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Jennifer Stahn
Giant market to shut down Victoria
KAMLOOPS - A number of events happening under the umbrella of the annual Downtown Merchants Market means you can expect to face some road closures this week. Aside from the access to and from 1 Avenue being closed at Victoria Street (stores and parking are still open) a ‘Car Free Day’ will shut down the...
John Tod Centre set for fall opening
KAMLOOPS - Drywall, nails and two-by-fours litter the space as workers buzz around painting or installing new doors and windows in the future home of a new North Shore community centre. Members of the local Elks Lodge, KGHM and Interior Savings Credit Union were on hand for a tour Monday after donating a combined total...
Crews continue to battle Murray Lake fire
KAMLOOPS - Crews continue to establish a guard around the perimeter of a 340 hectare fire just west of the Coquihalla Highway today, a week after the fire was first discovered. In total 70 crew members are on site south of Merritt, along with nine pieces of heavy equipment and five helicopters working to establish...
One house lost as crews work to contain Botanie Creek fire
KAMLOOPS - Firefighters were able to contain a small area of the wildfire north of Lytton this weekend, but not before a house was consumed by the uncontrolled blaze. “There are two properties affected,” B.C. Wildfire Fire Information Officer Melissa Klassen says. “Unfortunately one was a house. It’s devastating. The resident has been notified by...
Kamloops SPCA overrun with cats
KAMLOOPS - If you’ve been thinking about adding a furry family member to your clan, now is the time. There are about 35 cats (older than six months) and one rabbit currently in care at the Kamloops SPCA branch and for the next week the shelter is offering adoptions of adults cats and all rabbits...
Cooler, wet forecast could help Thompson-Okanagan fire crews
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A little help is in the forecast for fire crews this week as Mother Nature dials down the temperatures and throws in a little rain. While temperatures will be near normal (26-29 Celsius) across the region for the next two days we can also expect to see rain today with a 40 per...
UPDATE: Wildfire near Lytton continues to roar out of control
THOMPSON-NICOLA - The ‘highly aggressive’ Botanie Road wildfire continues to threaten people's homes. The local regional district declared a state of emergency on Thursday and issued an evacuation order because of the immediate threat of the fire. About 150 people are out of their homes. The Botanie Road fire is 1.5 square kilometres in size...
Regional district focusing on water conservation
THOMPSON-NICOLA - Mapping of water and sewer systems will not only provide two people with jobs in the regional district, it will also help to develop a water conservation strategy. The Thompson Nicola Regional District is partnering with the provincial government to map 12 rural communities, while providing two people with a full year of...
Wig and fake gun used in Valleyview robbery
KAMLOOPS - Police are looking for a lone male suspect after responding to reports of an armed robbery at a liquor store in Valleyview Saturday night. Just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19 a male suspect entered Big Daddy Liquor Store at 1829 Trans Canada Highway East, just east of Vicars Road, and demanded cash....
Vet opens heart, clinic to evacuated pets
WEST KELOWNA - Evacuations can be a high stress situtation but one local vet is trying to make it easier on people and their pets by offering free kennelling for all pets displaced by the wildfire burning in West Kelowna right now. Dr. Moshe Oz , a vet with Rose Valley Veterinary Clinic, says they’ve...
Fires rage across province
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Firefighting resources are being juggled and reassigned as British Columbia's Wildfire Management Branch handles several blazes, including one that forced about 2,500 people from their homes. The Smith Creek fire near West Kelowna raged to an estimated 400 hectares by Friday morning, only a day after an evacuation order was issued for the...
UPDATE: Aggressive Murray Lake fire partially contained
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An aggressive fire south of Merritt near Murray Lake is now 30 per cent contained, though an evacuation order for all properties adjacent to the lake remains. The Thompson Nicola Regional District issued the state of emergency and evacuation order around 9 p.m. Wednesday due to the potential threat. The evacuation order covers...
