Every Friday we feature Valley history taken from our back issues.
Five years ago
this week in the Comox Valley Record:
Comox councillors tentatively voted themselves a hefty pay raise after a consultant said salaries lag well behind pay in comparable communities.
If council ratifies a motion by the committee of the whole, the mayor’s pay will jump from $17,766 to $24,000 per year while councillors’ salaries will increase from $8,883 to $12,000.
The research conducted by consultant Chris Green cost about $12,000.
Ten years ago
this week in the Comox Valley Record:
Courtenay council will decide next week whether or not to allow a local developer to build a three-storey complex with main floor offices and top floor condos in the city’s Old Orchard district.
Dave MacSween has applied for a development permit to construct Stonecroft Village, a 40-foot L-shaped complex on four acres of commercially zoned land on Fourth Street adjacent to Orchard Gate estate, which he also developed.
The complex would contain eight office units and 14 condos, and is designed to reflect that character of many of the Old Orchard homes nearby.
“We’ve really tried to make it fit in with the neighbouring homes,” MacSween said, noting the 1940s style of the new building.
Fifteen years ago
this week in the Comox Valley Record:
Canada’s new two-dollar coin will soon make its debut in banks. The news has been greeted with everything from anticipation to nonchalance.
The new two-colour, two-dollar coin will be slightly larger than a loonie. The ‘doubloon’ or ‘polar’ will be bimetallic with a nickel outer ring and aluminum/bronze core. The polar bear that will appear on one side was chosen in a national survey.
A two-dollar coin is expected to save taxpayers $254 million over the 20-year lifespan of a coin, says the Minister Responsible for the Royal Canadian Mint.
“We’re quite excited about it,” says Kathy Hoodikoff, manager at the Bank of Nova Scotia in Comox. “The only thing we’ve had to do is modify our cash trays for our tellers. We now have six coin slots instead of five.”
Tellers at other banks have said implementing the new coins is going to be tough. Businesses say it won’t have much effect.
Twenty years ago
this week in the Comox Valley Record:
Fire officials say an electrical fault caused a blaze that caused $500,000 damage to the Blackfin Pub in Comox Jan. 31.
The fire started under the floor of the lounge, said fire chief Rick Bentley, who did not consider the fire suspicious.
The fire was first noticed by a cleaning lady.
“She heard the alarm go off and looked into the lounge,” Bentley said. “She saw the fire, ran to the condos and sent in the alarm.”
Pub owners plan to rebuild as soon as possible.