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Newsbriefs: Monday, June 5, 2017
Missing boater rescued
Inuvik
Co-ordination between five organizations led to the rescue of a missing boater near Inuvik earlier this week.
A boater was reporter missing May 30 at 10:30 a.m after not having been heard from since May 27.
Conditions were dangerous on the Mackenzie River due to debris and large ice chunks floating north.
It took just over four hours to find and locate the uninjured missing person, who was 64 kilometres downstream on the Mackenzie River.
- Stewart Burnett
Four impaired driving charges
Inuvik
Inuvik RCMP charged four people with impaired driving offences in April, after responding to 10 calls for service involving impaired driving complaints.
For two of the charges, a member of the public had contacted the RCMP about concern over someone's driving.
Meanwhile, the detachment also laid charges in all four incidents of domestic violence officers responded to in the month.
The RCMP also charged one person for aggravated assault.
And the fire at an abandoned residence on Kugmallit Road was deemed arson after investigation. Due to the age of the youth involved, the person cannot be charged.
- Stewart Burnett
Developmental studies learners honoured
NWT
Completion ceremonies for the Aurora College School of Developmental Studies were held at Thebacha Campus (Fort Smith) on May 25, Aurora Campus (Inuvik) on May 31 and Yellowknife North Slave Campus on June 2.
Learners who were expected to successfully complete their programs and courses were recognized for their accomplishments, stated a news release from the college.
A total of 163 learners in Access and Adult Literacy and Basic Education programs were honoured, as well as individuals enrolled in Yellowknife's Literacy Outreach Centre and Introduction to Computers courses.
- James O'Connor
Child benefit to increase
NWT
The announced increases to the NWT Child Benefit on June 2.
Families making up to $80,000 a year will now be eligible for the benefit and will receive increased financial support, stated a news release. More than 2,200 families are expected to benefit from the changes, stated Minister of Education, Culture and Employment Minister Alfred Moses.
- Kirsten Fenn
Hay River businessman one of six named to Order
Hay River's Russell King has been honoured by being named to the Order of the Northwest Territories.
"I was pretty shocked when they called me, that's for certain," said the well-known businessperson. He found out about the prestigious honour two weeks ago.
"I don't really know why they nominated me, but anyway I was taken aback."
King said he appreciates being chosen.
Paul Delorey,chair of the Northwest Territories' Honours Advisory Council, announced the recipients on May 23.
Along with King, five other people were named - Paul Andrew of Yellowknife, Fred Carmichael of Inuvik, Lynda Koe of Yellowknife, Jeff Philipp of Yellowknife and Tom Zubko of Inuvik.
"These six recipients deserve to be granted this honour," said Delorey."They are passionate Northerners who greatly inspire residents."
The induction ceremony was set for May 30 in the legislative assembly.
"TheOrder of the Northwest Territories ... recognizes individuals who have served with the greatest distinction and excelled in any field of endeavour benefiting the people of theNWT orelsewhere. It is thehighest honour awarded by the Northwest Territories," states the legislative assembly website.
In brief explanations of why the six recipients were chosen to be honoured, King was described as someone who moved to the North as a young man, worked as a welder and later owned and operated along with his wife, an Esso service station, which later turned into the industry-leading Kingland Ford automotive dealership.
"For many, this would have been enough for a living, but for Russell and his wife they saw an opportunity to grow their business and added a body shop, tire shop, King Manufacturing and mining service division," the explanation reads. "Mr. King over the years has contributed back to many organizations and communities across the NWT."
King was in business one month short of 50 years. He said his businesses trained and apprenticed many people.
- Paul Bickford
Fort Providence hosts recreation meeting
Deh Gah Got'ie/Fort Providence
Fort Providence hosted the Mackenzie Recreation Association's (MRA) spring meeting last month, said recreation co-ordinator Andre Bolduc.
The meeting took place on May 17 and 18 and included nearly a dozen representatives from communities to discuss potential activities and events.
The group held an outdoor lunch at the community hall on May 18.
The MRA board is made up of representatives from 19 communities in the Northwest Territories.
- Kassina Ryder
Behchoko feeds the fire
Behchoko/Rae-Edzo
Staff at the Tlicho Government presence office in Behchoko were expected to host a feeding of the fire ceremony on June 2, information from the government said.
The ceremony is held monthly and is intended to provide ceremonial blessings to honour ancestors and culture, as well as water and animals.
Drummers were being asked to volunteer for the ceremony, which was scheduled to include a community lunch at the cultural centre at noon.
