37 Years Ago (February 1981): South Cariboo residents were concerned trucks carrying radioactive material were travelling through 100 Mile House after a truck driver flipped his Pup near Jackass Mountain while carrying radioactive material, although no leaks were reported. According to Murray Dyer, Kamloops regional manager of the Provincial Emergency Program, said there were probably 400 vehicles with potentially hazardous materials passing through 100 Mile each day.
31 Years Ago (February 1987): John A. Willoughby, 56, collapsed and died during the Cariboo Marathon. Despite several attempts to revive him, he was pronounced dead on arrival at the 100 Mile General Hospital. Willoughby was known as an active athlete and had skied the marathon virtually every year since its inception. His death was the first fatality in the 10-year history of the race.
23 Years Ago (February 1995): A seven-hour standoff between police and an armed man at a home in the Canim Lake area ended peacefully. “He was obviously agitated,” said Staff Sgt. Martin Sarich. “There were threats made. He was despondent and he was definitely a risk to himself and others.” Police stormed the home and arrested the man without incident. “The operation went very well and concluded successfully-no injuries and no shots fired.”
17 Years Ago (February 2001): School District 27 Superintendent Brian Butcher announced his retirement. He’d been under fire from the public, Victoria and the media for more than a year since the district announced the prior winter that it would have to close school to balance the budget. Budget cuts resulted in the closures of the McLeese Lake and 70 Mile House schools. Crescent Heights and Riske Creek were expected to close at the end of June unless First Nations took over operations.
8 Years Ago (February 2010): A man who had been riding an all-terrain vehicle died after falling through the ice. 108 Mile fire chief Marcelle Ried said his crew arrived quite a while after the RCMP first alerted him because he had to get permission from the Cariboo Regional District to respond outside of his fire district. “The lake itself isn’t in anybody’s district, so we have to make a phone call and find out if we can respond.