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Charlotte Helston
REPORTER
Charlotte Helston grew up in Armstrong and after four years studying writing at the University of Victoria, she came back to do what she loves most: Connect with the community and bringing its stories to life.
Covering Vernon for iNFOnews.ca has reinforced her belief in community. The people and the stories she encounters every day—at the courthouse, City Hall or on the street—show the big tales in a small town.
If you have an opinion to share or a story you'd like covered, contact Charlotte at Charlotte Helston or call 250-309-5230.
Charlotte Helston's Stories
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Mothers Day continues when mom has passed on
VERNON - Every May, Brenda Gilchrist-Sword changes her profile picture. The black and white portrait isn’t her, but her mom Grace, who passed away in 2002. Gilchrist-Sword, of Vernon, lives in a different province from where her mom is buried, so the profile picture is her way of honouring her mom around Mother’s Day. She...
Shipping containers, coffee cart could stay the summer downtown Vernon
VERNON - A pop-up shipping container art gallery and coffee vendor could stay the summer if they get permission from City Hall. That’s why the Vernon Public Art Gallery has asked the City of Vernon to extend its license agreement for the temporary steel shipping container structure at the bus loop downtown, across from Cenotaph...
Retired conservation officer speaks out about the realities of a service stretched too thin
“YOU CAME TO WORK EVERY DAY KNOWING YOU COULD NOT FULFILL EVERY PHONE CALL AND REPORTED COMPLAINT” KELOWNA - Retired B.C. conservation officer Greg Hoyer went into the field to protect fisheries and wildlife; by the time he left in 2009 that was only a fraction of his job. “Over the years, the government just...
Vernon School District budget: What will be cut, what will be gained
VERNON - Three vice-principal positions are among the cuts being made at local schools to help balance next year’s budget. School District 22 announced what’s being kept, and what’s being cut, as part of the 2015/2016 budget in a media release. Three vice-principal positions, one each at J.W. Inglis, Hillview and Coldstream Elementary, will not...
UPDATE: Legion president injured in Highway 97 crash
KELOWNA – A car crash on Highway 97 near Old Vernon Road in Kelowna this morning seriously injured three people, including two members of the Royal Canadian Legion. Branch 26 president Syd Pratt and member Frank Truman were on their way to a Flag Day event at the Lakeview Memorial Cemetery, Lynda Wachter the Legion's manager...
Celebrate motherhood with a replica of that bodacious belly
ENDERBY - Being a mom all starts with nine months of carrying a small, growing human being inside of you, so what better way to celebrate the special, transformative time than with a personalized belly cast? The keepsakes are all the rage and Enderby artist Marli Luff has expecting mother’s in the Okanagan area covered...
HELSTON: Angry about school superintendents getting raises? You’re missing the point
Many reacted with shock when news broke that superintendents in three Okanagan school districts were given raises last year, but I think we might be missing the bigger picture. What I find more shocking than a superintendent with 30 years of education experience receiving a pay raise — the first for that position since 2006...
Move over wine, there’s a new Okanagan drink and it’s more popular than ever
OKANAGAN - There’s more for the thirsty soul in the Okanagan Valley than just wine, and locally-made cider is here to prove it. A number of cideries have blossomed in the Okanagan over the last few years, including the family-run BX Press in Vernon. Owners Dave and Melissa Dobernigg opened their craft cider house last...
Paving work will impact traffic on Highway 97
VERNON - There will be delays on Highway 97 over the next month as repaving work gets underway. The project is for roughly 30 km of highway resurfacing between Old Vernon Road and Bailey Road. A five kilometer section on Highway 33 from Beaverdell Dump Road to Beaverdell will also be included The $3.8 million...
Injunction hearing over Okanagan Rail corridor set for this month
VERNON – A Supreme Court Judge will hear the Okanagan Indian Band’s argument for an…
Man accused of killing Armstrong woman returns to court this fall
VERNON - The man accused of killing an Armstrong mother of two will go before a judge for a preliminary inquiry this fall. Logan Scott, 31, of Salmon Arm was charged with manslaughter and theft under $5,000 in August 2014, nine months after Jillian McKinty, 27, was found dead in her Armstrong home. At the...
