2021 Year in Review

(Twitter/BC Conservation Officer Service)

Otter with a toothache, cougar in a pink collar top most ‘unique’ calls for BC COS in 2021

Conservation Officers handle 30,000 calls per year on average

 

Surrey-raised pro wrestler John “Earthquake” Tenta made a name for himself on the WWF circuit (now WWE) in the early 1990s. (contributed photo)

Favourite Black Press Media stories of 2021, chosen by our journalists

Our editorial staff share their favourite stories from the year across our 80 local publications

 

Nine-year-old Emily Loewen at Vedder Park on July 11, 2021 after raising hundreds of dollars from a group of motorcycle riders for Lytton wildfire victims with her lemonade stand. (Darcy Loewen photo)

Cats, grandmas and twins: Here are 7 B.C. stories that brightened 2021

2021 wasn’t the year that most hoped for but there were glimmers of joy nonetheless

 

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 15 this year, 40,333 babies were born in the province. (Pixabay photo)

B.C.’s top baby names of 2021 revealed

Olivia and Liam are the most popular baby names once again

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 15 this year, 40,333 babies were born in the province. (Pixabay photo)
FILE - Fashion designer Virgil Abloh gives a thumbs up after the presentation of Off-White Men's Spring-Summer 2019 collection presented in Paris, Wednesday June 20, 2018. Abloh, a leading fashion executive hailed as the Karl Lagerfeld of his generation, died Nov. 28, 2021, after a private battle with cancer. He was 41. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

Final Goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2021

They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over…

FILE - Fashion designer Virgil Abloh gives a thumbs up after the presentation of Off-White Men's Spring-Summer 2019 collection presented in Paris, Wednesday June 20, 2018. Abloh, a leading fashion executive hailed as the Karl Lagerfeld of his generation, died Nov. 28, 2021, after a private battle with cancer. He was 41. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
A storm that rocked the Kootenay Lake ferry was captured by one of its employees. Photo: Dirk Jonker

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW: The Star’s most-read stories

Here’s the stories you connected with this year

A storm that rocked the Kootenay Lake ferry was captured by one of its employees. Photo: Dirk Jonker
UBC Forestry professor Suzanne Simard, who lives in Nelson, was one of the most interesting people we interviewed this year. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW: Nelson’s most interesting people of the year

Here are the people we could spend all day talking to

UBC Forestry professor Suzanne Simard, who lives in Nelson, was one of the most interesting people we interviewed this year. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
L-R: Duke Finley, Tyee Finley, Torrence Finley, Lori Desautel and Madeline Desautel hope up elk antlers at dawn in Washington State before the Supreme Court of Canada made its landmark ruling in favour of the Sinixt. Photo: Shelly Boyd

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW: Sinixt win recognition by Supreme Court of Canada

Richard Desautel won his hunting rights case at Canada’s highest court

L-R: Duke Finley, Tyee Finley, Torrence Finley, Lori Desautel and Madeline Desautel hope up elk antlers at dawn in Washington State before the Supreme Court of Canada made its landmark ruling in favour of the Sinixt. Photo: Shelly Boyd
A child’s dress is seen on a cross outside a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., Sunday, June 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Finding unmarked graves put spotlight on reconciliation in 2021

‘It’s important to remind Canadians (not to) let reconciliation become a performance’

A child’s dress is seen on a cross outside a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., Sunday, June 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Governor General Mary Simon speaks during the Presentation of Canadian Honours at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.The governor general said Canadians can be hopeful as they ring in the new year, despite the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Canadians have shown resilience, compassion and adaptability in 2021: Governor General

Mary Simon says Canadians have inspired her to continue to work and find better ways to help communities thrive

Governor General Mary Simon speaks during the Presentation of Canadian Honours at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.The governor general said Canadians can be hopeful as they ring in the new year, despite the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The Supreme Court of Canada. Photo: Supreme Court of Canada photo gallery

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW: Supreme Court of Canada hears Nelson snowbank case

Taryn Marchi won a stunning decision against the city

The Supreme Court of Canada. Photo: Supreme Court of Canada photo gallery
L-R, Peter de Groot’s sisters Danna de Groot, Shannon de Groot, and Michelle de Groot, with father Peter de Groot, brother Miles de Groot and sister Kristen de Groot, at the courthouse in Nelson in October for the inquest into the death of Peter de Groot in 2014 near Slocan. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW: Inquest into death of Peter de Groot held in Nelson

