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
"New program looks to engage local youth" was the only headline on the front of the Lake Cowichan Gazette of April 1, 2015 and it was no April Fool's joke.
"Cowichan Women Against Violence (CWAV) recently presented a new youth-based program, called the 'Youth Lens,' to municipalities across the Valley – and it seems to have garnered the attention of Lake Cowichan’s town council.
"CWAV has been developing the Youth Lens program for the past several years in conjunction with a number of local youth.
"'It’s youth-led, so we’re not imposing what we think are the important issues,' Jane Sterk, Executive Director of CWAV, said. “'We’re encouraging them to go to other youth to find out what the issues are.'
"CWAV and the youth group have since taken on a number of youth-related projects, such as youth walks and other initiatives."
On an inside page of the same paper was "Society marks three former schools on Cowichan Lake".
"A group of Cowichan Valley citizens are setting out to commemorate the history of education, laying down signage at the former sites of a number of schools across the region. The project, which began in January 2013, is now entering its second phase of operation, and coordinators are hoping to have 16 new signs up soon, three of which are planned for sites located around Cowichan Lake.
"These include: the Lake Cowichan Superior School, located on 29 Renfrew Avenue, now the location of Lisa’s Fit Stop; Nixon Creek Elementary, which is now a vacant lot; and the former Male School in Paldi, which has been vacant since the building burned down during the 1980s.
"The signs feature a golden school bell design, and identify their location as that of a former school, listing the school’s name and years of operation."
25 years ago
"Back to school for students and strikers" was the top headline in the April 5, 2000 edition of the Lake Cowichan Gazette.
"There's still no word on what concessions local negotiators made even though students have been back in school since Monday. 'I'm just glad the kids are back in school,' says Wilma Rowbottom, chair of the Cowichan Valley School Board. Rowbottom says she saw the back to work order coming because of the pressure the government was facing from parents. She says she had a number of calls from parents asking when the strike would end. Rowbottom was among negotiators for School District 79 who were able to reach a deal over local issues with CUPE.
"What those local issues are won't be made public until after all negotiations are complete. CUPE and the BCPSEA are still working out provincial concerns. Premier Ujjal Dosanjh called a rare sitting of the legislature on Sunday after no agreement was forthcoming between the Canadian Union Of Public Employees and the BC Public School Employers Association. Emergency legislation, known as Bill 7, was passed by the government on Sunday night, forcing support staff back to work on Monday morning."
In other news of the day, "Fletcher Challenge sells paper operations to giant" was a headline below the fold.
"Fletcher Challenge announced late Sunday that it has agreed to sell its Paper Division to international pulp and paper producer Norske Skog, headquartered in Norway. The deal includes the Crofton mill and the weir on Cowichan Lake, which controls amount of water stored for mill. 'I wouldn't expect anything to change there,' says Smart Clugston, a vice-president with Fletcher Challenge.
"The sale is conditional on approvals from Fletcher Challenge Limited shareholders, Norske Skog's corporate assembly and the standard regulatory bodies.
The Norwegian company will pay the equivalent of about $3.6 billion Canadian for paper operations throughout the world. Norse Skog becomes the second largest paper manufacturer of newsprint.
40 years ago
"Village gears for massive spring clean-up of area" was in a big box atop the front page of the Lake News of April 3, 1985.
"Local merchants will start the SEP Co ball rolling next week when they launch the second annual great village clean-up with a 'clean and shine' effort April 8, 9 and 10.
"The storefront spruce-up did a lot last year to get the general cleanliness campaign under way and organizers are hoping for similar results this year. The general clean-up will be held throughout the district Saturday, April 13. A procession of public-spirited garbage collectors will walk from the arena to the bridge, picking up refuse from public property as they go. The Kinsmen Club will hold a yard pick up of larger refuse on Sunday, April 14 to wind up the 1985 SEP Co campaign.
It was also in this edition that it was announced the Lake News had been sold.
"The Lake News has been sold to a veteran newspapering couple from Ontario, owners Gerry and Vera Soroka announced today. The new owners are Ron and Sheila Kenyon of Thornhill, a suburb of Toronto. The Kenyons are former owners of community newspapers in Ontario and currently publish a magazine on antiques. The sale takes effect April 10. The Sorokas, who have owned the newspaper for six years, will live in Nanaimo, aboard their new 40-foot sailboat."
