Rick Garrick — Wawatay News

The trail-blazing efforts of K-Net’s Penny Carpenter have earned her the 2012 Enterprising Women Aboriginal Entrepreneur Off-Reserve award.
Although she is the first Aboriginal woman to be a tribal council finance director and the first woman on the Keewaytinook Okimakanak management team, Carpenter prefers to keep out of the spotlight and to focus on working in the background to build healthy communities for First Nations, for instance, by helping with the recent introduction of cell phone service into 20 First Nation communities.

Former Nishnawbe Aski Nation leaders Frank Beardy and Chris Cromarty were honoured with gifts of headdresses and leather jackets for their dedication and service to NAN’s development during the Nov. 13-15 Special Chiefs Assembly.
“We’re going to do more of this because I think it is important,” said Grand Chief Harvey Yesno. “They have a lot more to contribute to our nation, advising us and maybe to remember some of the things that have gone on.”

Weagamow has hired three people to deal with bed bugs in two homes in the community.
“We even had one of the EHOs (environmental health officers) from Sioux Lookout come here to do a presentation on the radio regarding the bed bug problem,” said Weagamow Councillor Paul Johnup.
Johnup said the three workers have been working on the two houses for the past week-and-a-half using vacuum cleaners and a set of protective gear.

A Mishkeegogamang house fire has claimed the life of one person.
Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service confirmed one fatality in the Nov. 23 residential fire, which was reported at about 3 a.m. at 159 Sandy Rd. in the road-access community located about 315 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.
Human remains were located at the scene, with a post-mortem examination to be conducted at Kenora Lake of the Woods Hospital.
The identification of the deceased is not available at this time and no other injuries or deaths have been reported.

Constance Lake’s Arnold Sutherland is aiming for a career in carpentry after graduating from the Manitoba Regional Council Pre-Apprenticeship Level One Carpentry Training course.
“In about four years I hope to be a journeyman carpenter,” Sutherland said. “I’m supposed to start work right away (back home). Maybe I’ll take other programs like cabinetmaking just to build a wider array of skills.”