40 YEARS AGO
About 150 people, nearly all dressed in some form of medieval attire, took part in the North Thompson Overture Concert Association’s Medieval Feast at the Blackpool Hall. Interspersed with poetry reading, songs, musical renditions from six bands, dancing and a drama, the feast lasted for more than six hours.
The last Via Rail passenger train on the Edmonton-Jasper-Vancouver run stopped briefly in Clearwater. The line, reportedly costing taxpayers $8 million each year, was a casualty of cuts to pull the rail system out of debt. Little hope was given to reinstating the passenger train once it had been taken out of service.
An earthquake registering about 0.3 on the Richter Scale shook Clearwater at 6:23 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 16, 1981.The tremor was the second in the Clearwater area in as many weeks and lasted for about three or four seconds. No damage was reported.
35 YEARS AGO
Residents figured the time had come for a French immersion program to be introduced to schools in School District 26, argued Paul Caissie. Bilingualism is needed in the federal civil service, RCMP, CN and CP, as well as many other businesses. Caissie argued the French immersion classes is one more skill to seek jobs.
Local RCMP called in Clearwater Search and Rescue to help locate a missing hunter in Wells Gray Park. At 4:45 a.m., John Colin Kravontka was tracked down by two CSAR members 3.5 kilometres from his vehicle.
30 YEARS AGO
Clearwater skater Barbra Wadlegger picked up a gold medal in the Okanagan Regional Championships in Sicamous. She was the first member in the 16-yer history of the Raft Mountain Skating Club to attend the Provincial Championships as well as the B.C. Winter Games. Wadlegger earned her gold medal and the regional trophy in the artistic program.
A small, red schoolhouse near Wells Gray Park could be the best possible site for a research and education centre for the park, the University College of the Cariboo board was told by Upper Clearwater resident Helen Knight. A new society had been formed to promote the centre and it was their consensus that the four-acre school location was “a great site for a research centre.”
25 YEARS AGO
The newly-elected board of the newly-amalgamated School District 73 was set to have its first meeting in Clearwater on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 1996. Leslie Groulx, parent and president of the District Parents’ Advisory Council, said the meeting was to be an information session. Parents were concerned that they’re voices were not being heard, and the meeting was to invite the board to speak to parents.
Clearwater, along with other communities, was set to lose its Business Info Centre as of Dec. 31, 1996, due to cost-cutting by the provincial government. To people in the Clearwater area, the cut of the $8,000 grant meant a large store of resources for small business owners and person who want to start a business would no longer be available.
A heavily-armed man who held RCMP at bay outside of his brother’s Blackpool home for nine-and-a-half hours before surrendering peacefully faced a multitude of charges as a result of the armed stand-off.
20 YEARS AGO
A Remembrance Day assembly that was supposed to happen in the Raft River Elementary gymnasium instead was broadcast over the PA system into classrooms due to a job action by teachers and the school’s administration’s response to the action. More than half of the school’s teachers were absent on Nov. 9, 2001, the day the assembly was to be held. As part of the job action, teachers wouldn’t help set up the gym for the assembly.
The Remembrance Day ceremonies held in Clearwater drew a crowd of about 300 people. The ceremony also included the singing of the Star Spangled Banner in addition to O Canada and God Save the Queen to honour those lost in the 9/11 attacks.
15 YEARS AGO
Clearwater’s senior boy’s volleyball team ranked first in the Okanagan zone and third in B.C. as they prepared to host the Provincial A Championships the following week. The Raiders earned the top spot on Nov. 11 when they hosted Kelowna Christian School for the Okanagan finals, and beat them three games to two.
Drivers travelling through Blue River in the early morning of Nov. 16, 2006, were hot with a sudden drop of temperature, turning area roads into ice rinks. A series of events culminated in poor road conditions, with drivers sliding sideways, unable to reach speeds over 15 km/h. Some felt the highway should’ve been closed.
Raftview Communications Ltd. announced Nov. 9, 2006, the availability of high speed internet service to the community of Birch Island. Dial-up service was introduced to the area just five years prior.
10 YEARS AGO
Several volunteer fire departments asked the Thompson-Nicola Regional District to take them over, according to a blog posting by Mel Rothenburger, TNRD director for Area “P” (Rivers and Peaks). One issue was legal access to private property in the event of a fire, meaning members of different departments might have to obtain permission form each property owner within their service area.
Some Clearwater residents argued the town needs a main street. In a presentation to Clearwater Chamber of Commerce, local realtor Randy Hedlund presented the case for highlighting the business route that runs from Brookfield Mall across Highway 5 by Wells Gray Inn and continues through the Flats to the ski hill.
5 YEARS AGO
TNRD board of directors approved spending up to $80,000 from federal gas tax revenues to upgrade the roof, siding, insulation, exterior doors, lighting and bathroom fixtures at Vavenby Community Hall. Upgrades to the flooring were also proposed.
The BC Lung Association held a free public forum on radon in Barriere, with presenters from the association, a regional radiation specialist and an air quality specialist.
1 YEAR AGO
The derailment of eleven train cars in Vavenby was still in its clean-up phase. A lot of the cars were in tricky areas, making the process slow. The cars came off the tracks due to a mudslide in the area just north of the community general store.
Last minutes renovations to the Clearwater Secondary School wood shop meant the class would have to move outside. Woodworking teacher Dayton Fraser turned the nuisance into a new experience changing the focus from carpentry to construction and built two sheds for the Yellowhead Community Services daycares.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter