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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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Tall flame at Vernon landfill just standard procedure
VERNON - You might notice a tall flame coming from the Vernon landfill as you drive by, but rest assured, it’s just routine gas flaring. The Regional District of North Okanagan recently constructed a new landfill gas management system at the dump on Birnie Road. In accordance with the B.C. Landfill Gas Management Regulation, the...
Bell Media president gone weeks after news coverage meddling
MONTREAL – The president of the country's largest communications company abruptly left his post Thursday, two weeks after he admitted to trying to influence national news coverage by one of its subsidiaries.
Vernon motel could be yours for just over $1M
VERNON - A downtown motel familiar to most Vernon residents is up for sale. The Green Valley Motel on Highway 97 across from Polson Park is on the market for $1,195,000. Built in 1965, the motel features 27 units currently rented out by the month. A description of the listing suggests it has lots of...
What Vernon firefighters hope you do differently to prevent another tragedy
VERNON - Conditions at a fire scene this week gave crews flashbacks to conditions that killed an Enderby firefighter several years ago, and the Vernon Fire Department is now issuing a public warning in the hopes of preventing another tragedy. Crews responded to a dumpster fire around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 8, on 14 Avenue,...
Man brought into custody after five hour standoff with Vernon RCMP
VERNON - A 70-year-old man was taken into custody Friday morning after a five-hour stand-off. Officers were called to a fourplex in the 4900 block of Old Kamloops Road just before 1 a.m. April 10 for a report of a distraught man, police said this morning. “He’d had a confrontation with a neighbour and then...
B.C. judge asks lawyers to prove fraudster doesn’t deserve prison time
KAMLOOPS – A B.C. Supreme Court justice has asked Crown and defence lawyers to prove that an admitted fraudster who bilked a senior out of more than $20,000 shouldn't be sent to prison.
Mixed messages abound on who pays for Harper’s makeup, hair services
OTTAWA – The prime minister might have had his makeup done alongside Sen. Mike Duffy in 2010 on one of their many appearances together, but a government source says the taxpayer didn't pick up the tab for that type of service.
FULL HOUSE: Need for foster homes increases in Okanagan
VERNON - A shortage of foster homes is impacting the quality of care provided to children during what can be one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives, says a spokesperson for a foster parents association. Noelle Typusiak with the North Okanagan branch of the Okanagan Foster Parents Association says the number of homes...
Vernon thief caught on video not who victims expected
VERNON - Police are looking into an odd theft committed by what appears to be an unexpected culprit — an elderly woman. Footage captured by a Vernon couple’s surveillance camera shows what looks to be an elderly woman making off with a patio table shortly after 6 a.m. on April 3 in the area of...
Vernon Search and Rescue deploys helicopter to injured hiker
VERNON - A seriously injured hiker in Kimberly has Vernon Search and Rescue to thank for getting him to the hospital in record time. Leigh Pearson, with Vernon SAR, says the group’s helicopter winch rescue team was deployed on Friday, April 3, for a mutual aid call in Kimberly. After navigating around some bad weather,...
Vernon firefighters come to aid of entrapped person
VERNON - Emergency crews freed two people trapped in a car after an accident Tuesday morning. According to Vernon Fire and Rescue Services, there was a two vehicle accident just after 8 a.m. in the 4300 block of 32 Street. The driver and passenger in one of the vehicles involved were trapped inside until firefighters...
Vernon Breastfeeding demonstration made larger point
“I REALLY DO THINK WE HAD A POSITIVE OUTCOME FROM THIS NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE” VERNON - What began as a negative experience for a Vernon mother quickly became an opportunity to spread a positive messages about breastfeeding, says the organizer of a feed-in at the Village Green Centre. A few days after Megan Deuling was shamed...
Provincial support for Okanagan rail trail may sway voters, but not Okanagan Indian Band
VERNON - While a recent funding announcement from the provincial government may entice some Lake Country voters towards a yes vote in an upcoming borrowing referendum, the Okanagan Indian Band is warning governments not to celebrate just yet. Premier Christy Clark announced a $7.2 million pledge for the acquisition of the Okanagan Rail corridor the...
