55 YEARS AGO:
RCMP Corporal McKay and his tracking dog were called out from Kamloops to capture escaped prisoner John Victor Watson. Watson had been serving his prison sentence at the Clearwater prison farm when he escaped for a second time. Corporal McKay and his tracking dog discovered the prisoner about a mile and a half from the prison farm in a cabin belonging to Eric Norfolk. For this escape, Watson was given six months in the BC Penitentiary, plus three months for breaking and entering.
Bob Chiba, a tong man at Camp Mahood in Wells Gray Park was seriously injured when a log rolled on him while he was setting tongs. The injured man was driven to Camp Two by his employer, Harry Capostinsky. At Camp Two he was transferred into the Clearwater ambulance First Aid man Helmut Godau accompanied Mr. Chiba into Kamloops.
50 YEARS AGO:
A 60-year-old landmark of Squam Bay burned to the ground. The original part of the home of Mr. and Mrs. D Anderson on Adams Lake was built by Mr. Tod just after the turn of the century. The fire broke out at 2 p.m. Both Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were home. They tried to control it but the flames were suddenly everywhere. The house and its contents were destroyed. Barriere Constable Avison said that the cause was believed to be sparked from the chimney. The Andersons are currently living in one of their cabins at the resort.
John Harwood, regional director, announced the new doctor was expected to set up his office at the opposite end of the building housing the liquor store. He would be able to dispense drugs although his facilities were limited. Mr Harwood claimed that in the last three months seven doctors have approached him on the possibility of setting up practice in the North Thompson.
45 YEARS AGO:
Clearwater Business Association voiced considerable dissatisfaction with the situation that had existed since the Clearwater bridge fell down as the result of an accident two weeks prior. Businesses that were located on the south side of the bridge were extremely concerned about when the promised Bailey bridge was to be installed as plans still seemed very vague.
A motion was made by trustees at the School District 26 meeting that the new Secondary School under construction be named Clearwater Secondary School. The building was presently named North Thompson Secondary School in order to facilitate deliveries. Completion of the building is expected by the end of May.
40 YEARS AGO:
Three Star Wars characters terrorized Clearwater residents and businesses into parting with their money. It was all for fun and for a good cause as proceeds from the extortions were destined to the fund for Crippled Children. The three characters appeared all week at the Wells Gray Hotel.
35 YEARS AGO:
There was no market for Clearwater-made chopsticks in Japan. So reported Ken Ormandy of the unemployment guidance centre during a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce held Jan. 21 at the Wells Gray Hotel. He got his information in reply to a letter he sent to the Japanese embassy. Apparently the chopsticks factory idea was one suggestion made by a Vancouver civil servant as a cure for our local economic problems.
An enthusiastic crowd attended the ice fishing derby held at McCorvie Lake on Saturday. This event was put on by the Vavenby Volunteer Fire Department. Roman Pisarczyk was the promoter and organizer of the derby but could unfortunately not attend due to a sore back. The winner of the junior’s trophy was Craig Cederholm, whose largest fish was eight ounces. The first prize and trophy in the adult event went to Jim Gledhill for a fish weighing 1lb 14.5 oz. The proceeds of the event were to be used for firehall equipment.
30 YEARS AGO:
Visiting briefly in Clearwater was well-known naturalist Al Oeming from Polar Park, a game animal park in Edmonton, formerly the Alberta Game Farm. Accompanying the popular conservationist was his beautiful three-year-old Cheetah, Zephyr. Dr. Oeming was remembered by many residents for his last visit about 12 years prior when his show drew a standing-room-only-crowd. He would shortly be returning to several communities in the North Thompson to present a show as well as Zephyr to meet school children.
