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Expect to feel the squeeze as walk-in clinics close or cut back hours in Vernon

VERNON - Dwindling access to walk-in clinics in Vernon will lead to longer line-ups, and more people travelling outside their communities to see a doctor, says a Kelowna advocate for walk-ins. While the community is still absorbing the impending closure of the Vernon Family Doctor’s Walk-In Clinic, another blow came this week with news that...

UPDATE: Kamloops teen missing more than two weeks located

UPDATE: 2:30 P.M., DEC. 31, 2015 RCMP say the 17-year-old Kamloops teen has been located and is safe. All personal information has been removed. 12:23 P.M., DEC 31, 2015 KAMLOOPS - Police need your help locating a teen missing for two weeks. Kamloops RCMP say in a press release that a 17-year-old has been missing...

PHOTOS: Vernon Christmas bird count challenged by snow

VERNON - The annual Christmas bird count in Vernon is in the books for another year. Claude Rioux with the North Okanagan Naturalists Club says the count was held on Sunday, Dec. 20. "What a different day we had from last year where we had no snow," Rioux says in an email. "This year's count...

WWE Road to Wrestlemania coming to Penticton

PENTICTON - Wrestlemania is coming to the South Okanagan Events Centre. WWE Live presents Road to Wrestlemania at the centre on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. The best of the WWE’s superstars and divas will be part of the Penticton show, including Demon Kane, Dean Ambrose, Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens, Dudley Boyz and Bray Wyatt and...

Vernon parking meter thief caught in the act

VERNON - A man suspected of breaking into over 100 parking meters has been caught. Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says in a statement a 34-year-old man was arrested breaking into a parking meter on Centennial Drive on Friday, Dec. 4 at around 1 a.m. “To date, approximately 113 parking meters have been broken into in the...

Why this Vernon dog rescue wasn’t the saving grace it claimed to be

"I THINK SHE IS A DOG FLIPPER AND NOT SOMEBODY WHO REALLY CARES ABOUT DOGS" VERNON - After 16 years working in animal welfare, Patricia Zerr was never asked to steal a dog — until the winter of 2014 after she got involved with a Vernon-based dog rescue. She remembers driving to a home on...

Kamloops youth psychiatry unit helps families deal with mental illness, one child at a time

KAMLOOPS - A space dedicated to supporting children and their familes while they deal with mental health crisis has been providing better support since it was revamped a year ago, according to administrators at Royal Inland Hospital. "We have space that’s more welcoming for kids. There’s more room for confidentiality, more room to move around...

Instead of a bonk on the head, this lucky local lamb got a new life

MONTE LAKE – Farm animals usually serve specific purposes. If they don’t produce milk, lay eggs or make wool, then they are likely to be served for supper. But Blue the Lamb from Harmony Farm escaped not only the slaughter house and a debilitating injury, he's become the farm celebrity and he's making the most...

Big names to headline first ever Rock the Lake Festival in Kelowna

KELOWNA – Some of the biggest Canadian rock bands from the 1980s are coming to the Okanagan this summer to play the first annual Rock the Lake Festival. The line-up for the three-day festival in the parking lot at Prospera Place in Kelowna on Friday, Aug. 12, Saturday, Aug. 13 and Sunday, Aug. 14 features...

Woman’s body found after shooting reported in Shuswap

CHASE – Investigators are treating the death of a woman in Shuswap Saturday night as suspicious after a reported shooting incident. RCMP were called to a report of a possible shooting at home in the 2500 block of Squilax Anglemont Road in Lee Creek, west of Chase at around 9:46 p.m., Nov. 28, according to...

Kamloops utility rates could increase in 2016

KAMLOOPS – Residents of Kamloops may see a difference in their utility bills come the New Year. Kamloops city councillors will consider proposed new utility rates for 2016 next week during the regular council meeting, Dec. 1. Water, sewage, garbage and recycling have all increased over the past five years at an average of roughly...

How becoming a Snow Angel can help you and a Kamloops senior this winter

KAMLOOPS - The first snowfall for many signals the beginning of winter, but for Lorraine Mallon it tells her there’s work to be done. The Snow Angels program with Oncore Senior's Society has kicked off again this year and Mallon is on the hunt for volunteers to help shovel driveways for seniors who can no...

Vernon woman trying to cross street hit by car

VERNON - It could have been worse. Police say a pedestrian hit trying to cross the road last week only had minor injuries. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says a GMC pickup truck headed west on 31 Avenue struck a woman while turning left onto 34 Street around 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 10. The 56-year-old woman had stepped...

Vernon bear spray attack leads to charges

VERNON - A man is facing charges after bear spraying a gas station employee last week. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says a employee at Blue Moon Esso asked the man to leave the business around 5:25 p.m., Nov. 11, because he was banned from the location due to a previous incident. The man then allegedly...

IN PHOTOS: Remembrance Day 2015 in Kamloops

Scenes from a sunny Remembrance Day in Riverside Park in Kamloops. — Photos by Dana Reynolds and Jennifer Stahn %%image2%% %%image3%% %%image4%% %%image5%% %%image6%% %%image7%% —This story was corrected at 8:01 p.m., Nov. 11, 2015.

‘Yes’ side disappointed with Kamloops performing arts centre referendum loss

“NOT OVERLY SURPRISED, BUT DEFINITELY DISAPPOINTED” KAMLOOPS – About 32 per cent of the eligible voters in Kamloops have decided a performing arts centre will not be built in the city, at least, not anytime soon. The ‘no’ side edged the ‘yes’ side by 1,668 votes. About 54 per cent of the voters said no...

Kamloops man shares his grizzly attack survival story

"WHEN I WAS HIKING OUT, I KEPT SAYING TO MYSELF: 'DON'T PASS OUT. DON'T PASS OUT.'" KAMLOOPS - Local hunter Ralph Smith planned to get the elk he was tagged for when he took his mid-September hunting trip in Sparwood, B.C. He’d seen grizzly bears before, but he wasn’t expecting the violent scenario he ended...

Keeping the homeless safe during extreme winter nights in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS - Anyone needing a warm place to sleep during extreme weather nights this winter will not be turned away from the Emerald House Emergency Shelter. The shelter, which has a divided space for both men and women, is run by the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Kamloops chapter downtown, is the designated extreme weather emergency...

UPDATE: Kamloops teen located

UPDATE: 6:17 A.M., OCT. 29, 2015 RCMP say Taylor Donald has been located and is safe. 11:19 A.M., OCT. 28, 2015 KAMLOOPS - RCMP are hoping to confirm the well-being of a teen refusing to go home. Taylor Donald, 13, has not been home since the morning of Oct. 24 and has refused to return...

UBCO students to vote on fate of low-cost transit program

KELOWNA - The fate of the U-Pass transit program at a local university is in the hands of the students, who will vote over a fare increase next week. Students at the Okanagan campus of the University of British Columbia are holding a referendum over a fare increase for the program next week, which if...

Zombies to take over entire UBCO building

KELOWNA – An entire building at UBC Okanagan will be transformed into a zombie-filled nightmare at the Asian Student Association’s Haunted House next Friday. The second annual haunted house is organized by the president of the Association Peter Teng with help from the UBCO student union and the UBCO residency advisors. UBCO student union vice...