Kelowna news
Two drivers, two crashes, same potential impaired charges
KELOWNA - Two separate crashes over the weekend could result in impaired driving charges for two Kelowna men. A concerned citizen flagged down police Feb. 7 at 11:16 p.m. to alert them to a 32-year-old Kelowna man slumped over the steering wheel of a blue Mazda 3 parked on Water Street, according to an RCMP...
Man dressed as superhero assaults two women
KELOWNA – A man wearing silver underwear over a red body suit is being sought by police for slapping a teenage girl and a woman on their backsides. According to a release from Kelowna RCMP, they received a report an unknown male was hiding in some bushes on the 2000 block of Pandosy Jan. 19....
Annual non-profit race cancelled after 35 years
KELOWNA – A 35-year-old racing tradition in Kelowna has run its course. The annual Ski2Sea race is an annual non-profit relay event where teams and individuals alternate biking, skiing, kayaking and running 95 km from Big White to City Park. According to their website the reasons the race has been cancelled are to do with...
Colin James spring tour is about more than rock ‘n roll
KELOWNA - The Colin James concert in Kelowna next month will be more than rock and blues because James is embracing all of himself these days. The six-time Juno Award winner has been part of the music scene for almost a quarter of a century, exploring multiple genres such as rock, blues, pop, gospel and...
Kelowna woman’s story of abuse goes viral
KELOWNA – A brave Kelowna woman is using social media to share her personal story of domestic abuse. Selina Morrison says her ex-boyfriend abused her both physically and emotionally and she is making her story public on her Facebook page. Two videos she has released since Feb. 8 have almost 40,000 views. “As I was...
How local Mamas helped a new Kelowna family overcome misfortune
KELOWNA – When Nelly Barclay talks about her family’s first week in Kelowna, she starts to cry. A new, non-profit group called Mamas for Mamas came to their aid when an accident left the family with little else but the clothes they were wearing. “I can’t even put it into words,” she says. “I can...
Kelowna is the fastest growing city in B.C.
KELOWNA – For the third year in a row Kelowna has grown faster than any other city in the province, according to Statistics Canada. Based on population estimates from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, Kelowna, with a growth rate of 1.8 per cent, was one of only six cities that outpaced the national...
Coastal ski resort closures bad news for local hills
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – With warm weather shutting down ski hills in the Lower Mainland and Washington state, hills in the Thompson-Okanagan are busier than they’ve been in ten years. But it’s not all good news. Spokespeople for all three major ski destinations in Kelowna, Vernon and Kamloops said that although business is up in the short...
VIDEO: Power of love shines in spoken word Valentine
KELOWNA – A Kelowna poet, filmmaker, cinematographer and beatboxer got together to make a Valentine for the city… and the world. Called “You Are Love” the short film finished production Friday, Feb. 13 and was posted to YouTube, director Chelsea McEvoy says in an email. “It is a film and spoken word combo about the...
Couple of clowns bringing back comedy of the absurd
KELOWNA - A new stage show presented by UBC Okanagan and Theatre26 explores the madness and isolation, joy and elation experienced by professional Cirque du Soleil clowns on the road. Marooned debuts Thursday, Feb. 19, bringing a slice of surreal life from UBCO artists-in-residence Aron De Casmaker and Jesse Buck, who spent five years on...
Aging waterworks the target of proposed rate increase
KELOWNA - About half of Kelowna can expect a minor water rate increase sometime soon if Kelowna city council agrees to a recommendation by staff. John Vos, the city’s director of corporate business ventures, is recommending a two percent increase for those homes and businesses serviced by the city water utility. The rest of Kelowna...
Danger in the backcountry; avalanche warning issued
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The unseasonably warm weather this week has the experts at Avalanche Canada warning backcountry enthusiasts about the risk of snow slides. There have been a number of recent reports of large avalanches in the mountains across the Southern Interior, including the South Columbia, Kootenay-Boundary, Purcells, South Rockies, Lizard Range and Flathead regions, avalanche...
Local support group for mamas growing fast
KELOWNA – Shannon Christensen’s house isn’t cluttered with old baby things. She’s given them all away. She’s the founder of a relatively new non-profit organization that started in Kelowna last April. Mamas for Mamas is a network of caring mothers who look out for each other and give support whenever it’s needed. Since starting in...
Big improvements coming for Rutland Centennial Park
KELOWNA - Rutland Centennial Park was officially aquired by the City of Kelowna recently as part of the memorandum of agreement with Rutland Park Society. The purchase price of the park, and right-of-way through the existing parking lot beside Centennial Hall, rang in at $800,000, according to a City of Kelowna media release. The City...
Apartment fire puts occupants in the care of Emergency Social Services
KELOWNA - The occupants of an apartment on Glenview Avenue are in the care of Emergency Social Services today after fire early yesterday evening left their unit uninhabitable. Steve Wallick, a platoon captain with the Kelowna Fire Department, said firefighters responded in force to what turned out to be a grease fire in the kitchen...