This week around Cowichan Lake
10 years ago:
"Yount Elementary to close in June" was the sad headline on the March 7, 2007 version of the Lake Cowichan Gazette.
"During a special board meeting Wednesday night, School District 79 trustees voted to shut down Yount Elementary and Cowichan Station Rural Traditional School but agreed to keep Koksilah Elementary open.
"Trustees Diana Gunderson and Eden Haythornthwaite voted in favour of keeping Yount open."
Lakers had been waiting for the axe to fall on Yount, as the school population dropped.
"Trustee Ann Anderson described Yount as 'a lovely little school built to last generations' but said she couldn't justify keeping it open with just 13 students enrolled.
"If only the spectre of closure had not hung so heavily over the school over the past years. But it did. If only [parents] had decided to keep their children in that school, but they didn't," she said.
25 years ago:
"Allan not pleased with suggestion by Canada Post" is the headline from the March 11, 1992.
"The CVRD has taken a swipe at Canada Post in support of residents of Skutz Falls who are fed up with driving to Lake Cowichan for their mail.
"Joseph Allan, director of Area F, who is responsible for Skutz Falls, has asked Canada Post more than once to supply boxes at Skutz Falls for residents."
He'd not been satisfied with the response from Canada Post.
The vice-chair of the CVRD board at the time, he "brought the matter and Canada Post's letter to the board, which produced a brusquely worded motion which is being sent to Canada Post," the story said.
Canada Post's offering to serve the residents from the Duncan post office got short shrift from the board, too.
"The board noted that if Skutz Falls residents were served [from Duncan] they would have to drive 24 miles to pick up a parcel, whereas now they have to drive up to 14 miles. The directors further asked, 'Why should residents go through an address change, parcel pickup point change and drive farther than they do now for other services in order to have rural delivery that is provided elsewhere?"
40 years ago:
"The Lake Cowichan council wants to see the abandoned Canadian Pacific Railway station in the village preserved. Council voted at last Tuesday's meeting to give approval in principle to the idea of acquiring the station as a heritage building and relocating it for community use.
The move followed a Lake News initiative.
"The Lake News learned that the station would become surplus to railway requirements about the end of March and the company will be disposing of the building. A letter from the regional manager of public relations for the company indicated CP Rail would not be averse to turning the station over to a community group as has been done in other centres."
It would need to be moved.
"The closest parcel of land, adjacent to a railway siding, is located north of the present station site. The property is owned by BC Forest Products and is now under lease to the Village of Lake Cowichan.