Merritt Herald September 26, 2024 by Merritt Herald

Resolutions about toxic drug crisis from Kamloops, Merritt earn UBCM support.

TOXIC DRUG CRISIS /PAGE 8

ORANGE SHIRT

The Herald is running stories in honour of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Albas urges government to act

Laísa Condé newsroom@merrittherald.com

Now almost three years since the atmospheric river flood caused the evacuation of the entire City of Merritt, the recovery process continues at a crawl while awaiting more of a federal response.

On Sept. 19, Dan Albas, member of Parliament for the Central OkanaganSimilkameen-Nicola riding, brought attention to the struggles that both Merritt and Princeton have been facing after the 2021 flood at a House of Commons sitting.

“In 2021, these communities were devastated by massive floods. The Prime Minister told them that he had their backs. Ministers visited, telling them to hang tight for their new Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF),” Albas stated.

“The municipalities apply, jump through every hoop, spending hundreds of thousands in engineering studies only to be denied.”

In June, City of Merritt got its application for $38 million in funding denied because of a “technicality.”

At the time, Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz stated the city was suggested to bundle the DMAF funding with further funding from the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program in the application.

Albas expressed his discontentment that “communities that never experienced flooding or fires are receiving funds, while Merritt and Princeton are left behind.”

“Every member here should know that people in these communities are angry at these broken commitments. It’s gotten so bad that Merritt has created an e-petition, calling on the Government to honour its promises,” he added.

The e-petition launched by the City of Merritt’s Flood Mitigation team aims to garner federal support for disaster mitigation, critical to implement a comprehensive dike system designed to protect Merritt from future flooding events.

Once the petition collects 500 signatures, Dan Albas, member of Parliament for the riding of Central OkanaganSimilkameen-Nicola, will secure time to advocate on behalf of Merritt’s needs on the parliamentary floor.

“I encourage all concerned citizens to support petition e-5135. If being Canadian means anything, it means looking after one another. I remind the Prime Minister that it is never too late to do the right thing for Merritt and Princeton.”

For those interested in supporting the cause, the e-petition can be accessed ourcommons. ca/en/Petition/Sign/e-5135

Oktoberfest in Merritt, a success. Page 10. Photo/Kenneth Wong

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Healing fragile B.C. health system is key election issue

Mike Goetz has added bill collector to his list of responsibilities as mayor of Merritt in British Columbia’s Interior.

In June, Goetz sent the province an invoice for $103,831.87, the cost, he said, for closures of the Nicola Valley Hospital emergency room.

He said the bill for the 19 closures last year and the first five closures this year includes a partial refund of what the city paid for hospital services, as well as the cost when firefighters respond to medical calls because paramedics are busy transporting patients to Kamloops, about 85 kilometres to the northeast.

And GST, of course.

Goetz said the costs would be equivalent to a one-per-cent increase in taxes for the community, unless the province picked up the tab, and came on top of the more than $600,000 the municipality already pays the province annually for its hospital.

“That’s unacceptable to ask our taxpayers to pay for this system twice. We’ve paid for it once, we expect 365 days of coverage, because that’s what you charged us for,” he said.

The mayor isn’t alone in his frustration with the state of B.C.’s health system. Temporary emergency room shutdowns have hit rural and urban hospitals, hundreds of cancer patients have been sent across the U.S. border for radiation therapy, and there’s a shortage of nurses and doctors.

It’s a central issue ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election, with the B.C. Conservatives offering sweeping changes and at least one major change promised by the governing New Democrats not set to be fully implemented until after the election.

Dr. Rita McCracken, a family doctor and assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, said fixing the province’s health-care system will require systemic changes, beyond hiring more employees.

“We don’t have enough people doing the jobs, but at the same time, we have a system that is made out of Scotch Tape and wet paper that we’re trying to graduate people and hire people into,” she said.

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad made health care the focus of his first major platform commitment in July, long before Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon suspended his BC United Party’s campaign and threw his support behind the Conservatives.

The Conservatives say that if elected they will pay to send more people outside the province for health care and expand the use of private clinics. Rustad has also promised to compensate health workers who lost their jobs for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Our health-care system in B.C. is in crisis. More than that, it is failing. More money into the system is not the solution,” Rustad

said in July.

Rustad faced criticism Monday over a video, circulated by the NDP, in which he tells a group of former public service employees who lost their jobs for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 that he wishes he hadn’t received three shots of the “so-called vaccine.”

In the video from June, Rustad said he’d realized vaccination campaigns weren’t about trying to stop the spread of COVID-19 but rather were “around shaping opinion and control on the population.”

The BC Greens have said they want to establish community health centres in all 93 ridings in B.C. to replace the current network of urgent and primary care centres, saying they had failed to retain staff and provide patients with primary care connections.

Leader Sonia Furstenau said the plan would put “timely, comprehensive care all in one place” and streamline referrals by giving access to doctors, nurses, mental health professionals and specialists within a patient’s community.

As health minister, Adrian Dix has acknowledged the province’s struggles with health-care staffing that he said was a problem across the country.

In an interview with Global News over the Labour Day long weekend, when several emergency rooms were closed, Dix said the government was “doing absolutely everything we can” and that “we don’t consider it ever acceptable” for emergency rooms to close.

The province does not compile a public tally of emergency room closures but there have been dozens over the summer, in the Interior, north and elsewhere.

In the Interior Health region alone, there were 66 emergency room closures in the first half of 2024 because of a lack of either

Ashley Joannou THE CANADIAN PRESS

The latest ER closure at the Nicola Valley Hospital occured on early Sunday, Sept. 22, to early Monday due to “limited physician availability.” Photo/Herald file.

Public Hearing

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“You can only work short staffed so often”

From Page 3

Dix has said the province added 250,000 nursing hours “in the last number of years” and had 831 net new family doctors.

The NDP is promising that if re-elected it will expand when pharmacists can prescribe medications, reduce paperwork for doctors, add more physician assistants and expand the range of services they provide.

Leader David Eby said a re-elected government would provide immediate provisional licences for doctors, nurses, and midwives trained in Canada who stepped out of the system, and offer the same licences in six weeks for professionals trained in some regions outside of the country.

But McCracken said whoever wins in October will have more to worry about than hiring. She said the next government has to do a better job of quantifying exactly what is required, and understanding the system so that doctors want to stay where they are most needed.

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“We haven’t really been addressing — and it echoes over into nursing and emergency rooms and in all the different places — that we have not created a sophisticated-enough assessment of what we need to be providing care,” she said.

Ahead of the election the The BC College of Family Physicians and BC Family Doctors published a series of requests for its members from the next government, including access to extended health and dental benefits, sick days and a pension plan.

They say the government needs to reduce paperwork and fund additional supports like nurses in family medicine clinics.

The organizations estimate more than 700,000 British Columbians don’t have access to a family doctor and nearly 40 per cent of family doctors are set to retire or reduce clinical hours within five years.

McCracken said under the NDP government there had been “some very significant shifts in the right direction,” pointing to a new payment model for doctors launched in 2023, but added such moves represented “the first two or three steps of probably 100 that we need to take in order to stabilize the system.”

Adriane Gear, president of the BC Nurses’ Union said working in an emergency room was a particularly challenging role.

“Nurses have tried their very best to hold up the system. But you can only work short staffed so often. You can only know that you’re actually not providing the care that people need so many times. And then you look around and you go, ‘you know what? This is killing me,’” she said.

She said the union wanted a promise from political leaders to continue working on meeting nurse-patient ratios.

In March, B.C. announced it would be the first province to implement such a policy, something Gear said had helped retain and recruit nurses in other countries.

In the days leading up to the election campaign in September, the NDP government announced a series of agreed-to ratios including one nurse to three patients for general emergency room visits, 1:1 for trauma, and 1:4 for short surgical stays.

It said implementation would begin this fall.

Gear said she wanted a similar promise from the other party leaders if they are elected.

