The Town of Hay River is under attack over their decision to put down 23 dogs in mid-August.
The puppies, who were under the care of the SPCA, were seized during the May 29 raid of Linda Hobson’s kennel.
A release sent out by the Town of Hay River on Aug. 30, explained that “in the interested of public safety, the Town put down the animals in mid August” due to the animals “display of unpredictable and aggressive behavior.”

One animals rights group, Canadians For Animal Welfare Reform, has called the Town’s actions “unthinkable and absolutely unacceptable” in e-mails to both the Town and the media.
“It is CFAWR’s contention that the Hay River Mayor and the Township Council have acted unethically and we will allege that the conduct of the office and its council members borders on criminal negligence,” said  CFAWR founder Sarah West in an e-mail.
West alleges that hundreds of groups would have been willing to help with the adoption of the puppies, a scenario that Mayor Kelly Schofield is sympathetic towards, but was not comfortable with.
“I understand where these people are coming from but they don’t have all the information,” he said. “To jump to conclusions without all the information is not fair to all involved.”
He said that the decision to put down the dogs was made with input from various parties, not just the Town.
“It was ultimately the Town’s decision, based on information from various sources, including a vet,” he said.
He also added that the remaining dogs are still on the property being cared for and are still under Town supervision.
The Hay River SPCA declined comment when contacted by The Hub.

Dancers and musicians from across the West congregated in Hay River this past weekend for the Biggest Fiddling and Jigging Championship North of 60.
From Sept. 3 – 5 the Ben Sivertz Arena was filled with music and dancing as each competitor vied for the top prize.
“It has been just great,” said local fiddler Linda Duford. “Last year we only had four fiddlers, and this year we have seven.”

But in addition to a larger lineup of musicians, there was a larger turnout for Saturday’s events.
“It is a nice crowd this year,” she said. “Usually we have most people coming on Sunday.”
But the seats were packed both days as locals enjoyed the performances.  At the end of the weekend, winners were announced in the three competitive categories and each walked away with a cheque to cash.
In the youth jigging competition, Brady Desrocher placed third, Jaida Brunet in second and Davene Daigneault finished at the top.
In the adult jigging competition, Kirsten Maurice ranked third, Andrew Deedza in second place and Christopher Buggins walked away with the first place prize after dazzling the crowd with his footwork.
In the fiddling event, Linda Duford came in third place. Martin Hanelin came in second place, and Andrea Bettger walked away $2,000 richer for her first place win.
In addition to the competition, the weekend also held several dances for both youth and adults, a bingo and an adult talent show. In total, $10,000 was given away in cash prizes for the talent that came out.
Duford is hoping that there will be entries for the youth fiddling next year, and has plans to make that dream a reality.
“We would like to start up a fiddling program at the youth centre to regenerate some interest,” she said. “Hopefully we can get some youth contestants for next year.”

This past weekend was the H

The course was altered so that each hole was a par three, making the hole-in-one goal achievable on the tougher holes.
“All the holes were 145 to 185 yards,” said Jeff Brockway, manager of the course.
Although no hole in one was made, 18 separate prizes were given to those who made it close; the closest being only 15 inches from the pin.
Ron Dumas and Rick Nault finished on top with the lowest score, and Randy and Rob Zdebiak were close behind in second. Gary Stoby and Dave MacDonald finished in third.
“Overall it was a good weekend,” said Brockway. “The golfers all seemed to have fun. The cold weather on Sunday didn’t dampen any spirits.”
Brockway noted that this event would not have been possible without the 26 local business and organization sponsors who put forward the insurance for the hole in one prize and the 18 smaller prizes.
He also noted that there are definite plans to run the event again next year.
“I even named it the first annual shootout,” he said, “so we definitely plan on running it again next year.”
The golf course is holding their wrap-up event on Sept. 18. The evening will include dinner and a comedian.
For more information contact the golf course at 874-6290.

A big milestone for Hay River was recognized this past weekend.
This August marked the 10th anniversary of the Hay River Heritage Centre, and celebrations were thrown on Saturday.
Hay River residents and government dignitaries alike gathered besides the Museum for an afternoon of reflection and celebration of the Town.

