Every Friday we feature Valley history taken from our back issues.
Five years ago
this week in the Comox Valley Record:
Proposed school closures are nearing implementation as trustees begin the process of setting new boundaries.
The Permanent School Closure Report echoed recommendations of consultant Trilium to close Tsolum and Union Bay elementary schools by June 30 due to declining enrolment.
Union Bay students are to attend Royston Elementary while several options are available for Tsolum School.
Although establishing a new boundary does not guarantee school closure, school board chair Rick Grinham said moving Tsolum students to Huband Park would better meet the needs of the students.
鈥淏igger schools offer better educational advantages,鈥� district secretary-treasurer Len Ibbs said.
Ten years ago
this week in the Comox Valley Record:
The regional district is packing its bags and plans to move to temporary quarters by Feb. 27 because the Headquarters Road building fails to meet earthquake standards.
Staff picked a three-storey building on 17th Street behind the Courtenay Petrocan station.
Moving 50 employees plus furniture, equipment and hundreds of files will be a mammoth task but staff hope to be in their new headquarters by Feb. 27.
No decision has been made about the district鈥檚 permanent home. If the board decides on a new building, it may have to find a new location if geologic studies indicate the Headquarters Road site is seismically unsound.
Although the district extends north of Sayward, the headquarters will likely stay in the Comox Valley because most staff members live here.
Fifteen years ago
this week in the Comox Valley Record:
Liberal leader Gordon Campbell, in Courtenay to attend a Robbie Burns supper/party fundraiser, said the current NDP government has failed to provide basic demands of constituents such as a good public health care system, public education, jobs and security.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to do things differently,鈥� he said before 200 Liberal supporters at the Filberg Centre. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to put families first.鈥�
To achieve these goals, Campbell vowed to reduce the cost of government, public debt, taxes and regulatory overload.
He said eliminating the investment tax, removing school tax on property and reducing personal income tax would solve the debt problems.
Twenty years ago
this week in the Comox Valley Record:
Five fire trucks and more than 30 firefighters were called to battle a blaze that raced through the Blackfin Pub in Comox.
Eyewitness Roy Krejci said the alarm went off at 12:15 a.m. on Jan. 31.
鈥淭he fire started in the centre of the restaurant,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t went up and then died down.鈥�
鈥淲e saw the roof fall in and the flames roared skyward,鈥� said Debbie Alexander, an employee at the Lorne Hotel, located two blocks away.
The fire subsided by 1 a.m.
Murray Erickson, a pub co-owner, estimated damage at $600,000.
It was the second major fire in Comox in a month. The first destroyed a vacant house at 2016 Comox Ave. Dec. 29. The cause of either fire was not known.
