Every Friday we feature Valley history taken from our back issues.

Five years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:

A second major snowstorm in less than five days tested the mettle of Courtenay's snow removal crews.

And chewed up about $90,000 of the city's $156,000 snow budget.

Unlike Canadian cities used to prolonged snow cover, the 30-plus centimetres that fell at the end of November created logistical problems on snow-clogged roads and sidewalks. At the peak of the storm crews were plowing 12 hours and spending $25,000 a day.

Ten years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:

RE-FER-EN-DUM ... RE-FER-EN-DUM ... RE-FER-EN-DUM!

The chant outside Comox council chambers started with a few scattered voices, swelled as the crowd joined in, then rose again as about 100 protesters pressed their faces against the window and jammed in the hallway.

They were there because council was about to make a deft end run around a law requiring the town to go to referendum before borrowing money to build a new civic centre for about $3.25 million.

Coun. Don Davis cast the only no vote as council agreed to avoid the referendum by joining forces with a private firm to build the centre on Beaufort Avenue across from town hall.

Fifteen years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:

With good snow and ideal conditions, Mount Washington and Forbidden Plateau ski hills opened their winter seasons with a bang. 'Too much snow' is not something Forbidden Plateau head Robert Kirk has been able to say the past few years; but with 50 centimetres of new snow, the family ski hill boasted a 140- to 150-centimetre base.

"It's going to assure of a full Christmas season," Kirk said.

Twenty years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:

Public protest did little to stop a marine pub and restaurant proposed for the Comox waterfront, said a liquor licensing official.

"The town has said the people are in favour and we will proceed on that basis," Peter Jones said.

Following a public meeting, Comox council voted 4-2 to approve a motion saying most residents favour the pub proposed by Sailaway Enterprises.

Twenty five years ago this week in the Comox Valley Record:

It was an awesome display by some of the best women volleyball players in the world as Zhae-Jiang simply outplayed the Canadian Inter-University Athletic Union's third-ranked team before a large crowd at Highland School.

The Chinese controlled almost every aspect of the game and sent the UVic Vikettes diving to the floor and running desperately to save perfectly-placed spikes or taps over the net. The Chinese won four straight games.