40 YEARS AGO
A birthday celebration was held at the Dutch Lake Resort for Nettie DeWitt, 98, and Ada Pearse, 90. About 26 Clearwater United Church women honoured the ladies with a tea and a birthday cake on the terrace during the sunny afternoon. Both DeWitt and Pearse were long-time residents and considered pioneers of the area.
Recent Cariboo College budget cuts have had no effect ion the number of courses being offered in Clearwater in the fall. Forty to 50 classes will be offered with a minimum enrolment of eight people for each class.
About 70 members of one family got together for three days in Clearwater. Members of the Melsness family ranging in age from nine months to 78 years came as far as Minnesota, Ohio and Saskatchewan, with many living in B.C. already, for the reunion.
35 YEARS AGO
Slash burning in the Clearwater Forest District went ahead despite the warm weather. Forestry officer Max Tanner wanted the public to be reassured that the Forest Service had carefully evaluated the risks before making the decision. Forestry has put a target of 8500 hectares to be slash-burned this year of which about one-third has been done so far.
The citizens of Vavenby are celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first European settlement near their village during their annual Loggers Day and Fall Fair weekend.
Albert Lamberton of Clearwater was understandably pleased when he caught a giant spring salmon in the Clearwater River estimated to weigh about 40 pounds. The river had been opened for two days a week for the first time in five or six years.
30 YEARS AGO
Slocan Forest Products’ Vavenby mill is closed this week due to high inventory and poor markets. Both shifts at the sawmill have been given the week off, along with one of the three planer shifts. Conditions are to be re-evaluated during the week to see if the layoff should be extended for a second week.
A disagreement with Revenue Canada on the answer to the question “When is a farm a working farm, and when is it a hobby farm?” cost an elderly Barriere couple their land and apparently much of their life savings. The government decided that he could not be doing a full-time job, much of it out of the province, and operate a farm as well.
Concerns expressed by Ministry of Forests that the Clearwater River Road might not be safe appeared proven correct when heavy rains brought down a number of small mus slides. A loader was dispatched by the Ministry to clean off the road, and went all the way to the Mahood River.
25 YEARS AGO
Barriere residents within the proposed boundaries of incorporation will go to the polls to determine if they wish their community to become a municipality on Sept. 21. The question will simply be, “Are the people in Barriere in favour of incorporation?”
To date, 17 bears — 15 in the last month — have been destroyed in the Clearwater area. The most recent was shot by an RCMP officer in Weyerhaeuser subdivision just after midnight Saturday morning. The dead bear was a big one, in the 500 pound range.
Barriere business people, backed by the RCMP, are prepared to band together to do what they have to do to solve an on-going problem with a small group of youth that have been causing them grief by “hanging out” in the downtown core area.
20 YEARS AGO
Valley forest companies are hoping a strong American housing market will help them survive the 19 per cent tariff imposed by the United States Department of Commerce Aug. 10. While legal and trade diplomacy wrangling continue off stage, coastal operations and specialty producers, like cedar mills, are already starting to feel the duty’s impact.
Penny Sheardown of Clearwater received the Shane Vandenborre Memorial Award at a luncheon in late July. The award is given each year by the Challengers Group. Sheardown won the award for her positive attitude.
Ted Smith’s response to the overall impact of the new softwood tariff destined for American markets is a measured one. His reaction to Ottawa’s handling of the issue is short and scathing. “I’m certainly not satisfied by the efforts of the Liberal government in Ottawa by any standard,” said the president of Gilbert Smith Forest Products.
15 YEARS AGO
Birth Island resident, Vallerie Moilliet, was riding her horse on the Foghorn Crown land, when she nearly rode into a large hole. After inspecting the hole, she realized it was a tunnel; what appeared to be a caved-in mine shaft. The Moilliets own and operate a sheep ranch alongside the Foghorn property — which was part of the controversial discussions of Uranium exploration and mining that had taking place.
A woman who fell over an embankment in her vehicle near Little Fort during a heavy rainstorm walked away with just a bruised tail bone. After the crash, she was able to climb the embankment and, luckily, another driver stopped when he saw her and took her to hospital.
Clearwater Squirt Girls had the honour of playing ball in the “C” division of the provincials in Nanaimo. The girls had a positive experience while in attendance and experienced more than simply softball.
10 YEARS AGO
District of Clearwater offices should become wheelchair accessible at last. Councillors directed staff to submit a grant application to Human Resources and Sill Development Canada for up to $50,000, during a regular council meeting, to create full accessibility to the municipal hall.
Recent protests by two other Indian bands about the proposed signing of a cooperation agreement between Imperial Metals and Simpcw First Nation are based on overlapping territorial claims, said Fred Fortier, Simpcw councillor. The proposed signing was cancelled last minute.
A mini-demonstration by First Nation protesters at the Community Resource Centre in Clearwater on Aug. 9 and a related blockade of a mining camp near Tum Tum Lake could have important implications to the North Thompson Valley, said Mayor John Harwood. The issue and what it could mean to the Valley would be on the agenda of the next community-to-community forum.
5 YEARS AGO
Jara Jules carried a Simpcw flag as she led 80 members and supporters of Simpcw First Nation on a short symbolic walk to the Tete Jaune Cache community hall on Aug. 13. The event was held to mark the 100th anniversary of the forced removal of between 60 and 70 band members to Chu Chua.
Plans are moving ahead to have a vast area of the North Thompson corridor declared a “geopark,” seen as an incremental step toward eventual recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
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