40 YEARS AGO:
Alan Raine, resort development and management consultant, visited Clearwater to make a report on the ski hill designs and layout of the facilities.
Raine said, “The ski facilities will be a very positive recreational asset for Clearwater and surrounding area, because the runs will provide skiiing for beginner to advanced skiers.”
The new facilities were expected to be four times as long and four times the height compared to the previous one. Apparently the tow rope proved to be too difficult for novices and the runs were not the best suited for learners.
The new expansion will eliminate both problems as a T-bar will be installed and a new hill has been especially graded for beginners.
35 YEARS AGO:
Confirmation has been received from the Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation, that the Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital has been awarded a three year accreditation status.
The Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital was surveyed by a representative from the Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation on Aug. 23, 1985.
Accreditation is a voluntary program offered to Canadian hospitals. It sets standards for all hospitals in specific areas and hospitals are then surveyed to ensure that these standards are met.
30 YEARS AGO:
Chosen as 1990 Mother of the Year was Alice Cederholm at the Royal Canadian Legion annual Remembrance Day ceremonies in Clearwater.
Cederholm laid the wreath on behalf on all mothers who lost loved ones during the World Wars and Korea.
The memorial day service took place place in Clearwater Secondary School gym and was well attended by more than 200 persons.
Taking part in the parade in addition to the veterans were members of the Armed Forces, RCMP officers in dress uniform, Elks, Royal Purple, Lions, Scouts, Guides, Cubs, Brownies and Beavers.
25 YEARS AGO:
Without support from residents in TNRD Areas A and B, the Clearwater and District Highway Rescue Society could lose two separate annual $5,000 grants-in-aid given to Area A (Clearwater/Vavenby) and Area B (Blue River/Avola) each year and used for licensing, insurance and maintenance of the two rescue vehicles.
“There’s discrepancy in the wording of the bylaw that authorizes the grants,” explained TNRD Executive Assistant Maggie Knox. “We need to get electoral consent to continue to do what we’ve been doing. It’s simply formalizing what we’ve already been doing for the past couple of years.”
The re-worded bylaw will not affect taxes in any way, she stressed, as the money is already allotted for and given to the two electoral areas for the Highway Rescue service.
20 YEARS AGO:
A letter to the editor the previous week from Telus Mobility president John Maduri advocated satellite communication as an alternative to cellular service.
The company president indicated in his letter that his company is not interested in providing cellular telephone service to North Thompson communities at this time, saying that the population density is not large enough to make it economical.
This raises the question — how viable is satellite communication as an alternative to cell phone service?
The quick answer seems to be: It depends.
Satellite telephone service is becoming cheaper and more convenient, but is still too expensive for all but specialized users.
15 YEARS AGO:
Things are getting more formal at the Clearwater Improvement District, and at least one local resident isn’t entirely happy about it.
CID trustees passed a series of motions at their regular monthly meeting that appear intended to tighten up procedures and clarify how they expect the improvement district to operate.
Speaking from the floor, Goldie Krawec questioned the direction the board was taking.
“The impression I got at the other meeting was that the trustees think the former trustees didn’t know what they were doing,” she said.
Herself a former longtime CID employee, Krawewc assured the current trustees that there were reasons why things were done as they were.
Board chair Jack Braaksma responded by saying the trustees intend to review all the improvement district’s bylaws and policies.
10 YEARS AGO:
Wells Gray Park is an important asset for the local economy but need better signage and road maintenance. Those were two of the topics local politicians raised with Terry Lake and Murray Coell.
Mayor John Harwood and Wells Gray Country (Area A) director Tim Pennell plus other council members and District of Clearwater staff took Kamloops-North Thompson MLA and the new Minister of the Environment went on a short bus tour.
The tour took the provincial represenetatives from Wells Gray Infocentre to a few kilometres up the Clearwater River Road, to Spahats Falls and the former Bear Creek Correctional Centre, to North Thompson Provincial Park, past the hospital and the seniors’ housing under construction next to Evergreen Acres, and then back to the District offices.
There are no signs showing the way to Wells Gray Park from Kamloops almost to the turnoff at Clearwater Valley Road, Harwood told Lake and Coell. The turnoff itself is not well marked and many travellers miss it.
5 YEARS AGO:
Fast action by Clearwater Volunteer Fire Department and others in being credited with saving Clearwater’s New Life Assembly Church from fire.
According to a fire department spokesperson, a call came in at 11:47 p.m. that an outbuilding behind the New Life Assembly Church was on fire. The initial call was from a resident who lived nearby on Schmidt Road.
Upon arrival, the firefighters found the outbuilding was indeed fully involved. The siding on the back of the church was melting as well.
Twelve members of the department attended the fire, along with all five fire vehicles.