Merritt Herald, April 02, 2013

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Partnering for better community healthJenny Turco, com-

munity health facilita-tor for the Interior Health Authority (IHA), was on hand at Merritt city council’s regular meeting on March 26 to give a slideshow on promot-ing health through local partnerships. Unfortunately, due to technical issues, Turco’s slideshow didn’t work and she had to describe each slide.

“The aim of the healthy communities initiative is to partner with local governments to promote healthier communities as well as to reduce chronic disease risk factors,” said Turco. “Most local governments and regional districts have been quite responsive. I think there’s been a shift coming, a recog-nition of focusing on keeping people healthy and health promotion and prevention. We’ve had lots of partner-ship agreements being established and further dialogue and discus-sion.”

Turco said how the program is developed for each commu-nity will depend on the community itself.

“Every community is going to be differ-ent,” she said. “Once the partnership agree-ment is established, myself and a relevant expert in the health

authority will discuss where the local govern-ments want to go.”

Coun. Mike Goetz agreed with the idea of promoting health in the community, but would prefer to see IHA spend money on hospitals and health

centres.“I thought it was a

good presentation,” he said. “It’s always good to have a group of peo-ple aware of people’s health and to partner with somebody to get that message out. It’s a good thing to have,

but I have mixed emo-tions. When someone is paid to do something like that and we still have the massive waits that we have, I’d like to see more emphasis on getting those backlogs cleared up. I know both need to be done,

but focus needs to shift.”

There are people in pain who are on waiting lists and have been for two years, said Goetz.

“That’s one area I’d like to see focused on rather than nutritional

health, not that that isn’t important, I just think there are differ-ent priorities.”

Goetz said the IHA program is simply relaying a message that people already know.

“I think more focus should be on getting

doctors into communi-ties that need them,” he said. “Getting people off the waiting list and getting surger-ies done - I think that’s where IHA should be focusing on. This is money that could be better spent elsewhere.”

By Craig LindsayTHE HERALD

[email protected]

Jenny Turco from Interior Health gives a presentation at the City of Merritt regular council meeting on March 26. Craig Lindsay/Herald

www.merrittherald.com 2 • TUESDAY, April 2, 2013

NICOLA VALLEY NEWS

www.merritt.ca • Ph: 250.378.4224

Site Location: Airport Road, next to Valley HelicoptersFor pick-up & product information: 250-378-9674 or 250-936-8363

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ECO ALL-STAR: JOHN ANDERSONFor the Good Earth Company’s John Anderson, reducing his ecological footprint has taken many forms over his time in the Nicola Valley.As chair of the Nicola Water Use Management Plan for about ve years, Anderson helped the group come up with 37 recommendations to the government to increase water sustainability. As a rancher, Anderson set fencing back to help preserve riparian areas along the Coldwater and Nicola Rivers. Now, as a co-founder of the Sunshine Valley Good Earth Company (along with wife Kate and another couple), being eco-friendly is his livelihood. “There is a nite amount of resources on the planet,” Anderson said. “In a way, we’re really borrowing from future generations when we don’t ef ciently re-use what we can. I think people need to take ownership of their own little piece of the planet, whether that’s by gardening or using water more ef ciently. It’s one of those concrete things that you can actually do.”The Andersons started the Good Earth Company about ve years ago, following some tough times in the ranching industry. “Through the ranching business, we’ve come to understand the value of a lot of things, like water and riparian areas,” he said. “When the whole BSE thing hit in 2003, we were really struggling to stay a oat so we thought we should try to come up with a good idea. We did a lot of brainstorming, partnered with two other people,

and came up with this idea to compost. We took some commercial composting courses and got our composting ticket, so to speak.” To get off the ground and to help dispel some of the stigma attached to compost, the Andersons gave out samples of their product during the early days of their business. Now, almost ve years later, he said the company, product and process is well-established. “When you think about recycling in its truest form, this is one of the most successful forms of recycling,” he said. “Mother Nature does the whole process. We mix it with wood bre and put some dairy manure in it, Tim Hortons coffee grounds, and sometimes we use a little bit of chicken manure. By and large, if you get the mixture of carbon and nitrogen correct, it’ll create really extreme heat in the compost. We pump air through it, and through that process, we’re able to create a really great product after about a year.” Anderson said working with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District to reclaim and rehabilitate old land ll sites proved just how valuable compost can be. “When they reclaim an old land ll site, they have to bring it back to a point where it’s going to rehabilitate itself in time with vegetation,” he said. “The really cool thing we found out about this compost we’re making is that, if they put it on really thick — three or four feet thick — the compost captures and dissipates about 95 per cent of the methane gas that leaks out of the old land ll. That’s kind of a breakthrough thing.”One of the reasons the compost is so nutrient-rich is because of the food waste it incorporates from all over the world and from all types of soil, he said.

The Andersons are also involved in the city’s rst community garden project. “We thought [the community garden] was a good t for the Good Earth Company,” he said. “We got a couple of machines on site, got the soil leveled up, got some boxes built, some soil hauled. We thought, if you build it, people will come. That’s exactly how it turned out. It’s got some momentum now.”The community garden is expected to be ready to go by early May.

The Merritt Herald and these participating merchants will focus on one Eco All-Star person per issue until April 18, 2013.

