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2 Tuesday May 5 2015 INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSPORTATION NEWS BRIEFS Man charged with murder attempted murder in Sunridge Place incident Yellowknife RCMP have arrested and charged one male in connection to a murder and assault that took place last December.TheNorthwestTerritoriesRCMPmajorcrimes unit apprehended Denecho Noel King 22 on May 1. He faces charges for the murder of John Wiadt and the at- tempted murder of Colin Digness which took place at the Sunridge Place apartments in Yellowknife. King was held in custody after the arrest. NWT senator draws attention as red chambers top spender Eyesacrossthecountryhavebeenwatchingthetrialofsus- pended senator Mike Duffy play out in the courts but for a brief moment those eyes were trained North when a list of the senates biggest spenders was revealed. Duffys law- yer Don Bayne submitted a list of senators expenses and at the very top was NWT Sen. Nick Sibbeston with 988114 in total expenses between 2009 and 2012. By comparison Duffysitsat23rdonthelistwithexpensestotaling711114. Fort Good Hope man faces charges for sword handling AmalefromFortGoodHopeisfacingmultiplechargesafter attackingavictimwithaswordearlyinthemorningofApr. 25. Troy Lennie 32 has been charged with assault assault with a weapon three counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose two counts of carrying a concealed weapon and three counts of possession of a prohibited weapon. He has also been charged under the NWT Liquor Actwithpossessingliquoratanunlawfulplace.Lenniefaced his rst court appearance on Apr. 29. Department of Transportation planning the route to 2040 By DALI CARMICHAEL The NWT department of TransportationDOTiswork- ing to pave its way into the future but rst it has to take one last look in the rear-view mirror to make sure no ongo- ing projects are left behind. ForthersttimesinceDOT was formed 25 years ago the territorialgovernmentisoutlin- ingalong-termtransportation strategytoextendoverthenext quartercentury.FromlateApril to early May DOT representa- tives are conducting meetings to consult with the public and onApr.28theylandedinFort Smith after stopping the day before in Fort Simpson. The next ve or 10 years are going to be pretty critical aswemoveonfromheresaid Pietro de Bastiani assistant director of planning policy andcommunicationsforDOT who is conducting the meet- ings along with regional rep- resentatives. Right now we have an opportunity. People are just beginning to really know about the North and tourism is really an area that can actually bring benets to everyregionoftheTerritories. I think people are also inter- ested in the mobility theyre interestedinsafelybeingable to take their kids to a tourna- ment and to go visit family. Last year DOT met with GNWTmembersstakeholder groupsindustryassociations indigenous leaders and the NWTMPtogaugewhatneeds shouldbehighlightedlooking intothefuture.DOTalsocon- ducted online surveys with the public at that time with just over 500 responses. This round of consultation is now intended to be a conrmation of previous public meetings to ensure DOT has its bases covered before jumping into a long-term plan. Threemainobjectiveswere identied in the rst round of consultation.Numberoneisto maintainandimproveexisting transportation systems. Next is to expand the transporta- tion system to better connect communities.FinallyDOTis lookingtoembraceinnovation to modernize transportation create better communication with the public to promote safety and environmental stewardship and to increase tourism by improving roads. DOTcontrolstheterritorys road systems including win- ter roads bridges and ferries. It also maintains the 27 com- munity airports. The govern- mentofCanadamaintainsair marine and - in Hay River - railway systems though it does support some territorial projectslikethehighwayfrom Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik. Project completion a priority citizens Ithinkwhatwereallyheard was an element of frustra- tion about how long it takes to deliver things to deliver improvements and thats re- ected across the Territories. Peoplereallywanttoseetheir system developed like it is in southernCanadadeBastiani saidoftheconsultationssofar. Our department has worked ashardaswecantodeliverthe essential services and to im- provethesystemwhereoppor- tunity arose and where fund- ing limitations allowed us. At the Fort Smith meeting an intimate group of citizens reected this frustration in their demands. It came as no surprise to de Bastiani that the top priority fortheSouthSlavecommunity is nishing off the paving of Highway5theonlyall-season roadintotown.Notonlyisthe route riddled with potholes but a 64-kilometre stretch passing through Wood Buf- falo National Park has been left covered in gravel unlike the rest of the paved road a huge turn-off to tourists and the economic benets they bring. They started chip-sealing that highway back prior to 87 and if you guys had any fore- sight and proper planning you could have had that total highway paved by now for- mer Thebacha MLA Jeannie Marie-Jewell told the panel. Youre really impeding and deterring tourists from com- ing to Fort Smith. Who wants to drive a recreational vehicle over our highway Im not saying our highway is not good its a very good base however its not chip-sealed. Plain and simple. The road technically falls undertheresponsibilityofthe federalgovernmentunderthe National Park Infrastructure Fund. DOT recently submit- ted a business case to get the road construction completed buthasnothadaresponseyet. Marie-Jewellexpressedher disappointmentwhenshewas toldtherewasnocapitalfund- ing from the GNWT allotted for the project this year. For you to use the excuse of Parks Canada thats such a feeble excuse she said. You guys have a fundamental responsibility to us in Fort Smithtoprovideuswithgood highway systems. Residents also inquired about the possibility of estab- lishinganadditionalrouteout of town as an escape route in case of extreme wildres like those that surrounded com- munitiesintheNWTlastyear. OtherkeyinitiativesforDOT inthefuturewillbecompleting year-roundroadsintotheTli- cho communities improving all South Slave highways and ensuring runways at several mainairports-includingHay RiverYellowknifeandInuvik -aresmoothedoutandmain- tained. To accomplish these projects DOT will be seeking more funding from the Com- munity Access Program. What were hearing in the regions is yes weve come a long way but theres still a big job to be done and theres some priorities in each re- gion de Bastiani said. After the Fort Smith meet- ing de Bastiani and crew headed to Hay River on Apr. 29. Public meetings will con- tinueintothelatespringwith discussions in Norman Wells on May 6 Inuvik on May 7 and proposed meetings in Behchoko on May 12 and Yel- lowknife May 13. PhotoDaliCarmichael Pietro de Bastiani assistant director of planning policy and communications for the Department of Transportation heads up a public hearing at the Pelican Rapids Inn in Fort Smith on Apr. 28.