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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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Why 153 Vernon teachers received layoff notices
VERNON - Over a hundred teachers are being laid off in the Vernon School District, but it’s likely most will be re-hired in September. Superintendent Joe Rogers says the layoffs are all part of an annual process. Unlike most school districts, Vernon grants recall rights to teachers who have worked at least five months, even...
Mother of slain Armstrong teen appeals for support in maintaining daughter’s memorial trail
ARMSTRONG - An Armstrong mother is hoping a trail honouring her slain daughter will be overrun with community support instead of weeds. Marie Van Diest, whose daughter Taylor was murdered by convicted killer Matthew Foerster on Halloween 2011, intends to come before Armstrong city council Monday to appeal for help in maintaining the Taylor Jade...
Burnt pallets add to list of suspected arsons
VERNON - Police and the fire department are burning for answers after responding to another suspected arson. A flaming pile of pallets drew firefighters to an industrial area in the 4600 block of 34 Street shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday. Authorities are calling the fire suspicious and investigating whether it is connected to a recent...
Torched boat latest in series of suspected arsons
VERNON - A torched boat is the latest in a series of suspicious fires under investigation by authorities. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says an 18 foot recreational ski boat with a For Sale sign on it was set ablaze in a parking lot in the 2300 block of 48 Avenue around 11 p.m. Tuesday....
Trial date set for former Vernon mountie facing child porn charges
VERNON - A former Vernon cop will stand trial in B.C. Supreme Court next March. Ryan Hampton, 35, faces nine charges, including possessing and accessing child pornography. He was arrested in June 2013 and subsequently suspended from the force. He has since resigned from the RCMP. Hampton will be tried before judge alone starting March...
Rash of fires spark concern
VERNON - A series of suspicious fires has police appealing to the public for information. The most recent of the suspected arsons include a vacant building and porta-potty set ablaze Sunday and Monday. Police continue to investigate a pair of suspicious dumpster fires from early May, as well as a chain of unsolved arsons from...
Five arrests made in connection with suspected synthetic drug lab
VERNON - Police, environmental agencies and a HAZMAT team descended upon a secluded North Okanagan property over the long weekend following the discovery of an alleged drug lab. Police had already been investigating the Trinity Valley Road property near Enderby for months, but is was reports of shots fired in the area that led police...
Local couple brewing up new downtown destination
VERNON - You’ll still be able to buy a drink at the former night club on the corner of 30 Avenue and 30 Street downtown, but the similarities end there. Stefan and Pearl Marten, the new owners of the prominent Main Street building, are brewing up a different approach, one that invites families, foodies and...
Crews respond to lightning-caused fire near Fintry
VERNON - Efforts are underway to extinguish a fire sparked by lightning in the Fintry area Friday afternoon. Fire information officer Kayla Pepper says a three person attack crew and an air tanker were deployed to the area around 2:30 p.m. The Wildfire Management branch is standing by in case further resources are required. The...
What fans, players and organizers have to say about the 2014 RBC Cup
VERNON - It seems everyone involved in the RBC Cup can’t help but tweet about it. Players, organizers and fans shared their experiences this week on Twitter. Their tweets take us into the grandstands, beyond the locker room doors, and behind the scenes of the ten day Junior A Championship event held at Kal Tire...
Gas prices skyrocket for long weekend
THOMPSON OKANAGAN - Gas prices have skyrocketed just in time for the long weekend. Many pumps across the Thompson-Okanagan are advertising a ten cent jump today. In Vernon, many gas stations are selling at 143.9 cents per litre. It’s the same story in Kelowna, with most places selling at 143.9 and one, the Superstore on...
Former Vernon vice-principal punished for boosting student’s grades
VERNON - A former Vernon vice-principal has been reprimanded for boosting a student’s grades. The B.C. Teacher Regulation Branch is suspending former Vernon Secondary School vice-principal Tony Martin Dolinar’s teaching certificate for one month because he increased the grades “of a student whom he wished to favour” without the consent of the student’s teacher. Dolinar...
