40 YEARS AGO
Albert Genier was honoured on his 90th birthday by several friends calling with cards, gifts and a birthday cake. The cake was made and decorated by Carol Holt. Grenier credited his garden for keeping him in good health, even at 90 years young.
Numerous calls have been received from the Clearwater area to report knapweed growth, according to Roy Cranston of the Department of Agriculture in Kamloops. Treatment for the weed, which infests grazing land for both cattle and wildlife, had been slowed because of the unseasonable weather and a lack of resources.
The amount of timber which may be logged from the Kamloops timber supply area has been set by the province’s Chief Forester at 2,350,000 cubic metres annually, effective Jan. 1, 1981. This is about 102 per cent of the existing commitment which the Ministry of Forests has in the area.
35 YEARS AGO
Clearwater Timber Products is part of the lumber manufacturers’ association and as such will be struck with the rest of the industry if negotiations do not proceed, said IWA Local 1-417 president Kevin Kelly. There had been some speculation the company might be given special consideration due to its recent shaky financial state.
An otherwise happy hike by over 200 people on the Trophy meadows was marred by the sudden death of a 74-year-old Kamloops man from an apparent heart attack. The man was with a small group accompanying one of the park naturalists when he collapsed.
There were no fires burning in the Clearwater Forest District. Mixed weather kept the hazard low to moderate in the district over the past week with only minor lightning activity.
30 YEARS AGO
Weyerhaeuser’s annual fish derby at Canim Lake was a great success. About 145 adult tickets were sold. A large number of children, plus people who came just to camp also took part.
Final preparations are underway for the Birch Island Homecoming. At least 500 or 600 people are expected for the homecoming, and still more will probably drop by for individual events.
About two dozen Clearwater businesswomen attended a wine and cheese evening to, among other things, set up an informal organization for local female entrepreneurs.
Local BC Parks rangers have found the missing Spahats Lookout directional sign. The Enameltech sign, valued at several thousand dollars, had been pulled from its mount and hurled over the viewpoint fence by vandals. The sign had a hand-coloured painting showing the view from the lookout, with noted describing what people are seeing.
25 YEARS AGO
An alert dog and three young treeplanters who kept their heads in a crisis ensured there was no loss of life when the Blue River Motel burned to the ground in an early morning fire. The fire was one of two major blazes that were blamed on an overnight power outage that affected the entire North Thompson Valley from Rayleigh to McBride.
The two fires my have been caused by a lightning strike two days earlier. A pole fire on Circuit IL210 on a 138,000 volt main line feeding Kamloops to Valemount burned off a jumper wire, knocking out power to the entire North Thompson Valley.
A Vavenby couple was lucky to escape with their lives when fire levelled their mobile home just before 4 a.m. Larry and Cindy Reiter were forced to escape through a window of their bedroom at the rear of the home as fire consumed the front.
20 YEARS AGO
RCMP were seeking two women thought to be with Dean Patrick Crosby when he died. His body was found by tourists down a steep embankment along Highway 24. The women were stopped driving the man’s car before he was found.
Under the provincial mini-budget, the government will eliminate sales tax on machinery and equipment used in logging and mining, as well as in certain other industries. MLA Kevin Krueger said it was “really good news.”
A Louis Creek man died of malaria after getting sick while working in South America. The coroner discovered the parasite during a routine autopsy on Robert Klym, 53.
15 YEARS AGO
A new policy called the BC Parks Fixed-Roof Accommodation has been passed by the Ministry of Environment. The proposals are for 12 sites within BC Parks which are considered acceptable for accommodations, including Steven’s Lake in Wells Gray Park.
S-Mart Factory had a victorious paintball weekend. The rookie team travelled to Revelstoke for the third tournament in the IPL series. The team played 15 games in the preliminaries, losing only two.
The provincial government grant to fund the incorporation study has been received. The Clearwater Incorporation Study Committee has selected the consultant from Urban Systems from Kamloops, to complete the study.
10 YEARS AGO
Canfor Corporation is still making money, but not as much as it did just a short while ago. The company recently reported a net income of $26,2 million for the second quarter of 2011, compared to $32.3 million for the first quarter. For the first six months of 2011, the company’s net income was $58.5 million, compared to $79,2 million for the comparable period in 2010.
The Kamloops Fire Centre has responded to 94 wildfires consuming 211 hectares. This is well below the 10-year average of 297 wildfires burning a total of 2,864 hectares. There were no wildfires of note.
5 YEARS AGO
Doris Laner was this year’s feature artist for the fifth annual Clearwater Children’s Art Festival. Laner has been a prominent artist in the community for decades, with her murals adorning many community buildings such as Fleetwest and the North Thompson Sportsplex.
A total of $9,650 was spent through discretionary grants in Wells Gray Country (Area A) during 2015. The biggest recipient was Clearwater and District Food Bank, which received $1,500 for its food hamper campaign.
BC Wildfire Service is urging the public to be more careful with fire after fire wardens discovered and extinguished 21 abandoned campfires over the long weekend.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
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