10 years ago (2003): New regulations were adopted in an effort to reduce the crash-rate of new drivers. The New Driver time period was extended from six to 12 months; the minimum age for a driver supervisor rose from 19 to 25, allowing only one passenger for new drivers with the exception of immediate family; and the novice stage increased from 18 to 24 months, requiring 24 consecutive months of obedience.
20 years ago (1993): • The Invermere Valley Echo was named the Best All Around Newspaper in Canada with a circulation of 2,000 to 3,499. News publications from Golden and Revelstoke were the runners up. All three of the top newspapers were owned by WestMount Press Limited. • A columnist submitted a fashion article to The Valley Echo with the suggested headline, “Fashion”. The production team at The Valley Echo decided to elaborate on the title and published it as, “Fashion tips for geeks”. The writer said the title gave the impression of a put-down, which was not the intention. “I would have preferred that my article was not printed rather than having the shock of reading it this way,” the writer said.
25 years ago (1988): • The British Columbia Amateur Hockey Association hired Tom Renney as head coach for the Pacific Region Under 17 team in the CAHA Program of Excellence. • J.A. Laird was awarded a $1,536 travel grant after 28 students and two teachers travelled to Victoria for a visit to the Parliament buildings, and sat in on discussions at the Legislative Assembly. The public funds came from the losses of gamblers.
30 years ago (1983): • “Gentleman, start your… pedals?” was the lead to a story about the local Kinsmen Club, as the group was looking for land to develop a bicycle motocross track. Once found, club president John Nairn said the Kinsmen will construct the track, and hoped to turn its maintenance and organization over to a parent group. • Hang gliding pilot Don Miller from Invermere ranked 15th at the World Hand Gliding Championships in Tegelberg, Germany. Miller was the highest placed Canadian at the competition in which 150 pilots participated.
35 years ago (1978): Ongoing fires at the Invermere dump caused one resident to take the issue to council. During a meeting, the concerned citizen said her house was filled with smoke each night, which made sleeping a challenge, and that the fires are in violation of the law. She said that when a fire begins, “it is the duty of the Invermere council to see that it is put out,” and proposed a “no burning” sign be placed at the dump. Council members said they allowed burning on Mondays in an effort to reduce uncontrolled burnings, and that they were trying to relocate the dump out of town altogether.
40 years ago (1973): Similar to the 2013 Media Weekend hosted by the Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce at the beginning of June, 24 travel editors from around the world were invited to southeastern B.C. by the Department of Travel Industry of British Columbia. The travel editors took part in many activities in several communities between Kimberley and Radium. The day before one group trip, four local cooks were taken atop the North Star Glacier to prepare a lavish meal. However, poor weather cancelled the trip and left the cooks stranded, so they made the most of it, building an igloo and eating all the food.
50 years ago (1963): During the liberation of Holland during the World War II, Arthur John Fuller of Invermere suffered from injuries after a bomb propelled him off a speeding motorcycle. After returning to Canada, he found work with Art’s Plumbing and with the Works Department of the Village of Invermere. The valley was saddened to hear that Mr. Fuller was found dead at the cemetery in Invermere on Sunday, June 9th.