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McDonald said social issues such as the hard to house would be in the conversation when he is lobbying a new set of MLAs after the Nov. 23 election. The town has been supporting a warming shelter during the winter months. It also pro- vides the space for the full-time emergency shelter but the non-prot agency that runs it turns away people who have been drinking. Its those types of things I think the ter- ritorial government needs to step up what theyre doing a bit there McDonald said. As a town were the ones who have to deal with it. We do the best we can. We dont have money to put toward a lot of that but do a lot of in-kind in terms of providing the building. Theyre always struggling for fund- ing thats why the town got involved. The GNWT could step up and fund that and a treatment centre. McDonald would also like to see a single electricity rate for the entire territory. Resi- dential rates are subsidized in Inuvik but commercial customers are on their own. The cost of power and the cost of heat is a huge economic burden north of Yellow- knife he said. Going to a single rate would even up the cost of living. It would help a lot in our region. Highway 5 womens jail priorities in Fort Smith New Fort Smith Mayor Lynn Napier-Buck- ley said she would poll members of council before suggesting priorities to future MLAs but said the paving of Highway 5 and con- struction of a new womens correctional fa- cility are top-of-mind. In terms of decentralization even having solid numbers would help she said. How many positions are being moved to Fort Smith compared to other communities How can the GNWT bring economic activity to the town Napier-Buckley believes she was able to ascend from a council seat to the mayors be- cause voters were looking for someone who would listen to their concerns and commu- nicate with them about the choices that were being made. People felt they werent really being heard and they werent all being represented she said. I think people were looking for change. Im aware of the issues we face with the town so with that experience we can hit the ground running with a more even representation. That representation includes more women than men at the table with four male and four female councillors surrounding Napier-Buckley. I think its a great council with pretty di- verse backgrounds. We have people from college elementary and high school admin- istrators instructors teachers a union rep- resentative private business new residents and longtime residents. It covers quite a lot of the community. Getting back to business in Hay River Another councillor who ran for the big job this time around Hay River Mayor-elect Brad Mapes said he has a community that needs to come back together after a bitter and divisive strikebymunicipalemployeesearlierthisyear. It gets personal because everyone knows everyone Mapes said. Council and town workers have to work together to speed up the process of healing. Ive said from day one that no one wins in a strike. Mapessaidthetownshouldapologizetothe residents of Hay River and the surrounding communities who could not access the Don Stewart Recreation Centre during the strike. OnelectiondayHayRiverresidentsalsovoted more than two-to-one in favour of borrowing millionstorenovatetheagingrecreationcentre which includes an ice pad and a curling rink. Mapes would also like to bring more ter- ritorial cash to town by lobbying incoming MLAs for a funding formula that makes more sense for larger centres in the NWT including Hay River. At the top of the list for Mapes though is hiring a full-time senior administrative of- cer and directors of public works and nance. We need to come up with a plan to get those key directors. Were lucky we brought on Scotty Edgerton who was willing to come on for a short term. Filling those positions would increase the towns population by three which would get a start on another of Mapes priorities bring- ing more people and businesses to town. With all of my businesses I get going on a vision and put it in high gear. I feel I can bring back to our community more pride weve lost some of it. We need to bring it back where people are proud to live in Hay River. Our kingdom for a road Within Norman Wells and on the route leading to it newly acclaimed Mayor Nathan Watson is praying for pavement. Without meaning to sound redundant its all about the road Watson said when asked what the new MLAs are going to hear from him. We have the usual list that includes but is not limited to cost of living housing population retention and expansion that most Northern communities have but for Norman Wells and the surrounding communities in the Sahtu to have and to take advantage of the many and varied opportunities the heart of the NWT has to offer we must have a road. That goes for the thoroughfares within the Mackenzie River settlement of fewer than 800 people too. This year we had the wettest summer I can recall and it has exacerbated the steady decline of our municipal roadways Watson said. A vast majority of our residents feel it is time to stop living in the mud and dust and get the roads covered with some form of hard surfacing and we are going to do everything in our power to accomplish that. Council will also have to work on modern- izing the local landll and cleaning up some longstanding messes. Watson wants to diversify the local econ- omy which is founded in resource extraction. We are used to the boom-and-bust cycle that is a part of that reality and is beyond our control but what we need in order to diver- sify our options at the economic opportuni- ties necessary to thrive as a community and a region he said. Its all about a Mackenzie Valley Road. Its all about a road no matter what side of the oil extraction debate you are on its all about a road PhotoDaliCarmichaelFilephotos New Fort Smith Mayor Lynn Napier-Buckley takes the Oath of Ofce from the towns detachment commander RCMP Sergeant Richard Brown on Oct. 21. New Fort Simpson Mayor Darlene Sibbeston and new Hay River Mayor Brad Mapes. Highways economy top mayors priority lists