McCracken described health care as “whack-a-mole these days” with multiple serious issues popping up that affect voters.

“When you’re having a health crisis and you realize you need to drive for 3 1/2 hours in the middle of the night, that just brings up a lot of feelings, and I think it’s going to get transmitted to active discussions during the campaign,” she said.

In Merritt, Goetz said in an interview near the end of August that he had not received a response to the bill from Dix. But if he doesn’t get one, he said he was “sending it to collections.”

“I’ve called it a house on fire, and that’s exactly what it is,” he said.

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Publisher

Theresa Arnold publisher@merrittherald.com

250-378-4241

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Editor Laísa Condé newsroom@merrittherald.com

250-378-4241

VIEWPOINT

Reporter

Kenneth Wong reporter@merrittherald.com

250-378-4241

AVE.,

Josephin Bacani

OPINION

ALBAS: No confidence

In last week’s report, I asked the following question: “If given the chance to participate in a nonconfidence vote on the Trudeau government, would you opt for an election now or prefer to wait until October 2025?

What’s your reasoning behind this choice?”

The response I received was overwhelming. To my surprise, almost everyone who responded expressed support for a federal election.

I’m surprised by this response, given that we currently have a provincial election scheduled for October. I had expected more people to be hesitant about the possibility of a federal election in the fall as well. I was mistaken. Many respondents cited their difficult circumstances, with either themselves or their close friends and family struggling.

Some are seniors on fixed incomes who must choose between buying needed medication or gas and groceries. Many Canadian families, struggling to afford their rent or mortgage, are resorting to food banks to make ends meet. They want a government that will lower their taxes at the pump and reduce prices at grocery stores (which are heavily dependent on fuel prices). These individuals see the carbon tax and its supporters as the problem, not the solution.

For those who support such a carbon tax election, I can inform you that next week in the House of Commons, the Official Conservative Opposition plans to submit the following motion for a vote: “The House has no confidence in the prime minister and the government.”

Does this mean there will be an election? If a majority of MPs vote no confidence in the Trudeau Liberal Government, it would trigger

a fall federal election.

However, I believe this is unlikely. The Liberal Government only needs the support of either the NDP or Bloc Québécois caucus to survive this confidence vote. By the numbers, the Liberals currently hold 154 seats and need 169 votes for a majority, given that the House of Commons has 338 seats. In other words, the Liberals need just 15 more votes. The Bloc Québécois currently holds 33 seats, the NDP 25 seats, and the Green Party 2 seats.

Rumors have already circulated that the Liberals and Bloc Québécois may negotiate a deal in which the Bloc receives concessions in exchange for supporting the Liberal government. This scenario could potentially allow the NDP to vote against the Liberals, knowing that with Bloc support, an election would still be avoided.

However, I don’t believe the NDP will take that risk. In my opinion, they’ll likely find a reason to support the Trudeau Liberal government and avoid an election. I say “find a reason” because the NDP Leader continues to claim that the Trudeau Liberal Government is “finished” and doesn’t deserve re-election.

Before I pose this week’s question, I’d like to explain my reasoning. When I asked last week’s question, I was surprised by how few individuals expressed opposition to the idea. At face value, this could suggest that a significant portion of people in our area are deeply dissatisfied with the current Trudeau Liberal government.

I wonder if some people are dissatisfied with the current composition of our minority government, where parties with relatively few seats can disproportionately influence the Liberal government’s decisions. In other words, some might prefer either a majority government or a different composition in our current minority government.

My question this week. Would you prefer the next federal government to be a majority or another minority?

LETTERS to the editor Go-Cents-Go!

Editor,

Are you ready for hockey season? Centennials hockey is back for the 24/25 season.

Your Merritt Centennials are at home to play tomorrow at 7 p.m. against the Kamloops Storm. On Monday, they will play the Princeton Posse at 2 p.m.

Let’s fill the barn and support your team by cheering loud and proud!

See you there hockey fans!

From a long time supporter of over 20 years.

Always a Cents fan.

Callie Langlois-Torgerson Resident of Merritt

LowerNicola GARLICFEST

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From the Herald archives: Sept., 2015 KOREAN

FIREFIGHTERS

A group of wildfire fighters were in town, training with the BC Wildfire Centre.

The students were members of the Korean Forest Service, participating in a program that is not in its seventh year. They were in the hills around Merritt investigating fires that were started purposely to determine where and how the case study fires were started, and how they spread.

“It’s about determining cause, it’s about fire cause investigation,” said Richard King, superintendent of staff development training.

LETTERS POLICY

The Merritt Herald welcomes your letters, on any subject, addressed to the editor. Letters may be edited for length, taste and clarity. Please keep letters to 300 words or less. Email letters to: newsroom@ merrittherald. com.

DAN ALBAS VIEW FROM THE HILL

NICOLA VALLEY NEWS

Resolutions about toxic drug crisis from

Kamloops, Merritt earn UBCM support

Local government representatives from across B.C. have supported a pair of resolutions from Kamloops and Merritt calling for a more balanced approach to the toxic drug crisis and requesting statistics about the province’s drug decriminalization pilot program.

The resolutions were presented during the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver on Thursday.

The Kamloops-sponsored resolution said local governments need the province to “move from reaction to action” on the toxic drug crisis with a plan that balances prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery, and enforcement — often known as the four pillars approach.

The resolution was endorsed by the Southern Interior Local Government Association earlier this year, and was supported by UBCM representatives without debate.

The Merritt-sponsored motion recommended calling on the province to ask the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions to create a dashboard with data about the decriminalization pilot program.

The resolution stated there hasn’t yet been statistics or a reporting dashboard provided to support the pilot’s continuation or demonstrate the program has been successful in decreasing harm.

Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz said the motion was put forward to complement

Kamloops’ recommendation about the four-pillar approach to the toxic drug crisis.

Goetz said more information is needed to find the best way forward.

“Most pilot programs that I have been involved in my lifetime have very substantial reporting to make sure the pilot program is working,” he said.

Another municipal representative spoke out against the resolution, saying she felt such a dashboard could be used to further stigmatize those using substances.

“These folks aren’t statistics,” she said.

She noted there is a dashboard on the BC Centre for Disease Control website that reports on unregulated drug deaths and some other related statistics.

Local government representatives at UBCM voted in favour of the recommendation, which also had support from SILGA earlier this year.

UBCM said its main forum for its policy-making is the annual resolutions cycle.

“It provides an opportunity for local governments of all sizes and from all areas of the province to express concerns, share their experiences and take a united position,” UBCM said on its website.

UBCM said resolutions often lead to substantive, provincewide changes, although they can sometimes take years to be realized.

Kristen Holliday CASTANET

The Union of B.C. Municipalities convention was held in Vancouver from Sept. 16 to Sept. 20. Photo/Union of B.C. Municipalities

NICOLA VALLEY NEWS

Merritt resident loans artifacts recovered from 2021 flood to New York exhibit

A Merritt resident participated in an initiative aimed at raising awareness about climate change.

On Sept. 24, Sierra Club Canada –an environmental non-profit organization – debuted a one day pop-up exhibit in New York that emphasized the costs of climate change and the urgent need to protect the environment and things that people love.

The exhibit “Protect What We Love: Artifacts from floods and wildfires in Canada: Stories of loss & resilience from climate crisis” took place in New York, NY, during the United Nations General Assembly High Level Week & New York Climate Week.

One of the climate survivors that loaned artifacts to the exhibit is Diana Boston, a member of Upper Nicola Band and Merritt resident.

Boston, like many other residents in the Nicola Valley, had her home severely damaged in the 2021 flood.

“I felt every emotion that possibly there was. Started off in shock and then disbelief, and then angry and sad and scared,” Boston recalls when the 2021 flood happened and damaged her house. “To this day, when it rains, I get worried.”

