Drumlites & Suicide Prevention

The high school bass drums got colourful additions on September 24.  I bought LED RGB strips from Drumlite and carefully installed them during my prep time.  The lights can be programmed with a wireless remote to display many colours and flash in a variety of patterns.  The only thing that surprised me was the battery pack requires 8 double A batteries. 

I took my time because this was my first time doing such an installation.  I followed the instructions, removing a drum head and placing the strips in two equally spaced parallel lines.  I used masking tape first.  When I was satisfied with their placement, I removed strips of paper on the back of the LED lights, exposing the sticky adhesive.  I pasted the strips to the wooden drum and then removed the masking tape.  I kept the masking tape on the black electrical wire.  The battery pack is attached on the outside of the drum, stuck to a Velcro strip.  The strip also has sticky adhesive on the back so that it can be pasted to the drum.  I then placed the drum head back on and screwed it in place.  I repeated the process on the second bass drum. 

I closed the curtains and turned off the lights in my classroom before testing the LED strips.  Thankfully, they worked and the bass drums lit up in various colours.  The upcoming Halloween concert was going to be brighter than before.  Drumlite also sells LED RGB strips for snare drums & quad toms but I didn’t have the necessary budget.  There’s always next year.

The bass drums received priority because there doesn’t exist bass drum mallets that light up when you’re playing.  (Future business idea?)  At last year’s Halloween concert, my bass drummers couldn’t play their drums with the LED sticks I bought because they would damage the drum heads.  It was a challenge for them to play the written music with the gym lights turned off.  Fitting the bass drums with interior lighting is my way of providing a visually appealing alternative.  My goal is to have all the drums fitted with LED lights.  Future performances will be fantastic!  If I was given the budget to buy LED stick figure suits, the results will be out of this world!  One step at a time.

The atmosphere of September 27 was more sombre.  A suicide prevention workshop, organized by the territory’s mental health services, was held at the community hall.  The workshop was primarily designed for students but community members were allowed to attend.

The year of 2019 has not been kind to the people of Arctic Bay.  The community has suffered from several suicides, the passing of elders, and tragic fatal accidents.  I don’t know the exact number of funerals that have been held, but it feels like a lot and too much.  I have refrained from mentioning these tragedies in previous posts out of respect for the victims, their families, and community members.  There’re already enough negative stories in the news.  Mental health teams from out of town have visited the community but that’s only a short-term solution.  The territorial government needs to invest more resources in community mental health services.

The morning of September 27 was spent helping students prepare anti-suicide posters.  The workshop was hosting a poster contest for cash prizes.  I helped several high school students research positive messages, ideas, and symbols they could use for their posters.

Everyone arrived at the community hall at 1:30pm to tape the posters to the walls and find seats.  The seating arrangements were similar to a community feast, arranged in a hollow square.  An assortment of snacks & drinks was prepared for attendees.  The menu consisted of cupcakes, crackers, macaroni mix, nacho chips, hot dogs, cheese, pickles, juice boxes, and bottled water.  I took pictures of the posters on display before taking my seat at the back of the hall.

Dodgeball.

The workshop began at 2pm with a welcome address by an elder.  There were several elders in attendance.  Reverend Leah May continued with a short speech explaining what suicide is and how to recognize the warning signs in individuals.  She then divided the participants into two groups and got them to play a game of dodgeball.  I forget whether this was to give everyone a break from the serious talk or if this had something to do with the topic.  Either way, the people who participated had fun playing the game.  No one was hurt.

            

May brought everyone together and had them sit close to the stage.  She continued the workshop by explaining how everyone can help each other when things are tough and people need support.  She also reviewed the warning signs and listed a few groups of people that students can go to for help (ex: parents, elders, teachers, friends).

            

The last activity was a candlelight vigil for all the people who lost their lives to suicide.  Everyone stood in a circle, holding small lit candles.  May said a prayer, followed by a one minute of silence.  People were then instructed to hug or shake the hands of the people around them and then place their candles at the front of the stage.  The workshop was at an end.

            

People lined up for food.  I stood back and took more photographs.  I was glad the 90-minute workshop happened because the community needed it.  Too many people are suffering in silence and need to know that they’re not alone.  This workshop and others before it are breaking the taboo of talking openly about suicide.  They won’t solve the problem overnight, but they’re steps in the right direction.

One of the winning posters.

The judging of the posters occurred while everyone was eating.  The winners were announced by a small panel of judges and were awarded gift certificates to the local Co-op.  The door prizes were then given out by raffle.  Everyone was dismissed at 3:45pm. 

            

Kamatsiaqtut – Nunavut Helpline: 1-800-265-3333.       

