40 YEARS AGO: The search began for a 44-year-old sawyer and his family after they failed to rendezvous in Wells Gray Provincial Park on Aug. 8. The Johnson family were last seen in Red Deer, Alta, two days earlier. They were to meet the Bentleys, Mrs. Johnson’s parents who had arrived Aug. 3, in the park for a berry picking expedition. A BCGEU strike limited the information known by parks employees and they were unable to relay how long the Bentleys had been in the park. Police were unsure if the meeting between the two families had taken place. The Johnson family was reported missing after Bob Jonson’s co-worker arrived from holiday surprised to hear Bob hadn’t returned. He was not one to miss work.
30 YEARS AGO: An inexpensive cooling system developed by Clearwater Salmon Hatchery manager Szczepan Wolski will enable the facility to be used to raise young sockeye from the upper Adams River over the winter. The development meant that the facility would remain open at least until spring, according to assistant manager Lucyna Wolski. The DFO had planned to close the hatchery permanently that fall after the sockeye had been raised to the eyed stage. The young fish were to be raised at Quesnel hatchery as the well water at Clearwater felt to be too warm. Efforts to catch and spawn fish from the upper Adams began early August. After three weeks only a couple dozen females had been taken, far short of the thousand or more desired. Target for the project was to collect three million eggs.
25 YEARS AGO: To minimize danger to victims and responders alike, the Clearwater and District Highway Rescue Society will pursue a plan to buy the pumper truck recently retired by the Blackpool Fire Hall when that department’s new vehicle arrived. RCMP Const. Mike Savage, liaison to the CDHR group, presented a letter over his own signature and that of Sgt. Bryon Hodgkin. Should the vehicle be purchased, it would run with the rescue truck for fire protection during extrication. The new rescue unit, purchased two years prior, carried a large fire extinguisher, but it’s not feasible to fight a large fire. Savage said they can’t lose sight of the safety of their own volunteers.
20 YEARS AGO: The Thompson-Nicola Regional District spent about $175,000 to strengthen the rood of the North Thompson Sportsplex. The money was used to reinforce the frame and install tension cables to bring the structure up to present day building codes. The figure also included funds spent on engineering studies into the roof. The Sportsplex’s roof partially collapsed shortly after it was built. Area A director Bert Walker thought the Sportsplex roof should be looked at after the building’s 25th anniversary a few years prior coupled with the collapse of several hockey arenas in eastern Canada.
15 YEARS AGO: It was announced that 25 years after pleading guilty to six charges of second degree murder, David Shearing, now David Ennis, would be up for parole for the first time. He was convicted in 1984 and was given the maximum sentence of life with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. The parole hearing as set for November 2008. While a National Parole Board spokesperson said they could not talk about the reality of whether Shearing would be released, a NPB communications officer did say that if he were released, Shearing would be heavily supervised by Corrections Canada until the day he died.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
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