Truck crashes into vacant building in downtown Barriere
Jan 18, 2024
At approximately 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoon Jan. 18 a Dodge pickup drove into a vacant building in Barriere.
Local Barriere RCMP and Barriere Towing were quickly on scene. The incident is reported to have been due to a medical issue and the driver has been transported to Royal Inland Hospital.
The building formerly housed the Campbell and Company Chartered Professional Accountants.
Highway 5 head-on collision claims 2 lives near Clearwater
April 25, 2025
A head-on collision between a semi-truck and CN truck just before 1 a.m. on Tuesday (April 23) claimed the lives of two people, confirm BC Highway Patrol (BCHP).
BCHP, Clearwater RCMP along with local fire departments attended the scene at Highway 5 and Cliffe Road in Birch Island, located about three kilometres north of Clearwater at 12:50 a.m.
“A semi-truck and a CN truck hit head-on, then became engulfed in flames after a tank exploded on one of the trucks,” noted Cpl. Melissa Jongema adding a small wildfire broke out due to the vehicle fire, but was put out by the local fire department.
“The passenger of the semi-truck and the driver of the CN truck both tragically passed away. The driver of the semi-truck and the passenger in the CN truck survived and are in critical, but stable condition.”
Highway 5 was closed for hours while the scene was investigated.
Jongema said it is too early too tell the cause of the collision. She encouraged motorists to “pull over if you are tired and drive during the day if possible” and to watch for wildlife.
“Wildlife are more active during dawn and dusk. If wildlife is present on the highway, consider the presence of on-coming vehicles before swerving around an animal and into on-coming lanes. The lives of drivers and passengers are so much more important than wildlife.”
Barriere Auto & Truck Tow's Father's Day crush
Jun 20, 2024
The HISTORY channel premiered Barriere-based Backroad Truckers Season Two on June 23 with back to back episodes one and two.
Big Donny Kleinfelder’s Barriere Auto & Truck Tow and hotshotting business runs with a colourful crew of characters out of Barriere, B.C.
“Big Donny,” as he’s known to the locals, is literally larger than life, and so is his business. Years ago, he bought the old highway maintenance yard in the middle of Barriere to run his empire of hotshotting, towing, and recovery, as well as house his massive fleet of trucks and specialized equipment. Not much moves in the area without his knowledge and he’s nothing short of ruthless when it comes to scooping all the best jobs. He’s also extremely competitive when it comes to accidents and recoveries and prides his team’s reputation for getting to the job first.
On the side, Big Donny loves adding to his collection of old vehicles, vintage equipment, and antique treasures. It drives his wife and son crazy watching him hand out wads of cash and overstuff his yard, but for a tycoon like Big Donny, you never know when that treasure might come in handy.
As a hint of the antics to come, Kleinfelder hosted an impromptu Father’s Day Crush with some monster trucks in Barriere on Sunday June 16 just ahead of the season premiere of Backroad Truckers Season Two. The event was a ‘by Donny invitation only’ on Dad’s Day as visiting monster trucks climbed over and crushed on a pile of scrap cars in his tow yard in Barriere.
Barriere Elementary school home to unique legacy art project
June 20, 2024
Barriere Elementary School (BES) is now the home of a unique art piece, which was installed during the 60th anniversary of the school to acknowledge National Indigenous Peoples Week in Canada.
On June 18, during a ceremony that included students from both the Simpcw First Nation Neqweyqwelsten School and Barriere Elementary, a very special art project was unveiled at the school. BES principal Mikel Brogan was there to introduce the project to students from both schools, parents, invited guests and staff.
"The project's name, Y7ucwmentwécw [YOUCK-MEN-TWE], translated from Secwepemctsín, means 'getting used to one another'," he said.
"This project is intended to symbolize acceptance and reconciliation. The layout is designed to look like a honeycomb in a beehive, emphasizing the importance of community. The blue frame honours the North Thompson River, a lifeline for the Simpcw people, and reminds us to respect the land and its caretakers."
Brogan explained that the mosaic was created by each student and contributor making a unique tile by drawing something of importance to them. "These tiles express what makes them feel welcomed and accepted. When put together, they form a beautiful glass mosaic that reflects our collective commitment to inclusivity and support for one another. As every student at Barriere Elementary knows, it is so important to support one another and to work as a team, which is why we always say, to make the dream work, it takes teamwork!"
