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Kamloops
Charges laid in Kamloops home invasion
KAMLOOPS - Two suspects have been charged with break and enter and forcible confinement in connection to a home invasion in Kamloops in March. Steven John Insua and Jason Joseph Robertson made an appearance in Kamloops court Thursday morning. The two men are accused of holding the people living in the home in the 700 block...
Witness describes the cooler believed to hold victim’s remains
"THE KITCHEN DIDN'T MATCH THE REST OF THE APARTMENT IN TERMS OF APPEARANCE" KAMLOOPS – A clean kitchen next to a living room that was in “complete and utter disarray” is how a former cop described the accused’s apartment to a Kamloops Supreme Court jury Thursday morning. Connie Buckle, then a constable fresh out of...
Special Olympics looking for volunteers
GET A HEAD START ON YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS KAMLOOPS - The Winter Games are coming to Kamloops and the organizing committee is looking for nearly 1,000 volunteers to help the February event run smoothly. Marilyn McLean says only about 80 volunteers have signed up for the games so far, well short of the number...
Ski season begins this weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are the kind of person who dreams in white, longs for the feeling of cold wind whipping your face and lives for snow days — you are in luck. Opening day at area ski hills is nearly here. Beginning this Saturday, ski resorts around the province will begin to open. Sun...
Snow hits Kamloops, forecast for Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Snow has already fallen in Kamloops this morning and more is on the way as a system moving through the region warms the air. A light snow and temperatures hovering near the freezing mark have led to multiple crashes in the city and Kamloops RCMP asking drivers to slow down and drive for...
Learn about the environmental assessment process
FIND OUT HOW IT APPLIES TO AJAX MINE PROJECT KAMLOOPS - Mark you calendars for Nov. 25 and 26 if you have questions about how the environmental assessment process works. At the request of Kamloops residents, the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency are hosting public workshops on the assessment process....
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...
Community kitchen moves on to semi finals
CAR SHARE, SKATEPARK PROGRAMS STILL IN RUNNING KAMLOOPS - A project out of a Brock activity centre has earned a spot in the semi finals of a competition that could result in enough funds to help cover the cost of developing a commercial kitchen. The Centre for Seniors Information in the Brock Shopping Mall is...
Pedestrian hit while crossing the street downtown
KAMLOOPS - A female pedestrian was struck by a male driver while she was crossing 3 Avenue and Columbia in the crosswalk around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. The 74-year-old male driver was turning left when the 43-year-old woman was struck according to an RCMP press release. The woman was taken to Royal Inland Hospital across...
Crash blocks downtown intersection
KAMLOOPS - A crash between a bus and a car slowed traffic in the downtown area this morning. The crash occurred at the corner of St. Paul Street and 4 Avenue at 8:30 a.m. during the morning commute. The bus carrying 23 passengers was travelling south on 4 Avenue while the car was approaching eastbound...
Holiday inspiration found in home tour
KAMLOOPS - If you are just starting to think about decorating your home for Christmas then you may want to take in the Homes for the Holidays tour this weekend to get some tips from the pros. The tour, a key fundraiser for the local United Way, features homes decorated for the holidays by local...
If students had a say council would look very different
STUDENT VOTE RESULTS IN SIX DIFFERENT COUNCILLORS KAMLOOPS - If city students were able to vote in the recent civic election, we would have seen four new faces around the table and the return of former a councillor. It's quite a result considering 33 per cent of eligible Kamloops voters took to the polls last...
Undercover officer questioned suspect on criminal activity before introduction to crime boss
"I KNOW YOU KILLED HER" GRAPHIC LANGUAGE/SUBJECT MATTER KAMLOOPS – A jury heard recorded discussions between an undercover police officer posing as a criminal, who encouraged a murder suspect to speak to his fake crime boss about the murder of his girlfriend in Supreme Court Tuesday afternoon. The target was Robert Donald Balbar, who is...
Penticton, Kelowna renters spending nearly 30% of income on housing
KAMLOOPS, VERNON NOT MUCH BETTER THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A new study shows people renting in the region are spending, on average, 24-29 per cent of their income on rent and utilities, putting the rental landscape in the poor to severe category. The B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association released the Rental Housing Index, in partnership with Vancity Credit...
O’Fee: Election ‘unremarkable’
DEVER LOSS A 'LOSS FOR COUNCIL' KAMLOOPS - A look back at our civic election shows few surprises according to a local lawyer and former city councillor. Only 22,672 people, or just over 33 per cent of eligible voters, actually voted in the 2014 civic election. Those votes saw two new faces elected, but they were...
Snow heading to town
SYSTEM COULD CLEAR SMOKE FROM AIR THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Snow has already been accumulating on some highway passes and this week we may see some of the white stuff hit valley bottoms as a system moves over the region. Environment Canada is calling for warming temperatures through the weekend as cloud cover moves in. Highs of...
ELECTIONS 2014: Where did all the voters go?
KAMLOOPS - Voter turnout was up in Kamloops for this year's municipal election — and remains just above the provincial average — but only about a third of eligble voters showed up to cast a ballot. This month 22,672 of the 68,410 eligible voters cast ballots at the advance polls and on Election Day, for a voter...
Set your alarm clocks, Leonid meteor shower peaking
TUESDAY MORNING SHOW IF CLOUDS KEEP AWAY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If the clouds part and the smoke clears, we could be in for a great showing of the Leonid meteor shower early Tuesday morning. While the moon, currently in the waning crescent phase, is not expected to interfere with viewing the storm, increasing cloudiness overnight could...
Witness in murder trial drove accused and a cooler to the river
"I NEVER LOOKED INSIDE THE COOLER AND I NEVER ASKED" KAMLOOPS – The latest witness in a murder trial told the jury Monday afternoon the man charged with second-degree murder was sketchy, anxious and not very talkative when he drove him and a five-foot-long cooler to an unmarked road near the Halston Bridge sometime in...
Air quality advisory remains in place
WAITING ON THE WEATHER TO CHANGE THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It is mid-November and yes, that is smoke in the air. Unlike the summer when large wildfires in northern B.C. caused air quality advisories the smoke visible throughout the region is due to open burning. “There are hundreds of burn registrations issued,” Kayla Pepper of B.C. Wildfire...
ELECTIONS 2014: Results from around the region
KAMLOOPS - Voters have spoken and while there are only two new faces around the council table in Kamloops there are a slew of new faces around the rest of the region. Council tables in both Clinton and Sun Peaks will remain unchanged with all incumbents unchallenged but in Ashcroft, Barriere, Chase, Lillooet and Merritt...
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...
Name of deceased cyclist confirmed
KAMLOOPS - Sources have confirmed with InfoNews Monday morning the cyclist who died in hospital after hitting a vehicle on Springhill Drive Saturday afternoon was Robert Petersen. Petersen was a music teacher at St. Ann's Academy and at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic school. Around 3 p.m. he struck a southbound Ford Escape that...
Sale on adoptable cats and kittens
KAMLOOPS – Starting Monday, you can adopt a cat or a kitten at the B.C. SPCA shelter in Kamloops for 50 per cent off. Sara Gerow with the shelter says their facility is coming out of a ringworm quarantine and now have several animals cleared for adoption. “The cats and kittens in particular have been...