Preschoolers tackle racial tensions using locally-designed dolls
ENDERBY - A troop of handmade, multicultural dolls called the Backpack Kids have been deployed to local childcare centres where they are bringing a message of diversity and acceptance to young children. The life-sized puppets, each representing a Canadian kid with a different cultural background, are part of a newly launched teaching curriculum designed to...
Vernon teen pulled over for drunk driving before he even has his license
VERNON - A drunk teenager was slapped with an Immediate Roadside Prohibition over the long weekend, and he doesn’t even have his driver’s license yet. The 17-year-old was caught driving erratically in the Kalamalka Road area of Coldstream on Friday, April 3, around 10:30 p.m., RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. An officer patrolling in the...
Five generations of local family inducted into Cowboy Hall of Fame
"THEY DON'T HEM AND HAW OR DO ANYTHING HALF WAY" VERNON - They may be in their 70s and 80s, but the Louis brothers still head to a rodeo nearly every weekend, continuing a long standing tradition that now bridges five generations. Born and raised on the Okanagan Indian Band Reserve near Vernon, the nine...
Crime spree nets Vernon man more time behind bars
VERNON - A Vernon man says he was denied detox services for the third time shortly before attempting to carjack a woman’s vehicle and breaking into a nearby home. David Arthur Bruno Sammartino, born in 1984, was sentenced in Vernon Provincial Court Wednesday, April 1, on two charges of breaking and entering, and one of...
Woman shamed for breastfeeding in Vernon mall food court
BREAST FEEDING MOM TOLD 'THERE'S A TIME AND A PLACE FOR THESE KIND OF THINGS' VERNON - A feed-in is being organized to support a Vernon mother asked to stop breastfeeding her son at the Village Green Shopping Centre earlier this week. Megan Deuling was breastfeeding her four-month-old son at the food court in the...
Winning Lotto 649 ticket bought in Vernon
VERNON - There’s a new millionaire in Vernon, and no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke. According to BCLC, a ticket worth over $5 million was purchased in Vernon on Wednesday, April 1. The $35 million jackpot was split between five other winners, three in Ontario and one in Quebec. The winning numbers were 4,...
Vernon mall says goodbye to another retailer
VERNON - Shopping options continue to shrink at Vernon’s Village Green Mall. Ricki’s, a fixture at the mall since the shopping centre opened 40 years ago, will close its doors by the end of the month as part of a company restructuring plan. The news comes not long after Target announced it was pulling out...
Video shows Sicamous man up close and personal with an avalanche
VERNON - If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be swept up in an avalanche, a Sicamous man is sharing his terrifying experience after catching it on camera. Curtis Johnson was sledding in the Blue Lake area near Sicamous with a camera strapped to his head when an avalanche came rushing down the mountain....
Vernon organization benefits from civil forfeiture grant
VERNON – The City of Vernon has received funding from the province’s civil forfeiture program toward its Off The Wall Community Project. “This is a great, proactive approach for preventing youth from getting into trouble with the police,” Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster said. “It is important that youth learn the social, moral and legal consequences...
The mountain snow formation that attracted, nearly killed (and probably saved) an Enderby teen
VERNON - An 18-year-old skier from Enderby ducked under a boundary fence in the Goat’s Eye Mountain area of Sunshine Village Ski Resort, near Banff March 27. He found himself on what looked like solid ground but when it gave way, he dropped some 500 metres—much of it free fall. That's like falling from the...
Okanagan Spirits has a taste for expansion
VERNON - When the shiny pieces of Okanagan Spirits' new state-of-the-art copper stills arrived, there was only one problem: The instructions were in German. With no one fluent in the language, setting up the 50-plate still and 1,500 and 2,000 litre copper pots—now the largest in Western Canada—was an entertaining process, laughs owner Tony Dyck....