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Lake Flashback: Doctor shortage, river rescue, helmets save lives, bears lives taken

Remember these stories from Cowichan Lake?
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“In celebration of a town. Deputy Mayor Pat Foster carried out the official welcome to the town picnic this past weekend which was held to recognize Lake Cowichan becoming a Town last year.” (Lake News/May 21, 1997)

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.

This week around the Cowichan Lake area…

10 years ago

It’s a story we are still writing a decade later. “Local physicians try to solve doctor shortage” was the top story on the front of the May 16, 2012 Lake Cowichan Gazette.

“Sometime last week, local physicians working out of Brookside Clinic in downtown Lake Cowichan, posted a listing with the Vancouver Island Health Authority’s (VIHA) career website in response to the need for more physicians in the area.

“Brenda Warren, in charge of physician recruitment for VIHA, says that the clinic asked for a posting and that VIHA has been aware of the doctor shortage. There is no time target for positioning a general practitioner at the clinic, however VIHA, in cooperation with the province and the B.C. Medical Association (BCMA) say they have been providing strategies that work towards improving access to primary health care for all communities and British Columbians.”

In the same edition, a Victoria man was embarrassed following his rescue from the Cowichan River after a family tubing trip.

“Kevin Hewer, his sister Samantha, and two nieces Onna 15, and Lanita 17, had to be pulled from the Cowichan River by members of the Lake Cowichan Fire Department, RCMP and Ambulance.

“Hewer and his family had travelled up from Victoria to take advantage of the sunny weather and spend some time on the water. However, shortly after launching, they found themselves in trouble. Hewer says he was in his kayak and his sister and two nieces were travelling down the river in an inflatable couch. Somewhere near the bend in the river by the end of Kingfisher Road, Hewer’s sister and her daughters got snagged. When Hewer tried to help them manoeuvre, both his kayak and their inflatable overturned. The women were able to climb onto a log, but Hewer was pulled down the river…When the Fire Department showed up, Hewer was still clutching the branch and using a shoe to bail out his kayak. He says he didn’t realize how shallow the water was or he would have just stepped into the river and turned the boat on its side.”

25 years ago

“Mayor Brown hospitalized” reported Susan Lowe on the front of the May 21, 1997 Lake News.

“The community was shaken last week after Mayor Jean Brown had to be taken from a Monday afternoon meeting to a doctor’s office, with the belief she was having a heart attack. The good news is that our Mayor did not suffer a heart attack — the bad news is that doctors are still attempting to discover what created the problem.”

Sent home by doctors with orders of strict rest after an angiogram, Lowe wrote that Brown maintained her humour despite the ordeal.

“Well, you know what meeting it was that I was attending…don’t you? We were discussing a cemetery? When I tell people this and laugh, they say I’m sick (in more ways than one).”

From one scary situation to another, a youngster was saved by his bike helmet, police said, in the same edition.

“All bicycle riders now by law must wear a helmet in the province of B.C. For one Youbou child, it may have made a lifetime of difference. A helmet may have saved the life of a seven-year-old Youbou boy last Wednesday when he was struck by [a] car and thrown into the air after his bike ran into the path of an on-coming car. ‘Thank God he had responsible parents who insisted he wear a helmet when riding his bike,’ Sgt. Gerry Poitras, who is the new sergeant in charge of the Lake Cowichan Detachment, said.”

40 years ago

“Caycuse school struggles for life, gets year reprieve”, written by Lexi Bainas for the May 19, 1982 Lake News let parents of little ones know that “School trustees assured a crowd of 40 concerned Caycuse residents at a meeting May 11 that Caycuse School will not be closed for the coming school years, despite the school district’s need to watch expenses closely.

“Board chairman Jean Brown assured the group several times that, though the board had to review all of the district’s finances, including schools, the trustees would come again to Caycuse to talk with the residents before any decision was made about the school.”

Also making headlines in the May 19, 1982 Lake News, “Bothersome bears killed at H. Bay.

“A pair of big bruins were shot recently as they made bold forays into the Honeymoon Bay area. Gordon Bay park ranger John Threlfall shot one two weeks ago about 2 p.m. as it was walking 100 feet from the road near Honeymoon Bay market. Honeymoon Bay resident Marv Trudeau shot the second one several days later at 6 a.m. Threlfall estimated the bears weights at about 400 pounds each.

“The bears had been foraging in garbage cans at a nearby campsite all week, according to Threlfall. ‘They’ve been a nuisance. They’ve been chasing some kids. Now maybe the residents can take a breather.’”

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“Wizard of Woe, Tom Mason, who brings gloom whenever he glowers, harangues the ever-cheerful ‘Mottoes of Canada’ — “From Coast to Coast”, Sarah Peters (left) and “From Sea to Sea”, Christa Peacey — at the Palsson School presentation of ‘The Canada Goose’ May 12. Production was an effort by the whole school, which annually holds a concert in spring instead of at Christmas.” (Lake News/May 19, 1982)


Sarah Simpson

About the Author: Sarah Simpson

I started my time with Black Press Media as an intern, before joining the Citizen in the summer of 2004.
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