Whitehorse Daily Star

July 23, 2008

• Festival 2008: closing the circle, writing the record DAWSON CITY - During the last half-hour of the 2008 Dawson City Music Festival, the Good Family offered up Rainmaker, a tune made famous by Valdy, and an appropriate tune for a festival weekend drenched by water as well as fine music.
• Yukoner facing many charges in B.C A 28-year-old Whitehorse man is in custody in Vancouver facing multiple charges, including possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and the breach of an undertaking.
• Park tests hybrid buses in McKinley's shadow ANCHORAGE - For years, visitors wanting to see Denali National Park's grizzly bears, moose, sheep and caribou have had to ride school buses that polluted the air and spoiled the tranquility with their noisy, clattering carbon dioxide-spewing diesel engines.
• Airtanker groups sent to Prince George The Yukon-based Firecats and DC-6 airtanker groups were sent to Prince George, B.C. this morning to provide assistance with a recent increase in fire activity.
• City awards contracts for drilling of two pilot wells As the city tries to move away from its reliance on Schwatka Lake for the community's water supply, it's also spending more than planned on developing wells.
• Stringing begins on major power line project Crews from Valard Construction and Arctic Power have begun stringing transmission line on Phase 1 of the Carmacks-Stewart project.
• Feedback sought on climate change plan Yukoners are encouraged to comment on the draft Yukon Government Climate Change Action Plan before July 31, Environment Minister Elaine Taylor said Tuesday.
• Chief fearful of proposed mine's impacts The Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation is still very much concerned about the proposed Carmacks-area copper mine, says Chief Eddie Skookum.
• Daring gasoline thefts can be a problem, stations say A change in payment policies at the pumps is long overdue, say some local gas station managers.
• Argentinian's 'dream' takes him to Alaska A 37-year-old systems engineer from Buenos Aires was in Whitehorse last Friday as part of an inter-continental road trip from Argentina to Alaska.
• Land sale controversy has impacted first nation Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale's order to keep sealed the bids for the territorial government's Whitehorse waterfront property has prevented the Vuntut Gwitchin Ltd. Partnership (owned by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation) from going after any city sites up for bid in the same area.
• City foils senior's bid to build snug digs Since 1962, Ralph Lingard has, for the most part, called Whitehorse home.

July 22, 2008

• Stan McCowan is formally subdivided; lots to be sold The new Stan McCowan subdivision is just about ready to go ... at least on paper.
• Contractor entitled to damages, court rules A small claims court judgment has ruled that an independent contractor is entitled to damages because of a breach of a verbal contract with a local film company, WildMan Productions Inc.
• Summer Meandering This bear pauses
• Dawson City resident claims award for literacy efforts The winner of the fourth annual Council of the Federation Literacy Award for Yukon is Gordon Hardie of Dawson City.
• City moves to have court declare McLean Lake petition invalid The City of Whitehorse has filed documents with the Yukon Supreme Court hoping to have declared invalid a petition submitted to the city by residents of McLean Lake.
• Justices explain reasons for revoking woman's benefits Three justices from the B.C./Yukon Court of Appeal have released their written reasons for revoking workers' compensation benefits from a woman who was terminated from the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board in 2002.
• Ottawa pumps $250,000 into trades A $250,000 federal government injection into Skills Canada Yukon will help raise the profile of skilled trades as career options for young people.
• Mine plans seem like pilot project: YCS It's looking like the Carmacks Copper proposal is something akin to an experiment, says the executive director of the Yukon Conservation Society.
• Gasoline thefts spur Dawson station manager to take action DAWSON CITY - Folks fuelling up their vehicles at Dominion Shell in downtown Dawson are looking at another new reality of the high price of gasoline.

July 21, 2008

• Zoning change granted Five more lots are closer to becoming the latest addition to the Fox Haven Estates subdivision next to the nine-hole Meadow Lakes Golf Course after council approved third reading of the zoning amendment for the area last Monday.
• Basia Bulat Playing an autoharp
• Fentie, Kenyon attending Northwest region summit Premier Dennis Fentie and Economic Development Minister Jim Kenyon say they're looking forward to networking and partnering opportunities at the 18th annual Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) Summit in Vancouver this week.
• Fentie has broken faith with first nations: Hardy Premier Dennis Fentie clearly broke his promise to two Whitehorse-area first nations when he put two prime lots on the city's waterfront up for public tender without first engaging them in discussions to buy the land, NDP Leader Todd Hardy said today.
• Railway sets daily ridership record The White Pass and Yukon Route railway carried 6,968 passengers last Wednesday, setting a new daily ridership record.
• Community Vocational Alternatives group pursues assisted living complex Community Vocational Alternatives (CVA) has committed to a year of strategic planning that will include plans to construct an assisted living complex at their First Avenue and Strickland Street property.
• Teslin Tlingit Council will reduce its catch of chinook The Teslin Tlingit Council has announced it will be reducing its harvest in line with Department of Fisheries and Oceans' (DFO's) request for first nations along the Yukon River watershed to cut back on their catch of chinook by 50 per cent.
• Festival weekend saw 24 people committed to cells Music festival weekend in Dawson City proved a busy one for the RCMP.
• City adopts land disposition policy City-owned land up for sale will now fall under the newly-adopted land disposition policy, which council approved at its regular meeting last Monday night.
• Horse devotees hold their annual show About 90 riders and their horses participated in the 2008 Summer Horse Show over the weekend to showcase their horsemanship skills in events such as obstacle jumping, racing, and a musical freestyle.
• No bidders respond to city's land sale The City of Whitehorse has been left looking at its land disposition policy after not receiving a single bid for the five properties being sold on the waterfront.
• Board workers at mine site, YESAB urges The proposal for the Carmacks Copper mine has been given the green light by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Board (YESAB).