STAHN: Tax payers should find another way
The City of Kamloops spent $45,000 this year on a temporary tax office just to help residents who insist on paying their tax bills in person avoid the construction taking place outside of City Hall. Does that make sense in 2014? Only 2,600 people used the temporary office at McArthur Island working out to a cost...
More weather records fall, rain finally in forecast
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - While most of the Interior saw temperatures soar above the mid-30s Wednesday only a few communities actually saw old records broken. Penticton, Osoyoos and Clinton all set new records for July 16 but Osoyoos saw the biggest jump with a temperature of 39.6 Celsius, up nearly three degrees from the previous record set...
Young artist adds visual impact to city park
KAMLOOPS - A recent high school graduate is beautifying the city one concrete barrier or utility box at a time. Haley Hughes has volunteered her time and talent to help add colour and life to the more mundane objects at Riverside Park, the objects often targeted by graffiti tags. The 18-year-old just graduated this year...
Smoky skies advisory for Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fires to the north of us are causing smoky conditions and the Ministry of Environment is now warning people to take additional precautions because of the smoke. A smoky skies advisory was issued today for the Thompson, Shuswap, Okanagan, Similkameen, Nicola, Boundary and Fraser Canyon areas. Similar advisories have also been issued for...
Fire closes Mt. Boucherie Park
KELOWNA - An interface fire Tuesday afternoon has prompted closure of Mt. Boucherie Park until fire crews finish putting out hot spots and the district can assess the risk. The fire began around 3 p.m. Tuesday and quickly grew to just over four hectares. West Kelowna fire crews were aided by B.C. Wildfire air tankers...
Kamloops SAR team aids in search for missing hiker
KAMLOOPS - Search and rescue crews from around the province are helping to search for a hiker not seen since July 8 in the Comox Valley area of Vancouver Island and as of Wednesday six Kamloops members are among the searchers. Kamloops Search and Rescue Search Manager Alan Hobler says six team members, along with...
Fires becoming more aggressive
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There have been more than 25 wildfires in the Kamloops Fire Centre in the past two days but most of the smoke in the air is coming from the more than 36,000 hectares burning in northern B.C. Just yesterday crews battled fires at Apex Mountain in Penticton, Mt. Boucherie in West Kelowna and...
UPDATE: Three dead in Highway 97 crash
KELOWNA - RCMP have reopened Highway 97 near Parkinson Drive after a serious crash. Police confirm that a Chevy Malibu heading north crossed the centre line of Highway 97 crashing head-on into a five-ton truck. According to an RCMP crash analyst, the three occupants of the car were killed instantly, Global News reported today. Both...
Sniffing out a new sport
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There’s a new sport gaining popularity in the Interior and as long as you have a dog, you can do it. Nosework is gaining popularity as a sport that can be done competitively or for fun with any dog, and it’s the ‘any’ part that keeps a lot of dog owners coming back...
Environmental response on Ajax ‘not good enough for the city of Kamloops’
KAMLOOPS — Council united in frustration Tuesday afternoon as they approved two separate motions asking for the Environmental Assessment Office to step up and help the residents of Kamloops better understand the proposed Ajax mine. Back in May, city councillors asked the office to host a public session to provide clarity on the process for Ajax...
UPDATE: Aggressive fire near Coquihalla toll booth prompts evacuation alert
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An evacuation alert has been issued and B.C. Wildfire is keeping crews off of a fire three kilometres west of the old toll booth along the Coquihalla Highway because it's just too dangerous. “It’s displaying aggressive behaviour, a rank five. It has an organized flame front and is spreading quickly,” Fire Information Officer...
Construction numbers continue to climb
KAMLOOPS - Residential construction continues to build on last year’s success but we are still a long way from seeing record numbers The total permit numbers for June 2014 went up slightly to a total of three compared to June 2013, but there's a major decrease (138) in the number of multi-family permits issued this...