29 Years Ago (1990): The 1991 budget for the Cariboo Regional District was expected to rise by more than eight per cent over 1990. Each electoral area of the district had a different tax base. Overall spending in the district went up by $974,468 – from $11,201,000 in 1990 to $12,175,488 in 1991’s provincial budget. Recreation took up the largest chunk of the budget – 36 per cent – while the cost of sewer and water services made up just over 25 per cent.
28 Years Ago (1991): Drinking drivers weren’t the only ones that police were pulling over during the holiday season’s Counter Attack road check program. While local RCMP had caught two drivers under the influence of alcohol within the first 10 days, two more were charged with possession of marijuana. During a road check at 104 Mile, police found a local man with possession of three baggies containing 8.2 grams of the substance. The night before in 100 Mile, two local men were stopped with 10 grams of marijuana.
14 Years Ago (2005): The mountain pine beetle may have been the most important topic on the minds of people of the interior, but the rest of B.C. isn’t as concerned. A survey suggested that the beetle was the number one growing issue in B.C. with 19 per cent of Cariboo-Chilcotin residents. It ranked sixth with the public in general behind the health care, softwood lumber, unemployment, education and labour issues.
11 Years Ago (2008): 100 Mile Residents were told not to drink the water. The district had issued a boil water notice after a water main broke at the main pump station. Engineering and community services director, Philip Strain, said they were hoping to get the system running before Christmas but there was no guarantee. Once the system was repaired, it needed to be flushed, be tested twice for water quality – 24 hours apart. Local residents had even been told not to brush their teeth with it but it was ok for washing or bathing.
6 Years Ago (2013): A school support staff contract with the Ministry of Education had left the local school board scrambling to find more than half a million dollars in it’s operating budget. “The ministry has indicated it will not be funding the wage increase. School District No. 27 needed to develop a savings plan to cover the additional costs of $225,000 for the 2013/14 year and $450,000 for the 2014/15 year,” said chair Tanya Guenther.
