Charlotte Helston

VERNON - A local men's shelter is anxiously wondering if a man found dead in Polson Park last week was someone they knew. It's looking likely that the man found in a forested area of the park was homeless and he might have used the services of the local John Howard Society, says executive director Barb...

VERNON - Thanks to mandatory financial reporting, we now know how much candidates spent on their campaigns in the May election. In Vernon-Monashee, NDP candidate Mark Olsen ran the most expensive campaign by about $3,000. Olsen, who came in second with 34 per cent of votes, spent a total of  $74,815 throughout the course of...

VERNON – A local politician is spurring the Regional District of North Okanagan to seek provincial funding for Vernon’s Kin Race Track, the oldest of its kind in all of Canada. The  fate of the 120-year-old race track is, at present, in limbo. The City of Vernon and the RDNO have expressed interest in redeveloping...

VERNON - Artists, singers, and poets will be taking over the Vernon Parkade this month for the fifth annual Riot on the Roof. Youth ambassador Robert Schley says the August 24 event will fill a gap in the Okanagan for young people wanting to experience art. "The Okanagan has some incredible art, but there isn't...

VERNON - A group of breast cancer survivors are making up for lost time. When Eileen Gilbert was diagnosed with breast cancer more than a decade ago, she was told she wasn't allowed to exercise or perform any repetitive motions. "We were told we couldn't even wash windows," Gilbert says. But then B.C. doctor Don...

VERNON - When they eventually go to referendum, the museum and art gallery want to make sure they ask the community the right question—or questions—to garner support for a new downtown cultural hub. The vision is to move the Vernon Public Art Gallery from its current location in the basement of the parkade to 31st...

VERNON - It was a pretty rare occurrence for the Pacific military dive team to take a dip in Kalamalka Lake this week. The ordnance team from Colwood, B.C. was called out to Vernon after a swimmer discovered a strange object lying in the sand 20 feet under water, about 100 feet offshore from Cosens...

VERNON - A sunken military mortar was safely removed from Kalamalka Lake Friday morning. Lt.-Navy Grey Menzies, spokesperson for the navy, says a suspicious object discovered by a local swimmer Monday is indeed an unexploded ordnance. A military dive team hit the water Wednesday, Thursday and again Friday morning, taking their time with the potentially...

VERNON - Having run for Shuswap MLA in the May election, Conservative member Tom Birch is looking to change his role at the party's annual general meeting next month in Vernon. Birch, of Salmon Arm, will be putting his name in for the position of president. "I'd been considering where I could best serve the...

VERNON - A military dive team from Esquimalt will be in Kalamalka Lake for the second day in a row investigating what is thought to be a sunken mortar. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the team will be working in the Cosens Bay area, about 100 feet offshore. He says the military team has not...

NORTH OKANAGAN - In response to a community outcry calling for a ban on genetically engineered food being grown in the area, the North Okanagan Regional District is proposing a bylaw encouraging the cultivation of non-GMO crops, but not prohibiting them. At an electoral area advisory committee meeting Thursday, directors will discuss a bylaw regarding...

COLDSTREAM - They're known for herding cattle, but in Lavington, horses have been herding bears. It was about a month ago that Luke Svard caught sight of a black bear in his neighbour's field, just off Park Lane, around mid-morning. "I was walking out to my shop, and I had to do a double take....

VERNON - North Okanagan RCMP had their hands full this past week with a steady flow of speeders, impaired drivers, and other law-breakers on the road. On Friday afternoon, an out of town driver sped past a cop doing 132 km/h in the 90 km/h zone near Bailey Rd. Due to heavy traffic and a...

VERNON -  A military dive team will be probing Kalamalka Lake for a suspected unexploded ordnance after someone spotted a round object nestled in the sand about 20 feet underwater. Around 2 p.m. August 5, a man was sea-dooing in the Cosens Bay area when he noticed an object on the lake bottom, about 100...

VERNON - There's lots to do this B.C. Day long weekend, especially if you don't mind getting a little wet. Environment Canada is calling for clouds and showers over the next few days, with a risk of thunderstorm Friday and Saturday. The sun is predicted to come out in full force Monday, giving vacationers a...

UPDATE: 12 p.m. August 2 The day after InfoTel News posted a video of a deer befriending a Vernon teen, wildlife officials share their concerns about the encounter. VERNON -  A YouTube video of a Vernon teen and a deer is being described by wildlife officials as a great example of what not to do....

ARMSTRONG - It may already be number one in the minds of many, but the Interior Provincial Exhibition is close to being ranked as the top festival in B.C. as part of a WestJet contest. The online contest invites people to vote for what they think the province's, and the country's, best festival is. The...