Whitehorse Daily Star

December 19, 2011

• In Dawson City, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow .... ( Uffish Thoughts ) One of the things I always get asked when I meet someone who doesn't know anything about the Yukon is, "I suppose you get lots of snow up there every winter?”
• Liberals tilting to the right Interim Liberal Leader Darius Elias says he is pleased with the performance of his two-man Liberal caucus during the fall sitting of the legislature, which ended last Thursday.
• Helping Hands The students at the Robert Service School in Dawson City spent the first half of December collecting food to give to the Dawson Women's Shelter's annual Christmas Hamper Drive.
• High school students to attend college through pilot program The Department of Education is partnering with Yukon College to offer a dual credit pilot program which enables eligible high school students to take one of three Yukon College courses for credit.
• Copper As A Christmas Craft Matthew Butler, left, and Alex Roberts work on their copper tube Christmas decoration last week at Yukon College.
• Hotel, convention centre to be renovated The High Country Inn is about to get a face lift.
• Milestone Volunteer Sylvia Anderson, with Northwestel Inc., gives Coleman Newell an IPhone 4
• Chamber of mines reflects on territory industry's strengths The Yukon Chamber of Mines has declared 2011 a banner year for itself and the territory's mining and exploration industry.
• Man gets spell in jail for wasting moose meat A Beaver Creek man was sentenced to 30 days in jail earlier this month for wasting moose meat.
• Changes will ease foreign worker recruitment Changes to the Yukon Nominee Program will make it easier to recruit foreign workers to the territory and offer greater security to them when they arrive, officials say.
• Specialized rescue group pulls out of River Quest Whitehorse District Search and Rescue (SAR) has pulled its support from next year's Yukon River Quest.

December 16, 2011

• You asked questions on deer, and I offer up the answers! Since my recent column on deer, I have received a number of questions on that animal,
• Coached By A Steady Hand Robyn Poulter solders her Christmas decoration project Tuesday morning
• The absolutely absorbing adventure of the House of Silk ( Bookends ) Of pastiches relating to the saga of Sherlock Holmes there seems to be no end.
• Seasonal Sounds The All City Junior Concert Band is seen performing Tuesday evening at the Yukon Arts Centre.
• Museum presents Twelve Side-Dishes of Christmas The Dawson City Museum's recent annual Christmas open house was once again highlighted by The Twelve Side-Dishes of Christmas.
• Klondike singers are getting ready for Christmas A rotating group of between 12 and 20 people of all ages who love to sing have been gathering at the Richard Martin Memorial Chapel on Wednesday evenings and after church on Sundays to get ready for the annual ecumenical Christmas Carol Service and Pageant.
• City Lights Festival to shine Saturday The City of Whitehorse is again preparing to host its annual City Lights Festival on Saturday.
• Company weighs entering Yukon phone market A Yellowknife-based based company is the first to come forward to say it's investigating offering phone service in the Yukon to compete with Northwestel Inc.
• Documents set out extra spending This fiscal year's territorial budget will be over $8 million more than projected in the 2011/1012 budget tabled last spring.
• Events will generate money for local boy Two fund-raisers are set for Saturday to help cover the extra costs of buying a new van with a built-in wheelchair conversion for Lucas Yuill.
• Illegal parkers helped the drive for food The City of Whitehorse's Food for Fines program earned $6,000 in cash donations and $2,460 in food donations this year, the city reports.
• Ceremony pays respects to departed loved ones For many, the holidays are about spending time with family and friends. But the time of year can be especially changing when grieving the loss of a loved one.
• Traditions In Song Filipino students at Christ the King Elementary School
• Some drivers still not getting the message Three suspected drunk drivers were pulled off the road during check stops conducted in Whitehorse last Friday and Saturday nights, according to RCMP records.
• Maiden session had its share of tensions The last day of the abbreviated fall session of the legislature is over.
• Organizations working hard to help the needy Christmas is traditionally a time of giving.
• ‘They are really bent on pushing this through' City council has dropped the olive branch, says the executive director of the Yukon Conservation Society.
• Government must pay $400,000 to French-language school board The Yukon government has been ordered to pay $400,000 in legal costs to the French-language school board as the two sides continue to fight over francophone education in Whitehorse.
• Northwestel ready to greet competition: CEO Northwestel Inc. is "confused and disappointed” with Wednesday's landmark decision opening the three territories to phone service competition in 2012.

December 15, 2011

• Mt. Sima officially unveils new chairlift It was a busy scene on Thursday morning at Mt. Sima as a mass of skiers and snowboarders huddled in their brightly coloured gear.
• Midnight Sun Rotary Club helps food bank Ed Butte, Rotarian and projects chair with the Whitehorse Midnight Sun Rotary Club, one of three Rotary Clubs in Whitehorse, presented the Whitehorse Food Bank with $1,000 worth of hams on the club's behalf on Monday.
• Sounds Of The Season The Porter Creek Grade 8 Band performs Tuesday evening
• Former MP has new job in Watson Lake Larry Bagnell has a new job.
• Dawson takes a putt toward golf course ownership Dawson City's ownership of the Top of the World Golf Course is several steps closer to becoming reality, according to recent discussions in town council chambers.
• Tasty New Scholastic Digs The FEAST (Foods Education and Service Training) students became tired of waiting, so built their own rendition of a new F. H. Collins Secondary School.
• Opposition unhappy with house decorum The leader of the official Opposition is accusing the premier of ignoring his election campaign promise to work co-operatively in the house.
• NDP MLA ‘shattered' by fate of motion Wednesday's 3 1/2-hour debate on the Yukon's housing crisis just emphasizes the Yukon Party's refusal to work collaboratively, opposition parties charge.
• Councillor opposes project out of principle The Municipal Act does not say absent mail-in ballots should be counted as yes votes when surveying property owners about local improvement projects, says city councillor Betty Irwin.
• Minesite has yielded treasure in the trash The American mining company which has leased a former mine site in Whitehorse says its planned operation could offer the community both economic growth and even some environmental benefit.