Murphy Shewchuck is a freelance writer photographer. He is from Merritt BC and has published a number of books on the area and trails. he is going to present on his recent trip to the sub arctic on Thursday February 19th. The Nicola Naturalist Society meets monthly during the winter at he Local College NVIT, presentations start at 7PM in the lecture theater and finish at 9PM. The Society is chaired by Alan Burger from U Victoria and the society is a member of the BC Naturalists in good standing. The Nicola naturalists have been involved in trying to apologise the recent flap on bio solids in the Sunshine Valley area of Merritt. Murphy presentation is titled Driving the Dempster. The Society says all are welcome membership or donation requested. http://www.nicolanaturlists.com On this day: February 11 1978 China loosens up censorship on literature
Category: -Photography
The price of a liter of regular gasoline is at 95 cents a liter down another cent since last week. The driving season that usually starts in May will be interesting to see as if gasoline continues its decline through it we can attribute habits as being entrenched to some degree.
On this day: February 3rd 1947
Snag Yukon records the coldest North American temperture of 83 degrees F or 63.9 c.
A pole waits to be installed at the edge of the Extra foods parking lot,Merritt BC to bring co-gen power to the Highland valley.
Photo KDG
Merritt is in the middle of a co generation green energy project that is licensed by them and uses the transmission lines the they operate and maintain.A wood waste burner is being built to take 130 KV of power to the Highland Valley from the plant through a revamped Merritt substation that also gets power from other hydro sources.
On this day: February 4rth 2004
The social media site Facebook is created.
book sale,
file photo KDG
The local public library is going to have a book sale. The sale will be in the first week in March and will have 10,000 items of withdrawn or donated materials.
Coupons for one free item per visit will be seeing a return.
Mark your calendar to be part of this access to literacy event….
On this Day: January 29th 1936
The first inductees to the Baseball Hall Of Fame is announced.
Lunar halo Merritt BC
Jan 26/15
Photo KDG
Monday evening saw a lunar halo ( ring around the moon), the effect was noticed just before 9 PM in a clear sky. The moon was not full however a very pronounced double circle including a outer blue was a matter of beauty and wonder.
While stargazing, have you ever noticed a large circular band of light surrounding the moon? If so, you have seen a lunar halo.
A lunar halo is caused by the refraction, reflection, and dispersion of light through ice particles suspended within thin, wispy, high altitude cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. As light passes through these hexagon-shaped ice crystals, it is bent at a 22 degree angle, creating a halo 22 degrees in radius (or 44 degrees in diameter). A double halo, sometimes with spokes, may be seen on rare occasions when light reflects off water or ice.
The prism effect of light passing through these six-sided ice crystals separates the light into its various colors, resulting in a halo tinged with very pale rainbow colors with red on the inside and blue on the outside. The phenomenon of a lunar halo is similar to a rainbow produced by sunlight and rain falling between your eye and the sun.
Weather lore says a lunar halo is the precursor of impending unsettled weather, especially during the winter months. This is often proved true, as cirrus and cirrostratus clouds generally precede rain and storm systems.
Lunar halos are, in fact, actually fairly common. So watch the night sky — and keep the umbrella handy. Source the staff at Farmers Almanac. http://farmersalmanac.com/astronomy/2009/08/17/ring-around-the-moon/
Two stars were noticeably colored when seen through the lens of a 50 power binocular.
On this day: January 28th 1754
The word Serenpipity is coined in a letter to Horace Man from Horace Walpole.
A demonstrator outside the public meeting for the information of waste dumping in the Sunshine valley
Photo KDG
Monday saw the Merritt Civic center with about 200 people listen to speakers talk of the Bio solids being dumped a the 300 acre Dry lake site in the Sunshine Valley area of Merritt. A trucking company has two five-year contracts to dump Class A and B bio solids from two municipality including Abbotsford in the lower mainland. The business has the use of a public access forestry road to the area that they improved from a four-wheel drive access to haulage truck.
An unincorporated association called Friends of the Nicola Valley ( a face book group) were on hand in an information room with information and a petition against the activity. The group says they have a lawyer to see to their interests. The biggest concerns were smell , the effect on property values and future demand for more such land.
The municipalities involved are not part of the local regional district and appear to have come in under the radar with the only regulatory obligation being to given notice to the environment ministry.
On this day: January 27th 1973
The Paris accord ends the American war in South East Asia.
The Nicola Valley Film Society is having the international film Like father like Son for their February meeting. The film will be shown in the NVIT lecture Theater at 7 pm on February 16th 2015. The film rated G was the winner of the jury award at the Cannes Festival. No food or drink in the lecture theater.
On this day, January 22 1990:
People are talking of the end of Target stores here in Canada. Target came into Canada two years ago to take over the Zellers Store chain. Zellers inc had previously taken over the 300 stores of the oldest company in the world, the Canadian based Hudson’s Bay Company.
The 130 odd stores that target had when it failed are being protected from seizures by Bankruptcy.
Another Dollar store has been built in Merritt, and sources say may be opening soon.
Today in history:January 16th 1970
Buckminister Fuller gets the gold medal from the Institute of American Architects.
A driver for Jim Lamb Contracting from Kamloops says that he is hauling logs from Peter Hope Lake to the local to Tolko’s mill here in Merritt.The routing is on highway 5A, Aka the old Kamloops road. He says he makes three loads a day and when asked about breakup something that could last three months at one time he said ” we don”t know”. The driver affirmed that he can not make money with the 70 % axle restriction on the highway. He makes three trips a day now from the popular recreational area north east of Merritt, just past stump lake :http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/explore/high_country/merritt/peterhop.htm.
A colder winter may effect the length of restrictions on the highway when frost comes out of the ground.
Tolko industries is having a green wood waste burner built beside its operation in Merritt. The burner will co generate power into the BC Hydro grid.
Today in history:January 14th 2005
The Huygens probe lands on Saturn’s moon Titan.
The local public library is giving an alternative for fines, a new designation known as a convenience fee. They have a few suggestions for the use of the fee when your library item is late:
I had two chapters to finish fee.
I was having a breaking bad weekend and didn’t want to interrupt it fee.
The mother in law was coming and I took three days to clean up fee.
Woke up at three am and remembered my book but didn’t want to drive in my pj’s fee.
My cat hid the gook under my bed fee .
I went hiking and wound up on Gilligans Island fee
It was my spouses fault fee X 2
The library located at 1691 Garcia street in Merritt is a member of the Thompson Nicola Regional District system and has corporate borrowing from all member libraries.
Convenience fees are 10 cents a day for books and magazines, 25 cents PD for DVDs and one dollar PD for quick reads and quick views.
Get those books back…. you can not renew a book that has a hold on it.
Today in history: January 13th 1968
Johnny Cash sings at Folsom prison.
The price of regular gasoline here in Merritt has dropped to 99.9 cents per liter. This is the first time in a several years that the price has been under a dollar , once it dropped to 77.9 and briefly stayed before climbing back to the well over the dollar a liter level.
Today in History:January 9th 1839
The French Academy of Sciences announce the development of Daguerreotype photography.
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