Category: Arts and Culture


60 jobs gone

The people at Ardew were informed at 5 o’clock this morning  Saturday 13/13 that they were all laid off. The mill was being taken over by Aspen Planners after being acquired by them. The Ardew Mill is old tech without J bar sorter.:*

* Opinion: There will be a net job loss in that sector as Aspen Planners have two mills here before acquiring Ardew. One saw mill one planner mill .

The consolidation sees AP in control of  the Weyerhaeuser operation and the Ardew operation  , leaving one other   lumber producer here; Tolko Industries a private company that also had its start as a family business.

Other small mills include NMV and pine Ideas as specialty lumber manufacturers.

Today in history: April 15th 1923

Insulin becomes generally available for people with diabetes.

Spade foot

The local naturalists are having a presentation on the Spade foot on the 18th of April.

The northern limit of the great basin Spadefoot is the subject of the evening.

The naturalists also enjoy a presentation of members wildlife pictures before the main presentation as well.  Gerry Sanford and freelance published author Murphy Shewchuck are some of the members that regularly share unique captures at the pre presentation.

The event begins at 7:00 at the local community college lecture theater NVIT, 4155 Belshaw Avenue in Merritt.

Today in History:  April 11,1976

The apple 1 is created.

Off Voght Street in Merritt and  next to the Merritt Desert Inn is an electric car recharging station. I talked to a man recharging his car and he said his car a Tesia model S has a 500 kilometer range. He had come from Vancouver and took on 130 kilometers worth of free power from the charging station.

The man said that he spends 6 dollars a month on power for his 100 thousand dollar luxury electic car. There three models below it  with less range and according to him it takes more than over night to fully charge his car with the 110 service at home.

The car drove off with no noise and a happy driver on his way to Kamloops.

The charging station is  in the  same parking lot that the farmers market occupy starting May 18th.

A report in the Merritt Herald here said that  more stations are coming.

An update:
Another Tesia driver charging up here on 4/15/13 said his range is more like 300 KMs because of going up hill and he agreed that the return trip should have better results as that would be downhill . Merritt is 2000 feet above sea level that the coast drivers come from.

Today in History:  April 9, 1867

Alaska is purchased from the Russians by a vote of one.

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Update: 4/9/13 A reliable source at the city says that ” he has not turned the water on as yet”

TGIF

yes

yes

A weekend workshop for Yoga is going on this weekend. A Chakra Yoga workshop says that it involves personal discovery. The work shop is 30 kilometers west of Merritt  off hyway 8 ,5320 Mannning  Creek road.

Info: scottandcarol@ymail.com

 

 

Today in History: April 5, 1975

The Peoples Republic of China has its April 5th movement start that leads to the Tiananmen incident.

Beading workshop

The local community college NVIT is hosting a beading workshop at the college on April 3rd 12-2 pm . No admission charge.

Beading is considered First nations culture and it came after contact with Europeans and enhanced buckskin art.

NVIT is at 4155 Belshaw avenue in Merritt BC Ca.

Today in History: April 3,1053

Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England

Elders luncheon, Easter celebration.

There is an invitation posted to attend an elders luncheon on Thursday April forth at 12:00 PM , at the Merritt Civic Center. Elders are people over 50 years of age.
Registration starts at 9:30 am and you can rsvp at the journeys into tomorrow transition house, at 250-378-6170.
The host is the Coldwater Indian Band.

Today in history:March 26 ,1997

Thirty some bodies are found in a suicide pack with the Heavens gate cult.

New Week New Walk

With weather improving the ability to get out and walk for health and enjoyment is improving along with it Merritt has a sponsored walking trail program that sees a network of walking trails around town and connecting parks. About 5 kilometers of trails connecting parks that can be found at the link below.
Walk briskly for 20 minutes twice a week and stay fit.
http://www.merritt.ca/city-services/public-works/parks
Today in history: March 25th 1807

The slave trade is abolished in the UK by legislation.

Better streaming

The Telus techs have two trucks and a flagging crew on Voght street in Merritt today. A sources says it is splicing fiber cable. The city paid 25 thousand dollars for a new website template that allows for direct updating at their office. A source said that the last time they were here it was to enhance streaming for that application. The source said they are not sure what the splicing is for today.

