Infotel News

Decision on Stuart Wood expected soon

KAMLOOPS - A report with recommendations on whether the school district should relocate students and shut down Stuart Wood Elementary School will be presented to trustees Monday. In November administration made several recommendations focused on realigning catchment areas to help ease enrolment pressures at some high schools. Following much of the realignment it was suggested...

Trial date set for former Vernon mountie facing child porn charges

VERNON - A former Vernon cop will stand trial in B.C. Supreme Court next March. Ryan Hampton, 35, faces nine charges, including possessing and accessing child pornography. He was arrested in June 2013 and subsequently suspended from the force. He has since resigned from the RCMP. Hampton will be tried before judge alone starting March...

Former B.C. premier to chair Lumby-based marijuana facility

LUMBY - A company chaired by a former B.C. premier has applied to grow and distribute medical marijuana from a facility in Lumby. True Leaf Medicine Inc. has submitted an application to Health Canada to operate the facility under the federal government’s new rules for the system, which came into effect April 1. Mike Harcourt,...

Homeless deaths inspire memorial and call to action

VERNON - This past winter, Chuck Harper drove past a pair of homeless men he knew well from his work at the local shelter. He was aware of their addictions and health troubles. Having panhandled on the streets of Vernon when he was 16, he didn’t judge or look down on them— he called them...

Arrests made in Vernon arson case

SERIAL ARSON SUSPECT STILL ON THE LOOSE VERNON - Police have made arrests in one of 13 suspected cases of arson in the Vernon area. Two men, aged 24 and 30, were arrested Friday evening for setting fire to some trash behind AJ’s Pets & Things on 31 Avenue. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the...

Vernon’s fire service not saving much money, yet

VERNON - While the City of Vernon and its firefighters union spar over appropriate service levels and financial resources, a quick comparison to similar-sized cities shows it's likely too early to tell if Vernon’s new firefighting model will make a dent in the budget. Vernon sends two firefighters, instead of the conventional four-person crew, to...

Art show stripped from college walls goes up at local gallery

VERNON - A controversial art show pulled from the gallery at Okanagan College in Vernon has a new space to continue the conversation. Local artist Ryan Robson’s evocative female portraits, which were deemed too disturbing for the walls of the college, will be displayed at Gallery Vertigo until the end of the month. The paintings...

How police are using this gadget to curb speeding

VERNON - You can’t completely hide your speed from the cops anymore, even if they aren’t there to catch you in the act. Drivers will notice a new speed reader board circulating around the North Okanagan. The $10,000 gadget was purchased by the cities of Armstrong, Enderby and Township of Spallumcheen as a way to...

Police remain coy on details of Williams Lake murder

WILLIAMS LAKE – Police are not confirming or denying if suspects have been identified in the murder of a Williams Lake man despite suspicion of vengeance in the community. Corey Huu Le, 22, was murdered last month in a targeted event. When police followed up on a residential complaint, they found Le dead in his...

First patients could be admitted to new Vernon hospital ward in 2016

VERNON - The new ward at Vernon Jubilee Hospital could be welcoming patients around the beginning of 2016. Construction to complete the top two floors of Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s Polson Tower launched today with a celebration attended by Interior Health, the North Okanagan Columbia Shuswap Regional Hospital District and local dignitaries. The $29.6 million unit...

UPDATE: Okanagan man dies in Vernon accident

VERNON - An Okanagan man is dead after a fatal accident on Highway 97 near Birnie Road. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the man was driving a Subaru and veered into an oncoming truck around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. He died at the scene. A driver and passenger of the truck were taken to hospital with...

CN offers Okanagan railway to federal government

VERNON - Time has run out for interested parties to resume service on the section of rail between Vernon and Kelowna. Monday was the deadline for companies negotiating with Canadian National to buy the line, and CN spokesperson Warren Chandler says no deal was reached. “The time period has elapsed, now the 30-day window to...

Looks like it’s going to be a big year for excessive speeding

VERNON - Police have nabbed almost as many excessive speeders in the past six months as they did in all of last year. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says 22 drivers have been caught speeding excessively in the North Okanagan so far this year, compared to a total of 25 in 2013. “B.C.'s speeding law compels...