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.
Bob Scafe is presenting at the monthly meeting of the Nicola Naturalists on Thursday February 18th.
Bob is a director of the Nicola Naturalist Society and one of our most prolific nature photographers. Lately, he and his wife Bev have become interested in butterflies and moths – getting to know and identify the local species. Bob will give us an introduction to the rich butterfly fauna of the BC interior. Later this spring he has promised to lead a few butterfly field trips so this presentation is a valuable primer. We’ll have lots of great photos too!
Bob recently presented on his trip to South East Asia , mostly highlighting people and lifestyle. He has titled this presentation The wonderful world of butterflies. The presentation starts at 7PM in the NVIT lecture theater in Merritt, no food or drink allowed in, free parking, and membership or donation requested.
March will see club president Alan Burger back from a trip to Antarctica. the meeting will be on the 17th titled: Antarctic Wild Life- Life in a changing environment .
Where are they now! The city had this store front for feral cats some years ago this time of year would be hard on these creatures . An activist group later stared a sanctuary for feral animals on a piece of property in an unincorporated area west of Merritt. They called the the place Angels. Angel’s Animal Rescue – Merritt, BC. They have a Facebook page:
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.
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.
Budget discussions are coming up for Merritt. Policing ,is a number one cost and results matter.
The City has in the past taken retreats for discussions. There is a drop in session at the city with the Mayor on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month they are advertised for times in the city page of the local Newspaper The Merritt Herald.
Mayor Neil Menard says he’s available for inputs…
Old technology is heavy ! A nighttime attempted heist ended with the goods abandoned on the sidewalk. Coldwater Hotel, Merritt. File Photo KDG
Old technology is heavy !
A night time heist ended with the goods abandoned on the sidewalk.
Coldwater Hotel, Merritt.
File Photo KDG
On this Day: January 26th 1911
Glenn Curtiss has the first successful flight of a seaplane.
Voght Street office of a local mine benefiting from new Hydro infrastructure. File Photo KDG
Robin a worker for Shaw Cable was pulling fiber through a pipe on Voght street here in Merritt Thursday. The laid off hydro worker said he had to change jobs when Hydro laid off a lot of people to accommodate apprentice trained workers.
The cable came from Parker Drive,Telus has lines on the poles above as well as Hydro lines in the top position on the poles.
When asked about site C he thought that that may be the reason for the lay off. He was aware of some of hydro’s activities in alternate energy including replacing some oil burning generators in small communities , working with distilling algae from sewage as well as some windmills.
BC Hydro’s Power Smart program encourages energy conservation among its residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The program also aims to promote energy saving retail products and building construction, and includes a “Sustainable Communities Program”. Its in-house Resource Smart program is used to identify and implement efficiency gains at existing BC Hydro facilities. BC Hydro also practices energy conservation at its generating facilities through the continuous monitoring and efficient use of the water resources used to power its generators.
BC Hydro is committed by the BC government’s Energy Plan to achieve electric power self-sufficiency in the province by 2016, with all new generation plants having zero net greenhouse gas emissions by the same year.[28] In 2013, BC Hydro released an Integrated Resource Plan which includes meeting at least 66 percent of the expected increase in electricity demand through increased energy efficiency.
BC Hydro has also entered into energy purchase contracts with a new category of company created by special legislation, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to buy electricity generated from intermittent renewable sources, mainly from small capacity run of river hydro and more recently, wind power, wood residue energy, and energy from organic municipal waste. There has been some criticism of this policy on the basis that it will result in Hydro paying significantly higher rates to private producers than it would have if the power were self-generated.
BC has a policy not to develop nuclear power.
: source Wikipedia
BC Hydro operates 31 hydroelectric facilities and three natural gas-fueled thermal power plants. As of 2014, 95 per cent of the province’s electricity was produced by hydroelectric generating stations, which consist mostly of large hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Peace Rivers. BC Hydro’s various facilities generate between 43,000 and 54,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, depending on prevailing water levels. BC Hydro’s capacity is about 11,000 megawatts.
To be continued.
On this Day: January 15th 1892
James Naismith publishes the rules to Basketball.
Soap stone carvings by Ed Hendrix of Ponderosa Sports a big supporter of local lake fishing. file Photo KDG
The local fish and game group is sponsoring an Ice fishing derby on the coming weekend at Mammete lake. The time of the completion is from 8Am to 2PM on Sunday the 17th. there is free hot chocolate and coffee and hotdogs will be available. The entry fee is Fifteen Dollars a person and a max of 30 dollars a family.
