50 YEARS AGO:
Birch Island School District extended its school bus routes to serve students from Blue River who were staying in the dormitory in Clearwater. A bus left Blue River every Monday at 6:30 a.m. and took the students back every Friday, arriving in Blue River at 5:30 p.m. Because a fire had destroyed Barriere’s high school the previous summer, another bus ran daily to Little Fort to bring students to Clearwater who did not wish to board.
Buildings in Clearwater were to be surveyed for the amount of fallout protection they provided. The federal and provincial emergency measures organizations were conducting a survey of all buildings except private homes.
45 YEARS AGO:
Glen Small said the Clearwater Sno-Drifters’ track at Camp Two had been selected to host the first B.C. regional race meet of the season. The club had been working hard to improve the track, and both the bleachers and the parking area had been enlarged.
40 YEARS AGO:
Doreen Radmacher and Geordie Moss won the best costume awards at a Klondike Night organized by the hospital auxiliaries in the Sportsplex.
The use of seat-belts became mandatory in B.C. on Oct. 1, 1977.
35 YEARS AGO:
Police were looking for two French Canadians wanted for questioning in the disappearance of six persons in the Clearwater Valley. A continent-wide search was underway for the missing persons’ truck and camper.
School District 26 trimmed $110,000 from its budget to meet a provincial restraint program. About 40 per cent of the money came from salary cuts and cutbacks in support staff, said secretary-treasurer Tim Klotz.
30 YEARS AGO:
A fire protection committee was investigating using the existing community hall as a firehall for Birch Island. Chairman was Merv Fedorchuk.
Clearwater Fire Department donated its old siren to the Tulameen and District Fire Department. The siren had been used before a pager system was installed.
25 YEARS AGO:
Former Canucks star Tiger Williams was the special guest at Clearwater Minor Hockey’s buffet dinner and auction. The event raised over $5,000.
The death of a 19-year-old CSS grad shocked the area. He had been run over by a vehicle on Peavine Road after attending a party.
Weyerhaeuser’s Vavenby sawmill set two production records in one week. The new milestone was 509,277 FBM. “These records are a result of a tremendous team effort on everyone’s part,” said manager Dave Hay.
20 YEARS AGO:
Two elderly hikers from New York and Germany walked out unharmed after being out overnight near Helmcken Falls in Wells Gray Park. Clearwater Search and Rescue and Barriere Search and Rescue assisted RCMP and B.C. Parks in the search.
Police seized nearly 1,000 marijuana plants from a grow site four kilometres north of Vavenby. The plants were destroyed in a Vavenby beehive burner. Police charged a Coquitlam man found at the site.
Ministry of Transportation and Highways was cleaning out the culvert under the road to Wells Gray Park at Second Canyon. The crossings at First and Third Canyons had washed out during previous freshets.
15 YEARS AGO:
Although Clearwater’s Jennifer Thomas met up with a bear during the Wilderness Gateway Relay, the meeting occurred without incident. The five-stage race drew 20 teams of seven participants each and raised money to develop local hiking and biking trails.
MLA Kevin Krueger and B.C. Ambulance regional manager Bob Gallagher cut the ribbon to open Clearwater’s new ambulance station.
Ninety-one people raised over $2,000 during the Terry Fox Run in Clearwater to benefit the Cancer Society.
10 YEARS AGO:
Two prospective mayors put their names forward. TNRD director for Area A and vice-chair Bert Walker and School District 73 chair John Harwood informed the Times of their intentions to add “first mayor of the District of Clearwater” to their long lists of civic titles.
Concern over a pending doctor shortage in the Clearwater area drew top brass from the Interior Health Authority (IHA), to a meeting at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital. Berni Easson, manager of heath services for Clearwater, Barriere, and Blue River, scheduled the meeting.
Administrator for the Clearwater Improvement District Marion Walker reported the CID, as it had been known for the previous 39 years, would cease to exist in December, 2007.
Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation (WGCFC) was one step closer to harvesting timber after B.C. Ministry of Forests approved their Forest Stewardship Plan (FSP).
TNRD Area A director and vice-chair Bert Walker presented a cheque for $500 to Ted Richardson, Clearwater Community Drug and Alcohol Task Force chair.
5 YEARS AGO:
Clearwater and Barriere planned to work together at the upcoming UBCM convention to get more electrical power for the proposed Harper Creek mine and other projects in the Valley.
Dr. Cathie Hickson led about 50 people on a tour of some of the volcanic features in Wells Gray Park. The event was the first of about 20 planned for Wells Gray World Heritage Year.
1 YEAR AGO:
Student numbers at Clearwater Secondary School and Raft River Elementary were above expectations. “We projected our enrolment at 174 and will likely be closer to 200,” said CSS principal Darren Coates. After many years of steady decline, similar growth was reported across School District 73.
Close to a dozen party members attended a meeting in Clearwater to confirm Barbara Nederpel as the NDP candidate for Kamloops-North Thompson in the upcoming provincial election.
Footings were being poured for a new Tim Hortons restaurant being constructed in Clearwater Shopping Centre near Buy-Low.