Welcome to Lake Flashback. Reporter James Goldie has been combing through old newspapers with the assistance of the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives so we can jog your memory, give you that nostalgic feeling, or just a chuckle, as we take a look at what was making headlines this week around Cowichan Lake in years gone by.
This week around the Cowichan Lake…
10 years:
Public comment is being accepted on a proposal to log about 20 hectares between North Shore Road and Youbou Road. The area, known as Lot 27, is between Youbou Road and the old highway grade.
Ray Bartram of Azmeth Forest Consultants say the plan is to harvest 4,050 cubic metres over five years.
Carol Rettig, who has lived on North Shore Road since 1963 and gets her water from a creek behind her house, said she’s concerned there may be some clearcutting on the property that could impact her water supply.
Bartram said the concerns raised by Rettig and others are the reason for this public comment period.
If the plan is approved, the Lake Cowichan First Nation would do the harvesting under a Forest and Range Opportunity Agreement.
25 years:
Marathon runner Al Howie arrived at Mile Zero in Victoria this week after an unbelievable run from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This cross-country run was completed in 72 days, 10 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds according to official timekeeper Claudia Cole.
Howie arrived in Victoria to the blare of horns and cheering crowds of more than 200 onlookers, where he threw his arms in the air, looking, according to the Lake News, “as if his feat of crossing Canada in record time was an everyday occurrence.”
He arrived at Mile Zero accompanied by police officers on motorcycles.
Members of his team did report he lost weight during the course of his run — “indeed he looked slimmer than usual” — although they did not say just how much his weight had decreased.
The Elks Club reported the run has raised more than $400,000.
40 years:
A group of Mesachie Lake residents have petitioned the CVRD to move quickly in upgrading a section of road within the community.
The petition, which has 75 signatures, was circulated by the Mesachie Lake Ratepayers Association, and asks the regional district to resurface a section of Bear Lake Road that many residents say is badly in need.
A highway department crew was dispatched to the area earlier this year but the work done was unsatisfactory.
“This year there were potholes a foot wide,” said association president Walter Cook. “[The patching] won’t last long; it’ll be potholes again before long.”
The ratepayers association would also like to see the removal of a sharp curve in the road near the fire hall.
Compiled by James Goldie, Gazette