“I really want to showcase how important it is for us to really start looking at global warming and the impacts of oil and gas companies, because it seems like in the last decade, every summer, we’ve had to face flood, fire and drought all in a couple of months.”

For the exhibit, Boston loaned a stuffed Dalmatian and a photo album of her son’s first six months of life.

“I had him (stuffed Dalmatian) on display to kind of remind me of all the different camps and all the different things I went to as a younger child. I got to keep him, thankfully, so I can still have him forever,” Boston explained.

She hopes that those who stopped by the exhibit saw and realized that it’s not just the loss of material possessions, such as cars, houses, shoes, jewelry and so on, but rather think of all the memories, history and family mementos.

“I think seeing is believing. You could talk to people about it all you want, it’ll go in one ear and out in the other. One you actually have an item that has meaning to somebody and you see it and you think about (how) that could happen anywhere,” Boston reflected.

“I’m hoping people will more understand that this can happen to anybody, anywhere, anytime. If we don’t start looking at putting a cap on emissions and helping global warming before it gets worse, then this could happen anywhere.”

Wanttobecomeanexhibitor?Visitourwebsiteformoreinformation|www.bchomeshows.com

Laísa Condé newsroom@merrittherald.com

Diana Boston with her childhood toy that was recovered from the 2021 flood in Merritt. Photo/Danielle Audet

Brew-tiful memories at Merritt’s Oktoberfest

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Merrittonians gathered at the Nicola Valley Rodeo Grounds for a different event this past weekend. The 2024 Oktoberfest in Merritt marked the comeback of the event to town after the COVID-19 pandemic. Photos/Kenneth Wong

NICOLA VALLEY NEWS

TNRD clinches Excellence in Governance award

Kenneth Wong reporter@merrittherald.com

Thompson-Nicola Regional District was awarded the 2024 Excellence in Governance award at Union of British Columbia Municipalities’ 2024 Convention.

The award is presented annually to only one local B.C. government as a part of UBCM’s Community Excellence Awards.

According to a TNRD press release, the regional district received this award due to its service and taxation communications materials which included detailed infographics showing services and costs for each community, promoting public engagement in the 2024 budget process, offering a clear method for explaining complex financial information, and showcased exemplary practices in openness and accountability.

Chief Administrative Officer Scott Hildebrand also attributes the victory to a change in culture in the TNRD.

“We’ve worked hard over the last four or five years, and the culture has changed significantly at the TNRD,” said Hildebrand. “People want to come to work, they come, they’re happy, they’re engaged. We’ve really transformed our entire staff through the organization and people are actually filling vacancies and people are wanting to work with us.”

“The culture has changed in a way that we’re a much closer team, we could communicate better, we’re much more transparent both internally and externally,” added Hildebrand. “It’s just different than what it was in the past; from my understanding, I’ve only been there for four or five years, so I can’t speak to everything, but certainly have heard that it’s a much better environment and people are thankful for that.”

Board Chair Barbara Roden expressed gratitude and highlighted the importance of the accolade. “One of the five priorities identified in the TNRD’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan is Responsible

Governance and Service Excellence,” said Roden. “This award is both a recognition of our commitment to responsible governance and an encouragement to continue our efforts to bring transparency and accountability to all of our practices.”

The Fraser Valley Regional District was a runner up for the Award in Excellence.

Other winners of the UBCM Community Excellence Awards include the following:

Excellence in Service Delivery was awarded to the City of Victoria for their ‘OUR DWTN’ Victoria Downtown Revitalization Program which allotted approximately $950,000, promoting new retail experiences, pop up culinary options, recreational and cultural programming, and events and placemaking initiatives in downtown.

Excellence in Asset Management was awarded to the City of Kelowna for their Enterprise Asset Management System Implementation, which integrated a digital system for maintenance and monitoring of over 30,000 assets, improving efficiency, data accuracy, and supporting proactive infrastructure management.

Excellence in Sustainability was awarded to the City of Nanaimo

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The TNRD is the recipient of the 2024 UBCM Excellence in Governance award, for its service and taxation communication materials created as part of the 2024 Budget process. Photo/TNRD

Savour the flavour at the Garlic Fest

Step into the red suit as Santa

Kenneth Wong reporter@merrittherald.com

The City of Merritt is taking applications for Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus.

Candidates should be jolly and embody the spirit of Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

The roles involve interacting with children, posing for photos with families, and reading holiday-themed stories. No prior experience is necessary, but applicants must be friendly, engaging, and comfortable in the spotlight.

“It makes my Christmas,” said former Santa Claus Roger White. “To see the children excited about Santa, it brings me a lot of happiness.”

Santa and Mrs. Claus will play key roles at two festive events on December 1, 2024.

The first event, Breakfast with Santa & Holiday Cheer, will take place at the Merritt

Civic Centre from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., with storytime at 11:30 a.m.. Following breakfast, more festive activities, such as games, crafts, and a holiday movie, will continue from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m..

In the afternoon, Santa will visit the Nicola Valley Aquatic Centre from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., where children can enjoy crafts, a colouring contest, and more.

Participants must be willing to undergo a criminal record check and vulnerable sector check.

The deadline to submit applications is October 1, 2024. “If you or someone you know is interested in spreading holiday joy as Santa or Mrs. Claus, please contact us at recreation@ merritt.ca by October 1, 2024,” reads the City’s press release.

Kenneth Wong reporter@merrittherald.com

Lower Nicola Garlic Festival is set to return to Nicola Valley on Sept. 28 and 29.

The festival starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, and ends at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Approximately 90 vendors are expected to present at the festival, selling garlic in bulbs; garlic processed foods such as dill pickle, jalapeno, bread, cookies and even ice cream.

“It’s pretty endless now, with what people use garlic for,” said event organizer Karen Knapp. “And it’s really good for health reasons.”

Outside of garlic, community members can be excited to see live performances on Saturday from Love to Dance, Ross Fairweather with Dawn Armitage, Trazanna Lee, Marilyn Christensen, Robert Bertrand, Al Horne with

Denise Kearney, and Strange Companions.

On Sunday, garlic geeks can enjoy live performances from The Wayfaring Strangers, Richard Lepinsky with Ukulele Group, Baek’s Taekwondo, Stuart Emslie, and Sherry Gerstner with Tammy Weymouth.

Garlic Fest was started by Pete and Becky Ratzlaff in their backyard, approximately 20 years ago.

“Pete and Becky did a really good job of it in their backyard; they would have all sorts of random garlic items, processed garlic for people to take home; and then there was old farm equipment there, and it was really good,” recalls Knapp. “And then it got too big, so they approached the Lower Nicola Community Association to take it over, and that’s when we moved to Smith Pioneer Park (in 2012).”

UK Spice reopens after 2 years

Kenneth Wong reporter@merrittherald.com

UK Spice Cuisine has finally reopened after recovering from fire.

The restaurant first opened in 2021 but closed quickly after a fire in 2022.

The restaurant is run by family of three, father Harjinder Singh, mother Kuldeep Kaul, and son Armann Singh.

Whilst the restaurant was closed from the fire, the family put food on the table with their construction and renovation company, UK Mechanical Ltd.

After two years, UK Spice Cuisine is back with an aesthetically redesigned menu and renovated kitchen. “All the food is the same as before, just the kitchen changed (with some) renovation,” said Kaul.

UK Spice Cuisine offers a vast menu with foods from India, Italy, and the Mediterranean.

Harjinder began cooking professionally in India in 1996. He later moved to the United Kingdom in 2002 where his first UK Spice Cuisine. Singh and his family would then move to Surrey, B.C., opening up a restaurant in New Westminster in 2016, before finally settling in Merritt in 2020.

After the fire, the family encountered problems with insurance and even briefly considered moving elsewhere.

“We had the insurance, but they just took forever,” said Kaul. “But we didn’t give up, because there’s a nice community here and it’s nice to raise the kids here in a small community, not like Surrey.”