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April will be a busy month for the SaySo Expression Society at the Culture Club, start-ing with the hosting of the Nicola Valley Community Band on April 5.

The event will be a cabaret-style concert to raise money for the band’s upcoming trip to Langley and Government House in Victoria to play special concerts.

The following Friday, April 12, will show a return to form with the SaySo Expression Society open mic night.

However, there will be a new twist on the old open mic night format: society director Mil Juricic

will be interviewing a “very special guest” and filming the inter-view in front of the live audience.

“We don’t want to let you know who the guest is because we want your spon-taneous reaction as a live audience,” Juricic said in a press release.

Doors for that event open at 6:30 p.m.

A week later, on April 19, the society will present the once-local roots-rock band the Dung Beatles and Friends.

“This is a bit of Merritt history, as the band comes back to stir up some memories for those who know them and guarantees to make new friends of those who have not heard and seen them play,” Juricic said.

Proceeds from that event will benefit the SaySo Expression Society.

The society accu-mulated debt when its directors footed the bill following some venue rental complications a year ago.

“They said they’re going to help us out, which was nice because we’re in debt,” SaySo direc-tor Ewa Derek-Skotnicki said. “We really want people to come and support, because it’s music for them too.”

Tickets for the Dung Beatles and Friends show are available at Country Bug Books and Gifts.

Derek-Skotnicki said the society is negotiating with other bands to host more concerts in the summer.

SaySo Society spring picking up steamBy Emily Wessel

THE [email protected]

SaySo director Mil Juricic (right) introduces Vancouver reggae band The Boom Booms at the band’s concert in February as lead singer Aaron Ross looks on. The SaySo Expression Society is in talks with more bands to host special concerts to round out an already busy spring schedule. Emily Wessel/Herald

www.merrittherald.com TUESDAY, April 2, 2013 • 3

NICOLA VALLEY NEWS

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GOOD MORNING!

From the Herald archives: April, 1983

Fall Fair, Rodeo submit Lottery grant proposal

The Fall Fair and Rodeo Associations have submitted a grant application for about $250,000 to the B.C. Lottery Foundation.

The two groups are engaged in develop-ing their jointly held 20 acres at Collettville, site of the present rodeo grounds.

Gloria Capp, chairwoman of the Merritt Rodeo Fair Days Committee, said at its Monday meeting that Yale-Lilooet MLA Tom Waterland has taken the applica-tion to Victoria.

Waterland met with the asso-ciation while in Merritt recently.

Capp, who is a member of both applying organi-zations, said the money, if received, would get the com-bined grounds off to a good start.

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Merritt mayor meets with lending group

Merritt Mayor Susan Roline. FIle photo

Merritt’s mayor represented the city at the Municipal Finance Authority (MFA) annu-al general meeting in Victoria last Thursday.

The MFA is the main lending body that almost all munici-palities in B.C. borrow from or invest funds with, Mayor Susan Roline said.

Roline attended the meeting as Merritt’s representative on the Thompson-Nicola

Regional District’s board, and she is also the TNRD’s alternate representative to the MFA.

As a mayor, Roline said the meeting’s presentations gave her useful insight into the changing political cli-mate of the province.

“It’s useful to have that insight because whatever happens in provincial politics definitely affects local governments because we are a creature of them,” Roline said. “That can possibly

help with some of the decisions we’re mak-ing.”

The panel discus-sion on B.C.’s political climate was followed by a presentation by the chief economist for the Royal Bank of Canada. Roline said the eco-nomic forecast gave her particular insight into Merritt’s resource-driv-en industry, including the rising demand for lumber from the U.S. and China.

“He spoke on the economy in Canada and where he sees it

going, any hinder-ances to that progress, and some insight into why B.C. isn’t getting sort of its fair share of migration from other points in Canada. It’s due to our high house pricing,” Roline said. “People coming from other parts of Canada often can’t afford the pricing in B.C.”

Roline will also attend the MFA’s semi-annual general meeting in September, which is held in conjunction with the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

By Emily WesselTHE [email protected]

Kamloops Fire Centre urges cautionThe Kamloops Fire

Centre is asking the public to exercise caution with any outdoor burning activ-ities this spring.

“As the snow melts, some of the dried grass from last summer is becoming uncovered and that material can be highly volatile throughout the region,” said Kayla Pepper, information offi-cer for the Kamloops Fire Centre. “Almost all wild-fires at this time of the year are caused by people and are therefore prevent-able.”

Pepper said there are several precautions that homeowners and industry personnel can take to pre-vent fires.

“One thing is to ensure there are enough people, water and tools on site so that if the fire does escape they can control it quickly and hopefully prevent it from escaping in the first place,” she said. “You should also check the weather conditions and the B.C. Air Quality website to see the venting condi-tions before conducting the burn.”

Pepper said there have been three fire starts in the Kamloops area in the past few days.

Other tips from the Kamloops Fire Centre include do not burn during windy conditions, when the wind can carry embers to other combustible material and start new fires; create a fireguard at least one metre around the planned fire site by clearing away twigs, grass, leaves and other combustible material and start new fires; if you are planning a large burn, consider conducting small-er burns around the perim-eter beforehand to create a fuel break and help stop the fire from spreading beyond its intended size. Each of these fires should be kept small and must be completely extinguished before starting a new fire; and never leave a fire unattended and make sure that your fire is completely extinguished and the ashes are cold to the touch before you leave the area.

