To the seasons of life
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The Nicola Valley Institute of Technology is in Merritt BC Canada and has a Campus in Burnaby BC as well . Its roots are in Merritt with a Grand Chief Gordon Antoine who had a vision to educate his people in a way that would keep their culture.
The school is for the First Nation in Canada and has a policy of admiting others as well.
There is an element of North American Indian Culture in all the courses and it promotes the Thompson and Okanagan language. A confirmed source says that he took a 2 year college university transfer credit in biology, a 4.5 course from a PHD instructor and for a cultural investment of a day also had instruction from some native elders in traditional plant usage including making a pine needle baskets and string from Indian Hemp.
The perseverance of the founders came after the school had been located in store fronts at a distress rental time of the resource community of Merritt . Showing them self serious they eventually got a multi million dollar building that is able to expand to about twice its size .Small in the stature of many universities and colleges; the effort is unique to the way that natives can pursue education. The institution can give credit’s up to an associate degree. It often has agreements to grant Bachelor of Social Work Workers from chartered universities and colleges such as TRU. Many graduates find work in their own aboriginal communities after completing their degrees. It is also culturally enriching to take Native studies and English courses that include another culture then your own. However the bulk of their student s come from the First Nations Community.
A source estimates that there are about 1200 students between the two campus’ and that most of them are Aboriginal. The source also says that the new crime bill is a step backward for the aboriginal community that although having a about four percent of the national population they have a huge, out of proportion population in jails in Canada.
NVIT has a number of trades and technical courses offered from time to time. As well as law enforcement pre seletion courses. The school encourages student democracy and civil harmony.
Accomidateing the local issues of first nations peoples in Canada.
http://www.nvit.ca/programsandcourses.htm?RD=1
Today in History December 14th,1994
Construction begins on the Three gorges dam in China.
Today in History, December 14, 1903
The Wright brothers make first attempt to fly the Kitty Hawk.
Lots of no trespass signs about and some on old hydro meters. Dell from Coopers says they were by and changed his. Some people say they don”t want them because of health issues. Other say they wanted a choice for no wireless connection. The fact is they are being installed and adds in the papers are asking for clear access.
The hydro has worked since it was nationalized in BC as a monopoly and as socialism goes it was considered draconian. However the lower rates we are supposed to get from the monopoly are supportive of the vision of Canada being a mixed economy. As a Non profit crown corporation it is not allowed to have retained earnings and must lower rates for efficiencies it gets. Still you have to watch that the government does not raid it for revenues like raising water licence fees, to accommodate good water levels for the utility.
The off-peak time dynamic will be the next issue us consumers will be watching as we still want it to be an under girding of our economy and not go to profits.
BC Hydro has the rights to all water in the province for generation purposes and a lot of power. When good snow packs occur the next year should see rate reductions, as they have in the past.
The lines and poles are public property and that always raises an issue when they talk about co generation ; recently the utility has replaced a lot of poles and is working to have a third 500 KV line to the lower mainland from the interior.
Today in history December 13 ,2003
Saddam Hussein is captured in Iraq. ( The Ace of Spades)
The Japanese needed security and provoked the second world war for fill. Yes fill, the crafty fellows thought that the world would respond by firing artillery shells into the island nation, plugging holes and filling cracks so that they had land to live and grow on. That has to be true as when the game went atomic the war was over because no more fill.It’s a long, long way to paradise from spirit bay….
If the Japanese can make it to Vancouver they can fly for about a thousand dollars to New Zealand via commercial air carrier .
Note there are poisonous sea snakes in the ocean off New Zealand .
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There are some significant activities this week in Merritt, tonite the Alexander the Great Seminar continues at the library, presenter al Horne and his wife coördinate the slides and the talk.An Academic venture,in progress as the credits for photos of antiquity are yet to be published.
The Nicola Naturalists also have and AGM tonight at 7 o’clock at NVIT about 3 kilometers from the 6-8 presentation at the library.
There is also a member picture presentation after the expected brief business meeting.
Last evening there was an eco health forum that featured such speakers ad Scotty Holmes the chief o the Upper Nicola Indian band and others including representation from the Community round table at evening it was sparsely attended and coming to a conclusion in its second day of presentations and discussions.
Today in history, October 20th 1973
The Sydney Opera House opens.
Fall Golf : file photo KDG
The weather is great here in Merritt and the colour of fall makes a visual feast.
The Nicola Valley Golf and Country Club makes allowances for weather to being open during the declining fall. There are many glorious days to golf each fall .
Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. The US National Weather Service defines this as weather conditions that are sunny and clear with above normal temperatures, occurring late-September to mid-November. It is usually described as occurring after a killing frost. source Wikipedia
On this Day: September 28th 1924
The first around the world flight accomplished. See more
Editors Note: The local Naturalists club is having there AGM tonight at & NVIT lecture theater, top of the hill Belshaw avenue in Merritt., After golf you could have a good feeling of natural community by supporting their Club; or go to their Site local naturalists take out a membership. Meetings are most times the 3rd Thursdays during the fall, winter and spring. KDG
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A small job fair was held at the campus of NVIT on monday, Teck the mining giant that runs the Highland Valley Copper Mine was there . A representative said they would be hiring around the middle of December. A training company/ society for people who would work on the hydro site at Revelstoke and Mica also had a booth, as did the Community Futures Society for the first nations of the Thompson Nicola.
A rep from Western Bio Energy of Richmond BC for their proposed hydro co-gen plant was giving out information. Fred Scott was saying that when the project is approved for permits it will have a strong contact with hydro that prohibits fuel being used that is not green wood waste ie railway ties. The boiler is only capable of taking 1900 degrees and toxins must be burned at higher temperatures \(legally).
There is one toxic waste facility in the province it is in the lower mainland. This project is strictly green and for hydro co gen to the public utility BC Hydro.The plant would be on the Tolko mill site here in Merritt, the company plans public consultations in the next 5 months to accommodate their permitting process.
The VP of business development Fred M. Scott said that it was not to be confused with a proposal that failed 8 years ago which included medical waste. We say that a proposal of some decades ago that generated a ground swell of protest should not be mitigated by this corporate goodwill to ward green coming from the proposal and BC Hydro.That one was for toxic waste and the interest went to a plant in Swan Hills Alberta after being soundly rejected.That proposal was encouraged by then Mayor H.P.Kroeker and his administration that included an economic development officer that was a former used car sales rep. Kroeker still sits as a counselor here after some years as a justice of the peace and after a failed Mayoralty reelection bid.
The job fair was aimed at young people and training opportunities in the resource sector. Nadine Israel, represented BCAMTA as a coach. That organisation is the Aboriginal Mine Training association. www.bcamta.ca
Today in history, August 16 1989
Solar activities interfere with electronics ceasing trading on the TSX.
Hey Merit what do you say?
Kevin Griffiths
percypaschal
The Proprietor Review 