Merritt Herald, March 03, 2015

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MERRITT HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS

FREE STANDING TOGETHER The kindergarten class at the Lower Nicola Band School made its anti-bullying presentation to the rest of the school in the gymnasium for Pink Shirt Day last Wednesday morning. Students from kindergarten to Grade 7 also heard a presentation on bullying from RCMP Const. Rick Aird, in which the topic of cyberbullying featured heavily. Each grade then presented its own anti-bullying message. This one from the kindergarten class is a call to stand up against bullying. For more on the Pink Shirt Day anti-bullying awareness and fundraising campaign, see page 8. Michael Potestio/Herald

Kinder Morgan commits $420,000 to Merritt By Michael Potestio THE HERALD

reporter@merrittherald.com

A six-figure investment in Merritt is certain as long the Trans Mountain expansion project is too. Pipeline company Kinder Morgan will invest $420,000 in Merritt’s infrastructure as a result of the city signing off on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Thursday. The money comes from Kinder Morgan’s Community Benefits Program and is intended to invest in communities along the pipeline route while offsetting the effects of expansion. The Community Benefits Program provides funds in three areas — environmental stewardship, infrastructure improvements and community programs,

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and education and training opportunities. Most of Merritt’s funding won’t be coming as a cheque because the company intends to use the majority of the $420,000 to pave three kilometres of trails for the city. “It’s essentially in-kind work that Kinder Morgan will do,” City of Merritt financial services manager Ken Ostraat said. These trails could be established adjacent to Voght Street as well as at the airport. “We really want to try and improve our trail system here in Merritt,” Ostraat said. Another $50,000 from Kinder Morgan will be put toward a scholarship for Merritt students interested in the trades, he said.

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Merritt Mayor Neil Menard (right) and Kinder Morgan president Ian Anderson signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday in Kamloops that will see the city receive a $420,000 investment, predominantly in the form of in-kind trail work. Andrea Klassen/Kamloops This Week

“We want to ensure the communities we operate in are recognized for impacts

of project construction,” Kinder Morgan president Ian Anderson said in a press

release. “Providing direct investment to our pipeline communities is part of our

commitment to maximizing benefits of the expansion. With this agreement, we will add to the investment we are making locally to provide improvements to community infrastructure and help make local education and training programs accessible for the people who live and work in Merritt.” In Merritt, the pipeline is expected to cross under a portion of the airport’s runway, likely causing some disturbance in airport operations, Ostraat said. Ostraat said the decision to invest in trails came about because Kinder Morgan will have workers and equipment in town during pipeline construction anyway, which they’re prepared to use for a community project.

See ‘Merritt MOU’ Page 5

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