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WEDNESDAY
JAN. 1, 2020 | Volume 33 No. 1
WEATHER Cloudy High 2 C Low -2 C SNOW REPORT
KTW
Sun Peaks Resort Mid-mountain: 95 cm Alpine: 117 cm Harper Mountain Total snow: 81 cm
REFLECTING ON 2019
CRANLOOPS OR BUST
Olsen rink one of many city squads at curling championships
Tk’emlups Chief Rosanne Casimir on a historic year
SPORTS/A17
NEWS/A5
Mayor: arts centre vote the ‘big issue’
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? A look back at stories and newsmakers
Former Kamloops mayor Cliff Branchflower relaxes in his Brocklehurst home. Branchflower was at the held of the city from 1991 to 1999. DAVE EAGLES/KTW
JESSICA WALLACE STAFF REPORTER jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
BRANCHFLOWER KEEPS TABS ON POLITICS JESSICA WALLACE STAFF REPORTER jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
T
he man who led the city during the 1990s is now inching his way toward age 90 at his home in Brocklehurst, surrounded by three generation. Cliff Branchflower was mayor of Kamloops from 1991 to 1999. During that time, he recalled excitement in the city amidst major events, such as the Canada Summer Games and the
World Fly Fishing Championship. “I think that helped bring the city together,” Branchflower told KTW. “Volunteers came out in the hundreds to work on all of those various events.” Today, the 1993 Canada Summer Games is often referred to when people talk about the volunteer spirit of Kamloops, with the event bolstering the Tournament Capital of Canada brand. Until the national and global events arrived, Branchflower noted the city had played host to provincial championships.
KAMLOOPS DL#8989
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Branchflower recalled warm-up events leading up to the festivities. At one, he met a young man from Newfoundland, who informed Branchflower he was the mayor of his town. The East Coast mayor was 19 and served a community with a population of 31. Branchflower was 60 years of age at the time.
Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian has looked back at the year that was and forward at the year to come, with the proposed Kamloops Centre for the Arts looming as “the big issue.” The beginning of 2019 brought the resurrection of plans for an arts centre in the city. Last January, the Fawcett family presented its vision to council for a performing-arts centre at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Seymour Street. In the final months of this year, council approved sending the proposal to referendum. That April 4 vote is what Christian is calling the “big issue” of 2020. “That will be, if it’s approved, I think transformational for Kamloops,” Christian said. “Particularly for our hospitality and tourism, but plus the whole support for arts and culture, which I think is something we need to invest in.” As for 2019 as a whole, Christian said he is pleased with the way in which council has come together. Elected in late October of 2018, the past year has more or less marked the start of a new council term, which brought four new faces to city hall. Since that time, council put together a strategic plan, which identifies goals it hopes to achieve over the next few years. “A highlight for me is the way that the new council has really come together and rolled up their sleeves and bring a very energetic and high-quality work ethic to the job,” Christian told KTW in a phone interview during the final days of 2019. “I’m pleased about the strategic plan and I’m pleased about the operational goals that we’ve have put in place around that.”
See BRANCHFLOWER, A6
See MAYOR MUSES, A4
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