Jasper wildfire evacuees told to U-turn away from B.C., head back to Alberta
July 23, 2024
Thousands of wildfire evacuees forced from Jasper National Park into British Columbia along smoke-choked mountain roads Monday night, July 22, were directed Tuesday to make a wide U-turn and head home if they needed a place to stay.
Alberta fire officials said B.C. had its hands full with its own wildfires and evacuations.
“The issue is the severity of wildfire activity and evacuations in B.C. proper,” Stephen Lacroix, managing director of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, told reporters during a video conference.
“They had no capacity to house Albertans.”
Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said reception centres were being set up in Grande Prairie to the north and Calgary to the south.
Ellis told evacuees to take massive detours, either through Prince George, B.C., proceeding north and east to Grande Prairie, or south to Kamloops before going east to Calgary.
“One fire is approximately 12 kilometres south of Jasper on both sides of the (Athabasca) River and wind may exacerbate the situation,” Ellis told reporters.
Barriere Fall Fair kicks off with 75th annual parade, rodeo finals
Sept. 1, 2024
The North Thompson Fall Fair and Rodeo (NTFFR) celebrated 75 years in the valley and kicked off the Labour Day weekend with a "Come Home for the Harvest"-themed parade on Saturday, Aug. 31.
Excitement was building as the early-morning parade participants lined up with floats, vintage cars and trucks, decorated horse-drawn wagons, ATVs and carts, and a number of emergency services vehicles using all their bells, whistles and sirens to announce the arrival of the parade.
People cheered as the parade passed by on its way to the Fall Fair grounds for the opening ceremonies. The three newly-crowned North Thompson Fall Fair Ambassadors — Jayde Nickel, Alexis Amos and Morgan Wohlgemuth — were joined on a large float by a number of previous ambassadors and royalty from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s for the 75th anniversary of the parade. The majority of those riding the ambassador float wore their original sashes, saved with pride for just such an occasion. Some no longer live in the valley, but travelled back to take part in the weekend events.
The North Thompson Fall Fair is a highly anticipated event throughout the valley, with exhibitions, multiple specialty food concessions, charity raffles, 50/50 draws, stage performances, and judging for sheep, goats, rabbits/cavy and beef, as well as equine events like light and heavy horse pulling. A popular event is the lawn tractor racing, which takes place every day during the fair.
Railway track fire near Chu Chua sees Simpcw leadership pressing CN for answers
Sep 19, 2024
An early morning fire along the train tracks adjacent to the village of Chu Chua on Aug. 9, 2024 has leadership looking for answers from Canadian National Railway (CNR).
Chu Chua Volunteer Fire Department (CCVFD) chief Ron Lampreau Jr. and Kukpi7 (Chief) George Lampreau from Simpcw First Nation hope to meet with CNR officials.
Fire chief Lampreau said at approximately 5 a.m. on Friday Aug. 9, he opened the curtains of his home to see a fire burning along the track crossing of 97.28 as he stepped out onto the deck of his home.
“I immediately paged the Chu Chua Volunteer Fire Department, and we arrived on scene at 5:13 a.m. to extinguish the blaze, which involved CNR railway ties burning at the crossing,” he told ronaldomanosa. “At 5:17 a.m. I called the CNR emergency number listed at the crossing to inform them of the fire on their right-of-way. They informed me that they had been aware of the fire since 2:41 a.m.”
Lampreau said the blaze was successfully extinguished by the volunteer firefighters, but when they returned to the fire hall they observed trains continuing to operate on the tracks above the fire, even while the railway ties were burning.
After putting out the second fire, Lampreau said the fire crew was surprised to see “a train passing on the tracks over the fires” and once again a call was made to CN emergency dispatch to alert them that the “trains were still running.”
“CN responded that they were unable to stop the trains but would notify us when it was safe. This response was unclear and concerning,” said fire chief Lampreau. “A CN representative arrived 30 minutes later and inquired if there was still a fire on the tracks.”
Upon the arrival of the CN representative, the Chu Chua fire team cleared the scene “leaving the situation in CN’s hands," Lampreau said.
River has risen six feet says North Thompson resident
Sept. 26, 2024
Kevin Deckert has lived in Avola, 75 km north of Clearwater, since 1986 and has been measuring the river's levels for decades.
On Thursday, Sept. 26, he told ronaldomanosa the river had risen about six feet in a few days.
"That is higher than spring run-off when it is five feet," he said, adding the water's colour is also very dark.
Normally the river is flat too, he said.
"I can launch my canoe to go up river at this time of year normally. I wouldn't do that right now. I would caution everyone to be very careful. It is moving fast."
