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MERRITT HERALD FREE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2013 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
Health centre renamed to hospital By Phillip Woolgar THE HERALD
newsroom@merrittherald.com
more praises of home. “Together, we can keep this valley, the beautiful Nicola Valley, the healthy community that we all know and love.” Merritt Mayor Susan Roline, Fraser-Nicola MLA Harry Lali and OkanaganCoquihalla MP Dan Albas also spoke at the two-hour reception, where they presented five Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medals. The medals honour the achievements of and contributions to communities by Canadians.
The facility formerly known as the Nicola Valley Health Centre now has a name that reflects its functions. After about a year of pondering, the Ministry of Health and Interior Health announced the decision to change the name to the Nicola Valley Hospital and Health Centre on Friday. Merritt Mayor Susan Roline received unanimous support from city council on Jan. 10, 2012, for the recommended change. At the time, she said people assumed Merritt didn’t have a hospital and one of the dangers was the difficulty the former name caused when trying to attract workers. “I think it gives our residents and potential residents confidence that we do have a full-service, functioning hospital here,” she said after the announcement. “There aren’t too many things that you can’t get done here on a regular basis, so I think just having that word ‘hospital’ changes people’s view of it, which I think will help us greatly.” She said her and several others were motivated to call for the change after hearing continual complaints from employers who were having challenges attracting families because of the perception that Merritt didn’t have a hospital. “They didn’t want to come here because they thought that it was basically just an emergency centre,” she said. “This will hopefully dispel some of that [perception].” Merritt’s Economic Development Manager James Umpherson said the change is an improvement.
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Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon explained her role as a “stabilizing factor” in Canada’s democracy at a reception for her on Friday evening. About 150 people attended the event. Emily Wessel/Herald
Lieutenant-governor comes home By Emily Wessel THE HERALD
reporter@merrittherald.com
The province’s lieutenant-governor has big plans during her tenure as the Queen’s representative, she explained at a reception hosted by the City of Merritt in her honour on Friday. “First and foremost, I intend to visit every corner of this great province and to leave the place and myself better informed than when I arrived,” Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon said. “I want to connect rural and urban citizens so that they can learn
about the very different lifestyles they enjoy, and what are the frustrations and challenges faced by each of these two groups.” The division between urban and rural living was a recurring theme in Guichon’s 10-minute speech. Guichon, a prominent Nicola Valley rancher, made reference to the area’s ranchers, loggers and miners as people who produce the raw resources the province’s economy depends on. “We must make it possible for those who earn our first dollar to have the same quality of life as those of
M E R R I T T
us who provide the trade and services that we have all come to appreciate,” Guichon said. She also stated another goal during her tenure is to engage people in all parts of the province in discussions about the constitutional monarchy, which she called a “stabilizing factor in our democratic system.” In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch is subject to a constitution rather than in total control of his or her own government, as in an absolute monarchy. “If not a constitutional monarchy, what then?” she
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asked. “What system could provide the stability that we’ve enjoyed in this country since its inception?” Guichon also touched on various other aspects of her new job as lieutenantgovernor, including acting as the royal host to dignitaries, maintaining the bond between the Crown and First Nations, and providing royal assent to provincial legislation, which she will focus on in February. Guichon opened her speech by saying it was great to be home and to greet friends and neighbours, and closed it with
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