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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.
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Major crime investigations interfere with proactive police work
VERNON - A number of time consuming investigations sucked up RCMP resources this summer and meant other crime in the city went unchecked, says Vernon’s top cop. Superintendent Reg Burgess presented a quarterly report to Vernon City Council Monday and said investigations into the city’s alleged serial arsonist, a shooting in Polson Park, fatal motor...
Vernon parents, students call for an end to the strike
VERNON - Teachers have been glued to their picket lines for days, but this week, there were some new faces on the block. Vernon parents, joined by students, took to 27 Street Monday afternoon with protest signs calling for an end to the strike. “The teachers have been walking the picket line long enough, I...
Greeks lawyer speaks his mind on Vernon Mixed Martial Arts ban
VERNON - Vernon City council shouldn't be afraid of any gang involved in mixed martial—there’s not enough money in for them. You can take that from a man who knows a thing or two about organized crime. William Mastop, the former lawyer convicted of helping a notorious Vernon gang known as the Greeks, was the...
Firefighters snuff out two structure fires Sunday
VERNON - Vernon firefighters responded to two structure fires within hours of each other Sunday. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says the first call came in around noon from a home on Peregrine Way. “There appeared to have been a discarded, smoking material in a potted plant on a patio,” Blair says. Fortunately, the fire...
Accident sends cyclist to hospital
VERNON - A cyclist was taken to hospital after colliding with a truck last Friday. Police were dispatched to the area of 39 Avenue and 32 Street around 7:50 a.m. Sept 5. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the driver of the truck was turning right as the cyclist came up beside him. The 30-year-old cyclist...
Vehicle tumbles down embankment, driver’s neck impaled with stick
VERNON - A local man remains in hospital with a neck wound after crashing his car over an embankment. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says officers were called to the 6000 block of Cosens Bay Road Sunday around 5:40 p.m. for a report of a vehicle over the embankment. “The driver, a 21-year-old Vernon man, was...
Have your say on Vernon Mixed Martial Arts ban
VERNON - This is your chance to tell Vernon City Hall what you think about a ban on Mixed Martial Arts. The city is providing an opportunity for public input Monday at the start of its regular council meeting. The city has already given first readings to the bylaw — which would ban professional MMA...
School board contemplates decision on Lavington pellet plant
VERNON - The Vernon school board will soon let the Ministry of Environment know how it feels about a proposed pellet plant. Trustees received input from those in favour of the project and those against, and are now preparing to send their recommendations to the Ministry. Pinnacle Renewable Energy president Leroy Reitsma presented to the...
Teacher strike throws off extra-curricular programs in the North Okanagan
VERNON - The B.C. teacher strike has thrown off many school sports and other non-curricular programs, though some activities remain on course thanks to parents and outside maintenance workers. Superintendent of the Vernon School District Joe Rogers says some fields aren’t being maintained due to picket lines, while others run in conjunction with Greater Vernon...
Return to the wild: Okanagan bear doesn’t look back
VERNON - From the top of a power pole, to a rehabilitation shelter, Polaris the black bear has had quite a journey in her young life, and now she’ll be continuing her adventures in the wild. The year-and-a-half old black bear found perched on a power pole in Lumby last fall was taken in by...
Coroner confirms identity of man found dead
KELOWNA - A man found dead in a wooded area of Kelowna Wednesday has been identified. The B.C. Coroners Service says he was Melvin Davis Maygard, 56, of West Kelowna. A passerby found Maygard on the ground Sept. 3 on the banks of Mill Creek near the intersection of Enterprise Way and Commerce Avenue. The...
Your kids aren’t getting an education so far this year, but international students are
VERNON - While B.C. students remain cut off from school during the teacher strike, some students from abroad are accessing educational resources through international programs in school districts. Vernon school district is one of the provincial leaders in attracting 200 international students this year. Supt. Joe Rogers says they are participating in field trips and other...
