Skip to content

News briefs: Chase the Ace ends, AWG trials set

Chase the Ace comes to an end

Hay River

The second Chase the Ace lottery in Hay River came to an end on Dec. 1 after 12 weeks.

Angela Jones drew the ace of spades and won the jackpot in the weekly lottery presented by the 2018 South Slave Arctic Winter Games Host Society.

Jones won the jackpot of $16,018, along with the weekly prize of $849.

The first Chase the Ace in the community was presented last year by the Hay River Curling Club.

That lottery ran for 43 weeks and ended with an overall prize of $511,034.

The Town of Hay River will award the next licence for the lottery under the Chase the Ace Bylaw.

– Paul Bickford

 

RCMP to focus on impaired driving

Hay River

The RCMP's Traffic Services, along with detachments throughout the NWT, launched their Christmastime traffic enforcement patrols and check stops on Dec. 1.

The annual campaign – called Operation Gingerbread – targets impaired driving and will run to Jan. 1.

The RCMP will also check drivers operating off-road vehicles, such as snowmobiles and ATVs, as impaired driving is not only limited to the operation of motor vehicles on roadways.

Last year during Operation Gingerbread, 22 motorists were charged with impaired driving in the NWT after the RCMP checked almost 1,500 vehicles.

– Paul Bickford

 

Council to send letter of support

Hay River

Council passed a motion on Nov. 28 to write a letter of support to K'atlodeeche First Nation in its search for funding to build a natural-ice arena on the Hay River Reserve.

First Nation is preparing a submission to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, which has agreed to help look for the funding.

The band already has about half of the needed $5 million from its regular funding agreements.

– Paul Bickford

 

Changes coming to town's traffic bylaw

Hay River

Town council has approved second reading of changes to the town's Traffic Bylaw.

Under the changes, the town would be able to keep revenue from fines that now goes to the GNWT.

Plus, the changes would give the town's senior administrative officer the ability to decide when a sign can be added or removed, instead of that decision having to be made by council.

– Paul Bickford

 

Opportunity to sing carols in Fort Smith

Thebacha/Fort Smith

A Community Carol Fest will take place in Fort Smith on Dec. 13, beginning at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph's

Cathedral.

Participants are encouraged to bring a donation to the Fort Smith Food Bank.

The Community Carol Fest is being presented by Northern Life Museum & Cultural Centre.

– Paul Bickford

 

AWG trials set for Fort Smith

Thebacha/Fort Smith

Territorial trials will be held in Fort Smith from Dec. 7 to Dec. 9 for three sports in the upcoming 2018 South Slave Arctic Winter Games.

The trials will be in cross-country skiing, female hockey and curling.

In addition, a fashion show of team outfits from past games is being planned for Dec. 8 at the Fort Smith Centennial Arena.

The 2018 South Slave Arctic Winter Games will be held in Hay River and Fort Smith in March.

– Paul Bickford

 

Workshop on fish scale art

Thebacha/Fort Smith

A fish scale art workshop will be held in Fort Smith on the afternoon of Dec. 9.

The workshop is being presented at Northern Life Museum & Cultural Centre.

More information, including on the fee to register, can be obtained by contacting the museum.

– Paul Bickford

 

Art sought for satellite

Inuvik

Artists looking to leave their mark on the Canadian satellite at the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility are encouraged to submit their work to the Great Northern Arts Festival.

GNAF is looking for a 36" by 36" and 120 dpi piece of artwork reflecting Inuvik life and culture to feature on a satellite antenna at the facility. An honorarium will be awarded.

Submissions should be original artwork created by someone in Inuvik.

The deadline to submit to GNAF is Dec. 11.

– Stewart Burnett

 

Snowmobile owners reminded to keep sleds secure

Inuvik

The Northwest Territories RCMP are reminding snowmobile owners to take extra precautions in keeping sleds secure when not in use.

