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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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Vernon hospital construction set to launch this week
VERNON - A multi-million dollar construction project to finish the top two floors of Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s Polson Tower is set to begin Wednesday. There will be a ceremony at 11 a.m. Wednesday to mark the construction start. Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster will be in attendance. The price tag on the new inpatient unit is...
CN offers Okanagan railway to federal government
VERNON - Time has run out for interested parties to resume service on the section of rail between Vernon and Kelowna. Monday was the deadline for companies negotiating with Canadian National to buy the line, and CN spokesperson Warren Chandler says no deal was reached. “The time period has elapsed, now the 30-day window to...
A student’s thoughts on the teacher strike
“I AM SCARED TO ENTER A PROFESSION HATED BY THE PUBLIC” SALMON ARM - An anonymous high school student in Salmon Arm has a message for teachers. “What I want to say to each and every one of you is that I appreciate you and everything you do for your students,” wrote the grade 12...
Penticton teen arrested for carrying butcher’s cleaver, bat and hammer
VERNON - A Penticton teen was arrested Monday morning for the possession of weapons, including a butcher’s cleaver and a bat wrapped in electrical tape. A police officer noticed the teen and a second person walking around downtown Vernon near Safeway shortly after midnight while conducting a routine patrol of the area. The teen was...
Boat fire in Armstrong could be connected to string of Vernon arsons
VERNON - Police are investigating whether a suspicious boat fire in Armstrong is connected to a rash of suspected arsons in the Vernon area. Emergency personnel were dispatched to 143 L & A Crossing Rd. Saturday around 10:40 p.m. for a report of a boat on fire. “One boat was completely involved and destroyed and...
Arrests made in Vernon arson case
SERIAL ARSON SUSPECT STILL ON THE LOOSE VERNON - Police have made arrests in one of 13 suspected cases of arson in the Vernon area. Two men, aged 24 and 30, were arrested Friday evening for setting fire to some trash behind AJ’s Pets & Things on 31 Avenue. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the...
Vernon’s justification for MMA ban is a secret
POLICE REPORT TO COUNCIL HELD BEHIND CLOSED DOORS VERNON - City officials and the police say their hands are tied when it comes to sharing the information behind allegations that mixed martial arts events are connected to organized crime. Vernon council has asked staff to prepare a bylaw banning mixed martial arts (MMA) events in...
Firefighter conference to pump millions into Vernon economy
VERNON - A firefighting conference held in Vernon is expected to fuel up the local economy. The annual Fire Chief’s Association of B.C. Conference and Expo comes to Vernon in 2017, and is expected to have an economic impact of $5 million in the community. The event typically attracts 800 people, including fire department chiefs,...
A closer look at Vernon’s rash of arsons
TIMES AND LOCATIONS DISPLAYED ON ARSON MAP VERNON - While investigators continue to hunt for clues in a continuing series of suspected arsons, a map shows most were set within four kilometers of each other between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. The suspicious fires — set in dumpster bins, pallets, vacant homes and vehicles —...
Vernon firefighters association rings alarm bells over staffing structures
MAYOR SAYS STAFFING STRUCTURE IS EFFICIENT, COST-SAVING AND DOESN’T CAUSE HIM CONCERN VERNON - A heated debate over Vernon's decision to deploy fire crews in groups of two instead of four continues to simmer. The Vernon Professional Firefighters Association is speaking out about staffing structures following the release of a YouTube video showing a fire...
Fire guts mobile home
VERNON - Fire roared through a mobile home in Coldstream Friday morning. Vernon and Coldstream Fire Departments attended the Kalview Trailer Park blaze on Clerke Road, just off Highway 97 south of Vernon around 9 a.m. Fire officials remain on scene. More information will be posted as it becomes available. The Vernon Fire Department has...
Residents, business owners warned to take precautions against alleged arsonist
"CLEAN UP ANY PALLETS, DON'T HAVE THEM OUT AND AVAILABLE" VERNON - While authorities have determined at least some suspicious fires are not connected to a string of suspected arsons, investigators believe an arsonist is still on the loose in the city. Deputy fire chief Lawrie Skolrood, one of the lead investigators, says out of...
