Social Activism | The Proprietor Review

Category: Social Activism

Mischief

November 18, 2014

Ponderosa soapstone, one of the artiisan products produced in his Merritt store. file Photo KDG

Ponderosa soapstone, one of the artiisan products produced in the Merritt store.
file Photo KDG

Ed Hendricks the owner of Ponderosa sports says that tonight there will be an offical of the local RCMP office on CBC saying that cutting locks on gates to ranch land is considered mischief. The broadcast is at 6:PM according to Hendricks. Ed is an advocate of access to lakes as it affects his interests in recreation and fishing access. He and others have published a brochure that shows a number of lakes the public have lost access to. The brochure is at his Merritt Sport shop on Voght Street downtown Merritt.

Editors note:

Locked gates can be an indication of a drive that is private and there is no right of way to anyone other then the land owner and their associates.

The Forestry and lands part of the government maintains many recreational sites on lakes in this area and ensures access to them for public enjoyment. The right to quiet enjoyment is also safe guarded by the government where lawful activities are carried out.

Right of way is a term used to describe “the legal right, established by usage or grant, to pass along a specific route through grounds or property belonging to another”, or “a path or thoroughfare subject to such a right”.^[1] A further definition is that it is a type of easement granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, this can be for a highway, public footpath, railway, canal, as well as electrical transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines.^[2]

As well this phrase describes “the legal right of a pedestrian, vehicle, or ship to proceed with precedence over others in a particular situation or place”,^[3] and in hiking etiquette, where when two groups of hikers meet on a steep trail, a custom has developed in some areas whereby the group moving uphill has the right of way.^[4]

The right of way may be limited. When one person owns a piece of land which is bordered on all sides by lands owned by others, a court will be obliged to grant that person a right of way.

In some countries, especially in Northern Europe, where the freedom to roam has historically taken the form of general public rights, a right of way may not be restricted to specific paths or trails. A similar right of access also exists on some public land in the United States and in Canada, Australia and New Zealand (where it is called Crown land). source Wikipedia

Merritt’s Chamber of Commerce in the past has had the theme A lake a day as long as you stay. Ed from the sport shop says that there are two roads in contention, the Raspberry and Loon lake roads, both roads received large cattle guards after the construction of the Coquihalla highway, he says they are public roads as they are both maintained by the government.Douglas Lake Cattle Company has locked the gates on them perhaps in anticipation of a decommissioning of public maintained status, Kim Robinson and a grazing rights holder still need access through them, says Hendricks. He also adds that he can see the other view points but would like the process to be more open as well as stay legal, and accountable.

We trust that Staff SGT White and SGT. Fleming will give a good accounting of the authorities duties in these situations on CBC news tonight.

Click to access DV03S%20-%20Site%20Aspen%20Grove%20-%2027-046NS%20-%20N%20on%2009-27-2006.pdf

Today in history: November 18th 2013

NASA launches its Maven probe to Mars.

Tags: fishing, Right of way

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TGIF -more capasity

Filed under: Enterprize, Social Activism by Kevin Griffiths — Leave a comment

November 7, 2014

A crane drives piles at the 200 million dollar cogen facility in Merritt BC
Photo KDG

A few years ago the provincial hydro authority wanted to add another generator to the Revelstoke Dam to fill the 4th bay of the five bay dam site, they could not get a contractor for the project so the billion dollar project went into a holding pattern. Since that time it has been resolved and that generator is on stream.

Today the hydro news letter is saying another increase in generating ability is being done on the 40 year old WAC Bennett dam on the Peace river in north eastern BC. The Gordon M. Shrum Generating Station is getting attention :

“There’s nothing else like it,” says Gammer. “There are lots of other dams and generating stations in the province, of course, but this is the biggest one we have.” Keeping GMS operational at all times is critical to maintaining provincial power reliability. That’s the thinking behind continual maintenance programs that aim to keep dam and generating station equipment in good working order. Staff work year-round to maintain the day-to-day reliability, but as with all facilities, the time comes when regular maintenance just isn’t enough. “GMS is more than 40 years old and large parts are starting to wear out and need replacement,” says Gammer. One way to think of it, he says, is to think of maintenance on your home. Good maintenance like repairing cracks, cleaning gutters and updating appliances is necessary all the time, but eventually, he says, you’re going to need to do major repairs, such as replacing your roof. “And we did that very thing at Peace Canyon.” There’s a lengthy and complex capital program underway at GMS and W.A.C. Bennett to complete these major repairs. Along with maintaining the critical reliability, these heritage facilities are benefiting from the improved technology and equipment available today. Just like you’ll get more out of a laptop manufactured today compared to a computer manufactured in the 1980’s, new equipment such as transformers and turbines perform more efficiently today compared to those installed when GMS first went into service.

