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Polar bears prowl Qikiqtarjuaq

Qikiqtarjuaq/Broughton Island

Polar bears have been making a nuisance of themselves in Qikiqtarjuaq.

"This is the time of year, from August until December when the ice forms," said Harry Alookie. "The conservation officer and bylaw officer have been quite busy."

As well as making trouble for local cabin owners, their frequent presence in town makes some parents nervous, he said.

"Sometimes lately they come right into the community on the streets. We're always a little concerned in the evenings, to keep the children safe if they're outdoors," he explained. "The bears, they might seem slow, but they're quite dangerous."

Meanwhile, many hunters are also focusing their sights on narwhal, and the community is enjoying a lot of good maktaaq.

-Karen Mackenzie

Keep on truckin'

Iglulik

The Municipal Training Organization is offering a Class 3 drivers' training course in Iglulik, which will help address the shortage of qualified drivers in the community.

There are currently 12 students enrolled in the course, which was also offered last November along with the Class 2 training.

The free three-week program will qualify participants to drive large trucks with air brakes, such as sewage trucks and fire trucksThere are several part-time and full-time vacancies for Class 3 drivers with the hamlet of Iglulik.

-Carolyn Sloan

KIA to meet

Kangiqliniq/Rankin Inlet

The Kivalliq Inuit Association will be holding its annual general meeting in Rankin Inlet from Oct. 28 to 30.

The meetings will take place from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day at salons A and B at the Siniktarvik Hotel.

Among the agenda items expected to be tabled at the meetings are the president's report, financial statements and the proposed 2009-10 budget.

-Darrell Greer

Country food on the table

Mittimatalik/Pond Inlet

Ptarmigan and char are on the dinner menu at many houses in Pond Inlet these days.

While the wind picked up last week, many residents were still heading out on day trips to a lake about 4 km from town, according to hamlet mayor Abraham Kublu.

"Lots of people are ptarmigan hunting, and people have been heading out to go jigging fish at the lake too," he said. "Most of the ladies are jigging the fish, but the men head up there with their nets for char."

-Karen Mackenzie

Elders watch Netsilik series

Kugaaruk/Pelly Bay

Elders from Kugaaruk have been meeting every couple weeks at the Nunavut Arctic College campus to have coffee and tea and to watch the Netsilik Eskimo Series.

Some of the elders in attendance appear in the films, which were made in the Pelly Bay region in the 1960s for use as an educational tool in American schools.

Shot by director-producer Quentin Brown, the films are broken into 11 one-hour volumes about survival out on the land and show traditional ways of hunting and fishing.

-Carolyn Sloan

Officials' clinic

Kivalliq/Rankin Inlet

Hockey North will be hosting a Kivalliq regional hockey officials' clinic in Rankin from Nov. 14 to 16.

The clinic will be open to new officials (Level 1), as well as Level 2 and Level 3 officials looking to recertify for the upcoming season.

Both male and female officials are welcome.

Kivalliq residents interested in attending should contact the Sport Nunavut office in Baker Lake in regards to possible funding assistance to attend the clinic.

The clinic will be facilitated by Hockey North referee-in-chief Darrell Greer and Hockey Nunavut Level 3 official Max MacDonald.

-Darrell Greer

Halloween happenings

Kangiqtugaapik/Clyde River

Clyde River residents are getting set for Halloween, with trick-or-treating and games planned for Oct. 31.

"During the day we'll go down to Quluaq school for a mask contest, with $50 prize for each class from preschool to Grade 6," said Aimo Paniloo, hamlet recreation co-ordinator.

Trick-or-treating will begin at 5 p.m., followed by a party at the community hall from 7 p.m. until the witching hour.

"It's a tradition here, so we'll have games, and every time we have a special event we usually just think them up on the spot," Paniloo said.

This year, the recreation department will be handing out healthy snacks instead of junk food as well.

-Karen Mackenzie

A coating of ice

Qausuittuq/Resolute

As the ice thickens in Resolute, the four-wheelers are going into storage and the Ski-Doos are coming out.

Heavy rains over the last couple weeks created water on the ground that has now frozen into a sheet of ice.

While many are excited about getting out on their Ski-Doos, some elders in the community are worried the muskox and caribou will have difficulty reaching their food supply underneath the coating of ice.

-Carolyn Sloan

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