Inuvik council votes No to Mad Trapper Sunday openings

People in the public gallery broke into applause last night as Inuvik towncouncillors voted Noto allowing the Mad Trapper to sell liquor on Sundays.

The owner of theMad Trapper wanted council's approval to expand to a seven-day-a-week operation, butcouncil rejected that bid, aswell as a subsequent request to open 30 Sundays out of the year.

All sixcouncillorsgathered at last night's meeting voted "no,"includingCoun.Clarence Wood,who had earliersaid he didn't want the town to be a "moral babysitter."

Hesaid he changed his vote to reflect the majority view of the town's resident.

Counc.VinceSharpewas an early opponent of the request.

He said last night that he didn't want tourists coming to the townto see "the midnight sun and the midnight drunks."

Inuvik residentNorman Snow was at yesterday's vote.

"The most important reasonis that it's a special day for most people," he said.

"I know for Christians it's a time to go to Church and for hunters it's a good day to go out.

"But most of all, with binge drinking being such a problem up here, it's a day that people sobered up and got back with their families."