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News Briefs: Friday, September 27, 2013
Walk for reconciliation
A demonstration in support of survivors of residential schools is being planned for Monday.
The walk is inspired by a national day of remembrance called Orange Shirt Day, said organizer Lawrence Nayally. The walk will begin at Somba K'e Park at 12 p.m. and will end at the old Akaitcho Hall site near Sir John Franklin High School, where a fire feeding ceremony will take place.
- Laura Busch
Take Back the Night
The Coalition Against Family Violence is holding its annual Take Back the Night march to promote safety on Yellowknife streets on Monday, beginning at Somba K'e Park at 6:30 p.m.
The route will wind past RCMP headquarters, down 49 Street past the post office, right on 51 Avenue up the alley behind the Gold Range Hotel and then south on Franklin Avenue before ending at the Holy Trinity Church. Monday also marks the beginning of Family Violence Awareness week. A kick-off event will be held at the Salvation Army, beginning at noon.
- Laura Busch
Franklin detoured again
A section of Franklin Avenue in front of the fire hall will be paved tomorrow.
The city has set up a detour along Forrest Drive, continuing on to Taylor Road to the intersection at Old Airport Road and Franklin Avenue.
The section of Franklin Avenue from Old Airport Road to Forrest Drive will be closed to traffic until the work is done. The City of Yellowknife warns people to obey traffic signs and watch for pedestrians along the detour.
- Daniel Campbell
Film fest kicks off
The Yellowknife International Film Festival begins Tuesday at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre with a reception from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by three film screenings - including Yellowknifer Mark Winkler's short film, Tundra Cowboy, which documents a Sami reindeer herder who becomes disillusioned with Sweden and moves to the Canadian Arctic. The festival, put on by Western Arctic Moving Pictures, will continue through to Oct. 6.
- Laura Busch
News Briefs: Thursday, September 26, 2013
Meeting postponed
The Jean Marie River First Nation had to postpone its Sept. 18 meeting to a later date because of the long distance and Internet outage the territory experienced last week.
Band manager Michael Cheeks said the meeting is postponed until Sept. 25.
Community feast at school
Thomas Simpson School is hosting a stew and bannock dinner and partnership night on Sept. 26 at 6 p.m.
Parents, students, the district education authority and the community are invited to attend the event in the school gym. There will be door prizes and games.
Fall harvest
Vegetables of all kinds were harvested at the community garden in Fort Simpson on Sept. 21.
More potatoes were scheduled to be harvested this week, said Teresa Chilkowich, vice-chairwoman of the Fort Simpson Community Garden Society.
Some of the vegetables were distributed among the gardeners participating in the harvest, with the rest put in storage and some of the surplus going to the Liidlii Kue First Nation to thank the band for letting the society use the land, said Chilkowich.
Close to 46 lb. of cabbage, 15 lb. each of cauliflower and beets, squash and Jalapeno peppers were harvested that day. Also harvested were about four lb. of chili peppers, 10 lb. of eggplant, a whopping 119 lb. of tomatoes, approximately four lb. of onions and about 22 lb. of turnips.
Culture camp for Thomas Simpson School
Eighteen Grade 7 to 9 students at Thomas Simpson School flew to Cli Lake, west of the village, to participate in the camp from Sept. 14 to 19.
Students fished with nets, filleted fish, hunted, cut wood, relaxed in a hot tub, played board games, canoed, made spears and set snares during the camp.
The camp is a good opportunity for the students to be with their peers, said Michel Benoit, a Grade 11 and 12 math teacher.
"The kids that they see at school, they might not team up outside school," he said.
"But now they have a chance and maybe that would create some friendships that would not develop otherwise."
It's important for students to participate in culture camp so they can identify with their culture as Dene descendants, said Cheryl Cli, Brighter Futures Manager. "Also to show the non-Dene kids what it means and what it is to be out on the land."
Krizan arrested again
Former Inuvik veterinarian Peter Krizan is facing more legal troubles.
Inuvik RCMP were called to a residence on Sept. 18 at approximately 2:30 p.m. where a 41-year-old male was arrested for uttering threats, an RCMP media release stated.
"Once arrested, the male became resistant and refused to comply with police commands. One of the police officers was assaulted during this arrest. As a result of this investigation, Inuvik RCMP charged Krizan with uttering threats, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, failing to comply with a probation order, failing to comply with an undertaking, and possession of property obtained by crime.
He was held in custody and was scheduled for a court appearance in Yellowknife Territorial Court on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Standardized testing beginning
East Three Secondary School principal Deb McGuire announced the start of standardized testing at the school.
"The Beaufort Delta Education Council (BDEC) is implementing a district-wide initiative to enhance and track data on all students in the Beaufort Delta Region," she said.
"Each school will be administering reading, writing, and math tests (commonly known as CAT 4) to get a snapshot of every student."
The assessment process started Monday with a writing test, followed by reading and math test from Tuesday to Thursday.
Results are expected back to principals in late October.
"These tests are not used as marks on report cards, but rather as information for everyone involved in our students' educational growth," McGuire said.
Inuvik student wins scholarship
Deanna Smith is one of the 2013 RBC Aboriginal Student Awards Program recipients.
The bank announced 10 aboriginal students will receive scholarships to offset the costs of post-secondary tuition, textbooks, supplies and living expenses during the academic year. RBC will award each recipient with up to $4,000 annually, for a maximum of four years, to help ease the financial strain students often face when pursuing post-secondary education.
"Scholarships like this can support a student's post-secondary success by alleviating some of the financial pressures that can get in the way of educational goals," said Chinyere Eni, national director, Aboriginal Markets, RBC.
Since the RBC Aboriginal Student Awards Program was launched in 1992, more than $1.3 million dollars has been awarded to 128 First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth across Canada pursuing post-secondary education.
Telephone, data services disrupted
Residents in the NWT and Yukon had their phone services disrupted last week due to a forest fire in Fort Simpson.
"Northwestel technicians worked through the night to clear the damaged area of trees and debris, excavate the damaged infrastructure and complete the repairs," a Northwestel media release stated Sept. 19. "They worked in shifts to replace 200 metres of damaged fibre."
The fire had melted the fibre line, disrupting phone service throughout the territories for almost two days.
Long distance calls were primarily affected, although some local calling and data service failures were also reported.
After-hours activities underway
A full slate of activities is underway for the East Three School gyms after hours.
Indoor soccer is on tap again this year, as is volleyball, badminton, basketball, circuit training and others.
Many of these sports, including badminton, circuit training and indoor soccer, are being offered free of charge this year on a drop-in basis thanks to help from a variety of sponsors.
Others require a registration and fee.
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