Category: Sports and Leisure


TGIF-New Picnic Table

Green EV charger Photo KDG

Green EV charger
Photo KDG

There Is a new table at the parking arena parking lot on Voght Street. The round four seat-er appeared last week and is on a concrete platform under the maple trees that make the area so attractive for the Farmers market in the summer time.
It is also 25 feet from the quick charger and the 90 amp green highway EV charger.
It makes an invitation to bring a lunch to your EV recharge experience in Merritt. the quick charger is 20 minutes the 90 amp about 2 hours for most EVs.

On this Day: June 10th 1925
The first meeting of the New United Church of Canada in Toronto, making Presbyterian, Methodists and Congregationalists one entity for worship.

Music in the Park-Kenny Hess

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Music fest back  File Photo KDG

The City recreation department has a music program in Central Park here in Merritt. Tomorrow evening they are featuring Kenny Hess.Ken is a principle in the Merritt Rockin on the River Music Festival, and is enjoying a full page add for his park appearance in the local newspaper, the Merritt Herald.
The event includes an open house at the for his summer festival at the Canadain Country Music Hall of Fame,2025 Quilchena Avenue in Merritt. The open house is from 4 PM to 5 and the performance is at 6 PM.

The Merritt Rockin on the River Music Festival is on July 28th to 31 2016, at the old Merritt Mountain Music Festival grounds.

Ken Hess is a country music performer from the lower mainland of BC.

The music in the park program continues with through the summer Thursdays ,see Merritt .Ca for details.

 

On this Day: June 22 1990
Checkpoint Charlie comes down in Berlin.

Merritt Country Run

 Country run held at Voght park File photo KDG

Country run held at Voght park
File photo KDG

On June 12th there will be the annual running of the Merritt Country Run. Featuring four events a half Marathon, 10 K, 5 K and twice around the park it will have something for all who would participate.
they are advertising a nee d for volunteers. The fund raiser raises money for youth and the registration includes a T shirt that encourages the program.
registration is required and Four persons may register as a team.
http://www.merrittcountryrun.ca/

On this Day : May 18th 1926
Evangelist Aimee Semple MacPherson disappears while on a California beach.

TGIF- Adopt a road

The City crews were out putting up a sign across from the MacDonald’s on River Ranch Road. The sign was an adopt a road sign and it is because the Vintage Car Club of Canada’s local chapter adopted the walking trail that runs from the River ranch road corner west to the Court House across from the Hospital. The trail was put in last year by BC Hydro in part, it is free of over head lines.
The club will be having clean up bees in the future as their part in its use, according to a source.

On this day: May 13th 1958

The Trademark Velcro is registered.

Europe Day

These young men were from Eastern Europe and were going across Canada, observing freedom of movement. File Photo KDG

These young men were from Eastern Europe and were going across Canada, observing freedom of movement.
File Photo KDG

On this Day: May 5th 1964
The Council of Europe makes May 5th, Europe Day.
( May 9th for the European Union)

Since 2003, Ukraine celebrates Europe Day on the third Saturday of May

Fish pond, backyard File photo KDG

Fish pond, backyard
File photo KDG

If you have the luxury of a back yard here’s a carbon sink you may want to try.

Professor Downing found that constructed ponds and lakes on farmland in the United States bury carbon at a much higher rate than expected; as much as 20-50 times the rate at which trees trap carbon. In addition, ponds were found to take up carbon at a higher rate than larger lakes.

“Aquatic ecosystems play a disproportionately large role in the global carbon budget,” Downing said. “Despite being overlooked in the past, it’s small bodies of water that are important because they take up carbon at a high rate and there are more of them than previously thought. The combined effect is that farm ponds could be burying as much carbon as the world’s oceans, each year.” source Science Daily…Iowa State University

Editors note: consult with your insurance agent before hand.

On this Day: April 29th 1997
The chemical weapons ban of 1993 comes into force.

TGIF-Earth Day

April 20th 2016 in the shade at Merritt Downtown 30 Celsius-3 degrees over recored record of 27.1 Photo KDG

April 20th 2016
In the shade at Merritt downtown 30 Celsius-3 degrees over record of 27.1
Photo KDG

Beautiful spring day felt like summer on 4/20. Heat fell back the next day rain expected on weekend. St Johns Newfoundland had snow on the 4/20.

The moon was full on 4/21, there will be another in 28 days near the start of the Canadian long weekend in May. Frost is sometimes associated  with the moon cycle.

 

On this day: April 22th 1970

Earth Day is  made an observance by the environmental lobby.

Cow Trail Classic

Bee mine

Petal power…..

There is a bicycle event returning to the Nicola Valley in early June. The 2016 version of the Cow trail Classic XC Bike race will go ahead on June 11th in there stages 32 Kilometer as well as 32 and a 4 kilometer race. This according to the principal at the back alley bike shop ( Breathe Bikes) behind  the Royal Lepage building off Voght Street. A right turn in the first lane after the lights going south.

Partnerships are available as well as more info by emailing merrittbiking@yahoo.ca. The event has a website at http://www.cowtrailclassic.ca

the event is sanctioned by the Merritt Mountain bike association, and sponsored by among others the Nicola Valley Credit union.

