40 YEARS AGO:
With Sept. 24 and 30 having been designated “School Bus Safety Week” a program is currently underway involving all students riding buses within this school district.
Mr. Klotz, Clearwater’s Secretary-Treasurer, advised that all pupils will practice emergency evacuation procedures and some students on each bus will learn the necessary procedures to follow should the bus driver become disabled (i.e., use of radio and fire extinguisher and first aid).
Along with this, funding has been approved for the replacement of one school bus.
35 YEARS AGO:
The Avola Improvement District meeting was the location for a very rare presentation.
The occasion was the honouring of Blaine Cyril Frisk by the St. John Ambulance Society with a certificate for his efforts in attempting to save a young Avola boy during a fire in the family home.
Presenting the award, the St. John Ambulance Priory Award of B.C. given for an “act beyond expectations,” was superintendent Jim Hegan of 518 Brigade from Kamloops, assisted by Clearwater RCMP Cst. Terry Wild.
In making the presentation, Supt. Hegan said Blaine deserved the award — one of only a very few to be given out in B.C.
30 YEARS AGO:
“It’s time for a change!” is the motto Fred Jackson, NDP candidate for Kamloops-North Thompson in the still-awaited provincial election.
Mr. Jackson was campaigning in the Clearwater area Wednesday and Thursday of last week. Earlier he had gone door to door in Barriere and Blue River.
“Based on the response I’ve been getting from polls by the party, I would rate my chances very good just now,” he said.
Major issue, he said, is “whether Bill (Vander Zalm) is going to stay around or not.”
The environment is also going to be a major topic. He gave the sewage system in Kamloops as an example.
25 YEARS AGO:
The brand-new 1995 Chev crewcab one-ton Clearwater and District Highway Rescue truck, with one very, very happy Unit Chief, Garry Ruston, rolled into Clearwater, direct from the factory in Red Deer, Alta., Saturday morning.
Gear was shifted into the new truck from the old 1976 GMC which has served the community well for the past 17 years, and the vehicles made a joint public appearance at Clearwater Raceway for the last race day of the season.
Both vehicles were taken down onto the track for a couple of laps prior to the formal handing over of the keys of the GMC from Ruston to Blue River Unit Chief Lee McCallum.
20 YEARS AGO:
The apparently senseless theft of irreplaceable mementos from Clearwater Secondary School has left principal Ken Ladd disappointed and angry.
“Thieves broke the lock off a trophy case last night,” Ladd said Thursday morning. “They took all the senior academic trophies.
Taken were the senior French trophy, shaped like the Eiffel Tower; the social studies trophy, modeled on Rodin’s statue of The Thinker; the logging trophy, which incorporated chains and wooden posts; the art trophy, made up of an Inuit person with a spear; and the math trophy, a conventionally shaped prize.
“Every one of them, except for the math trophy, was specially made by people who are no longer here,” said Ladd.
15 YEARS AGO:
The North Thompson Midget Icehawks moved up from Single “A” to Double “AA” this season, and found their first weekend of play a challenge.
“We knew we’d have our work cut out for us, but we think it will pay off in the long run,” said coach Jeff Mayer.
The Icehawks faced off twice at the Sportsplex against players from Kamloops.
10 YEARS AGO:
The school board held its meeting in Blue River School. However, it discussed an issue common to all of School District 73, in fact, all the school districts in the province — the province’s problem-plagued BCeSIS computer system.
The school district receives funding from the province on a per student basis, board chair Ken Christian explained.
The government has mandated all school districts participate in the BCeSIS system to keep track of student numbers and courses.
“It’s been problematic,” said Christian. “It worked well in trials but now, when you add a half million kids, it slows down and then times out constantly. It becomes very frustrating.”
5 YEARS AGO:
“We’re lucky. We have four strong, credible candidates.”
That was one comment heard following an all candidates forum held at Dutch Lake Community Centre.
All four candidates running to be the next Member of Parliament for the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding attended.
“This will be one of the most important elections in our lifetimes,” said Bill Sundhu. “It’s a battle for the soul of our country.”