Merritt Herald July 24, 2025 by Merritt Herald

Local experts and officials battle against national mental health crisis.

RESIDENTS TAKE LEAD IN SAFEGUARDING NICOLA LAKE

Frustrated by government inaction, locals step up to monitor water quality and tackle harmful algae blooms

LAÍSA CONDÉ editor@merrittherald.com

A group of concerned residents at Nicola Lake is taking environmental stewardship into their own hands as they work to formally establish a new non-profit society dedicated to protecting the lake’s longterm health and responding to the ongoing issue of toxic algae blooms.

“We’re in the very early stages,” said Dawne Tomlinson, one of the organizers helping to establish the society.

“Right now, we’re drafting bylaws, working on a website, and building a structure so we can become a registered society. Once that’s in place, we’ll have a much stronger voice.”

The group held a three-hour meeting last week to move the process forward and hopes to be formally registered in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, residents continue to express concern over what they see as a

LAKE: continued on page 3

COLDWATER RIVER DROUGHT

A new study gives concrete evidence that the Coldwater River is getting less and less water each year.

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HEALING NICOLA LAKE WILL TAKE TIME — AND EVERYONE’S HELP

: continued from page 1

lack of clear government communication and leadership in addressing this summer’s harmful cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) bloom.

According to Tomlinson, one of the most urgent problems is the absence of a clear protocol for alerting the public when a bloom appears — or when the water is safe again.

“People are asking, ‘Can my dog go in the water?’ And I have to say, ‘You’re taking your chances.’ The lake might look clear, but that doesn’t mean it’s free of toxins,” she said. “There seems to be confusion between ministries and Interior Health about who is actually responsible for testing and notifying the public. That’s one of the biggest gaps we want to address.”

The Herald obtained an email exchange between Fraser-Nicola MLA Tony Luck and the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship in which constituency executive director Corally Delwo writes on behalf of both Luck and TNRD directors David Laird and Herb Graham to raise urgent concerns.

“If you are not already aware, the presence of a harmful algae bloom has recently been confirmed and is now posing a potential risk to public health, recreation, and the local ecosystem,” the email reads.

The attached letter formally requested three key actions from the ministry:

- Increased frequency of water quality testing and public reporting;

- Immediate installation of public health advisory signage at lake access points;

- Consideration of temporary closure of the lake if health risks escalate.

“We understand the importance of working collaboratively and constructively to address environmental health issues such as this,” Delwo wrote. “Our offices are fully committed to assisting the Ministry in any way possible to help ensure the safety of residents and visitors, as well as to safeguard the environmental integrity of Nicola Lake.”

However, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship clarified that the Ministry of Environment and Parks is responsible for the issue. That ministry, in turn, responded with a brief overview of their actions and ongoing monitoring efforts.

“BC Parks follows guidance from local health authorities regarding algae-related health advisories,” the ministry stated. “In response to Interior Health’s recommendations, the Park Operators are posting warnings. The park website has been updated (under Advisory section) to keep visitors informed.”

The ministry also emphasized that water quality monitoring has been conducted at Nicola Lake since 2016, with samples collected twice a year and analyzed for general chemistry, nutrients, metals, and biological indicators.

“Monitoring data indicates nutrient levels have not changed significantly since 2016,” the email said, acknowledging, however, that algal blooms are becoming more frequent.

Residents like Tomlinson remain unconvinced.

“We’ve seen no action from the government, and that’s why we’re stepping up,” she said. “We already have a team of volunteers doing basic water testing every week, but we’ll need funding and equipment to expand to higher-level testing. If the government won’t provide it, we’ll have to find a way to do it ourselves.”

The new society will include members from various communities and developments around the lake and aims to work in partnership with Upper Nicola Band, local

ranches, and other land users.

“This isn’t about blame, it’s about collaboration,” Tomlinson emphasized. “We’re asking: What’s happening on the land that might be affecting the lake? Could it be septic leaks? Cattle access? Shoreline vegetation removal? Even changes in dam management? These are all things we need to examine together.”

Once the society is officially registered, residents will be able to purchase memberships, participate in annual general meetings, and directly share observations or concerns. A website is currently in development.

“We want people to be able to send us photos if they see something strange in the lake or something that could be harming it. Our goal is to become a central point of communication and action,” she said.

Ultimately, Tomlinson stressed that restoring the lake will be a long-term process requiring patience and persistence.

“There’s no quick fix. The lake’s been impacted for decades — by logging, mining, dams, you name it,” she said. “But we can start healing it by working together, learning from each other, and taking responsibility as stewards of this incredible place.”

The Ministry of Environment and Parks encourages anyone concerned about bluegreen algae to contact Environmental Health at 250-565-2150. To report pollution or environmental violations, residents can contact the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line at 1-877-952-7277 or file a report online.

PHOTO/SIMON RIZZARDO/BIG POWER FILMS

An aerial view of Nicola Lake taken on July 7 shows a thick green layer of toxic algae coating the surface.

LAKE

LAND SACRIFICE FOR BETTER FUTURE

Property owners at-risk of buyouts along Coldwater River take look to protect their land value as city looks to aquire land for dikes

TY LIM reporter@merrittherald.com

The 2021 atmospheric river event has left a scar on Merritt that the city is still looking to heal.

Recently, projects to protect the town - like the Coldwater dikes - have started to be realized.

Most noteably, dikes 129 and 130 have got tens of millions of dollars in provincial funding to be installed.

In order to put these dikes in place, many acres of private land must be bought in order to reconfigure the dike so it can protect against future river contortions.

The city is currently looking at purchasing land on 27 private properties along the Coldwater River, in the form of partial and some full aquisitions.

Notices to those property owners were sent out in May, telling people about the city’s interest in acquiring the land, as well as notice that value assessment teams conducted by Keystone Appraisals will be coming to assess the land.

The move by the city has sparked mixed reactions within Merritt residents on those properties.

Michael Sasges owns a house by the Coldwater River on the Collettville side.

He received his letter of notice on May 15.

The letter states that the city needs to acquire private lands along the Coldwater River for the construction of the upcoming dikes. It also said funding of the land acquisitions were approved by senior government in April, 2025.

So far, the city has not spent any of its own money on flood mitigation efforts, in which $130 million has been invested, relying off of funding from the provincial government.

While not stated in the letter, Sasges feels as of these property acquisitions are land expropriations, which he feels can lead to “morally hazardous” actions by governments.

“I think that expropriation is a morally hazardous undertaking for those doing the expropriating,” he said. “They (Local governments) know everything and the poor and the person whose property is their focus, knows nothing.”

Sasges was here in Merritt during the 2021 flood, an event that shaped his view of flood protection.

“All I know is that I was dramatically flooded.”

Since getting the notice, Sasges was

PHOTO/TY LIM

Michael Sasges on his property on Pine Street which he rents to two tenants.

