Every week we feature Valley history taken from our back issues.
Five years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:
What’s in it for the animals?
That was the question posed by animal activist Fireweed as she stood on Headquarters Road to protest the Courtenay Stampede and Rodeo. There were four sign-wielding protesters out on Sunday and Fireweed said there were 10 on Saturday.
“This is about industry, this is about money,” says Fireweed, “even though they’re still promoting these events as family entertainment, there’s no animal advocacy group that believes that’s the case.”
Ten years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:
A local man has joined a campaign to clear the name of a boyhood friend, Stephen Truscott, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang at age 14.
Truscott was sentenced to hand on Dec. 8, 1959, but his execution was postponed, and his sentence was later commuted to life in prison. He served 10 years and was released on parole in 1969.
During those years, he consistently maintained his innocence and recently petitioned Justice Minister Anna McLellan to reopen the case.
Fifteen years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:
The Jaws of Life were called to extricate a driver from his car after he crashed through the front door of the Cumberland and District Credit Union late Monday.
Christopher Williams, 21, of Cumberland, received minor injuries in the accident which broke one of the glass doors in the recently renovated building, said RCMP Staff Sergeant Jim Hogarth.
Twenty years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:
The historic Denman Island school will return to the community, the Ratepayers Association confirmed recently.
Members voted unanimously to accept a school board offer to sell the building to the group for $10,000, spokesman Leslie Duncan told the Record.
Twenty-five years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:
Rumours about the possible closing of the Forbidden Plateau ski resort are completely unfounded, says marketing manager David Graham.
“The only way the mountain won’t open this winter is if the mountain blows up or falls down. I want to squash those rumours now.”
The mountain’s managing director Rick Smith doesn’t think Mount Washington is taking business away from Forbidden. He says it brings more skiers to the area and Forbidden has an advantage because it is only 25 minutes from Courtenay, rather than the 45 minutes it takes to get to Mount Washington.
