LOCAL NEWS: YELLOWHEAD MINE BEGINS REVIEW ▼ A2
Times
Thursday, February 5, 2015 ▼ Volume 51 No. 6 ▼ www.clearwatertimes.com ▼ $1.35 Includes GST
THE
NORTH THOMPSON
FOCUS:
2014
Senior Girls versus Chase. See page A12 inside.
CCNA BLUE RIBBON
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Valley leaders report during communityto-community forum Keith McNeill
Skating with Disney Lily Dulaba (l) and Cole Dulaba enjoy skating with Disney characters (l-r) Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Minnie Mouse and Goofy on Friday evening, Jan. 30 at the Sportsplex. The event was one of several held as part of Clearwater's Winter Festival. Others included Toonie Ski Days, Love Where You Live bonspiel, a Novice hockey tournament, and moonlight cross-country skiing. Photo by Keith McNeill
Seeking museum for Clearwater area Keith McNeill Clearwater and area should have a museum, longtime local resident Chuck Emery told town council during its Jan. 20 meeting. “I think there’s a lot of interest,” he said. “People keep giving me stuff but I don’t have a proper place to store it.” Emery said that with people constantly moving into and out of the community, and properties changing hands, many items that should be in a museum are in danger of being lost – if they haven’t been lost already.
The local resident said he is aware of at least three private museums in the area. All are good in their own ways, he felt, but all are missing the boat in that there are government and other grants available to build and operate an officially-recognized museum. A committee should be set up to look into the matter, he said. Grants should be investigated, including those from federal, provincial and other levels of governments, as well as foundations. Possible sites need to be looked at and evaluated for such things as parking,
visibility, and electrical power. Councillor Dennis Greffard, whose grandmother Ida Dekelver owns one of the private museums Emery referred to, cautioned that building and operating a museum is a daunting task. He has taken training in the subject, and a museum needs to meet a wide variety of parameters, including proper temperature and humidity. Everything needs to be properly cataloged and organized. “It’s not impossible, but it is a huge undertaking,” Greffard said.
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Representatives from all North Thompson Valley local governments, including Simpcw First Nation and Thompson-Nicola Regional District, met on Friday, Jan. 30 to communicate and coordinate. The community-to-community forum was held in Clearwater’s new Dutch Lake Community Centre, the former Dutch Lake School. During introductory remarks at the start of the forum, Simpcw chief Rita Matthew reported that there are no band members on income assistance, other than those with disability pensions. "Our first goal is to see as many of our people employed as possible," she said. A close second for the band is to see other residents of the Valley have jobs. "We see the benefits of economic development. It’s a challenge to live in the Valley and raise a family," the chief said. Economic development also needs to be balanced with concern about the environment, Matthew said. The chief noted that the Simpcw and the other residents of the North Thompson Valley have a history of working together. She hoped that tradition would continue. Barriere’s new mayor Virginia Smith reported that her community’s sewer project is proceeding and should be in operation by July. The project will serve many of the homes in the older portion of town, a number of which have problems with their septic tanks. It will use an innovative
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approach. The sewage waste will be used to feed plants in a greenhouse. The purified water will then be used to water plants in municipal parks. "I look forward to inviting everybody to look at our new sewage plant," she said. "Now, doesn’t that sound exciting?" Clearwater mayor John Harwood talked about partnerships – one of his favorite themes. Working with the school district allowed the municipality to lease the former Dutch Lake School for 25 years at $1 per year. Working with other levels of government brought in grants that allowed the former school to be renovated into a community center at very little cost to local taxpayers. District of Clearwater now plans to convert the building from propane heat to biomass (wood chips). Expected payback time for the investment will be five years, he said. Building permits in Clearwater last year totalled $9.3 million, the most of any of the electoral areas or municipalities in the ThompsonNicola Regional District, other than Kamloops. "It was an exceptional year," Harwood said. A septage receiving facility in Clearwater should be up and running within a couple of months to take in septic tank sludge from all the upper North Thompson Valley. Since Greyhound cut back its service to the bare minimum, the area’s transit service has expanded enormously, the mayor reported. Buses now go twice a week to Kamloops. Continued on page A2