PROPERTY OWNER CREATING INFORMATION GROUP FOR COLLECTIVE STRENGTH

LAND: continued from page 4

contacted by an acquisition company representative on July 4, he said, saying the call caused him more confusion about who the company was and what they were asking for.

Since the call, Sasges has been trying to gather others whose properties are likely to be affected by the buyouts in order to form a group where information about their property’s worth and rights will be shared.

“We’re collectively stronger,” Sasges said. “I don’t want anyone to think that they’re alone.”

Sasges is starting a community group made up of those with properties affected by the buyout in order to make the community more aware of their rights and the potential effects of the buyout.

For one, Sasges wants to get an expropriation lawyer involved before city offers on the properties are made. He is currently looking at bringing in Evan Cooke, a Kelowna based lawyer specializing in the municipal, expropriation and regulatory litigation sectors.

Sasges wants to gather a group of property owners to all meet with this lawyer for an information session.

He said with a lawyer, he will be able to get the most value out of his property, currently listed at $516,000 as of the last assessment on July 1, 2024.

“I can’t imagine doing a, you know, life changing exercise like this without legal counsel,” Sasges said.

His wariness of the situation is not to say he doesn’t value the flood mitigation efforts coming into town, in fact, Sasges is supportive of it.

“I look forward to surrendering some of my property, or all of my property, to a bigger and better good,” he said about the dike. “I was here when that bloody atmospheric river came down.”

He also mentioned that he believes it is a good thing that local First Nations are being involved with the construction process, saying it is a “proper” example of local governance.

Merritt’s flood mitigation team said there are currently 27 properties being looked at for either partial or full acquisition. No assessments have been made as the engineers are still in the process of finishing the conceptual design of the dike.

In an email to the Herald, the city said it will remain committed to respecting private property rights while also

prioritizing public safety and environmental concerns.

The acquisition of these properties and the dike being pushed back are to account for future transformations of the river course, according to the city.

“The river also needs room, and nature needs a space,” Flood Mitigation team Director Sean Strang said in a March 25 press conference.

Strang had previously told the Herald in a March 13 article that ethical acquisition methods were important to the team, especially in regards to their STUWI(x) project, in which four flooded properties were acquired. He mentioned the fact that some cities, such as Grand Forks, were compensating property owners in acquisitions using post-disaster values instead of pre-disaster.

For the Coldwater acquisitions, the city did not say what the range of prices will be and will remain unknown until property condition and an evaluation is complete.

“Housing resiliency is a critical goal of the program, however, until evaluation work is completed and a detailed understanding of the property conditions is known, the program design remains a work-in-progress,” the City of

Merritt said in an email to the Herald.

Still, Collettville resident Georgia Clement recently told CBC’s Daybreak Kamloops and posted on social media that she was paid under market value for her property tax assessed at $526,000. She said she was paid $420,000 after years of back-and-forth with the city.

Keystone Appraisals was involved in the 2019 assessment of properties in Grand Forks after the city was buying out over a hundred properties in order to construct dikes and further fortifications.

Those properties were bought at post-flood values - in one case a woman, Jennifer Houghton, saw her property value decline by over 75 per cent.

In the case of Grand Forks, these low prices were given because of small grants given to the city for the properties. It was reported that 12 to 14 million dollars were used to buy 80 properties in Grand Forks.

While the City of Merritt does not currently say how much they will be spending on land acquisition for the dikes, it was granted $60 million for the project as a whole.

NICOLA VALLEY VIEWPOINT

TIME TO BUY LOCAL ADVERTISING: GOVERNMENT SPENDING CAN HELP SAVE YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER

In February 2024, after Bell Media announced 4,800 job cuts across Canada, Premier David Eby spoke passionately about the need for people to get “accurate, impartial, reliable information in an age of disinformation and social media craziness.”

As a longtime news publisher, I know that with 81 per cent of Canadians turning to newspaper content each week for that accurate, impartial, and reliable information. So, we don’t have an audience problem. What we have is an advertising problem. Since the founding of the Halifax Gazette in 1752 — government advertising had always been an important source of revenue for news businesses. It allowed us to invest in journalists who produce fact-based, fact-checked reporting than Canadians rely upon.

In more recent years, we’ve seen those government dollars disappear. By way of example, the federal government reports that during fiscal year 2022 to 2023, it spent more than $86 million on advertising. Of that, less than $1 million went to all print publications in the country combined.

So, where did those millions go? The answer is largely to American tech giants like Facebook, Instagram and Google amongst others.

Canadians are rightly concerned about protecting our economy and our sovereignty in the face of threats and misinformation coming from the U.S. One of the most effective ways to counter misinformation and to protect our Canadian culture and identity is to have commercially viable and fiercely independent Canadian journalism.

The question is: how do we do pay for it? One of the most effective ways would be for governments – federal, provincial, and municipal – to set aside a minimum of 25 per cent of their advertising spend for trusted Canadian news brands.

There are two examples that prove this is working. A year ago, Ontario’s Progressive Conservative premier, Doug Ford, directed that 25 per cent of his government’s advertising spending, including that of Ontario’s crown corporations, be set aside for news publications. I can tell you from the publishers that I speak with in Ontario, this made an immediate and meaningful difference to many news titles.

Five years ago, former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, mandated that city agencies allocate at least 50 per cent of their print and digital advertising to community and ethnic media.

According to The Center for Community Media at CUNY, “The impact of this policy cannot be overstated: In its first five years, it injected more than $72 million into the local community media sector. This helped critical information reach New Yorkers who rely on community media as their primary source of news, and added an important source of revenue for these outlets.”

The not-for-profit Rebuild Local News found that advertising set-asides, done right, have the following benefits:

First, they can provide substantial revenue to local news organizations and help community journalism thrive. Second, it is money the government is already spending — not new money — so it does not require enlarging state or local budgets or raising taxes. Third, government messages can reach a full range of residents, including those who may not be using larger media. Fourth, as advertising, it is payment for a service rendered, not a subsidy per se. Finally, advertising in community news helps government be more effective by reaching audiences through community and ethnic publications that are more trusted in their communities. According to a recent study, advertising in trustworthy environments lead to a 25 per cent lift in brand rating. News publishers in aggregate are seen as 35 per cent above the baseline level of trust across information environments. And local news publishers see an additional 16 per cent gain in perceived trustworthiness among local audiences, so newspapers are a highly effective way for the government to reach British Columbians.

We recommend British Columbia adopt a minimum 25 per cent set-aside for government advertising, as well as for crown corporations like BC Hydro, BC Transit, and British Columbia Lottery Corporation, to help preserve local journalism jobs and keep local and community newspapers open. And those journalists keep communities and residents informed, so they can effectively participate in democratic processes.

