Opinion

Farm hit hard by flooding

MacVicar Family Farm is shown underwater as the family evacuates to safety during the flood of Nov. 15, during which the nearby Nicola River spilled its banks. Shealynn MacVicar/Submitted

Join us for the cause The COLDEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR

comes to Merritt once again

The Nicola Valley Food Bank is encouraging Merrittonians to once again team up, fund raise, and walk in the second annual Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY). This family-friendly, winterrific fundraising walk with a virtual option available that takes place on the evening of February 26, 2022. The event will be starting at the Food Bank, and teams can choose to walk either two or five kilometers to support people experiencing hunger, hurt, and homelessness in Merritt.

For more information, please visit https://cnoy.org/location/nicolavalley

Morgan Hampton REPORTER@MERRITTHERALD.COM

Following an atmospheric river event in November 2021 which saw heavy rains, the water gauge on the Coldwater River near Brookmere began to show extreme and concerning rise. Within hours, the rapidly rising water began to impact properties in Merritt and others downstream a few hours after.

Shealynn MacVicar, her husband Eric and their two children run the MacVicar Family Farm on ten acres in Sunshine Valley by the Nicola River, which joins with the Coldwater in Merritt. They had no idea anything was amiss until family called to check on them.

“We woke up the morning of the flood to a phone call from family in town asking if we were alright, the river was flooding and town was being evacuated,” says Shealynn.

“We had no idea anything was going on.”

At 7:00 AM the MacVicars checked the river, which they noted was high but not threatening their property or any infrastructure, unlike in Merritt, where people had been evacuating since the early hours of the morning.

However, the situation changed quickly as the river raged on unabated and the inclement weather continued.

“By 8:30 AM it was beginning to breach its banks, so we started trying to get things moved out of the back part of the property to give the river room to rise,” said Shealynn.

“We began opening gates for our poultry who live back there and tried to shoo them up closer to the house and hay piles to safety, and by the time we had them free we turned around and the horses were standing knee deep in water.”

Realizing that this was an unprecedented event and that things were likely to get worse before they got better, the MacVicars decided to evacuate before it was too late and their access was cut off completely.

During the flood event, all but one of the five bridges in the area was washed out or compromised including the Spius Creek bridge, Petit Creek bridge, Petit Creek rail bridge and the Sunshine Valley East bridge, which the MacVicars use to access their home.

The horses were quickly evacuated to a neighbouring farm.

“By the time we came back it was evident there was not much else we had time to save, so we packed our bags, pets, and kids into the truck and made the call to get to safety,” said Shealynn.

“We left our place around 1:00 PM through headlight deep water in our truck, knowing the only part of our ten acres that wasn’t yet under water was our house, and the river was still rising. We had no idea what we would be coming home to. We had no time to think or feel anything, it was hair straight back from the moment we woke up until we tucked tail and left. Driving away was quite surreal.”

The MacVicars spent the night with

See ‘FARM’ Page 15

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EDITORIAL New face in town

IZAIAH REYES

HERALD EDITOR

Allow me to introduce myself.

Hello! I think this is the best word to start our relationship off. My name is Izaiah Louis Reyes, and I am the new editor for the Merritt Herald. You will be meeting me every Thursday when you read the paper so I figured you should get to know me better.

I am 26 years old and a recent journalism graduate from Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta.

I am a Filipino who loves food and sports. If you ask me what sport, I would say boxing and basketball. If you ask me what food, I would say anything that’s good!

When I moved here in Merritt for the job, I had to leave my mom, dad, and brother back in Calgary. Ironically, I left them only to join a new family of four with the Herald.

This is my second time moving away from home and I knew it would be a tough adjustment, but I know this is what it takes for me to grow and better myself.

Family is an important concept to me and I would love to make Merrittonians a part of mine as I begin this new journey. I want to know more about this town and its people. We all have a story, and I would love to hear and share yours!

I am very thankful that our Publisher, Theresa Arnold, decided that I should be given this role. I know that Jake Courtepatte, my predecessor, has given you great quality work throughout his tenure and I am planning to do the same.

VIEWPOINT

Patience McKigney

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Publisher Theresa Arnold publisher@merrittherald.com 250-378-4241 MERRITT HERALD

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