Speeches and presentations were made by Minister of Justice Jackson Lafferty, MLAs Jane Groenewegen and Paul Delorey, and the members of the Museum Society before an evening of food and music took place.
Shawn Carter even stepped forward to donate a stuffed bald eagle to the museum. The eagle had been killed on a power line.
“It was a very good celebration,” said co-chair of the Museum Peter Osted. “The people from the Prince of Wales Arts Centre seemed impressed by us. It is kind of grass roots. It is not a big government operation. What you see is what the Town has done together.”
It was only a decade ago that the property was acquired by the Museum Society.  At the time, the swampy property housed the former Hudson Bay store, the future home of some of Hay River’s history.
Throughout the years a lot has been done to improve the building both inside and out, with one of the more recent projects being last year’s leveling. The ground beneath the Museum has started to rise up, so one side had to be raised 12 to 16 inches.
But according to Osted, there are challenges faced on a daily basis in trying to keep the Museum’s doors open.
“The biggest challenge we face is having enough money to keep open,” he said. “It has been a constant battle to go after people with money. We don’t heat the Museum in the winter. Fuel is too expensive…It about $1,200 a month to heat.”
Osted estimated that annually, $10,000 is spent to maintain the Museum.
“It becomes a challenge,” he said.
He also noted that finding volunteers is a struggled that the Museum faces, in addition to many other organizations about town.
“You talk to people about it and at the time they want to do it, but then they back down,” he said.
But Osted has nothing but optimism for the coming years.
“More and more people are showing interest,” he said. “We have our high tea on July 1, that always brings people out. And we have a storytelling event, it is organized through Yellowknife, but it draws in people as well.”
The museum’s intention is to continue developing and create what Osted described as “more professional displays” but in order to do so, the Society will need the help of the community.
“We need people to come out and volunteer,” he said. “There is just so much to do here.”

A new role has been created within Hay River’s Fire Department.
Volunteer Fire Chief Ross Potter’s position has become full time.
Potter took over the new role on Aug. 16, a switch that he said seemed natural. “When the opportunity came up to become full time, I was close to retirement at my other job, so it became a natural fit,” he said.

The job description is much larger than the volunteer position, and Potter said he has been keeping busy.
“It has been steady-go since I took over, which is great. I don’t like to be sitting around doing nothing,” he said.
He said that the largest portion of his job now comes down to fire prevention. This includes doing inspections on various properties and promoting safety about town.
According to Potter, there are nothing but huge advantages for the community by having a full-time fire chief.
“There are huge advantages to the effect that we can spend more time with the community. I won’t have to wait until after work. I can get to people at their place of work and not wait until after hours.”
He added that dedicating his whole week to the fire department will allow them to expand their safety programs.
“We are going to be able to get more into public safety,” he said.
“Prevention instead of protection.”

One year away from the top was enough.
Carter’s Crushers, whose decade-long reign atop the Hay River Mixed Slo-pitch League came to an end last year, were back in the final Saturday with their sights set on another title.
Standing in their way were the Ashton White Shirts, who reeled off three straight wins to reach the championship game. The White Shirts, who had finished in seventh place in the regular season, were huge underdogs heading into the finals against the second place Crushers, who had come from behind to beat the league-leading Brewzers 13-12 in the first semi-final Saturday morning.

The Crushers wasted little time getting on the board, as leadoff hitter Brett Power smacked a Jason Coakwell pitch over the right field fence for his third home run of the season. After Carter’s tacked on two more runs, the White Shirts found themselves down 3-0 heading into their first at bats. The White Shirts’ Shaun Demarcke led off with a single, and advanced to second on Coakwell’s fly out to right field. Demarcke then scored on a two-out double by Steven Rosendahl. After one complete, the Crushers held a 3-1 lead.
The White Shirts didn’t panic when the Crushers picked up two more runs in the top half of the second inning. Ashton’s started the inning with back-to-back singles and were able to score two runs of their own, to trail 5-3 after two.
After shutting down the Crushers in the top of the third, the White Shirts offense exploded for four runs in their half of the inning to take a 7-5 lead. After four straight one-out singles, the White Shirts crept ahead 6-5. Tod Ashton added some insurance with a two-out single to bring in another run.
A Crusher rally in their half of the fourth gave them the lead for good. After Richard Jonestone walked with one out, Brett Power doubled to put runners at second and third for the hard-hitting Heather Coakwell. Coakwell promptly plated one runner with a single to left field. Shortstop Paul Power then cashed his younger brother with an RBI single. A two-out walk by Karen Pidhirniak loaded the bases for Crushers pitcher Glenn Smith. Smith’s single brought in two more runs. Pidhirniak and Smith then scored on a double by left fielder Ryan MacNeil. After retiring the White Shirts one-two-three, the teams went into the fifth inning with the Crushers leading 11-7.
After a scoreless fifth, the White Shirts shut down the Crushers offense in the top of the sixth. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Ashton doubled over a leaping Brett Power to put a runner in scoring position for Demarcke, who then drove Ashton in with an RBI single. The White Shirts inched closer with the run, trailing 11-8 as the game went to the seventh, and final, inning.
After once again shutting down the vaunted Crushers offense in the top of the inning, Coakwell led off the bottom of the seventh with a single. Barely able to make it to first due to a hamstring injury suffered in the semi-final, Coakwell was pulled in favour of the speedier Demarcke. Demarcke then advanced to third when Rosendahl reached base on an error, before scoring on a groundout. Down 11-9, the White Shirts brought the tying run to the plate with two outs. A groundout to Smith brought the rally to an abrupt halt and handed the title back to Carter’s.  Smith was quick to savour the victory.
“Last year we kind of stumbled,” he said in the dugout following the game. “It was good to spread some interest out last year, keep them interested this year, reel them in, and then stick it to ‘em in the end.”
Ashton said the team was pleased with how they played, especially in their 15-12 semi-final win over the league’s top team in the regular season, the Brewzers. When asked about the White Shirts’ key to success in the post season, Ashton had a little fun at the expense of some of his teammates.
“We finally got rid of all our dead weight – all those guys who went houseboating,” he joked. “We were scrambling to find players all week and we just barely had enough.”
Even as the White Shirts chipped away at his team’s lead, Smith said he remained confident in his team’s chances to win.
“It was a close game for sure,” he said. “We just stuck through there in the end but the game went so quickly we didn’t have too much time to worry. No team had a big inning so it just seemed kind of a casual and close game.”

