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Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Petition for lifeguards has 270 signatures
A petition to have lifeguards stationed at Fred Henne beach is currently in circulation through the website change.org.
The petition was started by Patrick Scott, the grandfather of seven-year-old Lodune Shelley, who drowned at the beach June 27, 2013.
"We cannot have this situation repeated," reads the petition, which is addressed to both the city and the territorial government. "Our children deserve protection."
As of Tuesday evening the petition had 270 signatures.
- Cody Punter
New birth certificates
The GNWT will be rolling out new, more secure birth certificates on April 1.
According to a news release, the certificates will look similar to a passport, being made of polymer - a type of plastic - and featuring unique watermarks. There will be two types of certificates available, one with the individual's information only and another including the parent's information.
Older certificates will still be valid. The price of new certificates will stay at $20.
- Daniel Campbell
NWT species put on at-risk list
Four species have been named to the NWT Species at Risk list, according to a press release.
Boreal and Peary caribou are listed as threatened, as well as a rare flowering plant called the hairy braya.
The polar bear was listed as a species of special concern. The government now has two years to complete a management plan for the polar bear, and to create a recovery strategy for the three threatened species.
- Daniel Campbell
'Clause-by-clause' devolution review
Three devolution-related bills will be reviewed this afternoon at the Legislative Assembly.
Bill 1, Reindeer Act, Bill 2, Archaeological Sites Act and Bill 3, Surface Rights Board Act will be looked at "clause-by-clause" by the Standing Committee on Priorities and Planning.
All three bills went through first reading in the assembly in November.
The committee is chaired by Wendy Bisaro, MLA for Frame Lake.
- Daniel Campbell
Science talks
Arviat
Two representatives from the Let's Talk Science outreach program were in Arviat to meet with students in all three of the community's school this past week.
The duo spent the majority of their time promoting science technology, engineering and math to the students.
The visit from Let's Talk Science was scheduled to run at the same time Arviat was hosting the annual Kivalliq Regional Science Fair but the regional fair had to be postponed until the end of March due to bad weather weather across the Kivalliq.
The top finishers in the regional fair earn the right to represent the Kivalliq at the Canada-Wide Science Fair later in the school year.
Safe and sound
Rankin Inlet
A 24-year-old hunter who spent about six days on the land in nasty weather near Rankin Inlet was found safe and sound this past Thursday, Feb. 27, at about 10 p.m.
Gilbert Pissuk was reported missing after he failed to return home from a one-day hunting trip Friday, Feb. 21.
Pissuk was found by his father, Paul Pissuk, about 70 km northeast of the hamlet, walking towards Rankin.
Numerous search-and-rescue members from Rankin and other communities had their efforts to locate Gilbert hampered by off-and-on weather conditions during the week.
A GPS locator beacon carried by Gilbert was rendered useless by a dead battery.
A Hercules C130 and a small plane from Baker Lake were also involved in the search for Gilbert.
A square dance was planned by the community to celebrate the young hunter's safe return, and to thank the search-and-rescue members who had braved nasty weather conditions to look for him.
Gilbert has been hunting and learning traditional survival skills since age 10.
Booze woes in Coral
Coral Harbour
The Coral Harbour detachment of the RCMP have been tight-lipped about the circumstances surrounding alcohol being found in a home in the community.
Reports out of Coral indicate a group of youth got drunk on liquor they found after breaking into a number of homes in the community.
The alcohol was allegedly stored in the home(s) of one or more teachers, and a school operations team was sent into the community to investigate the incident this past month.
The only fact confirmed by the RCMP, to date, is that a number of charges have been laid under the Nunavut Liquor Act in connection to the incident.
The RCMP have not confirmed if any of the individuals charged are teachers, nor if any charges are impending in connection to the home break and enters.
Residents keep restrictions
Arviat/Chesterfield Inlet
Arviat and Chesterfield Inlet voted to keep current liquor restrictions in place during plebiscites held Monday, Feb. 24.
The results in Arviat saw 509 people vote in favour of keeping a complete liquor ban in place, while 226 voted to do away with the ban.
Chesterfield Inlet is a restricted community, with an elected alcohol education committee in place to scrutinize every booze order placed by local residents. The Chester plebiscite was on whether to remove those restrictions entirely.
A total of 38 residents voted to keep the current restrictions, while 25 voted to remove them.
Weather pushes Avataq Cup
Rankin Inlet
Ten teams were scheduled to compete in the annual Sakku First Aviation Avataq Cup senior men's hockey championship in Rankin Inlet this past week, although bad weather was hampering the arrival of a number of teams as of press time.
The tournament began Feb. 26, and was scheduled to run until March 2.
The Avataq Cup is among the most popular senior men's hockey tournaments in the North.
Final results from the event were not known as of press time.
Please see the March 12 edition of Kivalliq News for the complete story on this year's Avataq Cup event.
Player called up
Alberta/Baker Lake
Terrance McLean, 16, a young hockey player with strong ties to the Baker Lake Minor Hockey Association through his former residency in the community, played his first playoff game with the Banff Bears of the Heritage Junior 'B' Hockey League in Alberta this past week.
The Bears are currently playing off against the High River Flyers.
For more on McLean's hockey journey, please see the March 12 edition of Kivalliq News.
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