THE WELLS CHRONICLE PUBLISHED IN THE HEART OF THE CARIBOO GOLD BELT Vol. 2— No. 1 Wells, BC, Thursday, January 1, 2009 $2.00 at the stand Serving the communities of Wells, Barkerville & Bowron Lake Pre-School Christmas Party sponsored by RCL Branch 128 Wells’ Legion Auxiliary Happy New Year Page 2 THE WELLS CHRONICLE January 2009 The Wells Chronicle Begins Its 2nd Year of Publishing I thank each of my advertisers, contributors, correspondents, subscribers, mentors & critics for participating in this paper. Your input has been invaluable, please continue! Together we lived the history of Wells 2008. 2009 is our 75th birthday and is filling up fast with exciting events to celebrate the rich stories of our town, both past and present. I am looking forward to this new year here in the Cariboo! May your Christmas be Merry, your winter full of fun and laughter, and your New Year strong in health and good fortune. With our Warmest Regards, Mike & Aleta Wallace THE WELLS CHRONICLE invites submissions THE WELLS CHRONICLE is sold at the following on issues and events in the Wells, Barkerville, locations in Wells, BC: Bowron Lake area, including: letters, poems, sto- ⇒ Wells Service Station ries, club news, and anything else that will benefit ⇒ Northwoods Restaurant and inform our community. ⇒ Wells General Store THE WELLS CHRONICLE is edited and pub- THE WELLS CHRONICLE is sold at the following lished by Aleta Wallace. Contact Information: locations in Quesnel, BC: ⇒ 4-Mile Store & Coffee Shop Wells Chronicle ⇒ Big Country Printers Aleta Wallace, Editor ⇒ River Valley Health Products Ltd. Box 174, Wells, BC V0K 2R0 ⇒ Caryall Books Phone/Fax: (250) 994-3454 ⇒ One World Treasures (Baha’i Store) Email: [email protected] ⇒ Cariboo Keepsakes [email protected] Want to carry this paper in your store? Web: http://wellschronicle.ca Contact the Editor via phone, email, Canada Post. Affordable Rates Wells Chronicle ad rates are affordable! $12.00 puts your business in the Business & Services listings for one calendar year. $15.00 per issue buys a business card size ad (1 ¾” x 2 ¾”) or $90.00 for 6 months. $1.00 buys a line of type (Times New Roman 10pt for 2 ¾”) More sizes & rates: http://wellschronicle.ca Wells Chronicle: retail outlet price $2.00 - Canadian subscriptions $48.00 per calendar year - Interna- tional subscription rates to be determined. For more info: Rates & Policy page at http://wellschronicle.ca January 2009 THE WELLS CHRONICLE Page 3 Santa Ho-Ho-Ho’d to a packed house of pre- school children and their parents at the Wells Legion. The youngest in these Mike Wallace Photos are 2008 babies for our town. AW Page 4 THE WELLS CHRONICLE January 2009 Hi all, The Picture BC project that the District of Wells submitted images to is now live. Here is the link: http://www.picturebc.ca/ Cheers, Sundance 24K Nuggets In Your Pockets: ⇒ To the District of Wells staff for their due diligence and unfailing effort. They are doing the work of double their number and bringing our small community an unparalleled level of infrastructure support per capita. AW January 2009 THE WELLS CHRONICLE Page 5 “After all the effort the community has made to keep the school open, the federal funding for this new geothermal system is timely and appreciated,” says Vermette. The Gas Tax Fund delivers infrastructure funding to local governments and other eligible recipients primarily for capital projects that lead to cleaner air, cleaner water or reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Gas Tax Fund Provides Funding is also available for planning projects that New Geothermal Heating contribute to the sustainability of communities and regions. for Wells/Barkerville School The Government of Canada extended the Gas Tax Fund to 2014 as part of its Building Canada infra- (Wells, British Columbia) The federal Gas Tax structure plan. The Gas Tax Fund is providing a Fund is providing $364,800 to the District of Wells total of $1.6 billion in funding for local government to install a geothermal heating system in the Wells/ infrastructure in British Columbia up to 2014. Barkerville community school. The geothermal heating project is the latest step in The multi-use facility, built in 1940, is an integral efforts by the District of Wells to increase commu- part of the heritage value of the community of nity sustainability through use of alternative energy Wells. The new geothermal system replaces a costly sources, including wind and solar power. oil-based furnace system and will lead to a dramatic Gary Champagne, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the Chief Administrative Officer facility, achieving one of the core goals of Gas Tax District of Wells, British Columbia funding. “The heating bills for our school have been