LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Changes are coming to the cable channel that hosts T.V. bingo in Fort Simpson, despite concerns from the organization that has been broadcasting the game for the past six years.

The balls might be idle on Liidlii Kue First Nation's bingo table after Oct. 24. Senga Services Cable TV is seeking to turn channel nine into a community focused channel that bingo will only be a part of, instead of the sole focus. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Channel nine of Senga Services Cable TV has been used solely for bingo since 2008. When one of the three weekly bingos isn't running, the channel is blank.

Ivan Simons, the owner of H.R. Thomson Consultants Ltd., which Senga Services Cable TV is a division of, wants to return the channel to its original purpose. Channel nine has been in the past, and is currently supposed to be, dedicated to community news and events, said Simons.

The programming could include anything from news bulletins to birthday wishes to broadcasts of local hockey games and school concerts to multimedia projects by local high school students.

"All of that kind of stuff that would bring the community together," he said.

Simons sees a need for a community-focused channel.

"A lot of people just don't know what is going on in town," he said.

Liidlii Kue First Nation (LKFN) runs the channel from its office building. Simons said the original agreement was that LKFN would make it a community channel, but instead it has just been used for bingo.

"I'm trying to get it back to where it was intended to be," he said.

Simons has given the First Nation notice that it will no longer be running the channel after Oct. 24.

He's also put a call out to community members, organizations and businesses to house and operate the channel.

One option, said Simons, will be to form a multimedia society of all of the interested groups that will volunteer to run the channel. That society could then look at the program ideas people have. Anything from clips of someone reading children's books to promote literacy to a slideshow of local artists' work could be aired.

"It's going to take a little bit of work and I'm willing to donate some of my time to it as well," he said.

Simons said that he will oversee the channel to make sure it is run in the best interests of the community. He doesn't expect to have 24/7 programming, but said there will be a schedule.

Simons said bingo will still be part of the channel and that he hopes there won't be a break while the transition takes place.

Liza McPherson, LKFN's executive director, said Simon's decision to retake control of the channel came as a surprise.

"We don't know what the outcome is going to be," she said.

"Things are still up in the air."

LKFN provides a room for broadcasting bingo and charges the other bingo licence holders in the village a small fee to use the facility and to cover the cost of power. Each licence holder is slotted into the bingo schedule.

LKFN met with all of the licence holders and they spoke in favour of the status quo, said McPherson.

The local groups that fundraise through T.V. bingo include the Fort Simpson Metis Nation, High Performance Sports, the Fort Simpson Darts Society, the Beavertail Jamboree organizing committee, the Moosehide Mammas and Dezoa Gogha.

LKFN also holds bingos through Liidlii Kue Support Services. The money that is raised is used to provide community services including helping with funerals and assisting people to travel to see sick family members, said McPherson.

Bingos are very popular in Fort Simpson and people want to know what is happening, she said.

"I've been getting a lot of calls," said McPherson.

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