A near five-year battle to save their restaurant and hotel, that went all the way to the premier's office, will come to an end Oct. 1 as sister and brother entrepreneurs Sharon and Jerry Johnson will close the Swift River Lodge.

"It's a hugely sad affair,” Sharon Johnson told the Star this morning, while choking back tears.

"The property is valueless, so all we can do now is close the door, board it up and we lose everything; our entire investment here. That's 16 years of hard work and we lose our home.”

In 1992, Sharon and Jerry traded their prairie lifestyles in Saskatchewan and purchased the Swift River Lodge, located at mile 733 on the Alaska Highway between Watson Lake and Teslin.

"When we bought the place, it was a viable operation ... a thriving business and a major truck stop for many, many years on the highway,” Sharon said of the pair's half-million-dollar investment.

Problems began for them in 2005, after Department of Health officials slapped a boil-water advisory on her restaurant due to the close proximity of its well to the business' aging septic field and well.

Despite a raft of tests revealing nothing wrong with the water quality, the installation of an $11,000 ultraviolet system to ensure water potability, government officials declared the lodge's current system a failure. They ordered its replacement and until such time closed her restaurant and hotel.

With just 1.2 acres of property that included the current sewage leaching pit, Johnson required what amounted to 22 extra metres of property to sink the replacement tanks and make necessary upgrades to the entire lodge.

However, a deal to purchase territorial government land fell through. As attempts to cut red tape wore on, investors got cold feet and in December 2008, Johnson was sentenced to a day in jail for failing to comply with a Health department safety order, even as the replacement tanks sat on her property awaiting installation.

The Johnsons' plight even made it to the floor of the legislature last December when NDP Leader Todd Hardy asked what the government was doing to save the business.

Premier Dennis Fentie, who passes the lodge on his commute between his Watson Lake riding and Whitehorse, said then that government officials provided a number of options.

"The bottom line is they had a failed septic system ... a great deal of assistance was provided; options were provided,” Fentie responded, adding he "did a great deal of work to help the lodge.”

After Fentie made those remarks, Johnson said the premier, who is also her MLA, had refused several requests for a meeting, adding, "If he's done things for me, I'm unaware of it.”

Today, Sharon Johnson reiterated that point.

"We don't know the right people, unfortunately; that's what it boils down to,” Sharon told the Star.

"We've tried to talk to our government to solve things but we can't even get a meeting.”

She added that travellers' safety is being compromised because her lodge is the only 24-hour gas station and rest stop between Fort Nelson, B.C. and Whitehorse.

Steve Cardiff, the Tourism critic for the NDP, today slammed the government for its failure to help the Johnsons.

"They've got all kinds of dollars for the resource industry, but when it comes to the lodge owners along the Alaska Highway, they've let this one slide,” said Cardiff

"It's another long, sad story of inaction by the government and the premier, who's turned his back on his own constituents.”

Sandy Hachey, executive director of Yukon's Tourism Industry Association, said this is the first she has heard of the Johnsons' plight.

"Quite honestly, I'm not aware that they were closing, they're not members of TIA,” Hachey, who became TIA director last December, told the Star. "That being said, we're always sad to see a tourism asset go. It's been a tough year for everybody.”

For Sharon and Jerry Johnson, the past five years have been the toughest, their dreams of living and working in the Yukon now dashed.

Sharon said she wants to thank all those who supported her and brother through their patronage and by signing a petition urging the government to take appropriate action.

After Oct. 1, Sharon said she will relocate to Faro to live with her daughter while Jerry will return to Saskatchewan to live with his daughter.

"We're survivors, but I really think it's a big mistake by the government because the people on the highway are going to suffer,” said Sharon. "It doesn't seem the current government is doing anything for small businesses like this ... I know a lot of people are losing their jobs and that's unfortunate, but in our case, we lose our job, our investment and our home.”