The Klondike Sun Wednesday, January 12, 2011 online
VOL. 22 NO. 18 $1.25
Latitude Wireless expands its service to Dawson airport HEARING YOU LOUD AND CLEAR – Steve Nordick, the Yukon Party MLA for Klondike, tests the new service offered by Latitude Wireless on Australia Hill near Dawson City. Photo courtesy Office of Steve Nordick.
LOCAL GIRL BLAZING A TRAIL – Brenda Butterworth-Carr became the first woman and the first aboriginal person to hold the RCMP command post in northern B.C. Photo courtesy RCMP
“I always did say I would go to Ottawa” By Justine Davidson, Whitehorse Star, December 31, 2010
Press Release Latitude Wireless has expanded its network coverage area in Dawson City to include the airport and some residential areas south of town. This is the fifth service expansion project completed in partnership with the Yukon government in the last 18 months, the company said last Wednesday. New equipment on Australia Hill has enabled Latitude Wireless to expand digital cellular service to these areas. Similar expansions took place in four other areas of the Yukon in the last 18 months. New equipment was installed at the Carmacks and
Watson Lake Airports, Lake Laberge and in the Ibex Valley. “We’re excited to expand Latitude Wireless service to more and more areas of the Yukon,” said Curtis Shaw, the general manager of Latitude Wireless. “In response to requests from our customers, we have worked with (the) Yukon government to increase service availability. Completing the fifth of these projects now means that more Yukoners have access to the convenience of wireless technology.” The government helped make the project possible. “The Yukon government is pleased to be contributing financially towards expanding cell
IN THIS ISSUE: 1 - Latitude Expands
and Local Girl Excels
2 - City Protests In ternet & Landfill 3 - Christmas fundrais ers / Bison Rules 4 - Uffish Thoughts 5 - Literacy Day Ideas 6 - RSS Concert 7 - Aviation History in the Making 8 - Bookends / Inter net Safety 9 - Open Studio Report
10 - The Motown Revue 11 - Rangers and the Quest / The Mystery of the Missing News papers 12- 16 - TV Guide 17 - Christmas Eve Pageant 18 - Cartoons / Hunter-Gatherer / Humane Society 19 - Classifieds 20 - City Notices
phone service in Dawson City,” said Steve Nordick, the Yukon Party MLA for Klondike. “Enhancing this service by improving the level of personal safety and convenience is beneficial for area residents and the travelling public.” Latitude Wireless is a partnership between Northwestel Inc. and the Dakwakada Development Corp. Launched in 2006, the joint venture provides digital cellular service across the Yukon. Latitude Wireless offers such services as text-messaging, e-mail, picture and video messaging, and a mobile Internet browser service that provides access to multiple applications such as music downloads, screensavers, games and ring-tones.
One of Dawson City’s finest is going to Ottawa to take on the rank of chief superintendent and director of the country’s aboriginal policing branch. Brenda Butterworth-Carr is the first Canadian aboriginal woman ever to hold the rank of chief superintendent, the fourth highest in the RCMP hierarchy. A member of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, Butterworth-Carr began her career in 1987 as a special constable in her hometown of Dawson. From there, she went to Regina to train as a regular officer and began her climb toward the upper echelon of Canada’s national police force. In due time she served stints in both Watson Lake and again in Dawson. In 1999, she took on the rank of corporal and was named aboriginal policing co-ordinator in Whitehorse. In 2002, she was promoted to sergeant and became the aboriginal policing co-ordinator for the entire North District. The next year, she was the acting officer in charge of aboriginal policing. The 44-year-old mother of three eventually moved to the North District headquarters in Prince George, B.C., where she served first as an inspector, and then as the superintendent and commanding officer of the district. Butterworth-Carr hit two birds with that promotion, becoming the first woman and the first aboriginal person to hold the command post in northern B.C. The Prince George command has been the most rewarding part of her career thus far, she told the Star in an interview this week, “because I can see the results in the people I work with at the detachment and in the community.” She came in to the job committed to addressing the issues of gang violence, drug use, homelessness and prostitution in the northern capital’s city centre. “Certainly, we’ve been successful in resolving a lot of the problems in the downtown core,” she said of whether she achieved her goals. Though she is leaving her post with a year left in her three-year commitment, she said she is confident her successor will build on the work she has done. The move to Ottawa will bring more than a change in location for Butterworth-Carr, who is taking two of her three sons along with her. “It’s not unusual for me to go out and work on the ground with my officers,” she said of life at the busy Prince George detachment. “So Cont’d on p. 3
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
Dawson Objects to Council Rejects YTG Positions Quality of NWTel on the Quigley Landfill Internet Service Story & Photos By Dan Davidson
By Dan Davidson
Dawson’s council members were almost tripping over each other in their eagerness to second a motion expressing dissatisfaction with Internet service in the Klondike at the last full length meeting before Christmas. Coun. Wayne Potoroka was so annoyed that he seconded the motion several times before it was even written. The debate began with a question from Coun. Rick Riemer, who reported that a number of people in the Dome Subdivision had called him to complain about the service they were receiving in their part of town. Mayor Peter Jenkins and Councillors Bill Kendrick and Potoroka were quick to add that they, too, had heard complaints and experienced the slowdowns and service disruptions personally. At an earlier meeting on October, Jenkins had discoursed at some length about the inconveniences suffered at his Eldorado Hotel over the Thanksgiving weekend when most of the town’s business sector had been offline and unable to use debit and credit card services for the better part of the long weekend. During most weekends in November and early December it was quite common for some form of Internet disruption to occur late Friday afternoon and to persist, with occasional restoration of either Internet or e-mail services, sometimes both, throughout the weekend. Merchants in the town were vocal in complaining to this reporter about service failures. Since the original discussion, council has returned to the topic several times, each time members expressing more dissatisfaction than the time before. “Council should be writing NorthwesTel and telling them we’re not satisfied,” Riemer said. Jenkins reminded council that they had already decided to intervene at CRTC hearings, but agreed that more could be done. Gales of laughter followed a suggestion that council “move that NorthwesTel provide adequate Internet service” but the discussion continued. “It’s a big issue,” the mayor said. “There’s band width, there’s the system – they choke it off. There’s reliability. What they do is they seem to sectionalize the community and basically turn off certain sections.” Jenkins outlined his memory of the Connect Yukon program by which the Yukon government paid to have the telephone company extend high speed Internet services to the entire territory. “There was twenty something million and then another whole bunch of money. What it was to pay for was a fibre optic cable to come from Grand Prairie right through to Beaver Creek and then up to Dawson. Then it was supposed to go by microwave up to Inuvik and then down the Mackenzie Valley so we had another path out of the Yukon.” “It never happened,” he concluded. “I’m curious to know why is it (the disruptions) happening,” said Kendrick. “We pay dearly for this service.” “NorthwesTel excels in three areas,” said Jenkins, moving into heavy sarcasm. The three areas he mentioned were public relations, writing nice letters to their complaining customers and getting their customer billings out on time. These skills, he said, have allowed the company to become the “highest priced telco in North America, not just in Canada.” The eventual resolution, passed almost before it was drafted, read, “The Council of the City of Dawson is dissatisfied with the level, reliability and cost of the Internet service currently being provided by NorthwesTel and expresses our dissatisfaction to NorthwesTel and YTG.” “The frustration that I have,” said Potoroka, “is that we seem to be falling back further in the stone ages as everyone seems to be progressing with all this great technology. We’re stuck.” “ I think we’re paying pretty good for it,” said Kendrick, “so we should be having it. Lots of little towns in Ontario are still on dial-up, but the point is we’re paying a big premium for it.” Jenkins said he could only buy the comparison argument if it turned out that the province of Ontario had provided the same per capita investment in connectivity that YTG has. The territory just wasn’t getting what it had paid the company to deliver, he said.