“We want to stay here in Merritt,” added Kaul. “I like the community, when we had a difficult time in Merritt, the community, all of Merritt, they came and supported us.”

According to Armann, UK Spice Cuisine’s large iconic sign is the first sign for a restaurant in Merritt, B.C. “First, it used to be Canada Cafe, and that’s the sign from the same one, because customers did not want us to take it down,” said Armann. “And this was the first location where a restaurant opened.”

If the amount of delinquent taxes, taxes in arrear, and interest to the ﬁrst day of the tax sale for which the parcel of land and the improvements are liable for sale are not paid before the annual tax sale , the City of Merritt will oﬀer the proper ty for sale by public auc tion at the time and place stated in this notice.

If the property is sold at the annual tax sale, a right of redemption will remain in the owner or holder of the charge until the end of the redemption period

The City of Merritt makes no representation expressed or implied as to the condition or quality of the properties being oﬀered for sale Prospective purchasers are urged to make all necessary inquiries to municipal and other government departments, and in the case of strata lots to the strata corporation, to determine the existence of any bylaws, restriction, charges, or other conditions which may aﬀect the value or sustainability of the property. Due

Other 2024 UBCM awards

From Page 12

for ‘Nanaimo ReImagined: City Plan, Integrated Action Plan and Monitoring Strategy,’ a strategic document guiding Nanaimo’s 25-year development across land use, sustainability, reconciliation, economic prosperity, and accessibility, integrating multiple plans under one framework. Presidents Committee Choice was awarded to District of Central Saanich for their Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) which sets long-term goals for the community based on a 10-year vision outlined in the Official Community Plan. It integrates various plans to guide progress, ensure transparency through regular reporting, and adapts to evolving community needs.

VO TE IN TH E PRO VIN C IA L EL EC TION

The 2024 Provincial General Election is on Saturday, October 19, 2024 . There are many ways (and many days) to vote.

WHO CAN VOTE

You can vote in the 2024 Provincial General Elec tion if you are:

• 18 or older on Oc tober 19, 2024

• a Canadian citizen, and

• a resident of British Columbia since April 18, 2024

VOTER REGISTRATION

You can register or update your voter information at elections.bc.ca/register or by calling 1- 80 0- 661- 8683.

Registration online and by phone closes at 11:59 p.m. (Pacif ic time) on Oc tober 7.

Af ter Oc tober 7, you can still register when you vote, but voting will take longer. Remember to bring ID when you go to vote

ELEC

TION INTEGR IT Y

Visit elections.bc.ca/integrity to learn how Elec tions BC protec ts provincial elec tions in British Columbia, and what you can do to help

VOTE IN PERSON

Vote at a district electoral of fice

Voting at district elec toral of fices is available now during of fice hours until 4 p.m. (Pacif ic time) on Final Voting Day.

Vote at advance voting

There are six days of advance voting: Oc tober 10 - 13 and 15 - 16, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (local time).

Advance voting places will be closed on Oc tober 14 (Thanksgiving).

Vote on Final Voting Day

Final Voting Day is Saturday, Oc tober 19 Voting places will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Pacif ic time) on Final Voting Day.

WHERE TO VOTE

Visit wheretovote.elections.bc.ca to find voting places near you and when they are open

VOTE BY MA IL

To vote by mail, request your voting package as soon as possible. Visit elections.bc.ca/votebymail or call 1- 80 0- 661- 8683

CANDIDATE NOMINAT IONS

You can get a nomination package from your district elec toral of fice, or online at elections.bc.ca/candidates.

Completed nomination packages must be returned to your district elec toral of fice by 1 p.m. (Pacif ic time) on Saturday, September 28.

DISTRICT ELEC TORAL OFFICE

Fraser-Nicola 2975 Clapperton Ave Merritt, BC (778) 661- 0610

Hours of Operation (local time) Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Advance voting days 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

MERRITT OKTOBERFEST

Thank You to all our Sponsors

The proceeds from Oktoberfest will be going to support local charitable and non-profit foundations/organizations.

• Tibar Construction

• Napa Auto Pro

• Game On Sports Bar and Grill

• Alpha Design

• Hub International

• Mack Family

• Air Liquid

• Winton Enterprises

• Lower Nicola Meats

• Coquihalla Coolers

• Jeff Wyatt

• Otter Summit Electricals

National Day for TRUTH and Reconciliation.

Traditonal place names and their meanings in the Nicola Valley

Kenneth Wong reporter@merrittherald.com

In light of this Orange Shirt Day Edition, the Herald worked with Shackan and NVIT Elder Mandy Na’zinek Jimmie to rediscover traditional place names in Merritt and the Nicola Valley.

Jimmie holds a master of arts in linguistics from the University of British Columbia and has decades of experience in Nlaka’pamuxcin and language revitalization. Currently, her efforts are focused on NVIT and the University of British Columbia’s Nlaka’pamuxcin fluency program.

“Historically, there were a large number of names,” said Jimmie. “Some of our Elders used to say that, ‘you go around every little corner and each place would have a place name.’”

One of the names forgotten to history is the land that the City of Merritt now sits on. The area was once known as tʕʷiyxcín [t’oo-wai-k-jin], meaning “running.”

The area around what is now Seyom Crescent was once known as Snk̓y̓epəpɬxʷ [shin-k’ehpep-lh], meaning “coyote house.” “It’s from our traditional coyote stories, but I don’t know the specific story,” said Jimmie.

The westernmost end of Quilchena Avenue, 300 metres west down the road of the intersection at Nicola Avenue and Juniper Drive, was once known as Sʔuyuʔsúps [shoo-oo-yoosh], meaning “confluence (of Coldwater Creek & Nicola River.)”

Whilst Quilchena is of Syilx (Okanagan) origin, the Nlaka’pamuxcin equivalent is q̓ɬmix [q’lut-mi], which according to Scottish-Canadian ethnographer James Teit, means “broad patch of bushes.”

The infamous Coquihalla Highway, whilst not Nlakapamux or Syilx in origin, derives its name from Halq̓eméylem, a language used by the Stó:lō People of the Fraser Valley. The Halq̓eméylem name Kwʼikwʼiya:la refers to a “stingy container,” a fishing rock near the Coquihalla River where skw’exweq limited salmon catches to select fishermen.

Just outside of Merritt; Shulus, Lower Nicola Indian Band is

See MANY Page 19

The many Nlaka’pamuxcin names in the Nicola Valley

From Page 17

a place that many people in the Nicola Valley pass through on a daily basis. Whilst the phonetic name Sulús has not been forgotten, its traditional meaning, “an open area” has not been mentioned in open discourse.

Some Nicola Valley Bands, such as Shackan and Nooaitch have retained their traditional names, respectively meaning “little rock” and “leaning rock.”

Coldwater on the other hand has kept the meaning of its name. “Cold water” in Nlaka’pamuxcin is c̓əłékwu [ts-let-ko].

Whilst Jimmie and the Herald were unable to find a Nlaka’pamuxcin name for Cook’s Ferry, Nk’emcin, where the Nicola River meets the Thompson River, has and continues to be a place of meetings, fishing, feasting, trading and more for the Nlaka’pamux People.

In 1910, Secwepemc, St’at’imx, Nlaka’pamux, Tsilhqot’in, Syilx chiefs met at Nk’emcin to sign document to be hand delivered to then Prime Minister Wilfred Luarier demanding fair treatment and to be included of matters of land, resources and rights. On June 11, 2010 the chiefs of the respective nations gathered again in Nk’emcin to reaffirm the document and celebrate the construction of the then-new arbour.

Due to the effects of colonization and residential schools, many historical names have been scattered and kept in the minds of Elders throughout the Nicola Valley.

“After our experience with the colonization of our area, a lot of the names have not been totally passed down, especially to the generation now,” said Jimmie. “A lot of the main names are still used, and are quite well known by particularly older people.”