25 YEARS AGO:
A young offender from Alberta was arrested and a stolen vehicle and weapons from that province were seized as the result of a joint effort between Clearwater and Barriere RCMP. The incident began when the young male, driver of a turquoise Camaro, left the Raft River Mini Market without paying for gas. The owner of the business contacted police who located the suspect vehicle on Highway 5. Clearwater RCMP began a pursuit of the car that did not end until two tires of the fleeing vehicle were punctured on a spike belt put in place by Barriere RCMP just north of that community. Police subsequently determined the vehicle, a 1995 Chev Camaro, had been stolen from Westlock, Alta., as were rifles and a shotgun found in the vehicle. A 16-year-old suspect was taken into custody and appeared in Provincial Court in Kamloops on Friday.
20 YEARS AGO:
The 25th anniversary celebrations held for the North Thompson Sportsplex the weekend before last were a great success, said Sportsplex spokesperson Roger Mayer. “I thought it was a really nice weekend. It was nice to see people come out and cheer the teams… and I think the kids enjoyed the support.” said Mayer. “This lobby was packed all weekend” he added. Mayer had no estimate of the numbers who came out for the event, but several hundred were seen circulating through the building for most of the weekend. Included in the weekend were hockey games for all the Clearwater Minor Hockey teams, a homecoming bonspiel for present and former member of the curling club, and an ice extravaganza by Raft Mountain Skating Club.
Ambulance attendant Steve Baker showed Emily Wilcox the proper way to hold a baby’s head during a babysitting course held last week. The five-day Red Cross based program was put on for 12 local youngsters by Kim Stockton of North Thompson Victims Assistance and Safe Home Society. Topics included rights and responsibilities, caring skills for different age groups, and first aid.
15 YEARS AGO:
A so-called “Tropical Punch” warm weather system hammered the North Thompson Valley with surges of water and ice. Damage, while severe in spots, was considerably less than some had feared. No lives were lost and there were apparently no serious injuries. The stage was set when several weeks of -35C or colder in some locations were followed by a period of unseasonably warm and wet weather. Freezing levels rose, snow melted, rain fell on frozen ground that would not absorb it, and ice in rivers and streams began to break up. Both the Birch Island bridge and Mad River bridge on Highway 5 were damaged when they were struck by flash flooding caused after ice jams above them released with about 100 people forced to evacuate Birch Island due to rising water. Both bridges were closed to all traffic and likely had to be rebuilt.
10 YEARS AGO:
Local resident Rachael Elliot helped carry the Olympic torch as it passed through Clearwater on its way to Whistler. About 700 people turned out for the event.
Council members and senior staff from Simpcw First Nation, District of Clearwater and District of Barriere took part in a community-to-community forum in Chu Chua and Clearwater. “It’s historic, not only for us but for all the residents of both communities,” said Simpcw Chief Keith Matthew.
Wells Gray Home Hardware announced it had new owners. Linda and Alan Selbee’s son Lorne and daughter Teresa, along with their spouses Jennifer Selbee and Ron Baker, had bought the business one year earlier. Home Hardware had approved the transfer the previous December.
District of Clearwater councillors approved giving themselves a 29 per cent pay increase spread out over two years. “This will allow single mothers, senior citizens and others to be councillors,” said Mayor John Harwood.
5 YEARS AGO:
The first baby from our area for 2015 was Emma Marie Olson, born Jan. 2 in Kamloops. Proud parents were Dakota Olson and Patty Merriman.
Having a Global Geopark nearby has noticeably helped the tourism industry of Saint John, New Brunswick and could do the same for Clearwater, according to Tom Dickinson. The dean of science at TRU had recently returned from a conference in Saint John that centred around the Stonehammer Geopark.
1 YEAR AGO:
Fraserway RV has announced that it would be allocating $275,000 to the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) towards the replacement of the fire hall in Loon Lake.
The hall was destroyed during the 2017 Elephant Hill wildfire and was a critical piece of infrastructure for the community. The TNRD assumed responsibility for fire protection services in Loon Lake in January 2019, following a referendum in the community in 2018.
The Clearwater Food Bank put out a call for more volunteers, Those who run the food bank say the community is generous with donations but an aspect they could use help with is extra hands to share the work.
