Whitehorse Daily Star

August 24, 2005

• Festival short on storytelling, big on entertainment Though billeted as a storytelling event, the highlights of this year's Yukon International Storytelling Festival, held last weekend at Shipyards Park, were traditional drumming, dancing and theatrical performances.
• Songwriter seeks Savage Country' Roots folk musician Leslie Alexander is touring the North this week, with performances in Atlin, B.C., Whitehorse and Dawson City.
• Long drive inspired words of heritage interpreter 'Tons of gold, buckets of gold, gold as big as hen's eggs,' exclaims the woman dressed in a floppy velvet hat and white lace blouse.
• School needs governments' help: director The federal, provincial and territorial governments need to commit real dollars to the University of the Arctic (UA) if Canadians are to live up to their international obligations.
• Businesswoman takes on Ontario market Aroma Borealis, the local herb shop that has stood for eight years on Main Street, is going national.
• Dempster Highway reopens after smoke forced closure The Dempster Highway was reopened this morning after being closed Tuesday evening as a result of heavy smoke in the air.
• Cup invitation was sudden but welcome DAWSON CITY Bringing the Stanley Cup to the Yukon wasn't the first idea the Dawson City Old Timers had for 2005.
• Cup handler's trip was a dream come true DAWSON CITY Philip Pritchard has been travelling with the Stanley Cup for 17 years.
• Late educator praised for contributions In what turned out to be an intimate gathering of more than 100 people, members of the Yukon's academic circle honoured the late Aron Senkpiel with a memorial at Yukon College Tuesday afternoon.
• Pagan rituals alive and well at harvest fete There were two harvest celebrations in Whitehorse last weekend.
• Bridge beckons more path users The number of residents using Whitehorse's Millennium Trail has jumped since the completion of the Rotary Centennial Bridge, says city parks supervisor Douglas Hnatiuk.
• YTG authorizes $3.3 million worth of projects The Departments of Highways and Public Works and Community Services have awarded contracts valued at more than $3.3 million for various highway and infrastructure projects.

August 23, 2005

• We're not going to give up,' PM vows The Canadian government won't sit aside and just wait for the U.S. Congress to pass legislation in September that will permit drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), says Prime Minister Paul Martin.
• Alcock to study isolated post issue Federal Treasury Board president Reg Alcock will examine the decision to eliminate the living cost differential allowance for Whitehorse workers. Alcock met with representatives from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) in Whitehorse last week to discuss the changes to the isolated post allowance.
• Local playwright Toronto-bound Whitehorse playwright Celia McBride has been chosen by the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre to participate in an all-expenses-paid Master Class workshop in Toronto from Friday through Sunday with the 2002 Siminovitch Prize-winning playwright, Carole Frechette.
• Suit claims abuses at former school A member of Teslin Tlingit First Nation is bringing the Anglican Church and the federal government to court for sexual, mental and physical abuse he says he suffered at a former residential school in Carcross.
• City delays decision on rural well-drilling plan Discussion on the city's rural well-drilling program has been postponed indefinitely, city council decided Monday night.
• Agencies to beef up back country patrols The RCMP's Faro detachment is working with territorial conservation officers to keep trash out of the Yukon's wilderness.
• Board names president The Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board has appointed Valerie Royle as its new president and chief executive officer. The appointment will take effect Oct. 3, the board said last Thursday.

August 22, 2005

• Indigo Books' interest is not unexpected: Mac's Canada's largest book store chain could be moving into Whitehorse in November.
• Aggressive' pit bull roamed downtown area A light-brown pit bull 'known to be aggressive' was running free in downtown Whitehorse on Friday, says senior bylaw officer Dave Pruden. Pruden said after receiving a call from the Whitehorse RCMP, he went looking for the dog, armed with a dart gun, to subdue him in the interest of public safety.
• Buildings' sale could save billions: Brison The culture of government is changing, says Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, and it is is going put Canadian tax dollars to work.
• Latest power outage widespread Residents of Whitehorse, Aishihik and Faro experienced a system-wide power outage on Saturday.
• Hockey's holy grail brings renewed zeal Whitehorse hockey fans had a special treat Saturday. For the first time in history, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League found its way north and was publicly displayed at the Gold Rush Inn.
• Businesses urged to join trade show 'There is definitely a feeling of optimism in this territory,' Premier Dennis Fentie said last week as he joined with the Yukon Chamber of Commerce to announce the Opportunities North business conference. The event is scheduled for Sept. 20-22.
• College student wins an award Karen Wall of Yukon College has been awarded a scholarship from the Certified General Accountants Association of British Columbia (CGA-BC). Every year, the association offers scholarships to post-secondary students to offset the financial costs of education.
• Dawson buildings will gain historic sites designations The Yukon Saw Mill Company Office and the Dawson City Telegraph Office will be designated as Yukon Historic Sites under the Yukon Historic Resources Act tomorrow.
• Radio pioneers celebrated in Dawson DAWSON CITY From 1923 until 1960, The Royal Canadian Corps of Signals provided military, civilian, administration and business communications across the North, using a series of posts which stretched, at various times, from Baker Lake in Nunavut to Burwash in the Yukon.