Despite the importance of traditional names,

See COLLECTING Page 19 Photo/Kris Antoine

Truth + Reconciliation

As avital part of Reconciliation, theCit yof Merritt recognizes Truth& ReconciliationDay and Orange ShirtDay to honour thetragic histor yoflossthatthe indigenous peoples of Canada suﬀeredfromthe residential school system,resultinginenduringimpac ts EVERYCHILDMATTERS.

Collecting information from communities

From Page 18

Jimmie says that there is yet to be a centralzied database for these names.

“There’s been a lot of research collecting the information from the various Nlaka’pamux communities, but there hasn’t been a comprehensive collection that we share, that we’ve developed,” said Jimmie. “What’s happened is there’s pockets of information out there, the people that would be from Coldwater would, of course, be familiar with that area, and then we’re more familiar with the names around the Shulus area or Shackan or Nooaitch.”

“I think historically, we would have been all over and then we would have known all the land, so the pockets of information are just within subgroups of people,” said Jimmie.

Jimmie believes the lack of a centralized rolodex for Nlaka’pamuxcin place names is because of the scattering of the Nlaka’pamux People under the Indian Act, and the People are still in the process of rebuilding.

“I think it’s just we’re still rebuilding, we’re still having to go through some of the hindrances that were put upon us in some ways,” said Jimmie. “We would have been a strong, cohesive nation, but with the way the Indian reserves were developed, we ended up being in pockets of communities.”

“A lot of us, we’ll talk amongst ourselves and you know, it was intentional that we were divided,” Jimmie added.

Despite internal divisions and scattered information, Jimmie remains optimistic in the revitalization of Nlaka’pamuxcin and other Indigenous languages.

“Even though we had language (at NVIT) for a number of years, it was just delivered as a course,” said Jimmie. “Now here we have our language flu-

See STUDYING Page 20

ORANGE SHIRT DAY

Studying how people learn the stories

EVERY CHILD MATTERS

ency program, because that’s what we want to develop.”

The Nle?kepmx Language Fluency diploma (and certificate) program does not only focus on linguistics but also relationship to the land, traditional ecological knowledge, and traditional stories.

“(It’s) not just studying the stories, but studying how people learn the stories, how they pass on the stories, how they incorporate things to kind of embellish the stories,” said Jimmie. “So trying to incorporate not just the language, but incorporate something that’s getting more broad and I guess in a way, more whole.”

•Vaccinationsin-store

Jimmie estimates that each community has between five to 20 speakers and hopes that the students of the language fluency program will provide places where people can come together and speak the language.

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•MedicationReviews

“I really feel that… we have to develop a language community,” said Jimmie. “It’s not just using a language and listening to it on First Voices or looking to the dictionary and finding the words, but we have to engage in conversation.”

“I have hope that the younger generation are going to pull us back together, and a lot of it, we’re having to deal with a lot of trauma and grief,” said Jimmie. “But now, I think there are means for us to deal with our trauma and I think once we deal with that, I think we’ll be able to work better together.”

Jimmie is currently attempting to complete a rolodex of place names across the Nicola Valley in Nlaka’pamuxcin. Elders or people with knowledge of place names can reach Jimmie at mandy.jimmie@ubc.ca or (250)378-7753.

Honouring Orange Shirt Day around the valley

workshop on Sept. 27, from noon to 2 p.m. at the NVIT Library.

As Canadians gather to commemorate those who suffered through the Indian residential schools of the 1800-1900s, residents of the Nicola Valley will be taking part in their own ceremonies of remembrance.

Nicola Valley Institute of Technology

On Friday, Sept. 27, NVIT will be hosting a walk with Lower Nicola Indian Band.

Students, faculty and elders are encouraged to wear their orange shirts, and join in on a day of remembrance and reflection to honour survivors and those who didn’t make home.

The institute will also host a beading

Classes will also not be in session on Monday, Sept. 30 to honour the statutory holiday.

School District 58

On Friday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to noon, Merritt Secondary School will be hosting a Orange shirt walk to honour those who have been impacted by residential schools.

Around 630 students are set to participate in the walk, making it the first time all MSS students walk in honour of Truth and Reconciliation.

During the Truth and Reconciliation Week at MSS, students are also being offered different See Page 22

Laísa Condé newsroom@merrittherald.com

ORANGE SHIRT/NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

events such as a ‘Healing Through Yoga’ class, aimed to help students navigate intergenerational trauma.

Other events such as a Métis’ cultural presentation and a hoop dance performance prior to the awareness walk.

Melissa Pinyon, Indigenous Student Advocate at MSS, told the Herald that the reason for the walk is not only for the students themselves, but to bring more awareness to everyone in the community on the matter. MSS wants to show the community how they support reconciliation in the educational system.

Lower Nicola Indian Band

Those looking to participate at the walk being hosted by Lower Nicola Indian Band can meet at 10 a.m. at the Shulus Hall on Sept. 27, before walking to the Shulus Arbor.

For more information, contact LNIB Culture Coordinator Carole Basil at 250-315-9158.

Merritt Centennials

There will be some hockey happening in town on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The Merritt Centennials will face the Princeton Posse at the Nicola Valley Arena at 2 p.m., on Monday, Sept. 30.

For this special game, the Cents will be wearing their black jerseys with the Indigenous-designed logo.

Last year, Lower Nicola Indian Band hosted their Orange Shirt Walk on Sept. 29. A lot of residents came out to show their support to residential school survivors and honour the children who didn’t make it back home. Photo/Kimberly Mike

From Page 22

Nationally

For those looking to honour the day nationwide, Parliament Hill in Ottawa will be broadcasting its national ceremony at noon Pacific time on Sept. 30.

Attendees are encourage to bring a pari of traditional shoes to place at the front of the stage in honour of all the Indigenous children who have gone

missing. After the event, the footwear will be donated to charity.

For those who are unable to participate or watch on the day of, the broadcast will be available for streaming on APTN lumi on Oct. 2.

Photo/Herald file.

Orange ribbons on local buses for Orange Shirt Day

On Sept. 30, BC Transit buses in the Nicola Valley will be adorned with orange ribbons.

In a symbolic gesture of support for Truth and Reconciliation Day, orange ribbons will be tied to bus mirrors in Merritt and other communities throughout British Columbia.

Many bus operators are expected to participate by wearing orange shirts as a sign of solidarity and commitment to reconciliation.

“BC Transit understands there is much

work to be done to understand the Truth of our shared history and the honour Reconciliation,” a BC Transit news release reads.

The organization has been actively collaborating with Indigenous partners on various initiatives aimed at expanding transit services in Indigenous communities across the province, reflecting its commitment to fostering meaningful relationships and understanding.

Service schedules on September 30 will vary by region, and customers are encouraged to visit bctransit.com for specific holiday schedules.

A RS EVE Y CHILD M TTE

Laísa Condé newsroom@merrittherald.com

Unwritten boundaries in Lower Nicola

Kenneth Wong reporter@merrittherald.com

Lower Nicola Indian Band Kʷúkʷpiʔ Stuart Jackson speculates on community division stemming from the Catholic church and Anglican church.

During a prior interview with the Herald on fire mitigation, the conversation got off-topic and Chief Jackson explained his theory on an unofficial divide in the community that stems from the different churches.

According to Chief Jackson, the only other Indigenous communities with two churches are in Nova Scotia and Manitoba. “When I went to university, I did an understudy on why we have two churches on a reserve, and why they’re distinct, Anglican and Catholic,” said

CONAYT FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY

“The church separated this community”

From Page 25

Children who lived closer to the Anglican church would end up attending a residential school in Lytton whilst children living closer to the Catholic church would attend a residential school in Kamloops.

“The kids are gone for 10 months, they come back, they hardly know each other and that happens for years and years and years, as they get older and older and older; and they just become more separate, as opposed to being childhood friends and staying childhood friends,” added Jackson. “The church separated this community, and that’s why our community is different.”