The worn out tires and battered vehicles are piling up at the Quigley landfill and Dawson’s town council says it’s time that the territorial government did something about them the way council says it is supposed to.
That’s not all. Council has ceased accepting waste oil at the landfill since last fall because the territory has done nothing about removing what had already been
as the annual removal of waste which is under their programs,” Renaud said. Mayor Peter Jenkins proposed that the town revert to the original agreement between the town and the territory, by which the landfill would service only residents in the town and the valley, and YTG would match the landfill fee that is charged to Dawson ratepayers
deal with the issue.” After some 20 minutes of debate the following resolution was passed: “The City of Dawson advises the Yukon Government that the Quigley Landfill will be operated solely for the use of City of Dawson taxpayers effective May 1, 2011.” Unless the issue is resolved to everyone’s satisfaction by that
since the town has no authority to levy fees outside its boundaries. It was clear that Jenkins intended this to be a shot across the bows of the ship of state, an attempt to get the attention of
time, it could be that the territory will need to look into establishing its own landfill to look after matters outside of the town’s boundaries. Given that a great deal of construction is going on
The Quigley Landfill has become a graveyard for wrecked vehicles
collected. The present council has continued on the path of the last council in trying to negotiate a new memorandum of understanding with YTG over the use and financing of the landfill, which currently accepts waste from the town as well as the outlying areas, mining operations and construction projects. City manager Jeff Renaud has returned to council with several draft MOUs, none of which have accomplished what council was looking for. At the December 8 meeting Renaud advised council that he felt he had reached an impasse in dealing with YTG’s negotiator. “I still have issues with their refusal to deal with issues such
the politicians in government who he feels have not given the bureaucrats sufficient latitude to negotiate an acceptable agreement with the town. “We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time on it. We’ve hit the wall at the administrative level in the negotiating mandate given the individual (who’s been meeting) with Jeff. This is it; as far as we can go. The only way we’ll get anywhere further is the political route, by saying here’s where we’re at, we’re not going any further, the ball is in your court.” He proposed a resolution warning that this would happen as of May 1, 2011. “You want to be specific with a date,” he said. “This will trigger them to get their butts in gear to
in Dawson during the next year, this could pose a serious waste disposal problem. The Quigley Landfill is located just inside the town’s southern boundary. In discussions Renaud noted that some of the funding related to landfill recycling issues has recently been shifted to the territory’s Community Services Dept. He feels that it may be possible to make better progress now that this has happened and that this resolution could nudge the government in the direction that Dawson needs it to go. “It’ll bring them back to the table,” Jenkins said, indicating that four months notice should be enough time for the government to make some changes in its approach to the issue.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
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Raising a Joyful Sound for Haiti Story & Photos by Dan Davidson The December version of Dawson’s monthly coffee house shifted venue and purpose for the season. The place was the Dawson Community Gospel Chapel and the occasion was a fund raiser for Haiti relief. The fledgling Beginner Orchestra presented a selection of Christmas tunes and a number of other regulars - Simon Crelli, Peter Menzies, Dan Davidson, Clive Betts, Jim Taggart, Madison Betts,
Ian Nyland, Florian Boulais, and Walker Graham - contributed their talents to fill out the evening. There was carolling and there were goodies to help make a special evening. Photo captions: * The Beginner Orchestra, led by Joe Cooke * The drummers: Clive Betts, Walker Graham, Florian Boulais and Jim Taggart.
*Clive & Madison * Pete Menzies & Joe Cooke * Ian & Simon
Students Support the Shelter at Christmas
Butterworth-Carr Receives Major Promotion Cont’d from p. 1
moving from an operational to an administrative level will be an adjustment. “But my expectation is to go and look at what has already been established and bring that experience of being at an operational level and being on the ground to my new job. I think that will be a real strength.” Both her sons are excited about the move to Ottawa, she said. “They were probably more excited than I was. Ottawa is an incredible city. I always did say I would go to Ottawa; I didn’t know how or when. Though, I have to say it’s going to be difficult to leave Prince George.” Once she is settled into her new job, Butterworth-Carr said she is hoping to finish her bachelor’s degree in leadership and conflict negotiation, as well as work on becoming fully bilingual. “I’ve been studying whenever I can, but the job in Prince George has kept me very busy,” she said. “Thankfully, some of my officers are bilingual, so they’ve been
helping me with conversational French. “Living in Ottawa will certainly broaden my horizons.” Butterworth-Carr is replacing the former director of aboriginal policing, Russell Mirasty, who was promoted to the rank of assistant commissioner in October. Mirasty is a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. Butterworth-Carr’s new role will include responsibility for crime prevention and community policing, as well as First Nation policing. With a host of new superintendents, chief superintendents, assistant and deputy commissioners, Butterworth-Carr said, she is going in to her job with an open mind. “There are so many changes in the senior management, even my superior officers will be new to their roles. “My responsibilities will depend on all of us sitting down and strategizing about the direction aboriginal and community policing will take.”
Reminder for bison hunters – no hunting Jan. 1 through Feb. 14 Environment Yukon reminds the public that bison hunting is prohibited in the Bison Management Area, starting January 1st and lasting until February 15th. This six-week-long mid-winter closure gives wildlife in the area a break from potential disturbance by snowmobiles and hunters during the coldest time of the year, when animals must conserve their energy. The 2010-11 bison season is the first to include a break. This change was recommended by the Yukon Wood Bison Technical Team and responds to concerns raised by local residents and First Nations. Licenced hunters may still harvest bison found in the Bison Extended Season Area, which includes lands adjacent to stretches of the North Klondike Highway and the Alaska Highway. Additional information about the bison hunt is in the Hunt Wisely: Bison 2010-11 brochure available from Environment Yukon offices or on the Environment Yukon website.
During the month of December Robert Service School students and staff participated in the annual food drive collection to benefit the Dawson Women’s Shelter. Representatives from each class gathered in the foyer on the morning of Deeember 14 to present the food hampers to Shelter Staff. Photo by Dan Davidson
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
Opinions in the Sun
Uffish Thoughts: Happy Birthday to the World Wide Web
by Dan Davidson
According to press reports issued on Christmas Eve, even those people who have nothing to do with the traditional reasons for celebrating the December 25th holiday could have taken a moment to stop and think about another world altering event. It was on that day in 1990 that Timothy Berners-Lee, with the help of computer scientist Robert Cailliau, published the first website, thus creating what we know today as the internet, though he liked the term World Wide Web. The concept had been around for some time, dating back at least to something called ARPANET in 1968. At that time you had to have a 90% or higher average in Grade 12 Mathematics before anyone would let you anywhere near a computer, so that’s just one simple example of how much things have changed. By the mid-1990s it was possible for someone like me,
who struggled through two attempts to get a decent average mark in Math 12 primarily so I would not have to take any university math courses, to be put in charge of a high school computer lab, manage the hardware, the local area network (or LAN) and teach the use of office type applications. Having computers talk to each other directly was happening well before the Internet really took off in the mid-1990s. I was filing written copy to the Star for this and other columns by sometime in the late 1980s, but it was a clunky system which depended on someone remembering to leave the office computer on so that my modem could reach its modem and we would get the high pitched electronic squeal (still to be heard in Canada Post outlets) indicating that our machines had linked and I could upload my story. The development of commercial email (or e-mail – you choose) meant that my mail could be stored somewhere else and passed on to its destination
when the machine at the other end was ready to receive it. This was a wonderful innovation for sending text, or entire formatted files, and it eventually extended to sending pictures (after digital cameras became common later in the decade) and both audio and video files. We might not be quite so far along with all of these things if John Scully hadn’t fired Steve Jobs from Apple Computer in 1985. Jobs took a bunch of Apple technical people with him when he was forced to resign, and they created a little company called Next, which eventually became NeXT. They developed the NeXT computer (next after the Macintosh, that is) and created the code called OPENSTEP, which is now a big part of Apple’s OS X operating system. Apple acquired that software, and Jobs, as part of the deal that brought him back to the company in 1996. A year later he was CEO and the rest (iMac, iBook, MacBook, iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad …) is history.