Operation Hill Top 19 – Part 2

The Rangers' Tent.

Those who rode in the back of the pickup trucks had to pull their hoods up to protect themselves against the cold wind.  The Nanisivik Airport sits at an altitude of 2,069ft above sea level.  It took us about 10 minutes to drive down to the Second Bridge.  We were greeted by the first-year cadets.  The second-year cadets returned their red backpacks to the Supply/Command tent.

            

A short period of rest followed.  I asked the first-year cadets if they enjoyed the 7km hike?  I think all of them said yes.  The senior cadets got to work firing up the Coleman stoves and boiling two large pots of water.  There were going to be many mouths to feed for dinner due to the arrival of the first-year cadets.  American-made MREs were on the menu.  For some junior cadets, this would be their first time trying military rations.  In the military, junior ranks usually eat first.  I made sure everyone had a meal before selecting an MRE bag.

            

After dinner I had all the cadets form up near the road for a group photograph.  The sun was setting and I wanted to get a good picture before the sun disappeared behind a mountain.  The two Rangers also joined in.  We all faced the sun so that my camera could clearly capture our faces.  I set the timer to 10 seconds and ran to my spot before the camera snapped a picture.  The second attempt produced the best picture.  I’m glad I didn’t trip and fall down. 

            

On Friday, when the cadets were loading all the camping equipment into trucks, I made sure to include 4 pylons, two frisbees, and a soccer ball.  FTXs can’t be “all work and no play.”  Time needs to be set aside for cadets to do something else and give instructors a break from teaching.  The Rangers set up the pylons and got the cadets to play a game of ultimate frisbee.  They played the version where you don’t take any steps when in possession of the frisbee.  I chose to observe and document this game for the corps’ Facebook page.  I took pictures and filmed a few short clips.  The game lasted for about an hour.

            

The bonfire began at 7:30pm.  Wood was brought by Frank & his helpers on Friday.  The pieces came from the large wood pile at the shoreline behind the airport.  We would be burning discarded pieces of sealift crates.  The senior cadets assembled the wooden pieces while the junior cadets brought over the bonfire supplies.  On the menu were marshmallows, hot dogs, hot chocolate, juice boxes, and assorted condiments.  The fire was lit using matches and fire starter sticks. 

            

It took some time for the fire to grow into an actual bonfire.  When the fire grew to an acceptable size, the roasting sticks were distributed, and the food was made available for roasting and consumption.  I also joined the festivities, roasting & eating a few hot dogs and marshmallows.

           

About an hour into the bonfire, we spotted a parade of lights coming from the direction of Arctic Bay.  These were headlights from several cars coming to pickup the first-year cadets.  The cars stopped next to the bonfire.  I greeted & thanked the parents for driving all the way out here to take the first-year cadets home.  The cadets said their goodbyes and got into the waiting vehicles.  The convoy left for Arctic Bay.

            

The bonfire continued for another 20 minutes before we began extinguishing the flames.  In the past, we used shovels to dump snow on the glowing embers but with no snow on the ground this year, we were forced to find a safer alternative.  We retrieved the large metal pots from the Supply tent and filled them with water from the nearby river.  We then carried the now heavy pots to the firepit and poured the water onto the embers.  The fire was fully extinguished after several trips.  The remaining bonfire supplies were brought back to the Supply tent.  I dismissed the remaining cadets to their tents for the night.

            

Sunday, September 22 was all about having breakfast and tearing down the camp.  Everyone was up by 8am and breakfast was being served by 9am.  Low hanging clouds surrounded the camp.  I wondered if the sun was shining in Arctic Bay?  The cadets who finished eating early were directed to begin packing their belongings and move everything out of their tents.  The remaining cadets joined later.

            

The teardown of the camp was in full swing just after 10am.  Two piles were created for personal belongings and corps equipment.  The tents were taken down and packed.  By this time Frank arrived with another pickup truck.  One truck was loaded with personal belongings while the corps equipment went into the other truck.  I did a final inspection of the firepit, making sure there were no glowing embers.  The cadets did a garbage sweep of the campsite.  When I was satisfied that the campsite was clean, I instructed the remaining cadets to form up for a quick debriefing.

            

Firepit.

I congratulated the second-year cadets for completing the 7km hike and for taking down the campsite.  I added that they were now prepared to handle the more challenging hikes down south.  I also thanked the two Rangers for keeping us safe from “aggressive wildlife”.  I asked for a few volunteers to help me unload all the corps equipment at Frank’s Shop.  The cadets were then dismissed to find seats on the waiting trucks.  Frank would drive the cadets who didn’t volunteer home.

