Kamloops

ELECTIONS 2014: Who, what, where, when and why

KAMLOOPS - In case you’ve been out of the loop, there’s an election going on. In fact, general election day is this weekend. WHO CAN VOTE Canadian citizens who are 18 years of age or older can vote. You must have lived in B.C. for at least six months and in Kamloops for at least...

Machete entered in evidence in murder trial

KAMLOOPS – The jury in a the second-degree murder trial of a Kamloops man inspected an 18-inch long machete entered in evidence in Kamloops Supreme Court Friday morning. The blade was found by retired Sgt. Steven Gehl, who investigated the forensic evidence in the death of Heather Hamill in 2003. Robert Donald Balbar is accused...

ELECTIONS 2014: Online engagement falls short

MANY CANDIDATES RELY ON EVENTS, SIGNS KAMLOOPS - Most city council candidates have a Facebook profile these days, but not all of them seem to know how to effectively use that tool or other online tools to campaign. At least four candidates used GoFundMe pages to help raise money for their campaigns. One hit more...

Break in cold snap around the corner

WILL STAY BELOW ZERO A FEW MORE DAYS THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After a few days of sub-zero temperatures everyone is looking for a break, but we still have a few more days of staying below zero before it will finally begin to warm up again. Through the Okanagan temperatures only rose to -0.2 Celsius in Penticton...

Ten break-and-enters in Sahali and Aberdeen overnight, RCMP searching for suspects

KAMLOOPS – The RCMP is investigating and tracking suspects after ten break-and-enter cases that occurred in Sahali and Aberdeen during the early Friday morning hours. A stolen white F350 pickup truck was involved in the case Cpl. Cheryl Bush said in a media release. It was later recovered in the Rogers Way area. Bush said...

STAHN: When is it time to listen to the students?

Students and teachers have been asking for it. A petition with more than 770 student signatures was submitted to the school board last year. This year another 300 students have already signed another petition. Yet an anti-homophobic harassment policy still does not exist in our schools. The bureaucratic process has its place. Legally steps need...

Advance polling sees 56% increase overall

KAMLOOPS - After three days of advance voting more than 2,500 ballots have been cast, an increase of just over 56 per cent from the 2011 civic election. In total 2,526 ballots were cast over the three days, Nov. 5, 6 and 12, where as only 1,615 ballots were cast in 2011 during the three...

Kamloops woman finally gets her wallet back—after 30 years

KAMLOOPS – An 81-year-old Kamloops woman had her wallet returned to her after it was stolen from her in the 1970s. A park ranger found the woman’s wallet in Ucluelet where the woman travelled decades ago. Identification was still in the wallet but the $100 left in it was gone. Cpl. Cheryl Bush, a spokesperson...

UPDATE: Jury hears of body’s discovery in Thompson River in 11-year-old murder case

COARSE LANGUAGE, GRAPHIC CONTENT ADVISORY KAMLOOPS – A crime scene investigator told a Kamloops jury he observed open head wounds when he found the decomposing body of a woman in the Thompson River near Indian Point in August 2003. “There were injuries to the skull.... The body was floating and (was) up against the upstream...

Kamloops a dream destination for Illinois longboarder

WANTS TO RIDE AT WORLD'S FIRST LONGBOARD PARK KAMLOOPS - An Illinois longboarder is doing anything she can to get to Kamloops so she can experience the world’s first longboard park. Samantha Marsteller is a sophomore at Eastern Illinois University where she is majoring in psychology and minoring in art and criminology. In her spare...

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...

Ajax clarifies stance on civic election support

REGISTERING WITH ELECTIONS B.C. A 'COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY' KAMLOOPS - The company behind the proposed Ajax Mine is looking to clarify why they are registering as a third-party sponsor with Elections B.C. On Monday the company issued a confusing statement about a letter they had sent out to supporters. What they didn't say was why...

Ladies night to pamper deserving women

‘WHY THE HELL CAN’T THESE WOMEN HAVE JUST ONE NIGHT?’ KAMLOOPS - One of the experiences for many distressed women and children in Kamloops is sharing Thanksgiving and Christmas meals at the food bank in a room full of strangers, many of which are drunken men, according to a former social worker. These women will...

ELECTIONS 2014: Vote 50 wants voters to see glass as half full

FINAL COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY KAMLOOPS - If positive thinking is key then the organizers behind the Kamloops Vote 50 campaign may have unlocked the secret to beating Kelowna and Prince George when it comes to getting more voters out to the polls. With an 83 per cent increase in voter turnout after the first...

Ajax public comment period opens next week

INFORMATION SESSIONS AT END OF MONTH KAMLOOPS - The round of public comment period promised by the provincial government on the proposed Ajax Mine will run for one month beginning Nov. 18. Council and residents fought for the chance to have another say on what should be included in the application requirements for the project...

Remembrance Day in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS – Many commented at the Remembrance Day ceremony Tuesday in Kamloops the crowd was bigger than past years. Maybe it was the recent high profile deaths of two Canadian soldiers on Canadian soil last month. Estimates put the crowd at over a thousand at Riverside Park to pay their respects to those who sacrificed...

When every day is Remembrance Day: A Canadian soldier’s story

KAMLOOPS – We’re taking a day to remember the fallen, but soldiers like M.Cpl. John Cumming have been remembering friends every day since witnessing their deaths on the battlefield. For Cumming, it's a day from his tour with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry that has played in his head for almost five years. “December...

Hospital budget approved, no tax increase for 2015

KAMLOOPS - The hospital board approved the 2015 budget for Royal Inland Hospital and while the budget is $16 million higher than in 2014 it will not impact tax bills next year. The Thompson Regional Hospital District board of directors approved the $34.4 million provisional budget, which is nearly double the 2014 budget. The 2015...

Ajax to officially enter the election

PLANS TO REGISTER AS THIRD-PARTY SPONSOR KAMLOOPS - After saying they would not endorse specific city council candidates KGHM Ajax now says it is registering as a third-party sponsor this week. The decision comes just over a month after the company said it would not support anyone running in the civic election. A spokesman declined...

More building permits, higher values this year

KAMLOOPS - With only two months left in the year we are seeing a decline in building permits issued, though the permit numbers are up overall. October again saw a drop in permits issued — only 24 for single family units and 15 for multi-family units, compared to 31 single family and 88 multi-family units...

District looks to make Stuart Wood closure official

KAMLOOPS - The decision to close Stuart Wood School could become official this afternoon as the school board prepares for a special meeting to pass the official bylaw. The decision to present the bylaw at a special meeting comes on the heels of a letter sent to the district from the lawyer representing the Downtown...

Snow possible as cold front moves in

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An Arctic mass of cold air is moving over the region bringing cold temperatures to the region, and as cold as it will get, we still will not be hitting record low temperatures. Temperatures will reach overnight lows of down to -11 Celsius over the next several days but that is nowhere near...

Police examining relation between stolen vehicles, hit-and-run

TWO VEHICLES STOLEN AND RECOVERED; SUSPECT STILL AT-LARGE KAMLOOPS – Police say two vehicles stolen early Sunday morning are likely related and they are investigating if a hit and run around the same time is also related. Around 1 a.m. RCMP responded to a break-and-enter at a garage on West Victoria Street. The suspect took...

Kamloops is wasting away

ONLY 10% OF GARBAGE IS ACTUAL GARBAGE KAMLOOPS - If you dropped by the Tournament Capital Centre Friday, you may have noticed a pile of garbage out front. Except most of it is not actually garbage. The city is undergoing a garbage audit to see just how much waste can be diverted and so far,...