Before that, however, it turns out that it was a NeXT computer that was used by Berners-Lee in 1990 to write the first web browser and a NeXT server that was used as the first web server. Not that there hadn’t been other servers, and other electronic links that allowed data transmission. I’ve mentioned one already; there were others and many people served as sysops (system operators) for earlier, less convenient, attempts. But this is the milestone that got us where we are now. So if John Scully, who was a disaster as CEO at Apple, hadn’t driven Steven Jobs out of the company in 1985, Jobs’ next little company would not have developed the NeXT computers and servers and Berners-Lee would have had to use something else to work out the details of the World Wide Web. He would almost certainly still have managed it, but it might look a bit different from the one we know. Imagine how much different the world today would be
Ey without the web. Research for this article would have taken days and involved inter-library loans. E-books, the latest rage in reading technology, and the first really big change since Penguin Books in the UK took a German innovation and popularized the paperback book in 1935, would be impossible without the web as a distribution medium. There would be no WikiLeaks, no social media, no mp3 music files and no jpg photo files. So this Christmas was an anniversary for our digital planet, and one worth noting.
Literary Society of the Klondike Welcome to 2011 from the staff and volunteers at the Klondike Sun! Thanks to all our loyal readers for your continued support of our community newspaper. Did you make a New Year’s resolution to get involved? Have you got a great idea for a regular column? Interesting photos or stories from local events? Send it in to us and see your name in print! Check out our NEW WEBSITE where you will soon be able to view archived Suns from 21 years ago! Webmaster Steins is slowly but surely filling in those early years. 1989 is there now. Have a look at http://cityofdawson.com/category/klondike_sun
This is YOUR space. Write! Who we are: Editor/ Head Writer Dan Davidson
Advertising & Production Manager Evan Rensch Archivist Chris Levett Subscriptions/Distribution Tara Borin, the Bandit Bookkeeping Karen McIntyre It Figures Bookkeeping Reporters / Photographers Tara Borin, Glenda Bolt, Palma Berger, Betty Davidson, Jay Armitage & others as noted
Webmaster John Steins We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program toward our mailing costs. PAP Registration No. 08878
Published by the Literary Society of the Klondike: President: Tara Borin Vice-President: Dan Davidson Board of Directors: Florian Boulais, Miles Kenyon, Megan Graham. Director Emeritus - Palma Berger
The Klondike Sun is produced bi-weekly. It is published by The Literary Society of the Klondike, a non-profit organization. Letters to the editor, submissions and reports may be edited for brevity, clarity, good taste (as defined by community standards), racism, sexism, and legal considerations. We welcome submissions from our readership; however, it should be understood that the opinions expressed herein may not always reflect those of the publishers and producers of the Klondike Sun. Submissions should be directed to The Editor, Bag 6040, Dawson City, YT, Y0B 1G0, e-mailed to uffish20@hotmail.com, directly to the paper at klondikesun@northwestel.net or dropped off in the drop-box at our office in the Waterfront Building, 1085 Front Street. They should be signed and preferably typed (double-spaced), or saved on digital media (CD). If you can give a phone number at which you can be reached, it would be helpful. Unsigned letters will not be printed. “Name withheld by request” is acceptable and will be printed, providing the writer identifies themselves to the Sun editorial staff. A Publishing Policy exists for more details.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
Eye on SOVA By Rheas Flanagan In our first four months of art school we bent wires, folded cardboard, burnt things, covered other things with oil, covered ourselves in ink, pressed paper, and became savvy customers of the dump’s free store. All of our new skills were on display SOVA’s annual mid-term open house on December 17th. At the open house, guests were invited to sample the culinary delights provided by SOVA students and inspired by Thomson Highway’s Kiss of the Fur Queen as part of Jen’s English class. On the menu was a dish by Ellen Friesen that included blood, bleach, boogers, and various other unmentionables aptly named “the Winnipeg Bus Café.” Thomas Usher followed suit with a bread and wine dish called “a
Bloody Mess.” Joanne Anderson sweetened up the spread with a black forest crab cake, complete with a crab leg centerpiece. The Open House also marked the opening of “Habitual Suspects”, the culmination of this year’s Over the Wire series, a collaborative project between SOVA students and current artists-in-residence Deborah Stratman and Steve Badgett. For this project, students were instructed to create a work that intervened with habitual personal behaviors, cultural assumptions and established architecture. The individual interpretations had a variety of clever manifestations, the most popular being Solvey
Johnsgaard’s transformation of the back staircase into funsized slide. Jackson Lovett and Graham Rudge displayed their modified tandem bicycle (complete with coffee cup holder) on which they rode to school together every day for a week. The 2D studio showcased the fruits of our printmaking session and brave visitors were welcomed with open eyes and legs into the 3D studio by Krystal Manuel’s larger-than-life sculpture “Natural Child Birth.” Toe-deep in the new semester, we have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. Highlights include meeting our over the wire collaborators Steve and Deborah and also working with Graeme Patterson, another visiting artist and animator. On behalf of all the jolly SOVA students, Happy New Year Dawson! Buy more art in 2011!
WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN DAWSON NOW This free public service helps our readers find their way through the many activites all over town. Any small happening may need preparation and planning, so let us know in good time! To join this listing contact Tara Borin at klondikesun@ northwestel.net.
Klondike Institute of Art and Culture (KIAC) - Odd Gallery: Mon. - Fri. 11 am - 5 pm Sat noon - 5pm. Visit www.kiac.ca for current exhibitions and programming information. Film Fest Selection Mondays & Wednesdays, Nov. 8th - Feb. 28th 2011, in the KIAC classroom: Help choose films to be screened at the 2011 Short Film Fest. Just show up, or contact Dan at 9935005/filmfest@kiac.ca Senior’s Painting Saturdays 1-4 in the KIAC classroom. $5 fee for supplies, all skill levels welcome. Dawson Curling Club - The ice is in! Team nights every Tues. Drop-in curling Mon/Wed/Thurs. Any skill level welcome! For info call 993-6262 or visit www.dawsoncurling.blogspot.com Dawson City Rec Department - Drop-in Badminton Mondays in the RSS Gymnasium Families from 6:15-7:15 p.m., Adults from 7:15-8:30 p.m. Fitness Classes Mon, Wed and Fri 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Ancillary Room. $2 drop-in fee or $25/6 weeks. For more information on these and other available programs, please contact the Rec Department, 993-2353 Dawson City Museum Theatre - Please see www.dcmmovies.blogspot. com for upcoming show titles. Hatha Yoga - Monday & Thursday 5:45 - 7 p.m., Saturday 9 - 10:30 a.m. in the Downtown Hotel conference room. All classes cancelled for stat holidays. $10 drop-in fee, or purchase a prepaid card for $50/10 classes. Email yogawithjoanne@me.com for schedule changes. Westminster Hotel - Barnacle and Willie G in the Tavern, Thurs. - Sat. nights, 4-8. In the lounge this month: Thursday night Jazz with Bob, Richard and Joe, starts at 8:30 pm; Live Local Talent Fri. & Sat. from 10 p.m. Lounge now open from 5 p.m. Dawson City Chamber of Commerce - Regular meetings 2nd Wed. of each month. Dawson City Community Library - Open Mon - Fri, noon to 6. Conservation Klondike Society Depot Hours - Sat, Sun, Mon, Wed: 1-5 pm, Tues: 3-7 pm. Donations of refundables may be left on the deck during off hours. Info: 993-6666
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THE KLONDIKE SUN
in OUR community
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
RSS Celebrates Christmas Around the World Story & Photos By Dan Davidson Christmas Around the World was the theme of this year’s Christmas Concert at the Robert Service School on December 15, 2010. This year the elementary grades each picked a different part of the world and showcased how this season was celebrated there in the past and in the present. Each short presentation included a brief narration and a song chosen to represent the area. Kindergarten chose Sweden, with its Feast of St. Lucia and sang “Jingle Bells”. Grade 1 chose Mexico and its tradition of las pasodas and piñata parties. For Grade 2 it was a trip to Hawaii, where Santa wears aloha shirts and Christmassy looking trees have to be imported from the mainland. They sang “Mele Kalimaka”. Grade 3 looked at Australia, where “Deck the Halls” becomes “Deck the Sheds” and Christmas is celebrated in the summer with trips to the beach on the holiday. Grade 4 presented Japan, where Christmas is not an issue at all for most of the Buddhist and Shinto population, but New Years is a really big deal. The song from
this class was the bilingual classic “Sukiyaki”. The last foreign nation on the tour was Madagascar, visited by Grade 5. In this former Portuguese and French colony, Santa Claus is Dadabe Noely and they don’t use Christmas trees. Grade 6 presented a short history of flags used in Canada since Europeans first arrived and sang two songs. The first was “Vla la Bon Vent”, a paddling song used by the coureurs de bois in the fur trading days. The other was “Douce Nuit” the French version of “Silent Night”. All of the students involved in the Han language singing program took to the stage to sing “The Flag Song” and then all the students joined them to sing a trilingual version of “ Jingle Bells” and “We wish you a Merry Christmas”. The evening concluded with all the classes exiting the gym while singing “We are the World”. Special music was provided at the beginning of the evening by the fledgling elementary rock band, and while a medley of “La Bamba” and “Twist and Shout” may not be seasonal fare, it was much appreciated by the packed audience and they performed it twice by popular request.