Replacing transformers at GMS. Transformers increase the voltage at the station to 500,000 volts to efficiently carry electricity over long distances, and 12 of the 30 transformers at GMS have been replaced over the last five years.
Replacing five turbine runners at GMS. Through the power of falling water, the turbines rotate at 150 rpm, spinning the connected equipment in the generator to produce electricity. This multi-year project will wrap up in 2017.
Upgrading the control system for the generating station. The unit controls on all 10 generating units needs to be replaced. Work is already underway on the second unit in this multi-year project.
Rip-rap upgrade on the outside of the dam face. Large rock (rip-rap) protects the upstream face of the WAC Bennett Dam from wave erosion. The current plan is to start rip-rap replacement in the summer of 2016, after obtaining all permits and regulatory approvals.
Spillway Chute Upgrade. Upgrades and repairs are required to improve the condition of sections of the spillway, which is 680 metres long and 30 metres wide. source http://www.bchydro.com/news/conservation/2014/gm-shrum-generating-station.html?WT.mc_id=c-14-11_upgrades

Four and a half million people in BC get some power from the station and as a lot of hydro infrastructure, it needs attention, and hydro is going strong on projects about the province. Pick up trucks and crews are out and about all over here and from replacing cedar poles with pine treated poles with arsenic and copper to new 500 KV lines electricity is big stuff here. BC hydro power and authority has a legislated monopoly on every drop of water in the province for power generation and has had difficulty in recent years in licencing out some of that ability ( the run of the rivers sub licencing) and keeping the cost of that cogeneration down. A co generation project here in Merritt will see a green energy project ( burning green wood waste ) use the public electric grid to sent that recapture into the grid. But at what price we wonder. Missing here are wind turbines ( wrong kind of wind, to gusty) and solar energy capture. We are on the EV charging station grid and hope it is more then just public relations. The most successful public relations program Hydro ever had in our view was the `it works like a dam `conservation project and to the prudent it should still be in the mind of all rate payers in the province. The production of hydro power while attractive in its lack of smokestacks does not add to the nitrogen cycle as properly managed petro chemicals do. Fertilizer for crops and stirred up nutrients for food chain are important as well. Toxic substance should be removed and carbon sinks of large crop lands enhanced as well as conservation. Thrift in waste is an economic opportunity as shown in places like California in recent years.

Today in history: November 5th 2003:

Green River Killer, Gary Ridgeway pleads guilty to 48 murders.

Tags: BC Hydro

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Grey wolfs, the cows come home

Filed under: Enterprize, Environment, Fauna, Public health, Social Activism by Kevin Griffiths — Leave a comment

November 6, 2014

Local ranchers are saying that their cattle have come home from summer grazing here in Merritt BC Canada. A local rancher says he is looking forward to the cycle again that will see him put his spring calf’s born in March and April out on some good grass grazing in some meadows he has on Iron Mountain. Iron Mountain is within sight of the city and has some residences on the south east side. He says his calf’s always do well on the grass lands there. Keeping calf’s and selling them as yearlings can be profitable but timing , weight and the length of time to keep them is a risk that needs some expertise. The Local ranchers voiced concerns about the return of wolfs in this area. as ” some where seen by some naturalists on the Thompson River side of Styoma mountain” in recent years. Bruno Mailloux, of Douglas lake agrees that loss of calf’s however it happens can be a hardship on ranchers.

Wolfs in British Columbia were hunted to near extinction under a bounty system by Government, in recent years their value to the overall ecology has been reinforced by science and in particular the health of Elk heards coexisting with wolfs in Yellowstone park in the US.
Merritt has recently seen a change to feed lots for dairy cattle. The dairy cows having a two year stay in feed lots before being returned to the lower mainland to produce milk. Grass grown here for feed lots puts grazing land in high pastures at a more interesting level of use.
Today in history: November 6th 1869
In new Brunswick the first American, intercollegiate Football game New England Rutgers College defeats Princeton University.

Tags: calfs, Merritt British Columbia, ranchers, wolfs

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Aboriginal title

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Enterprize, First Nations People, Social Activism, Vegtable soup by Kevin Griffiths — Leave a comment

October 29, 2014

Aboriginal Title and the future of British Columbia, October 29th 3 pm to 5 PM:
The NVIT visiting speakers series has three guest speakers coming for a panel discussion on Aboriginal title. Dr. Rosan Danesh, Ba ,LLb, SJD is a lawyer and does conflict resolution, Douglas S. White BA, ID and former chief of the Suneymuxw First Nations near Nanaimo BC, is a graduate of the faculty of law of the University of Victoria, Matthew S. Pasco B.Administration MBA a citizen of the Nlaka’pamux Nation and a member of the Oregon Jack Creek band near Ashcroft BC.
The panel discussion will explore the meaning of the recent Supreme court decision giving title to a BC Band and some of the broader implications for First Nations,Crown governments, industry and individuals:
NVIT is at 4155 Belshaw avenue in Merritt BC , Canada.
Today in history: October 29th 1960

Cassius Clay ( later Mohammed Ali ) wins his first professional prize fight.

Tags: Aboriginal title, Business and Economy, Government, Merritt British Columbia

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BC parks open comment period closed.

Filed under: Enterprize, Environment, Politics and Politicians, Social Activism, Sports and Leisure, Technology by Kevin Griffiths — Leave a comment

October 21, 2014

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.

Tags: Kinder Morgan, Merritt British Columbia, pipelines

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Nicola Naturalist Society

Filed under: Environment, Fauna, Fish, Flora, Social Activism, Sports and Leisure by Kevin Griffiths — Leave a comment

October 8, 2014

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.

Tags: Merritt, naturalists

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Run for research…

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September 17, 2014

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

Tags: Cancer research, Fund Raiser, Terry Fox

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TGIF- friend and foe: territory

Filed under: Arts and Culture, First Nations People, Social Activism by Kevin Griffiths — Leave a comment

September 5, 2014

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.

Tags: First Nations

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The Railway Man

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Social Activism, Sports and Leisure by Kevin Griffiths — Leave a comment

September 4, 2014

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.