It would also send an important signal to private sector advertisers about keeping ad dollars here in B.C., rather than sending them to Big Tech behemoths in California, whose algorithms amplify misinformation and disinformation.

Premier Eby should direct his officials to spend the Province’s advertising dollars in towns like Merritt, British Columbia instead of Mountain View or Menlo Park, California. It’s time to support the home team by buying locally.

Peter Kvarnstrom is a Director with the BC and Yukon Community Newsmedia Association and is publisher of the Coast Reporter, in Sechelt, B.C.

PETER KVARNSTROM

Glacier Media

The Merritt Herald welcomes your letters, on any subject, addressed to the editor. Letters may be edited for length, taste and clarity. Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

Email letters to: newsroom@merrittherald.com.

LETTERS to the Editor

LIFE JACKET SAVES LIVES

Editor,

So my story begins with me installing a new swivel seat on my fishing boat.

Friday morning I launch my boat out at Nicola Lake. Motor out to where the water is about 50ft deep. Slow down to trolling speed and start letting out line. While this is happening boat makes a sharp turn to the right this causes the starboard side to dip below the surface of the water, I had installed the seat to close to the side of the boat in I go!

This all happened so fast that I didn’t have time to react. The key here is I had my life jacket on.

Please understand that once you’re in the water it is almost impossible to put on a life jacket.

Now I spent about an in the water before I managed to get the attention of a passing vehicle who then contacted RCMP.

A little while later a boat arrived and proceeded to pull my sorry soaked arse out of the lake. I do not know who contacted the police, also I do not know the boat operator.

I wish to thank both of you from the bottom of my heart, I also wish to thank the RCMP and the attending ambulance crew.

So one word of advice to you fishermen ,wear your life jacket! It will save your life. Once you’re in the water it’s too late.

– Jonathan Stead, Merritt, B.C.

WHAT IT MIGHT TAKE FOR HUMANITY TO UNITE

Editor,

There’s a great lack of compassion in our world that’s accompanied by so very much anger or rage. I myself have been angrier over the last few years — perhaps in large part in relation to the Internet ‘angry algorithm’ sending me the stories, etcetera, it has (unfortunately correctly) calculated will successfully agitate me into keeping the (I believe, overall societally-/socially-damaging) process going thus maximizing the number of clicks/scrolls I’ll provide it to sell to product advertisers.

However, we, at least as individuals, can resist flawed yet normalized human/societal nature thus behavior; and if enough people do this and perform truly humane acts, positive change on a large(r) scale may result. Perhaps somewhat relevant to this are the words of American sociologist Stanley Milgram (1933-1984), of Obedience Experiments fame/infamy: “It may be that we are puppets—puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception [and] awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation.”

Still, it could be that the human race so desperately needs a unifying existential fate-determining common cause, that an Earth-impacting asteroid threat or, better yet, a vicious extraterrestrial attack is what we have to collectively brutally endure together in order to survive the longer term from ourselves.

Humanity would all unite for the first time ever to defend against, attack and defeat the humanicidal multi-tentacled ETs, the latter needing to be an even greater nemesis than our own formidably divisive politics and perceptions of differences, both real and perceived—especially those involving race and nationality.

During this much-needed human alliance, we’d be forced to work closely side-by-side together and experience thus witness just how humanly similar we are in the ways that really count. [For me, the movies Independence Day and, especially, Enemy Mine come to mind.]

Then again, I’ve been told that one or more human parties might actually attempt to forge an alliance with the ETs to better their own chances for survival, thus indicating that our deficient human condition may be even worse than I had originally thought. Yet, maybe some five or more decades later when all traces of the nightmarish ET invasion are gone, we’ll inevitably revert to those same politics to which we humans seem so collectively hopelessly prone—including those of scale: the intercontinental, international, national, provincial or state, regional and municipal. And again we slide downwards.

– Frank Sterle Jr., White Rock, B.C.

LOOK BACK

From the Herald archives

JULY 11, 1947

MERRITT TOPS BASEBALL LEAGUE

Sunday’s ball games brought the Merritt baseball team to the coveted position at the top of the district league, when games were played between Lytton and Ashcroft, and between Merritt and Spences Bridge at Merritt.

Ashcroft won their game to topple Lytton from the first place tie, and Merritt defeated Spences Bridge to earn first position.

JULY 25, 1947

100 PER CENT PASS FOR MERRITT HIGH SCHOOL

For the second year in succession one hundred per cent pass for those writing complete university entrance exams was obtained by the Merritt High School.

Principal L. E. Morrissey wired The Herald he was highly pleased with the results.

Norma Clark, Robert Murray, Marion Odinson and Dalcy Thompson, the four Merritt High School students who wrote the Junior Matriculation exams in June were successful in passing. Several grade eleven students also wrote for partial standing university entrance science and social studies.

JULY 27: 8 AM - 3 PM

THE PROVINCE

is a preferrable option.

The City continues to support watering of vegetable gardens. Learn more about xeriscaping and watering restrictions on the City’s website.

Prepare for emergency evacuations. Create a Grab & Go Bag to keep at home, work, or vehicle.

• FOOD (READY-TO-EAT SNACKS) AND WATER

• PHONE CHARGER & EXTRA BATTERIES

• FLASHLIGHT & RADIO & WHISTLE

• WARM BLANKET & SEASONAL CLOTHING

• BASIC TOILETRIES AND PERSONAL ITEMS (HAND SANITIZER, TOOTHBRUSH, EAR PLUGS, GLASSES, CONTACT LENSES, MEDICATION, FIRST AID KIT)

• EXTRA CASH & PEN WITH NOTEPAD

• IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS (COPIES):

- INSURANCE (POLICY NUMBERS & CONTACTS)

- IDENTIFICATION (DRIVER’S LICENSE; PASSPORT)

- HEALTH NUMBERS (FOR ENTIRE FAMILY)

- EMERGENCY CONTACTS: FAMILY, FRIENDS, NEIGHBOURS, LANDLORDS, ETC.

• SIGNAGE FOR EMERGENCY PERSONNEL: NUMBER OF HOME OCCUPANTS & PETS, MAP OF HOME WITH LOCATION OF UTILITIES.

7:30PM - 8:30PM

A HIGH-EXTREME FIRE RATING MEANS PREPARE YOUR EMERGENCY KIT AND PAY ATTENTION

DERMALUX MD: THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL MEDICAL-GRADE LED PHOTOTHERAPY SYSTEM

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What is the Dermalux MD?

Dermalux MD is a state-of-the-art LED device that uses targeted wavelengths of blue, red, and near-infrared (NIR) light to activate your body’s natural healing and regenerative systems — at the cellular level.

