55 YEARS AGO:
Telephone service to Birch Island was being expanded from a single open-wire voice circuit on the CNR pole line to four voice circuits.
50 YEARS AGO:
Hockey and skating were expected to start soon at the Clearwater Ski Hill. A schedule in the paper gave times for skating. A new rope had been ordered for the tow.
Six reflector flashers were missing from along Stegg’s Hill, said road foreman Stan Arksey. Authorization had come through to put flashing amber lights on “Money’s” corner.
45 YEARS AGO:
Lands and Forests Minister Bob Williams promised that new legislation would be introduced within a couple of months that would make changes in the flood-plain restrictions in effect for the Clearwater Flats. Possibly the government would pull back from the 200-year flood level to the 80-year level, he said. Williams was speaking at a public meeting in Clearwater.
The new sports center in Clearwater was to be known as the North Thompson Sportsplex, announced publicity director Bill Anderson. The grand opening had been tentatively set for January 23-25.
READ MORE: Back in Time
40 YEARS AGO:
Shadowfax Track and Field Club member Chris Sjodin was honored in Richmond as one of the top three B.C. athletes in his age group.
A Valemount driver had an unexpected swim across the North Thompson River when his car struck the abutment of the bridge across Mad River on Highway 5. He swam ashore and was assisted by logging truck drivers. Police were able to cross the river with the aid of ropes.
Donald Fagg of Trutch Road in Clearwater came home with his mother, Barb Mills, to find someone in his house. He detained the burglar until police arrived. An 18-year-old Clearwater man was charged with breaking and entering.
35 YEARS AGO:
Roy Unterschultz, Vavenby representative on the TNRD Parks, Cemeteries and Television Committee, said he was tired of being blamed for the signal from the Vavenby repeater being switched from Knowledge Network to a movie channel. The door to the repeater station had been kicked in.
30 YEARS AGO:
Following an outcry by local residents, B.C. Parks reversed a decision to not plow the road to Helmcken Falls. Local parks manager Earl Sinclair said they planned to leave about two inches of hard-packed snow on the road to protect its new seal-coat surface.
Further enrollment in School District 26’s PASS adult education program was to be limited due to the high numbers already in the program. With 110 people signed up, they were finding it difficult to ensure all were getting the attention they deserved, said John Harwood.
Clearwater Chamber of Commerce’s heritage committee developed a preliminary plan for a heritage village, to be located in the former planer mill yard in the Clearwater Flats. The project was to include a village of heritage buildings from the area, a farmers’ market, race track, playground, and demonstration forest. Further public input was invited, said committee chair Frank Ritcey.
25 YEARS AGO:
Ken Kjenstad hadn’t been on the Regional Health Board for more than 20 minutes before he had cornered Health Minister Paul Ramsey to talk about multi-level care in Clearwater and First Responders in the North Thompson Valley. Ramsey had just finished designating eight Community Health Councils and the Thompson Regional Health Board at a ceremony in Kamloops.
20 YEARS AGO:
Environmentalists were unfairly threatening the forest industry’s market, charge Tom Tevlin, president of the Forest Alliance, in a speech to about two dozen local forest industry executives, business leaders, and environmentalists. “The international boycott campaign means that customers are making demands that communities here may not be aware of,” he said.
15 YEARS AGO:
Minister of Forests Mike de Jong invited the Wells Gray Country Community Forest Corporation and the Lower North Thompson Valley Community Forest Society to apply for two community forest licenses of 20,000 cubic meters each. The invitation was significant because it meant the licenses would not go out to tender.
Fraser Basin Council awarded the Eight Peaks Sustainable resource Management Plan its Overall Sustainability Award. Primary focus of the plan was to integrate the forest and heli-ski industries in the Blue River by mapping out vertically-oriented cutblocks that could be used as ski runs.
10 YEARS AGO: A surprise source of funding meant District of Clearwater would go ahead with improvements to Rotary Sports Park, but it would have to be done before spring. The project was expected to provide 48 person-months of employment, as well as to beautify the appearance of the town along Highway 5 and to increase the quality of life for people in the community.
5 YEARS AGO: Mayor John Harwood and manager Sandy Toma cut the ribbon to officially open the new Buy-Low store in Clearwater. The new store was 25,000 sq. ft. in size, compared to 18,000 sq. ft. for Safety Mart.
1 YEAR AGO: The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) announced it has received $990,000 from the Red Cross to provide funding for invasive plant control and prevention in areas impacted by the 2017 wildfires. These funds will support continuing recovery initiatives over the next three years.
