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MERRITT HERALD FREE
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
Community garden growing in Merritt By Emily Wessel THE HERALD
reporter@merrittherald.com
Winter may just be setting in, but the Community Garden Project Committee is thinking ahead to spring, when it plans to launch Merritt’s community garden. Committee member Kate Anderson said the project is modelled after a similar project in Kamloops, which has a network of over a dozen community gardens throughout the city. “Our idea was, let’s build one relatively small, really well-functioning community garden there,” Anderson said. “Let’s show that this one
BINGO-STYLE CELEBRATION Violet Cressy waits for her bingo number to be called at the Merritt Seniors Centre last Tuesday, as she celebrated her 99th birthday a day early. Cressy has lived in Merritt since 1943 after moving from Hamilton, Ont. Phillip Woolgar/Herald
can be really successful. Then maybe there could be another one in Colletville, and another one in Diamond Vale.” Anderson said a program like the Gardengate Horticultural Program, operated by the nonprofit Open Door Group in Kamloops, that promotes healthy eating and active living for people with mental health issues is the ultimate goal. “It would be great to eventually have a centre where you grow things, and excess food could be sold to the community so it would also support itself,” Anderson said.
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City crew takes the beet route to de-icing roads The formula is credited with cutting down the amount of sand needed, making spring less messy By Emily Wessel THE HERALD
reporter@merrittherald.com
The City of Merritt is trying a new way to beat icy roads this winter, and the secret ingredient is beet juice. The de-sugared molasses prevents ice from bonding to pavement, making snow and ice removal easier. It’s applied to the streets before expected snowfall or freezing temperatures as the pre-treatment in a
two-fold approach to winter road maintenance. It also lowers the freezing temperature of the salt brine, which is applied on top of ice and snow to help them melt. The approach is used in many cities throughout Canada and has many purported benefits. It’s far less corrosive than road salt, relatively environmentally safe, and cost-effective, though it is more expensive than salt
‘It sounds like it should work quite well, so I thought we’d give it a whirl and see...’ —CITY OF MERRITT’S PUBLIC WORKS SUPT. DARRELL FINNIGAN
brine. The idea came to the city through VSA Highway Maintenance, which Public Works Supt. Darrell Finnigan said has been using the beet juice mixture for about three years. The company approached him about the product
and he agreed to test it this winter. “We’re working closely with [VSA] on how to lay it out, when to lay it out, the volumes and all that kind of stuff,” Finnigan said. “It sounds like it should work quite well, so I thought we’d give it
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a whirl and see what happens.” The city used the mixture for the first time on Dec. 3 and Finnigan said within minutes, the frost started to bear off. He said the city would’ve used about two dump truck loads of sand with its old strategy of just sanding sidewalks and roads. Unlike sand, the beet juice mixture doesn’t require cleanup, which Finnigan said will be a relief come
spring. “[The sand] would build up considerably, and in the spring it usually takes up to a month with two sweepers to get it all off the road and clear at least one path through the whole city,” he said. “We’re not spending all that money and time trying to take it off the road again.” The dark brown mixture doesn’t stain cars or clothes, Finnigan said. He also
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said implementing the new de-icer solution was well within the city’s budget, and there was no need to purchase new equipment. Crews are using a spare flat-deck truck with a spare 1,000litre tote on the back and a spray bar from the water truck it uses in the summer. “There was actually no cost in setting this up,” Finnigan said. “We have a perfect test unit to see how it works.”
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