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Corrections
Undercover officers convinced accused he was joining a gang
KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops Supreme Court jury was privy to details of elaborate and costly business dealings between undercover RCMP officers posing as criminals, trying to ensnare a murder suspect in a three-month-long Mr. Big sting. Robert Donald Balbar is charged with second-degree murder in the 2003 death of his girlfriend Heather Hamill. Court viewed...
What the police expense report for Boonstock looks like
PENTICTON - The police expense report from the Boonstock festival weekend in August has been made public and reveals hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime, car cleaning services and general supplies. The police report, released by the provincial government Monday, outlines the $252,715 in policing costs—both anticipated and unexpected—for the August long weekend when over...
ELECTION 2014: Vote recount not necessary, according to city
PENTICTON - Members of the community are asking for a recount after voter turnout was lower than anticipated, however the city is not planning a recount request. Only 8,424 of the 26,806 eligible voters submitted their ballots for the 2014 election— almost two per cent fewer voters than in 2011. The community had high expectations...
Sam Roberts bringing supernatural to Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - The Sam Roberts Band is returning to Kamloops in February for the only remaining B.C. Interior performance of the Lo-Fantasy tour. The latest album, Lo-Fantasy, is described as the most wide-ranging collection Sam Roberts has ever written, infusing his particularly rousing brand of rock and roll with elements of funk, house, electronic, and...
ELECTION 2014: Jakubeit new mayor of Penticton
PENTICTON - The votes are in and Andrew Jakubeit is the new mayor of Penticton, beating out former councillor and colleague John Vassilaki and local businessman Jukka Laurio. Jakubeit won by more than 2,000 votes with a total of 5,126 votes. “I just want to say thank you,” he said after the win. “The whole...
Murder re-trial begins with recorded confession from accused
GRAPHIC CONTENT ADVISORY KAMLOOPS – The re-trial for a Kamloops man accused of beating his girlfriend to death began in Kamloops Supreme Court Wednesday afternoon with a confession he allegedly made to an undercover police officer posing as a crime boss. In 2007, Robert Donald Balbar met with several undercover police officers for nearly three...
UBCO hosts WFN art forum Friday
KELOWNA – A public forum examining the impact Westbank First Nations art has had on the revitalized downtown is taking place at the Alternator Centre this Friday. The hour long forum, part of a monthly series called Alterknowledge that looks at social issues in the Okanagan, is organized by faculty at UBCO in partnership with the...
Local innovators create educational kids app
OKANAGAN - Local innovators are putting the Okanagan on the map by creating educational apps that will help kids develop reading skills. Technology expert Tarik Sayeed and veteran educator Brenda Larson have put their knowledge together to create five educational games for kids available on Android tablets. The games are based on a line of...
Penticton remembers those who have fallen
PENTICTON - Remember all those who have fallen for our country at the Remembrance Day ceremonies this Tuesday, November 11. The ceremony will be held at the Trade and Convention Centre and doors open at 10 a.m. The ceremonies will start around 10:30 a.m. as police, veterans, boy scouts and other protective service agents march...
Coroner’s inquest begins for man who died in holding cells
PENTICTON - A B.C. Coroners inquest into the death of a Penticton man who died in RCMP cells two years ago heard this morning the man had diabetes. The inquest, which began Monday at the Penticton law courts before coroner Larry Marzinzik will likely take the remainder of the week. Steven Joseph Scott, 30, died...
UPDATE: Man charged with Kelowna bus killing appears in court
KELOWNA – The Kelowna man charged with second degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of a passenger on a B.C. Transit bus appeared in Kelowna provincial court and has been remanded in custody. Tyler Jack Newton, 23, went before a judge Monday morning. Newton spent the weekend in jail following his arrest Friday...
Judge throws cold water on this short cut police use to get warrants
LAKE COUNTRY - Police in B.C. may find it a little tougher to obtain a search warrant after a B.C. Supreme Court justice in the Okanagan put a roadblock on a common short cut used by police for years. Justice Gary Weatherill tossed out a search warrant in a Lake Country pot case Oct. 23,...
