55 YEARS AGO:
Members of the Central North Thompson Chamber of Commerce discussed the possibility of a hospital with the United Church’s Superintendent of Hospitals and Medical Missions. The church representative estimated that the area needed a 20 to 30-bed facility.
50 YEARS AGO:
Voters were to go to the polls the following weekend for a vote on building a new hospital in Clearwater.
Vavenby and District Legion elected E.R. McCracken of Birch Island as president, Art Oxenham as first vice-president, George Chesney as second vice-president, G.W. Adams as secretary, treasurer Doug McInnis, service officer F.R. James and sergeant-at-arms Jim Archibald.
45 YEARS AGO:
The land freeze, dyking, and taxes were to be on the agenda as MLA Gerry Anderson and Forests Minister Bob Williams held a public meeting in the Clearwater Community Hall.
40 YEARS AGO:
Ken Kjenstad was honored as Clearwater’s 24th Citizen of the Year. Other candidates were previous winner Jack Foote, Mavis Parker, Wilf Radmacher, and Bob and Inez Collison.
Evergreen Acres officially opened its long-awaited senior citizen activities room, Granny DeWitt cut the ribbon, assisted by May Queen Deena Seyfert, Princess Domini Smith and Lion representative Lorne Buck.
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30 YEARS AGO:
A new capital grants program might make incorporation more attractive, according to two representatives from the Ministry Municipal Affairs. Under the program, the Department of Highways and local authorities would make a list of needed road repairs. The new municipality would then do the renovations over an eight or 10 year period, with Highways paying 75 per cent of the cost. Possibly the province would pick up 75 per cent of the sinking fund for Clearwater’s water system if the community incorporates. The provincial government would fund another study into the pros and cons of incorporation for Clearwater, said two representatives from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. A similar study had been completed about a year earlier, but it did not seem to contain enough specific information.
Paragon Wood Products of Salmon Arm announced that it was to open a shake-and-shingle mill in the former Camp Two mill site in Clearwater. The new facility would employ 15 people, eight of them local.
25 YEARS AGO:
The centralization of forest fire protection operations was to be reduced to one-half or even one-quarter of the firefighting equipment formerly kept in the Clearwater Forest District. The cache of equipment, formerly enough for 100 firefighters, was to be downsized to one for a 50 or 25-person crew.
20 YEARS AGO:
The TNRD put a stop-work order on the construction of the Clearwater Improvement District’s new pumphouse. There was no building permit for the structure, being built across from Dutch Lake beach.
Clearwater RCMP Cst. Tania Tetreault received a meritorious service award for her actions following a motor vehicle accident near McLure. Despite injuries she suffered in a head-on crash, she provided first aid to the other driver, instigated a search for other victims, called for help and delegated traffic duties.
MLA Kevin Krueger said construction of Clearwater’s new hospital might be delayed due to a spending freeze by the NDP government. “It’s a real travesty,” he said.
Sarah Wiefels, a Rotary exchange student from Germany, met a bear on the trail while walking to Clearwater Secondary School.
15 YEARS AGO:
Interact fired up the steam plant at its Vavenby facility. The first major shipment should be sent out soon, said plant manager Dave Broadbent.
Several old-timers with deep roots in the history of Upper Clearwater and Wells Gray Park were among those gathered to help Gladys Archibald celebrate her 97th birthday. She had been born in 1907 in Princeton, and moved to Upper Clearwater in 1938 with her husband, Dave Archibald.
10 YEARS AGO:
School District 73 trustees decided not to close Vavenby School. Instead, Vavenby would be limited to just Kindergarten to Grade 3. There would be one teacher and fewer secretarial hours.
Local governments and other agencies from the North Thompson Valley met with members of the North Thompson Sustainable Watershed Atlas committee in a forum hosted by Simpcw First Nation. The forum was the final of six. “This atlas is to foster decision making by providing more tools for that decision making,” noted technical advisor Dave Whiting.
5 YEARS AGO:
Ken Matheson of Clearwater won first place at the Vancouver Short Film Festival for his documentary, “Little Moccasins.”
A representative from Sorgent.e Hydro Canada gave a presentation to the TNRD board on the proposed Serpentine and Clemina hydropower projects. If the run-of- the-river projects went ahead, they would generate the equivalent of nearly 400 full-time jobs and approximately $2 million in economic development.
1 YEAR AGO:
A new jeweler came to town looking to help anyone searching for that perfect gift to suit any occasion.
Clearwater Gems and Gifts, owned by Harry Minci and family and located in the Brookfield Mall, brought a wide variety of jewelry, offering a range of services to meet the various jewelry needs of Clearwater and the surrounding area.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure announced on Nov. 21 that the new passing lanes constructed to improve road safety near Darfield were now complete. With the completion of the new passing lanes, it is now easier to safely pass slower-moving traffic on Highway 5 between Barriere and Little Fort.