If you are planning to do any large-scale indus-trial burning or conduct a grass burn over 0.2 hect-ares (Category 3 fires), you must obtain a burn registration number ahead

of time by calling 1 888 797-1717.

Venting conditions should always be checked before conducting an open burn. If conditions are rated “Poor” or “Fair”, open burning is restricted. The venting index can be found at: bcairquality.ca/readings/ventilation-index.html.

In B.C., the Wildfire Act specifies a person’s legal obligations when using fire on or within one kilometre of forest land or grassland. If an outdoor burn escapes and causes a wildfire, the person responsible may be held accountable for damages and fire suppression costs.

Anyone found in con-travention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a ticket for $345 or, if convicted in court, be fined up to $100,000 and sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person may be subject to a penalty of up to $10,000 and be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

If you see flames or smoke, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or call *5555 on your cellphone to report it.

By Craig LindsayTHE HERALD

[email protected]

Kayla Pepper of the Kamloops Fire Centre. File photo

www.merrittherald.com 4 • TUESDAY, April 2, 2013

NICOLA VALLEY NEWS

Fred Feistmann, Investment Advisor

S&P/TSX 12749.90DJIA 14578.5S&P 500 1569.19

$CAN/US 0.982$US/CAN 1.018

Canada Prime 3.00%1 Year GIC 1.80%5 Year GIC 2.40%10 Yr. CDA Bond 1.62%

Gold am/pm x London 1603.00Copper Highgrade 3.36Lumber (day session) 394.40Live Cattle 128.45

Brands Sionna Cdn. Eqt10.80IA Clarington Cdn. Eqt 26.18IA Clarington Glbl. Eqt 14.11CI Harbour Fund 22.11Dynamic Cdn Value Cls 12.90Fidelity Asset Allocation 25.15Fidelity Disp Cad Eqt 27.74

Fid Intnl Portfolio 26.67Ivy Cdn Fund 28.54Ivy Foreign Fund 34.00Bissett Cdn Equity 79.02RBC Balanced Fund 12.73RBC Cdn Div. Fund 51.79CI Signature Select Cdn 19.81

A&W Revenue Royalties 22.07ATCO Ltd. 91.92Arc Resources Ltd. 26.84BCE Inc 47.46Barrick Gold Corp 29.84Ballard Power Sys 1.03Bonavista Energy Corp 14.94Bombardier 4.03Bank of Montreal 63.94Bank of Nova Scotia 59.11Can. National Railway 102.10Canadian Tire (NON VTG A) 73.31Cameco Corporation 21.08CIBC 79.68Canadian Utilities Ltd. 80.25Can. Real Est. Trust 44.96Can. Nat. Res. Ltd. 32.57Enbridge 47.30EnCana Corporation 19.76Finning 25.31Husky Energy Inc. 29.16Imperial Oil 41.52Kinross Gold Corp 8.04Loblaw Companies 42.74Maple Leaf Foods 13.74Molson Coors Can Inc. 49.35Manulife Financial 14.96Pembina Pipeline Corp. 32.10Potash Corp of Sask 39.90Pengrowth Energy Corp. 5.18 Power Financial Corp. 29.94Precision Drilling Corp 9.39Rogers Comm Inc. 51.89

Royal Bank 61.20Research In Motion Ltd. 15.09Sun Life Financial Inc 27.72Shaw Comm Inc 25.16Shopper’s Drug Mart 43.47Suncor Energy Inc 30.44Toromont Inds Ltd 23.31Toronto Dominion Bank 84.58Transcanada Corp 48.50Telus Corp 70.16Tim Hortons Inc 55.21

Alcoa Inc. 8.52American Express Co. 67.46Mellon Corp 27.99Cisco Systems Inc. 20.90Deere & Co. 85.98Walt Disney Co. (The) 56.80Gap Inc. 35.40General Electric Co. 23.12Home Depot Inc. 69.78Johnson & Johnson 81.53Macy’s Inc. 41.84Microsoft Corp. 28.60Sprint Nextel Corp 6.21P zer Inc. 28.86Pepsico Inc. 79.11AT&T INC 36.69Staples Inc. 13.42United Tech Corp 93.43Walmart Stores Inc. 74.83Wendy’s Arby’s Gr. 5.68

This article is supplied by Fred Feistmann, an Investment Advisor with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. RBC Dominion Securities is a member company under RBC Investments. The member company and Royal Bank of Canada are separate corporate entities that are af liated. Member CIPF. (tm) Trademark of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under license. ©Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

As of Market Close on March 28, 2013

Fred is an Investment Advisor with RBC Dominion Securities specializing in ef cient money management strategies.Any questions or comments can be directed to him at1-800-774-9631 or e-mail [email protected]

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DID YOU KNOW. . . .In 1998, Burger King introduced a “Left-Handed Whopper” as an April Fool’s Day prank.

