28 YEARS AGO (1995): Tensions were running high after an RCMP vehicle was fired upon by protesters holed up in an armed encampment near Gustafson Lake. The incident occurred at 8:45 p.m. on Labour Day with unconfirmed reports stating the RCMP were fired upon 20 times. The incident came after Native rights lawyer Bruce Clark, who had been negotiating with those in the encampment over the radio, failed to broker a deal to end the standoff. Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh stated police would not use force until all other avenues were exhausted.
21 YEARS AGO (2002): Forest creatures such as the mountain pine and bark beetles had a busy year, Forest Health Officer Don Wright said. Wright spent 15 days in August mapping their victims from the air and keeping an eye out for wildfires. While mountain pine beetle-killed trees were easy to identify by their red colouration, those infested by spruce bud worm and Douglas Fir beetle infestations were more difficult to identify. Wright said they were getting beetles in new areas where they hadn’t been seen before, noting mountain pine beetles and bud worm numbers were on the increase.
14 YEARS AGO (2009): The feral cat population of 100 Mile House was saved from euthanasia by Katie’s Place Animal Shelter in Maple Ridge. On Aug. 11 the District of 100 Mile House Council had decided to trap and kill the 50 to 100 feral cats that had been terrorizing residents of Scott Road. Mayor Mitch Campsall said council took a lot of flak for the decision and welcomed the new solution to send them to the shelter to be fixed and re-homed instead. After trapping them, the District was set to pay $50 a cat to have them fixed, which cost less than the price of euthanasia.
7 YEARS AGO (2016): A helicopter pilot suffered serious injuries after crashing his helicopter near No Name Lake. The Bell-206 helicopter, AKA a Jet Ranger, crashed as the pilot was attempting to land due to an unknown mechanical issue. The Jet Ranger fell short of the landing pad and crashed into a nearby stream, snapping the tail end and causing significant damage to the front end. The pilot, who was working for Far West Helicopters, was reported to be coherent and conscious following the emergency landing and complaining about chest pains. He was airlifted to the 100 Mile District General Hospital and later to Kamloops.
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