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Friday, March 14, 2014
Fraud prevention month
RCMP in Yellowknife are warning residents about the dangers of fraud this month.
In a press release, they highlight an ongoing scam in the NWT, where people receive letters from someone pretending to represent the estate of a dead person overseas. RCMP say it's a variation of the Nigerian Letter familiar to many. They say the letters are a scam and responding will cost money. Anyone receiving suspicious letters are urged to contact RCMP.
- Daniel Campbell
Tax incentive approved for business district
The city is hoping a new tax incentive for the Engle Business District will help encourage development in the area.
Council voted unanimously in favour of approving a bylaw to increase tax incentives for businesses which relocated to the area, from a five-year declining tax abatement, 100 per cent to 20 per cent, to a seven year declining tax abatement (100 per cent to 40 per cent).
The city has been encouraging industrial development in the area ever since it built a road connecting Deh Cho Boulevard in Kam Lake to Highway 3.
- Cody Punter
Ice harvesting
Workers will be removing blocks of ice from the lake for the Inspired Ice Carving Competition on Saturday. Organizers wish to warn residents of heavy equipment, a large flatbed truck and a big hole in the ice in the northeast area of Yellowknife Bay near the Dettah ice road. Work begins at 8 p.m.
Once it's complete snow fencing, berms and markers will identify the area until it is refrozen.
- Daniel Campbell
Minimum floor requirements to be cut
Council voted unanimously in favour of removing the minimum floor area requirements for residential and mixed-use dwellings during the first reading of the amendment to the city's bylaw on Monday.
If the amendment to bylaw passes, it will allow developers and new home-owners more flexibility when building new houses, said Jeff Humble, director of planning and development.
Humble added that houses would still have to meet the national building code, which dictates that each residence must provide basic amenities, such as a kitchen and a bathroom.
- Cody Punter
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Arctic Winter Games set to start
The Arctic Winter Games are getting underway this weekend.
The games will be taking place in Fairbanks, Alaska from March 15 to 22. The Deh Cho will be represented by 10 athletes from three communities.
From Fort Liard Stan Bertrand and Alinda Edda will be competing in snowboarding and Amy Thomas will chaperone the team. From Fort Providence, Mikaela Vandell and Nathaniel Minoza are on the table tennis team along with coach Mike Leishman and Christina Bonnetrouge and Spencer Bonnetrouge are competing in badminton.
Fort Simpson also has four athletes going to the games, Kevin Roche and Devan Horassi for basketball and Reannda Cli and Janelle Bruneau for snowshoeing. Val Gendron will be a coach for the speed skating team.
Judo club hosts first regional meet
The Fort Simpson Judo Club will be hosting a regional meet later this month.
This is the first time the club has hosted the event that brings together athletes from different clubs in the territory. The meet, from March 21 to 23, is expected to draw in judo athletes from Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Providence. The participants will be doing judo clinics throughout the weekend.
The club is also also being represented at the Edmonton International Judo Championship this weekend by Chris Stipdonk and coach Michinori Yanase.
Fort Liard free pancake breakfast
Echo Dene School in Fort Liard will be having a free community pancake breakfast March 14.
The annual event normally coincides with Trapper's Rendezvous in Fort Nelson, because the supplies are provided as part of the celebrations. The popular breakfast will feature pancakes with all the toppings and sausages.
Community gathering in Fort Liard
A new event is starting in Fort Liard.
The first spirit of community, a traditional gathering for reviving community and culture will be held on March 29 from 5 to 10 p.m. in the community hall.
The event will include a dinner, drumming by local drummers and a celebration of local events like elders' birthdays. The evening will end with the screening of a family appropriate movie. Jacqueline Spies, the community wellness co-ordinator with Acho Dene Koe First Nation, is organizing the event.
E-learning gets funding
The Beaufort Delta Education Council's e-learning program is receiving $500,000 in funding from the GNWT, Education Minister Jackson Lafferty announced March 10.
"We are building on and supporting the Beaufort Delta Education Council’s success in this important venture," stated Lafferty. "We hope this program will ultimately allow students across the NWT to stay in their home communities longer, while having access to courses they need, to both graduate and to pursue post-secondary opportunities. These are critical options for all of our students to have."
The Beaufort Delta program is currently hosted in Inuvik and offered in schools in Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk and Fort McPherson.
Music festival starts
Leanne Goose, one of Inuvik's leading musicians and performers, has organized the Cabin Fever event for March 14.
Billed as the "biggest l'il house party," the concert will feature other leading musicians of the Beaufort Delta region.
The Shorty Lake Boys of Aklavik, James Rogers
Robert Vourdrach, Abe Drennan, C-Geh-Chicks, The Raven Trio and Pete Smith, along with Goose and her father, Louie, are set to perform.
Cabin Fever will be held from 7 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. in the Midnight Sun community hall.
Crime rates drop
The February report from the RCMP show that most crimes in Inuvik continue to decline this year.
The sole significant exception is the assaults category, which continue to rise.
Last month saw 34 assault complaints as opposed to 17 in February 2013. Detachment commander Dennis McLeod presented the report to council at its committee of the whole meeting March 10. He told council there is no obvious reason for an increase in assault complaints.
His officers have been noticing a trend, though, for people to engage in mutually agreed upon fights. Afterwards, one of the people involved in the fight, normally the loser, makes an assault complaint, McLeod said.
Depending on the circumstances in those incidents, charges may or may not be laid.
PM to be patron
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has a new job on his hands after agreeing to serve as honorary patron for the Inuvialuit Circumpolar Council general assembly being held in Inuvik this summer.
"We are very pleased that the prime minister has accepted the ICC invitation to preside over this international celebration of our people. This is truly a major historical event as the Arctic gains prominence on the world stage," said Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, president of ICC Canada.
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