Category: Social Activism


Trans Mountain pipeline the operator for Kinder Morgan and its pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby BC has a proposal for a twinning of the line. the line will bring tar snads crude to an ocean port facility.They operate existing lines in Provincal parks, and this fall intend to submit an application for a temporary relaxation of Park ruiles while construction occurs.

Trans Mountain Pipeline has submitted a draft Stage 2 Boundary Adjustment Detailed Proposal to the Province of BC for review. If approved, the Boundary Adjustment would result in the removal of land required for the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion right-of-way (RoW) from the provincial park or protected area for the period of construction and until restoration is complete. If the lands required for the Project are removed from the Finn Creek, North Thompson River and Bridal Veil Provincial Parks, the Ministry of Environment may seek government approval to establish those lands as a protected area under the Environment and Land Use Act to allow the Minister of Environment to continue to manage those areas.

Following completion of Project construction, the lands removed from the parks through the boundary adjustment may be returned to park or protected area status with operations authorized under a park use permit.

Four BC parks and protected areas are addressed in Trans Mountain’s Boundary Adjustment Application. BC Parks will review the application and make a decision about each location separately. Public comments are an important consideration for BC Parks in considering any boundary amendment proposal. Detailed information and maps for each location are available below.

Trans Mountain Pipeline intends to submit an application in the fall of 2014 for a resources use permit (RUP) to authorize the construction of the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion through Coquihalla Summit Recreation Area. The RUP application will include a similar degree of assessment as the four parks and protected areas.

If approved, implementation of the temporary boundary adjustment and RUP will be subject to the National Energy Board’s approval of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

The existing Trans Mountain pipeline traverses an additional three provincial parks that are NOT impacted by the proposed Trans Mountain Expansion Project. These parks are Coldwater River Provincial Park, Coquihalla River Provincial Park and Rearguard Falls Provincial Park.

http://www.transmountain.com/bc-parks-application?utm_source=Trans+Mountain+Today+October+9+2014&utm_campaign=TM+Today+10%2F09%2F14&utm_medium=email

The RUP application has a local effect on users of the Coquihalla highway, and visitor s to Merritt BC Canada, open comments are closed with BC parks , comments to your local MLA are always relevant at any time.
BC Parks operations are considerably less stringent then a national park, like the one proposed for the South Okanagan Similkimeen. http://action.sumofus.org/a/bc-parks-open-oil-gas-mining/?sub=fb
SOSnationalpark.com
Doreen Collins spoke to the Nicola Naturalists Thursday the 16th and outlined the need to get the province back on board for the National park proposal,” the MLA is blocking support do to a hunters lobby”. The SOS brochure outlines a phasing out of hunting, ATVs and industrial activities such as minerals and oil.
The Nicola Naturalists are a four year old Non profit, president Alan Burger U vic.
You do the math!

Today in history: October 21st 2013
Record smog levels closes public facilities in Harbin China.

Nicola Naturalist Society

The local Naturalists had there AGM on September 18th, they reported 63 members after its 4th Year of operation. they have a schedule of monthly meetings in the non summer part of what they do. Speakers included Bruce Archibald ( Fossils of the BC interior),Richard Doucette, ( mine reclamation) Barbara Pryce ( nature conservancy of Canada) and they reported others. The group had outings over the year including the Christmas bird count, Spius Creek Hatchery, and many frogging outings. They had two nature presentation in elementary schools by members. They report their website as having 5 50 visits on average per month, http://www.nicolanaturalists.ca/ .They report a healthy balance sheet with a three fold increase in income over last year to $14,119.11 after paying $11,259.62 in expenses they had a net income of 2,859.49. The club has a balance of $6,936.02 in cash and $4,310.26 in assets, with outstanding liabilities of 75 dollars in cheques to clear, and 1500 dollars in liability to BC nature. they report 15 dollars in petty cash reserve. Directors for 2014/15: Alan Burger Norm Hanson D. Kerridge Anne Pang Chris Lepsol Margret Carlson

The next meeting is on October 16th 2014 with Doreen Olson on the Similkameen Natural park proposal, the presentation starts at 7:00 in the NVIT Lecture Theater

Today in history, October 8th 1904 The Canadian City of Edmonton Alberta is incorporated.

The local fire men were in front of the downtown community policing office with an information table on Monday. They were promoting National Fire Prevention week. One of the fire fighters when asked about a national statistic said that 50 percent of people who die in fires did not have a smoke detector. He said that people should have them and make sure they are in working condition.The young man thought that the average live of a smoke detector is 10 years; ” they don”t always chirp when that batteries are low” he cautioned.

The man in response to the question are fires in beds and couches are caused by smoking he replied< "they are down as less people smoke" National Fire Protection Week is coordinated between Canada and the US and always occurs in the week that October 9th is in. this year it is October 5th through 11th, however it should never end.

