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Tuesday September 1 2015 3 POLITICS MUNICIPAL COMPLETE CARE FAMILY DENTISTRY Walk-insemergenciesandnewpatientsarealwayswelcome Fort Smiths DENTAL HYGIENIST ANTOINE EID has returned WelcomebackAntoine OUR FORT SMITH OFFICE OFFERS IN-HOUSE LAB Complete dentures and partials in 10 days Repairs and adjustment on dentures and partials Adjustmentsandrecementingofcrowns andbridges On-site denture cleaning Night guards and sport guards Orthodontic consultations Whiteningkitsin-officeandtake-home Plus more services at our sister office in Yellowknife Dr. Kobaisys Dental Clinic DR. KOBAISY IS IN FORT SMITH FOR 3 DAYS EVERY 2 WEEKS. T 867-872-2887 or Toll Free 1-866-535-2887 Fax 867-872-2889 InYellowknifecontactSombaKeDentalClinicat866-698-2027. Sinkhole knocks Fort Smith off communications grid By MEAGAN WOHLBERG The town of Fort Smith was cut off from the rest of the world for 17 hours last week after a sinkhole along Highway 5 damaged the bre- optic line late Thursday morning affecting phone cable and internet service. Residents in Fort Smith lost access to cellular data long-distance calling cable TV internet and wireless services start- ing at around 1130 a.m. Thursday. Ser- vice wasnt fully restored until 450 a.m. on Friday. AccordingtotheNWTdepartmentofTrans- portation DOT the disruption was the re- sult of work being done along Highway 5 to repair a sinkhole that had opened up within Wood Buffalo National Park. The department under the direction of Wood Buffalo National Park was di- rected to go out there with a load of gravel and a private contractor with an excavator in order to address a sinkhole that opened up on the side of the highway right on the shoulder said DOT regional superinten- dent Greg Whitlock. It was right in the process when the exca- vator was checking the extent of the sinkhole into the roadbed that the sinkhole further collapsed and thats what actually caused the breoptic line to sever. It wasnt a piece of equipment it was the sinkhole that opened up he said. Northwestel crews were subsequently called in from Yellowknife and Hay River to repair the fibre which was done through- out the night. DOT crews and the excavator remained on standby to provide traffic control for Northwestel. Parks Canada did not respond to requests for comment as of publication time. Whitlock said DOT takes addressing sinkholes seriously due to a history of the geological formations destroying en- tire sections of the highway especially in the park. Over the years some have opened up on the side of the highway and gone right into the road bed so I guess whenever a sinkhole does open up along that highway the department and Wood Buffalo need to take a very diligent and proactive ap- proach to getting out there and address- ing it he said. It was right in the process when the excavator was checking the extent of the sinkhole into the roadbed that the sinkhole further collapsed and thats what actually caused the bre- optic line to sever. Greg Whitlock NWT Transportation INFRASTRUCTURE TELECOMMUNICATIONS Premier Town of Fort Smith discuss funding issues By MEAGAN WOHLBERG NWT Premier Bob McLeod was handed a wish list for funding and services when he met with Fort Smiths mayor and council last week during a brief stop in the community. From longstanding jurisdictional land is- sues to recent hopes for commitments around the upcoming 2018 Arctic Winter Games Fort Smith Mayor Brad Brake said there is much the municipality hopes to see from the territorial government. Being a good landowner Brake said there are a number of issues pertaining to Commissioners land - areas outside of the municipal boundaries but still part of the community of Fort Smith - that the town wants to see the territory take action on. Basically what we want to see is the GNWT being a good landowner he said. So for ex- ample we have bylaws with regards to un- sightly premises and there are issues with re abatement on Commissioners land trail safety garbage showing up on the land par- ticularly the landslide area where slides are happening along the river on Commission- ers land. According to McLeod grants in-kind are giventomunicipalgovernmentstotakecareof Commissioners lands so he said the GNWT needs more information before it can go over and above in addressing the concerns. I said Im only sure of two things that the town has a responsibility to its residents to make sure theyre safe and healthy and sec- ondly that they have the authority to control lands within municipal boundaries through bylaws and their authority to enforce their bylaws said McLeod who suggested the town begin a discussion with the depart- ment of Lands. New funding model With the GNWT changing its community government funding system from a popula- tion-based model to a needs-based funding model Brake said Fort Smith is hoping for greater access to infrastructure funding for municipalities. The GNWT recently announced it would be changing the way municipalities are funded in order to close the existing 40-million infrastructure shortfall and ensure commu- nities are getting what they need. The Town of Fort Smith is very inter- ested in seeing the new funding model rolled out Brake said. We would also like to see the government look into some other larger lump-sum investments in large-scale infra- structure projects. Such funding could have come in handy for the towns ongoing arena renovation and would be even more useful in attacking the communitys aging underground water and sewer infrastructure. The replacement of the 70-year-old pipes - along with repaving the roads above them - is estimated to cost over 50 million. We have a lot of old infrastructure in- ground that were working steadily to repair and get through but we have to budget it an- nually and work through the system Brake said. If we had access to larger project funds then we could do a much larger scale project. Ground ambulance OverthelastthreeyearsBrakehasraisedthe issue of funding for ambulance services in the community which the town thinks should be theresponsibilityofHealthandSocialServices ratherthanavolunteerservicerunbythetown. What were nding is its becoming un- sustainable for our community to eld volun- teershesaid.We get volunteers but thelevel of response required of them is such that with people who have a life other than the ambu- lance department they burn out and its very hard for us to eld volunteers and keep volun- teers engaged. McLeod said the issue of ground ambu- lance services is longstanding and coming to a head in communities across the NWT not just Fort Smith and said it will likely be addressed in the 18th Assembly. We have to decide whether or not its an essential service or not McLeod said. The town has been struggling to provide the ser- vice and we have issues in some of the other communities in the Northwest Territories. Weve been doing some studies in that area so were going to be looking in more detail after our election. Arctic Winter Games The Town of Fort Smith is also looking for more support during the upcoming 2018 Arc- tic Winter Games to be shared between Hay River and Fort Smith in order to support the communities and droves of volunteers that will be required to make the event a success. The GNWT has already committed 3.5 million for the games but McLeod said the GNWT has offered to help with planning and in-kind services. The economy has changed since they sub- mittedtheirbidsotheressome concernabout their ability to raise some of the revenues that they had expected. Other than that it looks like planning is well underway for the Arc- tic Winter Games and theyre pleased with the support theyre getting from the govern- menthesaid.Soweoutlinedtheareaswhere were contributing were rm with our com- mitment and prepared to look at other areas where weve provided services and assistance in previous Arctic Winter Games venues. PhotoMeaganWohlberg NWT Premier Bob McLeod