50 years ago: One person died and another two were injured in a plane crash in Fairmont. The pilot, the manager of Fairmont Hot Springs Resort and co-owner of the plane was killed after the plane unexpectedly clipped the tops of trees during a turn.

45 years ago: Work had started on the $60 million pulp mill in Skookumchuck. The first contract on the project was awarded to a Kimberley company, a $152,000 contract for construction of a cafeteria and kitchen. Construction of the mill was expected to employ roughly 400 people.

35 years ago: The Westside Improvements District was getting ready to vote on amalgamation with the district of Invermere. An informal poll of Westside residents was less than conclusive on the issue, and seemed to indicate that if they had decided how to vote, they weren’t going to talk about it.

23 years ago: A Windermere llama farmer was receiving some national attention. The CBC interviewed a local llama farmer and the president of the Canadian Llama Association on why llamas were becoming so popular. At the time, there were more than 300 llamas being used in hospitals and psychiatric wards across North America.

20 years ago: Dry Gulch resident Judy King was all set to enter the international arena of wristwrestling. As a reigning B.C. women’s champion, King was invited to join the Canadian National Team to compete in the third annual Golden Bear Tournament, in Moscow, Russia.

15 years ago: Radium Hot Springs mayor Greg Deck was opposed to the idea of building a casino in Radium. The B.C. government was in the process of taking proposals from interested municipalities, but Deck said it wasn’t how the village wanted to go about economic development.

10 years ago: The economic outlook for School District 6 was “bleak,” despite receiving a one-time grant of $300,000. The district was facing a $1.4 million deficit, which was expected to balloon to over $1.8 million the following year, and all the while enrolment was steadily dropping.

5 years ago: The Jumbo Resort was in the news, as RDEK board members held another split vote over Bill 11, which MLA Norm Macdonald claimed would give the province an “end run” that would provide approvals for Jumbo outside of RDEK’s control. In a vote to send a letter of objection to the province, the vote was split with eight in favour, and seven opposed.