50 YEARS AGO:
More than 200 persons attended the charter banquet of the new Blue River Lions Club, straining accommodations in the town over the weekend.
New post offices under construction in Clearwater and Blue River were expected to be completed by April.
For the final mixed bonspiel of the season, members held a “mixed-up” event in which teams were drawn from a hat. Al Miller’s rink won first in A event, with Harry Fairbrother runner-up.
45 YEARS AGO:
Brent Buck and Tracy Holland were chosen king and queen of the Valentine dance at Clearwater Secondary School, according to school reporter Scott Haynes.
A large display ad highlighted the main points of the 1974 budget by the NDP government under leader Dave Barrett. According to the ad, the provincial cash surplus had been increased to $45 million, while the debt had been reduced by more than $75 million.
40 YEARS AGO:
Eight-year-old Michiko Singh of Little Fort was one of 21 winners of a poster contest promoting “brown-bag” lunches. Her prize was an expense-paid trip to Victoria, where she was to receive an engraved plaque from Agriculture Minister Cyril Shelford.
A petition was being circulated which asked the government to purchase land adjoining Dutch Lake Park for the betterment of the community and the area.
35 YEARS AGO:
Both the Avola and Birch Island schools were to be closed at the school year’s end, School District 26 (North Thompson) chair Ed Shook told a delegation from the Save Our Schools committee.
30 YEARS AGO:
Logging truck owner-operators hauling to Slocan-Vavenby and Weyerhaeuser-Vavenby were all back to work, following a work stoppage that had begun Feb. 3. New rates agreed to by both companies resulted in an average of $65 per hour based on a five-axle unit, according to a Teamster spokesperson.
Clearwater was to have its own Crime Stoppers program, following an organizational meeting chaired by businessman Albert Lahaie, assisted by businessman Vern Salden and RCMP Cst. Bob Reuter.
Six Clearwater residents applied to Victoria to have the Clearwater Airport Association re-registered as a society. An improved Clearwater air strip would be ideal for air ambulances, said Bill Mattenley.
25 YEARS AGO:
More than 500 letters of support for keeping an ambulance unit chief position in Clearwater were collected by the Times and sent on to Minister of Health Paul Ramsey. The minister assured local resident and seniors’ counselor Bill Morse that no decision had yet been made.
A Clearwater man was sentenced to one year in prison for his part in a Kamloops robbery. He and his female accomplice had smashed their way into a drugstore by backing a stolen pickup truck through two large windows.
Sliders came from as far away as Austria to take part in the Canadian Natural Luge Championships and the North American Invitational at Blue River.
20 YEARS AGO:
Events at Blue River’s Winterfest included Valentine’s dance, pancake breakfast, cross-country ski races, luging, snowmobiling, snow sculpturing, sled pull, waiter-waitress races, boot throw and wind-up dinner at Mike Wiegele Heli-ski Lodge.
15 YEAR AGO:
School District 73 and UCC were investigating a outdoor education program for secondary students at Blue River. “That seems to be the growth industry, probably for the next 30 years,” said school trustee John Harwood.
Clearwater Action Committee chair Randy Hedlund asked residents to suggest a catchy name for Electoral Area A (Clearwater-Vavenby). An appropriate name would help the area market itself, he said.
10 YEARS AGO:
Thompson-Nicola Regional District passed a resolution to use $50,000 in gas tax credit funds to help cover the costs incurred the previous summer when approximately 300 m of water-main under Riverside Road in Vavenby was replaced as a result of a break.
Two young Clearwater musicians, Jackie Kreke and Carly Lougheed, were chosen to study and perform with MusicFest Canada’s National Concert Band. The girls planned to spend a week in Toronto with the orchestra in May. District of Clearwater gave the girls Clearwater vests plus commemorative plaques during a meal served at Clearwater ski hill chalet as a windup for the Spirit of B.C. winter festival.
After a long search for a qualified candidate, District of Clearwater hired Scott Coulson as director of finance.
Town council approved a suggestion from chief administrative officer Isabell Hadford that she undertake a strategic planning workshop with local firefighters to determine their goals and objectives. The workshop would also seek to get their ideas on how the department should be structured as well as request feedback on what projects they think should be undertaken.
Clearwater council approved purchasing seven laptops for council members at a total cost of up to $10,000. The computers were to be used in an effort to reduce the amount of paper produced for council or committee meetings.
Clearwater Sno-Drifters snowmobile club’s annual Snowarama raised $3,412 for children with disabilities, reported Lorraine Davidson, one of the organizers. A total of 28 riders took part. Larry Reiter had the most money pledged at $461. Bailey Ruttan collected the most for riders 16-and–under at $390. Youngest rider was nine-year-old Ashlyn Sunderman.
5 YEARS AGO:
About 30 people showed up for two open houses hosted by District of Clearwater to discuss the municipality’s five-year financial plan. Reason for the interest appeared to be news that the District would like to increase its tax rate by 9.5 per cent.
Four robins were photographed in a tree near Vavenby on Feb. 12. Others were reportedly sighted on Jan. 22.
1 YEAR AGO:
“We won both games against Merritt, though they made us work for it!”
That was the report from Clearwater Peewee Ice Hawks coach Barb Coates following games at the Sportsplex on Feb. 17 and 18, 2018.
The wins meant the Peewees finished the season in first place with 17 wins and one tie.
A painting by Clearwater-based artist Irene Gouchie was going to a place of honour in a mission building in Guatemala. The painting would hang in the Shekinah education centre in the town of San Cristobal.