THIS WEEK’S MARKETS .... The S&P/TSX Composite closed at $12,749.90 last week. In the U.S., the S&P increased 0.8% to close at $1,569.19. Oil was up 4.1% to close at $97.23/bb, while natural gas futures rose 1.3% to close at $4.03/MMBtu. Gold bullion fi nished the week at $1,595.93, down 0.8%. The Canadian dollar increased 0.7% against the US dollar, closing at $.98/USD. The 2 year Canadian bench-mark bond rose to 1.002% and the 10 year bond increased to 1.872%. South of the border 2 year US treasury yields decreased to .242%.

Have your received your 2013 Connector Phone Directory,

if not stop by the Merritt Herald and pick one up.

CHANGING OF THE GUARDMerritt Youth and Family Resources Society officially changed hands on today, but that won’t affect its offerings to clients, the society’s executive direc-tor Lenora Fletcher (second from right) said. Its eight contracts with the Ministry of Child and Family Development are expired, and Interior Community Services (represented by Chief Operating Officer/Clinical Director Shelly Bonnah, far left), has taken over running the programs.The society will still operate out of its main centre at 2187A Coutlee Ave. and Fletcher said the Teen Centre will continue to operate at 1721 Coldwater Ave. for now, but the new partnership may mean a location change in the future. The society will still process JumpStart applications at its Family Place in the Railyard Mall. Also pictured are society directors Bonnie Cowan and Susan Fischer.

Emily Wessel/Herald

City recognized at TOTA conference

The City of Merritt was recognized three times at the recent Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) conference for “embracing its potential” — which was the conference theme — said City of Merritt Economic Development Manager James Umpherson.

“[The city was] highlighted three times at the conference and this is a fairly sig-nificant conference,”

Umpherson said. “If we’re going to do tour-ism, let’s do it right and use best practices. It kept coming back to what Merritt’s all about and what Merritt wants to do as a community.”

Umpherson rep-resented the City of Merritt at the 2012-13

Thompson Okanagan Tourism Industry Summit and annual general meeting which took place at Quaaout Lodge and Spa, outside of Chase from March 25-27.

The annual tour-ism summit brings representatives from communities through-

out the region for workshops and pre-sentations on tourism planning.

Umpherson said one of the reasons Merritt was recog-nized was because of the tourism planning and marketing event hosted by the city and facilitated by TOTA in February. That was the first step in the city-driven tourism plan, which has the goal of establishing a destina-tion marketing organi-zation, he said.

“Now, all of TOTA knows that the City of

Merritt has embraced that and said, “We want to go forward,” he said.

The tourism plan is currently in develop-ment within the TOTA facilitators’ framework.

“This conference about embracing your potential was a pinna-cle moment for Merritt because we were high-lighted at the entire conference several dif-ferent times. To me, it speaks to what we, as a city, have been trying to do — embrace our potential,” Umpherson said.

By Emily WesselTHE [email protected]

www.merrittherald.com TUESDAY, April 2, 2013 • 5

NICOLA VALLEY NEWS

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BUDGET INFORMATION MEETINGS

In conjunction with the School District’s desire to provide information regarding the budget planning process, there will be a budget and

enrollment projection presentation for interested stakeholders, including all members of the public. This meeting will review provincial funding,

district projections for enrollment and provide more specifi c information regarding the district’s annual budget.

Meetings have been scheduled as follows:

MERRITT – 6:00 p.m., Wed., April 3, 2013 – Merritt School Board officePRINCETON – 6:00 p.m., Thurs., April 4,2013 – Princeton board office.

All interested members of the public are invited to attend

SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 58 (NICOLA-SIMILKAMEEN)

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Time to say goodbye to the HSTIt’s no April Fool’s

Day joke — taking a cab, reserving a camp-ing site, going to the movies and enjoying a meal at a restaurant should all be a bit less expensive as of Monday, April 1, as B.C. reverts to the pro-vincial sales tax (PST) system and sends the harmonized sales tax (HST) to the cash regis-ter in the sky.

Shortly after being elected in May 2009, the BC Liberals announced the province would introduce the HST, a 12 per cent tax replacing the seven per cent PST and five per cent goods and services tax (GST).

The HST increased the price on about 20 per cent of goods and services as items previ-ously subject only to the five per cent GST were taxed at the 12 per cent HST rate.

These included tomato plants, first-aid kits, haircuts, shoe repair and vitamins.

Following a his-toric petition drive that

forced a referendum on the issue, voters in the summer of 2011 decided overwhelmingly to ditch the HST and return to the PST/GST system.

Not everything will be less expensive, how-ever, as alcohol taxed at 12 per cent before April

1 will now be taxed at 15 per cent (five per cent GST and 10 per cent PST).

While the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch will drop mark-ups at the wholesale level by three per cent, it remains to be seen whether that pint at

the pub will remain the same price.

Some industries — most notably British Columbia’s forestry and film-production sec-tors — will bear more costs as the tax system changes.

Kamloops This Week

The plan to build seven apartments and commercial space below them on Quilchena Avenue hasn’t gotten further off the ground since it was originally put on hold in 2008.

The lot, which sits between Brambles Bakery and Doctors Eyecare, remains fenced in with partial brick walls erected. Ascent System Technologies pur-chased the lot five years ago to build a complex, called Sunrise Centre, with commercial space on the ground floor and residential space on the second level — similar to other buildings on the block — with the intention to increase the num-ber of people living downtown.

