Welcome to Lake Flashback. Reporter Sarah Simpson has been combing through old newspapers with the assistance of the Kaatza Station Museum and Archives so we can jog your memory, give you that nostalgic feeling, or just a chuckle, as we take a look at what was making headlines this week around Cowichan Lake in years gone by.
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This week around the Cowichan Lake area…
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10 years ago
"Seniors' care centre back on the table" was the story under the front page hockey photo on the front of the Lake Cowichan Gazette of Jan. 28, 2015.
"While the issue of a seniors' care facility in Lake Cowichan seems to have gone cold, with little progress in the past eight years, councillor Bob Day recently announced it was 'time to turn up the burner' on the issue and begin looking at what the next step should be.
"The town could be taking that next step soon, as they recently applied for a $19,850 'Age-friendly Community Planning and Project Grant' from the Seniors' Housing and Support Initiative. The development of a seniors' care facility came up fairly frequently during last year's municipal election, making an appearance on the platform of a majority of the candidates, including those elected."
In other news of the day, "Cowichan makes list of Canada's to 20 destinations". John McKinley had the story.
"It's a statement sure to make the local innkeepers smile. An online magazine calling itself the concierge to Canada has declared Cowichan one of the country's 20 Best Places to Visit in 2015. Our valley ranked 13th in this, the fourth edition of a list published by vacay.ca, the same travel publisher responsible for the annual 50 Best Restaurants in Canada ranking. While some entries made the list because of special events or anniversaries being held in those communities, Cowichan seems to have been included, in part, for its lack of such obviousness. Rather like the quiet girl in a Hollywood romance, we have caught the eye of this leading man simply by being ourselves."
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25 years ago
The front of the Jan. 28, 2000 Lake Cowichan Gazette had the IWA saying "No excuse for [a] shutdown".
"Heavy snowfalls earlier this month has kept loggers out of the woods and now a shortage of timber is threatening to shut down work at the Youbou Sawmill.
"'We have given notice to our crews here that at this point in time we have sufficient fibre for (this week),' said Neil Dirom, manager of the Youbou Mill. Dirom says the snow has kept loggers off the job longer than usual and a one month supply of logs in the lake is running out. Loggers have been off work since before Christmas and were still off as of Monday. Dirom says the company will review its option at the end of the week before deciding on shutting down the mill. He says a shut down has nothing to do with markets, which are still buying lumber produced by the mill.
"'This is strictly to do with log availability and strictly to do with the weather,' says Dirom.
"The lack of available logs is a concern for the union representing employees at the mill. 'I don't think there's an excuse for a shut down at the Youbou.'"
In other troublesome news, "Hand gun seized from 17-year-old" also made the front page.
"Lake Cowichan RCMP seized a hand gun from a 17-year old boy after police responded to a complaint of a loud party last Saturday morning. In the early hours on February 22, police pulled over a vehicle as it left the party. A 17-year old passenger had open liquor and when the vehicle was searched, a hand gun was located under the passenger seat. Police say the youth also had a large quantity of ammunition for the hand gun he had on him. The passenger was arrested and charges have been laid under the Criminal Code for unlawful possession of a restricted weapon."
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40 years ago
According to the Lake News of Jan. 30, 1985, poachers were at it again.
"Reward offered for poachers" topped the story.
"The Valley Fish and Game Club is joining two other groups of outdoorsmen in offering rewards for information about poachers. Joe Saysell of the club said Monday that a dramatic increase in poaching has caused concern among hunting and fishing groups. Signs have been nailed to trees and placed in other prominent spots around the district, informing the public that rewards of up to $500 are available if they will help convict violators of federal or provincial fish and wildlife regulations. The other two groups involved in the local effort are the Cowichan Game Club and the Roderick Haig-Brown Flyfishing Club.
In other news of the day "$2.7 million school budget gets okay" was also on the front page.
"Lake Cowichan school trustees have approved an operating budget of $2,764,543 for the first six months of 1985. The school board finance committee reviewed the operating budget at its Jan. 28 meeting. It will go to the Feb. 11 board meeting for final approval. School district officials have had to prepare two budgets this spring — one for the period Jan. 1 to June 30, 1985, and one for the period July 1, 1985 to June 30, 1986 — to accommodate a change in the scheduling of the budget year. Salaries take up the largest percentage of the operating budget, at $2,150,384, which is 77.78 per cent.