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.
Al from Williams Lake BC bought a new Tesla S and was taking it home on Wednesday, he stopped here in Merritt for a charge with his wife of 55 years. ” I think that I could be the most northerly Tesla owner in BC” he said as he reminisced about a career as an electrician at the Gibraltar Mine outside Williams lake. It lead right to an interest in owning an electric car, he said. I worked on diesel electic haul trucks at the mine.
A new Tesla S going to a home in Williams Lake BC Photo KDG
On this Day: April 16th 73
Masada falls to the Romans after a siege.
The calendar has brought to light a number of items from history in the Nicola Valley, 100 year anniversaries of the drill hall, and the center piece of the the town ” the Coldwater Hotel” indicate a great effort by a small population. The approximate 700 people of Merritt at the twentieth century produced a lot of “golden age ” construction on the coin of three coal mines but may have often suffered from a sense of abandonment from time to time with the draw of events like World War 1 .
An accounting of 2000 men working on the Kettle Valley Rail Way, resulting after construction in a local Doctor becoming an engineer,brakeman and passenger may be a personality quirk of those that wanted a future here or real abandonment. One of the signatures of the local doctors on the nurses qualification went on to be the local MLA after antics like ” riding a boxcar” down from the Kettle Valley as a mode of transportation.
At this writing a electric co gen plant is under construction on in the area of the ruins of ” Merritt Light and Power” a progressive project of the people of the era at the turn of the twentieth century as well. That activity certainly suffered from abandonment more then once in its completion. According to John Chase, a local official the present plant is a huge partnership with two other similar projects in BC, (one at Fort Saint John). They are too big to suffer abandonment.
Editors Note: The recent 500 KV lower mainland transmission project and its completion as well as Teck corporations mine expansion projects in the billions give a sense of security . However kudos to those who have found the joy of risk in a reasonable way that have resulted in expression and spiritual joy. For those that found themselves in frontier with or without abandonment or even risked modern travel or invention, the trying of something new, good on you and we hope some of it spills over on us.
Leaf has direct connection to 500 volt quick charger in Merritt. Photo KDG
The charging station at the arena parking lot off Voght Street in Merritt saw some use on the weekend. A Nissan leaf from Kamloops ued the quick charger for about 20 minutes and produced an 85 percent charge. A further 18 minutes would have produced a full charge however” It may be hard on the battery” was the concern that made the driver continue to the 70 amp charger that Sun country installed at the local truck stop and bus station near the junction of highway 5A to Kamloops. The charge will be slower but we have confidence in the topping up and want to see the charger on the outskirts of town. There six chargers in the City and they are on sites available by smart phone. The 500 volt quick charger ( 20 minutes 85 percent ) was placed by BC Hydro. The charge was without fee on Sunday. On this Day: April 2nd 2011 India wins the world cricket cup.
Mayor Niel Menard and some councilors were mustering at City hall on Monday with high vis vests and pickup sticks. Going on an outing for spring clean up is popular with local politicians.
Merritt British Columbia is in a hub of 7 major highway systems into the South Central Interior of BC. Many roads and ditches make for a trap for debris over winter.
On this Day: March 31st 1994
The finding of a complete skull of a hominid,Australopithecus afarnensis that lived more then 2 billion years ago is reported by a scientific journal.
There is a mighty presence of cleaning here in Merritt, British Columbia, this week as well as crew out replacing winter damage to roads and light standards. Pleasant calm spring weather is about this week a change from windy and colder. Crocus are in bloom in some yards.
There are reports of wood ticks being picked up on people here in the Nicola Valley. People that have dogs may want to check themselves and children for the creature. Wood ticks can be responsible for Rocky Mountain spotted fever. If you find one be careful not to pull on it as it is said to break its head off if its stared to burrow in flesh and the head may keep going. That’s according to home remedies and they include a method of heating a sewing needle on an element to cause it to back out.
Dermacentor andersoni, commonly known as the Rocky Mountain wood tick, is a species of tick.[1]
It can cause tick paralysis.
Diagnostic features: Larva only has 3 pairs of legs. Nymph has 4 pairs. Single pair of spiracular openings (stigmata) close to the coxae (leg bases or segments) of the 4th pair of legs (except in larvae) Terminal capitulum (mouthparts) visible from above in all stages except the egg, of course. A large sclerite called the Scutum present dorsally behind the capitulum. The scutum almost entirely covers the back of the male, but only partly covers the back of the female. Eyes, if present, are on the scutum. Sexual dimorphism in size and colour is frequent. The female is often larger. Posterior margin of opisthosoma usually sub-divided into sclerites callel festoons. Pedipalps rigid along the chelicerae, not leg-like. Single pair of spiracular openings (stigmata)
The bug can also carry the bacteria for Lyme disease and Tularemia. Spring is the time here to watch for them.
