Category: Crime and punishment


TGIF

Merit of Merritt

Merit and happiness to you and yours....

Today in History, December 16th 2003

The Can- Spam act becomes law.

NVIT

Monument to aboriginal war veterans in Confede...

Image via Wikipedia

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.

The province is saying that they are pleased with the results of a tough new roadside suspension law after a year of activity. The results they say saved lives. There were 40 % fewer deaths accruing over the time of the implementation that saw roadside suspensions coupled with very severe administrative penalties.

There are 4 million people in this province and the death rate is very low, some what over 2 per thousand per year for all causes, that ranks with the Arab emirates that are filthy rich, and is far below Canada’s rate of about 7 per thousand. There are approximately 350 some vehicle related deaths per year here and Stats Can does not break down the ones that are drunk or alcohol related. It would be safe to say that if the general population has enough regard for life and safety to keep the rate of death so low for the general population that we’re not bunch of drunks out there needing constant supervision and scrutiny of our assets . This brings up the specter of political opportunism the great success that they are promoting did not translate into a premium benefit the opposite is true as drivers are facing a 30 dollar increase to the levy dictated by ICBC. Makes you want to go find an occupy movement camp does it. It gets worse the real change is that more public control is welded and less trust and presumption in the population to act above the reasonable prudent person. The Chinese say more laws get more criminals. Now they say a portion of the law is unconstitutional as there is not enough process and appeal for those that blow over the 0.8 that is the criminal benchmark for impaired drivers. You  can bet it was just grease for that application of the non criminal high administration penalty bonanza that the province is reaping; and of course they are not taking it from you the taxpayer but some vilified group who  enjoyed the relief of stress by having a couple of beers with the office staff after work twice a week. Can it be? and I give this to you; that the dynamic contributed to less benign deaths in the general rate of our society. KDG

Editors note: A designated driver is not a hard ship for most people to arrange and rotating is not hard for you sociable types to get a turn….

Today in history, December 5 1945

Flight 19 is lost in the Bermuda  triangle.

Speedy trial

There is at this time an inquiring going on in this province as to the long delay and trail of a serial killer Robert Picton. The  inquirery is  headed by a former Attorney General of the province Wally Oppal and has already flushed out  some disturbing items including a public relations officer that has said that she will testify on behalf of the victims and not her employer the RCMP. She has been quoted in the papers as saying that she was the victim of sexual harassment and that her superiors were more interested in drinking  and her then solving the crime.  The harassment part would make her a hostile witness to the events and it all seems a troubling affair.

A local fellow says he has a transcript of a trial of a local train robber from Kamloops shortly after the turn of the 20th century and it took two weeks to secure a 15 year conviction based on eye-witness ( credible) and  the possession of registered mail; must have been simpler times.

We think that a incrediable expense and waste of time is appearant and if there is an undisclosed benifit to the investigation it needs to be disclosed by statement from the  police and investgators. As this expense is now salt in a wound.

Today in History, December 1 800

Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo the third at the Vatican

Chunnel tunnel between UK and France meets 40 meters below the seabed.

Today, a clue revealed.

A Halloween night murder in Armstrong BC is one step closer to being solved as a DNA link to an assault on an escort service worker in Kelowna  has fielded a artists description of the suspected murderer. This according to The Province paper. A source had said that a letter to the police had come promising  more of the same . An the paper is reporting that they think the man has left the area.

A taunting murderer Terry Driver was eventually caught by his interaction with the police for  a crime in the lower mainland area of BC. Boasting and curiosity of what the police are doing about crimes is a dynamic that people that do profiles use to isolate types of personalities when trying to find a criminal.

Opinion: While it is great to have a sence of liberty if you are a vulnerable target take personal safety precautions such as be out in the company of friends and not alone and vulnerable.

Today in history, November 24,1932

The Federal Bureau of investigation opens its crime lab in Washington

lending library

An Amazon Kindle Powered Off

Image via Wikipedia

The electronic world is expanding with a lending library on Kindle readers.  The local  Public library  has a Kindle reader for lend , and they have paid for some titles, now a source says that Amazon the internet book seller is also going to be offering  an entry menu of some publishers books  on lend. We will watch  and wait on this. However reasons for not having a tablet  device are getting fewer and far between.

Today in History, November 23,2001

The convention on cyber crime is signed in Budapest Hungary.

Lay off

A unconfirmed source says that the crew they work on is being layed off till spring complete the sidewalk upgrade and storm sewer  work on Garcia and granite.  A white hat seemingly in charge later confirmed “we are out of here”

When I gave him a Diamond  saw blade, I found he commented I will behave as they do. Some of his crew were seen tossing tools about a day before.

He also seemed unsure who would be finishing the project.

The site had the benefit of a Federal Government Funding credit sign for over a year before any construction began and when it did it was coordinated with the local civic election and a flurry of other work.

Also an announcement that there was no way of accounting back in the job creation projects for the 46 billion spent on the recession fighting  program “The Canada Action Plan by the federal an auditor general may make for interesting applications for laid off job creation workers. 

Today in history, November 22 1995

Toy Story the first computer generated feature film is released.

pellet plant

Inside a woood-pellet heater

Image via Wikipedia

I went by the new wood pellet plant today and took a picture of the a man supervising a bagging operation.
A source says that there may be some hiring when the dryer is finished in about 6 weeks.
The wood pellet plant seems new and modern and clean without clutter or grease. On the way over I upbraided a child that was playing between the wheels of a parked logging truck. He agreed it was a danger and took his plastic gun and played elsewhere. The truck had nothing to do with the pellet plant however; people should pay attention to their own children.

Today in history, November 4,1970

Genie a thirteen year old feral kid is found after being locked in her bedroom most of her life.

Hacks

Today in history,October 27th 1982

Dennis Moran born , American computer hacker

Freeway closed

The Coquihalla is closed by a multiple vehicle accident at the moment. A source says they are rerouting traffic to highway 8 Spence’s bridge and the Fraser Canyon to Vancouver. Exit 286 at the  interchange is closed.

Today in history :August 11 1972

The last US ground forces leave Viet Nam

Chuckanut Bay Cheesecake

One hundred fifteen grams of heart wreaking cheesecake,  ingredients include 65 MG of Cholesterol, about a third of the daily recommended maximum. That’s 5% of the two or 3 bites, and the treat includes another 5% sodium.

Great for your next final request before a firing squad. Including the 35% fat.

It is tasty…….

Today in History, June 14th, 1926

Brazil leaves the League of Nations.

Bicycle patrol

The weather is great for bikes now and I talked to an unconfirmed source that said there may be a police bike patrol this summer, and that there was non last summer. A source also said that she had spent a year on a bike patrol and did not feel more at risk or unsafe on that form of policing.

A look at the highway interchange early this AM seeing a few less trucks about a hundred an hour a little different then the Sunday afternoon count of 12o.  Of interest is the seemingly large portion of auto carriers on their way. In the recent months earlier they were not as clearly standing out a ; we had talked to the drivers of some trucks hauling scrap to places like Richmond Steel and it was also seen as busier. Scrap goes to durable good s that are an indicator of economic strength. So it may be a good time for the police to be considering a bike patrol about town to promote green while being available to keep the peace. A full-sized patrol car s a good reminder for trucks on the highway that safety is the main goal at the end of the day.

Last week a driver lost his life in a fiery accident under a overpass on the Freeway.

Today in History,June 13, 2000

Italy pardons the Turkish gunman that attempted to kill Pope John Paul the second.