Various prizes are offered.
FMI: http://www.nvfishandgameclub.ca
Editors note: Ice conditions may vary when recreating be safe carry a rope.
On this Day: January 13th 1942
Henry Ford introduces a plastic car 30 percent lighter then metal. The Soybean Car developed in part with George Washington Carver.
The Nicola Naturalists are having their January presentation meeting on the 21st of the month. Frank Ritcey of Wild Safe BC will talk about safety about wildlife and in particular bears.
Frank Ritcey is the Provincial Coordinator for WildSafeBC, based in Kamloops. Run by the BC Conservation Foundation this program focuses on how we can minimize our impact on the wildlife we observe and keep ourselves safe at the same time. Frank was raised in the wilds of Wells Gray Park by his pioneering mother, Clara Ritcey, and Park Biologist father Ralph Ritcey. Frank’s love of nature has been with him his whole life and he still spends much time filming and studying nature. Frank often contributes to CBC’s popular North by Northwest show.
The meeting starts at 7PM and is open to the public (membership or donation requested) , no food or drinks allowed in the NVIT lecture theater, however there is free parking. NVIT is a local community college founded in part by Grand Chief Gordon Antoine ( deceased) , Gordon was a member of the Coldwater Indian Band and promoted education for his people, he is survived by his wife Janice a principal of the Coldwater Indian Band K -12 school.
The Nicola Naturalists use the lecture theater at NVIT as a non profit and provide a bursary to natural resource students as a matter of consideration for its use.
The new year will bring a need for new calendars unless you completely rely on phones or computers here is a brief survey of calendar availability in small town Merritt BC.:
Hub Insurance broker’s were all gone in November same for Royal Le page Reality.
Royal Bank, and CIBC available, picked up one from each on the 29th of January.
The local Shriner s sell a cash calendar as a fund raiser with prizes. The first being $1000.00 on January first, the Coldwater Hotel has one displayed already.
A source says that The Dollar Store has calendar’s for something over a dollar.
Portraits by a muralist in Merritt during the Merritt Mountain Music Festival time Photo: KDG
The Canadian Music hall of fame 2025 Quilchena is open as the local Chamber hosts a tree Festival in the building. Usually only open for long weekends and special events it will be open Tuesday to Friday to the 11th of December. Chamber manager Etelka Gillespie says. The regular exhibits are available including a video panel featuring some stars.
Ron Sanders a principal in the Walk of Stars File photo KDG
The Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame honours Canadian country music artists, builders or broadcasters, living or deceased. The artifact collection includes extensive biographical information on the inductees. It is located in downtown Merritt, British Columbia at 2025 Quilchena Avenue. The facility is open year round for custom tours, and is open to the public on seasonally adjusted hours. The initiative is governed by a not-for-profit society (the Canadian Country Music Heritage Society). Source Wikipedia
Portraits by a muralist in Merritt during the Merritt Mountain Music Festival Photo: KDG
The Old Court House on Nicola Avenue , in Merritt. File Photo: KDG
The love to dance studio is offering line dancing on Tuesday nights at 6:30 PM. This small rural communities population is suited to Line Dancing because of its cowboy culture.
Line Dancing has only been offered for Community Rec 12 classes at the local high school as far as we can recall. The desert in had a group of line dancing children at the height of the Merritt Mountain Music Festival. We attended a Hearts and Stroke Society Convention in Kamloops some decades ago and we had instruction and practice in sessions at the convention. We took our new skills out on the town and tried them at a local NC in the evening. Kudos to the business located at the Old Courthouse Gallery, 2000 block Nicola Avenue in Merritt.
A line dance is a choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines or rows without regard for the gender of the individuals, all facing either each other or in the same direction, and executing the steps at the same time. Unlike in circle dancing, line dancers are not in physical contact with each other. source Wikipedia
Culture Day at Baillie House Constable T Dunsmore File photo KDG
CFJC News is reporting that there was a standoff in Merritt this afternoon. According to CFJC in an interview with Merritt’s Constable Tracy Dunsmore two men were taken into custody from the proximity of Funks Road Runner Motel on the east end of Merritt leaving town. A weapon is said to be being searched for. A stolen car is alleged to be at the center of the trouble.
Editors Note: This is a rare occurrence in this town and is not our normal expectation.
On this Day: November 26th 1476
Vlad the Impale r ( Dracula) defeats Basarab Laiota and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the 3rd time.
Today in History November 26th 1789
Thanksgiving made an national observance in the US by the Congress.
Kevin Griffiths
percypaschal
The Proprietor Review 