Whitehorse Daily Star

May 17, 2016

• Canadian newcomers getting career-ready in accountant program Thirteen newcomers to the Yukon are taking part in an accountant bridging program to prepare them for working in the financial management field.
• Towns urged to provide input on infrastructure Municipalities have been given a short timeline of just a little less than a month to let Yukon MP Larry Bagnell know how they want the federal government to dole out its second phase of infrastructure funding for social and green initiatives.
• Memorial Coming Along Construction of the memorial for workers who have been injured or died on the job is seen last Friday along the Whitehorse waterfront.
• Suppression efforts continue on fire near Hunker Creek The fire burning near Hunker Creek, 24 kilometres southeast of Dawson City, is now an estimated 302 hectares in size.
• Shipyards Park leases approved Shipyards Park will is set to be a busy spot over the next few summers with three-year leases now approved for its two historic buildings on the waterfront.
• NDP led the way in political contributions The Yukon NDP out-fundraised the Yukon Party and the territorial Liberals in 2015,
• Court hears appeal of sexual assault conviction In weighing whether a trial judge made a mistake in his decision, just how far should the Yukon Court of Appeal go, was the issue raised in court Monday.
• Humane society, Air North receive SPCA award The Humane Society Yukon, Air North and the BC SPCA (Kelowna branch) have received the Humane Community Award.
• City building’s design cost could top $2 million The design of the city’s new operations building and construction supervision could cost more than $2 million.
• Laxton’s quick foray means he won’t lose pay David Laxton took his first seat in the legislature as an independent MLA on Monday afternoon – but left before question period began and never returned.

May 16, 2016

• Home care services expansion planned The Yukon government has identified $244,000 in this year’s budget to expand home care services in Yukon, subject to legislative approval.
• Firefighters Help The Cause Members of the Whitehorse Firefighters Association,
• Employ Yukoners with disabilities, group urges The Yukon Association of Community Living (YACL) wants employers to hire more people with disabilities, and it has economic arguments to back it up.
• Funding creates challenges, FCM president says Raymond Louie, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM’s) president, says new federal funding for municipal infrastructure does create some challenges, but insists it’s not a negative situation.
• A Crowd-Pleasing Spectacle Danielle Lister
• Building permits value increased In March 2016, the preliminary seasonally adjusted value of Yukon building permits ($12 million) rose by $10.2 million compared to March 2015 ($1.8 million), reports the Yukon Bureau of Statistics.
• Weekend phone scam hit city Whitehorse RCMP are warning business owners and citizens of a weekend phone scam that targeted local businesses.
• Government, school board seek more time In light of the progress in their ongoing negotiations, the territorial government and the Yukon Francophone School Board have requested more time to continue discussions on outstanding issues through the joint settlement committee and construction subcommittee.
• Emergency readiness plans have holes: NDP If disaster hit Whitehorse today, would you be ready to pick up and head out of town for a week? A month? Permanently?
• Single lightning strike sparks fire south of Dawson City A single lightning strike sparked a fire 24 kilometres southeast of Dawson City Sunday evening.
• Business owner acclaimed as Liberal candidate Ernie Jamieson, a former Watson Lake municipal councillor and deputy mayor and the current owner of Takhini Transport,
• Dixon seeks towns’ input on recreation issues Community pools, rinks, recreation centres and other popular community spots could soon be the focus of a new territorial government committee.
• 911 service will expand on July 28 Yukoners in any community with phone service will be able to dial just three numbers to get emergency service after July 28.

May 13, 2016

• Guidance from a river rescue professional Ed. note: this is the third part of a series of articles on river safety being published Fridays.
• Fire Victims Fundraiser Set For Tonight Gary Atkins will MC the Yukon Cares fundraiser set for 8:00 this evening at the Jarvis Street Saloon.
• Stop checks set for Canada Road Safety Week Next week will mark Canada Road Safety Week, a national campaign to make Canada’s roads the safest in the world.
• Eatery will continue to dole out sandwiches Canada Games Centre (CGC) patrons can continue grabbing a bite to eat at Subway after city council passed third reading on a lease renewal for the sandwich shop’s space at the recreation complex.
• A Fresh Beginning Owen Munroe, Canadian Tire home office representative Jeff Smith, Tijana McCarty, Dan Charlebois, the local franchise owner, and Mike Sumner, left-right,
• Council clears series of spring recreational grants The city will dole out close to $180,000 to more than 30 community groups.
• Previewing The Season Eric Epstein, the Yukon Arts Centre’s artistic director, unveils the upcoming theatre season Monday evening at The Old Fire Hall.
• Families of children with disabilities will receive more help Based on demand and mounting needs,
• Government to cover hepatitis C drugs’ cost The Yukon government has allocated an additional $1.277 million in the 2016/17 budget to cover the costs of the hepatitis C drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni.
• Powerful Display Debuts Yukon Energy:
• The First World War: counting the cost to the Yukon The North and the First World War conference began Monday evening with a reception and gathering at the MacBride Museum.
• Power outage hit downtown Whitehorse ATCO Electric Yukon crews responded late Thursday morning to a power outage affecting the south side of downtown Whitehorse and F.H. Collins Secondary School.
• Chamber opposes proposed mine assessment The Yukon Chamber of Mines does not agree with Environment Yukon’s assessment of a proposed placer mine on Judas Creek, says the chamber’s executive director.
• Combing Fun With Fundraising Porter Creek Secondary School grads
• NDP urges more apprenticeships within YTG The NDP is calling on the government, the territory’s largest employer, to lead by example and hire more apprentices to work in the public sector.
• Running For Superior Cause The Peace and Dignity Journey runners are making their run accross North and South America this year.
• Territory’s GDP has slumped significantly, data suggest The Yukon’s economy did worse than every jurisdiction in Canada except Alberta in 2015, according to Statistics Canada data released Thursday.
• Firefighters respond to wildfire near Carcross Firefighters responded by helicopter Wednesday afternoon to a small fire burning four kilometres northwest of Carcross in the Watson Valley, east of Bennett Lake.
• Plan’s soaring costs surface at council meeting The city’s proposed operations building was the focus through much of Monday’s council meeting.
• Several ideas shared at reuse roundtable About 40 people gathered Wednesday night to discuss the future of reuse in Whitehorse.
• Vancouver trip leads to a surprise windfall William Kane was visiting Vancouver from Haines Junction when he won a free Set for Life Ticket.
• Woman sues after falling on ice A woman is suing a condo corporation after falling on the ice.
• Government ads are not accurate: Liberal leader The Liberal party leader is accusing the government of using tax dollars to buy Facebook ads that say it’s working to grow the economy, when, according to Statistics Canada, the economy is shrinking (see adjacent story).
• Chamber hails world mining leader’s arrival Goldcorp Inc.’s proposed purchase of Kaminak Gold Corp. and its Coffee gold property is good for the territory, says the president of the Yukon Chamber of Mines.