JANUARY
12 - Saving SMAC
Community members gathered to come up with options to save the Seventy Mile Access Centre in the wake of flooding from burst pipes in the cold weather back in 2022.
Damage was estimated at $15,000. This followed on the heels of repairs to the septic and heating system in 2022.
A working group was also created at the meeting to put together a presentation for the next school District 27 Board of Education meeting to propose purchasing the property.
SMAC could not keep putting money into a building the school district could kick them out of tomorrow said SMAC secretary Karyn Greenlees.
“We needed the public input to find out what they want us to do and how they are willing to help us,” Greenlees said. “They want us to continue with SMAC because everyone loves SMAC, but we have to look at the reality of it and if it can be done.”
26- CRD to access Interlakes fire hall issues
An independent assessor was brought in to evaluate the situation at the Interlakes Fire Department following complaints from members about over-rigid training standards. Members of the department were threatening to walk out over the College of the Rockies testing standards, wanting a return of in-house testing and training.
The CRD maintained the training program supports the Office of the Fire Commissioner’s Playbook and is required for all B.C. fire departments.
Brian Carruthers, interim chief administrative officer, said impartial, independent third-party professionals would speak with both the IVFD leadership and members, as well as look at their training records and the work they’re doing as a department before providing their assessment.
FEBRUARY
2 - Squeeze is on for South Cariboo resorts
Skyrocketing property taxes and insurance rates, ever increasing costs and the fallout from recent wildfires and the pandemic had many South Cariboo resorts evaluating their futures.
The situation has led to a decline in the number of privately-owned resorts, ranches and campgrounds, and South Point Resort owner Leanne Sallenback predicts this is becoming a trend.
Irene Meili, owner of Fawn Lake Resort, said the recent boom in residential real estate in the South Cariboo has had a trickle-down on the property assessments of local resorts. Since 2019, she said Fawn Lake Resort has seen an 85 per cent increase in its assessment.
Sheila Nyman, who owns Sulphurous Lake Resort, said their property taxes and insurance are now over $10,000 per year combined and even with herself and her son working outside the resort, they are still just treading water.
“When you take these resorts, how many months a year have they got to stay open to generate enough income to pay their bills?” said Donna Barnett, former Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA and current District of 100 Mile House councillor, adding the owners often have to take on more work to make ends meet.
16 - Interlakes Volunteer fire chief resigns
Chief Todd Schley of the Interlakes Volunteer Fire Department resigned amid increasing discontent among his members over fire safety training.
The resignation came after the CRD brought in an impartial, independent third-party professional in January to evaluate the situation, following complaints from members about too-rigid training standards.
Then CAO Brian Carruthers said Chief Schley’s resignation was in no way a reflection of his abilities or his commitment to the department but the department was very fractured and made it difficult for Chief Schley to lead the department in a cohesive way.
Carruthers acknowledged the new chief will face a challenging role in bringing everyone together.
“We’re hopeful we can find a chief that the majority of the membership can support and that we can move the department forward,” he said.
MARCH
9 - Proposed seniors’ housing facility in limbo
Plans to construct a 30-unit seniors rental housing building were on hold after the construction company stopped communicating with the 100 Miles Senior Housing Society.
Donna Barnett, president of the society, said they were determined to somehow accomplish getting the building constructed. Diane Collins said their first step was to obtain seed money to hire a planner.
Once they had a plan, they planned to go to BC housing and CHC and apply for federal grants.
16 - Department moving forward
Poul Beer was appointed the new chief of the Interlakes Volunteer Fire Department, following a meeting between the cable regional district and members of the department on March 11.
Regional district CAO Brian, Carruthers said it was a great meeting with the department and they understood the department’s concerns and issues. Area Director Eric DeVries and CRD Chair Margo Wagner also attended the meeting.
Carruthers said director DeVries had submitted some ideas to the board on how they could move forward with training and it was something they were looking at.
30 - Court told” ‘It changed my life forever’
Former Peter Skeen Ogden Secondary School, drama teacher, Vincent Collins, faced up to two years in jail after pleading guilty to one count of sexual interference of a person under 16 and lesser account of assault in connection with two female youths.
During a sentencing hearing crown council, Julie Dufour called for a global term of up to two years less day, saying it was the only way to protect unsuspecting victims. All the defence called for was a conditional sentence.
