Corrections
Donations for toddler’s funeral stolen from Enderby gas station
VERNON - Police are hoping the public can help them find someone who stole donations for a three-year-old’s funeral. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says police received a report about the unfortunate incident on Saturday, Jan. 3 at the Esso in Enderby. “The suspect stole the donation box that was to assist the family... with funeral...
Excessive speeding has spiked 300 per cent in the North Okanagan
VERNON - As we ring in the New Year, the message from Vernon RCMP is keep the roads safer in 2015. Traffic Services impounded 78 vehicles for excessive speeding in 2014, up 300 per cent from 25 in 2013. “They (Traffic Services) just shake their head,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. The need for decreasing...
Flu season underway with outbreaks in five Interior Health institutions
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The flu season is upon us and Interior Health is dealing with a number of its facilities in the Okanagan suffering from active outbreaks over the holidays. Dr. Sue Pollock, Medical Health Officer with Interior Health, said what is currently being experienced in the Okanagan is “a fairly typical influenza season" so far. "Normally we...
He strangled the cat to protect girlfriend, save money
KAMLOOPS — A Kamloops man who admitted to strangling his cat for peeing on the floor, was in court today facing several animal cruelty related charges. Steven Seidel, 28, admitted in Kamloops Provincial Court today to strangling his cat, Oreo, on March 14, 2013, out of concern for his pregnant girlfriend. “I just grabbed him...
Okanagan cities among 27 in Canada to show ‘The Interview’ on Friday, Sony says
TORONTO – After Americans had a chance to see "The Interview" in theatres, Canadians in some locations will also be able to watch the controversial movie on the big screen starting Friday.
Facebook group fights graffiti
PENTICTON - Penticton resident Kyle Bachmann is determined to do something about graffiti in the city after last weekend’s spray painting spree. “I’m tired of so many people out there doing graffiti in Penticton. On the weekend, Smart Shopper, Queen’s Park and Parkway Schools, the old Kentucky Fried Chicken building, Theo’s, Murray’s Pizza, Whole Foods...
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...
Drivers asked to avoid stretch of Bella Vista Road in Vernon
VERNON - Emergency officials are asking travelers to avoid a section of Bella Vista Road in Vernon after a car accident Saturday. Due to a single vehicle rollover on Bella Vista Road near Sandon and Davison Roads, Vernon Fire and Rescue Services is requesting drivers avoid the area. Travelers are asked to use Allenby Way...
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...
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...
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...
A famous Vernon mural was vandalized, then this happened
"IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE ACT OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT TO DISCOVER HER CLEANING THE MURAL" VERNON - Without being asked or paid, a young artist took it upon herself to undo the damage a vandal did to one of Vernon’s heritage murals. Marie-Anna Michaud, 19, saw a post by muralist Michelle Loughery on Facebook Monday morning....
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...
Coroner identifies two women killed in Highway 6 car crash
LUMBY – The B.C. Coroners Service has identified two women who died in a two-car crash on Highway 6 in the North Okanagan near Lumby December 6. They were Diedre Naomi-Ann Hughes, 57, from Vernon and her daughter Emma Maria Danielle Froh, 22, from Lumby. RCMP say the crash, between a Pontiac Sunfire and a...