“There’s a fine line between our community and those churches is our boundary,” said Jackson. “It’s an unwritten line.”

LNIB Elder Jean Moses has not noticed a real divide but acknowledges that people living on the Catholic side put in more effort in maintaining the church. “There’s no real divide, except that I remember my grandmother and my grandfather and everybody on the Catholic side of the reserve, they worked together and worked on the church.”

Despite more alleged community effort, today, the Catholic church sits rotten with asbestos.

Regardless of the validity of Kʷúkʷpiʔ Jackson’s theory, it is true that there is division on what should be done with the land the Catholic church sits on.

Council members are considering turning the church site into a community centre, having conducted a survey on the issue. “(The Catholic church) is condemned and council actually made a motion to decommission it, but there’s asbestos in it, so they gotta be careful how they do it,” said Jackson. “They don’t want to put anybody at risk because of how (the asbestos) will fly, so we’re still trying to figure out how to do it.”

While the decision to decommission the church stands, Kʷúkʷpiʔ Jackson calls for further community consultation to truly understand the residents’ feelings about the church and its place in their collective memory.

“That evening, when council made the decision, I said ‘we should go to the community,’ we should ask the community and just have a meeting on it,” said Chief Jackson. “We don’t have to have a meeting about anything else but that church and hear from the people and see how they feel about it.”

Chief Jackson would like to build a new church or a building practical to the community as well as Catholic practitioners, while acknowledging the dark chapter in LNIB’s history.

“To me, that is part of our history, whether we like it or not, and it’s a good reminder,” said Kʷúkʷpiʔ Jackson. “Also, there are people that do practice Catholicism, and they have nowhere to go now.”

In light of the dilemma, Jackson seeked out his parents, two residential school survivors, for guidance on what to do with the church.

Jackson.

See something to get your spirit back

From Page 26

Jackson asked his father how he would feel if Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc (Kamloops Indian Band) decided to tear down the Kamloops residential school.

“Well, it wouldn’t really matter to me, but when I go by that thing, I remember. I remember how it was there,” said Jackson, recalling his father’s answer.

“For him, it’s an opportunity for him to build his spirit, because there’s a lot of kids who had broken spirits when they left that school, that’s why many died, that’s why many are alcoholics, and so forth,” said Jackson. “So for that residential school to be there, it allows him to just keep his spirit growing; don’t let that history, that legacy, take his spirit away.”

Chief Jackson also consulted his mother who attended the now burnt down Sechelt’s St. Augustine’s Indian Residential School.

“She feels the same way, because it’s not there anymore; all you think about is the school,” said Jackson recalling his mother’s answer. “If it’s there, it reminds you of the time you spent there and it’s an opportunity for you to build off of that, because you’re a different person now than how you were when you’re a child and if you lose your spirit, how do you get it back?”

“Sometimes you need to see something to get your spirit back, and maybe that’s why these churches need to be here,” said Jackson. “Because if they’re gone, then it’s out of sight, out of mind.”

The final remains of the 1912 to 1975 Sechelt residential school were burned in 2008. Today, the Tems Swiya (meaning “Our World” in She Shashishalhem) Museum stands where the residential school once stood. The museum has a large collection of artifacts, including many cedar baskets, stone tools and a 3,500 year old mortuary stone.

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Survivor’s Flag represents resilience and healing

Laísa Condé newsroom@merrittherald.com

After the discoveries of massive unmarked graves found on the grounds of former residential schools in 2021, many residential school survivors discussed the creation of a survivors’ flag as a symbol to honour the many lives that were impacted by the residential school system.

The many elements depicted on the flag were carefully selected by survivors from across Canada.

A family is represented by two adults, who some interpreted as the ancestors watching over them or families that were ripped apart due to residential schools and reuniting in order to heal, and two children, as often siblings were taken from their parents to attend residential schools.

The design also brings seeds below the ground, as a representation of the spirits of the children who never returned home.

“Although they have always been present, they are not seen and searched for,” reads a statement on the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s website.

The trees symbolizes how nations were united and brought peace to its members, which in turn, provide protection, comfort and renewal. As for the cedar branch, the seven branches acknowledge the seven sacred teachings taught in many Indigenous cultures.

The sun, moon, stars and planets are also represented in the flag, right above the family.

“The sun represents the divine

The many symbolisms in the flag

From Page 29

protection that ensure those who survived came home,” the statement reads. “The North Star is prominent as it is an important navigation guide for many Indigenous cultures.”

The last three elements that compose the flag are the Métis sash, the eagle feather and the Inuksuit.

The sash is a prominent ceremonial regalia worn with great pride, and often has certain colours of thread that represent lives that were lost, while others represent the connection among humans as well as resilience through trauma.

“All the threads woven together spell out part of history, but no single thread defines the whole story,” the statement reads.

The prominent eagle feather represents the Creator’s spirit, alluding to the fact that it is always present.

“It is depicting pointing upwards which mirrors how it is held when one speaks their truth,” the statement reads.

As for the last element in the flag, the Inuksuit are often used as navigational guides for the Inuit people.

Many residential school survivors talked about the significance of the flag.

“On the flag, there is an incomplete circle that surrounds this image much in the same way that there are still many truths to be told before we come close to understanding the impact residential schools had on survivors, communities and the entire nation,” Eugene Arcand, Cree survivor who attended St. Michael’s Residential School in Alert Bay, B.C.,

See SIGNIFICANCE Page 31

The Survivors’ Flag is seen here flying on Parliament Hill after a flag-raising ceremony. Photo/Jeff Pelletier

The significance of the flag to survivors

From Page 30

“There is a story yet to be told. We are at a point in time where we have to ask ourselves how we want our future generations to see what actions we have taken towards healing and reconciliation.”

Elder Philip Paynter, a Cree survivor who attended Sandy Bay Residential School in Manitoba also shared his thoughts on the flag.

“One cannot heal in the same environment where trauma occured, so healing from residential school survivors requires removal of the colonial and systemic oppression that was designed to steal our language, ceremonies and ways of knowing,” he said.

“It is through the teachings our Elders fought to preserve where I found healing. This flag shows us a path forward where out culture and values are no longer hidden.”

Last year, the Herald interviewed Arnie Narcisse, who is from the St’át’imc First Nation but currently resides on Lower Nicola Indian Band land. Narcisse recalled the horrors he went through at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School.

He describes himself and all the other Indigenous people who were forced to go to residential schools in Canada during their childhood as survivors.

“When they call us a survivor, we really are. It’s not just a fancy term. It’s how many coins becuase if you live until tomorrow, you’re lucky, you are a survivor.”

The Survivor’s Flag serves not only as a tribute to those who endured the hardships of the residential school system but also as a reminder of the collective responsibility of Canadians to ensure a future of healing, justice, and unity.

Photo/Kimberly Mike

Cents win season debut, fall against Williams Lake

Friday, Sept. 20 – Quesnel River Rush 1, Merritt Centennials 2

The Merritt Centennials made their Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) season debut last Friday, Sept. 20, at an away game against the Quesnel River Rush.

Merritt came out of the gate strong and took an early lead just over five minutes into the first period when Sam Giangualano found the back of the net.

Quesnel broke the shutout early in the second period, putting some pressure on the road team.

The Cents did not wait long to answer back as Wyatt Ball sealed the game for Merritt to make it a 2-1 game.

As Merritt notched their first win under the KIJHL banner, coach Wes McLeod emphasized the hard work and great game that the team had during their season opener.

“There was a lot of adversity through that game, but the guys kind of stuck together and ended up pulling one out there.”

Saturday, Sept. 21 – Williams Lake Mustangs 1, Merritt Centennials 0

There was little time to rest and celebrate Friday’s victory as the Cents faced the Williams Lake Mustangs for the first time on Saturday at Cariboo Memorial Rec Complex.

The opening period got off to a good start for the Cents as the team managed 15 shots on goal against only five by Williams Lake.