Photo captions: * Elementary Rock Band – Mr. Betts and the Elementary Rock Band. * Han singing – Georgette McLeod leads the singing in Han. * RSS Xmas Around the World – RSS students making a brighter day with “We are the World”.
Happy New Year from CKS!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
in OUR community
THE KLONDIKE SUN
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Berton House was Home Base for Aviation Historian Story & Photo By Dan Davidson
While many Berton House writers-in-residence use most of their time to work directly on the actual writing of a project, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail says she made the place her base camp for research excursions that took her to Old Crow, Inuvik, Haines Junction, Watson Lake and Whitehorse during the first part of her residency. “It’s kind of how I thought about it,” she said as we sat in the kitchen during her last few days in Dawson. “You would drive me out to the airport. I’d go of on my adventures and I’d come back here to grab a fresh notebook, unload my photos, regroup and then head back out again. “I think I ended up spending about half my time in Dawson.” Metcalfe-Chenail, who currently lives in Edmonton, is working on a history of aviation in the North. She was thrilled to have been selected for a residency at Berton House, and credits Berton’s how-to memoir, The Joy of Writing, with having set her on her path as a journalist/historian. Her first book, For the Love of Flying: the Story of Laurentian Air Services (Robin Brass Studio) came about as a result of her father-in-law’s suggestion that she do an oral history with a family member who had worked for Laurentian. Though she doesn’t have a publisher for the new book yet, she’s not worried about it. “The North is a very sexy topic these days. No one has done a history of aviation in the North before. There have been these memoirs and anecdotal accounts, but no one’s stitched them together, at least nobody with a
background in historical research, a geek like me.” There are differences between the North and the area of rural Quebec she had researched previously. She’s been hearing a lot of stories about people landing on straight stretches of highways, and a lot more stories about helicopters than she’s heard before. “At least around Dawson there aren’t as many lakes for float planes to land on and there aren’t as many spots for emergency landing strips in the mountains, so helicopters are much more widely used here.” Given the amount of information she’s been able to glean in Dawson alone, she expects the Klondike will have a fairly substantial chapter in her book. “I’m actually probably going to be going right back to 1899 and the first hot air balloon ascent in Dawson. I found a picture of that at the archives, yesterday. Joyce Caley told her a story about flying into Dawson for the first time in 1956 when she moved here. John Gould recalled the first airplane he saw land here in 1926. And then there are the many, many tales about crashes. “Planes and pilots have to be pretty hardy in the Yukon. That’s a big message I’m getting.” The book is a ways from getting written, as she expects the research will take her until the end of 2011. Her plan is to see publication in 2012 or 2013. In terms of work completed, she has draft versions of some of the material for the history book, a bit of work done on a novel she’s also writing, two dozen blog entries (at http://www.danicanuck.com), six poems, two notebooks filled with notes, a dozen or more hours of recorded interviews.
“I found a lot of being here was becoming one big sponge.” She was also able to participate – via a Skype computer link – in the Berton House fundraising gala that was held in Toronto on November 30. On her blog she recalled the odd feeling of knowing her face was on a 15foot screen in front of hundreds of people at that event, which raises money to support the residency program. “Apparently I came in loud and clear to the host, Vicki Gabereau, and the 200-odd attendees. And I could hear Vicki great too, but it was really eerie not being able to see anyone while I was up there on the big screen...” Another blog entry includes a top ten list of things she recalls about her time in and out of Dawson, complied as a year-end exercise on December 28, back in Edmonton. 1. Working, reading, watching TV, chatting, and napping at Berton House on the sectional snuggled up in the HBC blanket. 2. Experiencing ice fog in minus 40-degree weather in Dawson. Yep, I’m a little strange. 3. Doing the Sourtoe Cocktail with friends at the Downtown bar in Dawson. 4. Going curling in Inuvik and hanging out in the curling club post-game. Best place in town on a Friday night! 5. Hiking up Dome Mountain in Dawson in December - and then sliding down on my backside! 6. Finding out I had family in Whitehorse and getting to spend great times with them. Thanks so much, Judy, Bruce, Ben, and Charlie! 7. Hanging out at Bombay Peggy’s and being there for closedown on November 10th! 8. Doing old-timey portraits
(at Peabody’s) with the gals in Dawson: Easy-Laine, Diamond Tooth Sandy, and Jailbait Jenny. Oh yeah, and I’m Dawson Dani (the one with the gun). 9. Visiting Old Crow and getting to attend a community feast. Such a friendly town and glad I got the chance to go twice! 10. Skagway, AK, in September: delicious food, good hiking, and seeing that the Sarah Palin store actually exists! Perhaps the biggest challenge (aside from dealing with the bathtub when the pipes froze during a cold snap) was that the Writers’ Trust of Canada, which
oversees the Berton House Retreat Program, has no definite rules about what to do while a writer is here. Apart from doing readings in both Dawson and Whitehorse, the writer’s time is his or her own, to use as he or she sees fit. “That is one of the most liberating things, but it’s also one of the scariest things. Pierre Berton set it up to be whatever a writer needed it to be. Earlier I needed it to be a kind of home base for all this research, but later it became a place where I could settle in and absorb and experience this part of the North.”
