January
Spending for Vavenby Community Hall was projected to be $146,000 as the TNRD board approved its 2012-2016 financial plan.
Clearwater ski hill opened for the season on Dec. 27.
The family and friends of Randy Sulyma won the right in an auction to have a lichen named after him with a bid of $17,900. The Fort St. James forester and biologist had passed away in Jan, 2011. Upper Clearwater lichenologist Trevor Goward had offered the naming of a lichen he had discovered as a fundraiser for The Land Conservancy of BC.
Clearwater and area residents were shocked to learn that Staff Sergeant Stu Seib, the former head of the local RCMP for more than eight years, had been charged with theft from a drug exhibit. He had recently left to take charge of the Merritt detachment.
Thompson Rivers University’s trades trailer returned to Clearwater Secondary School. Ten CSS students plus two external students had already signed up for a Welding Level C course, said principal Alan Stel.
Jeff Lamond took over as president of Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce.
A regional economic development conference held in Valemount picked more and better electrical power as the top priority for the Barriere to McBride corridor. Fiber supply for such uses as fuel pellets and biotechnology was the second priority. Priority number three was destination tourism, with examples being Mike Wiegele’s ambitious plans for around Blue River and a proposal for glacier skiing near Valemount.
Local young people would like to see a roof over the skateboard facility at Rotary Sports Park, said Robert Wallington, a member of Clearwater’s junior council. He made the observation during a presentation to District of Clearwater council.
Jackson Hedman, born Jan. 4, was the first baby from the Clearwater area in 2012. The son of Stacy and Adam Hedman, he received a handmade quilt from the Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.
Kinder Morgan was conducting an “open season” to get commercial commitments from its customers if it twinned its Transmountain Pipeline. Described as a “reverse request for proposals’”, the open season was due to end in mid-February.
Local landowners and taxpayers should educate themselves about what the proposed Transmountain twinning would mean to them, said Little Fort resident Kathy Karlstrom. “If there is any damage to the pipeline and they can prove it is our fault, we are liable,” she said.
An apparent increase in local wolf populations was the main topic of discussion during a meeting of Central North Thompson Rod and Gun Club. Conservation officer Kevin Van Damme was the guest speaker.
District of Clearwater began its first municipal fire inspection service. Letters to local businesses had already gone out, said fire chief Mike Smith.
Blue River's waterworks budget was to be $1.22 million during 2012, said Thompson Headwaters (Area B) director Willow MacDonald. That figure included $1.1 million for capital improvements that were not done the previous year.
Telus was investing $1 million to bring 4G wireless service to Blue River.
Construction of an eco-depot in Clearwater had been delayed during 2011, said the TNRD. The new expected opening date was September, 2012. Design work to close the Clearwater, Barriere and Chase landfills was nearing completion.
East Blackpool resident Steve Mullen won the Rail Trail 200 sled dog race near Grand Forks for the second year in a row. His 12-dog team was the only one still racing when the race was called 85 km from the finish line. “This race has the distinction of being the toughest 200 mile race I've ever been on,” he said.
Adrian “Brad” Bradbury was hired to be tourism and marketing manager for Wells Gray Country and Distric of Clearwater, taking the place of Heather Steere. He had previously been the CEO of Campbell River's economic development agency.
February
District of Clearwater was to receive $140,000 in gas tax funding for an infrastructure master plan that would integrate planning for roads, water, sewer and drainage. “The infrastructure master plan will be a valuable document to assist the council in determining how best to move forward,” said Mayor John Harwood.
A Jobs Creation Plan program at the former Dutch Lake School was teaching handyman skills to several under-employed local residents. “They all will be good carpenter's helpers when they finish,” said instructor Ron Plamondon.
A first-ever Walk for Memories event raised over $900 for the Alzheimer's Society. Most participants avoided the wintery weather by walking around inside the Elks Hall.
Derek Richardson won the $300 first prize in Clearwater Rotary Club's Ice Man fishing derby with a 40 cm kokanee. “I'm more excited about catching the fish than winning the derby,” he said. “It's like a little sockeye on the table.”