The local Nicola Naturalists are having a botanist to speak and present on the 19th of March at the NVIT lecture theater in Merritt. Dan Durall is from the University of the Okanagan.
Ever wondered about local mushrooms – whether they are edible or poisonous, and what roles they play in the local ecosystems? Dr. Durall is a mycologist (fungus specialist) with many years of experience studying fungi in the BC interior. He is especially interested in fungi found in our forests, understanding their role in carbon and nutrient cycling as well as the effect of forest practices on fungal populations and communities.
All Welcome: membership or donation requested. Program starts at 7 PM no food or drink in the lecture theater.
On this Day: March 12th 1961
The first winter assent of the north face of Elger mount.
A happy job stewart talks to us at the start of the 3rd 500 KV line near Merritt. Photo KDG
You may be miffed that the BC government takes a dividend from hydro when its supposed to be a non profit and delivering power at a rate that reflects your equal standing as a citizen in British Columbia now that dividend may be more attractive when a low snow pack creates less generating capsity then in other year. Putting pressure on that dividend against a reasonable rate. Is it a tax? It is against the mixed economy concept that is supposed to undergird our free system of profit driven business. Here’s what hydro is saying about the snow pack:
Lower-level snowpack is way below normal in many areas across province
No snow on the North Shore mountains. Mount Washington closed to skiing for the season. A record high temperature of 14°C at Vancouver airport a month after Christmas. What’s going on here? And what does it mean to 2015 water levels in B.C., including BC Hydro’s reservoirs? To answer those questions, and to take a deeper dive into the effects of climate change, we sat down with BC Hydro meteorologist Tim Ashman, author of a popular in-house weather blog that goes out to more than 1,000 BC Hydro employees. A member of BC Hydro’s hydrology and technical services team, Ashman agrees that this has been a weird winter in B.C. “It’s been unusual in B.C. and in much of Western North America,” he says. “It’s been warm quite consistently, pretty much all winter, with only a couple exceptions.” What makes the winter of 2014-2015 so unusual is just how warm and wet it has been compared to other so-called El Nino years. We had one in 2009-2010 during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but that winter was largely dry. Not this time around, because this El Nino year is different. “All of our storm cycles have been warm,” he says. “And that’s had a significant effect on our snowpacks. We’ve had to deal with water runoff instead of storage into the snowpack. At elevations where we’re generally storing snow at this time of year, we’ve seen runoff.” That runoff was significant enough that BC Hydro was forced to spill water at several dams, notably in the Campbell River system. Meanwhile, a rainy October in the north recharged ground water and increased streamflows into BC Hydro’s largest reservoir, Williston, in what amounted to an unusual, but welcome, pre-winter influx of water heading into the peak season for electricity demand.
Maybe rain will come maybe taxs will go up. What ever comes we still have a lot of good people and an enduring community to increase our quality of life come what may. You may take this serous enough to do that solar project you have put off. On this day: March 5th 1975 The first meeting of the home brew computer club.
Last day for all weather shelter at 1937 Quilchena Ave. The all weather shelter in Merritt is open daily through January and February, come March 1st it will only be open when temperatures are below Zero Celsius.
We hope not to see you there…..
new parking policy at hall Photo KDG
On this day: February 27th 1986
Television coverage is allowed as trial in the US Senate.
February is heart month canvassers are out for honorary Chair Adrian Clarkson, who wants us together to make more survivors from heart disease.
Want to be part of the Heart and Stroke Foundations ” Make more survivors campaign”?:
Go to my personal canvass page at: http://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1110530&supId=419385915 or go to the heartandstroke.ca website.
On this day: February 25th 1991
The Warsaw pact is proclaimed disbanded.
Appledorn tulips breaking soil in Merritt February 17th /15 Photo KDG
The earth needs to warm up to germinate plants, for this various plants need differing amounts of degree days. the lower mainland and Victoria are reporting plant germination. We have seen some activity in sheltered area around warmed soil from buildings. Spring is still far off.
On this Day: February 20th 1965
Ranger 8 photographs the moon for landing spots then crashes .
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