50 years ago: “To smoke or not to smoke” was the subject of a teenage forum at David Thompson Secondary School in Invermere. Almost 240 students viewed the Canadian Cancer Society’s film, which was followed by a panel discussion.

35 years ago: A new piece of equipment known as a “radar gun” had arrived at the Invermere RCMP station. This new technology allowed officers to track the speed of incoming vehicles using “beam technology.” In related news, the provincial government had announced a crackdown on impaired driving.

20 years ago: A 12-acre parcel of land once slated for the site of a new Invermere high school was being eyed as a site for a new recreation complex development by the Columbia Valley Recreation Centre Society. The property, owned by a Christmas tree company at the time, was viewed by the Society as an ideal parcel of land suitable for sports fields.

15 years ago: The Rocky Mountain School District’s board of trustees voted unanimously to designate Radium Elementary School as a grade 6 and 7 only school. This meant that the much-maligned school would remain open for the time being, as declining enrolment numbers and mounting costs had led to discussions of its closure.

10 years ago: Canal Flats residents voiced their opposition to the potential closure of the Canal Flats Junior Secondary School. Parents were concerned that their kids would be spending an inordinate amount of time on the bus each day to attend DTSS, roughly an hour and 20 minutes. This could add up to a student spending an extra two days in school in a week.