Charlotte Helston

VERNON - A Vernon doctor is one of 13 people across the province being appointed to the Order of British Columbia, Lt. Gov. Judith Guichon, announced today. Dr. Finley Armanious, a now retired intensive care physician who spearheaded fundraising efforts at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital, is being recognized with admittance into what Guichon says is...

VERNON - Just a couple hours after a Vernon apartment building caught fire Tuesday evening, departments were called out to a blaze at the intersection of Westside Road and Highway 97. BX-Swan Lake fire chief Bill Wacey says his department was called out to a grass fire near the old Go-Kart area around 6:20 p.m....

UPDATE: 4:30 P.M. July 31 An investigation into the cause of Tuesday's fire at the Capri Gardens apartment building has revealed that an unattended oxygen tank helped start the blaze. Deputy fire chief Lawrie Skolrood says the oxygen tank, which was used by the occupant for health reasons, was left on in a fourth floor...

ENDERBY - A miniature pony was on a big adventure Monday night in Enderby as he made his way from the farm to Enderby's Starlight Drive-In off Highwy 97. Arriving around 7:30 p.m. Monday night, the little brown pony with a unique bolt of white running down his belly would have been plenty early for...

NORTH OKANAGAN - It appears rules were being followed a little closer on the road this weekend than on the water. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says a driving check in Enderby left officers with little paperwork. Out of approximately 40 vehicles checked at Kate St. and Polson Ave. in Enderby, no violation tickets were written....

VERNON - Police are reminding the public to be safe while walking late at night after a woman was stalked and touched inappropriately on her way home over the weekend. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says police are "very concerned" about the incident, which occurred around 1:30 a.m. July 27.  The 34-year-old woman felt compelled to...

VERNON - Luke Davis spent his early years living under the shadow of the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, daydreaming about one day launching into space and glimpsing the earth from afar. Now Davis, 33, is closer to his dream than he's ever been before, and he'll do anything to get there—including rolling around in...

"WE DON'T HAVE ENDLESS SPACE OR RESOURCES" VERNON - The Vernon SPCA is at full capacity, and a promotion advertising cats at half-price hasn't done much to vacate space. A full house is nothing new, especially at this time of year. "It's kitten season, so we're way above average right now," branch manager Corinne Ross...

UPDATE: 12:15 p.m. July 26, 2013 VERNON - Cries of joy erupted in Vernon Supreme Court this morning as former Vernon teacher and vice-principal Deborah Ashton was pronounced not guilty on two counts of perjury. The trial followed two previous ones, the first which ended in a hung jury, and the second which acquitted her...

VERNON - If reading isn't fun, you might be holding the wrong book. The Vernon library is working hard to come up with events and activities that will keep books in the running against video games and television shows as kids look for ways to fill their time this summer. "It's about reading what the...

"THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS ARE GOING TO BE THE NEXT STEWARDS OF THE ENVIRONMENT" LAKE COUNTRY - For Sean Richardson, hunting and fishing with his kids is about cultivating a relationship between parent and child, human and nature, sustenance and sustainability. Historically, young people had much more exposure to these activities; in many instances it meant...

ARMSTRONG - Mounties and their steeds strutted their stuff around the Armstrong fairgrounds Wednesday night as part of the world famous RCMP musical ride. But they weren't the only show to impress the audience. Onlookers were treated to a variety of acts, including a bareback horse trainer, two daredevil riders coined the Smokin' Aces, and...

VERNON - A one month driving suspension and $1,500 fine are not sufficient consequences for a woman who struck and killed a Vernon teen, family members said today. Rose Harmon, 69, hit 17-year-old Mercedes Fraser August 17, 2012, as the teen was bicycling to work. Fraser's helmet was stowed in her backpack, and a coroner's...

VERNON - Many are beating the summer heat by heading to the beach, but these two are keeping cool with a sweet treat. Tom Carlson and Sierra Shaw, 11, spent the morning churning up some homemade peach ice cream—their favourite flavour—in the yard outside their East Hill home. With Environment Canada predicting hot and sunny...

VERNON - A 19-year-old Vernon woman pleaded guilty to her role in a massive cross-border cocaine trafficking operation this week in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Shae Marjorie Jager is the most recent North Okanagan resident to be sentenced after police executed the largest drug roundup Saskatchewan has ever seen. The bust resulted in the seizure of...

VERNON - Justin Trudeau's mission is to make Canadians love politics again. That's what he told a crowd of more than 300 in Vernon's Polson Park Tuesday afternoon. "We were hoping people would be interested in the approach, just come out to the park and talk politics," Trudeau said in a media conference after posing...

VERNON - Canada's new Liberal leader will be in Vernon's Polson Park tomorrow afternoon. Justin Trudeau, his wife Sophie and their two children will be meeting with the public from 2-4 p.m. in the Japanese Gardens for a 'Conversation in the Park'.  Trudeau and family will also be making stops in Kelowna and Kamloops throughout...

ENDERBY - A young man attacked his father with a machete over the weekend, sending both of them to hospital. Just before 9 p.m. Sunday, rural officers were called to Tamarack Road in Enderby for a report of a 20-year-old man assaulting his 48-year-old father with a machete. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the father...

VERNON - Parents are being reminded to keep an eye on their kids after a Vernon man was arrested for luring young girls over the internet. On July 4 the Vernon RCMP received information that a 39-year-old Vernon man was suspected in a case of child luring and possession of child pornography. The RCMP and...

UPDATE: 1:10 p.m. July 20, 2013 VERNON - The boil water notice issued for Greater Vernon Water customers on the Kalamalka Lake source has been lifted. The 24-hour, precautionary boil water notice was issued after a power outage at the Mission Hill treatment plant. An automatic valve didn't close, so untreated water made it into...

VERNON - Things have come a long way in the past four years with homeless camps across the city decreasing from 30 to two. "We're having success connecting people who are homeless with the Gateway Shelter and other services," Annette Sharkey, executive director of the North Okanagan Social Planning Council told Vernon city councillors Monday....