37 Years Ago (1981): Members of the Cariboo Woodworkers’ Assoc. (CWA) voted to accept an Ainsworth Lumber proposal to roll back wages to pre-June 1981. The agreement took the basic wage rate back to $9.96 per hour from $11.96. A release by Ainsworth said, “With about 100 employees laid off since August, it is felt that the economic impact of complete curtailment of operations would be too severe for this company, our employees and the communities of 100 Mile House, and Clinton to withstand.
31 Years Ago (1987): Car insurance rates for B.C. motorists were set to jump 22 per cent but the Insurance Corporation of B.C. said the average driver in this province was still paying less than most of their counterparts in other parts of Canada. According to ICBC’s Brian Caton, Ontario has seen substantial increases in recent years. “They’ve got the same problem as we do: increasing numbers of bodily injury accidents and that’s one of the big reasons the rates are going up.”
23 Years Ago (1995): There was criticism of the province’s chief forester after an announcement that the Annual Allowable Cut (ACC) in the 100 Mile Timber Supply Area would be maintained at 1.25 million cubic metres. Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Council spokesman Dave Neads said it failed to nip an overcutting problem in the bud. “The plunder of the future continues and the denial continues,” he said. “When we finally have to face the music that we are overcutting this region, the fall-down will be greater.”
18 Years Ago (2000): The RCMP worked with 100 Mile Junior Secondary School after a 13-year-old handed out prescription painkillers on a school bus. The police investigated in conjunction with school officials. The authorities do not know how many pills were given out, just that there were “several,” said RCMP Cpl. Mike Cain. Parents were notified and the children were lectured on the dangers of taking substances the identity of which they do not know. No side effects were reported, said Cain.
8 Years Ago (2010): Following an explosion, repairs were underway at the Ainsworth OSB plant. Noting that they were working on site, Bruce Gibson, Ainsworth investor relations and business development manager, said they think they’ve identified the cause of the explosion and the giant fireball that miraculously didn’t result in any injuries. “What we are thinking we’re not prepared to disclose at this time.” They were targetting to be operational again about a week later.
