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47% change in leadership…

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Polling station Merritt BC file photo: KDG

New mayors, councilors:

The provinces 162 municipalities had a healthy change of elected public servants for the 2018 election.  There are 73 new mayors and 395 newly elected councilors a 47 and 48.8 percent change factor overall. Vancouver bucked the trend electing 16 of 21 new mayors to its municipalities.

The high level of turnover on Councils and Boards with each election was one of the motivating factors for the creation of the Local Government Leadership Academy in 2007. The academy’s mission is to provide local government and First Nations elected officials and senior administrators with comprehensive, timely and dedicated leadership development opportunities throughout their terms of office or employment in the interest of improving governance. The LGLA’s 2019 elected official seminars have been announced and once again will be made available in regions throughout BC.

For the full details on the 2018 local government general election, please visit CivicInfo.

Source UBCM

Regional directors:

There was a similar turnover for regional directors.  Fifty-Seven Electorial area directors were new a 37.7% change.

Merritt BC changed 5 of  6 councilors and elected an incumbent councilor mayor.

On this Day: October 24th, 2003

The last commercial flight of the Concorde supersonic airliner.

Waxing to…

MOON

Moon rising File photo KDG

October 24th hunters moon

The Hunters moon is coming, it will be completely full at 9:45 AM tomorrow morning here in the south central part of BC.

No matter where you live worldwide, look for a full-looking moon in the east as the sun goes down over the next several evenings. This full or full-looking moon will cross our skies throughout the night, as seen from around the globe. source earth sky

To get a good picture of the moon you need a stabilized camera platform and a remote shutter device. Smart phone do not give good photos.

The moon will be large and bright for a numbers of days including tonight.

 

On this Day: October 23rd  2015

Hurricane  Patricia hits  Mexico  with record winds.

Civic election

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                                                              Kurt Christopherson he only returned  councillor                                                               File photo KDG               

 

 

Merritt Elects Merritt Returns

Mayor: Linda L Brown , 51.2 percent of vote

Council: Adam Etchart, 75.9 %

Tony J Luck, 61.1%

Kurt J Christopherson, 57.3%

Travis G Fehr, 56.9 %

Mike S Bhangu, 48.2 %

Melvina L White 37.7 %

On this Day: October 22 1976

Red dye 4 is banned in foods.

TGIF- small business week in Merritt…

 

Another nursery business

Some people getting ready to sell..     File Photo KDG

Small Business week:

The banners are out the programs in place Small Business week is on in Merritt BC. Community Futures , Work BC, The Merritt Herald, Q101 FM are all into the theme.

Enjoy…

 

 

On this Day: October 19th 1935

The league of nations sanctions Italy for the invasion of Ethiopia.

Hunter Moon coming…

Beautiful harvest moon.

Moon Photo KDG

October 24th will see the Moon in full and will be called a hunters Moon. Cloudy skies are possible for the 23 and 24th in Merritt however Lethbridge Alberta is clear and cool. Hunting  should be good however remember moon light or not it is not legal to use a firearm a 1 hour before sunset and one hour  sunrise.

Some creatures can be taken after dark including deer, by bow, local conditions and regulations apply.  BC guide

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, look for the moon to be bright and full-looking for several nights beginning around October 23 or 24. Around all of these nights, you’ll see a bright round moon in your sky, rising around the time of sunset, highest in the middle of the night. source Earth Sky News

On this Day: October 18th 1954

The first transistor radio is announced.

Legislation in force today.

BC Gone to pot…

The regulation of use and sale is in effect for pot today with one official store in Kamloops BC.

Provincially, control over the sale, supply and possession of non-medical cannabis is established through the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act. The Cannabis Distribution Act establishes the provincial government’s role as the lone wholesale distributor of non-medical cannabis in BC. In preparation for legalization, the provincial government, on October 5, 2018, released new and amended regulations for BC’s legalized non-medical cannabis system. Notable regulatory changes include:
A maximum possession limit of 1,000 grams for non-public places (e.g. at home);
Prohibiting smoking and vaping within six metres of doorways, windows, air intakes of public buildings, bus stops, or bus shelters;
Permitting indoor consumption of cannabis in certain public places (e.g. hotel rooms (if permitted), designated rooms in hospitals, assisted living facilities and retirement homes);
Allowing consumption of cannabis in recreational vehicles and trailers if they are parked where camping is permitted and being used as a private residence;
Exemptions for the consumption of medical cannabis on school property, buses, trains and boats;
Prohibiting the operation of a cannabis delivery service;
Finalizing violation ticket fines — $230 for smoking cannabis in a prohibited area, and $58 for vaping in a prohibited area;
Applying the 7% PST to all cannabis sales (medical and non-medical), in addition to the GST, federal excise tax and 15% wholesale mark-up issued by the LDB.

