shot but not fatally injured.

- Jeanne Gagnon

New play equipment in Hall Beach

Sanirajak/Hall Beach

Games are on the way to Hall Beach to offer youth more activities in the community.

Mayor Paul Haulli said the games will be arriving on a sealift boat later this month. Games include a ping pong table, pool table as well as others for the community centre.

"For something to do for the kids at the hall. They're going to be excited," said Haulli.

- Jeanne Gagnon

Polar bears wanderthrough Clyde River

Kangiqtugaapik/Clyde River

Two polar bears have been shot in the past few weeks as the result of a series of encounters with bears traversing through Clyde River, according to resident Nina Qillaq.

"The last one ... it went to the town, beside city hall, through town and went to the dump and then it went away and it came back so they had to shoot it," said Qillaq. "I heard it was so skinny."

She said she didn't know the condition of the other bears that came through, which included a mother and two cubs at one point. Seeing bears come through town at this time of year is a normal occurrence, she said.

- Tim Edwards

A celebration of familyin Arviat

Arviat

The community of Arviat was scheduled to host a giant Family Day celebration on Sept. 8.

The event was being sponsored by Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM).

The festivities was to see the official unveiling of Arviat's new Bouncy Castle kid's play area.

The castle, purchased by AEM, is a blow-up, fan-operated playhouse made of heavy vinyl.

Kids are able to do a number of fun-filled activities inside the castle, including bouncing, sliding and ladder climbing.

- Darrell Greer

New hamlet building underway

Qikiqtarjuaq/Broughton Island

Construction of Qikiqtarjuaq's new hamlet building is ramping up, according to economic development officer Mike Cook.

"We're starting to see the foundation," said Cook. "We're getting an idea now of the scale."

The facility is being built by G C North Construction Inc. and while Cook could not provide exact numbers of how many Qikiqtarjuaq workers were on board, he said there is "lots of local labour, of course.

"They're working well with the community."

Cook said it's an updated building and will be a nice improvement over the current one, which he described as "weathered and old."

- Tim Edwards

Bowhead whale caught

Taloyoak/Spence Bay

Taloyoak hunters caught a bowhead whale on Sept. 6 - a first for the community in living memory.

The hunters spotted the whale around 5 p.m., harpooned it about one hour later and landed it just before 7 p.m., said Abel Aqqaq, chairman of the bowhead whale committee.

Residents celebrated by parading in the community, he added.

The hunters were to measure the bowhead whale, then cut it up and bring it back to the community in the next few days.

- Jeanne Gagnon

Mayors sit down together

Kangiqliniq/Rankin Inlet

The community of Rankin Inlet will host the annual Kivalliq Regional Mayor's Meetings later this month. The region's top municipal leaders are scheduled to meet in Rankin from Sept. 17 to 21.

- Darrell Greer

Training course in Arctic Bay

Ikpiarjuk/Arctic Bay

Two Arctic Bay residents will go through six months of training to run powerhouses in anticipation of Baffinland's proposed Mary River iron ore mine.

The Hamlet of Arctic Bay and Qulliq Energy Corporation have partnered together to put on the course, according to hamlet economic development officer Clare Kines.

"It's a pilot project so we're hoping if it goes well, it'll continue to be funded," Kines said.

There will be three powerhouses set up to cater to the mine, and with this training, the aim is to have people from Arctic Bay working on staff at those sites.

Applications were due on Sept. 7 and Kines said the hamlet will be making its decision this week.

- Tim Edwards

Time for Inuit Games

Tikirarjuaq/Whale Cove

Traditional athletes from across the region are scheduled to descend upon Whale Cove this week to compete in the Kivalliq Inuit Games from Sept. 14 to 16.

The Games are returning after a year's hiatus in the region.

The Kivalliq Inuit Games were also hosted by Whale Cove when last held in 2010.

- Darrell Greer

Terry Fox Run organized

Qausuittuq/Resolute

Qarmartalik School students were scheduled to participate in the Terry Fox Run and walk on Sept. 7.

Principal Vince Pickett said it's very important for the school to participate in the event, which includes students learning more about Terry Fox in their classes.

"It encourages all the students to understand the role Terry Fox had and how important it is to keep raising funds to try to mitigate cancer in society," said Pickett. "It's good to have some understanding cancer affects every person in the family and many people have been affected by it. It's good for them to be a part of the process."

He added they have not set a fundraising goal.

- Jeanne Gagnon

Staff summer camp

Kinngait/Cape Dorset

Teachers from Peter Pitseolak and Sam Pudlat schools in Cape Dorset were scheduled to take part in a day out on the land on Sept. 7.

They were set to travel in chartered boats to Walrus Cove, also known as Goose Cove, two hours outside Cape Dorset, said Mike Soares, principal at Peter Pitseolak.

The new activity was scheduled to include orientation and a chance for district education authority councillors to meet the teachers, he added.

"This is a chance, while the weather is still nice, to take advantage of the weather and for the teachers to see what a summer camp is all about," said Soares.

He added in the past few years, they did a similar activity but in the winter.

- Jeanne Gagnon

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