GREENER GRASS?
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Council will look into other possible uses for the downtown lawn bowling facility / Page 3
Merritt’s Brian Barrett gets the nod for induction into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame / Page 17
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MERRITT HERALD FREE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
CITY BEAT
TIMBER! COMMUNITY NEWS
City settles on new signage theme Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
The City of Merritt will be moving ahead with a themed wayfinder signage inspired by the lumber industry in town. The signage also incorporates the sun logo and colours of the town flag; it was created for the city by Vancouver company Alta Design. At its regular meeting back on Dec. 15, a representative from Alta showed city council the wood-themed designs it's chosen after presenting three possible themes to stakeholders at a meeting back in the fall. The signage strategy Alta has been contracted to produce will cost the city about $40,000. The end product of Alta's work is a comprehensive signage strategy for the City of Merritt that includes detailed designs for a family of cycling, vehicle, pedestrian and transit signs, and design for a map kiosk of the city. As part of the first phase of
implementation of these signs, Alta is recommending placing three signs for vehicles at the major entrances to the city as well as two pedestrian kiosks — one at Spirit Square downtown and the other at city hall. The range of costs for manufacturing and installing those signs is estimated to be between $46,000 and $50,000, council heard from an Alta representative at the meeting. For phase two, the design company recommends the city place pedestrian directional signage around the city centre. This would constitute an additional cost of $5,400. The city's branding slogan wouldn't be something incorporated into this signage, the representative told council. At a stakeholders meeting earlier this fall, Alta previewed three possible designs, timber, copper and stone. Most of the 15 residents in attendance seemed to gravitate the most to the timber theme.
Local doctor closing up shop Michael Potestio THE MERRITT HERALD
Doctor Urbanus Bester, who has served the Nicola Valley for the past 20 years, is closing his practice. By the end of March this year, roughly 2,000 people now left without a family physician will need to find another on their own, but Bester said the other physicians in town will try to help out by taking on some of his patients. "We're going to really work hard
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to try and accommodate them in town and do the best we can to find another physician for them," Bester told the Herald. “We'll do what we can to accommodate,� confirmed Dr. Duncan Ross, chief of medical staff for the Nicola Valley Hospital.
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Bester said the Practice Ready Assessment Program — a government initiative aimed at recruiting international doctors for Logan Lake and Ashcroft — should open up some spots for new local patients amongst the remaining physicians. Bester’s decision to leave his practice comes down to lifestyle. "These practices are busy ... and it's just time to make a change for me — it's nothing specific," he said. With no one to pass his practice on to, he decided to close it.
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Council chose from timber, copper and stone themes for signs (top left) and map panels and kiosks (above). Submitted by Alta Design
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