AKLAVIK FLOOD EVAC U ATION S UCCESSFUL

YOUNG EVAC UEES EVEN WENT FOR A S WIM (IN INUVIKʼS POOL)!

on the first approach, “all we could see was a runway surrounded by water. There was no room for error.”

Children who were evacuated did not seem to mind the flood as much, they described it as “cool”, especially since it was an excuse for a short break from school. Don Joseph and Isaac Kailek were happy to be at the FOL site, chasing each other down the hallway. “I like Inuvik!” Don said. “I am having fun! They have juice boxes here.” Other young evacuees also took the chance to swim in Inuvik’s swimming pool, enjoying the hot tub and a swim even an hour before they were scheduled to be transported home. “The flight was a little bit scary,” said Jessie Pascal. “In the flood, I saw some of my toys floating away.” They did miss members of their family that stayed behind in Aklavik though.

“The school had to shut down for a week,” said Velma Illisiak, principal of Moose Kerr School. “About 300 people were evacuated. It was mostly elders, those with chronic illnesses, young moms and kids that went on the 17 flights out of Aklavik. The school became a shelter, and there were volunteers and nurses on duty 24/7. There was a lot of good spirit and teamwork. The best thing was that it brought out the unity in the community.”

She said, “Floods like these occur almost once every twelve years, and have proven to be manageable. It’s not like a Tsunami. The river was monitored and the flooding was gradual. People get ready for it anyway.”

Flood conditions have caused trapper Wilson Melagana to move camp three times, but most Aklavik residents felt it was not as serious a flood as the one in 1992. Foster Arey, an Aklavik resident, described the flood as “lots of water and ice covering most of the town,” he also said animals will be affected.

Mrs. Starrat’s class is pretty super. “These kids are famous, they are going places huh?” she said. “Lindsey won the Ducks award, Cole was a winner, the picture that he drew will become Christmas cards for the NWT. We have Leah, Tori, Melanie and Leon, 4 winners for the No Smoking Rap Song, and Evan’s song was chosen to go to the second level of the anti-smoking contest too.”

These students also wrote persuasive essays and were chosen to be torchbearers for the Canada Games. They were all part of a relay that spanned a kilometer.

“When the song was to go to the judging level the whole class helped practice and they were all in the video.” The video is now a traveling show, and was in Inuvik for three days. How do the winners feel about being superstars? “It’s cool!” said Shayna, while Leah was too modest to comment.

Mrs. Starrat said the students seemed to have no problem putting the song together. “I told them I drive in town every night, and I said if I saw them smoking I will put them over my knee and spank them,” she said. Whether it’s the fear of that, or the fact that the students really seem to respect this teacher and their bodies, it is great news that all the students in SAMS Grade 5A have signed cards and pledged never to be a smoker.