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• Blue Light: Fights acne-causing bacteria and reduces skin infections

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MERRITT’S MARMOT MESS

City takes action against rodents creating havoc at cemeteries

TY LIM reporter@merrittherald.com

Marmots, a species of rodent in the Nicola Valley and the recently appointed mascot of the City of Merritt, are facing backlash from the city as their digging is vandalizing local gravesites.

“One of the main conversations I’ve had in the last three weeks are with unhappy people who have (deceased) people up there (in the cemetery) and the marmots and the damage they’re seeing,” said Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz during a July 8 council meeting.

Merritt Chief Administrative Officer Cynthia White said city staff have confirmed this claim and and workers at the cemetery are frequently having to fill holes left by the rodents.

“Marmots come and go,” White said. “We do recognize, that at this point, our staff are filling holes in the morning, and they open up again in the afternoon.”

“It’s impacting grave markers, it’s impacting landscaping and the foundation for the columbariums,” White said.

A city staff member had said he heard rumors of marmots digging into caskets, potentially carrying what could have been

in one or two occasions.

To combat these rodents, the city has voted to allocate $10,000 from the cemetery maintenance fund to hire a local trapper to relocate the animals.

As a species-at-risk, marmots have special rights. Only yellow-bellied and woodchucks are allowed to be trapped and relocated. Other species require special permits to do so.

BC SPCA also does not recommend to trap or relocate marmots, as they will most likely come back to their home burrow.

According to the BC Wildlife Act, marmots can only be transported up to 10km away in the mainland of B.C.

City council discussed other ways to curb their marmot problem, suggesting a cull or a sterilization effort. They reached the conclusion that relocating was most in bounds of legal action the city can take.

White said due to the nature of the plan, it may take one or two cycles of trapping for the effects to be seen widely.

bones in their mouths

PHOTO/BC SPCA/ LUCAS ROSER

Yellow-bellied marmots are allowed to be trapped and reloacted.

31ST ANNUAL SHOW ‘N SHINE REVVING UP FOR THIS WEEKEND

LAÍSA CONDÉ

editor@merrittherald.com

The engines are tuned, the chrome is polished, and anticipation is building as Merritt gears up for the 31st edition of the Show ‘n Shine this weekend — a much-loved car show that draws auto enthusiasts and curious onlookers from across British Columbia.

Hosted by the Nicola Valley Cruisers, the annual event has become a summer tradition in Merritt, showcasing a wide range of classic and custom

vehicles from all over the province.

Barry Jackson, president of the car club, says this event continues to attract attention year after year thanks to the strong support of both participants and the local community.

“We could see anywhere from 80 to 200 cars, depending on the weather,” said Jackson. “If it’s too hot or rainy, it affects turnout, but we always get a great variety — everything from

CARS: continued on page 12

CLASSIC CARS, COMMUNITY SPIRIT, AND A WHOLE LOT OF HORSEPOWER

CARS: continued from page 11

high-end showpieces to local treasures.”

Although Jackson wasn’t part of the original group that launched the Show ‘n Shine more than three decades ago, he’s proud of the club’s role in keeping the event alive.

“We’re one of the longest-running car shows in B.C.,” he said. “Last year was the 30th, which felt like a big number — but 31 still feels special. It’s a lot of fun, and we want to keep it going for years to come.”

And that future looks promising. Jackson says there’s a new generation of members coming up who are helping carry the torch.

“We’ve got some younger members now, and a lot of our members aren’t retired yet, so there’s energy and commitment to keep it going for at least another 10 years.”

While the cars are the highlight, Jackson emphasized that the Show ‘n Shine is just as much about the community as it is about the vehicles.

Local businesses play a big role in making the event possible, and the show grounds will feature a mix of vendors, booths, and concessions.

“Even if you’re not a car person, come down for a slushy or some bannock, check out the booths, or just walk around and enjoy the day,” he said. “You won’t see this mix of cars anywhere else — they come from the coast, the Okanagan, the Cariboo, all over. You’ll never see the same group of cars in the same place again.”

Jackson says that while organizing the event is a big job, the Nicola Valley Cruisers have it down to a rhythm.

“Everyone pitches in, no one person carries the whole load. The biggest work is the day of,” he explained. “We get our T-shirts made, hand out dash plaques to all the participants, and just try to make it enjoyable for everyone.”

Participants and spectators can also look forward to a handful of special awards.

Though the car club itself doesn’t judge vehicles, the City of Merritt presents a Mayor’s Choice award, and the local vintage car club offers a trophy as well. There are also memorial awards sponsored by families in honour of loved ones.

“They’re not judged. It’s just about picking a favourite,” said Jackson.

As a longtime car lover, Jackson says one of his favourite parts of the weekend is spotting something he hasn’t seen before.

“There’s always something new. That’s what keeps it interesting,” he said. “And Merritt itself has a surprising number of nice cars that you don’t always see out and about.”

Although there’s been talk over the years about relocating the event to Merritt’s downtown core, Jackson says he’s a fan of keeping it where it is. “I prefer it on the grass. It’s more relaxed. But we’re always open to ideas, the goal is just to keep it going.”

The 31st annual Show ‘n Shine takes place this Sunday, July 27, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Central Park. The event is free and open to the public.

MERRITT AT THE FRONTLINE OF NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS?

RCMP, counsellors, city officials are all seeing a rise in mental health as economy declines

TY LIM reporter@merrittherald.com

Merritt is facing a crisis in mental health. Last month, Merritt RCMP responded to 22 more mental health calls, adding to a total of over 111 calls for the year as of June 16.

During a June 19 Police Committee meeting between RCMP and city council, RCMP said the amount of mental health calls responded to this year is on track to surpass last year’s, meaning another year of increasing mental health calls.

Leadership within Merritt RCMP describe the issue as one of their main challenges. Merritt RCMP Staff Sgt. Josh Roda said they are getting to the point of facing almost one call a day.

Roda said the Nicola Valley Hospital is not equipped to deal with clients suffering from a mental health break. Officers often have to overwatch these clients in the hospital to ensure the safety of everybody there.

Following up on this issue, Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz told the Herald he spoke to Shadow Minister of Public Safety and Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola MP Frank Caputo about the issue of rising mental health calls.

“I’ve talked to him on the phone, because I brought up three things that I really want him to take back to Ottawa,” Goetz said.

“The RCMP have to deal with mental calls, and Frank is aware of that, so he will be taking that to Ottawa. When he goes back, I will give him a letter form of what we’re looking for.”

Goetz said he also brought up the issue of drug decriminalization and the large amounts of illegal weapons on the streets.

In previous meetings, Goetz suggested talking to the Provincial Minister of Health Josie Osborne about this issue, but has since reconsidered it to be a federal concern. Still, he will be writing the same letter to Osborne to open the door for provincial assistance.

The RCMP said that in many of these cases in which police are needed to respond, the person’s mental health is already in a severe state. In some cases, clients are suicidal, Roda said in the Police Committee meeting.