North Okanagan school district axes positions and prepares for the next tough decision
SALMON ARM - The North Okanagan school district is looking at closing schools and reducing the number of trustees on its board to settle ongoing financial challenges in the operating budget. Those ideas surfaced at a board meeting Tuesday as trustees passed a preliminary budget for the 2014/15 school year that would involve laying off teachers...
Preliminary inquiry set to hear evidence in Vernon child pornography case
VERNON - The courts will decide next month whether a man accused of luring girls online for sexual purposes will stand trial. David Willerth, born in 1974, was arrested last summer on a slew of online luring and child pornography charges. A preliminary inquiry to determine if there is enough evidence for the matter to...
Debris from Kingfisher landslide endangers boaters
SHUSWAP - Debris from the massive landslide east of Enderby has made its way into Mara Lake. It’s been almost two weeks since a massive deluge of logs, mud and water washed out a portion of Mabel Lake Road and the bridge over Cook Creek. Some of that debris flowed downstream into Mara Lake and...
Sweet gesture helped firefighters tackle weekend blaze
LUMBY - A long night of firefighting became a little easier through the generosity of a Lumby restauranteur. Around a dozen members of the Lumby volunteer fire department were called to Shuswap Avenue around 10 p.m. Sunday to battle a fire in a machine shop. It was well after most shops closed, and the firefighters...
New recycling program could be unfair to seniors, people with disabilities
VERNON - Vernon City Hall is learning from its populace you can’t put everyone in the same box. Multi-Material B.C. is set to take over the city’s recycling system next Monday, and that will involve shifting pick up from blue bags to blue bins. There are concerns seniors and people with disabilities will struggle with...
New Vernon visitor centre stalled by approval process
VERNON - People passing through Vernon won’t be able to visit the city’s new tourism centre for at least a few more weeks. The visitor information centre was pegged to open May 1 on 39 Avenue beside Civic Arena, but the Ministry of Transportation’s approval process to rezone the property is taking longer than expected....
New motorcyclist dies in head-on collision near Enderby
NORTH OKANAGAN - Police responded to a fatal motorcycle accident in Enderby mere hours after attending the scene of a tragic car crash in Lumby involving two brothers. Police and emergency crews responded to the motorcycle around 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Cpl. Gerry Kovacs says a 64-year-old Enderby man new to motorcycling was killed in a...
Passenger watches his brother die in Lumby car crash
NORTH OKANAGAN - A Lumby man tried to save his brother before he died after an early morning car crash Sunday. The 23-year-old man and his 25-year-old brother at the wheel were on their way to help some friends having vehicle troubles around 2:20 a.m. Along the 1000 block of Whitevale Road near Lumby, the 2003...
Victim’s brother was driving in weekend crash
VERNON — The 14-year-old Vernon boy who died in a head-on collision last weekend, was being driven by his older brother. Rodney Boring, the passenger in a Pontiac Sunfire involved in a head-on crash with a pickup truck on Highway 97 near Oyama, died at the scene, while the 17-year-old driver was airlifted to Kelowna...
RBC Cup a boon for local economy
VERNON - The return of the RBC Cup is expected to bring economic benefits to the region for years to come. Vernon is hosting the national Junior A Hockey Championship for the first time since 1990, and the city’s economic development manager Kevin Poole says it’s going to infuse the local economy with players and...
UPDATE: Foerster senior sentenced; pleads guilty to accessory in teen’s murder
HELPED SON GET NEW IDENTITY, AVOID POLICE KELOWNA - Stephen Roy Foerster was sentenced to three years in jail for helping his son Matthew Foerster avoid detection by police following the murder of Armstrong teen Taylor Van Diest. Foerster, 60, pleaded guilty to accessory to murder after the fact Wednesday morning in a Kelowna Supreme...
Pair of suspicious fires ignite concerns
VERNON - A pair of suspicious fires have police and the fire department looking for answers. The Vernon Fire Department responded to back to back dumpster fires Saturday night. The first was in a large construction dumpster on Kalamalka Road around 11:30 p.m., and the second at 44 Avenue and 27 Street by Shoppers Drug...