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City puts brakes on community group wanting to build new Vernon bus shelters
WHAT GOES ON CITY PROPERTY MUST MEET CITY POLICY VERNON - The intentions behind a grassroots movement to spruce up Vernon’s run-down bus stops are good ones, but the City of Vernon is still putting brakes on the project, at least for now. Vernon-based organization Noteworthy Neighbourhoods hoped to get started building a new, covered...
City wins case after rejected contractor takes matters to court
KAMLOOPS - A Supreme Court Justice dismissed a civil suit between the City of Kamloops and a construction company that was denied a bid on a municipal project after ruling construction company officials did not comply with instructions on the paperwork. True Construction Ltd. challenged city officials after its bid in 2010 to build the...
Vernon city council prepares decades ahead for future highway bypass
VERNON - It wouldn’t be built, or required, for another 25 to 65 years, but Vernon council is starting to plan for a potential bypass around the city. It’s been talked about for years, but today’s council is taking a firm stance on the need to start planning, and protecting a corridor for it, now....
Why you’ve been reading so much about Vernon vacations lately
VERNON - Vernon has made headlines in various travel publications of late, but what you might not know is how those stories came to be. Those writers from major publications in Canada didn't just happen upon little old Vernon, they’re part of an aggressive new marketing strategy led by the city. Articles in the Globe...
About the recent spike in moose sightings in Kelowna…
KELOWNA – Two separate moose encounters in Kelowna have made the news in the last couple weeks, and several more sightings have been reported to WildSafe B.C. during that time, but is the number of moose sightings this year any different from last? Conservation B.C. spokesperson Barb Leslie says it isn't. According to her, ten...
Mother’s Day moose on the loose in Rutland
KELOWNA – A Mother’s Day surprise when a young moose took a stroll through a busy Kelowna neighbourhood on Sunday. Amy Eder was loading her family into the car to go for Mother’s Day breakfast around 8 a.m., May 10, when she saw something big and hairy walking down the road in Rutland. “It was...
Why the City of Kelowna wants your dog on a leash
KELOWNA - The warm weather means more residents and their dogs are out enjoying the outdoors, and in some cases, that's leading to conflicts with wildlife. The City of Kelowna issued a press release Thursday afternoon asking dog walkers to help ensure wildlife can enjoy the nice weather too. Park Services was recently notified of...
Big storm clean up continues as response cost becomes clear
KELOWNA - The first thing to know about Kelowna’s clean-up response to the near record snowfall that pummelled the city two weeks ago? It’s not over. “It’s carrying on right now,” confirmed City of Kelowna roadways supervisor Stephen Bryans, who said city crews continue to deal with the aftermath. “And it certainly dented our snow...
Grave concerns lead city to cemetery master plan
KELOWNA - The first phase of a 25-year plan to ensure the eternal viability of Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery, the municipally-owned cemetery, begins this year giving new meaning to the phrase rest in peace. With an aging infrastructure, changing consumer trends and limited space, cemetery manager David Gatzke says the time was right for a...
Gas price slide means savings on civic operations
KELOWNA - Questions about the impact of collapsing oil prices are starting to filter into Kelowna’s civic operations as the possibility of an extended downturn in fuel costs becomes apparent. Several councillors queried city staff during presentations at 2015 budget deliberations about the topic that has recently been dominating headlines in Western Canada. The first...
City budget ‘bare bones’ despite sizeable tax increase
KELOWNA — Even Kelowna’s mayor concedes it sounds odd calling a possible 3.5 per cent tax increase a “bare bones budget." “It sounds crazy but this is actually a very lean budget,” says Colin Basran, who blames two big-ticket items — Kelowna’s new police station and recent union contract settlement — for the increase. “Both...
Mop up continues on slush-covered streets
KELOWNA – Snow removal crews will be working well beyond their typical guidelines by trying to run a plow over all 450 kilometres of city sidewalk in the next couple of days. That's unusual, in part because the city and residents rely to a certain extent on warmer temperatures to melt snow before it becomes...
