50 years ago: A newly built home was destroyed by fire. Mr. Giolma had been building the house for the past 18 months while he lived in an adjacent trailer. The cause of the fire was undetermined, but Giolma said that he had a heater drying paint at the time. Firemen attended the blaze at their own risk, as the Westside community was outside the village limits.
45 years ago: Canal Flats opened their Centennial Civic Centre. The centre was designed by the local school principal Eugene Turney, and the opening featured the Kimberley Pipe Band performing for guests, before a dance was held the next night to help break in the new facility.
35 years ago: A delegation of “irate” Wilder Subdivision residents were set to petition council to make changes to local zoning bylaws. Residents were against the building of any apartment buildings in the subdivision after a recent council meeting had mentioned a potential six-plex apartment building in the subdivision.
23 years ago: The Regional District of East Kootenay approved two rezoning bylaws needed to accommodate a golf course at Panorama Resort. About 200 people, mostly Panorama employees and their families, attended the hearing. Of 33 oral presentations, 28 gave their unconditional support for the golf course.
20 years ago: Sidewalks were stalling the construction of an 8,000 square foot grocery store in downtown Invermere. Plans were in place for the new business, but the issue of who would pay for the sidewalks outside of the $700,000 grocery store was unresolved.
15 years ago: Despite a lower Regional District of East Kootenay budget, regional taxes were set to increase. Following a .3 per cent decrease in budget, taxpayers in Area F were set to notice a 41 per cent increase in tax requisitions, Area G was to see a 26 per cent jump, and Invermere and Radium about 30 per cent more.
10 years ago: The District of Invermere (DOI) received an anonymous $100,000 donation to help local seniors buy the former Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Hall in Invermere. The donation nearly exceeded all other funds raised for the project at the time. “Without that donation it would not have happened,” DOI CAO Robert Earl said.
5 years ago: The District of Invermere established a special committee to review community facility use and the proposed joint art/library centre at the site of the old David Thompson Secondary School. In addition to naming the members of the committee, council also approved a $35,000 expenditure to help launch the new facility.