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Nicola Valley’s News Voice Since 1905
merrittherald.com
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MERRITT HERALD FREE
THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2014 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
THE DOG DAYS OF SPRING This dog’s bravery was no joke on Tuesday, April 1 (April Fool’s Day) when it got a dog’s eye view of Garcia Street from atop the Nimble Thimble and Merritt Printing building at the corner of Granite and Garcia. Emily Wessel/Herald
Tagline tanked, options open By Michael Potestio THE HERALD
reporter@merrittherald.com
It’s back to the drawing board for Merritt’s logo and tagline. The city will be changing the highly contested phrase “Country with attitude,” Coun. Kurt Christopherson told the Herald. “It’s not going to be ‘Country with attitude,’ it’ll be a different approach,” Christopherson said. At the regular council meeting on March 25, council addressed a deferred
motion to continue to examine the brand “Merritt – Country with attitude” as presented by the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA), but also to accept alternate proposals from the public at large for consideration in the City of Merritt’s re-branding process. Christopherson, who originally proposed the motion, altered it. “I’ve changed my motion slightly to read that council continue to examine the brand process as presented by TOTA while accepting
input from the public at large for consideration in the City of Merritt’s rebranding,” Christopherson said. The motion was approved unanimously. Merritt Mayor Susan Roline said the ‘Country with attitude’ tagline came out prematurely, and because the process of fully developing the new brand is still about a month away, council wanted to have that process completed before establishing any official tagline. She said they will still seek further input from the public
before completion of the branding. Roline said opportunities for the public to give more input will be advertised on the city’s webpage and the city page in the Merritt Herald. “The community really didn’t care for “Country with attitude,’” Christopherson told the Herald. Merritt resident Dawn Chypyha, who has been circulating a petition against the tagline in Merritt and the Nicola Valley, said it has collected over 1,000 signatures.
Businesses targeted in robberies On March 31 around 8:30 p.m., Merritt RCMP responded to a call at the Olde Barley Market on Quilchena Avenue. Staff advised that a white male approximately six feet tall came into the store with an orange hoodie and a white mask obstructing his face. The male appeared to be carrying an unidentified item in his hand and was confronted by the clerk. The male hesitated and then fled from the scene. RCMP searched the area and located the hoodie and mask in a dumpster nearby. Staff was not harmed in the confrontation and nothing was taken but police are seeking any information from the public on this instance. Lotto tickets, cash taken from gas station Approximately two hours later, Merritt RCMP received a call from the Petro-Canada gas station on Voght Street at gasoline alley. The business was closed and staff was cleaning up for the evening when three males entered the front door wearing dark clothing, hoodies and balaclavas. Two males stayed in the front with a large bat or stick while the third male went behind the counter and grabbed a large quantity of cash and lotto tickets. The three males then fled the store on foot. Police dog services were called to attend and tracked the males to a nearby subdivision before losing the scent. The file is still under investigation and police are asking for anyone with information on these or any other crimes to please contact the Merritt RCMP at 250-378-4262 or to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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