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
“Town falls short in budgeting money for town square contractor” was the big story on the front page of the April 16, 2014 Lake Cowichan Gazette.
“The Town of Lake Cowichan has fallen short in budgeting enough money to cover the inevitable construction contractor for the new Renfrew Town Square. The tender deadline for bids to win a contract for the town square from the town was April 4. By that time only three bids came in, the lowest being from APEX at a total of $431,455.64 before taxes, which council has decided to accept. The problem is that council had only budgeted $356,800 to cover the cost and will now have to look elsewhere in the budget for an extra $75,000 at least.
“Finance director Ronnie Gill said that staff could work with the numbers and get back to council, with Forrest asking to see as many options as possible to pull money from elsewhere.”
Another big headline for the small town was “Local boy and his family need help as he battles leukemia”.
“Jaxon Zalinko is a young five-year-old described to be ‘full of life.’ Back in March, he started to cough and started looking slightly pale, with a doctor determining it just to be a small spot of the flu. Yet on April 9, he and his family would receive a call from the doctor to dash to Cowichan District Hospital in Duncan where X-Rays and blood samples were taken. With hemoglobin levels at an all-time low, Jaxon and his parents, Paul and Rachel, set off by helicopter to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. After further tests on April 10, Jaxon was diagnosed with leukemia and the family now face a period of three years full of chemotherapy.”
The good news is young Jaxon is now an entire decade into his recovery and he and his family are still thriving at the Lake.
25 years ago
An agreement between the library workers and the VIRL board was ironed out this week 25 years ago. The April 21, 1999 edition of the Lake News had the story.
“Agreement reached between CUPE 401 and VIRL board” was the headline.
“The library employees are not going to go on strike. This is the message sent out by both the Vancouver Island Regional Library Board and CUPE 401 last week. In a press release issued Apr. 14, it’s stated that the union and the library board reached a tentative three year agreement on Apr. 13, the day that library employees were to begin job action. The term of the agreement is from July 1, 1998 to June 30, 2001.”
The front page was all about the library as the second headline on the front page was “Lake Cowichan’s library costs may increase”.
“Lake Cowichan’s library costs could be going up because of a change in B.C. Assessment regulations and a broken promise by the Minister of Municipal Affairs. That’s the indication in two letters signed by Peter Wainwright, chair of the Vancouver Island Regional Library Board. Wainwright wrote to the Minister, reminding her of a written promise she made assuring the VIRL that Bill 31 wouldn’t become law without a warning to the Board. The Bill enforces a ruling of the B.C. Assessment Authority that the Library Board must pay municipal taxes. But without warning, says VIRL, the bill was made law in February this year.”
40 years ago
The high school’s principal declared a “student smoking ‘epidemic’ four decades ago in Lake Cowichan.
“Principal Stephen Shaw has proposed construction of a special outdoor smoking area for students to deal with a problem he says has ‘reached epidemic proportions’ at Lake Cowichan Secondary School. His idea ran up against opposition from the school trustees, however. Although they all recognized the danger, they also said that a public body such as a school board cannot easily recommend an idea that might seem to encourage smoking. At the board’s April buildings and grounds committee meeting Shaw told trustees, ‘it’s just a ridiculous state of affairs at the moment’.”
And finally, “Rampaging vandals steal, destroy village property” was a secondary headline on the same front page.
“Plants have been ripped out, and vandals are wrecking his fences, and village property torn up during a recent rampage by local vandals that has village officials fuming with frustration.
“Village gardener Dave Carr said he has been working to little effect recently because thieves are wrecking his work almost as fast as he can do it. Last weekend was particularly bad, he said.
“‘I transferred eight shrubs to Saywell Park but they were gone the next morning,’ he said.
“Lake Cowichan Mayor Ted Forrest is talking of posting a reward for information about the mischief makers and the village council parks committee has made strong statements about the desecration and called for public support.”