On this Day October 17th 1817
King Seti 1′ tomb is found

Nicola river, bank stabilation,

Rip Rap installed at Central park File Photo KDG

On October 25th the NWCRT will host a free presentation on Floods , Beetles., fires. Hot topic considering two years in a row of  high run spring run off.

Logging is going here and someone will be supplying lumber for the billions of dollars of hurricane destruction in the US. It almost makes it worth it to cancel Saudi arms sales.

Is there a spiraling curve to 5 degrees to pre-industrial  age temperatures, should we dust our caves. This bunch makes no representations on these things however they are offering an educational forum on water hydrology and how it works.

October 25th Merritt Civic center free event M. Free parking.

Guest presenter Rita Winkler, PhD  Registered Forester Hydrologist.

Rita is the Research Hydrologist with over 30 years of experience in forestry, applied hydrology, and water-related research. Rita coordinates the Upper Penticton Creek Watershed Experiment and the Mayson Lake Hydrologic Processes Study. Her research focuses on forest-snow interactions and the effects of forestry practices on water supplies. In addition to research, she also provides technical and professional advice on hydrologic and watershed management issues and is actively involved in operational and academic extension. Rita is an Adjunct Professor at Thompson Rivers University and the University of British Columbia.

Consulting areas: Forest hydrology, forest-snow interactions, forest management effects on streamflow and water quality, watershed management, hydrologic process research design, extension and education.

 

On this Day: October 16th 1841

Queens university is founded in Canada.

TGIF- Wild

The Merritt BC arts council presents Wild October 11th – November 4rth 2018 at the Olde Court house gallery…
The Nicola Valley Arts Council: now has nine community groups in its membership:
Canadian Country Music Heritage Society
Laureate Gamma Psi
Love to Dance Academy
Merritt Community Choir
Merritt Legion #096
Merritt Senior Citizens
Nicola Valley Film Society’
Strings Plus
On this day: October 12th 2017
The United states says it will leave UNESCO.

Pink Tea…

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What heirlooms can you pass on?      File Photo KDG

Authors Reading

There is a reading of poetry by at the Merritt public library on October 17th 6:30 to 7:30. Local author  Sunshine O Donovan will present a 30 minute reading  with her character Liza as she leaves the Kamloops Residential school to take up a job as a maid. A famous suffragette joins for tea and scones.

The Merritt public library is at 1699 Garcia street in Merritt.

On this Day: October 11th 2001

Polaroid goes bust.

What is proportional representation?

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The old court house on Nicola avenue , in Merritt. file Photo KDG

The Merritt public library is hosting a free seminar on Saturday, October 20th. The presentation is from 2-3:30pm 1699 Garcia street in Merritt BC.

It is presented by Fair Vote Kamloops ProRep, Proportional representation is touted as ” informative and non-partisan.”

Editors note: There is a provincial referendum on proportional representation with mail in ballets being delivered starting October 22 and ending November 2nd. The Ballot will have two questions, one keep first past the post, the current system or change to a proportional vote and rank the three choices presented for change.

Today in Day: October 10th 1967

Space law a treaty is signed by over 80 countries to regulate space.

Power poles

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Model plane stuck in power line   File Photo KDG

We lost another hydro pole on Merritt avenue recently> On September 30th around 9:30 a fire on the top of a pole near the corner of Garcia and Merritt Avenue was called in by  a concerned neighbour. The fire had developed of the top insulator of the same pole in the picture above. However the model plane from the past probably had nothing to do with it.

The hydro  crew replace the pole in the pouring rain and had power back on at 3AM. This is one of 5 incidences in the past few years in this area.

John Paul a retired lineman said that if there is dust in the air with rain it can increase the connectivity of the lines to the ground and can sometimes heat to a fire.

At this writing there are 22 outages around the province, outage report  .

Outages are common and are responded to in a professional way:

How power is restored

  1. We repair damage to power plants and high-voltage lines and substations.
  2. Next, we restore power to critical services, like hospitals, fire and water systems.
  3. We make repairs that will return service to large neighbourhoods, then smaller neighbourhoods and individual customers.

We can all take steps to prepare for an outage when we know it’s going to happen, but most often, power outages are caused by factors beyond our control – wind, lightning, motor vehicle accidents, animals, etc. – and can happen at any moment. It’s important to ensure you are prepared for an outage year-round. Source BC Hydro

Do not try to dislodge a toy your self…

 

 

On this Day: October 9th 1604

The most recent Super Nova in the Galaxy appears.

National Fire prevention week, be thankful!

Hey, make sure your batteries are good in your detectors as we don’t like hearing of Holiday tragic events taking people from our communities and souring experiences.
Diamond Vale fire destroys Four Plex and single family dwelling in Merritt

Foam retardant used in fighting late summer fire, Merritt BC, Canada ,  File Photo KDG

Don’t be a turkey this long weekend…

On this Day: October 5th 1990

The Melbourne Herald goes out of printing after 150 years.