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.
Merritt has a walk of stars walk and a hall of fame. File Photo KDG
The Chamber is completing its silent auction with a live auction at 5 PM tonight at the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame building 2025 Quilchena Avenue. Two of the fourteen trees decorated for the parade on Friday will be sold by the parade committee.
The Hall of Fame is a progression from the activities around the Walk of Stars and the years of country music festivals in Merritt.:
Sarah Molnar works at a recent Rotary event. Her father is a long time member. Photo KDG
The City of Merritt has had a long presence of the Rotary organization. The local business and professionals a s well as others often partner with the city and others to do projects and have their name on tangible legacy’s including a park and a concrete skateboard park. They have a program that goes overseas to address the disease of polio.
The clubs raise monies internally but sometimes go to the public with events such as radio actions and theme fundraisers.
Rotary meets in Merritt at the Brambles bakery in the 2100 block of Quilchena avenue. It is know as a service organization and its motto is Service above Self.
Cold conditions can still result in Black ice: File photo KDG
The highways system makes winter tires required from October 1st to March 31st , this is to even be on some roads ( high altitude subject to changing conditions). These roads are posted with signs and there is a fine no matter what the present conditions are as you travel . The fine:($121.00) for unmarked proper tires of 3.5 mm of tread.
VICTORIA – With winter quickly approaching, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure would like to remind motorists that beginning today, Oct. 1, 2014, winter tires are required on many highways throughout the province.
Signs are posted on each of the designated highways to advise motorists where winter tires are required. These are generally located approaching high mountain passes and interior highways where conditions can change from rain to snow very quickly.
As a result of the technical analysis completed during the Rural Highway Safety and Speed Review, winter tires have been defined as those labelled with either the winter mountain/snowflake symbol or the mud and snow (M+S) designation. Winter tires must also be in good condition with a minimum tread depth of 3.5 mm.
There is also a new time frame that winter tires are required on the high mountain passes. The new time frame is October 1 to March 31 (it previously was October 1 to April 30).
The ministry encourages drivers to always drive to the road conditions and choose the best tires possible. Tires with the winter mountain/snowflake symbol provide the best level of traction and safety in severe snow and ice conditions. Source BC govt.
So what about where it is not posted as required at all times? In our opinion from time and experience if you are driving in your small town and have an accident and conditions contribute to it then you will be held responsible perhaps as seriously as not having used required care and attention.
This can make you at fault and hurt severely. Here’s the rule accidents happen for a reason and someone will apply it to any use of a motor vehicle, to a fault. You may have good all season radials and they work, however over night lows are going below -8 Celsius this week and next and our subjective experience tells us that snow is solid as compact and black ice can be a problem. These conditions are different then slushy watery snow.
All these weather conditions are a challenge to be addressed, good luck and be aware… Watch and beeeeeee winter smart….
On this Day: November 19th 1847
The second Canadian rail line, is opened, the Montreal to La-chine line.
On the corner of Garcia and Quilchena Avenue in Merritt BC Canada is one of the land marks of the 700 souls that made the City of Merritt at the top of the Victorian/ Edwardian age. In the side walk out side and across the street proudly displayed is a plug that tells the date of the cities incorporation in 1911. April first of that year saw a council in place that and a local doctor starting to take on his own, a 1908 graduate of Magill University and a medical Doctor John Joseph Gilles.
Invited by a CPR director to the wealth of coal, agriculture and timber and a microcosm of Victorian prosperity and with new world hope, the little city sported a couple blocks of enterprise anchored by the Adelphia and the Coldwater Hotel. The council found a life in this valley.
With only serious European contact from the mid 19th century a place of relative respite from long grudges of the past, Merritt developed and prospered with 2 diversions of old world strife drawing her resources and strength.
DR. Gillis had his practice in the Coldwater hotel and raised 8 children in a house on Garcia (a couple of blocks down from the Adelphia) street now a BB run by the Gillespie family.
At this writing the progenitry of JJ are planning a get together in early September. We applaud the effort to remember this families effort for our past and future. You may want to take an interest in the website. http://www.gillisfamilyreunion2015.com/#!events/c1cb2
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On this Day August 4th 70 CE On this Day August 4th 70 CE
The retail price of gas has remained stable here with 7 of the 8 outlets offering it at $1.23.9 cents a liter. All but is also the truck stop who offers at $128.9 reporting 20 hours ago instead of the others at 4 hrs. ago. The Husky station also has a compressed hydrogen( LNG Liquefied Natural Gas) outlet in the large lot behind the gasoline service.