Today in history: October 7th 1987
Jeremy Brockie, New Zealand , footballer born

Tims in tents

The local coffee watering hole Tim Hortons has two large tents in its parking lot. The Barista at the Starbucks across the highway says that they are to be there for 6 weeks while Tims undergoes a renovation. The drive through is going to be open for the renovation however tents are there to accommodate sit down patrons.
Weather or not this is a global warming support remains to be seen, the schedule puts it into the second week of November and a time that we here at 2000 feet above sea level get our first snow.

 

Today in history: September 30th 1955

Movie star James Dean dies in a road accident at the age of 24.

 

Run for research…

The Terry Fox run was held on Sunday, Rich Hodgson from the local Rotary club was at a way point to make sure that participants had what they needed. We counted 61 walk, run, jog, push persons at the way station. The oldest in his eighties the youngest in baby carriages.

Terrance Stanley “Terry” Fox CC OD (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi), and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world’s largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$600 million has been raised in his name.[1]

Fox was a distance runner and basketball player for his Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, high school and Simon Fraser University. His right leg was amputated in 1977 after he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, though he continued to run using an artificial leg. He also played wheelchair basketball in Vancouver, winning three national championships.

In 1980, he began the Marathon of Hope, a cross-country run to raise money for cancer research. He hoped to raise one dollar for each of Canada’s 24 million people. He began with little fanfare from St. John’s, Newfoundland in April and ran the equivalent of a full marathon every day. Fox had become a national star by the time he reached Ontario; he made numerous public appearances with businessmen, athletes, and politicians in his efforts to raise money. He was forced to end his run outside of Thunder Bay when the cancer spread to his lungs. His hopes of overcoming the disease and completing his marathon ended when he died nine months later.

He was the youngest person ever named a Companion of the Order of Canada. He won the 1980 Lou Marsh Award as the nation’s top sportsman and was named Canada’s Newsmaker of the Year in both 1980 and 1981. Considered a national hero, he has had many buildings, roads and parks named in his honour across the country. source Wikipedia /b-quote

Today in history: September 17th 1908

The Wright flyer aircraft crashes killing the first air traveler Lt.Thomas Selfridge

Elvis is remembered

A leaded glass craft of Elvis appears in a down town shop. Photo KDG

A leaded glass craft of the king appears in a down town display.
File Photo KDG

Today in history: September 9th 1956
Elvis Presley appears on the Ed Sullivan Show

The local community college NVIT, Nicola Valley Institute of Technology has its welcoming to new students this week. The school has a new sign ,bilingual in English and the local first nations language. The sign says welcome to our territory, its a new sign probably made since the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision saying that limited title to first people’s traditional land still exists were treaties have not been negotiated. Language groups are often associated with land and territory and it has been a comfort for defining people s for ever but it is also been trouble when conflict arrises.
Language and territory has also been a method of separating people and controlling populations under rulers. In this modern age of interaction between populations we hope that this new context leads to better working out of where identity issues lie, commercial interests and access to the world for all people’s not just those that control lands, commerce, and ideas exist.
In reality the Canadian government still has a lot of say in how its citizens act particularly First Nations through the Indian act and charter section 15, the exemption to deals with poverty.
Its time to leave our identities alone and think in terms of mutual respect for all persons.
Today in history: September 5th 1961
The first conference of nonaligned countries is held in Belgrade.

The Railway Man

Monday, September 15th 2014 sees the return of the Nicola Valley Theater Society Season. They are presenting Railway Man rated 14A it starts at 7 PM a change over last year at the community college lecture theater. The society is part of TIFF the Toronto International Film Circuit and shows 6 monthly films a year. Membership is required, a 2 dollar season membership is available at the door. Five dollar admission,no food in the lecture theater. Season ticket holders must come early to ensure admission.
The Railway man features Academy award-winning stars Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman.

Colin Andrew Firth CBE (born 10 September 1960) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. His films have earned more than $3 billion from 42 releases worldwide.[1] He has received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as the Volpi Cup. His most notable and acclaimed role to date has been his 2010 portrayal of King George VI in The King’s Speech, a performance that gained him an Oscar and many other worldwide best actor awards. It went on to gross $414,211,549 worldwide.[2]

Identified in the late 1980s with the ‘Brit Pack’ of new young British actors headed by Gary Oldman, Firth’s rise to stardom progressed at a slower pace than many of his contemporaries. It was not until his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that Firth became a household name. The show was a hit in the UK and USA and established him as a marquee talent. This led to roles in films such as The English Patient, Bridget Jones’s Diary (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA), Shakespeare in Love and Love Actually. In 2009 he received widespread critical acclaim for his leading role in A Single Man, for which Firth gained his first Academy Award nomination, and won a BAFTA Award.