Martial Arts community kicks back at “offensive” remarks by Vernon council
VERNON - The mixed martial arts community is in an uproar over what they feel were offensive and uneducated comments made about their sport earlier this week by Vernon councillors. The City of Vernon wants to ban mixed martial arts (MMA) events because, as Coun. Bob Spiers put it, “the association with the type of...
Dog control seeks owners of pig with pink painted toe nails
VERNON - She has painted pink toe nails, likes to follow you around, and squeals when you pick her up. That’s about all dog control knows about a small grey pig found wandering around the Vernon Golf Course. Pat Ellis, with K9 Dog Control, says the chubby, grey pig was turned in to the Vernon...
Councillor calls new communications strategy “propaganda”
VERNON - Council is in disagreement over a new communications policy, adopted Monday in a split 4-2 vote. The city’s communications coordinator, Tanya Laing Gahr created the policy and described is as a way to effectively communicate the city’s story to the media, the public, funding bodies and other levels of government. Coun. Bob Spiers...
Armstrong council refuses to hear request for Taylor Van Diest Memorial Trail
ARMSTRONG - A plea for support in maintaining the Taylor Van Diest Memorial Trail will have to wait another couple weeks. Marie Van Diest, whose daughter Taylor was murdered Halloween night 2011, intended to ask Armstrong council for help with the upkeep of her daughter’s memorial trail Monday, but council wouldn’t hear her because she...
Community chooses touching memorial for councillor Patrick Nicol
VERNON - Councillor Patrick Nicol will be remembered forever in the place he loved best. Having received substantial feedback from the community, Vernon City Hall has chosen to create an area in Polson Park called Patrick’s Gathering Place. The area will feature benches and a memorial plaque. Nicol passed away in January after a long...
Former B.C. premier to chair Lumby-based marijuana facility
LUMBY - A company chaired by a former B.C. premier has applied to grow and distribute medical marijuana from a facility in Lumby. True Leaf Medicine Inc. has submitted an application to Health Canada to operate the facility under the federal government’s new rules for the system, which came into effect April 1. Mike Harcourt,...
Vernon drafts ban on mixed martial arts
VERNON - Vernon is hitting mixed martial arts where it hurts. City council is moving forward with the creation of a bylaw that would ban Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events within municipal limits. “We don’t need them,” Coun. Bob Spiers says. “It’s just the association with the type of people that run those events and...
Study finds multi-million dollar benefits to Okanagan Rail Trail
OYAMA - Converting the rail bed between Vernon and Kelowna into a multi-use pathway would drive over $3 million in visitor spending in the first year alone, states a consulting report on predicted benefits. The Okanagan Rail Trail held a press conference Tuesday morning in Oyama to release the findings of a 70 page impact...
Number of suspected arsons climbs to nine
VERNON - Police continue to investigate a series of suspected arsons as the number of suspicious fires grows to nine within the city. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says police are looking into two fires from the weekend, one a torched car at the Kia dealership and the other a motor home on 26 Street. Molendyk...
Conservation on the lookout for East Hill bear
VERNON - East Hill residents are being warned there’s a bear in their neck of the woods. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says a large bear was spotted in the East Hill neighbourhood over the past few days. There haven’t been any run-ins with people or pets, though the Conservation Service is actively working to locate...
Police suspect alcohol led to lake accident
VERNON - Police suspect alcohol was involved in an accident east of Cherryville this weekend. Around 7:20 p.m. May 24 North Okanagan RCMP were called to the scene of a vehicle found half submerged in McIntyre Lake, off Highway 6. There were no occupants inside the vehicle. A patrol of the area with the dog...
Police believe Trinity Valley suspects were cooking up crystal meth
VERNON - A six day investigation and clean-up at a North Okanagan property wrapped up over the weekend, leaving authorities strongly suspecting crystal meth was being produced there. A significant quantity of hazardous materials believed to be used in the manufacturing of crystal meth were removed from the Trinity Valley Road rental home and secured...