You are presumed to be honest and responsible without evidence to the contrary beyond a reasonable doubt… on the balance of probablilties you are justified by 51 % likelyhood.
Best Western under construction in Merritt includes EV stations Photo KDG
Best Western under construction in Merritt includes EV stations Photo KDG
A couple of new motor hotels are nearing completion in Merritt. A Best Western and Comfort Inn have been under construction for some time. an unconfirmed source says that a Tesla quick charger will be included in the mix that will be twice as fast as the quick charger on Voght street, downtown.
The new buildings are at the entrance of Merritt, off highway 5 and 5A.
Cladding going on new power plant. Photo KDG The co gen plant is having its cladding up and moving to completion.
The plant is quite a presence on the hillside south east of Merritt, lighting gives a pronounced signature. Once cladding is on and it is started up it should have less light pollution as visibility is a safety concern at this time. source.
Dr Kerridge gives a talk on bats at Nicola Naturlists. File photo KDG
The Nicola Naturalists are having a night on Bobcats and their possible change of range. The meeting is at the local community college ,top of the hill, Belshaw avenue on November 17th, 7:30 PM, in the lecture theater.
T.J. Gooliaff is a graduate student at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna. He is studying Bobcat and Lynx distributions in the BC Interior. Climate change is causing numerous species across the planet to shift their range to higher latitudes and elevations. Using historic harvest records and sightings, T.J. is analyzing whether Bobcats and Lynx are among those species moving northwards. He is also using photographs submitted by the public to map the current provincial distribution of both species. This will be a fascinating presentation on these elusive cats.
The Ware family at the end of Garcia street had trouble with a Bobcat and chickens on their property at the end of Garcia street on the Nicola river last year. The property historically a small farm has an application to the change the zoning from single family residential to agricultural. The Bob cat was destroyed and the noise from the acreages chickens when disturbed is a concern.
Bobcat prefers rabbits and hares, it will hunt anything from insects, chickens, geese and other birds and small rodents to deer. Prey selection depends on location and habitat, season, and abundance. Like most cats, the bobcat is territorial and largely solitary, although with some overlap in home ranges. It uses several methods to mark its territorial boundaries, including claw marks and deposits of urine or feces. The bobcat breeds from winter into spring and has a gestation period of about two months.
Source Wikipedia
The group is getting ready for its participation in their Christmas bird count on December 18th. The count is a global effort and monitors birds health and numbers for various conservation or interdiction reasons.
You don’t have to be an expert birder to participate in our Christmas Bird Count. It is a great way to get to learn the local winter birds – each birding group has at least one experienced birder. Followed by a festive potluck for participants. If you are interested in participating and not already on the contact list send us an e-mail nicolanaturalists@gmail.com
Kingfisher birds were happily working the local river down town Merritt. They are ” responsible for missing salmon populations” source ” tongue in cheek”
On this Day: October 11th 1952
A British report is published saying children under 15 die by accident more often in the home than any other place, mostly from burns and scalding.
The Local Naturalist Society is having the first of its fall/ winter monthly meetings on the 15th.
The meeting features a members photo night as well as an annual business meeting and election of directors.
Evening meetings of the Nicola Naturalist Society are held at 7PM on the third Thursday of the month in the Lecture Theater of NVIT (Nicola Valley Institute of Technology) on Belshaw Road, Merritt. Admission is free to members. We have awesome raffles. Nicola Naturalists
On this day: September 7th 2008
The United States Government takes control of defaulting (conservator ship) mortgage company’s Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac.
The 138 KV power line is in to the new wood waste generator, coming down Voght Street from the new upgraded substation behind the court house it goes across Central Park’s western boundary with the gated community known as Sherwood park ( after the developer Ron Sherwood a long time city councilor that developed it and is now retired to Victoria.). It crosses the highway up the hill from Norgaards Ready Mix,after coming across the Nicola Valley Golf and Country Clubs fairway. Down the hill and past the Osprey nest on the highway 8 entrance to town, where it continues across the then Nicola River to twin steel poles leading across the old John Collet Ranch/ Jon Peachy Buffalo Ranch. Onward to cross the Midday Valley Road to the 40 Mega Watt plant,still under construction.
