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from May 21 - 2020
SENIORS ENJOYING OUTDOORS TIME / PAGE 2 CENTS ICEBREAKER SET FOR THIS WEEKEND /PAGE 16
TEEN RUNNING FOR FOOD BANK / PAGE 12 LOCAL ARENAS AND RINKS DEEMED SAFE /PAGE 17
VOGHT STREET The historically poor street for ooding will see a new project this summer to help mitigate the issue.
INSIDE...
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Nicola Valley’s News Voice Since 1905
MERRITT HERALD merrittherald.com bcclassified.com
CLIMATE CHANGE The Chief of the Lower Nicola Indian Band is bringing a wealth of experience to a provincial panel on climate change.
INSIDE... / Page 3
‘Wine Fairies’ has become quite a phenomenon in Merritt with social distancing, leaving care packages on porches for friends and family. STORY /PAGE 3
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
A SPOOKY GOOD TIME There were games, prizes, cool costumes, a haunted house and — of course — a whole lot of candy at the well attended City of Merritt Spooktacular. The 2017 edition had the best attendance on record with 1,100 people taking part in the annual Halloween event held on Oct. 20. Michael Potestio/Herald More online at merrittherald.com
WINE FAIRIES
School District 58 has come out with a way for graduating students to still celebrate in as ‘real’ a ways as possible. ONLINE GRAD /PAGE 5 The Nicola Valley Shelter Society is ready to open the doors to a newly-designated winter shelter on Nicola Avenue. SHELTER OPENING
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A four-year nancial plan was recently approved by City Council, which included adding additional RCMP to the Merritt detachment. CITY BUDGET /PAGE 10 The closure of a truck stop at the Wagon West Travel Plaza has led to commercial truckers parking illegally in town, says Merritt’s mayor. TRAFFIC WOES
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NICOLA VALLEY NEWS LOCAL FLOODING Heavy rains causing water levels to rise
The City of Merritt is warning residents that there will be an increase of outflows from Nicola Lake, which will see water levels rise throughout the City.
The Provincial dam operator in charge of Nicola Lake has advised the city that due to high levels of rain over the long weekend, inflows to Nicola Lake have increased and outflows must also be increased to compensate for extra water.
The gates at Nicola dam were set at 32.5 cubic metres per second, which had resulted in high water levels noticeable in the Nicola River, where it flows through Merritt. However, no flooding had been reported and levels were well below the highs that caused extensive flooding in 2017 and 2018.
The outflow from the gates will now be increased to 37 cubic centimetres per second.
According to a release from the City of Merritt, “Residents can expect that over the next 12 hours, water levels will rise by ~5 inches vs. the current levels. We do not anticipate that this level of flow will cause overland flooding, however, river levels will be ~2 inches higher than Friday’s peak, when flows from the dam were at ~35.5 cubic metres per second.”
Jake Courtepatte MERRITT HERALD
Kamloops, the whole Province, and the whole nation are mourning for the Snowbirds pilot who crashed in Kamloops over the weekend.
Captain Jennifer Casey, the Public Affairs Officer for the Snowbirds, is who died during the crash, as reported by Global News.
One of the RCAF’s Snowbirds has been confirmed to have crashed in Kamloops into a house.
Casey succumbed to her injuries, said one witness to Kamloops This Week.
Both occupants of the house are fine.
The Royal Canadian Air Force confirmed the disaster in a Sunday afternoon tweet.
“The RCAF has been made aware that a Canadian Forces Snowbirds aircraft crashed in the vicinity of Kamloops, B.C.,” reads the tweet.
Another tweet came out around 4:30p.m. announcing the death of the one pilot, namely Casey.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce that one member of the CF Snowbirds team has died and one has sustained serious injuries. We can confirm that we have contacted all primary family members of those involved. More information will be communicated in the near future.”
Initial reports came in around 11:42a.m.
According to witness reports, the jet just “fell from the sky” shortly after takeoff.
Reports are that the pilot managed to eject before the crash,
For those in low lying areas who may be concerned about flooding on their property, prefilled sandbags are available at the Civic Centre. Residents are encouraged to watch for any further updates from the city as they continue to monitor freshet levels. Morgan Hampton LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Kamloops mourns for fallen pilot
landing on a nearby house. The house the plane hit was on Glenview Road in the Brocklehurst area.
Police are asking for the public to refrain from attending the following streets in the area: Glenview Avenue, Crestline Street, Schreiner Street, Tranquille Road.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said one individual was transported to hospital. Paramedics could not confirm the status of the pilot.
The Kamloops airport also confirmed the incident in a tweet, adding that its aircraft rescue fleet is responding to the situation.
The Snowbirds were making a Kamloops stop as part of their cross-country tour to thank Canadians for doing their part during COVID-19. The problem with the plane happened shortly after takeoff, when witnesses heard a “pop” sound.
Two of the Snowbird planes took off in tandem at the airport, with one having no problems.
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Florentine residents enjoying the sunshine
Henry and Joan on their daily excursion to feed the birds. Photo submittedt
In late March of this year, an outbreak of COVID-19 was recorded at Vancouver’s Lynn Valley Care Home, causing B.C.’s seniors and acute care facilities to enter a state of lockdown.
Since that time, many seniors have faced loneliness, isolation and boredom as they are no longer able to venture out of the facilities or welcome friends and families in.
At the Florentine in Merritt, staff have been coming up with ways to keep residents active and engaged while they are under quarantine.
“Due to Covid-19 we have had to scale back on our activities that involved a close proximity with our residents,” said Andrew Klymchuk, Maintenance Supervisor.
“Normal activities like bus trips, paint classes, bingo, arts and crafts, puzzles and all sorts of games have suffered as a result.”
However, now that the weather has become warmer and BC’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Morgan Hampton LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER
Bonnie Henry is encouraging people to get out and enjoy the outdoors, residents at the Florentine are getting out and about on the grounds.
“Our residents have adapted by enjoying walks around the building and out through the gardens to our gazebo seating where they can enjoy a variety of landscaping and birdwatching.”
Florentine residents maintain some of the gardens themselves, helping to spread topsoil and brighten the gardens in and around the on-site gazebo.
Those outside of the Florentine have also helped to cheer residents and staff by including them in a Party Parade, and also by leaving notes and hearts on the windows when they are unable to come in and physically visit with their friends and loved ones.
“The isolation of a self-quarantine can affect the mental health of residents and staff in long term care facilities, but we have found a resilience in each other’s company to make it through this together,” said Klymchuk.
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