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Wednesday March 2 2016 13 www.rmwb.ca IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR PROPERTY OWNERS ASSESSED PROPERTY VALUE PROPERTY TAX RATE PROPERTY TAX BILL x The Property Assessment Notices for the 2016 tax year will be mailed on Monday February 29 2016 to all Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo property owners. Property Assessment for the 2016 Tax Year reflects market value as of the legislated date of July 1 2015. If you would like to discuss your Property Assessment Notice or you did not receive your Property Assessment Notice please visit www.rmwb.ca or call 780.743.7900 and ask to speak with an Assessor. Assessors will be available 830am to 430 pm Monday to Friday. If youre still concerned with your Property Assessment Notice after speaking with an Assessor you can address your concerns with the Clerk of the Assessment Review Board accompanied by the appropriate filing fee between February 29 and April 28 2016. Additionally Council will set the 2016 tax rates in May. Property Taxes are determined by applying the appropriate tax rate to the assessed value shown on your Property Assessment Notice. 2016 Property Tax Notices will be mailed in early June. By DALI CARMICHAEL Its hardly a surprise that entrepreneur Brenda Dragon is turning to her roots to start up a new business in the fur indus- try. A trappers daughter raised in Fort Smith by mother Jane and late father David she re- members being encouraged to stuff fur into her winter gear an added layer of warmth to protect her from the harsh elements of the subarctic winter. This month Dragon is sharing the tradi- tion with numbed extremities across Canada as she launches a new line of hand and foot warmers made from small swaths of sheared beaver to be distributed under the brand Aurora Heat. Growing up in the North with my parents trapping we were always being dressed in furs for warmth she said. Its been four years now since my fathers passing and I wanted to honour his kind of livelihood I suppose you could say his traditional life- style. Dragon first acknowledged the business potential for the warmers in Yellowknife when she - like her mother before her - would adorn her children with fur. My son is a snowboarder and I spent the last several years dressing him to keep him warm she said. He was snowboarding at 40 below so we will use a lot of fur. Then I realized how effective it was when all of his friends kept asking for it as well so I was always making things for them. Dragon left a sample set of warmers at the Journal office to test out. The pieces are soft as cashmere and small enough to fit perfectly in your gloves or boots. Just hold it in your hands and just feel how the heat radiates she said. The way it works is the beaver fur insulates your own heat so it traps and keeps it. Its quite remarkable. Its a reusable all-natural product. The new venture is a labour of love for Dragon one she wants to use to help main- tain traditional economies in the NWT. Were positioning it as a Northern Ab- original product and our products will be fur used for warmth - Fur Warmth is the official sloganshesaid.ImusingprimarilyGenuine Mackenzie Valley fur and Im working with my mother who is the cultural advisor for Aurora Heat. The Genuine Mackenzie Valley Fur Pro- gram is a marketing initiative run by the GNWT to provide access to international marketsforNWTtrappers.Figuresfrom2015 showthatasmuchas100000wasgenerated in sales for the NWTs traditional arts and crafts sector in December alone thanks to the availability of fur and moose hide from the program. From the Chipewyan language written on the side of the packaging to the fur-handlers she wants to hire to operate the business Dragon is hopeful that the Aurora Heat warmers benefit people in her hometown. Im going to be looking for people in Fort Smith who are interested in preparing them because its a handmade product she said. Id like this business to be based in Fort Smith. Sales for Aurora Heat products start this month at www.auroraheat.ca and in select stores in Fort Smith and Yellowknife. Dragons warm the North with the power of Aurora Heat INDUSTRY FUR Growing up in the North with my parents trapping we were always being dressed in furs for warmth. Brenda Dragon Aurora Heat PhotoDaliCarmichael Entrepreneur Brenda Dragon is collaborating with her famous fur-trapping mother Jane Dragon to share the comforting warmth of sheared beaver fur through her new company Aurora Heat.