A Kamloops runner plans to make history by completing this goal
KAMLOOPS - Edward ‘Fast Eddy’ Dostaler had little experience with long-distance running before he announced plans to be the first person to pound the pavement across Canada before turning around and running back. The 26-year-old carpenter from Kamloops decided his solo run will start in Victoria March 1, 2015. “Overall it’s going to be over...
Police need help solving five-year-old murder
KELOWNA – Five years after Kelowna resident Christopher Daniel Hetu died from multiple gunshots at a park in Kelowna, police are still looking for clues about what happened. Hetu, an unemployed construction worker who was 20 at the time of his death, was found in Millbridge Park suffering from three to five gunshot wounds in...
Voters want candidates to be clear over Ajax
KAMLOOPS - The votes are in and of the 200 people who responded to a Kamloops Voters Society survey, 72 per cent want city council candidates to take a clear stance on the proposed Ajax Mine. The Society has released the results of the online poll conducted earlier this month and on many questions there...
Alberta man charged with threatening WestJet flight in Kelowna
KELOWNA – A 35-year-old Alberta man, who is living in Summerland, is facing a number of charges in connection with a threat made to a WestJet flight in Kelowna on Saturday. At about 12:24 p.m., someone phoned in a threat regarding the flight scheduled to depart Kelowna for Calgary. Police still refuse to say what...
Fundraising underway for Vernon nurse critically injured in car crash
VERNON – Friends of the Vernon woman seriously hurt in a car crash involving a suspected drunk driver have started a fundraiser for the nurse and mother. Lindsey Hauck, 31, was a passenger in the Pontiac sedan T-boned in the intersection of 30 Avenue and Highway 97 in the early morning hours of Thursday, Oct....
The altruism of Facebook: How a rescue of two bear cubs was aided by strangers
REVELSTOKE – Angelika Langren and her husband Peter have rescued so many bear cubs through the years, it's become a regular routine. But their planned trip to Golden had several hangups last Thanksgiving weekend when they picked up two grizzly bear cubs. Despite the challenges, the couple learned a few lessons about the kindness of...
Body found near Okanagan College in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Mounties are investigating a report of a body found in a parking lot in Kelowna this morning. The body was discovered inside a maroon coloured mini van parked in the staff parking lot behind the Mission View medical building Oct. 17. Police are releasing few details, but say the death does not appear to...
The race is on for the mayor’s seat in West Kelowna
WEST KELOWNA - Stephen Johnston officially registered yesterday to challenge Doug Findlater for the mayor's seat in the District of West Kelowna. There are three people registered as candidates for mayor. "I'm looking forward to a great campaign and getting our message out," Johnston said in a media release. "I'm excited about promoting a vision...
Cunningham throwing hat back in ring
VERNON – A veteran Vernon politician would like to serve another four years on city council. Juliette Cunningham is going to run for a seat on council in the upcoming civic election. “I understand the level of commitment required to fulfill the role of councillor and am prepared to put in the continued effort in...
Rural fire northeast of Oliver under investigation
OLIVER - The cause of Wednesday's fire northeast of Oliver on Orofino Road is still unknown but investigators are calling it suspicious. Willowbrook Fire Department and Oliver RCMP were called to fight the fire at the rural residence at 10:26 a.m. Sept. 17. Investigators would like to speak with three males seen on dirt bikes...
UPDATE: Body of missing Coldstream man found
VERNON - Vernon Search and Rescue located the body of a Coldstream man in the water by the wharf at Kal beach. RCMP divers were called and they recovered the body shortly after 1 p.m. today. The case is now in the hands of the B.C. Coroners Service. An RCMP appeal to the public to...
Plan to hide in bushes a big failure for three alleged mail thieves
KELOWNA - The bushes outside a senior's apartment complex in Kelowna didn't provide enough cover to keep police from finding three alleged mail thieves Thursday. Kelowna RCMP were called to investigate a complaint of a break and enter to the bottom of a the senior's complex located at 1110 block of Lawrence Avenue, Sept. 11....