The highlight of the line were the ropes left strung, for some weeks from the pole that supports the Osprey nest to a pole across the Nicola River. It was taunting to see the Osprey return then build a new nest on the cleared off platform while attached by ropes to the power line. The Hydro crews eventually came and placed a new pole 10 feet away from the nest and towering 15 feet above it.
The activity did not seem to put any stress on the birds who still continue their normal fishing and mating activity.( it will be interesting to watch when the line is energized although the birds will make nests on the top of regular power poles with seeming immunity to any kind of harm.) There are about a half dozen of the birds in area) ,only a single pair occupy the nest.
Nest gone File Photo KDG
The operation was supervised by a biologist working with the Lower Nicola Indian Band.
Ospreys returned from where they go in the winter File Photo KDG
On this day: June 15th 1934
The Smokey Mountain national park is established.
A transformer is replaced on Quilchena Saturday morning BC Hydro
Hydro worker on atruck
Pole installation and work on Voght street Merritt. File photo KDG Photo KDG
Enhancing the image of the city photo KDG
Hydro showing their online consumption tracking. File photo KDG
Auger on Voght Photo KDG
A Hydro worker turns on power again on Voght street. File photo KDG
New nest on live hydro pole no good for authorities!
Voght street Office of a local mine benifiting from new Hydro infrastructure. File Photo KDG
Hydro people reading for a line burial on Voght File photo KDG
Leaf has direct connection to 500 volt quick charger in Merritt. Photo KDG
hydro replaceing aging and not so aging poles File photo KDG
The old substation off Voght is demonstrably going away with equipment on site removing the obsolete decades old transformers and structures. The new one was opened last fall and can be remotely operated from the Fraser Valley with a dish aimed at the towers on Iron Mountain.
The project occurred in the same time frame as the third 500 KV line to the Lower Mainland from the Revel stoke dam area.
The Merritt substation project includes an upgrade of a 61 KV line to the highland Valley and its biggest consumer the giant Teck, Highland Valley copper mine. The upgrade is to a 138 KV line coming from the Merritt Green Energy Project a 40 KV wood over steam electric generator that will burn green wood waste from three local mills. Sources say that the contractor is hoping to turn the keys over to the operator next year possibly March. The Merritt Green Energy Project is licensed by BC Hydro and uses public transmission lines.
The project created a lot of jobs including many members of the local First nations bands. It also generated ongoing relationships with band governments.
The lines for the green energy project are a this moment in progress to the Green Energy project including a crossing by the Osprey nest on Highway 8 coming into Merritt from the west. The ospreys returned to a cleaned off nesting platform this spring but rebuilt it in the shadow of ropes and new poles going up around them.
On this Day: May 24th 1626
Peter Minuit buys Manhattan for tools Wampum and other wares.
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.
Last week the Spius Creek Fish Hatchery and Fisheries and oceans unloaded 170 thousand juvenile fish into the Nicola River at the golf course. They are the produce of about fifty pair of mature fish.
There is much interest in supplementing exploited stocks of fish by releasing juveniles that may be wild caught and reared in nurseries before transplanting, or produced solely within a hatchery.[4] Culture of finfish larvae has been utilised extensively in the United States in stock enhancement efforts to replenish natural populations.[5] The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have established a National Fish Hatchery System to support the conservation of native fish species.[6]
source Wikipedia.
Editor’s note The Fish on the bank was thrown there by a fishing black bear on the Nicola River. PP
Shakespeare for more than 400 years has been eternal in respect to mood and movement of feeling. The sonnet that has the Darling Buds of May reference still resonates even here an ocean away from England and Stratford on Avon.
The buds are breaking out all over to seemingly meet the Bards deadline here in the South Central, Interior City OF Merritt. More or less on time….
On this Day: April 27th 1810
Beethoven composes Fur Elise
Kevin Griffiths
percypaschal
The Proprietor Review 