The Mustangs were able to break the shutout early in the second period, sending the Cents to the final frame down 1-0.

Despite their efforts in the remainder of the game and 35 shots on goal, the Centennials did not manage to add a goal of their own and fell 1-0 to Williams Lake.

“We didn’t have the same jump we did in that first game. I thought we didn’t manage the puck as well as we could have and we just didn’t get to the scoring areas enough,” McLeod told the Herald.

“We generated 35 shots, which is great, and we’ve only given up 18 against, which obviously looks good on paper, but a lot of our shots were from the outside. So we got to find a way to get in front of the net more.”

Upcoming matches

The Merritt Centennials are back in action on Friday, Sept. 27, as they host the Kamloops Storm at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena.

Merrittonians are invited to go to the local arena and welcome the new team under the new league.

McLeod talked to the Herald about some of the expectations for the home opener game.

“We’re excited, it’s been a long time coming. We’ve been looking forward to

this day for the entire summer now,” he said. “The boys are excited and I think we’ll have a lot of energy and hopefully there’ll be a lot of fans coming out and supporting us. The guys will put on a good show for them.”

McLeod pointed out that for many players on the team, it will be their first time going through a home opener and that staff members will make sure to provide leadership to help the players focus on their game against their new rivals.

“(The players are) gonna be excited and I know a lot of them want to put on a good show for the home fans. Kamloops beat us three times in the exhibition, so it’s time to pay them some revenge,” the coach added.

Aside from the match against Kamloops, the Cents will play against the Sicamous Eagles on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Sicamous.

The team will be back to Merritt on Monday, Sept. 30, for their match against the Princeton Posse. The second home game is also the Truth and Reconciliation game, which aims to honour the children, survivors and families that were impacted by residential schools.

McLeod added that there are a few Indigenous players in the team, and the game holds extreme significance to them.

“For us, I think it’s about embracing the community that we live in here in Merritt and making sure that we do our part as a team to put on our best effort that Monday night.”

“I think sports can have a voice. Especially in the pro levels, you see a lot of the players that have major followings can speak up in terms of these issues and it’s impactful. A lot of the younger generation look up to these people. I think sports play a huge role (in raising awareness) not only to this event, but many other events.”

Laísa Condé newsroom@merrittherald.com

Merritt athlete brings home gold medal from 55+ BC Games

A Merritt athlete won a gold medal at the Salmon Arm 2024 55-plus Games, which was held from Sept. 10 to 14.

Dianne Quinn, 80, was representing Merritt in the tennis’ women’s double and singles in her respective age groups. Quinn won the gold medal while playing the women 80-84 singles.

“I’m really happy I was part of the Seniors Games,” she told the Herald. “I got the gold medal for being in the 80-year-old singles which is awesome. I played with in the group 75 to 79 and I guess if I was in that group, I would’ve gotten the bronze.”

“They called out singles winners from 55 and all of a sudden they called my name for 80, the last one in the lineup to walk past everybody up into the stand from the Canadian flag... all the ladies hung out their hands for high fives, it was quite the experience.”

Quinn also participated in the women’s doubles with her teammate Marina Cadano. Despite not being successful in bringing a medal in that category, Canado shared some of her thoughts on her first time participating in the tournament.

“I haven’t played in a tournament setting for over 20 years,” she told the Herald.

Canado explained that her decision to join the tournament was made after Quinn asked her to be her partner for the doubles category again this year.

“That year I just didn’t feel like I was playing enough, but I’ve been retired now for three years, so I said yes and that’s how we came about,” she added.

Quinn and Canado both got together with Patrick Farmer, vice president of the Merritt Tennis Club, prior to the tournament so they could get some tips on how to perform better as a team.

“Patrick got us together and was teaching us,” Quinn said. “He was coached

when he was younger and was in many tournaments. He was coaching us on how to work as a pair.”

For Canado, she had big expectations prior to attending the tournament.

“(My expectations) were very high. I spoke to my brother, who know how to win. I thought a lot about my younger days. I have played and won some games and I went to the final, but this time he told me ‘remember, you’re going there for the exercise’, so I already knew that he saw me as an older sister,” she added.

“At least now I’m fully aware of what it will look like if I ever go back. I know what to expect and I know how to manage myself and how to handle my game and how to prepare, because those women are good. They play as a team and they know their placement. They know how to win the game. We were just going there one point at a time. They were there to win.”

Cadano is still unsure whether she will come back for another edition so soon, but she assured that she is definitely preparing herself for the 2026 edition that will happen in Kamloops.

Another athlete that represented Merritt in the seniors’ tournament was Balwant Bains, who also played tennis. Bains played singles in his respective age group as well as mixed doubles with Canado.

The Merritt Tennis Club also had a booth at the Recreation Fair that was hosted by Community Futures Nicola Valley on Sept. 12. The club raffled a tennis racquet that Neil Caine donated to the club and Maite Etchart was the lucky winner.

Quinn reported that the club learned that several young people in the community were interested in learning more about the sport and there are plans in the near future for introductory lessons next spring.

Laísa Condé newsroom@merrittherald.com

Diane Quinn poses with her gold medal alongside Balwant Bains and Marina Cadano. The three athletes represented Merritt at the 55+ BC Games in Salmon Arm. Photos/Diane Quinn

Strike out crime by taking part in bowling fundraiser

Crime Stoppers Merritt and Nicola Valley is hosting a bowling fundraiser next month.

The fundraiser event is happening on Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Merritt Bowling Centre located at 2076 Coutlee Ave.

Marlene Jones, coordinator at the Merritt Community Policing Office, said fundraising event is a way to raise money to cover the expenses of the program.

“It’s our responsibility to raise funds to keep the (Crime Stoppers) program going. So to have access to the 1-800 number, anonymous tip line, to be able to share information, have a website,” she added. “So once a year, we embark on a fundraiser to be able to keep the program alive here in Merritt.”

Jones said that the group had the idea of doing the fundraiser event at the local bowling alley after all the renovations.

For those who wish to participate in the fundraiser, Jones added that they can go to the website – www.nicolavalleycrimestoppers.com – or stop by at the Community Policing Office (CPO) located at Spirit Square.

“We talk about teams of six, but maybe you’re just a couple and you’d like to get involved,” Jones said. “We have teams looking for additional people, so we can add you to a team and it’s a great way to meet new people.”

Jones emphasized the significance of having the Crime Stoppers in Merritt.

“It’s just one more cog in the wheel for crime prevention and therefore building towards a safer community,” she said. “So people with information who might have hesitated coming forward before do have that anonymous tip option.”

She hopes Merrittonians will join in for a fun night at the bowling alley, especially for a good cause.

“I know that kids are back at school now, it might be a busy time. There’s other events going on, but I really hope that people will just take a moment and book a bowling time. It’ll take you an hour to go do that,” Jones said.

“We’ve got a silent auction going as part of that. We’re just asking if people could find it to contact us, be a part of the fundraiser and help us with our steps towards a safer community.”

For more information on the event, Merrittonians can contact Jones at the Merritt CPO at 250-378-3955 or at cpo@merritt.ca.

■ Approved mini-storage

■ On-siterentals

■ Secured

■ SaleofNew&Used storagecontainers

1750HillStreet ■ Phone:250-315-3000

THE CHURCHES OF MERRITT WELCOME YOU

Crossroads Community Church

2990 Voght St. • 250-378-2911

Service Time: Sundays 10:00 a.m.

Merritt Baptist Church

2499 Coutlee Avenue (at Orme) Sunday service 10 am, Phone (250)378-2464

Merritt Lutheran Fellowship in St. Michael's Anglican Hall • 250-378-9899

Service Time: 3rd Sunday each month 1:00 p.m.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church Corner of Jackson & Blair • 250-378-2919

Mass Time: Sundays 9:00 a.m.

St. Michael’s Anglican Church 1990 Chapman St. • 250-378-3772

Service Times: 2nd and 4th Sundays only - 10:00 a.m.

