Whitehorse Daily Star

May 6, 2008

• Charges follow seizure of marijuana A man and a woman, both 42, were arrested last Thursday after RCMP officers located 15 marijuana plants at a residence near Whitehorse.
• Enthusiasts open 'beautiful building' In the Fireplace Room of the newly-opened Whitehorse Shipyards Park Building, there is a direct line of sight to the gently rolling waters of the Yukon River.
• Palliative care team inaugurates new office Saving the lives of patients is the job of many health care workers, but when a patient is dying, it's the job of palliative care workers to ease the suffering and improve or maintain a patient's quality of life.
• City awarded funding for public transit Whitehorse Transit users will be getting a new ride thanks to the federal and Yukon governments.
• School locked down after weapon scare Students at Elijah Smith Elementary School were returning to business as usual today after a lockdown that took place Monday morning.
• Insulator failure cuts power to thousands Another failed insulator caused this morning's lengthy power outage across half of Whitehorse and north along the Mayo Road.
• Sunday's massive outage becomes a police matter It looks like Sunday night's systemwide electricity blackout was caused by a vandal with a rifle, says Yukon Energy's vice-president of operations and engineering.
• Takhini Transport issues driver layoff notices Sixty school bus drivers across the territory have received layoff notices from Takhini Transport after the company was released from its five-year contract a year early by the Yukon government.
• Riverfront land sale proposal stirs worries Going to the highest bidder and only the highest bidder: waterfront property.

May 5, 2008

• Dawson to host literacy and learning conference DAWSON CITY - Learning for Life and Literacy Learning will be the major themes of a conference being put on in Dawson next weekend by the Yukon Literacy Coalition.
• River's break-up provides lunch hour spectacle DAWSON CITY - The ice broke on the Yukon River here at 12:37 Sunday afternoon.
• Businesses show off products, services A wide variety of organizations were represented at the annual Lake Laberge Lions Trade Show over the weekend.
• RCMP searching for truck after driver flees accident Whitehorse RCMP are looking for a silver half-ton Chevrolet pickup and its unidentified male driver after a hit-and-run in front of the Star on Friday afternoon.
• School back on regular water supply Golden Horn Elementary School is back on its regular supply of water, school principal Chris Wright this morning.
• Students' poor test results raised in legislature Yukon students are far behind their Canadian counterparts in math and science, according to a 2007 assessment by the Council of Ministers of Education.
• Captive elk to gain freedom next month The 130 or so tick-infested wild elk being held in captivity will likely be released sometime in early to mid-June, say officials with the Yukon's wildlife branch.
• Damaged insulators cut power to thousands Four damaged insulators caused Sunday night's massive power outage to all 12,000 customers on the Whitehorse-Faro-Aishihik electrical grid.

May 2, 2008

• A walk in the park and deal with the devil It's fair to warn you that reading this book will familiarize you with more cooking terms than you ever wanted to know, unless you happen to have an interest in such things.
• On these issues, this is how I see it! A few columns ago, I said I had a few things to get off my chest, so what better time than now?
• Islands merge folk rock melodies with orchestral sounds Though it may be their second release, Quebec's Islands consider Arm's Way to be their first "band" album.
• Northwestel lauds Internet service launch Northwestel Inc., through its subsidiary Northwestel Cable, has launched what it calls the fastest-ever Internet service in Whitehorse.
• Crippled kids' program pioneer going strong at 93 Seniors over 70 will clearly remember the scourge of infantile paralysis, later called polio, in the '30s and '40s. Little was known about the disease, nor the treatment.
• RCMP called after disturbance in supermarket A 45-year-old man is in custody and facing charges of assault, causing a disturbance, and failing to comply with a probation order following an incident Thursday afternoon at the Super-Valu store in downtown Whitehorse.
• Company, deposit attract another purchase bid Another Chinese group has submitted an offer to buy the Yukon Zinc Corp. and its Wolverine zinc property in the Finlayson district.
• Fentie and Hart invited to Mt. Lorne group's BBQ Members of the Mt. Lorne Garbage Management Society will host a fundraising barbeque and bake sale Sunday at the Mt. Lorne Transfer Station.
• MLA, premier spar over latest ANWR musings Vuntut Gwitchin MLA Darius Elias sparred with Premier and Environment Minister Dennis Fentie in the legislature Wednesday over whether Fentie has done enough to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from development.
• 'You can tell she cares and understands' Mary Armstrong describes the last moments of a dying person's life as a "very special moment, caught in time. You're right there with that person."
• Rezoning OKed for home-based business venture The home-based pilates studio and Montessori school proposed for a property on River Ridge Lane has the city go-ahead to proceed, at least with the rezoning of the site.
• Young Authors' Conference marks its 29th year "Can you believe this is the 29th anniversary of the Young Authors' Conference?" co-ordinator Joyce Sward wrote in the conference packets given to the 63 young writers gathered Thursday in F.H. Collins Secondary School's library.
• Minister mum as school loses job Education Minister Patrick Rouble says they're adjustments while Eric Fairclough, the Mayo-Tatchun Liberal MLA and education critic, calls them teacher cuts.
• Local business wins boulevard construction contract A local Yukon business, Skookum Asphalt Ltd., has won a $4,857,826-contact to provide the surface works portion of the Hamilton Boulevard extension project.
• Young artist honoured for directory design During the unveiling ceremony for his award-winning art work late Thursday afternoon, Justin Smith stood quietly behind his grandmother, Kitty, with his hands resting on the back of her chair.
• Park centre will open May 16 The Kluane National Park and Reserve Visitor Centre in Haines Junction will open May 16, park officials announced Thursday.
• Please watch for these wanted Yukoners The public's assistance is requested in locating three Yukoners wanted as of noon Thursday.
• Shelter's furry guests anxious to check out The barking of dogs echoing off the walls at the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter is starting to get a little deafening.
• Firefighter draws curtain across 40-year career As the Whitehorse Fire Department welcomed new volunteer recruits and promoted three of its firefighters at a ceremony Thursday evening, members also bid farewell to a man who's spent more than 40 years putting out blazes and saving lives in the city.
• Baird to decide on Kluane park hunting issue Removing harvest restrictions for aboriginal people inside Kluane National Park will hopefully occur this year, says a director with the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations.
• Parkade deemed 'not financially attractive' City council seems more likely to go ahead with an economic development strategy for the city rather than a new parkade.
• Steel-toed boots assault gets woman cell time A 38-year-old woman received a one-year jail sentence in territorial court this morning after she pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing bodily harm and one count of breaching a recognizance.
• Air North may replicate Air Canada's fee Air North is not currently adopting Air Canada's new policy of charging $25 to passengers checking in a second bag.
• 'He has a broken spirit,' lawyer says of client The lawyer of the 34-year-old plaintiff involved in a civil suit against the Yukon government asked for more than $1.2 million in damages during his final submissions in Yukon Supreme Court Wednesday.