55 YEARS AGO:
At the regular business meeting of Birch Island School Board, the new principal for Dutch Lake Elementary was announced. Fred Braun, who was principal of Birch Island Elementary School, had been appointed as principal of Dutch Lake. The position became vacant when Elizabeth Johnston resigned her principalship.
Leo Wolff’s tabby cat had a kitten with eight toes on its front feet and another kitten had six toes instead of the usual five.
50 YEARS AGO:
Prompt action by a passing truck driver who pulled 10 box cars from the scene of a fire was credited with saving the station at McLure when fire broke out in a pile of ties and quickly spread to a cook car and dining car located close to the station.
Kamloops Fire Department and Balco Forest Products were asked for help when local workers failed to control the blaze. The Kamloops pumper truck and the Balco pumper poured water on the station to prevent fire spreading.
Truck driver Eddie Cutts was checking a tire at Fishtrap Canyon when he spotted the smoke. He drove his semi-trailer up to the tracks, hooked up the 10 boxcars and hauled them from the fire. He then organized a work gang to fight a grass fire.
45 YEARS AGO:
M.P. Len Marchand visited Clearwater and spoke informally to a group of citizens in the library room. Marchand said that as a result of correspondence with the Clearwater Business Association, establishment of a minimum security prison was under consideration for the Clearwater area. A federal structure such as that would create employment and help stabilize the economy of the area.
Two Vavenby residents were also inquiring about available grants toward winter recreational facilities. Plans for the Vavenby area called for an A-frame building with a full skating rink and curling facilities, the cost of which had been estimated at $82,000.
40 YEARS AGO:
Incorporation for Clearwater was not only feasible, but could be a big advantage, according to Thompson-Nicola Regional District representative for Area A, Hans Krauseneck, speaking to the 25 people present at the annual Clearwater Improvement District (CID) meeting. The CID had asked the Department of Municipal Affairs for an up-to-date information on incorporation and was informed in a letter that each incorporated area receives an outright $30,000 administration grant as well as a housing start grant and one for municipal planning. There would also be assistance for water and sewer systems.
35 YEARS AGO:
“She probably thought she was in Vietnam,” was how one source described the scene to the Times as an RCMP helicopter, two RCMP 4WDs complete with a tracking dog, plus four other vehicles carrying, among others, five members of the Clearwater Search and Rescue loaded down with outdoor gear, all converged on an isolated farmhouse on Boulder Mtn. Rd. near Barriere, occupied by a lone woman.
The occasion was the successful conclusion of a search near Gorman Lake on the same road and the purpose of the sudden “raid” was just to use the telephone.
30 YEARS AGO:
Forest Service herbicide permits for four blocks out of 27 appealed by Yellowhead Ecological Association had been cancelled by the Environmental Appeal Board of B.C. In a judgment released the board stated: “In view of the extraordinarily sensitive nature of the Upper Adams River at this time, the board feels that for the time being it is prudent to avoid even the most remote risk of contamination in this river system and therefore feels that herbicides should not be used on sites adjacent to the river.”
25 YEARS AGO:
An Environmental Safety Officer had to be called out from Kamloops to attend to a minor fuel spill at Wolf’s Corner south of Clearwater. RCMP reported a semi-tuck hit a rock that had fallen from the bluffs alongside
Highway 5, puncturing the vehicle’s fuel tank. No injuries occurred in the incident and damage to the vehicle was estimated at less than $1,000. Approximately 300 litres of diesel fuel spilled from the punctured tank into the ditch on the west side of the highway away from the river.
Police were requited to remain on scene until Safety Officer Dennis Redford arrived.
20 YEARS AGO:
The time was upon us to begin planning the year’s Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics. The year previous was Clearwater’s first time participating in the worldwide event. More than 20 runners participated in running from Blue River to Little Fort. The Blue River Community Group organized a dance and fundraiser prior to the run, and Mike Wiegele’s provided a breakfast for the runners before the start. Every runner collected pledges and many local businesses made donations. The Law Enforcement Torch Run in Clearwater raised more than $3,700 that year.
15 YEARS AGO:
An avalanche killed a 48-year-old skier from Austria, despite efforts by local heli-ski guides and health care professionals. “It was an incredible rescue effort,” said Peter Greenway, vice-president of Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing in Blue River. “They located him very quickly. The doctor was right there and immediately started first aid. He was flown directly from the site to the Clearwater hospital, then on to Kamloops. According to Greenway the man was skiing with a group of 10 skiers plus two guides in the Thunder Lake area about 14 km northwest of Blue River in the Cariboo Mountains. Clearwater RCMP identified the man as Wilfred Royer of Schladming, Austria.
10 YEARS AGO:
Blue River was going to be a busy place during the next few months. “The 2010 spring construction season for the Bone Creek hydro project is commencing this week,” said Doreen Moen, project manager. “We will have an average of 100 people working on the project over the summer, with construction and manpower expected to peak during August.” The focus would be to have several phases of construction running concurrently in order to maximize the short construction season, said the TransAlta spokesperson.
5 YEARS AGO:
Cathy McLeod, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, set the record straight in response to a protest the week previous about health care transfers to the provinces. “Health transfers by the federal government to provinces and territories will reach $40 billion annually by the end of the decade,” said McLeod.
“We remain committed to increasing health transfers year, after year, making this the highest recorded health transfer dollars in history. Further, we need to make sure the system is sustainable. That is why Minster Ambrose launched an advisory panel on health care innovation. The goal is to identify innovations with the potential to reduce growth in health care spending, while improving the quality and accessibility of care.”
1 YEAR AGO:
The Clearwater Sikh community made a charitable gesture that had grabbed national headlines from its degree of sheer generosity.
After having to close the doors on its Guru Tegh Sikh Temple due to declining membership, the group put up a For Sale sign and once the building was sold, the Sikhs spread the resulting funds across various charities in the area. “The decision to give back the proceeds from the property sale was easy; we have divided out $164,000 for the organizations of choice in the North Thompson and $20,0000 for two Sikh temples in Kamloops,” said Narinder Heer, president of the Guru Tegh Sikh Temple.