Photos © the Hub & Andy Spiridonica

A series of abandoned apartment buildings caught fire Saturday morning in what the Hay River Fire Department is calling a case of arson.
Firefighters responded to a call around 6 a.m. to find the complex, located North of the Bigway Gas Station, in flames.
The fire was quickly extinguished, but the complex was extensively damaged. No injuries were reported in the fire.

The Fire Department, NWT Fire Marshall Office and Hay River RCMP are treating the case as suspicious, and an arson investigation is underway.
The RCMP is asking the public to come forward with any information regarding the incident.

A Hay River man has been charged with manslaughter after an alleged altercation at a local bar.
Mark Larsen, 28, has been charged in the death of 50 year-old Brent Darrell Nixon.
He appeared in court on Aug. 18 in Yellowknife, where he was released on bail by Judge Robert Gorin.

As per the conditions of his bail, Larsen cannot leave the Northwest Territories, purchase or consume alcohol or visit the Hay River legion.
He also had to pay a $2,000 pledge and must pay regular visits to the RCMP on weekdays.
Gorin also granted Larsen a publication ban on the case.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 28 in Hay River.
Nixon, a father of three, was found unresponsive at the Royal Canadian Legion just after 1 a.m. on Aug. 14.
He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The long-term Hay River resident worked a railroad line between Hay River and High Level, Alta for CN Rail.

Six local biathletes have returned to the Territory after a week of summer of training in Alberta.
Kim Ring, Andrew Lirette, Angeline Magtibay, Colton Glaicar, Joseph Lirette and Christopher Lirette were among the 46 young athletes from across Western Canada to attend the five-day Alberta Biathlon’s Summer Development Camp at Augustana University in Camrose, Alta from Aug. 11 -15.

“The camp consists of roller ski and shooting training exercises, classroom sessions on gun maintenance and race preparation, and concludes with three competitions – shooting, roller skiing and a summer biathlon race,” said Chuck Lirette, one of the biathlon coaches.
“There is also lots of social activities planned and the chance to experience life as a university student, as the kids all stayed in the residences on campus.”
The six biathletes finished in excellent positions in each of the three competitions, and are preparing for the upcoming season.
Joseph finished at the top of his class in the shooting competitions, and with the highest score of all the competitors.
The junior division saw four Hay River athletes competing with Colton coming in third, Christopher fourth, Kim eighth and Angeline in ninth out of 12 athletes.
In the roller ski race, all the senior and junior athletes were combined for a total of 22 athletes. Joseph finished in second place, with Chrisopher in seventh, Angeline in 12th, Colton in 13th, and Kim in 20th. In the younger division, Andrew came in tenth out of 12 athletes.
The Shoot to Win Summer Biathlon Race saw Andrew coming in sixth out of 12 in the Junior Boys category.
Angeline placed first with Kim right behind in second out of seven athletes in the senior girls competition.
In the senior boys division, Christopher placed 10th out of 14, and Colton was unable to compete due to illness. Joseph placed first in the youth men category.
Upon returning to Hay River, the biathletes have begun their training for the season.
They have been working with former biathlete Amy MacDonald have completed thee to four shooting practices as well as roller skiing sessions on the Pine Point Highway.
Anyone youth or parents who are interested in getting involved with biathlon are asked to contact Chuck Lirette, April Glaicar or Larry Ring.