Whitehorse Daily Star

April 8, 2014

• Councillor now Yukon's longest-serving politician For more than three decades, Dave Stockdale has helped shape the face of Whitehorse as a city councillor.
• Show Development Progressing Monique Romeiko, front, Martin Berkman and Aimée Dawn Robinson work Sunday on a dance and multi-media performance at The Old Fire Hall.
• The ice pool begins again in Dawson City Tickets for the 2014 Dawson Ice Pool have been on sale for a week or so now, and are available at all sorts of places all over the territory.
• A Sign Of Spring The swans are starting to arrive in numbers on the Teslin River,
• Speaking policy is ‘too restrictive': teachers' association The NDP and the Yukon Teachers' Association are concerned about the level of control the government is exerting over teachers' ability to speak publicly about educational matters.
• Brimming With Bridges Saturdaysʼ annual Yukon Bridge Building Competition offered fewer entries than previous years,
• Unemployment rate held steady last month The Yukon's March seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady from February, at 4.7 per cent.
• Antlers headed for display in the U.S. Heinz Naef of Dawson City has sold his world record moose antlers to a giant retailer in the sporting goods industry.
• Hillcrest group seeks zoning changes Before council adopts new zoning coming from the Hillcrest Neighbourhood Plan, the president of the Hillcrest Community Association wants to see a couple of changes to what's suggested for the neighbourhood.
• Discriminatory clauses to be removed from act The Yukon government will bring forward amendments to the Vital Statistics Act to remove any discrimination against same-sex parents.
• Long-running building dispute returns to court The future of a disputed Copper Ridge-area apartment property that has pitted a suburban community against its developer continues to hang in limbo.
• New outdoor sport complex in the works An outdoor sport complex featuring soccer fields and an eight-lane rubberized track is being planned for the Yukon capital.

April 7, 2014

• Dawson festival lineup unveiled The 36th edition of the Dawson City Music Festival will include performances from indie rock trio Rural Alberta Advantage and multiple Maple Blues award winners Monkeyjunk.
• Stage, Screen Legend Passes Away Jan and Mickey Rooney played at the Yukon Arts Centre on Sept. 10, 2010.
• Parks will extend its fall season by two weeks Parks Canada is revisiting its decision to close down its Yukon sites the day after Labour Day.
• Estimated 131 bison were taken The preliminary summary for this season's wood bison hunt as of this morning indicates a total harvest of 131 animals, according to Environment Yukon.
• A Picture Of Concentration Sabine and Liam Keesey keep their eyes on the adjudicator Friday during the annual Rotary Music Festival,
• Yukoners to be honoured for dedication to heritage Several Yukoners will be honoured at the 2013 Yukon Heritage Awards to be presented on the evening of April 17 at the Yukon Archives.
• A Picturesque Learning Environment The conservation officer services branch, Department of Environment, Whitehorse office, held a youth ice fishing event at Fish Lake last Thursday and Friday.
• Official urges public interest override provision The Yukon's information and privacy commissioner is urging the government to consider amending the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act to include a public interest override provision.
• City could aim to get more commuters to use vehicle alternatives It could be a very long time before the number of cyclists, pedestrians and transit users outnumber the people using a personal vehicle for their daily commute, but efforts may soon be made to cut vehicle use in the city.
• Fire that damaged home described as accidental A home on Ponderosa Drive in Porter Creek C was left with significant damage following an accidental fire Friday afternoon.
• Manhunt begins after motel bar is robbed Whitehorse RCMP are asking for the public's help as they investigate a robbery that happened late Saturday night at the Casa Loma Motel.

April 4, 2014

• City approves environmental grants Bears, bees and birds – oh my!
• Grand chief hails education action blueprint Yukon First Nations have signed a decade-long joint education action plan with the Yukon and federal governments aimed at closing the educational gap between First Nation and non-First Nation students.
• Yukoner to lead Conservative investigation A Conservative party member in Yukon has been tasked with sorting out an ugly nomination battle in suburban Toronto that has grabbed national headlines.
• Ogilvie Street reconstruction will cost more than planned The reconstruction of Ogilvie Street is expected to cost the city $300,000 more than it had originally planned to spend – even if it awards the contract to the lowest bidder.
• Artifact identification event set Long Ago Yukon, an emerging group dedicated to education on the territory's archaeological and paleontological heritage of our territory and its conservation,
• Call issued for ‘recreational hub' at Schwatka Lake The Schwatka Lake area is already heavily used by many types of boaters, hikers and cyclists, but at least two user groups are calling for the area to become a more formal "recreational hub”, with storage facilities and programming happening on the lake.
• Legislator abandons licences' elimination bid Reciprocal Yukon-Alaska fishing licences will remain as they are.
• Unions applaud change in plans for bridge Four local unions had just committed a total of $1,000 to the Friends of the Ross River Suspension Bridge's efforts to save that community's landmark when it was learned the Yukon government would issue a tender for the bridge's stabilization.
• June inquests will be held separately The deaths of former Watson Lake residents Teresa Ann Scheunert and Mary Johnny will be looked at separately in two coroner's inquests.
• Locals to honour late troubled rocker Cobain Whitehorse is paying tribute to Kurt Cobain, the tortured frontman and principal songwriter of Nirvana who took his own life 20 years ago tomorrow.
• City opts to order new fire truck A purchase order for $721,150 to buy a new fire truck has been issued after city council approved a budget increase of $65,000 at its March 24 meeting.
• Swan Haven gets facelift for 20th anniversary Sometimes there's certain risks in hands-on-learning, but it's a risk wildlife viewing biologist Carrie McClelland believes will be worth it.
• YEC's board has done a disservice to Yukoners ( Analysis ) Whether to begin using natural gas to power the Yukon's back-up energy supply is not a technical nor financial issue.
• Yukon Energy discounts prospects of an LNG blast There is no possibility of a massive explosion at the proposed natural gas generating plant to be located next to the Whitehorse Rapids Dam, say Yukon Energy representatives.
• Ex-Yukoner helped avert potential tragedy A former Whitehorse man is being hailed as a hero after helping the elderly victim of a car-jacking Tuesday in Calgary, where he has lived for several years.
• Judge adds some punch to three impaired drivers' sentences A Yukon Supreme Court judge has handed down stiffer penalties to three impaired drivers from Carcross who initially faced lighter punishment.
• Defendants ‘fiercely contested' charges, judge notes After nearly 2 1/2 years of legal confrontation and human anguish, the case of tire technician Denis Chabot, crushed beneath the semi-truck he was servicing in 2011, ended this morning.