Today in history: March 21,1989

Sports illustrated ties Pete Rose to baseball gambling and game fixing

5000 books: half done

The Merritt  Public library is half way through their book sale, 50 cents for paperbacks 1 dollar for  hard cover. There are books such as the 2011 Writers Market, 2012 Martins Criminal Code, Strong’s concordance and a Copy of Emily post written by her daughter Elizabeth L..  As well popular pocket books are arranged in the multi purpose room on six tables, titles include Clear and Present Danger  by Tom Clancy, The Shadow Isle, Katherine Kerr, My Sister’s Keeper,Jodi Picoult and Judas Kiss , J.T. Ellison. A full table of children’s hard cover books are also available.

Magazines are 10 cents.

The book sale goes till the 23th of March, it started on the 12th with 10,000 books withdrawn from 13 district libraries.

Imelda Marcos goes on trial in the Philippines for bribery, embezzlement and racketeering

Today in history: March 20, 1987

Williamson Sapsuckers

On Thursday the 21st of March the Nicola Naturalists will be presenting on the Williamson Sapsuker. The presentation is at the Nicola Valley Instute of Technology, at 7 PM . Membership or donations requested. They say that the:

Williamson’s Sapsucker has always been considered one of those rather rare and enigmatic birds.  With differences in the male and female plumage that are unique among all woodpeckers, it is nowhere truly abundant, and is Endangered in Canada.  The Merritt area is one of the strongholds of this species, but this local population was virtually unknown just 10 years ago, with many aspects of its biology only recently discovered.  Biologist Les Gyug of Okanagan Wildlife Consulting has been studying Williamson’s Sapsucker since 1996.  He is an engaging speaker and excellent photographer. Join Les for an informative and entertaining account of this little known species.

The presentation is in the lecture theater and no food or drink is allowed. Parking is free and the machine waved after school hours.

NVIT is at 4155 Belshaw St Merritt BC V1K 1R1

Today in History: March 14.1964

Jack Ruby is found guilty of assassinating JFK’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.

Smart dryer

This morning the Google home page is showing a caricature of a smart appliance and a calculator that says don’t panic. As the appliance spits out data. Also the hydro authority has sent out a monthly edition of their newsletter introducing the new online account and its advantages to the consumer. The ability to compare to neighbours and similar homes is one that may be appealing to those who don’t like machines that do too much.

Below is a transcript of the newsletter:

As part of the recent upgrades on bchydro.com, you’ll notice your account online is now called MyHydro. With MyHydro, you’re still able to manage your account online as you did before, but you’ll also have access to new features that give you a closer look at your electricity use. Watch the video to learn how MyHydro helps you save energy, time and money.

Take a closer look at your electricity use

By taking a deeper look at your electricity use, you can find ways to save energy and money. With MyHydro, see how your electricity use affects your bill by:

  • Viewing your electricity use down to the hour and right up until yesterday to see when you’re using the most electricity.
  • Comparing your electricity use to factors such as average outside temperature, similar homes nearby and last year’s consumption.
  • Projecting your electricity use and estimated cost for the current billing period based on your consumption patterns.
  • Putting Power Smart tips into action and signing up for automatic email alerts to check back in and stay on track with your conservation goals.

Detailed consumption data gives you the right information at the right time, and helps you identify where you can save energy to keep your bill as low as possible (watch how the Greens track their electricity use to save on their electricity costs). While many of our customers can now view and track their daily electricity use, you may be among those customers who won’t have access until later this year. Make sure to log in to MyHydro regularly to see if your account is activated.

Manage your account online to save time

A growing number of BC Hydro customers regularly use bchydro.com to manage their account online. When you log in to MyHydro, you can view your bill and payment history, select a payment method, and even start, stop or move your service. When you log in to MyHydro, you’ll find these account functions in the account services toolbox.

Log in or create a MyHydro Profile

If you’ve always managed your account online, your BC Hydro Profile is now your MyHydro Profile. Never managed your account online? Create a MyHydro Profile and link your account to get started.

It appears in the material that yours and others in similar homes power consumption will be public , and the system certainly lends itself to eventual two rate system to take advantage of off-peak usage and since there is little competion  in the monopoly, that could mean that the lower rate could be the same as now and the peak rate move up in cost. Unless this efficiency brings all hydro down.

Opinion: this is really different and appealing to techies however our time is worth something and the prudent will control this and not let it dominate their time.

Today in History: March 11,2006

Chile gets its first female president, Michelle Bachelet.