Whitehorse Daily Star

May 3, 2006

• Rural residents should pay more, leaders believe WATSON LAKE Non-Whitehorse residents using municipal services are subsidized by city taxpayers and should pay higher user fees or have some of their territorial taxes transferred to city coffers.
• Political leaders disagree on budget Premier Dennis Fentie says the first budget tabled by the federal Conservatives is a positive one for the Yukon.
• Impaired driver injured several people A man who pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing bodily harm and impaired driving on two separate occasions last year will serve his sentence in the community.
• Yukon Energy to provide scholarships to students Yukon Energy will award a number of scholarships to Yukoners studying at post-secondary institutions again this year.
• Deteriorating Dome Road needs some repair crews DAWSON CITY The City of Dawson is very concerned about the state of repair of the road leading to the Dome subdivision and the Midnight Dome viewing site.
• Man appealing his assault conviction Even if Yukon Supreme Court Justice Leigh Gower rules that Kenneth Davies didn't cause bodily harm when he reached to grab a pipe from another man, the car door slamming on the man's leg would be enough to let the conviction stand, says Crown counsel Mike Cozens.
• Councillor has concerns over official city plan's amendment The passing of an amendment to the city's Official Community Plan (OCP) to accommodate a local businessman's rezoning application could have significant impacts, says city councillor Doug Graham.
• They found Uncle Charlie's nugget!' It was Wednesday, July, 27, 1983.
• For the record: from the mayor of Squaw Creek Cheechaka!
• Program's cancellation has upset communities WATSON LAKE The Stephen Harper government's decision to scrap the One Tonne Challenge is disappointing to rural Yukoners who wanted to take part in the initiative.
• Dawson tripod waiting for breakup DAWSON CITY In spite of freak snowstorms and odd April weather, the IODE's ice pool tripod has been out on the Yukon River for some time now.
• Solomon Islands life amazed' Yukoner When Anna Crawford left Whitehorse to volunteer in the Solomon Islands with Canadian University Services Overseas last September, she didn't know what to expect.
• Greenbelt hearing set for May 8 City council will hold a public hearing on the greenbelt referendum bylaws next week.
• Dawson writ dropped; election race begins DAWSON CITY June 15 has been set for the municipal election which will restore democracy to Dawson City after a two-year absence.
• Uffish Thoughts Taking the measure of the Dawson bailout DAWSON CITY 'So I take it then, that I have your support?'

May 2, 2006

• Bylaw penalties violate Charter The city's bylaw department is recommending that council remove the penalty of jail time from all bylaw offences. Those penalties have been deemed to contravene the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, department officials believe.
• Coroner to make decision on bear mauling inquest Whether there will be an inquest into a Whitehorse man's fatal mauling by a grizzly bear has yet to be determined, acting coroner Julius Debuschewitz said today.
• Defections signal Grits' desperation: Fentie The movement in the opposition benches is a sign of desperation on the part of the Liberals, says Premier Dennis Fentie.
• Underwater property line may see more lots created Landowners in Marwell may be able to build and sell more serviced industrial lots than previously approved by council and eliminate an environmental protection zone.
• New minimum wage in effect The territorial government is reminding all Yukon employers that the new minimum wage rate of $8.25 per hour came into effect on Monday.
• Liberals would form land claims ministry The territory's Liberals, if elected to form a government, would create a ministry responsible for land claim implementation.
• Reliving an oldtimer's memories In the 1970s, Charles Ethelbert Ross headed back to the Yukon to re-stake the old claims he'd helped mine during the 1930s.
• Fired YTG worker denied judicial review A former Yukon government employee will not get a judicial review of the order which saw him fired in 2003.

May 1, 2006

• Staking crew member fatally mauled A sow grizzly attacked and killed a 28-year-old Whitehorse man who came within five metres of her and her cubs inside their den Friday while staking a mineral claim east of Ross River.
• Liberals become official Opposition Mayo-Tatchun MLA Eric Fairclough has joined the Liberal party.
• Premier unveils Dawson debt relief plan Dawson City will receive $3.43 million in government debt relief from the Yukon government.
• Federation to explore fiscal imbalance WATSON LAKE The president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) will meet with every municipal affairs minister in the nation, starting with the Yukon, about the need to address the fiscal imbalance in urban areas.
• Day of Mourning drew strong turnout The lobby of the Yukon government's main administrative building was packed early Friday afternoon as Yukoners gathered to remember those who were injured or killed on the job.
• Greenhouse gas credits mulled WATSON LAKE The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is considering acting as a greenhouse gas credit banker to allow Canadian cities and towns to make money on their environmental initiatives.
• Watson Lake-area crash investigated Watson Lake RCMP are continuing to investigate a single-vehicle accident that happened just south of the community late last month.
• AYC is ready for a Municipal Act review WATSON LAKE The Association of Yukon Communities (AYC) is ready to review the territory's Municipal Act and is waiting for the territorial cabinet to address the issue.
• First nation membership urged WATSON LAKE The Association of Yukon Communities (AYC) would be better able to serve Yukoners if first nation governments were to join the association.
• Plenty more volunteers sought WATSON LAKE The Canada Games Host Society has raised nearly $7 million but is still short nearly 4,000 volunteers needed in 2007.