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
Remembering the Early Days of the Mounties
Bookends
The Wild Ride A History of the North West Mounted Police 1873-1904
by Dan Davidson
By Charles Wilkins Stanton, Atkins and Dosil Publishers 234 pages $45.00
The Berton House alumni association can claim another publication with the recent appearance of The Wild Ride. While Charlie Wilkins, who tramped all over the walking trails around Dawson in the winter of 2005, wasn’t working on this book while he was here, it’s safe to say that the extensive final chapter, which deals with Sam Steele and the Klondike Gold Rush, benefitted considerably from his three month residency at Berton House. In terms of timeliness, that 43-page chapter even contains a passing reference to the trial and delayed execution of the Nantuck brothers, whose coffins were unexpectedly exhumed in Dawson in November of this year leading to a flurry of articles in the local and national media. Wilkins begins his history by setting the stage, backing up to 1869 and the event variously known as the Red River Rebellion or Red River Resistance, a mainly Métis
attempt to maintain local control over the land they had occupied for generations in the face of fresh groups of settlers spilling up from Ontario with the blessing of the new Canadian government. The Métis’ temporary success, and the execution of one Thomas Scott in 1870 by Riel’s provisional government, set in motion the train of events that would lead to the foundation of the North West Mounted Police three years later. The other factor in their founding was the whiskey trade coming north from the United States and, in particular, the atrocity known as the Cyprus Hills Massacre, (related in Guy Vanderhaeghe’s GG Award winning novel, The Englishman’s Boy). In the second chapter Wilkins chronicles the incredible journey that was the Great March West, in which the raw recruits, many of them hardly fit for the journey, and certainly ill-equipped, slogged their way through the land where the railway did not yet run in order to reach the new Canadian territories they were supposed to be safeguarding. This gruesome journey tested the mettle and the resolve of the fledgling force, and it seems almost a miracle that the whole thing did not fall apart right there. As it happened though, they made it west, and were there in time to meet the American Indians fleeing north from the very
deliberately genocidal policies of the United States’ government following that nation’s Civil War. Wilkins account makes it seem that the Mounties won the respect of natives from both sides of the border and dealt with them much more fairly than did the politicians who followed them in negotiations. The Mounties were already in place when Riel’s second rebellion, also known as the NorthWest Rebellion, the North-West Resistance, or the Saskatchewan Rebellion, depending on your historical perspective, took place in 1885. The causes were the same as in 1869, indicating that the federal government had learned nothing in the intervening years. NWMP involvement in the rebellion was less substantial than that of the military force dispatched by Ottawa, but a detachment of a dozen men led by Sam Steele, who had been an officer in the force from its beginning, was successful in defeating forces led by Big Bear. Sam Steele is one of the characters who plays a major role is creating the early mythos of the NWMP. He was a force to be reckoned with during the march, during the dealings with First Nations and during the Northwest Rebellion, but Wilkins sees him as really making his mark during the Klondike Gold Rush. Other members of the force were here before him and Inspector Constantine was in charge here
from 1894 to 1898, but Steele was on hand for the actual rush after the word of the 1896 discovery reached the south the next year, and his journals contribute memories from Skagway, Sheep Camp, Lake Bennett and Dawson itself. For Wilkins it would appear that the orderly conduct of the Gold Rush in Canada, as contrasted with the chaos and lawlessness in Soapy Smith’s Skagway, had a lot to do with solidifying the legend of the North West Mounted Police, a legend which followed the force after its name change to Royal Northwest Mounted Police in 1904
and to its final form as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after the RNWMP merger with the Dominion Police (1868-1919) in 1920. There’s a lot of information in this book. The straight narrative of the main text is supplemented by many pictures and maps and by numerous sidebar pages, which amplify certain points and references. These were so interesting that I was often torn between following the main narrative and interrupting that flow to read the sidebars. I heartily recommend this very readable history.
Northern Avalanche girls hockey club to appear on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada By Jonathan Russell in the Whitehorse Star on January 7, 2011
The Northern Avalanche Hockey Club is poised to make their debut on national television. As Scotiabank Hockey Tonight Kids, the girls team – which will also represent the Yukon at the Canada Winter Games in February – will be featured on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada. They will be introducing an NHL game on the pre-game show, Scotiabank Hockey To-
night, at 3:30 p.m. PST prior to the start of two games on Jan. 15. The players will air before the Montreal Canadiens-New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs-Calgary Flames games, as well as introduce CBC’s Ron MacLean. Taping for the show took place on Saturday, Jan. 8, at the Canada Games Centre, where the players were filmed in the dressing room and on-ice naming their positions and favourite hockey players. The Saturday taping will be
followed by a pizza party for the club at Boston Pizza, sponsored by Scotiabank. Two of our local teens, Christina McIntyre and Natalja Blanchard, are part of the Northern Avalanche Female Hockey team. They are going to be representing the Yukon in February when they compete at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax. Club manager Laura Eby entered the contest on the Hockey Night in Canada website for the opportunity. “They’re pretty pumped,” Eby
said of the players. “They’re pretty excited about being on camera. At first they weren’t sure what was going on, but now they’re pumped.” The Avalanche is one of 25 minor hockey teams chosen from communities across Canada to be Scotiabank Hockey Tonight Kids. The winning teams will welcome viewers to Hockey Night in Canada throughout the regular season. After two seasons of bringing the excitement of Hockey Night to youth across the country, Scotiabank is once again supporting
Canada’s next generation of hockey greats – and hockey fans. “The Scotiabank Hockey Tonight Kids program was an absolute hit with the kids the last two years and we’re thrilled to be ‘calling up’ another 25 teams this season,” Scotiabank branch manager Doug Janzen said in a release. “Scotiabank has always been proud of our support of minor hockey in Canada and we hope this program gives kids a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to feel the excitement of Hockey Night in Canada and the big leagues.”
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
OPENSTUDIO: Richard Müller /painting
Evan Rensch: I know that you grew up in Toronto and now live in Montreal. Is this your first time in the Yukon? Richard Müller: To be honest, the furthest west I’d been prior to this trip was Saskatoon. I was there in Grade 8 for a Science Fair. My partner and I built a “magnettrain” – we won the “renewable energy prize”. ER: How did you hear about the residency in Dawson?
RM: I’d known of a lot of people who have been to Dawson in the summer and have heard about the Music Festival. I knew that it’s this cultural boomtown. But the first thing I thought was, “Oh no, I don’t have real boots!” So after I heard of my acceptance, I went to MEC in Montreal and bought a huge pile of long johns, socks, gloves, and snow pants. But now that I’m here, I realize that it’s really not that bad. In fact, it’s the most beautiful kind of cold I’ve felt. ER: What are your impressions of Dawson now that you’ve been here for almost a month?
ER: Did you have any preconceptions of what the Yukon would be like?
RM: That’s the social side of things. One of my friends who has grown up here explained to me that you have to be really comfortable with yourself to be here in the winter, comfortable in the silence of the land. There definitely is a magic to that feeling. In Montreal, I spend a lot of time by myself - but even then, I always know that there are people always around me. That doesn’t mean a thing up here. Its shocking, even jarring, how alone you can be in the north - even on those nights walking home from someone’s house, the quiet is totally powerful.
Rosemary Scanlon / painting
What are some of the personal rewards of teaching art to young people?
RM: I have a studio in Montreal in one of the many abandoned textile factories. There’s a couple of people who I share the space with – we all are painters who studied at Concordia University. One of these friends suggested that I apply for this residency he heard about. That’s the great thing about our community – when we hear about an opportunity, we don’t withhold information from one another.
Evan Rensch: I know that you’re originally from Montreal – what brought you up to the Yukon? Rosemary Scanlon: My fiancé is from here and in September we decided to come back here for awhile. I think it’s a good place to make some work over the winter. I originally moved to the Yukon in 2006, but spent two years in Scotland [at grad school] in between – but even then I would come back to Whitehorse in the summer. ER: How has living in the Yukon affected the work that you make? RS: Quite a lot. I think that one of the reasons why I started to doing watercolor paintings in Scotland: I was reflecting upon my experiences of living in the north. I think content-wise, the influence of the Yukon is quite strong. I take a lot of photographs to use as source material and think the scenes here in the winter – the dark heavy skies – really influences the mood of my paintings. I think being in the Yukon places me in a really great creative headspace. ER: You’ve been to Dawson before this residency – in November, you were an instructor at KIAC’s Youth Art Enrichment Program (YAE).
