Two boaters whose vessel capsized on Prosperous Lake have been found safe and unharmed after spending a night on shore.On Monday at approximately 8:20 a.m., Yellowknife RCMP were notified of the overdue boaters, who were expected to return Sunday night, stated a news release.
The pair had no way of communicating to authorities.
With the help of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Mounties located the two individuals on shore, and found the partially submerged boat.
RCMP are reminding residents to be prepared for emergencies when out on the water.
– Brendan Burke
City replaces departed administrators
The city is shaking up its administration with two new directors to replace Dennis Marchiori and Dennis Kefalas, who left amid an inquiry into misconduct allegations against municipal enforcement manager Doug Gillard.
A former city employee, Chris Greencorn, is the new director of public works and engineering, effective July 9.
Greencorn worked with the department from 2004 to 2017 and served three years as the department director.
He briefly left the city to work as a project manager before returning to administration.
Eric Bussey is replacing former director of public safety, Dennis Marchiori on July 23. Bussey has 25 years of experience as the director of emergency management for the GNWT, managing major operations and disaster recovery.
Bussey was also responsible for the NWT Fire Protection Program and the fire marshal.
–Avery Zingel
Public intoxication calls down: RCMP
Public intoxication and disturbance calls to Yellowknife RCMP dropped considerably last month compared to May of last year.
Of the 922 calls for service fielded by Mounties during the month of May, 94 were related to Liquor Act offences – a drop from the 129 recorded in May 2017.
By May of last year, 567 Liquor Act calls had been made to police since the new year. Last month, 487 of those same calls were made since January, representing a 14 per cent plunge.
Calls for service related to public intoxication and disturbances also saw a decline, with 317 calls noted last month compared to 2017's 385 calls.
Year to year, that amounts to more than a 16 percent drop. But calls for assaults – 95 last month from 74 in 2017 – have climbed.
RCMP have previously credited partnerships with street outreach programs in alleviating calls for public intoxication and disturbances.
Downtown foot patrols – the Mounties undertook 103 last month – are also cited as a catalyst in slumping calls for service.
During the patrols, 59 bottles of liquor were seized, three fights were broken up and two arrests were made. Yellowknife RCMP took a total of 10,820 calls for service in 2017.
– Brendan Burke