Whitehorse Daily Star

February 16, 2006

• RCMP probe confiscated timber case What began as an inspection by a Yukon forestry official has become an RCMP investigation into a suspicion of timber being stolen from Crown land.
• Pension shortfall may hurt college programs Unless the territorial government grants a $1.2-million request to cover a pension shortfall, Yukon College may have to consider cutting existing programs.
• Duncan detects double standard Premier Dennis Fentie and his cabinet have employed a double standard in protecting the health of Yukon MLAs' pensions and have effectively ignored pleas for assistance by Yukon College and the city's hospital for almost a year.
• Something has to change,' musher says EAGLE, Alaska Yukon Quest officials should have never let the back runners of the Yukon Quest leave Mile 101 and head into the storm on Eagle Summit, says veteran musher Jennifer Cochran.
• Trail conditions brutal, ugly, hellish' EAGLE, Alaska 'With the weather the way it is, it makes you wonder what the future of dog mushing is,' says veteran musher Hugh Neff. The temperatures during this year's Yukon Quest sled dog race have ranged from 1 C to a low of about -25 C.
• Summit tale being overblown, musher says EAGLE, Alaska Whitehorse-area musher William Kleedehn is tired of hearing about Monday's airlift of five Yukon Quest mushers off of Eagle Summit.
• Terrible trail conditions take toll on mushers' bodies too EAGLE, Alaska As many teams are already on their way to Dawson City, others are still arriving at the checkpoint here.
• Technology brings race into classrooms The Department of Education's Yukon Quest Student Challenge website is using innovative assisted-learning techniques to bring a Yukon tradition into the classroom.
• Only Gatt has a full team EAGLE, Alaska 'A lot of us are just feeling the effects of the first couple days of the race,' says veteran Alaskan musher Hugh Neff.

February 15, 2006

• Storm's fury muffled chopper's noise When the Blackhawk helicopter from Alaska's Air National Guard set down on Eagle Summit Monday afternoon, it was within 15 metres of one of the lost Yukon Quest mushers.
• Mushers weren't forced into choppers: official EAGLE, Alaska A Quest 300 musher was also airlifted off of the trail following continued struggles with blizzard-like weather conditions.
• Crown wants driver to serve jail time It will be a little more than a week before Martin Biondelli learns whether he'll end up serving any time for his careless driving conviction.
• Group out to raise spousal violence awareness To deal with the alarming trend of spousal violence and to raise the public's knowledge of it, the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) has launched the Sisters in Spirit campaign.
• Hans Gatt leads Quest pack into Eagle EAGLE, Alaska Three-time Yukon Quest champion Hans Gatt was the first musher to arrive at the Eagle checkpoint at 7:06 a.m. today with all 14 of his dogs still pulling his sled.
• Trial of ex-deputy chief will go ahead in May Gerald Brown, the former deputy chief of the Champagne-Aishihik First Nation, is still without a lawyer, but Yukon Supreme Court judge Leigh Gower has scheduled the trial for May 8-9 anyway.
• Screw problem led to roof leaks The reason the Canada Games Centre is leaking is because 'roofers missed a couple of screws,' says a spokesperson for the company responsible.
• Court approves silver mine sale Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale has approved a proposal for the sale of the United Keno Hill silver mines in and around Elsa.
• Dogs never quit, says Quest 300 winner CIRCLE, Alaska Twenty-six-year old Brent Sass has crossed the finish line in Circle City and won the Yukon Quest 300.
• Land can fulfill all purposes, Fentie says The government will solve the Porter Creek greenbelt land debacle by permitting the city to develop houses, giving Yukon College endowment lands and having the rest of the area officially protected, says Premier Dennis Fentie.
• Musher doesn't want to collect Red Lantern CIRCLE CITY, Alaska Regina Wycoff is travelling in the Red Lantern position on the Yukon Quest trail, but says she's working to move up her position in the race.
• Legend's son sought to challenge himself When the Star visited Saul Turner at his father's Muktuk Kennel in mid-January, he was getting excited about the start of his first Yukon Quest. Saul still had three weeks to prepare to hit the trail from the starting line in Fairbanks last Saturday.

February 14, 2006

• Brutal weather stranded mushers on summit CENTRAL, Alaska By late Monday afternoon, all the missing mushers and their dog teams from the Yukon Quest and the Quest 300 race had been located.
• Mushing trio weathered the ordeal together CIRCLE CITY, Alaska Randy Chappel says he broke the first rule of mushing when he let go of his sled and was forced to watch his team disappear into the whiteout conditions on Eagle Summit Sunday night.
• College president schedules departure Yukon College president Sally Webber will leave her post March 31, after nearly12 years with the college.
• Mile 101 was a welcome respite for tired mushers MILE 101, Alaska There were bacon and eggs, chili and prawns waiting for mushers when they arrived in the Mile 101 dog drop earlier this week on the Yukon Quest trail.
• Smoking bylaw changes approved Amendments to the city's smoking bylaw were adopted and became municipal legislation Monday evening.
• Most racers have passed Circle City CIRCLE CITY, Alaska All but one musher have come and gone from the Circle City checkpoint on the Yukon Quest sled dog race trail. Sebastian Schnuelle was the first musher to arrive into the stop at 1:49 p.m. Monday.
• Council wonders how government decides on land Members of city council are openly wondering how the Yukon government (YTG) decides who gets land and who doesn't.
• Musher looks to build on 2005 performance Gerry Willomitzer developed a three-year plan when he decided to run the Yukon Quest for the first time in 2004.
• Environmental stewardship recognized A Grade 9 class at Porter Creek Secondary School has proved itself as a group which excels in developing environmental stewardship in youth.
• Project is going off the rails': Mitchell Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell says the Yukon Party government has lost its defence of using sole-source contracts to promote local employment.
• City to spend $375,000 on ice equipment The City of Whitehorse will spend $375,000 on ice plant equipment upgrades for the Takhini Arena and the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre.