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Glynn Brothen
Christmas grinch steals holiday display from senior couple
KAMLOOPS - Brenda Leblanc and her family will celebrate Christmas this year without their favourite holiday decoration because someone stole their inflatable snow globe from their front yard in Brock Estates last Sunday. “It was one of a kind,” Leblanc says. “We’ve never seen another one like it.” The six-foot tall inflatable display has Santa,...
Kamloops food bank raises nearly $40K for holiday season
KAMLOOPS - Hundreds flocked to catch a glimpse of the Canadian Pacific holiday train to watch Jim Cuddy and Tracey Brown perform, drink some hot chocolate and cheer on Santa Claus, but the holiday spirit didn't end there. The Tuesday evening event, set up to collect food and cash donations for the Kamloops food bank,...
Attempted murder charges change for man accused of shooting police officer
KAMLOOPS - New information has come forward that alleges a man accused of shooting Cpl. Jean-Rene Michaud committed the offense in relation to a criminal organization. In a brief court appearance in Kamloops Provincial Court Thursday morning, Kenneth Michael Knutson, 36, asked to put his bail hearing off for a month while he seeks legal...
Philosophical Megatron loses it after selfie request
Who knew Megatron had strong opinions about selfies? A girl thought she'd seize the opportunity to ask the famed transformer for a selfie, but instead he gave her a short rant about her disappointing generation and the tragedy of attention-seeking through social media.Watch the latest video that has nearly a million YouTube views. Then check...
Government audit of B.C. Lottery Corp. makes 25 recommendations
VICTORIA – B.C.'s finance minister says the province's Crown-owned lottery corporation needs to do a better job of managing its operations.
UPDATE: Salmon Arm school “all clear” after bomb threat earlier today
SALMON ARM – Students are safe to return to Shuswap Middle School after RCMP investigators determined there was no bomb alleged in a threat earlier today. Staff at the school made the call to police after discovering a note that mentioned "bomb" scrawled over a urinal in the boy’s bathroom around 10 a.m. Wednesday morning....
Police crack down on drunk drivers this holiday season
KAMLOOPS - Local RCMP members are out in full force to take drunk drivers off the road during the holiday party season. Last weekend, officers set up nine different road blocks on Friday and Saturday nights. Five drivers were issued driving sanctions for alcohol. The penalties ranged from 24-hour driving suspensions to 90-day immediate roadside...
Marilyn Manson performing in the Okanagan
PENTICTON - Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson will put on a show at Penticton's South Okanagan Events Centre next year. Ticket sales for the "Hell Not Hallelujah" tour begins at 10 a.m. on Friday, December 19. Prices range from $29 to $55 plus applicable taxes. The band has received numerous accolades, from platinum and gold albums to...
RCMP Cpl. Michaud continues recovery, may be home for Christmas
KAMLOOPS - After enduring two surgeries and awaking from an induced coma, Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Jean-René Michaud has been moved out of the intensive care unit at Royal Inland Hospital where he continues to recover. "Our prayers are that he may be able to spend Christmas with his family," Cpl. Cheryl Bush, a spokesperson with...
Man convicted of second-degree murder to be sentenced next year
KAMLOOPS - Robert Donald Balbar who was convicted last week of killing his girlfriend Heather Hamill in 2003 will face sentencing in 2015. Last week, Balbar - who is currently being held at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre - was found guilty by a jury who took two days to deliberate his second-degree murder charge after a...
Father acquitted in allegations of sexually abusing daughter
DISCRETION ADVISED; CONTENT MAY BE DISTURBING KAMLOOPS – A justice in Kamloops Supreme Court acquitted a Merritt father accused of touching his daughter for a sexual purpose after determining the daughter’s testimony was inconsistent. Justice Miriam Gropper said while she found the daughter to be “extremely poised and coherent” as she delivered evidence in court,...
Rocky Mountain Rangers to have new colonel
KAMLOOPS – The Rocky Mountain Rangers are about to have a new Colonel leading both companies in Prince George and Kamloops. On Saturday, Lt.-Col Tyler will hand over leadership of the Rangers to Lt.-Col Dionne in a change of command ceremony at the Meadow Creek Armoury in Prince George. The Rocky Mountain Rangers is the...