In 2011, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was also selected as one of the Time 100.[3] He was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Winchester in 2007, and was made a Freeman of the City of London in 2012. Firth has campaigned for the rights of indigenous tribal peoples and is a member of Survival International. He has also campaigned on issues of asylum seekers and refugees’ rights and the environment. Firth commissioned and is credited as a co-author on a scientific paper on a study into the differences in brain structure between people of differing political orientations
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC (born 20 June 1967[2]) is an Australian actress, singer[3][4] and film producer.[5] Kidman’s breakthrough film role was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm. Following several films in the early 1990s, she came to worldwide recognition for her performances in Days of Thunder (1990), Far and Away (1992), and Batman Forever (1995). She followed these with other successful films in the late 1990s. Her performance in the musical Moulin Rouge! (2001) earned her second Golden Globe Award and first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Her performance as Virginia Woolf in the drama film The Hours (2002) received critical acclaim and earned Kidman the Academy Award for Best Actress and Silver Bear for Best Actress at Berlin film festival. source Wikipedia

Today in history: September 4th 1888
George Eastman registers his Kodak trademark.

Speed limits

Hurray up and wait, there is pressure on speed limits to go up in the province, the province paper is reporting that school zones are going from 30 KM to %0 KM per hour in some places. The Coquihalla highway in BC has just had its maximum limit go from 110 to 120 KMs per hour, this is on par with divide freeways elsewhere we are told. modern vehicles and road construction particularly freeways do lend themselves to faster speeds. However there are still some wreaks on the roads and some drivers that may be a problem.
Decades ago the united states brought in a nation wide 55 miles per hr to combat fuel shortage that seems to have gone by the boards. Perhaps Electric vehicles and hybrids are pushing the issue. We say drive at a speed that is safe for the conditions at all time.

Today in history: September 3rd 1997

A Vietnamese air liner , a Russian built Tu-134 crash’s on approach to the airstrip at Phnom Pen, resulting in 64 deaths.

Old age/ holiday

Have a great weekend, we are on holidays, for a week, please enjoy the day in history untill we return.

Have a great day, we are on holidays, for a week, please enjoy the day in history untill we return.

Today in history: August 14th 1935
Old age security is created in the United States.

Solar power

The summer is about half over here and we have enjoyed a lot of sunshine this year, makes you think about the source of energy and its value to our life. Some European countries have embraced alternate energy generation in a big way now BC Hydro is going ahead with project of some scale. The project is being planned for the old Kimberly mine site in the Kootney region of British Columbia. the mine area produced a lot of the lead that was in gasoline decades ago now it is being offered redemption to say.

Kimberley, B.C., will be home to largest solar project west of Ontario

With more than 300 days of sunshine each year, it’s no surprise that the City of Kimberley in the B.C. Rockies has its sights set on solar power.

Today, the city is an alpine ski resort with world-class recreation. But it wasn’t always known for its breathtaking mountain views; for much of its history, Kimberley was a major mining town. The Sullivan Mine, owned by Teck, was once Canada’s largest underground mine within city limits, and one of the largest lead-zinc mines in the world.

But by January 2015, the former Sullivan Mine site will house more than 4,000 solar-cell modules, as the home of SunMine, the largest solar project in western Canada, and the first one to have an electricity purchase agreement with BC Hydro.

Vancouver-based non-profit organization EcoSmart Foundation led the initiative to transform this historic part of Kimberley into a solar farm. EcoSmart partnered with the City of Kimberley, which owns the project, and Teck, which contributed $2 million in funding and offered the former mine site, to develop SunMine. The project was made possible in part thanks to the ability to sell the clean energy generated back to BC Hydro.

source BC hydro for generations.

Today in history: August 07 2007
Barry Bonds sets an all time hitting record of 756 home runs:

Electric SUV

A Tesla S, 85 charges up at Merritt, with an adapter to a DC 500 Volt 120 amp Quick charger, Aug /14 Photo KDG

A Tesla S, 85 charges up at Merritt, with an adapter to a DC 500 Volt 120 amp quick charger, Aug /14
Photo KDG

Randy a person that works for Tesla motors in Vancouver says that there is an SUV edition of the fully electric car coming out next year. Even with out a proto type he says that there are 20,000 advanced orders.
Randy spoke to us while charging his Tesla model 85 400 kilometer EV at the Sun Country charger on Voght street in Merritt on Monday ( BC Day)
http://www.teslamotors.com/modelx
Tesla model X can be, can be pre-ordered for fall 2015 delivery, by risk takers and early opted enthusiasts. Tesla has a better then average track record for reliability with their Roadster ( out of production) and Model S. Third row seating, and falcon wing doors combined with the full EV package make for an interesting and attention getting car.
Today in history: August 5th 1960
Burkina Faso , known as Upper Volta becomes independent from France