The cause for dip in mental health isn’t reserved to Merritt or B.C., but is a Canada wide issue according to experts. In a May 2025 survey by Mental Health Research Canada, levels of anxiety and depression have been at a steady eleven and nine per cent respectively since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report also says that during the last few years, the amount of people showing no signs of depression and anxiety are slowly dropping.

The report said those with specific demographics are more likely to suffer from anxiety and other mental health disorders. It said those with dependency of drugs like cannabis and alcohol, lower income, and people who spend more time on their phone are more likely to suffer from mental health stuff.

Locally, the cause isn’t quite as clear. In an email to the Herald, RCMP said that drugs and alcohol - while admittedly are inciters for mental health incidents - only account for a smaller portion of mental health calls.

Roda said that many of the calls they MONEY: continued on page 15

Canadians deal with anxiety or depression said Mental Health Reserach Canada.

MONEY PRESSURES PUSHING PEOPLE TO THE BREAKING POINT

FRONTLINE: continued from page 14

respond to come from people suffering from established mental health disorders, such as depression. Roda said many people calling for mental health issues are new each time.

“have seen a large amount of new clients suffering and needing assistance. We would obviously like to see more mental health supports in community and more support at the Nicola Valley Hospital with more staff equipped to deal with mental health and a safe room, so police are not stuck watching patients for hours on end,” Roda said in an email to the Herald.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MERRITT?

Experts in the mental health field agree with the survey, saying they believe that economic downtown; the price of housing and food, along with a rise in social isolation and the opioid crisis are major factors in this.

“I’ve experienced mental health issues just from the simple fact that housing, the cost of living has gone up,” said John Warne, program coordinator at the Nicola Valley Shelter and Support Society in Merritt.

Warne has made his career in the social work field. He’s held jobs in different parts of the country from New Brunswick, to right here at his hometown in Merritt, working with vulnerable people with all types of disabilities from dementia to drug addictions.

Over the years, Warne’s experience has given him the ability to say mental health issues have gone up. He acknowledges that substance and drug abuse are factors in mental health decline, but he sees the main trigger is the increased cost of living.

“I definitely think the spike is because of everything just being so expensive,” he said. “I think it weighs on especially millennials. It weighs on people knowing that you’re nearing 40 and you know you still haven’t bought a house, and you still have all these adulting things that you want to do, but you don’t.”

“You can’t advance, because there’s the crippling job market right now. And we’re going through the rise of online shopping, it’s been here for a while, but it’s starting to take over and places are starting to close down,” he said.

According to Statistics Canada, the amount of people living below the poverty line in Canada has been rising since 2020. The last measure from 2023 had 10.2 per cent of the population living in poverty.

Warne himself has also suffered from these effects. He was once at a point in his life where he was nearly homeless in Edmonton after things went wrong for him.

There, he faced the mental pressures of being face-to-face with homelessness.

“It was terrible, to the point where I had a choice to, in the long run to stick it out here or essentially be homeless,” he said.

Warne chose to move back to Merritt.

“I just said, ‘I’m just actually gonna come home, because it’s just not gonna work out being in that situation,” he said.

Warne said the uncertainty of daily life takes a huge toll on those facing homelessness and poverty.

“Not knowing what you’re gonna eat the next day, not knowing where you’re gonna sleep the next day (are challenges) for some people that are facing homelessness,” Warne said.

He described the emotional pressure of poverty.

“Think about the worst thing you could possibly think about come true every day, and then having to constantly live in that,” he said. “You’re manic, you’re depressed, you’re going through psychosis because you haven’t been sleeping.”

“Consistently having to live in that, eventually you just get to the point where you just go, ‘you know what? Maybe it really is like a suicide thing.”

Coming back to Merritt, Warne said the town had changed from the place he grew up, noticing a more “depressing” atmosphere.

He thinks a large part of that is because of the shutdowns of multiple of the town’s mills, like Tolko mill, leaving a hole in employment.

“There’s hardly any work here anymore. And so I think that leads to a depressing state of a town,” he said. “You have a lot of people worrying about where their next meal is going to come from and I think that’s going to add on to anybody. I think that stress, just along, it’s going to hurt.”

“A lot of people don’t feel that there’s hope.”

STILL UNDERFUNDED?

Warren Arnoldus owns his own counselling practice in Merritt, Four Corners Counselling. There, he works with clients facing a variety of different challenges, occasionally doing pro-bono work for some individuals.

Arnoldus agrees rising cost-of-living is one of the main factors of stress in recent times, along with the opioid crisis, isolation from COVID and increased online presence.

“Looking at the stats, like Trail, Vancouver, everybody’s seeing these spikes (in mental health calls).”

He said mental health is a field that’s still underfunded and still carries social stigmas, making it harder for people to start getting help.

He said these issues create barries, which he calls the three A’s; availability, accessibility and affordability.

“(Availablitly) it’s a lack of availability so qualified mental health professionals,” he said. “Accessibility could be individuals staying at the shelter. They’re not really going to be wanting to come up to even this place or the hospital. They have fears of the hospital, just the way they’ve been treated at the hospital. Or Indigenous individuals, are they going to receive culturally competent care?”

For affordability, he said many people’s work benefits don’t cover mental health care. Even if they do, he said it’s often only enough to cover a few sessions.

He said while Canada is increasing expenditure on mental health services each year, the country is still catching up to others, especially those in Europe, when it comes to investing in the mental health field.

The Canadian Mental Health Association - a collection of mental health advocacy organizations - found that Canadian provinces spent on average 6.3 per cent of their healthcare budget on mental health in a 2024 report. While the report stated B.C. did not have enough information to work off of, the province did invest $215 million over three years in 2024, making

the province’s total investment over $2 billion since 2017.

Arnoldus said 12 per cent should be the goal. He said in low income towns like Merritt - where the average household income is $64,000 in 2020 - this lack of public funding for mental health care shows.

“There needs to be, like, a funding stream coming from the government for individuals that can’t afford mental health care,” he said. “I think it’s really important to have that qualified piece in there (as well). With a lot of the nonprofits and stuff that offer free mental health care, they don’t pay very well, so therefore, they don’t get the people that have the education that can make that impact and provide ethically, you know, competent care as well.”

He said these issues are systemic in the healthcare field, and that it stems from mental health being treated as a separate entity from medical healthcare.

“What we need is an integrated and collaborative approach. So that’s like police, medical, mental health, housing, but if we had had an integrated and collaborative approach to it, I think that could definitely lower the rates,” he said. He also said he would like to see more investment in preventative mental health

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COLDWATER RIVER LOSING WATER, RECENT STUDY FINDS

habitat

A new study has confirmed what the people of the Nicola Valley and Coldwater River have long known, that the salmon in the region is in jeopardy.