a big 250-994-3330 problem for Wells, and this funding will allow us to [email protected] do this great project which we otherwise could not www.wellsbc.com afford”, says Wells Mayor Jay Vermette. “This pro- ject demonstrates that green technology is good for the environ- ment and good for re- ducing operating costs of public facilities.” The school building became property of the District of Wells several years ago through an arrangement with School District 28 which saw the town assume the operation and mainte- nance costs of the school. Page 6 THE WELLS CHRONICLE January 2009 Wild Mushroom & Port Brioche Groceries ~ 2340 Pooley Street ~ Hardware Ingredients: ~ Internet ~ ~ Cariboo ~ 2 tbsp olive oil C.A.P. Site Raw Gold Fax Service Proserpine 225g chestnut mushrooms, quartered 115g shiitake mushrooms, halved ~ Local Art ~ Conklin Gulch Handcrafted Gold 2 large field mushrooms, sliced 3 sticks celery, finely chopped Items & Gifts ~ Nuggets ~ 1 onion, cut into thin wedges 2 garlic cloves, crushed Grizz & Carol Pinette, Owner/Operators Box 259, Wells, BC V0K-2R0 Phone (250) 994-3301 300ml red wine Email: [email protected] Fax (250) 994-3341 1.2l hot vegetable stock 2 sprigs fresh thyme 150ml port heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 mins. Add 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly wine, stock and thyme and bring to the boil. 6 brioche rolls Simmer for 30 mins. flatleaf parsley, to garnish Add the port and redcurrant jelly. Bring back to the boil, then boil for 10 mins until re- Method: duced by half and thick and syrupy. Season Oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Heat 1 tbsp oil to taste, discard the thyme and stir in the in a large pan, then fry mushrooms for 4-5 mushrooms. Simmer for 5 mins. mins, stirring occasionally, until lightly Meanwhile, pull the tops off the brioche and browned. Remove with a slotted spoon, then reserve, then pick out dough from the centre set aside. Add remaining oil to the pan, then to leave a thick shell. (Process remaining fry the celery, onion and garlic over a low dough to make breadcrumbs, then freeze for future use.) Place rolls on a baking sheet, then bake for 5-7 mins until hot and crisp. Spoon the mushroom mixture into the brioche rolls, then garnish with the flat- leaf parsley. Serve immediately with any remaining gravy, potato wedges and green beans. Ready-Made Brioche Ready-made brioche rolls make won- derfully buttery cases for this rich wine and mushroom filling. Recipe from Good Food magazine, Vegetarian Christmas 2006. Courtesy: www.bbcgoodfood.com January 2009 THE WELLS CHRONICLE Page 7 Page 8 THE WELLS CHRONICLE January 2009 Wells Transit Information The District of Wells is happy to announce that beginning on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 there will be once-weekly return handicap accessible bus service between Wells and Quesnel. Here are the details of the service: The bus will run on Thursdays. The cost of the bus is $2.00 per one-way trip for adults and seniors. Children 12 and under are free. Cash only. Exact change required. Quesnel to Wells and Back Morning Route * The bus will depart from the bus stop across from the Royal Bank at 7:00 AM, followed by a stop at the hospital, and it will arrive in Wells at approximately 8:30 AM. The Wells bus will say “Community Bus” on the front. The bus will stop at the following locations in Wells. Riders are encouraged to be at the designated stops by 8:25 AM: -Wells-Barkerville School (Mildred Ave entrance) -Wells General Store -Northwoods Restaurant -Wells Apartments (Solibakke St. at apartment office and Ski Hill Rd at Hong St.) -Wells Service Station The bus will stop at the hospital in Quesnel on the return trip if needed, and then end its trip across from the Royal Bank at approximately 10:15 AM. Quesnel to Wells and Back Afternoon Route * The bus will depart from the bus stop across from the Royal Bank on its return trip to Wells at 4:00 PM. The bus will stop at the hospital on the way out of town and arrive back in Wells at approximately 5:30 PM. The Wells bus will say “Community Bus” on the front. The bus will stop at the following locations in Wells. Riders are encouraged to be at the designated stops by 5:25 PM: -Wells-Barkerville School (Mildred Ave entrance) -Wells General Store -Northwoods Restaurant -Wells Apartments (Solibakke St. at apartment office and Ski Hill Rd at Hong St.) -Wells Service Station The bus will stop at the hospital in Quesnel on the return trip if needed, and then end its trip across from the Royal Bank at approximately 7:00 PM. *The bus service may be cancelled due to weather or the unavailability of the bus. If this occurs the District of Wells will attempt to notify the public as soon as possible.