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35 YEARS AGO: Wells Gray visitor centre officially opens

Back in time: A snapshot of history
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The paving crew working in Little Fort usually lays down tall oil pitch with the truck right side up. Apparently they worked this tanker a bit too hard and it decided to lay down for a short rest at the intersection of Bean Road and Highway 5 within 100 feet of Lemiuex Creek. This image originally appeared in the June 25, 1996, issue of The Times.

40 YEARS AGO

Const. Peter Haring, 22, son of Mr. and Mrs. Haring of Clearwater, has now completed his courses and graduated from the RCMP academy in Regina, Sask., on June 8, 1891.

Mr. and Mrs. Haring and family travelled to Saskatchewan to see their son’s graduation ceremonies.

Const. Haring will be stationed in Jasper, Alta.

35 YEARS AGO

About 100 people and one moose were on hand Thursday morning last week for the official opening of the Wells Gray Provincial Park visitor centre at the junction of Highway 5 and Park Road.

On hand to officiate at the opening was local MLA and Minister of Tourism Claude Richmond. In his remarks, Mr. Richmond said Wells Gray is one of the number one wilderness parks in the world. He complimented the community on the support given to the new centre and said this was the finest park information centre he’s seen.

30 YEARS AGO:

A reward for $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the vandalism to BC Parks signs at Green Mountain and Spahats is being offered through Clearwater Crimestoppers.

A request for TNRD Area A representative Paul Caissie for a mosquito control referendum for the Clearwater-Vavenby area was approved by the regional district board at its regular meeting.

Nine employees of School District 26 were recognized for their years of service by trustees at their regular board meeting.

It would appear that the people promoting a research and education centre for Wells Gray Park are going to abandon efforts to establish the centre on Crown Land in the Upper Clearwater, following a meeting at the Upper Clearwater Hall.

An attempt by Grade 10 Clearwater Secondary School student Pierre Vezina to establish his own business received a sudden setback. Three of the mountain bikes with which he had hoped to establish a rental and guiding business were stolen from their stand at 52 Ridge RV Park.

25 YEARS AGO

Following an unexpected delay, work on the 19-kilometre stretch of Highway 5 from Little Fort to Blackpool that’s to be repaved was to get underway. The milling machine was broken down on another project.

Timber will be harvested on the slope directly across the North Thompson River from the community of Avola, but not without input from the residents that enjoy that particular view, promised representatives from Weyerhaeuser and the Clearwater Forest District.

A Bear Creek Camp inmate who walked away from the open setting facility at 11 p.m. on Monday, June 17, was back in custody early the next morning.

Barriere RCMP and the McLure Volunteer Fire Department would like to know who smashed the window on the overhead door of the McLure Firehall over the weekend.

20 YEARS AGO

Nurses joined colleagues in the Health Sciences Association in walking off the job Tuesday morning at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital. Nurses and paramedicals were protesting the provincial government’s legislated 60-day “cooling-off period” in health care labour disputes.

Around 9:30 a.m. on June 20, a rupture in a section of the Trans Mountain Pipeline spewed oil-tinged water across Yellowhead Highway several kilometres north of Vavenby at Madd River.

Slocan Forest Products announced production cutbacks for the third and fourth quarters of 2001. Operations at Slocan’s Vavenby operation will be shut down during the first two weeks of July.

Children from Tara Lier’s pre-school classes celebrated the last day of school on June 19 with a visit to Ice Cream Adventure. Kids got to pay for their own cones, and choose a flavour, which most were able to do without hesitation.

15 YEARS AGO

The Cops for Kids Charitable Foundation donated $5,000 to the Gray family in Clearwater to assist with the financial strains of raising two young boys with Cystic Fibrosis. The two boys, River, 4, and Quinn, 2, were both diagnosed with the disease in December 2004.

The province of British Columbia has declared June 25 to 30 Legion Week. As a way to celebrate this week and to pay tribute to veterans and fallen comrades of the Royal Canadian Legion, the Branch 259 in Clearwater is planning to hold a candlelight vigil at the Riverview Cemetery at 8:30 p.m. on June 28, 2006.

The fishing was good, the food was good and the kids caught the fishing bug at the 2006 Family Fishing Day, June 17. About 100 people in total attended the event held at Latemouille Lake on Highway 24.

10 YEARS AGO

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is looking at installing a roundabout as an option for the corner of Highway 5 and the road to Wells Gray Park, according to Bart Chenuz, area roads manager. However, it appears there are quite a few hoops that need to be jumped through before that will happen, such as right-of-way acquisition, First Nations consultation, environmental assessment and final design.

Clearwater RCMP report they responded to a single vehicle collision on Highway 5 about 20 kilometres south of Clearwater in the early morning. The incident involved a Greyhound bus going off the highway after encountering a crossing moose.

Blue River is one of several towns in the region that will receive $50,000 to expand their Internet services.

5 YEARS AGO

Clearwater RCMP report that on Friday, June 17, at close to 11 p.m., Emergency Health Services contacted the detachment to report an injured hiker near Azure Lake, which is located about 90 kilometres north of Clearwater in Wells Gray Park. A Danish outdoor school group of 20 teachers, instructors and guides had been hiking near Huntley Col, which is a saddle between town mountains north of the west end of Azure Lake.

Construction will soon be getting underway on the Vinsulla passing lane and commercial truck pullout project that will improve safety and the flow of traffic on the Yellowhead Highway north of Kamloops.