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The study by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Scw’exnx Tribal Council shows that the Coldwater River is slowing down, ruining salmon habitat in the river.

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The study is the first of its kind since 1982, when the Provincial Ministry of Environment and Water Management Branch studied the floodplain in the Nicola. It shows that freshet flows in the Coldwater River at Merritt have decreased in speed by 25 per cent since 1980.

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Auston Chhor, a biologist with Raincoast Conservation Foundation and one of the heads of the study, said his involvement with salmon in the Coldwater River started with tracking the food southern resident killer whales eat.

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1.Provideinformationandlinkagetoappropriatecommunityservices;

that’s why September is kind of the worst time for a fish to basically try to spawn right now in the cold water because it’s the snow has been melting all summer, and that’s when Chinook are there.”

The effects on the river are due to climate change, they said, a century of industrial efforts in the area being one of the main factors affecting the ecological change in the nature of the river, as the cutting of trees by the river is reducing canopy shade, therefore causing the environment to lose its shelter.

figure out in which the will appear by numeric clues provided in the

They said forestry is another area that could use more regulations on water management. While ranchers, regular citizens and other businesses have to regulate their water intake, Chhor said forestry is an area that isn’t typically linked with the health of the river, therefore water regulations aren’t as harsh.

“A lot of the research that has been done looking at how the declines in their food (chinook salmon) is causing their (killer whales) decline as well,” Chhor said. He said those Chinook salmon typically go all the way up the Coldwater and Nicola rivers.

if you didn’t have those salmon.”

2.Guideandmotivateduringimportantperiodsofdevelopmentintheirwellnessjourney; 3.AcceptreferralsfromCommunity,SocialWorkers,othercommunityservicesandetc.; 4.Outreachandengagementinthewiththecommunity; 5.Developandmaintainparticipantdrivenintegratedwellnessplans;

6.Advocateforparticipants’needs;

8.Participatewithteaminprovidingdeliverableactivitiesorinformation.

9.Participateinteammeetings;

10.Maintainaccuraterecords;

11.Otherrelateddutiesasassigned.

“I was more interested in working on the habitat in the like headwater regions, and less so all the way downstream, where some of my other team members work. It was kind of uncharted territory for uncharted territory for us,” he said.

(river flow) is something I was interested in,” he said. “We feel like this kind of revitalizes an interest in (flow) and something that we could stand on, a new novel study that’s more up to date that we can say with confidence, we don’t have enough flow.”

Their study, published July 7, measured the speed in which water was moving in the Nicola River.

7.Supportparticipantstobuildcapacityinareassuchascommunication, self-advocacy andrelationships;

RequirementofCommunityConnectionsNavigator

•DiplomaorDegreeinSocialWork(otherrelatedfieldswillbeconsidered);

Lustig said salmon is a huge part of B.C.’s identity, from the economic impact it brought in the province’s early days in the 1880s, to the historical partnership they have with the Indigenous Peoples.

•ExperienceworkingwithFirstNationsCommunity;

•AccesstoreliablevehicleandcurrentDriver’slicense; •PassableCriminalRecordCheckandDriver’sAbstract; •Ableandwillingtoworksomeeveningsandweekends.

Chhor’s partner in the study was biologist Nathan Lustig from Scw’exnx Tribal Council. As a Merritt resident for over two years now, Lustig is well aware of the problems the river faces, and the importance of salmon to the people here.

Deadlineforsubmissions:January26th,2024

Onlythoseapplicantsselectedforaninterviewwillbecontacted.

PleaseforwardResumeandCoverLetterto: CynthiaL.Jager,SocialDevelopmentCoordinator,cynthia@coldwaterband.org POBox4600,Merritt,BC,V1K1B8

“Before Auston had decided to come out,

“Indigenous folks have been salmon people living on this land since time immemorial,” Lustig said. “If you go beyond humans, they have such an important ecological function, they will bring nutrients that are so rich out in the Pacific Ocean, they’ll bring them inland into the rivers like Merritt, like the Coldwater River or the Nicola River. They would be completely different landscapes

“Salmon need moving water to do all their functions. They can’t live, they can’t do some of their functions in a lake. They need that constant flow of new water to spawn, to feed, to do all their life,” Chhor said.

Their research, using data also back recorded from the 1960s, showed there has been a significant decline in flow over the decades due to climate change.

Chhor said the Coldwater River gets most of its water during the summer months from snowfall coming off the mountains.

“As climate change has made less and less snow in the winter, that bank of stored water is running drier later and later, earlier and earlier in the season. So

“I think the main thing is that it’s not being used as a tool for water management so far. It’s not something that’s really considered like when they’re doing forestry management is the effect on flow,” Lustig said. “That and those beaver dam analogs, (water) storage, all these kind of things are probably more important levers to look at than just looking at water shut-offs and water management.”

Their studies also looked at how water regulations affected flow. In fact, they found harsher regulations didn’t effect flow loss.

This isn’t to say water regulations don’t work. The pair in fact advocated for it, but said a quicker response is needed.

“The measured flow, as that gets lower and lower, the impact on salmon habitat gets exponentially bigger,” Chhor said. In the end of the day, the two believe

on page 20

PHOTO/TY LIM

Lower snowfall levels is giving less water to the Coldwater River is ruining salmon habitat.

Sudoku puzzles formatted as a broken into nine boxes. To solve the numbers 1 must fill each row, and box. Each number appear only once row, column and can

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GOVERNMENT POLICY CAN SAVE SALMON

COLDWATER: continued from page 17

that more action and less talk would be beneficial for the river and its inhabitants, which includes voluntary water shutoffs and better all-around water management.

“There’s kind of a trend in our world of making these plans that are really grand, and then some kind of funding change, or government change or something where that plan just gets lost to the void, and that I think could be taken more seriously,” Chhor said.

“And for that to change, you really need public buy

WATERSHED PROTECTION ADVANCES

Partnership between local First Nations and Province strengthens

MICHAEL POTESTIO

Castanet

Five bands in the Nicola Valley are partnering with the provincial government to develop of a water sustainability plan in response to drought, water shortages and shrinking salmon runs in recent years on the Nicola River and its tributaries.

The plan will be developed in phases and shaped by input from all major water users in the region, including farmers, ranchers, local governments and community members. Establishing shared priorities and clear expectations early reduces the need for emergency measures, such as temporary protection orders, a provincial news release said.

Victoria and the Coldwater, Lower Nicola, Nooaitch, Shackan and Upper Nicola Indian Bands (the Nicola 5 First Nations) will develop the plan under B.C.’s Water Sustainability Act in an effort to protect healthy and abundant water for people, fish and ecosystems in the Nicola watershed, the release stated.

“This work reflects a deep commitment to reconciliation, healthy rivers and salmon, and to practical, long-term solutions for the people who live and rely on this watershed,” Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Randene Neill said in the release.