Defence lawyer, Ian Donaldson said Collins’ conduct was wrong, but not criminal, and that “we as a society don’t gain by putting him back in jail.” Judge Linda Thomas was expected to issue her sentencing decision in April.
APRIL
13 - Electoral boundaries expanding
Proposed electoral boundary changes would see Ashcroft, Cache Creek and Clinton move from the Fraser-Nicola riding to the Cariboo-Chilcotin riding along with Savona, Tobiano and Cherry Creek from the Kamloops-South Thompson riding.
The proposed changes came as a surprise, said Lorne Doerkson, MLA for the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
The commission rationalized the decision by saying that, “we propose expanding this riding south to include Cache Creek and Ashcroft, which are now located in the Fraser-Nicola electoral district. These communities share the Highway 97 transportation corridor with communities in Cariboo-Chilcotin like 100 Mile House and Williams Lake. This proposal also reduces the large geographic size of Fraser-Nicola. We believe that these boundary adjustments better reflect our guiding principles.”
“We propose moving the rural areas to the west of Kamloops into the Cariboo-Chilcotin riding to balance their populations and accommodate projected population growth in Kamloops.”
“At the end of the day, the (previous)boundaries were just fine,” said Doerkson.
MAY
25 - Paving scheduled
Long overdue paving of some South Cariboo roads took place this fall.
An $8-million contract, awarded to Keywest Asphalt (333) Ltd., included 38 kilometres along Canim-Hendrix Lake Road, 2.8 kilometres of Canim Lake South Road, 8.5 kilometres on Horse Lake Road and other side roads south of 100 Mile House.
“We are pleased that our community of Canim Lake Band is being heard regarding this project, which is long overdue but will commence soon,” said Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation Chief Helen Henderson in the release.
Wagner said the news is very good, as Canim-Hendrix Road has been an issue for a number of years.
Wagner noted that it takes time to get paving projects underway, as there is paving to be done all over the province and only so many dollars.
JUNE
1 - Airport slated for face lift
The South Cariboo Regional Airport at the 108 Mile Ranch was scheduled to be closed for eight weeks this past fall due to runway and lighting upgrades.
The $6.5-million project had been in the works for the last 15 years said Al Richmond, chair of the South Cariboo Regional Airport Commission and Cariboo Regional District (CRD) director of area G.
“We’re redoing the runway because the asphalts basically shot and then we’re doing the LED upgrades to the landing lights,” he said.
In addition to the runway rehabilitation, there was a significant amount of electrical work to be done including upgrading the taxiway and runway lights and the VASI navigational lights used for night flying
1 - Madison Scott’s remains found after 12 years
The remains of Madison Scott were discovered on a Vanderhoof property, 12 years after she was reported missing from the area in 2011.
BC Coroner’s Service identified Scott’s remains on May 28, days after the discovery was made on a rural property on the east side of Vanderhoof, said the RCMP.
This has been a priority investigation for the RCMP over the past 12 years, said the police. The discovery of Maddy is a significant development, however, this investigation remains an active and ongoing missing person investigation where foul play has not been ruled out, said Cpl Madonna Saunderson, a spokesperson for RCMP North division.
Scott was reported missing on May 29, 2011 and was last seen at approximately 3 a.m. on May 28, 2011, while at Hogsback Lake (20 km southeast of Vanderhoof) celebrating a friend’s birthday.
29 - Construction underway at Secwepemc Cultural Centre
The long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony for the Northern Secwépemc Cultural Centre took place on May 5 at the 108 Mile Ranch.
The event was organized by Irene Gilbert, president of the Northern Secwépemc Cultural Society (NSCS) and was attended by representatives of the five-member bands from Canim Lake, Canoe Creek, Soda Creek, Williams Lake and Esk’etemc in addition to other community members.
Tsq̓éscen̓ First Nation Kukip7 (Chief) Helen Henderson spoke about the importance of the centre at the 2023 Indigenous People’s Day Celebration at Cpelmétkwe Ranch (Bridge Creek Ranch).
“It will be a good teaching tool for their history, she said. “You’ll see exhibits from Canim Lake, Soda Creek, Dog/Canoe Creek, Williams Lake First Nation - we know that the cultural centre will bring a lot of education for our neighbours and we know how critical it is for our students that come into 100 Mile every single day to go to school how important that relationship is and how they’re received on their territory.”
Henderson said education is going to help their experience with discrimination and racism by having cultural centres like this.