RS: Prior to the YAE, I hadn’t taught people under the age of twenty before. I think at that age, the kids are really receptive. It was exciting for me because it was also the first time working with watercolour in that setting. As soon as you start teaching a medium that is relatively new, you become quite conscious of the way you work – you have to backtrack in your mind in order to explain to your students how you arrived at that final product. The group I taught was so receptive towards the work we were making together. They would take off with what I taught them and use that information in totally different ways.
The KIAC Artists-in-Residence in conversation with Evan Rensch
RM: How has this experience in Dawson affected your art? ER: My work has always discussed how humanity places itself within the natural world. I’m interested in patterns, mathematics, and most of all, reason; I’m interested in how we incorporate reason into nature. We are always trying to impose patterns onto the natural world and constantly trying to structure our surroundings. A lot of my work deals with how we negotiate the chaotic forms found in nature with the human eye’s constant need to create meaning from them. When I got here, I realized that even chaos is too structured an idea to describe the natural environment. I was struck by how it exists – it merely is. A lot of my work while I was here was influenced by this discovery. ER: When did you start making art? ER: Now that you’ve experienced the Dawson community as an Artist-in-Residence, how does it compare to other places like Glasgow or Montreal? RS: Because it’s such a small community, everyone is aware of your presence in town. In an urban centre, you wouldn’t interact with others in the same way. People here will come up to you and start a conversation, whether it’s on the street or at the studio or a party. I find that the art scene in cities can be quite a bubble at times, but in Dawson its never like that. ER: You completed your undergraduate degree at Concordia in Montreal, then went on to the Glasgow School of Art for your MFA. What is it like being an artist on your own after being in school for so long? RS: I guess it’s a bit of an adjustment, though I had two years off between degrees – that experience of being out in the art world helped. Yet it still can be difficult – I try to persevere and continue believing in the work that I’m making. It was a big change moving from Glasgow to Whitehorse. I had just graduated and wrapped
RM: I always drew as a kid. I remember these National Geographic
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ER: What do you have planned artistically in the year ahead? RM: I have a show coming up in Montreal doing an installation with some other artists. I’m certain Dawson will be constantly influencing me while working on this project. Otherwise, I just got out of university, so I’m still pretty young. I’m going to continue trying to get shows and residencies. My ultimate goal is get an MFA in a couple of years – I’d love to teach someday. I’ve had great teachers who have influenced the way I see the world and I’d love to be able to share that similar experience with others.
“animal files”, describing facts and habitats of creatures around the world. I thought it was great how we can categorize all these attributes so systematically. I went around the house with a sheet of paper taking inventory of all my family’s belongings. So even before I was drawing, I was attracted to comprehending the world visually. Even now I follow that same process - when I’m painting a subject, I try to learn as much as I can about it and create my own “fact file” for it.
ER: What has been the highlight of time in Dawson?
up some big shows and then immediately moved to a much quieter community. At times, I still miss the sense of community at school - I enjoyed the opportunity to visit my peers at their studios and discuss many of the similar experiences we were all going through together. I enjoyed having Richard [my co-resident] around during the KIAC residency for this reason.
RS: I have always been interested in the sciences, especially biology. I think the study of the natural world be something I could imagine pursuing.
ER: What are some of the themes and subject matter you discuss in your work? RS: My watercolour work is derived from a show I did in Glasgow called “Tapestries and New Interpretations”. I was looking at medieval tapestries depicting scenes of everyday life - their composition, lack of perspective, and how things were often out of scale. I adapted these scenes to contemporary life in the Yukon, for example hunting scenes are filled with pickup trucks. I also replaced the mille-fleur motif [a popular background found in my tapestries comprised of densely packed flowers and plants] with a boreal forest. But because of the way these elements of “woven” together, a defined reading may not always be clear – people are free to create their own interpretations. ER: If you weren’t working as an artist right now, what might you be doing?
RM: My interaction with KIAC in general has been highlight; it really is a cultural artery in the community. KIAC makes you aware of the role art can play within a society; it can be something that unifies people. That Motown show [Wilson Williams, December 16th,, 2010] had nothing to do with the clinical “white box” of the art gallery – it was about bringing people together to have a great time. I think that’s wonderful.
ER: To me that makes sense – I definitely see the natural world having a presence in your artwork. RS: Yes, even now I’m working on a painting depicting this huge flock of birds and using images and diagrams from bird watching handbooks as source material. But this has been the case for quite awhile: while other kids were drawing cartoons in school, I was copying images from Biology textbooks. ER: And finally, what do you have planned in 2011? RS: I’m in talks with two centres for potential exhibitions this year, one in California and one in London; it would be wonderful if these plans work out. While watercolour is a big component of my work, I also want to pursue other projects as well. I have an idea for a new installation piece that hasn’t progressed as of yet because of studio space constraints. In the past, I’ve worked on glass Wardian cases [for plants, similar to a terrarium] – this is another pursuit I’d like to continue. In addition to these artistic activities, I’ll also be getting married this year!
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THE KLONDIKE SUN
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Christmas Motown Revue Brings the Sounds of Soul to the ODD Fellows Hall
Story by Evan Rensch Photos by KIAC & Dan Davidson A full capacity crowd of 150 onlookers twist’n’shouted to the soul sounds of singer Wilson Williams on December 17th at KIAC. Willilams, a member of the legendary Platters, was joined by Yukon musicians Annie Avery, Bob Hamilton, Patrick Singh, as well as Dawson soul hero Fred Osson on the saxophone. Williams crooned his way through a threeset program of Motown classics, bringing the crowd to an absolutel frenzy during his cover of the Isley Brothers’ Shout. The Revue was one of the most well-attended concerts at KIAC in recent memory and offered appeal to both young and old. The event also served as a Volunteer Appreciation Party for all the individuals in the community who have donated their time to help facilitate events at KIAC over the course of the year.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
Yukon Quest and Canadian Rangers Extend their 17-year Partnership
- January 4, 2011 (Whitehorse, Yukon) - The Yukon Quest will again be partnering with the 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (1 CRPG) for the 2011 Yukon Quest Trail to receive trail support from Whitehorse, Yukon to the US/ Canada Border. Joint Task Force (North) will once again put together a team of qualified Canadian Rangers to develop and maintain this portion of the 2011 race trail. “This is a very important partnership to the Yukon Quest – one that
allows the event to maintain a high service level and continue to produce the legendary trail the Yukon Quest is known for,” said Georgina Leslie, Executive Director of the Yukon Quest International Association of Canada. In 2010, Joint Task Force North was unable to provide support for the trail through a partnership with the Canadian Rangers. As a result, a group of experienced volunteers stepped up and the Yukon Quest re-
It’s Still 2010, According to the Klondike Sun By Evan Rensch, Office Manager
