Army airlift helps equip Pangnirtung school

DWANE WILKIN

Mounties from Iqaluit joined a Canadian Armed Forces flight crew last week to airlift much-needed school supplies to Pangnirtung.

High-school students enrolled at Attagoyuk School, destroyed by fire on March 9, returned from Easter Break on Tuesday to find new desks and computers waiting for them in their temporary classrooms.

“Along with that they sent some high-school material, books, maps, curricula ­ all kind of things to help us continue our education program,” said vice-principal Elwyn Brown, who greeted the goodwill mission at the airport last Thursday.

The airlift was launched from Yellowknife after officials with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment made arrangements with local staff to pick up and distribute the special freight.

E-mail reached army

A military Twin Otter aircraft attached to Squadron 440 at Northern Area headquarters in Yellowknife touched down in Pangnirtung at about 8 p.m. with its load of books and other assorted teaching materials, including three old computers that ECE officials managed to dig up.

Lt. Col Jack Backstrom, Northern Area chief of staff, said an appeal for donations of books and other supplies first reached his office via e-mail, and that’s what got the ball rolling.

“We decided that if we had any taskings out in that direction, if we could tie something in to help out we would look at doing that,” Backstrom said.

Good publicity

Squadron commander Lt. Col Chris Tuck pointed out the Armed Forces was due to make the trip to Pangnirtung with supplies for the Ranger Patrol. They seized on the opportunity.

“From an operational perspective, it’s not something we normally do,” Backstrom said. “From a personal perspective, it’s something that’s nice to do ’cause it’s nice to get some good publicity, once in a while.

“This was a case where we saw there was a legitimate requirement and we had the opportunity to help out, so we did.”

Volunteers helped out

RCMP officers from Iqaluit also made the 400-km round trip to Pangnirtung several times to deliver 62 student desks.

Volunteers with vehicles, including local contractor Ninety North, helped distribute the supplies.

“The community has been very supportive,” Brown said.

Classes for the 215 students and 18 staff members from Attagoyuk are now being held in space provided by Nunavut Arctic College’s Adult Learning Centre, Alookie Elementary School and portable classrooms.

Attagoyuk principal Seamus Quigg said that despite the fire, he expects students will be able to finish their school year on time.

“Everything is going on more or less as normal,” Quigg said. “We’re on track to finish the school year on time. June 6 is our last day.”

Fire broke out at the school nearly a month ago while construction was under way to complete the second phase of a new wing of the one-storey building. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Residents have been told that a new school won’t likely be ready until the fall of 1998.