Vladimir Grebenyuk, Ascent

System Technologies principal systems architect, said in an email that the project is on hold and has

been since 2008. The City of

Merritt’s building permits expire after two years of inactivity

on the property. Any future development would mean develop-ers must re-apply for the permits.

The development on Quilchena Avenue between Brambles Bakery and Doctors Eyecare is still on hold, and has been since 2008. Emily Wessel/Herald

By Emily WesselTHE HERALD

[email protected]

Downtown’s awful eyesore not going anywhere

www.merrittherald.com 6 • TUESDAY, April 2, 2013

Easter has always been a big holiday in my fam-ily and among my friends. When I was younger, my parents would hide Easter eggs around the house and in the yard. My sister and I would snoop for them and see who could find the most. Afterwards, we would be given chocolate

bunnies or some other big treat.

This year, my mom was off to Cranbrook to visit with my sister and her family. My sister just had surgery and my mom is helping to take care of her. I wasn’t able to join them due to work commitments, plus I think it would’ve been crowded enough around their house with my mom, sister, brother-in-law, nieces, nephew and dogs. I told my mom not to worry, I would buy enough chocolate from her to make up for it.

In Merritt, it was great to be able to attend the city’s Easter in the Park celebration. An estimated

150 people showed up to take part in the Easter egg hunt and pose with the Easter Bunny. (Look for photos in Thursday’s Herald)

The fire department showed up with one of their big trucks. Kids were able to get up and sit in the driver’s seat and check out all the bells and whis-tles on the truck.

The weather was per-fect all weekend, which made the party in the park even better. Hopefully, we’ve seen the end of the cold weather and snow flurries.

Of course, every time I switch my tires and get out my lawn furniture, you can

pretty much bet that it’s going to snow.

The next holiday to look forward to now isn’t until May with the May-long weekend on the 20th.

That’s two months without a nice three-day weekend to look forward to. Of course, in the newspaper business, we still have to put out the paper. So, while holidays are nice, it usually means we have to do more work in less time. And trying to get ahold of people on a Monday after a long week-end for interviews can be a daunting task.

I worked at a paper in Alberta where the paper shut down over Christmas.

All employees had a man-datory two-week vacation.

On the one hand, it was nice to have the time off, but it’s not great to have no choice in when to take some of your well-earned holidays.

It was doubly difficult for me because I was 12 hours from my family, who live in B.C.

Still, I made the long trek to see my parents and was glad I did.

That’s really what holi-days are about: spending time with family. With everyone getting older and some people drifting apart, I try to take advantage or any opportunity I can to see family.

HERALD OPINION

Greenhouse gas leaks from trust

The Pacific Carbon Trust orches-trated a months-long campaign of calls and letters to discredit a report from B.C.’s auditor general on its first two big carbon offset projects, before it could be released.

Just as the audit report was about to be made public, the trust, a Crown corporation created at taxpayer expense, participated in the leaking of selected critical letters to media outlets.

Then the Speaker of the B.C. legislature, Bill Barisoff, made a final, clumsy effort to delay the release of the report.

As soon as it was out, Environment Minister Terry Lake tried to discredit it, by blustering about all the highly paid experts who swore up and down that a forest reserve near Kootenay Lake and a gas flaring reduction project near Fort Nelson were bona fide carbon offsets worth $6 million of taxpayers’ money.

The audit states in plain language, with charts and timelines, that the $6 million was basically given away for nothing. I look forward to further audits on this carbon offset scheme, assuming it survives after the May elec-tion, because these two projects aren’t the only boondoggles.

Easter bunnies, chocolate and family

2090 GRANITE AVE., PO BOX 9, MERRITT, B.C. PHONE (250) 378-4241 FAX (250) 378-6818MERRITT HERALDCopyright subsists in all display advertising in this edition of the Merritt Herald. Permission to reproduce in any form, must be obtained in writing from the publisher. We acknowledge the fi nancial support of the Government of Canada, through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.

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Dear Editor:

I would appreciate it if you would provide some coverage for the human tragedy that is underway as we speak in West Kelowna. It involves a retired couple in their 70s: Joyce and Jerry Smith, both of whom are in poor health — especial-ly the husband, who has an implanted heart pacemaker and, according to his wife, has had approximately 10 strokes within the past seven months or so, since BC Hydro installed a bank of seven smart meters less than 10 feet from their front door.

Although I live in Kelowna on the other side of Lake Okanagan from the Smiths, my wife and I drove over to their home so that I could see their situation for myself

and take measurements of their smart meters with my radio frequency meter and my Gauss meter. Suffice to say, the magnetic field radiation in their home — clearly coming from the seven smart meters — measures in the dangerous range, both in the middle of their kitchen and living room!

Since then, quite a few of us concerned citizens have tried to get this couple’s MLA, Ron Stewart, to come to their aid. But, as I understand it, that hasn’t happened, other than he or someone from his office did telephone BC Hydro. Joyce Smith told me that BC Hydro responded by saying they’d send a team of engineers sometime this week when she phoned BC Hydro, she was told that the engineers will be at her home

sometime within the next two to three weeks! Given the extreme radiation this elderly couple is forced to live with — forcing the husband to literally hide in the bedroom at the back of their home to escape the radiation — that answer should be completely unacceptable in any demo-cratic society, especially here in Canada.