‘All of a sudden, a friggin’ moose comes out of nowhere and lands on the front of the truck’
KELOWNA - Doug Adams remembers the moose slamming into the hood, then sliding up the windshield, six inches from his face. The impact brought the one-ton diesel truck to an instant standstill. Adams, 56, of Vernon, was the passenger in a truck that collided with an estimated 800 pound moose last Friday, May 1, in...
Vernon School District joins list of superintendents with pay raises
VERNON - Despite tight financial times, the Vernon School District’s superintendent was granted a raise last year, the first for that position since 2006. Joe Rogers is one of at least two other Okanagan superintendents (Kelowna's Hugh Gloster and Penticton's Wendy Hyer) to receive a fatter salary after the Ministry of Education lifted a restriction...
Child escapes Vernon car crash with minor injuries
VERNON - Two people, one of them a nine-year-old, escaped with minor injuries after their car flipped onto its roof Monday. The accident happened just after 3 p.m. Monday, May 4, at Highway 97 and College Way in Vernon, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said in a release. “The investigation determined the vehicle had been travelling...
Authorities investigate fire at Vernon bank
VERNON - Police and the fire department are investigating a suspicious blaze that scorched the outside of a downtown Vernon bank Monday night. Deputy Fire Chief Jack Blair says the fire started in a garbage container at the rear of CIBC on 30 Avenue around 9:30 p.m., May 4. “The fire caused extensive fire damage...
Crazy, memorable 20-year ride for Lorenzo’s cafe owner coming to a close
ENDERBY - You’d have to be at least a little crazy to run Lorenzo’s Cafe, an iconic music venue nestled down a windy, back road in the rural North Okanagan, and owner Lorne Costley comes by it honestly. He got the nickname Lorenzo in Mexico back in the 1980s, and it refers to someone who...
North Okanagan hits the silver screen in Disney’s Tomorrowland
VERNON - Enderby will be on the big screen later this month when Tomorrowland, starring George Clooney, hits theatres. The mystery-adventure film directed by Brad Bird is set to be released May 22. It follows the danger-filled mission of a jaded scientist, Clooney, and an optimistic teen, Britt Robertson, as they uncover the secrets of...
Search for lost man in Vernon park extends past midnight
VERNON - A man lost at night in Kalamalka Provincial Park on the weekend made the right decision when he called home to say he was turned around, and losing battery life on his cell phone. That call prompted a quick response from RCMP and Vernon Search and Rescue, who immediately dispatched to the Cougar...
Driver gets ticket for nasty crash; highway traffic brought to standstill south of Vernon
VERNON - There were multiple injuries in a Sunday afternoon car accident on Highway 97 south of Vernon, which halted traffic for over two hours, but fortunately no fatalities. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the crash at Bailey Road and Highway 97, which had northbound traffic backed up almost to Oyama, was caused by an...
UPDATE: Highway reopens after crash near Vernon
UPDATE: 7:14 P.M., MAY 3, 2015 The highway has reopened. Drive B.C. notes to expect delays. VERNON - A crash is causing major delays on Highway 97 just south of Vernon Sunday afternoon. According to Drive B.C., the highway is closed in both directions 10 kilometres south of Vernon. There is currently no estimated time...
Empty stores a worry for Vernon mall merchants
VERNON - If you’ve been to the Village Green Centre lately, you might have noticed less variety in the 40-year-old mall. Currently, seven stores in the shopping centre are vacant and merchants are feeling the void. The Target closure left a large, 103,000-square-foot hole in the mall, but there are other gaps too. Ricki’s has...
Cruise into days gone by at the Starlight Drive-In
ENDERBY - For Starlight Drive-In owner Paul Lindquist, the best part of the night is the intermission between shows. It’s when packs of children come blasting through the doors of the deliciously tacky concession in their pajamas to stock up on snacks and older couples stroll in holding hands, warm with the memory of days...
Province announces major changes to deadly Vernon intersection
VERNON - The Ministry of Transportation has proposed a controversial plan to make the intersection of Stickle Road and Highway 97 in Vernon less dangerous. The $3-million initiative would eliminate risky, left hand turns onto the highway and allow only right hand turns onto Stickle and 97, forcing drivers to take Pleasant Valley Road back...
HELSTON: Slow down and remember Kiera
OPINION I often see the pink and purple ‘Slow down for Kiera’ bumper stickers on…