           

It took me and the cadet volunteers about 20 minutes to unload all the corps equipment from the truck and place them back where we found them.  We also unpacked a white tent and hanged it inside Frank’s Shop to air-out.  The same would be done for the other tents in the coming days.  I dropped the cadets off at their homes before driving to my residence.  I brought all my personal stuff inside and then took a long shower.

            

Overall, Operation Hill Top 19 was a success in my mind.  All our objectives were met and everyone came back alive.

End of Operation Hill Top 19 Mini-Series.

Operation Hill Top 19 – Part 1

A first year cadet holds a support beam for a white Fort McPherson tent.

Operation Hill Top 19 was going to be a little different than the previous field training exercises (FTX) held by 3045 Cadet Corps in mid-September.  This FTX is the first of two during the regular training year and is primarily for the first & second-year cadets.  The main requirement is to complete is a 7km hike.  The first-year cadets just have to walk the distance while the second-year cadets have to hike and carry backpacks filled with supplies.  The hike prepares these young minds for the more arduous FTXs down south.  Senior cadets can join for supervision and to practice their leadership skills.

            

The corps’ recruitment efforts are going very well.  It’s only been a month and half since the start of school and we’ve managed to recruit around 10 new cadets.  This has led the ranks to grow to almost 30 cadets on parade.  That’s quite good for a community just shy of 1000 people.  However, the influx of recruits caused corps administration to rethink the planning & execution of the FTX.

            

Cadets packing the green tent.
September 11.

There would be 22 cadets out in the field and, unfortunately, the corps does not have enough tents for everyone to stay for two nights.  (The FTX is usually a two-night affair).  It was decided the new recruits would stay out for a day, do the hike, remain for the bonfire, and then be driven home in the evening.  Everyone else would leave the following day.  I think the last time something like this was done was in 2013 when I first arrived in Arctic Bay.  The Canadian Rangers assigned two Rangers to provide polar bear protection.  We need two Rangers because of the high number of cadets.

            

Second Bridge.

Planning & preparation began several weeks in advance.  The cadets checked the tents & Coleman stoves on September 11 and packed sleeping bags on September 20.  It was a good idea teaching the new recruits these skills even though they wouldn’t be sleeping at the camp site.  The decision would pay off some time in the future.

            

Operation Hill Top 19 began on the evening of Friday, September 20.  Everyone involved, except for the first-year cadets, assembled at the school’s gym at 6pm for roll call and to load the trucks with supplies.  We then drove to Frank’s Shop to pick up more supplies and then continued to the camp site by the Second Bridge.  The Second Bridge has been the go-to area for this FTX since 2013.  We camp here because we’re next to the Road to Nanisivik.  It’s easier to hike 7km on a road and if there’s an emergency, we can quickly evacuate someone or everyone to Arctic Bay.  We arrived at the Second Bridge at 7:30pm. 

            

Frank recruited a few helpers to help him set up a white Fort McPherson tent the day before.  They also stored some supplies in the tent so that we wouldn’t have to make two trips to bring everything to the camp site.  Thank you.  This tent would serve as the Supply & Command tent.  The cadets immediately went to work setting up the remaining tents and moving their personal belongings into their assigned tents.  All the food and cooking supplies would be stored in the Supply tent.  I would also sleep here.  The male cadets would sleep in a different white tent and the female cadets would sleep in a green tent.  The Rangers brought their own tent.  It took about an hour to get the campsite ready.

            

Snacks were given out & hot chocolate was prepared for the cadets once everything was in order.  Everyone then retired to their respective tents and slowly fell asleep.

            

Breakfast MREs.

Reveille was at 7:00am on Saturday, September 21.  I was the first one to emerge from my tent.  The weather was cold but there was no snow on the ground.  Slowly, the cadets & Rangers woke up and got ready for the day.  The Coleman stoves in my tent were lit and large metallic pots were filled with water collected from a nearby river.  Breakfast MREs were opened and distributed to the cadets.  The Supply/Command tent became the Mess tent for the next hour.

            

I taught several classes after breakfast.  The class the cadets enjoyed the most was using proper radio communication procedures because they got to play with walkie-talkies.  The other classes I taught were identifying types of clouds, packing a backpack for a hike, and what to do when you’re lost.  These classes get taught every year but it never hurts to review.  There’s only so much stuff we can cram and keep inside our minds. 

            

Ice over a stream.

The second-year cadets were given a break because the senior cadets needed the Supply tent to prepare lunch.  Lunch consisted of more MREs.  The first-year cadets ate their lunch at the local Anglican church.  They would then be driven to the First Bridge to begin their 7km hike.  Coincidentally, the distance between the First & Second Bridges is 7km.