Merritt is a small community in the South Central part of BC , and is in the center of the Coquihalla highway system connecting the cities of Kamloops, Kelowna and Princeton with the lower mainland and Vancouver. http://www.bcgasprices.com/index.aspx?area=Merritt&dl=Y&fuel=A&intro=Y
On this day: June 19th 1961
The poles that are on highway 8 have had their Osprey nests removed. The nests were occupied by Canadian Geese in 2010 and contained a lot of bailing twine. There is a serious strangulation risk for the young of geese from bailing twine.
The poles are on the entry to Merritt British Columbia from the west ( Spences Bridge) Osprey live of trout in the Nicola River.
On this Day: April 22 1977
Fiber optic cable is used for the first time in telephone transmission:
A demonstrator outside the public meeting for the information of waste dumping in the Sunshine valley Photo KDG
Monday saw the Merritt Civic center with about 200 people listen to speakers talk of the Bio solids being dumped a the 300 acre Dry lake site in the Sunshine Valley area of Merritt. A trucking company has two five-year contracts to dump Class A and B bio solids from two municipality including Abbotsford in the lower mainland. The business has the use of a public access forestry road to the area that they improved from a four-wheel drive access to haulage truck.
An unincorporated association called Friends of the Nicola Valley ( a face book group) were on hand in an information room with information and a petition against the activity. The group says they have a lawyer to see to their interests. The biggest concerns were smell , the effect on property values and future demand for more such land.
The municipalities involved are not part of the local regional district and appear to have come in under the radar with the only regulatory obligation being to given notice to the environment ministry.
On this day: January 27th 1973
The Paris accord ends the American war in South East Asia.
The City of Merritt British Columbia has Canadian Flag at about 3000 Ft above sea level on the west side. Set on the hillside it commands highway number 8 below.
Placed and maintained by a local business the 8 by 16 foot flags last about 600 thousand “severe flaps of the flag by the wind and cost about 1000 dollars to replace”. The business has done this for the community since 1967.
Below at the highway level there is a concrete bin that offers free sand. The owner says its not construction grade or washed but it’s fine for walks and cat boxs etc… People are welcome to take amounts appropriate for those uses.
Today in history:January 15th 1892
James Naismith publishes the rules to basket ball.
Norm Hansen a local naturalist is presenting at the societies January meeting.
Did you know that, a few thousand years ago as the last ice-age was coming to an end, the Nicola Valley was deep under a series of huge lakes. Massive chunks of ice blocked valleys to create these lakes, and as the ice melted the water rushing out of the lakes carved deep gorges. Today you can still see the lake shores of these ice dams, high in the hills around the Nicola Valley, and travel along the gorges that they carved out. Norm Hansen, a long-time forester from Merritt and NNS director, has for many years researched the history of these ice dams and their remnants and will share this amazing story with us.
Norm had a career in forestry including the private sector as a consultant after securing a degree from the university of British Columbia, Norm was raised in Golden BC in the Rocky Mountains and has a good appreciation of natural process and the wonder of the natural environment. Norms talk will be on January 15th at the NVIT college lecture theater, starting at 7:pm the society says that all are welcome,and membership or donation requested. Membership applications are available on the groups site:http://www.nicolanaturalists.ca/ The non-profit group takes responsibility for the winter bird count and are involved in scrutiny of frogs and other creatures here, they are members in good standing of the provincial naturalist organization.
Today in history: January 7th 1835 The HMS Beagle reaches the Chonos Archipelago
The Nicola Valley Aquatic Center is having a new years eve ( after noon swim.) The swim will be on December 31st from 1 -3 PM at he facility on Mamette avenue in Merritt.
There is no charge for the swim and the pool is in walking proximity to 5 EV charging stations some of which take 2 hours to recharge an EV.
Today in history,December 30th 1948
The Tony award winning Kiss me Kate opens at the Cole Porter theater.
Kevin Griffiths
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The Proprietor Review 