Please give this story the coverage it deserves. These people could be your parents. Thank you.

Jerry Flynn Kelowna, B.C.

Editor’s note: Jerry Flynn, a retired armed forces captain, gave a series of speeches throughout B.C. recently speaking against smart meters for Citizens for Safe Technology

The opening of two new dental practices on May 1 means some Merrittonians won’t have to go out of town for dental care.

Dr. Sunil Malhotra, who has a satellite practice in Logan Lake, said he decided to open up an office in Merritt after seeing many patients travelling from Merritt.

“We got a lot of patients from Merritt and they were telling me it takes two to three months to get in to see a dentist for emergency, so that’s the reason I’m opening up there,” Malhotra said.

Malhotra said he and his partner are in talks with an orthodontist and hope to have an in-office orthodontist by July.

The practice is located on Forksdale Avenue beside the Dollar Mart, and has no maximum limit for patients

yet, he said. Downtown, Scw’exmx

Community Health Services Society is opening a prac-tice beside Interior Savings on Voght Street. The soci-ety’s executive director, Jim Adams, said the non-profit organization decided to open a practice to alleviate some of the issues that people liv-ing on and off reserves can face when they’re trying to access dental care, including being turned away beccause the practice is at full patient capacity. “All the dentists are turning patients away,” Adams said. “Our First Nations have not accessed good dental health, and there’s a number of reasons for that: the lack of oppor-tunity to see a dentist, the problems with people get-ting in (a lot of people don’t have transportation), and the requirement by dentists to have money up front.”

Adams said the practice will be open to everyone,

and people from the soci-ety’s member communities (Shackan, Coldwater and Nooaitch) will be able to access transportation to the dentist in town through the society.

“I think Merritt is going to benefit significantly from the extra dentist here,” he said.

The addition of more dentist offices in the city doesn’t just mean Merrittonians have more choice — it could make Merritt a more attractive place for families to move to, City of Merritt Economic Development Manager James Umpherson said.

“If people are looking to relocate, they look at a few key factors, and one of the factors is health services for both themselves and their families,” he said. “Having dentists in Merritt that can service the community is great.”

Two new dental practices opening May 1By Emily Wessel

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FictionLawrence Block Hit MeTerry Brooks The Dark Legacy of ShannaraJo Nesbo The Redbreast(“The next Stieg Larsson”)

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The offi ces could make Merritt a more attractive place to settle: Umpherson

Two dental offices opening next month mean Merrittonians have more choice when it comes to oral health care. Stock photo

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Carbon offsets ‘not credible,’ auditor saysTwo carbon capture

projects that were the largest beneficiaries of B.C.’s multi-million-dollar “carbon neutral government” program did not provide cred-ible carbon offsets for emissions from gov-ernment operations, Auditor General John Doyle concludes.

In a report released Wednesday, Doyle said a West Kootenay forest reserve called Darkwoods and a flar-ing elimination project by EnCana Corp. at its Fort Nelson natural gas operations accounted for nearly 70 per cent of carbon credits paid by the government’s agency, the Pacific Carbon Trust.

“Encana’s project was projected to be more financially ben-eficial to the company than its previous prac-tices, regardless of off-set revenue, while the Darkwoods property was acquired without

offsets being a critical factor in the deci-sion,” Doyle’s report states. “In industry terms, they would be known as ‘free riders’ – receiving revenue ($6 million between the two) for something that would have hap-pened anyway.”

Darkwoods, a 55,000-hectare prop-erty near Kootenay Lake, was purchased as a forest reserve by the Nature Conservancy of Canada in 2008. Doyle notes that the decision to buy the land was made in 2006, and a carbon offset feasibility study was not completed until January 2009.

EnCana’s project diverted gas from flares to drilling. The audit found that “the company started the project in 2008 and had already converted many gas wells by the time they met with the Pacific Carbon Trust in 2009,” and the off-set payments were not a factor in the decision to proceed.

B.C.’s “carbon neutral government” initiative has been controversial since it was launched as part of former premier Gordon Campbell’s climate change program in 2008. Provincial and local governments, health authorities and school districts were required to buy carbon offset credits equal to the greenhouse gas emis-sions from their build-ings and vehicles, with the money invested in carbon-reducing proj-ects.

According to the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation, B.C. uni-versities paid $4.46 million into the Pacific Carbon Trust in 2011. B.C.’s 60 school districts paid a total of $5.36 million the same year, and the province’s six health authorities paid $5.79 million.

Environment Minister Terry Lake said the govern-ment “fundamentally rejects” Doyle’s con-

clusions, and stands by the outside experts who were called on to validate the carbon offset investments.

NDP environment critic Rob Fleming said the report adds to earlier criticisms of a program that diverts taxpayer funds from schools and hospitals

to finance industrial projects by profitable companies.

The government responded to earlier criticism by diverting $10 million taken from school districts in the past two years into a fund to improve ener-gy efficiency in school buildings and vehicles.

By Tom FletcherBLACK PRESStfl [email protected]

Darkwoods, a 55,000 hectare forest reserve near Nelson, sold 450,000 tonnes of carbon offsets to the Pacific Carbon Trust from 2008 to 2010. Black Press

Provincial report focuses on First Nations healthB.C.’s provincial

health officer today released a report that looks at the poten-tial health and social impacts on aborigi-nal people in British Columbia as a result of recent changes to federal crime legisla-tion.

