34 Years Ago (1984): Construction on a $4.7 million sports and rehabilitation facility near Lac la Hache for handicapped persons was scheduled to begin. The first phase of construction would be building a four-kilometre road extension into the site located on the north shore of Long Lake, just north of Timothy Lake. Concerns about the complex at a public meeting included the facility going bankrupt and being taken over by the provincial government as a correctional institution.
28 Years Ago (1990): There was a misconception locally that police spend too much time in coffee shops, have too few men on at night and could be doing a better job in general, according to RCMP Staff Sgt. Cliff Lindsay. He made the statement in light of comments he heard regarding a 1 a.m. car crash that took the life of a 19-year-old Spencer Doiron, plus a mini-riot that resulted in a stabbing outside of a local motel, as well as several other late-night incidents.
20 Years Ago (1998): Ainsworth Lumber’s Exeter sawmill closed after more than four decades as one of the primary employers in 100 Mile House. Workers who left the mill for the last time headed off to different futures. Some 100 of them went on to work at Chasm, a larger, upgraded mill designed to be less vulnerable to swings in the lumber market, a few took early retirement and around 40 opted for further educations and training.
14 Years Ago (2004): Less than a month remained before the bell was set to toll on the Forest Grove Elementary, but parents were continuing to fight for the school. “We’re feeling rather positive these days,” said then PAC president Will van Osch. Cariboo South MLA Walt Cobb’s work with the PAC had also been encouraging, according to Van Osch. He said he was confident that if the ministry closely examined the issue, that it would side with the PAC.
5 Years Ago (2013): Many First Nations, environmental groups and others were applauding the provincial government for stating in its final written submission to Ottawa that it does not support the Northern Gateway (NG) Pipeline Project. Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA-elect Donna Barnett said that as it stood then, she wouldn’t personally support the twin pipeline either until her government’s five “stringent” conditions were met.