"Owners should record the serial number, VIN number, make and model of their snowmobile(s) as this will be needed in the event that your machine goes missing or is taken without permission," stated the RCMP in a news release.

Other tips include locking your snowmobile and not leaving the key in the ignition, disabling your tow vehicle when not in use, securing your snowmobile to an object that can't be cut or broken, and investing in anti-theft devices.

– Stewart Burnett

 

Judging approaches for Light Up the Town

Inuvik

The annual Light Up the Town Christmas decorations contest will be judged Tuesday evening, Dec. 12.

Members of town council will drive around Inuvik that night and determine the best-looking holiday lights and decorations, with cash prizes to be awarded to the winners.

– Stewart Burnett

 

Ban on unregulated fishing in High Arctic

Inuvik

Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced a ban on unregulated commercial fishing in the high seas of the Arctic Ocean last week.

The agreement, made with the United States, is the first time an international agreement of this nature has been reached before any commercial fishing has taken place in a region of the high seas.

"Under this legally binding agreement, all parties agree that no commercial fishing will take place in the high seas portion of the central Arctic Ocean while we gain a better understanding of the area's ecosystems, and appropriate conservation and management measures can be established," stated LeBlanc in a news release.

– Stewart Burnett

 

Game catches on with youth

Sachs Harbour

The Christmas bobble game was brought to Sachs Harbour for an adults' night presented by the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, recreation coordinator Doreen Carpenter reports.

"The kids wanted to try it," she said, adding that ever since then it's become a mainstay for Christmas games among the youth.

The game challenges youth to wear a blindfold and attempt to spoon pom-poms into a bowl, and whoever spoons the most in a minute wins. Most of the town's children came out for a night of those games and many more as part of the month of Christmas activities in Sachs Harbour last weekend.

"It went really well," said Carpenter about the event. "The staff handled everything well and they did a really good job."

This weekend, the Sachs Harbour District Education Authority has sponsored a gingerbread bake in the community.

– Stewart Burnett

 

Final season of Arctic CHAR in the books

Kuukpak

For five years, University of Toronto researchers have been working with the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre on a project called Arctic Cultural Heritage At Risk (Arctic CHAR) designed to reveal which Inuvialuit heritage sites in the region are most at risk and then excavate selected sites in order to save their contents before they are destroyed.

This summer, the final of the five-year project, researchers excavated a large Inuvialuit house at Kuukpak on Richards Island. Kuukpak was the central village of the Kuukpangmiut, a regional group who lived across Kugmallit Bay from Kitigaaryuit.

The site stretches for almost a kilometre along the bank of the Mackenzie River and has the remains of at least 31 houses.

Ten people worked at the site for six weeks, taking artifacts and animal bones back to the University of Toronto for study. Once study is complete, they will be returned to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife.

– Stewart Burnett

National parks free for youth

NWT

Youth under 17 will be able to access Canada’s national parks for free starting next year while adults and seniors will once again have to pay admission fees, after a year of free access to celebrate Canada 150.

According to a Government of Canada press release, this free access for youth extends to historic sites and marine conservation areas as well.

– Tim Edwards

 

New gold found at TerraX project

North Slave

TerraX’s summer drilling program has identified a high-grade deposit at Homer Lake, on its Yellowknife Gold Project property, according to a press release sent out last week.

The field program this summer produced more than 5,600 surface samples around the property and expanded the known deposit at Homer Lake, revealing samples containing gold at 25.5 grams per tonne.

– Tim Edwards

 

Lithium project shows promise

North Slave

Recent test results from 92 Resources’ Hidden Lake lithium project show that the hard-rock lithium deposits have low iron and that the lithium can be recovered with cost-effective techniques, according to a press release the company sent out last week.

Most lithium in the world is found in underground brines, from which it is relatively easy to recover the mineral. However, the lithium recovered from these brines tends to be of a lower grade than what can be found in hard rock.

– Tim Edwards