Whitehorse Daily Star

December 28, 2005

• Bridge replacement bids much higher than YTG's estimate The low bid of $34.8 million to replace the Donjek River Bridge is almost $10 million over the estimated cost by the Yukon's Department of Highways and Public Works.
• Compensation plan draws cautious response While a new federal government program has promised almost $2 billion toward compensation and healing for former students of Indian residential schools, it's not clear where the money will come from.
• Accused sent Outside for a psychiatric assessment A Whitehorse man facing several charges of assaulting police officers and other criminal charges is to be sent for a psychiatric assessment.
• Towns may join coalition against racism Yukon communities and the City of Whitehorse may soon be members of the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism.
• Charges to stay the same for disposal of animal carcasses The cost for putting a farm animal or your pet into the city's landfill will be the same in 2006 as it was in 2005.
• Visitor numbers rose this year The Yukon had 2.5 per cent more visitors this year than last year, statistics show.
• Dawson seeking sewage lagoon site DAWSON CITY The good news about the tests that have been carried out here since last summer to see if an aerated lagoon system will handle Dawson's effluent efficiently is that it works.
• November offered potpourri of weather November proved to an interesting month for weather this year.
• Boxing Day was also dump day The city's landfill saw a lot of action Monday as Whitehorse residents flocked to dump their Christmas trash on the city's free dump day.
• Mining proponents optimistic about production Representatives of two of the Yukon's advanced mining projects remain convinced they'll be in production soon.
• Yukon population rose by 753 The Yukon had 753 more people in June 2005 than in June 2004.

December 27, 2005

• Oil leak's volume has tailed off After nine months and more than $160,000, the case of the oil leak found next to the Optometrists Building remains shrouded in mystery.
• Yukon College honours students Yukon College has recognized five students who received the college scholarship of free tuition for this year.
• Water park will mix fun with safety: city A $155,000 water park in the city's Rotary Peace Park will make the waterfront safer for children.
• Wait time benchmarks realized, Cathers says The Yukon is already meeting the wait times for services in four of the eight areas identified earlier this month by provincial/territorial Ministers of Health who have been working together to create benchmarks for the provision of medical and screening services since the first ministers' meeting in September 2004.
• Secretariat to help ready placer mining regime A co-ordinating secretariat has been created to assist in preparing and implementing the new territorial placer mining regime.
• Whitehorse dumping fees are on the rise Whitehorse will start charging people who dump asbestos into the city's landfill.
• Electoral reform group isn't discouraged Recommendations on a petition with more than 700 signatures may have been disregarded by the governing Yukon Party, but the Citizens for Electoral Reform Yukon says it has only just begun its work.
• Amend privacy rules, government urged The Yukon government needs to move forward and make amendments to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPP), says Hank Moorlag, the territory's Information and Privacy Commissioner.

December 23, 2005

• Bang-ups have blossomed at Second and Fourth At what's already known as a trouble spot, collisions at the intersection of Fourth and Second Avenues nearly doubled this year.
• Paralysis victims share common circumstances It's a dismal coincidence that has aligned injured Yukoners Dan LeBlanc and Andy Johnsgaard.
• City blind-siding' taxpayers, property owner believes Paying 21.5 per cent more in property taxes in 2006 seems a far cry from the two per cent hike the city said it was going to charge.
• Death not immune from tax hikes Dying in Whitehorse will be more expensive in 2006 than it was in 2005. According to city budget figures, cemetery fees in the city will see modest increases across the board.
• City mulls vehicle idling limits for staff In an effort to lead by example, workers using City of Whitehorse vehicles may soon have to adhere to an anti-idling directive.
• Anglican minister ordered to pay Mountie $10,000 CALGARY (CP) A Calgary judge has ordered an Anglican minister from Pelly Crossing, Yukon to pay a Mountie $10,000 for defamation.
• No rest for the wicked, vote officials find While most Canadians are enjoying a statutory holiday on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, hundreds of Elections Canada employees will be at work.
• Late education official praised for dedication Bill Ferguson, who succumbed to an illness in November, is being remembered as a pillar of the territory's education system for decades.
• Review of deaths called inadequate PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. (CP) Not good enough.
• Season proves busy for local stores As Christmas Day approaches, look no further than local businesses to make your last-minute purchases.
• Odyssey going well, man says from mid-Atlantic A 'round-the-world attempt that passed through Whitehorse in July 2004 is nearly in the home stretch.
• Petition has gathered an estimated 1,100 names In its effort to collect 2,000 signatures and spark a city-wide greenbelt referendum, the Porter Creek Community Association has passed the halfway point.
• Search for missing musician reined in Whitehorse RCMP have scaled down the search for 48-year-old David Gilmor.
• Man faces string of charges after hotel room robbery One of two suspects in Monday night's armed robbery that saw an infant sprayed with bear spray is in jail facing five criminal charges.
• Here come more literary goodies for Christmas While The Quilt of Belonging isn't exactly a Christmas offering, this seems like a good time of year to be looking at such a rich volume.
• NWTel chooses art for phone directories A watercolour by Helen O'Connor of Whitehorse is among the three pieces of art that will be featured on Northwestel Inc.'s 2006 telephone directories.
• Eleven students awarded NWTel scholarships Northwestel has awarded 11 scholarships worth a total of $27,500 to outstanding post-secondary students from across the North.