- Kassina Ryder
Barbecue to thank Fort Good Hope clean up crew
Radilih Koe'/Fort Good Hope
Children and youth in Fort Good Hope were encouraged to participate in a community cleanup last weekend,
said recreation co-ordinator Freda Kelly.
The cleanup was scheduled to take place on June 3 and 4.
The recreation department supplied garbage bags to participants, who could then walk around the community and pick up any trash they found.
The weekend was expected to finish off with a thank-you barbecue for participants, Kelly said.
"After we're done we're going to have some hot dogs and some drinks after the cleanup," she said.
The clean up was open to anyone age 10 and older.
- Kassina Ryder
Hollywood theme at Tulita grad
Tulita/Fort Norman
Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita is gearing up to graduate seven students on June 9, said teacher Karen Christiansen.
Four of the students completed their high school requirements through the True North night school program and three were high school students.
This year's theme is "Going to Hollywood" and the ceremony will be held in the school gym.
The graduation is expected to be followed by a community feast featuring roast and ribs, said Christiansen.
The graduation usually attracts a big crowd.
"The whole community is invited," she said.
"Usually about 250 people attend."
Volunteers are still needed to help with decorations.
People attending the graduation are asked to arrive at the school no later than 5:30 p.m.
- Kassina Ryder
Clean up a community effort in Norman Wells
Lli Goline/Norman Wells
Norman Wells residents worked together to clean up their community last month, said Jordon Balanuik with the town's public works department.
With the success of last year's multi-day clean up, it was decided to hold this year's event from May 22 to 26 to allow more people to participate, Balanuik said.
"It's something we do annually, in the past we've done it as a one-day event," he said. "But last year we tried it out as a week and it actually turned out really well."
Participants spent time cleaning up portions of the community, with gloves and garbage bags being provided by the Town of Norman Wells.
Residents were also asked to leave larger items, such as appliances, on the side of the road for the public works department to pick up.
Even though May 22 was the Victoria Day holiday, Balanuik said students from Mackenzie Mountain School did their part.
"It was great to see all the kids out there cleaning," he said.
To celebrate the cleanup, a barbecue was held at the recreation parking lot at about 4 p.m. on May 26 where participants were treated with hot dogs and hamburgers.
"A lot of people showed up for that," Balanuik said about the barbecue. "The weather was great."
- Kassina Ryder
Soon people will be driving to Tuk
Tuktoyaktuk
The final winter construction season on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway is complete.
The highway is set to open to traffic November 15, becoming the first public highway to the Arctic Ocean and achieving a Canadian vision of connecting the country by road from coast to coast to coast.
The last winter construction season consisted of completing the final two bridges, crushing and stockpiling of surface gravel.
This summer, construction will focus on grading, packing, and shaping the base of the highway in preparation for gravel surfacing.
Signage and guardrails will be installed this fall.
"The opening of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway will represent an important milestone for the Northwest Territories in expanding the transportation system to connect communities, reduce cost of living, improve access to natural resources and facilitate increased tourism," stated Wally Schumann, minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, in a news release.
- Stewart Burnett
Volunteers wanted for June triathlon
Hay River
The 2017 Great Hay River Triathlon Summer Edition is set for June 24, and the Town of Hay River is looking for volunteers to help with the event.
Volunteers are needed to help with checkpoint aid stations, course/route markers, lap counters, statistics and award presentations.
- Paul Bickford
NWT Seniors' Society elects new president
Thebacha/Fort Smith
Mary Pat Short of Fort Smith is the new president of the NWT Seniors' Society.
The society's board of director elected the new president at a meeting earlier this month in Yellowknife. Short was an educator in Nunavut and the NWT for many years; principal of Aurora College's Teacher Education Program; served on the executive of the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association; and was the founding chairperson of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission.
- Paul Bickford
Aviation tour to stop in Fort Smith
Thebacha/Fort Smith
The Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour 2017 will be stopping in Fort Smith on June 17.
The air show, which is travelling to numerous communities across Canada's North, will perform at the Fort Smith Airport from 1 to 3 p.m. on June 17.
The tour is to help celebrate Canada 150.
- Paul Bickford
Youth program teaches gardening
Paulatuk
Amberley Buray's youth program in has been taking participants into the greenhouse for the last few sessions.
Buray is teaching students about planting tomatoes in different ways so they see numerous possibilities.
Some of the methods include cutting a tomato in half and planting each side under soil, squishing cherry tomatoes in one's fingers and planting those, planting beefsteak seeds and planting seeds Buray received from the Tomatosphere Project. Those ones have been to the moon.
"Here's hoping we get some great harvest in the months to come," said Buray.
- Stewart Burnett
May walking challenge encourages wellness
Tsiigehtchic/Arctic Red River
A walking challenge through May has seen community members join and meet regularly for a walk.
Meghan Thom, community wellness worker, took up the program this year, which was started by Sara Dickhout.
The walk is a daily walk down to the river to watch it break up. All community members are welcome as the goal is to promote exercise and community spirit.
- Stewart Burnett
Water slide should be good to go soon
Inuvik
The waterslide in the pool at the Midnight Sun Complex should be open again soon.
Repeated issues with water leakage into the squash court hallway required repair.
Lise Saumur, Inuvik director of community services, told council last week that the problem is with the water catchment basin at the bottom of the slide.
She said the special epoxy needed to fix it has arrived but was missing for two weeks after ending up at the town's water plant by accident.
"Hopefully this holds," said Saumur, adding she expects the slide to be fixed soon.
- Stewart Burnett
Hope Bay ramps up production
Ikaluktutiak/Cambridge Bay
The Hope Bay gold mine achieved commercial production as of May 15, owner TMAC Resources announced.
The processing plant at the mine site, located 125 km southwest of Cambridge Bay, exceeded 60 per cent of its 1,000 tonnes per day of ore capacity over a 45-day span, which is the benchmark for attaining commercial production. TMAC noted that the plant actually surpassed 80 per cent capacity from May 4 to 15.
The mining company plans to ship a concentration plant to Hope Bay during this summer's sealift. After it is assembled and functioning at full capacity, TMAC aspires to push its processing of ore to 2,000 tonnes per day.
TMAC CEO Catharine Farrow has stated that the objective is to produce 130,000 to 140,000 ounces of gold at Hope Bay's Doris North site this year.
In addition, the Nunavut Water Board granted a water licence to TMAC last week for exploration work at the company's Madrid North and Madrid South deposits. Madrid North is approximately eight kilometres from the existing mine site. Farrow said TMAC will spend close to $22 million in total on exploration activities this year.
The company has arranged tours of the mine site for Kitikmeot and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. delegates on Wednesday, as well as for business and government officials flying in from Edmonton.
- Derek Neary
Governor General's leadership conference tours Nunavut
Nunavut
More than a dozen participants in the Governor General's leadership conference are expected to visit several Nunavut communities June 5 to 13.
The conference, held in various provinces and territories throughout the year, brings together emerging leaders from across the country to discuss issues facing Canada nationally and internationally.
Forum members are asked to set goals for how they will help define and act on a better future for the country.
The tour will commence in Cambridge Bay and will include stops in Gjoa Haven, Baker Lake, Cape Dorset, Iglulik, Clyde River and Iqaluit.
A conference spokesperson said the deliberations are held in private.
- Derek Neary
Arctic Bay photographer's work featured on Canada 150 stamp
Iqaluit
Dignitaries, including Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna, Commissioner of Nunavut Nellie Kusugak, and George Qulaut, speaker of the legislative assembly, unveiled the seventh stamp of the 10-stamp Canada 150 series at the Legislative Assembly May 30.
The stamp, intended to commemorate Nunavut entering Confederation in 1999, features a photograph of Leah Ejangiaq Kines taken by Arctic Bay photographer Clare Kines.
Kusugak recalled the first stamp featuring an Inukby way of famed Cape Dorset artist Kenojuak Ashevak's art in 1970. She said she is just as proud and excited with this stamp as she was when she was a child seeing Ashevak's art on a stamp.
"This land, this territory, has meant everything for generation after generation of Inuit. It is where we hope generations of young people will live, raise a family, pass on our language, culture and traditions," she said. "We want them to be proud of who they are and where they come from."
Kusugak added: "We also take great pride in being Canadian."
The 10 Canada 150 stamps mark unforgettable moments in Canada since the centennial of 1967.
- Michele LeTourneau
Iqaluit teen headed for challenge of her life
Iqaluit
Sara Hickes, a Grade 7 student at Ecole des Trois-Soleils in Iqaluit, is scheduled to compete against 19 teens from across the nation at the Canadian Geographic Challenge June 3 to 5 in Ottawa.
"When Sara arrives in Ottawa, she'll have one grueling day of testing before she finds out if she made it to the Monday finals," stated the Royal Canadian Geographical Society's communications manager Deborah Chapman.