Trinity United Church Corner of Quilchena & Chapman • 250-378-5735

Service Time every Sunday - 10 am

Somang Mission Community Church (SMC) 1755 Coldwater Ave. (The Cadet Hall) Sunday Service Time: 4:00 pm • 250-280-1268

Nicola Valley Evangelical Free Church 1950 Maxwell St. • 250-378-9502

Crime Stoppers Merritt and Nicola Valley will be hosting a bowling fundraiser on Oct. 19. Photo/ Kenneth Wong

Laísa Condé newsroom@merrittherald.com

CLASSIFIEDS

Deadline for placing a classified ad is 5 p.m. on Monday.

To place an ad please call 250-378-4241 or email: publisher@merrittherald.com

DalePierce

April27,1956 -September16,2024

Mr.DalePiercepassedawaypeacefullyatGillis House,Merritt,B.C.,onthe16thofSeptember,2024.

incasetheycannotgiveconsentfortreatments

www.merritthospice.org Email:merritthospice@shaw.ca

Hewillbesadlymissedbyhislovingwife,Debra;mothe Betty;brothers,AlanandBill;manynieces,nephews,aswell asnumerousfriendsandrelatives.Heispredeceasedbyhisfather, NorrisWilliam;grandparents,ErnestandRuthPierce,andErnestandJessie Christien.

Dalelovedﬁshing,camping,drivinghislogtrucks,andspendingtimeonhis hobbyfarm.Hetreasuredhisrestored1955Fordcustomcarandthevarious memorablevehicleshehadthroughouthislife.

Dalelovedallanimals,especiallyhisdogs,Mikaand Trixie,andhismany cats.Heenjoyedexploringthecountrysideonfour-wheeldriveswithfriends, alwaysaccompaniedbyrefreshments.

Happy Trails“Gypo”.

Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a Sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes.

Aspecialthankyoutothestaff atCoquihallaGillisHouseforalltheloveand supportyoushowedDaleandtoDr. McLeodandhisstaffforthecareoverthe years.

Mr.MarioMoretti

May5,1931-September13,2024

Mr.MarioMorettipassedawaypeacefullywith hisfamilyathissideinMerrittHospitalonSeptember 13,2024at93yearsofage.Mariowillbelovingly rememberedbyhiswifeof62yearsMaria,hischildren MilvaandLuigi,granddaughtersChristina,Sophia,GabriellaandKatrina,great grandchildrenCarterandQuinandhismanynieces,nephewsandfriendsin CanadaandinItaly. MarioispredeceasedbyhismotherandfatherMarianicola andLuigi,hisbrotherandsisterNicolaandDomenica.

MariowasbornonMay5,1931.HemovedtoCanada1959andworkedfor sometimeatCNrailbuteventuallysettledintohisjobintheforestindustry. Mariowas adedicatedhusbandandfathertohiswifeMariaandtwochildren LuigiandMilva.Hehadanexceptionallystrongworkethicand adetermination tomake agoodlifeforhisfamily.FromsheerwillandtenacityMariobecame ajackofalltradeseventuallybuildingtwohomeswithhelpfromhispals andfellowpioneersfromtheoldcountry.Hebecameaskilledwoodworker/ craftsman,carpenter,gardener, outdoorsman,winemaker.Heespeciallyrelished histimewithfriendsandfamilydoinglargefamilypicnics,hunting,ﬁshing, gathering,playingbocce,cards…andtheoddspiritedpoliticaldebatewithhis friendsandfamilyoversomegoodfoodandwine.

Thefamilywouldliketothankfriendsfortheloveandthecaringstaff at NicolaValleyHospitalfortheirsupportespeciallyoverthispastyear.

AfuneralservicewillbeheldonFridaySeptember27th,2024,at 11amat SacredHeartChurchinMerrittB.C.(2302JacksonAvenue).Intermenttofollow theserviceatPineRidgeCemetery.

OnlineCondolencesmayalsobeexpressedat www.MerrittFuneralChapel.com

Scw’exmxCommunityHealthServicesSociety EmploymentOpportunity

MEDICALOFFICEASSISTANTPOSITION

AsaMedicalAssistantyouwillbe responsibleforprovidingadministrative supporttoensure theefficientoperationofthemedicaloffice. Youwill supportdoctorsandpatientsthroughavarietyoftasks relatedtopatient care management,organization,andcommunication.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

•Organizeandscheduleappointments.

•Updateandfilemedical recordsandinsurance reports

•Assistduringmedicalexaminations.

•Produceanddistributecorrespondencememos,letters,faxes,and forms.

•Prepareandcleantreatment roomsandmedicalinstruments.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

•ExperienceasaMedicalAssistantwouldbeanasset.

•Knowledgeofofficeprocedures.

•Excellenttimemanagementskillsandabilitytomulti-taskand prioritizework.

•Socialperceptivenessandserviceoriented.

•Excellentwrittenandverbalcommunicationskills

•Strongorganizationalandplanningskills.

•ProficiencyinMSOfficeandpatientmanagementsoftware would beanasset.

Competitivesalaryandfullbenefits

E-mailResumeandReferencesto: admin@schss.com

MainSKILLS:

Merritt &DistrictHospiceSociety

Part-timeEmploymentOpportunity -10hoursperweek

POSITION:CoordinatorCommunityLiaison& OfficeSupport-Administrative Position

Greatopportunityforsomeonereturningtoworkforceorrecentlyretired

•Good workingknowledgewithSimplyAccounting ,MicrosoftOfficePrograms

•Organizationalskillsanddetailoriented

•Marketingskills

•Excellentpeopleskills

•Vehiclerequired

•Abilitytomulti-task

APoliceRecordCheckwillberequired.

DUTIES:

•Officeduties,includingbutnotlimitedtopreparingcorrespondence,meeting minutes&financialstatementsusingSimplyAccounting ,organizing& maintainingpaper&digitalfiles.

•10hoursper week

•Liaisonwithotherhospices &CommunityMembers

•Writingproposals,fundraising

Formoreinformationandtoreceiveacompletejobdescription,pleasecallMerritt Hospiceat250-280-1701.

Deadlineforapplications: September30,2024

ForinformationaboutMerritt &DistrictHospiceSociety, pleasevisit,www.merritthospice.org.

Scw’exmx Communit yH ealthS er vicesS ociety StoyomaD entalClinic EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNIT Y

POSI TI ON TI TLE: DentalAs sistant(Certiﬁed in an as set)

REPO RT STO: Dental Clinic Manager

RESPON SI BI LI TI ES:

•Dentalassistant worksc hair si de alongwiththe Dentist. They areessential to creating ac onnectionbet ween clientsand dentists.The incumbentmaintains ac ollaborative relationship with clientsand allmembers of theoralhealthc areteamtodeliver thehighest levelofc lientc enteredc are.

•Weare seekingap ositiveteammember, whoisenergetic,organized,and ac ompassionate caring indivi dual.Thisindividualismindful of detail andacc uracyinall reporting. Training provided with op portunitiestofur ther educ atetobec omec er tiﬁedand licensed

•The incumbentpromotesthe safety andwell- beingofc lients andwhennec es sary, communic ates immediatec oncernstoappropriate StoyomaDentalstaff

•O ur of ﬁc eisc ommitted to positive andinc lusive dental prac ticestoprovi de thebest patientexperienc e. Ourdentalser vicesare availabletothe public,foc usingonser ving andmeeting thec omplex needs of localFir st Nation indivi duals.

We of fe ra comp etitivesalar yof$ 25 -$ 31/hrbased on experi ence andfullb en eﬁts with ap ension.Thispositionisp ermanent averaging3 -5 days perwee kM ondaytoFriday. Please submit resume to: StoyomaDentalClinic 20 88 QuilchenaAvenue- PO Box3 09 0Merritt,BCV1K 1B 8 oremail: palmgren.d@s chss.c om