Avola has a main creek that flows off the mountain into the river and there is an old mill pond at the site where logs were sorted in the past.
"Right now the mill pond is level with the river. It's really weird," he said.
Ward Stamer takes Kamloops North for B.C. Conservatives
Oct. 19, 2024
Former Barriere mayor Ward Stamer has been elected in the Kamloops-North Thompson riding.
With 31 of 32 Final Voting Day ballot boxes counted, the first-time provincial candidate, running for the Conservative Party of B.C., had 17,542 votes (60.00 per cent).
His opponents were Maddi Genn of the B.C. NDP Party (9,550 votes,32.67 per cent) and Tristan Cavers of the B.C. Green Party (2,143 votes, 7.33 per cent).
Total votes cast: 29,235 and total of eligible voters for Kamloops-North Thompson were: 47,773.
Stamer was the mayor of Barriere for six years, but left the position to run for MLA. During the campaign, he said his time as mayor showed him that the improvements and changes needed for the region's communities would only be possible with a new government in B.C.
Ward Stamer excited for forestry role
Nov. 25, 2024
Ward Stamer is confident his years of experience in forestry as a logging contractor can be useful in his role as forestry critic in the shadow cabinet alongside the NDP’s Minister of Forests, Ravi Parmar.
Stamer, the former mayor of Barriere, was recently appointed by Conservative party leader John Rustad on Nov. 20 to this high-profile position.
“I’m hoping to work well together with Minister Parmar," Stamer said. "We can’t dwell on things that have happened in the past. There is so much to be done with regards to wildfire mitigation, fibre supply and the softwood lumber crisis. I certainly hope the NDP will be receptive to constructive input as we work together. We have new ideas and I’m looking forward to collaborating. Our softwood lumber agreement hasn’t been ratified since 2015 and we are paying the largest stumpage fees in North America through taxes on our products. These are critical issues to address and I’m ready to do the work as I’ve spent much of my career in the forest industry in B.C.”
Stamer is also looking forward to working on other issues for his constituents in Kamloops – North Thompson.
“Highway safety is a priority, especially on Highway 5. We need to engage within our communities, with regards to forestry, agriculture, and long-term sustainability," he said.
B.C. not maintaining service levels as senior population grows: Advocate
Dec. 11, 2024
The province's seniors advocate says the good news is B.C. seniors are living longer and staying healthy longer.
But the bad news is service levels are not being maintained year over year despite a growing aging population, B.C. seniors advocate Dan Levitt said Wednesday (Dec. 11) during the release of his office's 2024 Monitoring Seniors Services report. He said services are getting worse, and some are going backward in several areas.
He said his number-one ask is a seniors plan, whether that's around housing, healthcare, transportation or income support. Levitt added seniors are "seeing the fragmentation."
“Unfortunately, despite government investment in seniors’ services, we continue to fall behind meeting many basic needs. There is less home care, long-term care beds, rent subsidies and subsidized seniors housing available today per population compared to five years ago," he said.
Sun Peaks Mayor Al Raine passes
Dec. 15, 2024
On Sunday, Dec. 15 the municipality of Sun Peaks shared the sad news that mayor Al Raine passed away peacefully, surrounded by his devoted wife Nancy Greene Raine and their family.
Raine is the only person to have served as mayor of the popular resort ski village, which was incorporated as the Resort Municipality of Sun Peaks in 2010. He also served for 14 years on the board of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD). Raine stepped away from his roles as Sun Peaks mayor and TNRD director this past summer, following a diagnosis of ALS. The last TNRD meeting he attended was in November 2024, when he was no longer able to speak.
"We've lost a tremendous man," said the MLA Ward Stamer. "Al Raine was not only respected by everyone who knew him and worked with him, he was a man with incredible vision and determination. I had the good fortune to sit with him in our final years together at the TNRD. Through it all, when Al spoke, everyone listened, and we all knew his experience would head us in making good decisions for the people we represent.
"Al was a friend and someone I could trust. My thoughts are with his wife Nancy and their family at this most difficult time. Thanks Al. You'll be remembered fondly and dearly missed."
Rob Kerslake, Barriere's deputy mayor, also serves on the TNRD board, and said, "As an observer, I would say Al was a community builder. During his time as mayor he turned Sun Peaks into an economic powerhouse. More importantly, though, he made the community a great place to live, work and play. I'm sure he will be missed by all, and of course our council extends heartfelt condolences to his family and the municipality there."