Hudson's Bay Company announced that it was going to close all 167 Fields stores in Canada, including the one in Clearwater. Building owner Joe Walchuk said was as surprised as anyone by the news. Until recently the company had planned to open 800 new Fields stores across the nation.
A second shift that started at Canfor-Vavenby in January brought the total number of employees to 146.
Age-Friendly BC provided a grant of nearly $18,000 for study to assess the needs of seniors. “We are glad to get that funding,” said Mayor John Harwood.
“Our seniors groups have been saying there are gaps that need filling.”
Ice climbers Tim Emmett, originally from the U.K., and Klemen Preml of Slovenia made a first ascent from the bottom of Helmcken Falls to the top. “It was the most awesome climb of my life,” said Emmett. He had pioneered climbing the ice stalactites behind the falls with Canadian Will Gadd the previous two winters.
“Cell service is on in Vavenby!” reported Tim Pennell, TNRD director for Wells Gray Country (Area A). He said he had a nice strong signal on his phone all the way from Clearwater to Vavenby. Cost of the 4G cell tower was about $800,000, said MLA Terry Lake.
Alan Stel, principal at Clearwater Secondary for the previous five years, announced he was leaving to take over the top job at Penticton Secondary. “It will be a challenge,” he said. “Here I've had maybe 200 to 300 students to manage. At Pen High, there could be that many in one class.”
Wells Gray Community Forest had applied to increase its annual allowable cut from 20,000 cubic meters per year to 30,000, WGCF Corporation president Ted Richardson reported. The community forest had given out $100,000 to local service groups the previous fall and planned to do the same that spring.
After Hours Theatre was putting on the play Pygmalion in a three-day performance run in the Pit at CSS. Shay Person was Professor Hetti Higgins while Neal Broswick was Elijah Doolittle.
Kinder Morgan announced that it had received positive results in an “open season” held to measure commercial support for the proposed twinning of its Trans Mountain pipeline. “We are looking forward to engaging in dialog with First Nations, interested stakeholders and communities along the pipeline,” said Ian Anderson, president of Kinder Morgan Canada.
Sgt. Kevin Podbisky made his first report to town council in his new role as commander of Clearwater' RCMP detachment.
BC Hydro was looking at three options to increase electrical power in the North Thompson Valley. The first would be a 100 km line from 100 Mile House to Clearwater, the second was an 85 km line from near Mica Dam to Vavenby, and the third was adding a second line from Brocklehurst to Vavenby beside the existing power-line.
March
A poll conducted by Kennedy Stewart, New Democrat M.P. for Burnaby-Douglas, found 55 per cent of Kamloops area residents supported Kinder Morgan’s plans to twin its Transmountain pipeline, while 45 per cent were opposed. “His survey is hardly scientific,” said Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo M.P. Cathy McLeod, a Conservative.
The local Healthy Forests-Healthy Communities committee recommended that District of Clearwater establish a forestry working group. The committee also endorsed re-establishing Forest District office in Clearwater, said spokesperson Bas Delaney.
A total of 82 skiers from Raft River, Blue River, Vavenby and Barriere took part a cross-country ski race day in Blue River.
A proposal to build a roundabout at the junction of Highway 5 and the road to Wells Gray Park did not seem to get much support during the first of two public information sessions at CSS. Those attending a second session seemed more in favor, but there were still many questions asked.
Yellowhead Mining extended the projected lifespan of its proposed Harper Creek copper-gold-silver mine from 22 years to 28. Capital costs were estimated at $840 million.
Clearwater Female Hawks took home two banners at the end of the season after winning both the league and the playoffs. Coaches were Darcie Sunderman, Deanna Pendergast and Kelvin Arndt.
A newly formed company, FHC Enterprises Ltd., was purchasing 59 of the 141 Fields-HBC stores in western Canada, including the one in Clearwater. “This is good news for the employees and the people of Clearwater,” said Barry Walchuk, whose family owns the building the store is located in.
