Twinning TransCanada, downtown enhancement key issues as Chase welcomes new mayor and council

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Lepsoe, who won the three-way mayoral race with nearly 54 per cent of the vote, wants to bring about more of the village’s history.

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“Being a historian, that’s kind of where I want ahead. We’re going to do a 100-year anniversary [in 2024] of when the mill closed — the Adams River Lumber Company,” he said. “That’s what formed the town in 1908. We had a mill in the area.”

Interfor’s Adams Lake operation is the No. 1 employer of residents in Chase.

For incoming councillor Jane Herman, there were a number of issues people raised during the campaign.

“In my campaigning, I heard a lot of people talk about downtown revitalization or enhancement of our downtown, roads, paving, just generally getting Chase up on the map and marketing it a bit, and getting people to come and enjoy our town.”

New Chase mayor David Lepsoe (left) and new councillor Jane Herman (Image Credit: CFJC Today

Chase has grown five per cent from the 2016 census with 113 people moving to the community. Herman and Lepsoe both noticed the number of new, young families in the village while campaigning.

“I was amazed at how many young people are moving here,” said Lepsoe, who was a Chase councillor for 10 years before losing the 2018 mayoral race by 11 votes to Rod Crowe. “People are tired of the rush, rush, rush at the coast, so they’re moving here. They sell their houses there and they buy here and they’ve got $1 million in their pocket, and a lot of tradesmen. They can find work anywhere.”

Herman added, “It was really exciting to see when you knocked on a door and there were younger people with families and young couples that had just moved from the Lower Mainland. One maybe working from home and the other looking for work in our area. It really made me hopefully for our future.”

Herman also noted she’s hoping to help improve the Internet coverage and cellphone service for the community, which she says is poor at times.

“That’s something we need to look at for sure to entice families to come here, and if people want to work from home they need good cellphone and Internet coverage.”