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Friday, December 16, 2016
Warm fall slows Dettah ice road
The Department of Transportation says it's unlikely the ice road to Dettah will be open by Christmas.
Early indications are that there's significantly less ice this year than most years on Great Slave Lake, stated Michael Conway, the regional superintendent of the North Slave region. Crews are expected to check ice thickness Dec. 20 to figure out if it is safe to start construction of the ice road. The average opening date over the past 15 years is Dec. 21. It opened Jan. 2 last winter.
- Shane Magee
Accused in Fraser Arms shooting pleads guilty
Two men have pleaded guilty to being involved in a late night shooting at the Fraser Arms apartment buildings last April that left one man with a bullet in his shoulder.
Twenty-eight-year-old Travis Campbell of Langley, B.C. pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to discharging a firearm with recklessness, careless use of a semi-automatic pistol and failing to stop in a motor vehicle while being pursued by a peace officer.
Campbell previously faced a charge of attempted murder but it was withdrawn. Brendan Paul, 20, of Yellowknife, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to Campbell's crimes. The two men are scheduled to receive their sentences today in Supreme Court.
- Kirsten Fenn
Missing men located
Two men who were reported missing by the RCMP on Wednesday have been found alive and well.
Jordan Peter, 27, was reported missing on Tuesday, according to an RCMP press release.
Fifty-seven-year-old Ronald Mackeinzo was reported missing the same day. He had last been seen on Dec. 12, the release stated.
- Kirsten Fenn
Funding for FOXY
NWT MP Michael McLeod announced on Tuesday that the federal government will donate $1,275,466 over a five-year period to support a Yellowknife-based sexual health program for youth.
FOXY, also known as Fostering Open eXpression among Youth, uses the arts as a means to improve sexual health education in the North.
The funding is intended to support Northern and indigenous youth who experience dating violence.
- Kirsten Fenn
Thursday, December 15, 2016
On the trapline
Young people between the ages of 12 and 26 had the chance this month to experience trapping near Fort Simpson as the Deh Cho Friendship Centre collaborated with Gilbert and Mary Jane Cazon to run a 10-day snare-setting program.
The program ran from Dec. 6 to 16 and brought participants out along the Wrigley highway to practise setting snares.
Christmas celebrations start early
For Bompas Elementary School, this week means more than just the end of classes.
Students are in for a week filled with Christmas celebrations, starting Dec. 14 with the school's annual Christmas concert.
The concert begins at 7 p.m.
The following day, students will take part in a school-wide Christmas party, with each student receiving a gift from Santa.
On Dec. 16, Bompas will hold a stew, soup and bannock lunch for students at 12 p.m., before they are dismissed for the holidays.
Classes resume Jan. 3.
Annual sled races postponed
The Deh Gah Dog Mushers Club is postponing its annual Christmas sled races until the new year.
The races were originally set for Dec. 17 and 18 in Fort Providence. New dates have not yet been selected but will likely be in mid-to late-January, according to organizer Susan Fleck.
The total purse for the races was expected to be $13,000, with 12-dog and six-dog class competitions.
Rink opens in Liard
Skaters in Fort Liard will finally be able to hit the ice as the community ice rink's opening date has been announced.
The rink will open Dec. 16. Hockey nights will be Tuesdays and Thursdays, while open rink time is scheduled on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Ready to play
Fort Providence will be holding a community co-ed volleyball tournament on Dec. 17 and 18.
The tournament, organized by recreation co-ordinator Andre Bolduc, will be held at the Deh Gah School gymnasium.
Participants need to be 16 years of age or older.
No registration is necessary for the tournament. Instead, players are being asked to show up on Dec. 17 for warm-up and draft, which begins at 1 p.m.
Teams are expected to be formed through the draft.
'Those Kugs' donate to Tuk
A group of Inuvialuit men who have formed "Those Kugs" gave a Christmas hamper donation of three turkeys and three hams to the community feast in Tuktoyaktuk. They organized the donation with the Tuktoyaktuk recreation department and RCMP to make the delivery.
The group has started a podcast and website to promote positivity for youth and healthy living.
Community and school visits are planned on the horizon to get in touch with other young people.
Their podcast can be found at : soundcloud.com/thosekugs.
Walk to Tuk registration opens
The annual challenge to walk an equivalent distance from Fort Providence to Tuktoyaktuk without actually risking freezing weather is back on this year.
Community members, schools and workplaces are encouraged to form teams and conceptually walk the distance of the Mackenzie River from Fort Providence to Tuktoyaktuk (1,658 km) in January and February.
Registration is open until Jan. 16.
Go to nwtrpa.org for more info.
Satellite station gets a boost
An agreement between the GNWT and the Northern Lights General Partnership earlier this month will bring high-speed fibre backhaul services for communities in the Mackenzie Valley connected to the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Link.
As well, a temporary high speed connection has been agreed to with Northwestel for the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility and Canada Satellite Ground Station Inuvik, Inc., a news release stated.
Calls for service down
November saw a decline in RCMP calls for service and total violations compared to the same time period last year.
RCMP responded to 25 assaults, three burglaries, 76 cases of mischief, had seven impaired driving investigations and three motor vehicle thefts.
Two of the impaired driving stops resulted in charges.
November also saw three people charged in relation to domestic violence incidents.
In the month of December, the detachment will be participating in Operation Gingerbread, in which police will be conducting preventative patrols and check stops throughout town to ensure a safe holiday season.
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