 | Home page |  | Text size |
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
RCMP warns against handling illicit drugs
RCMP is telling the public not to handle illicit drugs if they come across any.
The advice comes after a man told Yellowknifer this week he found a baggie of what appeared to be cocaine in his apartment lobby. The man said he took the bag to RCMP headquarters after business hours but when no officers responded, he threw the baggie in the garbage can in front of the detachment. Police say they never found it. In an e-mail RCMP Sgt. Donnie Duplissea stated if anybody finds illicit drugs, contact RCMP.
- John McFadden
NWT employment rate up in March
The Northwest Territories employment rate climbed in March.
The NWT Bureau of Statistics reports the employment rate reached 66 per cent in March up from 65.3 per cent in February.
Out of 32,400 residents 15 years of age and older, 21,400 were employed, an increase of 300 people from the previous month.
Compared to this time last year, there were 1,000 fewer people employed in the NWT.
Most of the job losses were in full-time positions, the bureau states. Year-over-year, unemployment dropped by 200 people to 1,600 in March 2017. As a result, the unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percentage points to seven per cent during the same period.
- Robin Grant
Child stable after fall
A child is listed in stable condition in an Edmonton hospital following a fall on Sunday. According to city spokesperson Nalini Naidoo, emergency crews responded to a residence on Ptarmigan Road after a child fell from "a specific height." The child was taken to Stanton Hospital and medevaced to Edmonton. It is believed the child, whose age, name and gender have not been released, fell out a first-floor window. It is not believed there is any investigation into the incident and officials have not said how it may have happened.
- John McFadden
Campsite bookings begin
Online reservations open today for summer campsites. Starting at 10 a.m., residents can book campsites at any NWT park except Fred Henne Territorial Park. That park will open up for bookings at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Bookings can be made at NWTParks.ca, according to a news release from the GNWT.
- Kirsten Fenn
Pakallak Tyme dates announced
Rankin Inlet
The hamlet of Rankin Inlet has released the official dates for this year's Pakallak Tyme celebration and the annual fishing derby.
Pakallak Tyme will run from Monday, May 1, until Sunday, May 7, while the fishing derby will, once again, be held the Victoria Day long weekend from May 19 to 22, with the measuring taking place at the community hall on Tuesday, May 23, and the cash prizes being awarded later that evening.
Game on Coral Harbour
Five teams were scheduled to compete in the annual Joseph Natakok Memorial senior men's hockey tournament in Coral Harbour last weekend.
Expected to hit the ice in the event are Rankin Inlet, Naujaat, Salliq Islanders, Quliit and the Nighthawks.
Tourney results were not known as of press time.
Dispenser fire in Baker Lake
Baker Lake
Baker Lake RCMP are investigating after a soap dispenser was found burning in a washroom at Jonah Amitnaaq Secondary School on April 7.
Officers entered the school when they overheard the fire alarm sounding.
Once inside, they learned two students had observed the fire and promptly reported it to the school principal, who extinguished the fire.
There were no injuries or other damages as a result of the incident.
As of press time, the Baker RCMP were asking the public for assistance as they continued their investigation.
Abandoned site cleanup underway
Chesterfield Inlet
The first phase of cleaning up the mineral exploration site abandoned by Shear Diamonds in 2012 or 2013 at Josephine Lake near Chesterfield Inlet, and securing any potential contaminants to minimize risks of contamination, has been completed by the Kivalliq Inuit Association (KIA).
A 2016 inspection report completed by Indigenous and Northern Affairs stated that more than 100 oil drums, at least still 25 per cent full of aviation fuel or diesel, remained on the site.
The second phase of the KIA's cleanup will see the collected waste brought to Rankin Inlet and the third phase will see it shipped south in 2018.
The KIA has spent about $35,000 on the site cleanup so far.
Booze plebiscite for Rankin
Rankin Inlet
People in Rankin Inlet will be asked to answer a simple yes or no to the question of having a beer and wine store set-up operations in the community.
There will be an advance poll on April 24, with the plebiscite being held in Rankin on May 1.
People in Cambridge Bay will also vote on the same question.
The results of the plebiscite, however, are not binding on the government.
| 