“While aborigi-nal people represent approximately five per cent of the population of B.C., they represent over one-quarter of admissions into B.C. correctional centres,” said Dr. Evan Adams, deputy provincial health officer. “We are concerned that the new federal legisla-tion represents a step backwards and creates circumstances that will likely result in still more aboriginal youth and adults in pris-ons, and lower health status for aboriginal people in correction facilities, as well as their families and

communities.” Health, Crime

and Doing Time: Potential Impacts of the Safe Streets and Communities Act (Former Bill C-10) on the Health and Well-being of Aboriginal People in British Columbia was devel-oped in response to federal legislation.

The report finds that the Safe Streets and Communities Act, which received royal assent in March 2012, will increase the likeli-hood that youth will be imprisoned, and that aboriginal people, especially youth and youth in government care, are a vulnerable population that will be disproportionately affected by the act.

Of particular concern, the act: Effectively eliminates the requirement to consider the unique circumstances of Aboriginal offenders

in accordance with existing legislation; shifts the focus of sen-tencing toward denun-ciation and deterrence, de-emphasizing reha-bilitation; introduces and expands manda-tory minimum sen-tences for adults; and expands the definition of “violent offence” to include offences where a young person’s behaviour posed a risk to others, even if it was not intentional and did not result in an injury.

“First Nations are very concerned about the potential effects of the Safe Streets and Communities Act on our citizens who are already massively over-represented in the prison system and all areas of the justice system,” said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo. “This legislation is one of the reasons we need

to make immedi-ate investments in education, economic opportunities, and safe and secure communi-ties for our people, not only to reduce the number of First Nation people who come into contact with the justice system but to improve the overall health and wellness of First Nations.”

The report makes nine recommenda-tions, including that the act be either revoked or substantial-ly amended to ensure that it recognizes the unique history and context of aboriginal people in Canada, and considers the mental, physical and emotional health and wellness of aboriginal offenders.

Other recom-mendations include improving collabo-ration between the health and justice sec-tors and with aborigi-

nal people; focusing on the prevention and diversion of crime; and undertaking com-prehensive monitoring and evaluation of the effects of the act.

“I’d like to thank Dr. Kendall and Dr. Adams for preparing a thoughtful and impor-tant report that calls on us to engage fur-ther with the federal government to ensure that the very valid concerns outlined here are addressed,” said B.C. Representative for Children and Youth Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond.

B.C. has the sec-ond largest aboriginal population in Canada, after Ontario. In 2006, nearly 200,000 aborig-inal people were living in B.C., representing about 4.8 per cent of the population.

Press release from the Ministry of Health

www.merrittherald.com TUESDAY, April 2, 2013 • 9

NICOLA VALLEY NEWS

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Young readers on the path to literacy

The Pacific Carbon Trust was set up in 2008 as part of for-mer premier Gordon Campbell’s climate change program. To make the B.C. govern-ment’s operations “car-bon neutral,” the gov-ernment and all of its agencies were required to pay the trust $25 per tonne for their car-bon dioxide emissions from fuel use.

In 2011 alone, B.C. universities paid $4.46 million to the trust. B.C.’s 60 school dis-tricts paid a total of $5.36 million the same year, and the province’s six health authorities paid $5.79 million. The money is sup-posed to go to projects that capture carbon, thus “offsetting” the heating of schools, the

fuel burned by ambu-lances and so forth.

The 55,000-hectare forest reserve is known as Darkwoods. The audit shows that the Nature Conservancy of Canada decided in 2006 to buy it, using $25 million of federal taxpayers’ money. The deal closed in 2008, the same year the Pacific Carbon Trust was formed.

From 2008 to 2010, the trust bought 450,000 tonnes of carbon offset, based on independent evalu-ations that all rested on the assumption that Darkwoods would be clear-cut logged.

Since the forest was already owned by Canada’s leading con-servancy, this assump-tion makes no sense. Was the conservancy going to log it, or flip

it to someone who would, after accept-ing $25 million in tax money to acquire it? Legally, it could not.

(I would add that the assumption that logging releases all of the carbon in a forest is also false. Lumber actually sequesters carbon for longer than trees, which eventually die and rot.)

The audit found a similar case against EnCana’s flare reduc-tion program, which the company used on many wells before the trust started offering money. EnCana was saving money as well as reducing emissions without collecting offsets. Therefore, the audit concluded, nei-ther of these projects was a credible offset because the emissions savings would have

occurred anyway.Here’s the next

Pacific Carbon Trust project that should be audited. In a com-plicated transaction, the trust bought off-sets from something called the Great Bear Carbon Credit Limited Partnership. Yes, this is the world-famous forest on B.C.’s North Coast that was sub-ject to a preservation deal hammered out between the Coastal First Nations, the B.C. government and three U.S.-backed environ-mental groups.

That was in 2006. The offset purchases were in 2009 and 2010, years after detailed preservation areas were mapped and codified in law.

Again, the trust paid for forest that was already preserved.

Fletcher: leaks from trustFrom Page 6

Aiden is seven years old, and at the begin-ning of the school year last fall his family was worried about his read-ing. Now, because of his teacher’s expertise in literacy, Aiden is excited to read - especially books about Star Wars.