Man found guilty of second-degree murder in Kamloops re-trial
KAMLOOPS - A jury in Kamloops Supreme Court has found Robert Donald Balbar guilty of murdering his girlfriend Heather Hamilll in 2003. In court it was revealed Balbar killed Hamill by striking her in the head with a hammer. He then stored the body in a cooler before he eventually cast it in the Thompson...
Several accidents caused by weather on highway north of Merritt
KAMLOOPS - A 45 kilometre stretch of road North of Merritt is reopened after partially being closed due to several accidents caused by poor road conditions. Logan Lake and Merritt RCMP are on Highway 5 to assist emergency personnel as they tend to accidents on the roads. There is no official word from Mounties on...
Vancouver police officer gets schooled in Kamloops court
KAMLOOPS – A Vancouver traffic cop with over 20 years of experience learned a few lessons in court this week after he tried to help a friend fight a speeding ticket. Nelson Humberto Dossantos Teixeira had Const. Gerald Wickstead from the Vancouver Police Department represent him in an appeal hearing on Wednesday to challenge the...
Second person arrested after Mountie shooting faces unrelated charges in Vernon
KAMLOOPS – A woman with previous warrants and a connection to last week’s shooting that left a Mountie in hospital will likely be released on bail, as long as she can meet bail requirements. Marquee Jasmin Klim, 28, appeared by video in Kamloops Provincial Court Thursday morning for an obstruction of justice charge from Dec....
WorkSafeBC investigating technician’s fall at Sagebrush Theatre
KAMLOOPS - WorkSafeBC is investigating a technician's serious fall during the intermission of Peter and the Starcatcher at the Sagebrush Theatre on the evening of Dec. 5. Catrina Crowe, a spokesperson for the Western Canada Theatre, says the investigation will review all of the extensive safety procedures the company and Sagebrush Theatre has in place...
Overnight investigation continues into possible jump from bridge
KAMLOOPS - RCMP and Kamloops Fire and Rescue still can't find evidence a man jumped from Overlander Bridge last night into the Thompson River. Mounties received a call from a concerned citizen who saw a man apparently preparing to jump off the bridge. An emergency response was deployed with police and Fire and Rescue scouring...
Stay vigilant in dark, wet weather
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - B.C. drivers and pedestrians are reminded to remain vigilant during the wet, dark weather as statistics show an average of 269 pedestrians are injured and seven pedestrians are killed every year in December. 75 per cent of crashes involving pedestrians happen at intersections. Drivers are reminded to keep eyes on the road and...
Police invite you to stuff a police cruiser full of toys
KAMLOOPS - Members of the public are encouraged to donate toys and other items to help families in need as part of the RCMP and Christmas Amalgamated partnership in the "Stuff the Cruiser" campaign. RCMP members will be set up at Toys R Us and Walmart from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, December...
UPDATE: Traffic closed on Coquihalla near Logan Lake turnoff
KAMLOOPS - A rolled over tractor-trailer has blocked one lane of traffic on the highway between Merritt and Kamloops. Kamloops Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Steve Kilmartin says the driver is okay, but a passenger has been transported to Royal Inland Hospital. The closure which took effect around 7 a.m. is five kilometres south of exit...
Jurors set to deliberate on second-degree murder charge after trial concludes
KAMLOOPS – In their review of evidence, jurors will have to determine if Robert Donald Balbar’s testimony was genuine when he told them in a Kamloops Supreme Courtroom he killed his girlfriend Heather Hamill out of self-defence in 2003. In Monday morning’s closing submissions on day 19 of Balbar's second-degree murder trial, the accused's lawyer...
UPDATE: Woman falls 40 feet during show at Sagebrush theatre
KAMLOOPS - The second half of Friday night's showing of Peter and the Starcatcher at the Sagebrush Theatre was cancelled after a woman, believed to be working on the lights, fell 40 feet during intermission. Kamloops Fire Rescue responded to a 911 call at about 9:30 p.m. "She was working on the lights I believe,"...
Knutson arrest opens ‘old wounds’ for family of previous shooting victim
COQUITLAM – Family members of a young Coquitlam man who died from a gunshot wound in 2002 are shaken by news the man who killed him is now implicated in the attempted murder of Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Jean-René Michaud. “My whole family is upset... it will always hurt us,” Will Lesniak says. “It’s a very...