15 YEARS AGO
May 30-June 5, 1995
Mounties bring an end to Douglas Lake blockade
A tense native blockade near Douglas Lake Ranch came to a peaceful end when dozens of RCMP officers enforced a court order declaring the month-long protest illegal.
After last-ditch negotiations failed Monday, the Kamloops RCMP superintendent said police had "exhausted" all their options and managed to dismantle the roadblock Tuesday "without using physical force."
The blockade began May 3 after several members of the Upper Nicola Indian Band were arrested for gillnetting fish in a lake owned and stocked by Douglas Lake Ranch.
The band said it has an aboriginal right to fish the lake. Ranch officials agreed to allow fishing, but want band members to stop using nets.
The roadblock also attracted native activists from Adams Lake, Kamloops and the Penticton Indian Band, which is boycotting negotiations stemming from its blockade of Apex Alpine ski area last fall.
About 200 protesters staffed the checkpoint Tuesday, some of whom had smeared war paint on their faces and armed themselves with clubs.
Flash forward: In July, 1995, native political tensions in B.C. reached new heights when a protester held a gun at the head of an off-duty police officer during a blockade involving the Adams Lake First Nation.
25 YEARS AGO
May 30-June 5, 1985
Tainted cucumbers blamed in rash of poisonings
As many as 200 B.C. residents contracted non-fatal cases of pesticide poisoning after eating cucumbers that were illegally sprayed with a toxic chemical known as Temik.
Federal food and health authority official Barry Morgan said Monday a grower belonging to the Western Greenhouse Growers co-operative is suspected of using the chemical on a crop of cucumbers, despite federal regulations banning the practice.
Thelma MacAdam of the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation said there have been about 200 reports of people suffering from muscle spasms, blurred vision, stomach upset and diarrhea after eating cellophane-wrapped cucumbers under the B.C. Hothouse label.
Agriculture Canada refers to Temik, also known as Aldicarb, as a highly toxic pesticide licensed only for use on potato fields prior to planting and some ornamental greenhouse applications.
Western Greenhouse Growers co-operative announced a sweeping recall involving thousands of cucumbers produced by 29 of its members.
Mr. Morgan said the grower suspected of illegally using Temik may face charges under the Food and Drug Act.
Flash forward: In July, 1985, thousands of people in the U.S. fell ill after eating Temik-tainted watermelons. The pesticide was voluntarily withdrawn from the market in 1996 and is now illegal in Canada.
Special to The Globe and Mail