Julie Whittet
Vandal or street artist?
KELOWNA - Can you still call it vandalism when graffiti turns artistic? One Kelowna artist begs the question by turning street shadows permanent with ink. Or at least semi-permanent. You might have noticed the work on a busy downtown Kelowna street, jutting out - as a shadow would - from fire hydrants and bus benches....
Kelowna mayor has no words for anti-abortion group this year
KELOWNA - Anti-abortion activists demonstrating outside Kelowna General Hospital on Pandosy Street have another issue to protest. For the past six years Kelowna mayors have supported a local right to life group by proclaiming their Protect Human Life Week, but this year Mayor Walter Gray and council are rescinding that support. The city has decided...
YLW flying high on cheap airfare
KELOWNA - Airfares are down and affordability up for those travelling to and from the Kelowna Airport. With an average round trip for $432 (tax included) YLW now ranks as the second most affordable of popular Canadian and American border airports. It's a big jump from Kelowna's eighth place ranking in 2012. The findings are...
VERMA TRIAL: Clothing from crime scene shown to jury
KELOWNA – A stained dark green T-shirt with two tear marks found on the body of Brittney Irving was shown to a Kelowna Supreme Court jury today, one of the nearly 200 pieces of seized evidence in the trial for Joelon Verma. It's evidence the fourteen member jury will have to consider when deciding their...
Car meets Clancy’s meats
KELOWNA - Remains of the front entrance to Clancy's Meat Co. in the Mission were being scooped up by cleaning crews this evening. The shop's front doors were reduced to shards of glass after a woman drove her car well past the parking stall and into the store. Lyndsay Mokonen was working inside the shop...
VERMA TRIAL: Irving was secretive about her relationship with accused
KELOWNA – Brittney Irving wasn't usually secretive about her boyfriends, but she was with Joelon Verma, her brother told a Kelowna Supreme Court jury today. Continuing his testimony today, Joze Macculloch explained his sister was reluctant to share information about Verma, the man she said she was selling $100,000 of marijuana to. “She didn't want...
VERMA TRIAL: Brother describes last days with victim
"MY BABY SISTER WAS GONE, HOW DO YOU THINK I FELT?" KELOWNA – Brittney Irving was going to do one last drug deal—selling two large bags of marijuana—before checking into rehab, her brother told a Kelowna Supreme Court jury today. Joze Macculloch was one of the last people to see Irving before she disappeared in...
Last dance for OK cowboy bar star
HAVE YOU DANCED WITH ARNIE AT OK CORRAL? KELOWNA– If you're an Okanagan woman who likes to two-step to country rock, chances are you've danced with Arnie. He's likely the only man who can walk into Kelowna's OK Corral cabaret with a guaranteed lineup of pretty girls vying for a dance. Now 79 years old,...
Expansion of Crystal Mountain resort stalls again
WEST KELOWNA - An expansion project proposed over five years ago for the westside's Crystal Mountain ski resort is close to reaching its expiry date. The Regional District of the Central Okanagan announced yesterday Crystal Ski & Golf Resort Inc. has a final six months to get the project off the ground before its zoning...
VERMA TRIAL: Victim’s body found in early state of decomposition
KELOWNA – By the time police found Brittney Irving, her body was in an early stage of decomposition, a Kelowna Supreme Court jury heard today. A cluster of larvae found in the victim's nose at the crime scene indicated her body was left there for a number of days, pathologist Charles Lee said today in...
VERMA TRIAL: Irving’s drug use escalated before she was killed
KELOWNA – Brittney Irving was heavily addicted to drugs in the months leading up to her fatal shooting, a Kelowna court heard today. Irving's best friend Cassandra Berard told the jury how Irving's drug habit escalated in the last two months she saw her - taking up to 14 pills of oxycontin a day. Berard's...
VERMA TRIAL: Victim found shot to death in woods east of Kelowna
KELOWNA – Brittney Lee Irving handed over two garbage bags of marijuana to the man accused of shooting her four times, a jury heard in the first day of the murder trial of Joe Verma. In her outline of the Crown's case today, prosecutor Mallory Treddenick told a Kelowna Supreme Court jury text messages recovered from...
Kelowna teen found
UPDATE: A Kelowna teen reported missing last Friday has now been found 9 a.m. September 12, 2013 Police are thanking both the media and public for their assistance in locating 18-year-old Jonah Bohn, reported missing by his family September 6. Bohn fled his home on rollerblades after refusing to take medication for his schizophrenia. Police...
Mission sportsfield hosts Terry Fox Run this Sunday
KELOWNA - The beautiful sunny weather is expected to stick around this Sunday as runners and walkers of all ages, their pets included, meet for the 33rd annual Terry Fox Run. The Kelowna community is invited to celebrate the life and activism of Terry Fox by joining the race and raising money for cancer research....
New commercial plaza approved for Superstore site
KELOWNA – An empty lot beside the Harvey Avenue Superstore is destined for a new urban commercial development. After initially rejecting the project for inadequate pedestrian access, City Council approved revised plans today for three single story commercial buildings at 2280 Baron Road. Revised designs promise more aesthetically pleasing store fronts, building corners, as well...