Whitehorse Daily Star

June 14, 2010

• Pre-Festival Tuneup Kevin Barr (second from right) performs at the Arts in the Park at noon last Thursday with his band.
• Yukon government invests in arts groups The Yukon government has doled out $668,000 in grants for 23 organizations dedicated to the growth of literary, visual and performing arts in the territory.
• TD Family Literacy Centre has new director The Yukon Literacy Coalition has welcomed Christine Spinder as the new Director of the TD Family Literacy Centre, located at the Canada Games Centre.
• Outgoing board chair wants more family time Craig Tuton will leave his post as chair of the workers' compensation board citing a desire to reduce his workload and spend time with his three grandchildren.
• Dump fire could have been serious situation Firefighting crews responded en masse Friday night to a fire at the Marsh Lake dump.
• Expanded airport officially opens The new expansion at Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport was officially opened Friday by Yukon Senator Dan Lang, Highways and Public Works Minister Archie Lang, and Tourism and Culture Minister Elaine Taylor.
• Phone, Internet services restored Yukoners trying to call family members or friends Outside on Sunday were out of luck after a BC Hydro pole in Fort St. John, B.C., knocked out long distance and a number of other communication services across the North.
• Fentie at national meetings Premier Dennis Fentie is attending the finance ministers' meeting in Charlottetown and the western premiers' conference in Vancouver.
• Far From Home This ring necked dove has been appearing daily in Hillcrest.
• Granger Mall property may get larger Owners of the Granger Mall will likely know tonight whether they can go ahead with plans to add more parking for the day care operated out of the building.
• Dana Naye Ventures files lawsuit Several government bodies demonstrated "reckless disregard for the truth” when they published a report containing statements defaming Dana Naye Ventures, the local organization says in documents filed with the Yukon Supreme Court.
• Mother, son on trial after 2008 Riverdale stabbing A mother and son are in court after a man was stabbed in their Riverdale home in 2008.
• Parking meetings will start Wednesday Downtown parking will be a major focus for the city this week as it hosts three workshops focused on the topic beginning Wednesday.
• Jail guard's assailant will serve time here A Teslin man managed to avoid being sent to a federal penitentiary Friday when territorial court judge Karen Ruddy handed down a sentence to Michael Nehass.

June 11, 2010

• Adventures in the realms of magic ( Bookends ) Cliff-hangers are dreadful things to find at the end of any volume in a series, and Garth Nix has left us a few of them so far in The Keys to the Kingdom.
• More handy tips on back country survival My column of two weeks ago has stirred some interest in building a survival pack, and I have received some questions and suggestions on how to improve on our survival pack.
• Painter to display work at coffee shop Whitehorse residents won't have far to go to take in many views of the territory's landscape outside the city next month.
• Rescue at the Ready Yukon Search and Rescue personel
• Subsidy program to help Yukoners acquire jobs The Yukon government now offers a temporary wage subsidy to encourage employers to hire people who have been unemployed for a long time or who are having difficulties entering the workforce.
• Yukoner pursues overseas development work In 2005,Whitehorse resident Karen Smith volunteered in Uganda with Volunteer Service Overseas.
• Study shows positive results for heritage status Ed. note: the first part of this two-part series was published last Friday.
• Yukon celebrates three tourism champions The second annual Yukon Tourism Champion Award has been presented to three people whose energy, enthusiasm and interaction with others have helped raise the profile of Yukon as a travel destination.
• Grove Street lots may be sold in August Prospective buyers of the new Grove Street properties could find out as early as August whether they can indeed make the purchase.
• Territory becomes centre of forensics research Thanks to a University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) partnership with the RCMP and Yukon College in Whitehorse,
• Grads compared to blossoming apple tree The F.H. Collins Secondary School 2010 graduating class is like an apple tree.
• A.J. Goddard receives historic designation The A.J. Goddard shipwreck, the sole remaining example of the small sternwheelers used during the Klondike Gold Rush, has been designated as a Yukon Historic Site under the Historic Resources Act.
• Workers' compensation board chair to quit Craig Tuton will resign as chair of the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board once a replacement is found, the Yukon government announced late this morning.
• Ross River woman faces drug charges A 48-year-old woman has been charged with the possession of a controlled substance for purposes of trafficking after RCMP seized drugs from a Ross River residence.
• High school hoop star headed to Alberta He's a regular on the Vanier Crusaders basketball court and played a major role in the team taking home its championship this season.
• Mounties welcome new chief superintendent As the territory's top cop officially took his position Thursday afternoon,
• Bear's finder not sure he's a hero TARANAKI, New Zealand – Cayden Searancke reckons if he ever lost a treasured possession, he would want someone to return it.
• Bank tightlipped on commotion Police are saying little and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is saying nothing about an incident that saw the Whitehorse branch shut four hours early Thursday.
• Microbes causing fuel tank failures: distributor A decision by the federal government to reduce sulphur content in fuel is linked directly to a recent jump in the failure of home heating tanks, says a local supplier.
• Beware of your oil tank, home owner warns Know your oil tank, advises a Whitehorse resident facing a huge cost to clean up a spill.
• City looks at spending $3,000 on time capsule Coun. Doug Graham doesn't mind the city donating staff time and city space to help the Youth of Today Society raise money through a project that would, 40 years from now, also celebrate the city's 100th anniversary.
• Friends mourn a man of good deeds, generosity The Yukon lost another pioneer Thursday with the passing of Ed Schiffkorn

June 10, 2010

• College unveils website winners Three lucky people are the winners of the Yukon College Winning Start draw.
• Grandmothers plan walk The local chapter of Grandmothers to Grandmothers, Stephen Lewis Foundation, will take part in a national Walk of Solidarity tomorrow.
• Bill is discriminatory, divisive, senator says Senator Dan Lang says he will not support a bill currently before the Senate that would require all Supreme Court of Canada justices to be bilingual.
• Musical Accompaniment Pat Ross, a City of Whitehorse manager, plays the pipes at the annnual Seniors' Tea the city held on Wednesday afternoon.
• Slinky Mine seeks development approval It appears the Slinky Mine in Dawson has received approval from the Yukon Territory Water Board and a land use permit from the territorial government.
• A Golden Presentation The Golden Girls perform at the annual Seniors' Tea held at the Yukon Convention Centre on Wednesday afternoon.
• Gas tax revenue has funded 79 projects As of April 2010, nine First Nations and eight municipalities in Yukon have had 79 Gas Tax Fund (GTF) projects approved since the launch of the program, the federal government said recently.
• Budding Aviator George Balmer takes Christian Obstfeld for a ride at the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) annual event for kids last Saturday at the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport.
• Workers plan to explain their mistreatment Some employers are mistreating foreigners labouring under their charge, says Alex Furlong, president of the Yukon Federation of Labour.
• McLean Lake resurfaces on council's agenda It's been nearly a month since city council opted to put off voting on the zoning which would allow for a controversial concrete batch plant in the McLean Lake area.
• Many don't hear about fire bans, council told There's more to fighting fires than just extinguishing them.