High-profile case hearing focused on RCMP behaviour and practices

L-R, Peter de Groot’s sisters Danna de Groot, Shannon de Groot, and Michelle de Groot, with father Peter de Groot, brother Miles de Groot and sister Kristen de Groot, at the courthouse in Nelson in October for the inquest into the death of Peter de Groot in 2014 near Slocan. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
Videos from throughout 2021 capture readers’ top animal encounters. (Black Press Media file photos)

Top animal videos from B.C.’s Vancouver Island in 2021

Look back at a year of adorable, breathtaking and unusual footage

Videos from throughout 2021 capture readers’ top animal encounters. (Black Press Media file photos)
The ribbon was cut on Herridge Place during a ceremony in September. L-R: Columbia Basin Trust board chair Jocelyn Carver, Mayor John Dooley, Pastor Jim Reimer, Nelson-Creston MLA Brittny Anderson, and Cover Architectural Collaborative’s principal Robert Stacey. Photo: Tyler Harper

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW: Finding a home in Nelson gets a little easier

Affordable housing developments opened in the city

The ribbon was cut on Herridge Place during a ceremony in September. L-R: Columbia Basin Trust board chair Jocelyn Carver, Mayor John Dooley, Pastor Jim Reimer, Nelson-Creston MLA Brittny Anderson, and Cover Architectural Collaborative’s principal Robert Stacey. Photo: Tyler Harper
Hundreds of people gathered at the intersection of Ward and Vernon Streets in September to protest the provincial government’s vaccine passport program. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW: COVID-19 explodes in Nelson

Case counts spiked during the summer, and tensions boiled over

Hundreds of people gathered at the intersection of Ward and Vernon Streets in September to protest the provincial government’s vaccine passport program. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
The Octopus Creek wildfire seen from Edgewood on July 18, 2021. Photo: Jeannie Little The Octopus Creek wildfire seen from Edgewood on July 18, 2021. Photo: Jeannie Little

2021 YEAR IN REVIEW: Climate change hits home in Nelson

It was a year of wildfires, record-setting heat and drought

The Octopus Creek wildfire seen from Edgewood on July 18, 2021. Photo: Jeannie Little The Octopus Creek wildfire seen from Edgewood on July 18, 2021. Photo: Jeannie Little
Damian Warner, of Canada, celebrates after he won the gold medal for the decathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, in Tokyo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-David J. Phillip

Decathlete Damian Warner wins Lionel Conacher Award as CP’s male athlete of the year

He set an Olympic record and a Canadian record, and became just the 4th man to top the 9,000-point barrier

Damian Warner, of Canada, celebrates after he won the gold medal for the decathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, in Tokyo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-David J. Phillip
Former cabinet minister Kevin Falcon speaks to delegates at a B.C. Liberal leadership debate, November 2021. (B.C. Liberal Party video)

B.C. Liberals heading into 2022 with new leader, financial pressure

Party members choose from 6 candidates in early February

Former cabinet minister Kevin Falcon speaks to delegates at a B.C. Liberal leadership debate, November 2021. (B.C. Liberal Party video)
Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, returns a shot to Shelby Rogers at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, in Indian Wells, Calif. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mark J. Terrill

Tennis player Leylah Fernandez named The Canadian Press female athlete of the year

Fernandez finished the year with a 25-17 record and she earned US$1.77 million in prize money

Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, returns a shot to Shelby Rogers at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, in Indian Wells, Calif. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mark J. Terrill
Repair work at Bottletop Bridge on the Coquihalla Highway, Dec. 7, 2021. Repairs to dozens of highway sites in B.C.’s southern Interior will be ongoing through next year and beyond, at costs not yet estimated. (B.C. Ministry of Transportation photo)

B.C.’s climate plans battered by extreme weather as 2022 begins

Electric cars, forest offsets, carbon taxes don’t stop damage

Repair work at Bottletop Bridge on the Coquihalla Highway, Dec. 7, 2021. Repairs to dozens of highway sites in B.C.’s southern Interior will be ongoing through next year and beyond, at costs not yet estimated. (B.C. Ministry of Transportation photo)