Like many other Dawsonites who trudged back to work on January 4th, I mourned the end of my Christmas holidays. During my time off work, I indulged myself in alternating bouts of solitude and socializing that the holidays constantly provided me. Yet by those first few waking moments on New Year’s Day, I had to finally concede that the festivities were over; it was time to flip over the calendar and embrace 2011. That being said, if you were one of many customers who either stopped by the Dawson City General Store, Maximilian’s, Bonanza Market, or Dominion Shell on the morning of January 4th, you might have had reason to second-guess the date. On this day, all copies of the Klondike Sun for sale at these retailers would have been dated November 3rd, 2010. I first received notice of this strange occurrence from Maximilian’s, who phoned the office to report that someone had stopped in, replaced all the current issues with older ones, and continued on their route. By mid-afternoon, a number of customers had unknowingly purchased copies of the outdated paper. And a visit to other distributors provided the same shocking result. “Theft! All the Klondike Suns have been stolen!” I exclaimed to myself as I raced back to the office to “re-replace” the stolen papers with leftovers from our current print-run. Once I began to query witnesses, a profile of this mysterious individual began to emerge: she was described as a blonde-haired female, middleaged, and traveling with a backpack and little white dog. Though this hardly fits the profile of a criminal mastermind, I immediately began to fear the worst. My mind leaped through all the hurdles the thief would have faced. First off, she would have had to collect all the back issues from the loading dock of the Recycling Depot - where all the old Klondike Suns go to rest – preferably after business hours. She would have needed a vehicle in order to transport the heavy load. And this mastermind also would have known that each new issue is distributed to retailers on Wednesday mornings between 10 and 11 A.M. [Note to readers – please do not attempt this feat now that I have divulged this information!] Despite all the potential theories I dreamt up, the situation just didn’t make sense. If one were to pull a prank, why the local newspaper? There are far better options out there that result in much more gain for less work. Could it be politically motivated? An offended reader? As one might expect, none of these hypotheses proved to be true. It turns out one of our own diligent volunteers was the culprit. This industrious individual carried the issues from store to store on foot, despite the heavy snowfall received the previous night and despite the fact that no others showed up to help. Because she wasn’t wearing her reading glasses, she failed to recognize the erroneous date on the front page. And where did she get all these past-dated papers? They were in the storage bin situated in front of the office, the same bin in which we leave both our old issues to be collected and await the delivery of new ones. It turns out the Recycling Depot never came to pick up our last batch of old papers because the Christmas holidays intervened. There are many lessons to be learned from this little mishap. First off, its best not to fear the worst before one has legitimate reason to, especially in a town like Dawson City where uncanny events appear to occur on a daily basis. Secondly, never underestimate the devotion of a Klondike Sun volunteer. And lastly, no matter how wonderful the holidays are, only enjoy them with the knowledge that they will likely screw things up when work resumes in January. Ed. Note: We debated telling this story as we didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings (or give anyone any ideas), but within 24 hours the bush telegraph had the “theft” version of it all over town, and everyone we met was alternately sympathizing and shaking their heads in wonder, so we figured we’d better tell it here and get it straight. It’s not like the time all the copies of the Yukon News disappeared from the Post Office. It’s not like anyone was trying to censor us. It’s just a case of dedication above and beyond the call of reality. And besides, in the end, it’s funny. D.D.
ceived funding from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. However, for the 2011 Yukon Quest, there will be a renewed formal partnership between the Yukon Quest and 1 CRPG to utilize the Canadian Rangers. “The Canadian Rangers have a long-standing relationship with the Yukon Quest and it’s wonderful to be able to offer this opportunity to the Rangers,” said Major Jeff Allen, Commanding Officer, 1 CRPG. “I know the men working
on the trail take their job seriously and have their operations down to a science.” The Canadian Rangers use a three-phase process to establish the “Super Highway”, which is how some people refer to the trail because of great trail work and superb quality of the trail in the past two years. The first phase involves “Ranger-style” trail breaking to clear brush from the path and pack snow down with snowmobiles. The second phase re-establishes the trail and removes any debris that may be
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obscuring the trail. The third phase is called “proofing” and is usually done only hours before the race start is a final check to make sure the trail is in top form. For more information about the 2011 Yukon Quest, please visit www.yukonquest.com. The 2011 Yukon Quest begins in Whitehorse on February 5th. For more information about the Yukon Quest contact: Pixie Ingram, (867) 456-7483, communications@outsidethecube.ca For more information about the Canadian Rangers contact: Capt Steve Watton (867) 873-0700 ext. 6832 or (867) 445-1970, Stephen.Watton@forces.gc.ca
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
When the Churches Gather for Christmas Story by Dan Davidson Photos by Kathy Webster
It’s not so much that the Christian churches of Dawson don’t get along as that we have different approaches to the same basic faith. Sometimes events bring us together, and Christmas is one of those times. It’s also a time that attracts people who otherwise have very little to do with organized religion at all. The Christmas Eve Pageant is therefore held at St. Paul’s because it tends to be packed and the Anglicans have the biggest space. Likewise, the Gospel Chapel has the most flexible space and organizes a Christmas dinner a week earlier. Pageant preparations began in September this year, with the photo shoot (reported here previously) that produces the Nativity Slide Show. Choir preparations began in mid-November, and a shifting group of 17 or so, led by Lay Minister and choir director Betty Davidson and played for by pianist
Brenda Caley, prepared to become the musical anchors for the service. This year we tried something different for two of the three anthems and committed “choiroke” to pre-recorded instrumentals. You can hear the results of those on YouTube if you’re interested. Just look for St. Paul’s, Dawson. Lay minister Shirley Pennell led the service, assisted by readers from the Anglican, Catholic and Gospel Hall congregations. Laurel Betts and Allison Anderson narrated the
Conservation Klondike Who’s Who! The new year brings a new face to Conservation Klondike! We warmly welcome Miles Kenyon, our new program manager, who is taking on the considerable task of keeping CKS running smoothly. He brings with him some excellent experience and, amazingly, a deep well of enthusiasm not often encountered mid-winter in the Klondike! We bid farewell to Caili Steel, who has been a tremendous gift to the CKS family. We’ll truly miss her hardcore dedication and perseverance to this organization over the last year and a half. Continuing for the short term is Rian Lougheed-Smith, who is working on outreach and organizing a conference on promoting local food production and consumption. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming information about this event. Stop in and say hi to Miles and Rian at our office on 2nd Ave, and find out about the new initiatives we’ll be pursuing in 2011. While you’re at it, poke your head into the depot and say thanks to Aaron, Merran, and Chris for their contribution to recycling in Dawson City! Thank you for another great year of conservation in the Klondike!
2nd Avenue Recycling Depot hours: Mon., Sat., & Sun. 1:00pm-5:00pm, Tues. 3:00-7:00pm Recycling at the Quigley Landfill hours: Fri. & Sat. 11am-6pm Conservation Klondike office hours: Mon. & Tues. 11am-2pm, Wed. & Thurs. 11:00am-1:00pm
slide show. Pastor Ian Nyland delivered the Christmas message. Father Ernest Emeodi assisted with prayers and readings. Yours truly got the congregation clapping and singing with some folkgospel tunes during the offering, which was dedicated to the fine work being done by the Dawson Womens’ Shelter. The service wouldn’t have been possible without Ken Snider, who stoked the fire and warmed the
building from -27 to a comfortable temperature for several days in advance. Thanks to all who came and shared in the evening’s celebration. Let’s do it again in 2011.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
Roache’s Corner by Mike Roache
Cartoons!
Tundra by Chad Carpenter
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Elwood by Bryley
Nemo’s Notions
We don’t have permission to use Tundra online.
HunterGatherer
Humane Society Dawson
By Allie Haydock
This is just a simple take on regular old oatmeal, but it really tastes amazing and on a cold winter morning you couldn’t ask for a better meal to start your day. I have found that if you make a big batch you can just put the lid back on the pot and refrigerate the remainder, spooning out portions in the morning and microwaving it, which makes it even easier for work-day mornings, and it will keep in the fridge for almost a week. It’s also a great solution for those bananas you have in your freezer, and oatmeal is so heart-healthy and nearly fat-free, but always leaves you feeling full (but not ill). We all really should eat more oatmeal.
