LOWER NICOLA BYELECTION PAGE 5 merrittherald.com
SMITH PIONEER PARK PAGE 8
MSS JUNIORS WIN PAGE 16
Nicola Valley’s News Voice Since 1905
bcclassified.com
MERRITT HERALD FREE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
Province dedicates Earth, Fire and Fibre $4 million to Nicola Canford revamp
Merritt sculptor John Yellowlees stands with his sculptures at the Courthouse Art Gallery. He is teaming up with Cindilla Trent for the pair’s second showing. See Page 2 Emily Wessel/Herald
By Phillip Woolgar THE HERALD
newsroom@merrittherald.com
The B.C. government is giving an expected $4 million to revamp Nicola Canford Elementary School in Lower Nicola, officials from NicolaSimilkameen School District 58 said. Eight modulars in the design phase are slated for assembly starting in February, and will be built directly into the school, replacing 10 of 11 classrooms that have steadily diminished over time.
“This building is old and really needs some help,” SD 58 Supt. Bob Peacock said, noting the kindergarten classroom will remain in place. “With the financial constraints, [the Ministry of Education] never had the dollars to replace it.” The Ministry recently established a $10-million modular school pilot fund to see if the structures could be used as a regular way of providing classroom space at ramshackle buildings in rural B.C.
See ‘Classroom’ Page 3
Pipeline protesters speak out at MLA’s office Defend Our Coast activists say they are concerned about anything that will damage the waters By Emily Wessel THE HERALD
reporter@merrittherald.com
About 20 people participated in a protest last Wednesday against the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline that would increase tanker traffic in the Douglas Channel on B.C.’s coast. Demonstrators linked arms in front of Fraser-Nicola MLA
Harry Lali’s office as part of the grassroots “Defend Our Coast” initiative. Dozens of communities throughout the province held protests in hopes of stopping the $5.5-billion Enbridge project. Many of the people at Merritt’s protest said their main concern with a new pipeline is the potential for an oil spill into the Pacific
Take a Photo! M E R R I T T Independently owned and operated
REAL ESTATE LISTINGS INSIDE Ph: 250-378-6181 1988 Quilchena Ave.
+
‘Excuse me. B.C. is not for sale and the coast is not for sale.’ —DEFEND OUR COAST PROTESTER BETTY LEACH
Ocean. “Our fishery is done, the tourism on the coast is done, because what have you got? A big oil slick,” protester Betty Leach said. The Northern Gateway project,
which includes twin pipelines running from Kitimat, B.C., to a community in northern Alberta and a new marine terminal at Kitimat, would provide a link between North America and oil markets in the Pacific Rim.
Enbridge estimates the province would earn $1.2 billion in tax revenue over the next 30 years if Premier Christy Clark’s government gives it the goahead. “It’s the start of the protests,” Leach said. “Excuse me. B.C. is not for sale and the coast is not for sale. My grandchildren have to live here.” Some of the protest-
ers voiced concerns about the potential for an economic crash when construction phase jobs end. They also called for the province to open its own refineries to create jobs in the province. Though the pipeline would not run through Merritt, protesters said it would affect the whole province. “This isn’t going to directly affect Merritt,
Pick a Frame!
= Get a Cake!
3673 3D DeWolf W Way • 2 250-378-5030 50-3 378--503 30
with purchase of
Limit one per customer
but indirectly it affects Merritt,” protester Terrence Grams said. “It affects all of us. It affects our environment, everything, all the time.” Lali, who was in Victoria during the protest in front of his office, said he is familiar with the backlash against Enbridge’s proposal.
See ‘Trans’ Page 3