“By shifting from short-term, crisis-driven decisions to long-term, community-informed water management, we are taking the next step in a long journey of working together toward lasting water security.”

in. Where all us fish nerds obviously care so much, and think about it all the time, and try to come up with these ideas. But if you can’t translate that to the general public and get actual change, like policy, or regulation, that sort of thing, you can’t really get anywhere. So that’s why it’s great to do things like this and try to get education out to the public.”

Read the study at www.raincoast.org/reports/ salmonids-coldwater-river or contact Auston Chhor or Nathan Lustig at auston@raincoast.org or nlustig@

Partnership aims to focus on drought and ecosystem loss in watershed.

The plan aims to address challenges in the watershed, including water shortages, declining salmon populations and threats to aquatic ecosystems. It also aims to improve drought preparedness and create more opportunities for local agricultural producers to be involved in water sustainability planning.

Chief Stuart Jackson of the Lower Nicola Indian Band said the agreement is a clear step forward in shared decision-making and reconciliation.

“By entering into this water sustainability planning process with the province, we are fulfilling a vision our Nations set out years ago — to work together in true partnership to protect the water, land and all living things that depend on the Nicola watershed,” he said.

The province and the Nicola 5 First Nations plan to engage local communities throughout the development of the plan, the release said.

3rd

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Heart Catholic Church Corner of Jackson & Blair • 250-378-2919 Mass Time: Sundays 9:00 a.m. St. Michael’s Anglican Church 1990 Chapman St. • 250-378-3772 Service Times: 2nd and 4th Sundays only - 10:00 a.m.

Trinity United Church Corner of Quilchena & Chapman • 250-378-5735

Service Time every Sunday - 10 am

Somang Mission Community Church (SMC) 1755 Coldwater Ave. (The Cadet Hall) Sunday Service Time: 4:00 pm • 250-280-1268 Nicola Valley Evangelical Free Church 1950 Maxwell St. • 250-378-9502 Service Times: Sunday 10 am

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Gary Thomas Bone

July 25, 1949 - July 4, 2025

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gary Thomas Bone. He passed in the city of Merritt BC on July 4, 2025 at the age of 75.

Gary was born on July 25, 1949 in Medicine Hat, Alberta. He is survived by his 3 children, their spouses, 4 grandchildren, his brother, sisters, nephews and nieces, as well as many cousins and longtime friendsincluding his K9 buddy Ted.

He lived and worked throughout Alberta and BC. He held jobs in many different industries from mining to paramedics, prior to starting his long career with BC Hydro; which took him and his family throughout the province.

He served as a BC Hydro Pioneer, Knights of Columbus and Lions Club member. He was also a Scout leader, and a volunteer fire fighter during his life.

Gary loved camping and fishing with family and friends and spending time with his grandchildren. He had a passion for woodworking and enjoyed helping others with handyman and renovation projects.

He was a good man with a big heart and a funny sense of humor. He made an impact on those he met and all who knew him.

Rest in peace Dad

Love Kristina, Sean & Neal

Burial for KeithandNellaHume Friday, July25that2:00pm atPineRidgeCemetery 1675JuniperDr. Merritt,BC

www.merrittherald.com

Ernest “Gordon” Grams

February2,1953 -July10,2025

Itiswithgreatsadnessthatweannouncethe passingofErnest “Gordon”Grams,knowntoh amilyasGordon,whodiedonJuly1 2025,inLima,Peru,attheageof72.

HOURS: FullTime–35hrs/wk

BornonFebruary2,1953,inAtikokan,Ontario,Canada,Gordon’slife wasshapedbya passionforicehockey, abrilliantmindforengineering,and anextraordinarysenseofhumour.Gordon’sacademicjourneyledhimtothe UniversityofBritishColumbia,whereheearneda BachelorofAppliedScience inMiningEngineeringin1977.Thisdegreelauncheda distinguishedcareerthat sawhimbecomeawell-regardedﬁgureinthePeruvianminingindustry.

From1989to1995,GordonservedasChiefEngineerofSouthernPeruCopper Corporation, atestamenttohisexpertiseandleadership.Hiscareeralsoincluded signiﬁcantrolessuchas VicePresidentofPeruvianoperationsat VenaResources, ChiefOperatingOfﬁceratStellarMiningPeru,andGeneralManageratMining IndustryConsultantPerutoname afew.

1.Provideinformationandlinkagetoappropriatecommunityservices; 2.Guideandmotivateduringimportantperiodsofdevelopmentintheirwellnessjourney; 3.AcceptreferralsfromCommunity,SocialWorkers,othercommunityservicesandetc.; 4.Outreachandengagementinthewiththecommunity;

5.Developandmaintainparticipantdrivenintegratedwellnessplans; 6.Advocateforparticipants’needs;

7.Supportparticipantstobuildcapacityinareassuchascommunication, self-advocacy andrelationships; 8.Participatewithteaminprovidingdeliverableactivitiesorinformation. 9.Participateinteammeetings; 10.Maintainaccuraterecords; 11.Otherrelateddutiesasassigned.

RequirementofCommunityConnectionsNavigator

Gordon’slifewasasdiverseastheplaceshecalledhome,livingincommunities likeMerritt, Vancouver,WilliamsLake,Faro,Kelowna, Toquepala,Cajamarca, andLima.Hetraveledextensively,touringthroughEurope,Australia,the Caribbean,andallthroughouttheAmericas.HisﬂuencyinbothEnglishand Spanishservedtofurtherenrichedbothhispersonalandprofessionalendeavors. GordonwaspredeceasedbyhisfatherErnieGrams,motherNatiaGrams, sister, PhyllisNatiaIrvine,nephewTravisGramsandhisﬁrstwife,SusanBarton Grams.Heissurvivedbyhisbelovedsecondwife,AnaGrams;hissister, Eleanor; hisbrothers,Stephenand Terence;histwodaughtersKateNicolaMounceand RaePhoenixGrams;andtwograndchildrenDoranandMarieMounce Gordonwasanincrediblecharacterfulloffatherlyaffection, atenaciousspirit, andunforgettablehumour.

•DiplomaorDegreeinSocialWork(otherrelatedfieldswillbeconsidered); •ExperienceworkingwithFirstNationsCommunity; •AccesstoreliablevehicleandcurrentDriver’slicense; •PassableCriminalRecordCheckandDriver’sAbstract; •Ableandwillingtoworksomeeveningsandweekends.

Hewillbedeeplymissedbyhisfamilyandfriends,buthislegacywillforever beperseveredinourhearts.

