 | Home page |  | Text size |
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Cut fibre line disrupts Northwestel service
A damaged fibre optic line in northeastern British Columbia caused disruptions to Northwestel phone, cable and Internet service Monday in parts of the territory, including Yellowknife.
The line, between Liard Hot Springs and Muncho Lake, was cut by a third party carrying out construction work, said Northwestel spokesperson Joel Witten.
A crew had to be flown to the site. Service was restored Monday evening, according to a Northwestel statement.
- Shane Magee
Superboard launches
The merging of multiple territorial health authority boards into one superboard took place Aug. 1, according to a GNWT news release.
The Beaufort Delta, Sahtu, Dehcho, Fort Smith, Yellowknife, and Stanton health authorities have merged into the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority. The GNWT states the change is expected to cut costs and reduce duplications, such as repeat testing if someone had travelled to another authority for treatment.
The Hay River Health and Social Services Authority is not yet included in the new organization but will be folded in eventually. Wellness councils will maintain the role of regional representation previously held by the various boards.
- Shane Magee
Indigenous music
talent search opens
Submissions for imagineNATIVE's Bull's Eye competition are now open. Indigenous musicians from across Canada are invited to submit a sample track of original work online until Aug. 31.
Finalists will be announced in advance of the annual imagineNATIVE Film+ Media Arts Festival in October. The winner will walk away with $10,000 to record a professional demo of their track and produce their first music video, as well as travel with imagineNATIVE's Film + Video Tour to indigenous communities in 2017.
- Jessica Davey-Quantick
Colouring book
showcases Yk events
A locally made colouring book depicting scenes of Yellowknife festivals is making the rounds in the city. According to the city, it is available free at participating festivals when people e-mail or post their festival stories, photos and videos on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #ykfestivals by Aug. 8. The winner will receive a fishing trip for two on Great Slave Lake.
- Robin Grant
Old power plant site tested
Baker Lake
Qulliq Energy Corporation is performing environmental tests at the old power plant site and surrounding areas from July 27 to Aug. 2. According to a news release from the corporation, the results of the testing will determine where contamination is located for further remediation. The environmental tests will include a series of soil and air quality testing to assess any potential human health and ecological risks that are associated with the old power plant.
Agnico Eagle discovers new deposit
Baker Lake
Agnico Eagle Mines discovered a new vein structure at its Amaruq site near Meadowbank, according to a news release
from the company. The vein yielded results up to 15.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (capped) over 9.4 metres estimated true
width at 18 metres depth. The V Zone in which the vein is located includes parallel structures with proven deposits, including one which contained 15.5 g/t gold (capped) over 5.4 metres estimated true width at 349 metres depth. The V Zones are being evaluated as a potential second source of open pit ore at Amaruq.
Traditional skills
Baker Lake
Luke Webb has been holding traditional skills workshops in Baker Lake. The workshops have been held Friday nights between 7 and 9:30 p.m. Webb has been focusing on teaching participants to make bow drills, as well as other activities like making stone arrowheads, slings and more. The class had to be rescheduled last week but was expected to return to being on Fridays on Aug. 5.
Anyone 12 and up can join Webb for an evening of hands on learning and good conversation. The initiative is supported by the health committee.
Bike rodeo
Baker Lake
Baker Lake hosted a bike rodeo between 1 and 2 p.m. on July 25. RCMP were on hand to tune up bikes and help inflate tires. Afterwards they led a parade around town with their police cruiser.
| 