Banana Nut Oatmeal - Quick cooking or regular oatmeal (whatever your preference) - 1 - 2 ripe bananas - 1/2 cup raisins - 1/2 cup toasted walnuts - 2 tbsp maple syrup Cook the oatmeal according to the directions on the bag for four servings While the oatmeal is cooking mash the bananas When the oatmeal is ready stir in the bananas, raisins and maple syrup Top with the toasted walnuts Spoon into bowls and add milk (if you like), eat, and then go chop wood
Thank you and Happy New Year! The Humane Society Dawson would like to wish you a fabulous and prosperous year 2011! We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported us in the previous year: volunteers, businesses or government.
Your help is immensely valuable to us. We say it all the time, but every little bit makes a difference. Thanks to the effort of many people, 33 animals were able to find new homes in 2010. We would like to send a special thanks to John Overell, our local vet, for his support, advice and knowledge. Thanks also, to the City of Dawson for their support, to Kluane Freight lines for the numerous donated
freights, to the Feed Store for their regular contributions to our food, toy and cat litter supplies, to the Alpine Veterinary Clinic for their support and kindness and to everyone who purchased a membership and/or donated time, food and money for the Animal Shelter. Finally, a very special thanks to Brianna Lancaster and her friends for the time they spend playing with cats, walking dogs and helping the staffs at the Shelter in their various chores. Volunteers like her are gold to us. We are now ready for this new year, knowing that with all the help that we receive we can give a second chance to homeless animals and be helpful to our community.
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
Klondike Sun Classifieds Churches ST. MARY’S CATHOLIC CHURCH Corner of 5th and King Services: Sunday mornings at 10:30 am, Sat. & Tues. 7 pm, Wed. to Fri. 9:30 am All are welcome. Contact Father Ernest Emeka Emeodi for assistance: 993-5361 DAWSON COMMUNITY CHAPEL Located on 5th Ave across from Gold Rush Campground. Sunday worship at 11 am. Everyone is welcome. Pastor Ian Nyland 993-5507 ST. PAUL’S ANGLICAN CHURCH Sunday Services 1st and 3rd Sundays: 10:30 am - Morning Prayer 2nd and 4th Sundays - 10:30 am - Holy Eucharist 5th Sundays - 10:30 am Special service.
Support
Real Estate
Many Rivers Counselling and Support Services
FOR SALE BY OWNER 1 1/2 COMMERCIAL LOTS O n 3 rd A v e n e x t t o t h e Westminster Hotel. Call 993-5346
Individual, couple, family, or group counselling. A highly confidential service located in the Waterfront Building. We are a non-profit organization with a sliding fee scale. To make an appointment call 993-6455 or email dawson@manyrivers. yk.ca. See our website at www.manyrivers.yk.ca/. Alcoholics Anonymous New Beginnings Group meets Thursdays 8 pm, St. Paul’s R. Martin Chapel kitchen, Church St. North Star Group meets Saturdays 7 pm at the Community Support Centre, 1233-2nd Ave, 2nd floor (use outside stairs). Call 993-3734 or 5095 for info.
This Could Be Your Classified Ad!! Only $6 per 50 Words.
from the Klondike Sun!
Business Directory Advertise your business and services with The Klondike Sun! Submit your business card at a normal size of 2” x 3.5” Cost is $20.00 per issue and yearly billings can be arranged.
K londike Outreach Job Board Open Positions: After School Program Teacher Bank Manager Bartenders Childcare Worker Commercial Sewing Machine Operator General Assistant HVAC – journeyman Outreach Family Support Worker Plumber – journeyman Positions with Closing Dates: Community Librarian: Jan 14 Relief Librarian: Jan 14 Positions Out of Town: Human Resources Manager: Jan 31 Cook Assistant Crusher Operator EMR/OFA 3 Attendant Mill/Feed Operator Mill Assistant Operator Underground Chief Geologist Underground Production Geologist Safety Coordinator For more information on these and other positions, come into the Klondike Outreach office next to the Territorial Agent/Liquor Store (853-Third Street). Klondike Outreach hours: Monday-Friday 9-noon and 1-5 pm Closed weekends and Stat. Holidays Phone: 993-5176 ~ Fax: 993-6947 Website: www.klondikeoutreach.com E-mail: info@klondikeoutreach.com
Your Business Card Ad could be in this space
Additional TV Channel Listings 7 - Dawson Dome 12 & 13 - Possible Local Camera Programming 9 - Preview Guide 11 - Rolling Ads
The Klondike Sun’s deadline for ad and story submissions is 12 noon, Friday, January 21, 2011 for the Wednesday, January 26, 2011 edition. Ad rates available upon request. Classified ads are $6 for 50 words per issue. Email: klondikesun@northwestel.net Telephone: (867) 993-6318 Fax: (867) 993-6625
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
THE KLONDIKE SUN
page 15
P.O. Box 308 (1336 Front Street), Dawson City, Yukon Y0B 1G0 Tel: (867) 993-7400 ~ Fax: (867) 993-7434 NEW WEBSITE: www.cityofdawson.ca (updated regularly)
Public Notice
Changes Related to Utility Bills Starting January, 2011 the following changes will be made to your quarterly Utility Accounts: You are currently receiving invoices with payment dates as follows: Invoice Issued on: January 15th March 15th August 15th October 15th
Payment Due By: February 28th April 30th September 30th November 30th
For 2011, you will be invoiced quarterly with payment dates as follows: Invoice Issued On:
Payment Due By:
January 15th April 15th July 15th October 15th
February 15th May 15th August 15th November 15th
Public Notice
Regarding Payment on all City Accounts Including: Taxes, Utilities, Water Delivery, Cable and Miscellaneous Payments.
Please note that as of January 1st the City will no longer be accepting credit cards as a method of payment. If you have a credit card on file, you will be required to make alternate payment arrangements.
We do accept the following for payment: Cash, Cheque, Debit Card, Cheques issued by your credit card company, Internet or Telephone Banking.
For Internet or Telephone Banking, please make sure to select the correct account: City of Dawson – Taxes, City of Dawson – Utilities, or Dawson City TV for cable payments
Recreation Department Schedule New Programs
Preschool learn to skate January 11 – February 3; Tuesdays and Thursdays; 2 sessions 10-10:30 or 10:45-11:15; Ages 3-5; $20 Register at the Rec Office Preschool Playtime - Mondays 10-11am in the Ancillary Room, unstructured play for parents n’ tots.
Please be advised that the City would appreciate it if there are no vehicles left parked on the side of the road all season long. It makes it very difficult for the grader operator to do their job with vehicles in the way and it is also a contravention of the Traffic Bylaw.
Figure Skating Mondays January 17 – March 7; Level 1 for beginners with some skating experience 3:30 - 4:15; Level 2 for those with some figure skating experience 4:15 - 5. Six spots available in each class $45 for 8 classes Cross Country Skiing Wednesdays - starting January 12; grades 2-6 meet in the schoolyard, pick-up 5 at the Rec Centre, dress warmly. Film Course - Wednesdays at KIAC grades 6 & up January 12 - February 16
Old Favourites
Afterschool Hiking Club Mondays 3:30-5 grades 2-6 Girl Power Tuesdays 3:30-5 girls grades 6-9 Youth Weights Thursdays 3:30-5 grades 8 & up in the weight room Open Gym Fridays 6:15-8 grades 5 & up
Adult This year the City will be towing all vehicles left on the side of the road, especially during snow removal season, and all costs will be incurred to the owner. We hope to have everyone’s cooperation on this matter.
Fitness Classes Monday, Wednesday & Friday 5:30-6:30 in the Ancillary Room $2 drop-in Badminton Mondays family 6:15-7:15; Adults 7:15-8:30 and Saturdays 2-4 Kickboxing Tuesdays & Thursdays 5:30-7:30, Saturdays 1-3 Women & Weights Tuesday & Thursdays 12-1 Adult Soccer Tuesdays & Thursdays 7:45-9:30
DAWSON CITY – HEART OF THE KLONDIKE