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LOOK BACK 2013: Good-bye McKinnon, Roberts

LOOK BACK 2013: Good-bye McKinnon, Roberts | iNFOnews.ca
Roberts checks his facts the old-fashioned way. Julie Whittet

KELOWNA – We said good-bye to two high profile people in our community in 2013 due to retirement—one in fitting fashion, the other deserved far better.

Bill McKinnon retired in March as Superintendent and chief of the Kelowna detachment of the RCMP, a position he held since 2004. But McKinnon didn’t get the send-off he deserved. McKinnon’s retirement came on the heels of controversy he was inextricably linked to, but not of his fault.

He deserved better. McKinnon was always open, frank and honest in how he went about his business. His tenure began at a time we saw a spike in crack cocaine and crystal methamphetamine use in a homeless population congregating downtown, in City Park and elsewhere. He tackled the problem from all ends. He created and deployed a bike patrol and a foot patrol, even a Gator to patrol the areas. He issued a crack-down on prolific offenders. He engaged local politicians for help, spoke publicly about his frustrations and even challenged the city’s judges to do more to help him.

Kelowna was best with McKinnon looking out for it.

But over at CHBC—fine, Global Okanagan—long time weather man, well-known local history buff, Good News Bears guy and all around community booster Mike Roberts retired. After many years, he finally relented and granted interviews to other news organizations and Global covered the event for the entire week. (You have to find the blooper reel. Priceless.)

Roberts is off the air, but thankfully he hasn’t slowed down his charity work. He’s vowed to continue his Good News Bears and is still very involved.

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Marshall Jones

News is best when it's local, relevant, timely and interesting. That's our focus every day.

We are on the ground in Penticton, Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops to bring you the stories that matter most.

Marshall may call West Kelowna home, but after 16 years in local news and 14 in the Okanagan, he knows better than to tell readers in other communities what is "news' to them. He relies on resident reporters to reflect their own community priorities and needs. As the newsroom leader, his job is making those reporters better, ensuring accuracy, fairness and meeting the highest standards of journalism.

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