40 YEARS AGO
The annual No-Host bazaar at Clearwater Secondary School attracted hundreds of people for some early Christmas shopping and helped many local clubs and organizations to raise money as well.
Teachers in School District 26 unanimously rejected in a general meeting a two-year contract proposal from the local school board and negotiations were set to go to binding arbitration.
Grade 6 students and Dutch Lake Elementary were able to raise nearly $1,200 for field trips through the sale of spices to local residents. Under guidance from teacher Barry Dollis, about 20 Grade 6 students, with some help from parents and a few older students, canvassed the area from Blackpool to Birch Island and sold total of $3,978.50-worth of the spices.
35 YEARS AGO
Little Fort resident Dale Clearwaters was apparently accidentally shot in the arm while hunting moose by a long-time hunting partner, a resident of Vernon, Clearwater RCMP reported. The incident occurred about 20 miles up Wells Gray Park road, west of Hemp Creek. Mr. Clearwaters was believed to still be in hospital suffering from the wound caused by a 30-06 bullet, but in good condition.
Almost 40,000 people received assistance through the Info Centre. There were 12,000 inquiries jotted down, representing 29 countries, 14 U.S. states and 10 Canadian provinces.
A committee was struck and sent for an information package from Victoria to study incorporation for Clearwater. The move for incorporation was also brought up in 1980, but “failed miserably, although not through lack of work.”
30 YEARS AGO
A European economic import ban on greenwood imports wouldn’t have much effect on the North Thompson, according to local sawmillers, though it may cost the province $700 million. One local mill manager said the move could actually benefit interior producers. The reason for the ban was the pinewood nematode, a small worm found in spruce, pine and fir.
An expenditure of $6,000 on a consultant by Evergreen Acres Society excited some comment at the society’s annual general meeting. Board member Lorraine Bainbridge explained that the consultant was hired to develop a plan for a community care facility that would be acceptable to the bureaucrats in Victoria, and to help present it to them. The money was part of the interest from the community care trust fund.
25 YEARS AGO
Six positions were eliminated at the Clearwater Forest District offices in a province-wide cutback, reducing ministry staffing levels from 59 persons to 53. However, as half of those positions were already vacant, in actual numbers and bodies the cuts amount to two full-time equivalents and three persons.
The shooter who shot a deer with does in a private field at the intersection of Highway 5 and Burman Road near Birch Island was sought by conservation officers. The deer was shot on cultivated land without permissions, there was no evidence the shooter was 15 metres from the highway and the deer was paralyzed, but not dead, when it was shot and the shooter left it to suffer.
The Ministry of Transportation and Highways installed cement abutments at a popular entrance to the Husky in Blue River, to the disappointment of owners, who said the ministry didn’t give them the notice they were promised. The couple said the 24-hour truck stop is a popular place and they’ve watched would-be customers drive past. The barriers had also quickly caused a few near-misses.
20 YEARS AGO
Clearwater residents voted in a referendum of whether to incorporate. A previous referendum 20 years prior was soundly defeated, and another look at the question 10 years ago didn’t get the support needed to even go to referendum.
Fairleigh Murray, a British Columbia Government Employees’ Union representative was in Clearwater speaking about the proposed massive reductions in civil services. She noted they were huge layoffs and that each government worker’s payroll lost could cost three to five other jobs in local businesses. The rep was in town to convince residents, business owners and politicians to speak out about the layoffs.
Weyerhaeuser Company Limited announced it would reduce lumber production at its Vavenby mill for an additional two days, in addition to a 12-day production cutback announced in October. The company noted there wouldn’t be any additional layoffs during the additional downtime, though employees were encouraged to take vacation.
15 YEARS AGO
After decade of sitting idle, a flurry of activity started taking place at the Blackpool Pump Station as part of Trans Mountain Pipeline’s pump station expansion project. It was one in a long line of stations owned by Kinder Morgan Canada (formerly Terasen Pipelines) that were undergoing large scale upgrades.
Dr. Helmcken Hospital was riddled with a contagious norovirus. Signs warning of a possible outbreak were first posted on the doors of the hospital two weeks prior. At the time, both residents of the residential care unit, Forest View Place and staff members became sick all at once.
Thompson-Nicola Regional District directors passed a 20 per cent tax increase in 2007 across the board, including Wells Gray Country. Most of the increase was due to waste management costs.
10 YEARS AGO
Orlynn Braaten celebrated with his wife Theresa after he won the Citizen of the Year award during the Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce’s annual Of the Year awards gala.
The inaugural mayor and council after Clearwater’s incorporation in 2007 held their last meeting Nov. 26, 2011. Mayor John Harwood said “the legacy of this group is excellence” and that they are “foundation builders.” The District left about 22 projects for the next council to continue.
5 YEARS AGO
The provincial government gave Yellowhead Community Services Society nearly $3.6 million to help it construct a new 26-unit apartment building in Clearwater. The new building would be located on Park Drive next to the Clearwater library and across the street from the existing Woodside Apartments.
Enrolment at North Thompson schools is up by about 1.6 per cent, according to numbers released during a school board meeting. The increase mirrors a similar small increase seen across School District 73, and is in contrast to the steady decreases seen over the past number of years.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
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