            

First-year cadets about to begin the 7km hike.

Second-year cadets begin their 7km
hike.

The main event had finally arrived.  The second-year cadets were given bright red backpacks and packed them with garbage bags, toilet paper, juice boxes, and granola bars.  One cadet had the honour of carrying a small first aid kit.  The cadets were also given walking sticks.  One Ranger would drive up and down the road, checking on both groups, while the other would walk with the first-year cadets.  I would hike & supervise the second-year cadets.  We began walking up the road towards Nanisivik at 1:30pm.

            

Operation Hill Top 19 Camp Site.

The hike is always the same, but the experience is different due to the cadets involved.  I was supervising 7 cadets.  The biggest hurdle was at the beginning: walking up a steep hill.  Once we were over the top, we continued along the road at a steady pace.  The size of the group stretched with every step we took.  It became obvious that some cadets had more energy than others.  I stayed at the back, making sure no one was left behind.  I should have instructed the cadets to come back together but I could see for many kilometres, so I let the cadets walk at their own pace.  The risks of encountering polar bears at this high altitude are very low.  Plus, I was able to take several interesting landscape pictures with the cadets in various spots.  We stopped twice for snacks and bathroom breaks.

            

I used my GPS device to inform everyone when we walked 7km.  The 7km mark is just past the long straight portion of road known as “The Stretch”.  The road bends to the left up a hill, and several metres after that, you’ve walked 7km from the Second Bridge.  Ranger Roland was waiting for us in a red truck to take us back to camp.  When I walked up to greet him, he informed me that we had completed the hike way ahead of schedule.  I looked at my watch and realized that he was right.  I had originally scheduled the hike to take 4 hours but it had only taken us just under 2 hours.  Ranger Roland suggested using the extra time by visiting the old Nanisivik Airport.  I agreed after gaining approval from the cadets.  I hopped in the back of the truck and we were on our way.

            

Nanisivik Airport.

It’s been quite some time since I visited the old, abandoned, and decrepit Nanisivik Airport.  I think it’s been a few years.  The Nanisivik Airport was built in the 1970s and ceased operations in 2011.  Its gravel runway was long enough to accommodate jet planes and it serviced the Nanisivik Mine & Arctic Bay.  (The mine closed in 2002).  Since the airport’s closure, the remaining structures and equipment have been left to rust & decay.  I still wonder if the territorial & federal governments are even talking about cleaning up the site or repurposing it, since the Nanisivik Naval Facility is close to completion?  Hopefully, something will be decided soon.

            

The airport was devoid of life until we arrived.  The weather was a little colder because we were high up in the mountains.  Ranger Roland drove around the main buildings and stopped in front of the Maintenance Garage.  We all got out and went inside.  The large orange bulldozer & yellow CAT loader were still inside.  The top floor was full of stacked cardboard boxes, discarded papers, old electronics, tools, nails, screws, and just junk.  It would take too long to list every item we found. 

“If humans were to just disappear from the face of the Earth all at once, this is what we would leave behind,” I commented to the cadets.  “It would be like that tv show, After Humans.”

Creepy Hallway.

Nanisivik Airport Terminal. What's left of it.

We walked through the creepy hallway that connects the Maintenance Garage to the Terminal Building.  The terminal appeared to be in far worse shape.  Everyone had to watch where they stepped.  There was broken furniture & pieces of wood all over the floor.  Many ceiling tiles were missing and all the glass windows were broken.  It was as if the building had been turned into a rage room.  This place definitely needs to be cleaned out.  At least the old orange payphone from my previous visit was still here.

We continued our exploration by checking out the First Air cargo sheds.  One is a half-cylinder structure and the other looks like a small house.  There were only large open spaces and defunct heaters inside these structures.

The last structures we examined were the power generators and electrical shack.  The generators are located inside blue sea can-like boxes and the electrical shack is a separate yellow structure.  The generating equipment looks disabled but I told my cadets not to touch anything.  I didn’t want a sudden, shocking emergency situation.  Thankfully, no one got hurt.

Disabled generators.

Abandoned dumpsters, oil barrels, &
vehicles.

Another pickup truck arrived at the airport just as we were getting ready to leave.  The driver was Frank.  He had come looking for us.  I quickly told him how we ended up here.  He told me the first-year cadets were at the camp site, sipping hot chocolate and waiting for us.  My cadets got into both pickup trucks.  I did a head count, making sure we weren’t leaving anyone behind.  I gave the go ahead and we drove back to the Second Bridge. 

To Be Continued . . .