On this day: April 14th 1881
Four dead in the 5 second gunfight in El Paso Texas

99.9 cents a liter

This is a long way from a gas pump File Photo: KDG

This is a long way from a gas pump
File Photo: KDG

The local Petro Canada station on the corner on Nicola and Voght is offering regular gasoline at 99.9 cents a liter. The price dropped from a $1.02.9 last week and has bridged the psychological barrier of a dollar a liter once again. In earlier weeks it had dropped below 90 cents.
The CBC is reporting that it looked into price increases on long weekends and found something under 20 occurrences which is not unusual for the system of refining. There were other price drops to long weekends.
Canadian Tire suffered a seven figure fine for price fixing between May and November 2007. The combines people usually use real estate zoning to encourage completion in big box stores!
Gas buddy: This service says that the prices are rising and BC is at $1.06.9 with national well under at 92.9.

There is a summer driving season that is about to the college year and summer hours this usually has an effect on prices it will be interesting to see if it is in effect this summer with gluts reflected in bank accounts of producers. (Or did they fix that with grocery prices)
Editors Note:   We believe that the refiner capacity is more responsible for the lag in gas prices dropping in relation to crude prices. No one wants one in their back yard. This may be good as it prevents dumping to a degree. Politically dumped production harms consumers in the long run and predatory pricing will do in competition that make prices stable.

Canadian tire fined  the Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/canadian-tire-pleads-guilty-in-gas-price-fixing-scheme/article534996/
On this day: March 15th 1906

Rolls Royce LTD is incorporated in England.

TGIF- Daylight savings time

 

Sunday morning on the 13th is daylight saving time once again. Clocks change at 2 in the morning.

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Daylight saving time (DST) or summer time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that in the evening daylight is experienced an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions with summer time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring and adjust them backward in the autumn to standard time. [1] source  Wikipedia.

An extra hour coming up for Rodders, this one was out trying earlier in the week. Photo KDG

DST was first proposed in 1895 by New Zealander, George Hudson. The global warming and energy crisis have made it more desirable over time.

On this day: March 11th 1932
Booming Ben the last Heath Hen is seen for the last time.

TGIF-92.9 a liter gas

 

broken sign no contract.... Photo KDG

broken sign no contract….
Photo KDG

The price of gasoline is down again in Merritt BC to 92.9 cents per liter at the down town Petro Canada, corner of Nicola and Voght.
A check on Gas Buddy shows that it is a full 5 cents a liter less money here then 5 BC outlets are selling gas for. The BC average is 96.9 a liter national is 10 cents a liter less and prices are trending down.
The City of Merritt has just received delivery on two replacement 21 passenger Chevrolet buses, they are replacing two diesel units and are gasoline. Reasonably there can be no connection to this with gas price however we don’t have a gasoline levi for transit in the City such as Vancouver’s.
A referendum over transit tax was defeated in the lower mainland last year. That tax would have been a increase to the Provincial Sales tax like US cities Seattle and Los Angeles.
Merritt is part of the provincial transit system.
British Columbia Transportation Financing Authority (BCTFA)

The dedicated tax for the British Columbia Transportation Financing Authority on clear gasoline and clear diesel fuel sold anywhere in the province is 6.75¢ per liter.

Trans Link:Vancouver area.

The dedicated tax on clear gasoline and clear diesel fuel sold inside the South Coast British Columbia transportation service region (SCTA) is 17¢ per litre.

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Frank Trenholm installs new license plates to new buses delivered to Merritt, Feb 3/ 16
Victoria Area:

The dedicated tax on clear gasoline and clear diesel fuel sold inside the Victoria regional transit service area (VRTA) is 3.5¢ per liter.
Total BC taxes including 7 (6.5) cent carbon tax is 21.17 cents for us here in Merritt. Most expensive is Vancouver @ 31.17 a liter.
The carbon tax element is supposed to be a neutral tax and is used to reduce personal and corporate income tax:

The tax puts a price on carbon to:
Encourage individuals, businesses, industry and others to use less fossil fuel and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions;
send a consistent price signal;
ensure those who produce emissions pay for them; and
make clean energy alternatives more attractive.

There is also federal excise tax of 10 cents and a 5 percent GST, there are no taxes dedicated to transit or road maintenance or construction on alternate energies. This in our view can make carbon tax regressive.
Tax on diesel fuel is slightly higher for BC but federal taxes are less then half that of gasoline.
Merritt’s total minimum tax on gasoline is 32.73 cents a liter,Vancouver is 44.28 cents. As taxes move toward 50 percent of the pump price it raises the specter and possibility of regulation and world market Alberta oil less attractive.

KDG.

On this day February 5th 1958
A hydrogen device is lost by the US Air force off the coast of Georgia never to be recovered.

Spring library program Merritt BC

The library has produced a schedule for its programs here in Merritt, The Newshound, Thompson Nicola Region. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Thursday, February 11, 4-6 launch of the new local news app. ( 1000’s of local news articles published over the years. Local historian Murphy Shewchuck, will be the guest of honour,  presenting an App for the  News Hound with a bone cloud.
  • Learn to Knit with Louisa Robertson Thursday, February 18, 6-8 PM
  • Mediation for beginners with Roslyn Ducios  four Thursdays in March,6-7 PM
  • Fly tying, Wednesdays, 6-8 PM all welcome ,materials supplied.
  • Photography, Wednesdays 6-8
  • Get help with technology, ongoing sign up with Anne Pang
  • Please register at the front desk or call 250-378-4737

On this Day: February 3rd 1908
The Panathinaikos Athletic Club is formed.