Driver slams into propane tank at Vernon gas station
VERNON - Emergency crews were called out Wednesday afternoon after a man drove into a propane tank at Super Save Gas on 25 Avenue. Cpl. Joseph Leeson with Vernon RCMP says the driver lost control and slammed into the propane tank around 1:30 p.m. after suffering an apparent medical condition. The 57-year-old was the only...
The defence department borrowed land from the Okanagan Indian Band and left this behind
VERNON - The Madeline Lake range is a swath of sprawling meadow encircled by dense woods and stunning vistas of the North Okanagan. Bears and other wildlife roam the hillside overlooking the two grassy plateaus, located just off Highway 97 northwest of O’Keefe Ranch on the Okanagan Indian Band Reserve. The area is known to...
Charges laid in connection with death of Armstrong woman
ARMSTRONG - A Salmon Arm man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of an Armstrong woman. Jillian McKinty, 27, was found deceased in her home on Wolfenden Terrace in Armstrong Nov. 27, 2013. She was a mother of two. “The circumstances surrounding Jillian’s death were suspicious in nature,” RCMP spokesperson Gord...
Community packs open house for future of Kal Park
VERNON - A Ministry of Transportation open house about removing land from Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park drew supporters and opposers, though no one seemed to be changing their mind on the project. The open house was designed to provide more information about the Ministry’s proposal to exclude a 30-meter right-of-way from the park to allow...
LARRY KWONG: How a Vernon man defied the odds and broke the NHL’s colour barrier
VERNON - From the frozen ponds of Vernon to the rink of a big league game, Larry Kwong became many things: The first to break the colour barrier in the NHL, a hero to countless fans, and an inspiration that anyone, no matter what their heritage, can follow their dreams. And yet the 92-year-old has...
Surprise wedding gives dying groom best day of his life
VERNON - Not knowing how many more days he’d wake up next to her, how many more drives they would go on together, or how many more times he’d get to say I love you, Ryan Langley rose from his wheelchair—defying everything his doctors had said—and watched the love of his life, Alisa, walk down...
HELSTON: Why Vernon teachers weren’t picketing outside schools this week
Earlier this week, I went out to cover strike action on the local front. The problem was, I couldn’t find any teachers. There was little sign of them in the city; no sound of car horns being honked in support, no thumbs being wagged in the air, no protest signs, no chanting, no teachers. In...
Vernon teachers, parents frustrated after passionate plea to school board
VERNON - Teachers and parents urged the Vernon school board to push for mediation between the B.C. Teachers Federation and the provincial government at a meeting Wednesday. Tensions were high in the packed boardroom, which had standing room only. School board trustees, teachers and parents all agreed they needed to get students back in the...
Vernon school board to hear community concerns over controversial pellet plant
VERNON - Parents will be given an opportunity to voice their concerns to the Vernon School District regarding a proposed pellet plant. The district called another meeting on Pinnacle Renewable Energy and Tolko’s plans to build a pellet plant near Lavington Elementary at a special board meeting Wednesday night. Residents asked the board to hold...
Park concept dashed with sale of historic Kal Lake estate
VERNON - One of the Okanagan’s top 100 most expensive residential properties—a historical home on the shores of Kalamalka Lake—is in new hands, albeit not the ones its former owner had hoped for. The 2.4-acre estate belonging to the late Margaret Ormsby, featuring 420 feet of waterfront off Coldstream Creek Road, was on the market...
Public meeting will focus on teacher strike, proposed Lavington plant
VERNON - A special meeting set for tonight will focus on two topics that have been in the news lately: The teacher strike and a proposed pellet plant in Lavington. The special meeting, called specifically by the school district to address the two issues, starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the board office on 15...
Loss of rail is loss of history
VERNON - It once brought growth to the region, but now the railway linking Vernon with Kelowna is being erased one rail tie at a time. Since the last spike was laid in 1925, the nearly 50-kilometer stretch of track has carried many passengers and untold quantities of freight. But its glory days are long...