Clearwater retained the top place in Canada for checklists submitted in the Great Backyard Bird Count for the fifth year in a row. The community placed 12th across North America for most checklists.
Imperial Metals significantly increased the estimated resource for its proposed lead-zinc mine at Ruddock Creek. The indicated resource tonnage went up by 99 per cent and the inferred resource increased by 261 per cent compared to a report released in 2009. The property is located about 30 km due east of Avola near Tum Tum Lake.
There was a lot of opposition voiced to a proposed roundabout during two recent open houses, Mayor John Harwood reported to town council. However, comments collected during the meetings showed 67 per cent of those attending were in favor of the concept.
Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development Ida Chong announced $400,000 for dressing room expansion at the North Thompson Sportsplex.
An article in the Times about helicopter skiing and mountain caribou created a good deal of comment on the Internet from snowmobilers. “I thought, overall, it was a pretty good article but I’m not surprised there as a reaction,” said Bill Karas, president of the Blue River Powder Packers. “There’s a bit of history there and sensitive feelings.”
April
District of Clearwater discovered it had four parks that it hadn’t known about. The newly identified parks were created before the town became a municipality and did not have title – which meant they were not included in the paper transfers to the District during incorporation.
Kinder Morgan helped set up 50 birdhouses and bathouses on the MacLennan ranch next to Raft River. Woodworking students at CSS had made the houses.
Clearwater’s tax rate was to increase to 3.4637 from 3.0838. That meant a $76 increase for a $200,000 home, said director of finance Sheila Thiessen. Clearwater’s tax rates were still lower than the majority of a list of 14 B.C. communities with similar sized populations.
Three girls from Clearwater, Kaylee Patterson, Aliya Bieber and Kennedy Ash, took on three from Barriere to be North Thompson Fall Fair and Rodeo Ambassador. Coronation would take place on Aug. 30.
A proposed small-scale hydro project for Shannon Creek near Avola could help provide the Valley with a more secure energy supply, consultant Wes Bieber told the Thompson Headwaters (Area B) services committee. The $5 million project would provide 2.5 megawatts of electricity. Kim and Dale Miller were backing the project through their company, Soler Logging.
TNRD continued to send letters and legal documents to property owners in order to resolve right-of-way issues regarding the Blue River water system, Thompson Headwaters services coordinator Sherri Madden reported. The issues dated back to when the town was mostly operated by the CNR. Waterlines were laid wherever was most convenient, without regard to property boundaries.
Clearwater council voted to apply for a federal grant of up to $2.7 million to extend the town’s sewer system to the area south and west of Dutch Lake. A pumping station near the beach would pump the sewage over the hill to the existing sewage lagoons on the Flats.
The Times announced it was going to paid subscriptions for its online newspaper. People with subscriptions to the paper newspaper could have full access without additional cost.
Wells Gray Search and Rescue recovered Rotary Richard from Dutch Lake. Warren MacLennan won $500 by having the closest guess to when melting ice would cause the clock on the wooden cutout to stop. Money from the fundraiser would be used by Clearwater Rotary Club for community projects.
Students at CSS unveiled a sign marking the welding program at the school sponsored by School District 73 and Thompson Rivers University. About a dozen students were taking a Level C welding program in the trades trailer stationed temporarily at the school.
Wells Gray Community Forest Corporation had about $770,000 in the bank and another $10,000 in accounts receivable, according to information at WGCFC’s annual public information forum. Projections were there would be about the same amount of cash on hand at the end of the year, despite an active logging program plus disbursing $200,000 to the community.
Blackpool Community Hall named the back section of the hall “Mel’s Room” to honor Mel Sasek, a volunteer who had worked diligently to renovate the hall.
Two young women from Clearwater, Jenna Ormondy and Aaren Ritchie-Bonar, helped the Kamloops Vibes win the Western Canadian Shield – the Stanley Cup of female senior hockey.
A Hereford bull from Little Fort Herefords garnered the Tribune trophy for reserve grand champion at the 75th annual Williams Lake Bull Show and Sale.