Since we’ve made literacy a primary focus as part of “Changing Results for Young Readers”, there are a lot of stories like Aiden’s.

We launched the initiative to increase the number of kids who are engaged, successful read-ers. Teachers are using strategies such as hav-ing a resource teacher work with the classroom teacher, to co-plan and co-teach students

together. They’re paying spe-

cial attention to what sparks a child’s interest and ensuring children have choices in select-ing books. These are key aspects to increasing literacy. Like us, children are more likely to read, write and discuss the things they are passion-ate about. We are for-tunate to have a strong education system as well as parents and teachers who foster reading-friendly homes and class-rooms. Because of this, we have a strong founda-tion to build upon.

B.C.’s Grade 4 stu-dents are among the world’s top readers at their grade level, accord-ing to the international

PIRLS report released last December. As well, nearly 80,000 British Columbian children and teens participate in reading club programs offered by public librar-ies each year.

These are successes we are extremely proud of. Strong literacy skills are connected to better jobs, higher incomes and safer communities. Now more than ever, all students need to have strong literacy skills to reach their potential, but there are still some who struggle.

Our goal is to ensure 100 per cent of B.C. stu-dents are literate by the time they’re in Grade 4. To support Changing Results for Young

Readers and other lit-eracy strategies, we’ve dedicated $10.7 million in funding to support early reading in every district. We’re focusing on students in their early stages of literacy and tracking their progress to find out what’s working and where we need to improve.

Maureen Dockendorf, a highly respected B.C. educator, has taken on the role of superintendent of read-ing and is overseeing the Changing Results for Young Readers initia-tive. Six hundred B.C. teachers in 66 early reading teams, in almost every school district, are using the most current research to help create an understanding of what builds reading suc-cess and how that can be applied in the classroom.

They are tracking the reading progress of 9,000 students over one year, documenting different literacy strate-gies as well as sharing teaching techniques and the stories of their most vulnerable readers. The next step is to compile, analyze and use this vital information to help current teachers and teachers in training on

effective ways to teach reading.

When I hear about kids like Aiden - some-one who once struggled with literacy, but now volunteers to read out loud to his classmates - I

know we’re on the right path.

By Don McRae, Minister of Education

Children are more likely to read about things they are passionate about. thinkstockphoto.com

www.merrittherald.com 10 • TUESDAY, April 2, 2013

HERALD SPORTSmerrittherald.com bcclassified.com

Have a sports story tip? Tell us about it by calling 250-378-4241 or emailing [email protected]

Centennials hand out year-end awardsBy Ian WebsterTHE [email protected]

Close to 150 people squeezed into the Royal Canadian Legion Hall last Tuesday for the Merritt Centennials’ 2012-13 Awards Night.

The gathering included Cents’ players, coaches and directors, along with many of the hockey club’s hard-working volunteers and

billet families.Also in attendance

was a large contingent of player family members who had made the trip to Merritt from as far away as New York State.

Centennials’ chap-lain Dave McCauley was master of cer-emonies. The evening included a delicious dinner prepared by the Centennials’ booster club.

THE GRADUATES Seven players from this season’s Merritt Centennials’ team will definitely not be returning next year due to their age or pending scholarships to post-secondary institutions. They were presented with their game jerseys and graduating rings at the awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 26 at the Legion Hall. (From left) Tyler Steel (Vernon), Sean Maktaak (Penticton), Brent Fletcher (New Westminster), Silvan Harper (Coquitlam), Derek Huisman (Smithers), Richard Sabourin (Peachland) and Regan Soquila (Maple Ridge). Harper spent four full seasons with the Centennials, playing in 235 of a possible 236 possible regular-season games, as well as all 22 Merritt playoff games in that four-year span. The 257 total games played is thought to be a franchise record.

Most Improved Player#28 Bennett Huber

Academic Scholar#21 Jeff Wight

Most Promising Player#4 Dylan Chanter

Most Game-Winning Goals#11 Sebastien Pare

Coaches’ Choice#8 Silvan Harper

#10 Brent Fletcher

Most Gentlemanly Player#16 Sean Maktaak

Rookie of the Year#7 Dane Birks

Leading Scorer#12 Regan Soquila

Best Defenceman#2 Tyler Martin

Unsung Hero#24 Richard Sabourin

Playoff MVP#8 Silvan Harper

Leadership & Ability#9 Derek Huisman

Most Valuable Player#35 Tyler Steel

Joe Tennant - Most Dedicated#6 Kevin Lohan

Ska-Lu-La Award#24 Richard Sabourin

IN MEMORIAM Long-time Merritt Centennials’ fan and tire-less volunteer Richard Dunnigan was honoured at the Cents’ awards night on March 26. On hand to receive the award were Richard’s family. (From left) daughter Susan, wife Agnes, pre-senter Brian Barrett, and son Dave. All photos by Ian Webster/Herald

Lords of the Rings

www.merrittherald.com TUESDAY, April 2, 2013 • 11

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MERRITTHERALD

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Production: [email protected] Granite Avenue,P.O. Box 9, Merritt, B.C.

ADVERTISING DEADLINES

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www.merrittherald.com 12 • TUESDAY, April 2, 2013

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