Several neighbours are alarmed that they have heard the sound of gunshots for the last couple of weeks around the lake. Although this is a sound we often hear during the hunting season, it turns out this is not the sound of gunfire at all. One of the machines used by the paving crew has a tendency to backfire when started and it is the source of the alarming noise. Although there is the odd bang and the deep rumble of the rolling machines, we have already noticed a significant reduction in the noise of highway traffic since the first layer of new pavement was laid. Gone is the thumpety-thump noise of the tires hitting the cracks which made the highway sound more like a railway track.
Cycling the Cariboo
While sitting in the paving line-up last week, a neighbour met a European tourist on a bicycle with an amazing story of physical fitness. It seems on that day, she had cycled from Clearwater, up the 10 km long Little Fort Hill and had her sights set on 70 Mile House that same evening! She claims to travel 60 miles or 100 kilometers on a typical day. Now that is an active lifestyle.
Registration deadline
Today, Sept. 3, is the last day to register if you are a non-resident voter for the Sept. 6 referendum on the Interlakes Fire Service. Registration certificates can be obtained through faxing rather than travelling to Williams Lake as indicated in the advertisements. Call the Cariboo Regional District for more information at 1-800-665-1636.
Family reunion
The Birch Lake Reunion, advertised on multiple signs along the highway for the Aug. 24 weekend, turned out to be a private family affair which was held at the Birch Lake Fishing Camp. Residents report that the multiple families utilized “all the camping spots and them some”, and enjoyed the good weather.
Beaver is busy
If anyone was wondering, at least one beaver is thriving on Lac des Roches. In July, we had to wrap wire mesh around our remaining willow and alder trees along the shore to maintain some foliage. Last week, a neighbour reported that he had lost about 30 trees and the water is now cluttered with willow and alder branches, stripped of most of their leaves. Apparently not all of the over-development in the sensitive riparian buffer strip along the shoreline is caused by humans after all.
Friends host AGM
Friends of Lac des Roches and Birch Lake held their social and annual general meeting on Aug. 27 at the Bridge Lake Community School. In addition to various annual reports of their lake stewardship activities, the group presented their first draft of an Optimum Land Use Plan resulting from months of research. Since Lac des Roches straddles the boundary between the Cariboo and Thompson-Nicola Regional Districts, they are contributing to two Official Community Plans that cover their community.