In what's been described as a case of white knights to the rescue in the wake of city budget cuts, Main Street may still see some hanging baskets.

Doug Hnatiuk, the city's parks supervisor, said Wednesday his office has been receiving calls from local individuals and companies interested in providing materials and cash to save the baskets program.

'We have had a number of white knights that have been stepping forward,' he said.

'At this point, we have had a local company step forward and said they were willing to fabricate and donate the baskets,' he said, declining to reveal the name of the company.

Hnatiuk said there have also been a number of community members who have said they'd be willing to pay for the baskets' maintenance.

It's getting late in the season to prepare the baskets, he added. However, he feels if members of city council were presented with a plan in the near future, the basket-hanging could be accomplished.

'We're at the 11th hour right now,' he said.

The city's hanging basket program was quashed earlier this year after the parks department had its budget cut by $120,000 in the city budget.

The basket program, according to parks manager Linda Rapp, costs about $6,000 to maintain a year with another $1,200 spent on flowers.

The baskets themselves, she said, cost about $6,000 and are at the end of their usefulness.

'The baskets are toast,' Rapp said last week.

Whitehorse travel agent June Hampton said Wednesday she is spearheading a fundraising campaign to raise $7,000 to come up with the money that would pay for the care of the baskets.

She took on the role after she was informed that a local business had stepped in and committed itself to providing the city with baskets.

'Of course (the city) is not going to proceed until we can come up with money for maintenance,' she said.

She said she was encouraging people to call her during businesses hours Monday to Friday at 668-2867 if they are interested in making a donation.

Former Whitehorse mayor Flo Whyard said she had been contacted and is willing to put some of her own money toward the initiative.

'I'm willing to donate $500,' said Whyard, who served a single term as mayor in the early 1980s.

Whyard said she feels it's embarrassing that the city could not come up with the money necessary to run the basket program.

She believes it's important to have the flowers up for the tourism season because the Yukon has advertised a certain image in recent years, especially during the Canada Games.

Mayor Bev Buckway said she will not donate to the basket program.

'When I have extra money to donate to charity, I would donate it to charity and not to the city,' she said.

Buckway said that although she won't be donating to the program, she does find it encouraging to see members of the community are stepping forward to help out.

Yukon Gardens owner Lorne Metropolit said he too is encouraged that people are willing to help save the baskets.

Metropolit approached council recently offering to donate some flowers for the program.

Metropolit said Wednesday he is pleased to see members of the community are as concerned as he is about the potential disappearance of the basket program.

If the basket program is to move forward, the plans would be colourful vine-type flowers, he said.

'The plants have already been seeded and are in the process of looking gorgeous.

'They wouldn't be ready for the big baskets for at least a couple of weeks,' he said.