Deadlineforsubmissions:January26th,2024

Onlythoseapplicantsselectedforaninterviewwillbecontacted. PleaseforwardResumeandCoverLetterto: CynthiaL.Jager,SocialDevelopmentCoordinator,cynthia@coldwaterband.org POBox4600,Merritt,BC,V1K1B8

Therewillbe aCelebrationofLifeathischildhoodhome,2675GarciaStreet, SaturdayAugust23,2025at 11 am.

HeadstoneUnveiling Saturday, July26that1:00pm atPineRidgeCemetery 1675 JuniperDr.Merritt,BC BBQ receptionimmediatelyfollowingthe headstoneunveiling 427Dodding Ave. LowerNicola,BC

Henri‘Reg’ Reginald Vallee

November29,1960 -July4,2025

Henri‘Reg’Reginald ValleepassedawayonJuly4, 2025,aftera longhard-foughtbattlewithbraincancer. Hewas64.Regissurvivedbyhislovingwifeof37years, Renata Vallee,sonsKaylan TurchinetzofMerritt,BC, Zhan(Kristen)ValleeofGrandForks,BC,granddaughters Brooklyn ValleeandHadley Vallee,brothersRobert(Sandy) Vallee,Louis(Darlene) ValleeandsistersJackie(Byron)O’NeillandPauline (Alex)Horvath,nieces &nephews,aswellasmanyexceptionallyclosefriends andrelatives.HeispredeceasedbyhismotherIrene Vallee,fatherMarcel Vallee andbrotherDenisVallee.

RegwasborninBonneyville,AlbertaonNovember29,1960.Hisoldestsister didn’tlikethenameHenri,soshestartedusing‘Reg’anditstuckthroughout hislifetime.In1971hisfamilypackedupthecarandmovedtoMerritt,BC.He attendedschoolinMerrittandgraduatedfromMerrittSeniorSecondarySchool in1979.HeenteredthetradesprogramforCarpentryandlaterreceivedhisRed SealticketfortheMillwrighttrade.

RegstartedoutworkingbuildinghomesintheMerrittarea.In1984to1986he workedontheCoquihallaBridgeCrew(Phase1),whichincluded7bridgesand theGreatBearSnowShed.RegwentontobecomeHeadMillwrightforArdew WoodProductsLtduntil2013andafterasMillwrightforTolkoIndustriesLtd. In2017hestartedworkingforKlassenWoodCoLtdandenjoyedthechallenge ofhelpingtoshapethenewlyformedplantwithco-workersintothecurrent operationitistoday.

Regwas ahighlyskilled,experiencedandregularlysoughtaftertradesman forhisyearsofknowledgeandexpertiseinthetrade.Hewasknownforhishard work,dedicationandcommitmentto aprojectandingettinga jobdonewell.He establishedandmaintainedhiscontactsandfriendships,alwayskeepingintouch withthemanytradesandindustryexpertsduringhiscareer.

Reghadanexceptionalsenseofhumorandcouldalwaysrelateagoodstoryor experience.Hewaspassionateaboutgettingoutdoors,toappreciatehisCreator ’s amazingplayground,usinghisvastknowledgeoftheareatoexploreevery opportunityhecould.Whetherskiing(backcountry,downhillorx-country), paddling(kayakorcanoe),hiking,mountainbiking,campingor aroadtripon hismotorbikewithfriends.A favoritephraseofhiswas“whatyouskitoday, you paddletomorrow.”

As afather, hewasalwayswillingtolenda handorsuggest adifferentideaon howtodosomething.Hewasalwaysavailabletotalktoandeagertohearabout whatwasnewwiththem.Dadwasfair, reasonableandencouraginginanything thekidswantedtotry.Growingup,witnesstoallhisyearsofhardworkand instilledthesamevaluesofworkethic,integrityandhonestyinbothofhissons. Heespeciallyenjoyedspendingtimewithhissons;motorbiking,hiking,camping orjustsittingaroundtheﬁreandwatchinghisgrandkidsplay.

Reg’s faith,kindness,generosity,andloveforhisfamilyandfriendswill foreverremainintheheartsofthosewhoknewhim.Regwasa realpeople person,able toeasilycommunicateandstrikeup aconversationwithjustabout anyone.Hebelievedinbuildingandvaluingrelationshipsandcreatinglasting memories.Wewillcarryonhiswillandcontinuetostaystrongas afamily,until wemeetagain.

Thefamilywouldliketopassona specialandheartfeltthankyoutoDr. Nguyen,Dr.Owen(KelownaCancerClinic),Dr.EwartandDr. Sieberhagen (KamloopsCancerClinic),Dr.LaliandMerrittHomeSupportnursesErin, JessicaandBaileea sincerethankyoufortheexcellentandcompassionatecare andsupportyouprovidedforRegandI.Aswell,toourcaringfamilyandfriends thatstoppedbyfor avisit,a chat,toofferencouragementortoshare alaugh. We aresotrulygrateful.

Inlieuofﬂowersthefamilyasksthat adonationbemadetotheCanadian CancerSociety.

AmemorialservicewillbeheldonSaturdayAugust2,2025,attheKingdom HallofJehovah’sWitnesses,1505Sunset Ave,Merritt,BCat2:00pm.The servicewillalsobeavailableonlineviaZOOM,pleaseemailrenvallee@icloud. comforinfo.

On-linecondolencesmaybeexpressedatwww.MerrittFuneralChapel.com

ColdwaterSchool

We arecurrentlyhiring forthe followingpositions forthe upcoming 2025-2026schoolyear:

• Ea rl yC hildho od Ed uc at or –Startingwage$28.29, Commensurate with experience &qualiﬁcations.

• Resp on si bl eA du lt –Startingwage$20.48, Commensurate with experience &qualiﬁcations.

• Pr im ar yTea ch er –Startingwage$38.48, Commensurate with experience &qualiﬁcations.

Applications will be accepted until4:00pmonAugust8,2025.

Attention: ColdwaterS choolHuman ResourcesCommittee

Email: Ncletkwu@coldwaterschool.ca

ShulusEnterprisesLimited FULLCYCLEBOOKKEEPER

Asmallgasstationisseekingafullcyclebookkeeper (part-timetostart).Thequaliﬁedcandidatebemustbe abletoworkunsupervised,meetdeadlinesandperform fullcyclebookkeepingduties.

SKILLS:

•Musthavestrongunderstandingofaccounting principlesandconcepts

ExperiencewithSimplyAccountingandMicrosoftOfﬁce

•Abilitytomaintainstrictconﬁdentialityandexercise diplomacyanddiscretion

•Excellentattentiontodetailandhighdegreeof accuracywithoutsupervision

LANGUAGE: English,spokenandwritten(Required)

RESPONSIBILITIES:

•Performfullcyclebookkeeping

•AccountsPayable/AccountsReceivables

•Preparebi-weeklypayroll

GST & PST-CRApaymentsandinstallments & provincial Tax

•Monthlybankreconciliation