50 YEARS AGO:
A delegation from the North Thompson Hospital Society met with Health Minister Ralph Loffmark to press for immediate construction of a hospital in Clearwater. The delegation gained the impression that there would be very little delay in establishing the facility.
Gordon Scott and Harold Handy were the first of 128 participants to walk 20 miles from Clearwater to Little Fort to raise money for a new Elks’ Hall.
45 YEARS AGO:
Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources Robert Williams warned of the potential for major floods. Record high or near-record high snowpacks lay throughout the southern Interior.
40 YEARS AGO:
MLA Rafe Mair announced that a new two-lane bridge was to replace a bailey bridge across the Clearwater River in Clearwater. The bailey bridge had been put up to replace a wooden structure which had collapsed a few years earlier following a fatal winter accident.
Heavy rain and hail deterred most people from taking part in the first annual kite flying and marbles tournament, held in the CSS playing field.
More than 50 friends returned to Blue River to join residents in saying good-bye to Alfons Jalink. He had come to the community in 1962, worked first in the sawmill, then for Trans Mountain. He had been transferred to Hope.
35 YEARS AGO:
Canadian Transport Commission approved the destruction of the railway stations at Clearwater and Blue River. TNRD Area A director Hans Krauseneck said the timing was lousy because efforts were being made to reinstate passenger rail service from Edmonton to Vancouver.
Works by Clearwater wood carver Les Toth were chosen to form part of an exhibition of B.C. Interior art galleries.
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30 YEARS AGO:
A large crowd took advantage of an open house at the new Clearwater Forest District building on Highway 5 opposite North Thompson Park. District manager Mel Monteith and other dignitaries took part in a tree planting ceremony at the main entrance.
An early morning fire totally gutted the home of Les and Carol Toth in Weyerhaeuser Subdivision in Clearwater. It was believed that the fire began in dry cedar stored in the garage area.
25 YEARS AGO:
An Odyssey of the Mind team from Raft River Elementary School took top spot in the provincial OM competition in Coquitlam and was preparing to go to the Worlds. Members were Stefanie Willan, Tamara Dodd, Daina Bonner, Chelsey Miller, Nicole Rushton, and Kendra Hadley. Coach was Sam Willan.
A bid for construction to the Sunshine Valley water extension by a Clearwater contractor was $100,000 less than the amount targeted by the engineer. Wes Mayer’s Brocor Construction Ltd.’s bid was expected to lower the cost of the extension by as much as $1,000 per parcel.
Thompson Country Community Futures was beginning a second five-year plan for the Clearwater area and urged people to come out to a community planning forum. “I want to hear the gut feeling of people,” said TCCF coordinator Shirley Culver.
20 YEARS AGO:
Wells Gray Park public advisory committee recommended that the Clearwater River Road not be re-built if was washed out in the high water predicted for that spring. The road had been built to harvest timber in the southwest corner of the park in the early 1960s.
Clearwater RCMP had meetings scheduled for Vavenby, Clearwater, Blue River, and Little Fort to set up a Rural Crime Watch group. “The biggest thing is to get as many eyes out there in the community as we can,” said Sgt. Bryon Hodgkin.
Barriere-based seniors counselor Ted Weddell had approached several local seniors to act as counselors for Clearwater, but without success. Clearwater had been without a seniors counselor since the departure of Bill Morse several years earlier.
15 YEAR AGO:
School District 73 was looking at a four-day school week at rural schools as a cost-cutting measure, officials said at a budget meeting in Clearwater. Each of the remaining school days would be extended by 75 minutes.
MLA Kevin Krueger said the community of Clearwater could lease Bear Creek Correctional Center for a nominal fee. The government still intended to dispose of the site, he said, but it could be several years before it came up for sale.
The TNRD gave final re-zoning approval to allow construction of a lodge at Gosnell by Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing.
10 YEARS AGO:
Blue River elementary students earned gold in Jump Rope for Heart raising a total of $2,650 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
About 150 people attended the 50th anniversary celebrations of Legion Branch 259. The event was held as part of a regional Legion convention.
Clearwater Central Interior Traffic Services seized 450 grams of hashish during a traffic stop. The stop was a result of a complaint about an impaired driver traveling south on Highway 5.
Blackpool Community Hall and its owners, Star Lake Women’s Institute, received approval for a $12,000 federal Gas Tax Credit grant to install a new high-efficiency heating system in the hall.
5 YEARS AGO:
Thompson Rivers University gave Clearwater’s Skye Buck a lifetime achievement award. He had graduated from TRU with a Bachelor of Science in 2007 and a Bachelor of Education in 2010. An exceptional athlete, he had won a number of sports awards as well. Buck, his wife Courtney and their unborn child tragically passed away in an automobile accident in December, 2012.
Close to 20 local residents took part in a workshop about composting put on by TNRD at Clearwater ski lodge. Composting your kitchen and yard wastes would result in “really awesome plant fertilizer,” said Adriana Mailloux, and environmental services technologist.
Thompson Headwaters services committee hosted an open house at the Avola log schoolhouse to view playground equipment proposals. Insurance concerns meant the former playground equipment had to be removed.
1 YEAR AGO:
Junior council asked that town council consider installing a rainbow crosswalk near Clearwater Secondary School. Purpose of the crosswalk would be to raise awareness in the general population of the local LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning and others) community.
A dog that went missing after his owner’s truck was stolen was back at home. A six-year-old male English Bull Terrier was in the truck when it was stolen in Barriere. The truck was recovered in Chilliwack but without the dog. He was found later near Westsyde Road just outside Barriere.
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