Equipment break down delays Vernon snow removal
VERNON - Machinery issues have set back snow removal efforts in Vernon. Snow clearing on 27 Street was delayed Wednesday due to mechanical difficulties with the city’s large snow blower, communications coordinator Tanya Laing Gahr said in a media release. The blower was repaired late Wednesday and snow removal in the downtown core picked up...
Why Kelowna’s response to snow removal is “almost unheard of across Canada”
WANT TO SUE? GOOD LUCK KELOWNA — So you finally get out of your snow-choked driveway, just to slip on your neighbour’s sidewalk and break your nose. Or you break your wrist, jumping over a snowbank to cross the road. If you’re looking for someone to sue, don’t bother naming the city in the lawsuit...
$60K public art contract up for bid
KELOWNA – A new public art project worth $60,000 will soon be commissioned to honour and inspire women recovering from addictions. The artwork will be installed adjacent to a major public space planned for outside the Karis Supportive Housing Project that is expected to be completed next year. According to Urban planner Pat McCormick, the...
City hits home run with baseball diamond improvements
PENTICTON - Baseball fields around town are set to get much-needed improvements thanks to a new partnership between the City and Penticton Slo-Pitch League. The fields at Lions, Parkway and Skaha ball diamonds will get new rooftops, players’ benches, a new utility shed, tractor and metal base plates (the peg-system used in the past caused...
New curator to oversee Penticton’s history
PENTICTON - The City has named Dennis Oomen as the new curator for the Penticton Museum and Archives after losing former curator Peter Ord to the Royal B.C. Museum. Oomen has worked all over Canada at prestigious museums including the Federal Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que., The Museum of Nature, the National Aviation...
Votes cast at advance polls break records
PENTICTON - Attendance numbers from the advance polls earlier this week have broken records for number of ballots cast. On the first day of advance polls, 746 ballots were cast, and 1,147 ballots were cast on the second day, for a two-day total of 1,893—1,103 more votes cast than in 2011. The Local Government now...
City and RCMP open to policy changes following jury recommendations
PENTICTON - The City and RCMP are actively considering implementation of recommendations made by a jury following a coroner’s inquest into the death of 30-year-old Steven J. Scott who died in police custody two years ago. The RCMP have already implemented some changes after Scott’s death that the jury also recommended be made. One suggestion...
City offers e-bill service to Penticton residents
PENTICTON - Residents now have an easier, greener option for paying their bills with a new e-service being provided by the city. Electric Utility users can sign up for electronic bills, which arrive each month in PDF file format directly to the customer’s email inbox. “The City is proud to offer convenient services like e-bills...
Citizens organize forum to educate community on Penticton election issues
PENTICTON - Local citizens are taking the election campaign into their own hands and educating themselves about the candidates and the issues in the upcoming civic vote. Members the community Facebook group Educate Encourage Empower Penticton have organized two candidate forums; one for the candidates for council and one for mayoral candidates. Candidates must RSVP...
Residents will see much-needed infrastructure improvements on their streets
PENTICTON - Residents of Corry Place will see much-needed infrastructure improvements on their street, however council is concerned the cost ratio split between residents and the city could set a precedent for similar projects in the future. Garry Gratton, Corry Place resident and council candidate, spoke to council at Monday night’s council meeting about the...
Sinkhole opens up and swallows Vernon city dump truck wheel
VERNON - A Vernon City dumptruck became stuck today in a sinkhole that formed overnight on 31 Street between 33 Avenue and 34 Avenue. The sinkhole was caused by a water main break and water has been turned off. A detour was put in place, so no vehicles except those with the city are permitted...
Future uncertain for Canada’s oldest horse-racing track
VERNON - The future of horse racing in the Interior remains more uncertain thanks to mounting woes for Vernon's troubled Kin Race Track. The society that runs the track has battled for years to keep it open. Already tight on cash from fighting a legal battle with the City of Vernon to continue racing horses...