"That's when all the contestants will meet Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, who will moderate the final quiz. If Sara makes it to the finals, she'll win an East Coast adventure cruise sponsored by One Ocean Expeditions."
Only one student will be named national champion, but each of the five finalists will receive a berth on One Ocean Expedition's 10-day Fins and Fiddles Adventure Cruise, a Destination Canada, Canadian Signature Experience, according to the news release.
The top three teens will also receive prizes of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000.
Hickes was one of more than 22,000 students from more than 650 schools who participated in the 22nd year of the competition.
"Students went through classroom and school testing, then each school champion faced off at the provincial/territorial level," stated the release.
- Michele LeTourneau
Artists decorate The Walrus
Taloyoak
The Walrus Foundation recently commissioned artists Maudie Ohiktook of Taloyoak, Daniel Shimout of Coral Harbour, Adam Alorut of Hall Beach and Manasie Akpaliapik of Arctic Bay to make carvings out of oosik, or walrus penis bone.
Having an oosik around the office at The Walrus magazine - a general interest publication produced by the charitable, non-profit Walrus Foundation - has become a tradition and a "symbol of the resilience and strength of our magazine," said Aimee Ippersiel, director of development and strategic communications for The Walrus Foundation. Ippersiel noted that the magazine is coming up on its 14th anniversary.
These pieces of oosik art, along with one other by an artist from Nunavik, will be given as gifts to the most generous private donors to The Walrus Foundation.
"We've received all five and they're unique and wonderful," Ippersiel said of the artwork.
The Nunavut artists' work will be featured in the July/August edition of The Walrus magazine.
- Derek Neary
Construction central
Kinngait/Cape Dorset
Cape Dorset is experiencing a construction boom. Work is underway on the new high school, the cultural centre and two five-plexes. In addition, Qulliq Energy Corporation is preparing to put a new power plant in place.
"We've got lots of construction taking place this year," said John Hussey, the senior administrative officer.
All those projects means there's plenty of work to go around for those who qualify.
"Part of their policies are to hire local people when they come in to do these projects," Hussey said of the contractors. "There should be a lot of employment created this summer. It's looking good for the economy."
- Derek Neary
Upgrades to water supply and sewage lagoon
Iglulik
Work is in progress to increase the size of the community's sewage lagoon, said Greg Morash, Iglulik's senior administrative officer.
As well, Iglulik's reservoir will be increased by approximately 400 per cent. That project hasn't yet started because a temporary water station on a nearby lake has to be made operational first.
Regardless, the work is expected to be complete by September, said Morash.
"I've got to give credit to the (territorial) government, they're thinking 20 years in advance," he said of the scale of the upgrades. "I do believe they're hiring locally: (heavy equipment) operators, cooks, labourers and all that good stuff."
Community and Government Services shipped in numerous pieces of heavy equipment on last year's sealift in anticipation of beginning the work this year.
- Derek Neary
Commissioner recognizes
community members
Mittimatalik/Pond Inlet
Kimmirut/Lake Harbour
Two Members of the Legislative Assembly recognized community members who received Commissioner's Awards from Nunavut Commissioner Nellie Kusugak recently.
Kusugak, who visited Pond Inlet May 16, recognized residents for acts of bravery, volunteerism, humanitarianism, and community service, said Tununiq MLA Joe Enook.
Recipients for bravery are Sharon Ootook, Silas Ootook, Robie Sangoya, Nathan Otoova, Alex Ootoova, Paul Qamaniq and Sam Omik Sr. The recipients for volunteerism areElijah Nashook, Sophie Nashook, Philippa Ootoowak and Rhoda Koonoo.
The recipients for humanitarianism are Jerold Koonark, Domina Koonark and Terrance Koonark. The recipients for community service are the community's volunteer firefighters, search-and-rescue team, Canadian Rangers, and health centre staff.
South Baffin MLA David Joanasie rose to pay tribute to his constituents in Kimmirut, where the recipients for bravery are Simeonie Aqpik and the late Gotileak Judea.
"Although Gotileak is no longer with us, he was able to be represented by his wife Akulujuk Judea," said Joanasie.
Recipients for humanitarianism are Pitseolak Qimirpik, J.J. Akavak, Donny Kolola and Kootoo Ikkidluak. Kimmirut volunteer firefighters, the search-and-rescue team, and Canadian Rangers were also recognized.
- Michele LeTourneau
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