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: Sports and Leisure
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 The sale will be in the first week in March and will have 10,000 items of withdrawn or donated materials.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.
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 Nicola Valley Aquatic Center is having a new years eve ( after noon swim.) The swim will be on December 31st from 1 -3 PM at he facility on Mamette avenue in Merritt.
There is no charge for the swim and the pool is in walking proximity to 5 EV charging stations some of which take 2 hours to recharge an EV.
Today in history,December 30th 1948
The Tony award winning Kiss me Kate opens at the Cole Porter theater.
Mountain ash Tree native of England
Photo KDG
Have a Great Holiday look forward to serving you in the new year.
Lacrosse rink nearing completion. Photo KDG
The Lacrosse rink on Voght street is taking form with red and blue lines marked and back boards going up. The rink will be having overhead lighting before being completed sometime in January 2015
Today in History: December 10 th 1901
The first Nobel Peace Prize is awarded.
The 25th of November saw the Arts council have its annual meeting at the Old Court House Gallery. The Non Profit posted committee reports including financial statements as well as electing 7 directors. They also struck a committee to find a full-time volunteer person to manage the gallery. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Bill Edmonds and Dr.Don Macleod, patron of the arts, sat next to him in the chairing position. Directors for the 2014/15 season are: Bill Edmonds,Christine Dooley, Andrea McVean, Jackie Stibbards,Mill Juricic, Lizette Nels,and Don Mcleod.
There were no responses to a call for nominations from the floor, no voting bar was established and no dissent given by the interested members. The AGM was advertised with notice in the local paper The Merritt Herald.
The financial position notes a deficit in income over expenses for the last year of eleven thousand dollars, 32 thousand on 43 thousand. The balance sheet shows 43,870.10 in equity, 29 thousand of that is a grand piano at the Civic center downtown.
The concert committee report notes a poor result of the concerts and a lack of a person to take charge of it will see no concerts planed for the coming season. It also invites a person to step forward to change that. The arts council has had concerts for 33 years in Merritt, and has little problem with attendance.
Today in history: November 28th 1964
A probe is launched toward Mars in the Mariner Space program.
The weekend saw scrapbookers from Merritt, Princeton and Kelownahave a weekend event at the Local civic center. A member said there were 32 people that came together to exchange items and put together scrapbooks. They used the Civic center facility and the group that hosted it Valley Scrapbookers is listed in listed inthe City published leisure guide under the contact Dancia Vere – 250-036-8298.
Editors note: the small community of Merritt has a good recreation program and enjoys good non-commercail rates for the use of the civic center for these activities. The Merritt leisure guide is published and available at the City, the Pool and the down town tourist info.
Today in history: November 26th 1922
Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter are the first people into the tomb of Tutankhamen in 3000 years.
A couple of locks and a chain left hanging on a gate to a ranchers property signals responsible invitation
Photo KDG
The hunting season has brought up issues of land access and the need for private property owners in rural areas to keep a check on damage and vandalism.
Locked gates can be the result especially for private e drives and areas that have more than one public road going through them Civic election time also causes people here that wish better access to speak up.
The pictures of an unlocked gate is beside a helicopter companies hanger the ditch with a culvert is filled with copper ore to stabilize the banks. Perhaps a message signaling responsible use or a coincidence.
Today in history: November 21 1953
Piltdown Man Skull determined a hoax
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.
Trick or treatment
C KDG
Today in history: October 31 2011
The population of the world reach’s 7 billion.
Kevin Griffiths
percypaschal
The Proprietor Review 