children
Vernon man claiming ‘addiction’ to child porn facing jail for possession
VERNON - A Vernon man will be handed a mandatory minimum of three months in jail, and possibly more, after getting caught with child pornography. Police began investigating Karl David Lawrence after an RCMP monitoring tool picked up suspected child pornography activity on his IP address in March 2014, Crown counsel Cristina Cabulea said during...
Splatsin First Nation launches lawsuit against B.C. government
ENDERBY - A local First Nation has filed a lawsuit against the B.C. government accusing it of ignoring the band's jurisdiction over the welfare of its children. The Splatsin First Nation in Enderby served the province a notice of claim during a rally outside Premier Christy Clark’s constituency office in Kelowna Tuesday, Oct. 13. The...
New North Okanagan child and youth advocacy centre gets federal backing
VERNON - A cutting-edge pilot project in Vernon will help make things a little easier for young victims of crime. The much needed North Okanagan child and youth advocacy centre will streamline the process for young victims who have been sexually abused or assaulted, or who have witnessed crime, and will be made up of...
Man and kids escape fire in Vernon garage
VERNON - A blaze that lit up the night sky over Swan Lake in Vernon Sunday night destroyed a garage and threatened a home on Old Kamloops Road. Firefighters were called out about 9 p.m. Sunday, June 22, BX-Swan Lake Fire Chief Bill Wacey says. A garage was destroyed in the fire, and an adjacent...
FULL HOUSE: Need for foster homes increases in Okanagan
VERNON - A shortage of foster homes is impacting the quality of care provided to children during what can be one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives, says a spokesperson for a foster parents association. Noelle Typusiak with the North Okanagan branch of the Okanagan Foster Parents Association says the number of homes...
Vernon school board won’t support Lavington pellet plant
VERNON - A proposed pellet plant in Lavington doesn’t have the support of the Vernon school district. In a letter to the Ministry of Environment, board chair Bill Turanski said the board received conflicting information about the project. “The board’s primary concern must, in every case, be the health and welfare of the students and...
Small children inside car that crashed on Hwy 33
KELOWNA - Two small children were riding in a car that crashed into a power pole on Highway 33 Friday afternoon. A 33-year-old woman and her two children, a four-year-old and a five-year-old were travelling east on Highway 33 when the vehicle veered right and off the road, hit a Fortis line and flipped over...
Trio of children arrested for setting fire to elementary school
SALMON ARM - An arson at a Salmon Arm elementary school was made even more troubling by the fact its perpetrators were children. Salmon Arm RCMP arrested a six, eight and 10-year-old in connection with a fire at South Broadview Elementary. The kids were picked up by police shortly after the 1:30 p.m. blaze on...