Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Kamloops
UPDATE: Work camps evacuated due to fast moving fire
PRINCE GEORGE - High winds and hot, dry weather have fuelled a fire southeast of Tumbler Ridge, fanning it to more than 3,000 hectares and forcing evacuations of two oil and gas work camps in the area. The fire, which was started by lightning this weekend, is 61 kilometres southeast of Tumbler Ridge and was...
Man walks Brock neighbourhood wielding fake guns
KAMLOOPS – RCMP members arrested a man with two imitation firearms in a Brock neighbourhood Monday evening around 8:30 p.m. A 25-year-old man remains in custody after police seized two BB guns. Officers saw the man walking on Desmond Street when he placed what appeared to be a long-barrelled gun under a parked vehicle. Officers...
Lack of local support leads to company closure
KAMLOOPS - A total of 20 people will be out of work by Aug. 22 as M3 Steel prepares to shut down after more than 30 years in the fabrication business. Manager Vance Smelland says four people have already left and another four will be gone by the end of July. The remaining 16 will...
Sun and heat brings ‘very high’ UV ratings
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After a brief stumbling block this weekend Mother Nature is returning with the full force of the sun behind her, bringing us temperatures well into the 30s over the next week. Temperatures dipped a little closer to normals for a few days heading into the weekend and were followed by a bit of...
Blazers set for NHL development camps
KAMLOOPS - Five Kamloops Blazers will be attending various professional summer development camps this year. Cole Ully and Collin Shirley will be at the Dallas Stars camps, Ryan Rehill and Matt Needham will be at the New Jersey Devils camps and Chase Souto is with the Anaheim Ducks. The Stars camp runs from July 9-12...
Police officer assaulted near Pritchard
KAMLOOPS - A passing motorist lent assistance to an officer who was allegedly assaulted during a traffic stop Saturday afternoon in the Pritchard area. RCMP Senior Media Relations Officer Sgt. Rob Vermeulen says the officer began an impaired driving investigation on a pickup truck, containing three people, around 4:40 p.m., July 5. The driver pulled...
Four charged with robbery remain in custody
KAMLOOPS - The four men suspected to be behind last week’s armed robbery where police found the trunk of their vehicle full of guns, all remain in custody. Crown prosecutor Iain Currie confirmed outside of court that Anees Mohammed, born in 1991, Ellwood Bradbury, born in 1990, Gopal Figueredo, born in 1993, and Triston Wight,...
Hot, dry June could lead to more fires in July
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Hot, dry and stormy. June was not an ideal month throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre and concerns July could be a very active fire season are still very real. Overall temperatures were slightly above normal and slightly less rain fell. Combined with periods of lightning activity this led to more than 40 new...
Province questions Kinder Morgan
KAMLOOPS — Kinder Morgan has not been providing sufficient information about how it plans to mitigate concerns in Kamloops and elsewhere and the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office is not pleased. The province submitted more than 70 information requests, specific to spill response, prevention and recovery systems as part of the National Energy Board’s review of...
$45K temporary tax office a ‘failure’
KAMLOOPS — One of the councillors who spoke out against spending $45,000 on a temporary tax office says the pilot project was a 'failed experiment' after only about 2,600 people used the alternative office. About a quarter of city property owners still pay in person instead of online but only seven per cent of property...
Blazers use import draft to pick up Slovakian, Swiss players
KAMLOOPS - The Kamloops Blazers' coaching staff hope two picks in the import draft this week will help to bolster the d-line going forward. Both picks were used to grab eligible European defenseman in the draft. Patrik Maier of Slovakia went sixth overall to the Blazers during the 2014 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft while...
City salaries remain steady
KAMLOOPS - With the number of city employees making more than $100,000 remaining steady at 62 and the amount spent on salaries only increasing by two per cent there wasn’t a lot of surprises in the financial statements this year. In total the city paid out nearly $54 million in salaries in 2013, up $1.17...
Father acquitted of shaking infant daughter
KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops father who was accused of shaking his baby and causing traumatic brain injury was acquitted in Kamloops Supreme Court Thursday morning. Michael Beakley, born in 1978, phoned his mother outside of court to tell her Justice Hope Hyslop found him not guilty because the baby’s injuries could have occurred in a...
UPDATE: Fire burning near Sicamous smaller than originally thought
KAMLOOPS - A fire burning in a cut block east of Shuswap Lake that is ‘quite visible’ from Sicamous was likely started by lightning last night and B.C. Wildfire crews expect more of these types of fires could pop up over the next week. “There was quite a bit last night and we’re forecasting lightning...
Government truck stolen from enclosed parking lot
KAMLOOPS – The B.C. Wildfire Branch believes a truck was stolen from an enclosed government parking lot in Clearwater on Canada Day. “It’s extremely unfortunate; we’re heading into fire season” Spokesperson for the branch, Kayla Pepper, said. The truck is a 2004 F-550 crew cab used for initial fire attacks. Fire suppression equipment, including personal...
Bike camp gives new lease on life
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A young man says a mountain bike camp aimed at helping those affected by substance abuse came at just the right time to save him from himself. “The past two years have been really hard for me, I got suicidal…. I was on lots of pills,” Cameron Model, 25, says. “This camp is...
Teachers union, province too far apart for mediation
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The teacher’s union and the province are too far apart for mediation to be productive, a potential mediator has decided, and the union is blaming the province. B.C. Teacher’s Federation President Jim Iker says exploratory discussions with B.C. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kelleher and the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association saw the government...
Higher speeds coming to a highway near you
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Three highways will see speed limits increase to 120 km/h today and another 1,300 km of highways will see the increase later this summer. Over 9,100 km of highways were surveyed during a Rural Highway Safety and Speed Review and Minister Todd Stone says several key points are now being addressed — speed...
Repeat thieves have stopped stealing from non-profit
KAMLOOPS – Thieves targeting the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store have temporarily stopped looting the organization’s donation bins for valuable metals. “We’re still at status quo. We haven’t had any more thefts so that’s a good thing... maybe publicizing it helped deter the thieves,” executive director, Jan Lingford said in a phone interview. The warehouse was...
Not too many drunk fights on Canada Day
KAMLOOPS – Kamloops residents were well behaved on Canada Day. Riverside Park was the main locale for patriotic celebrations – with several tents and events throughout the day and a fireworks show at night. RCMP spokesperson, Cheryl Bush said a couple of fights broke out in the evening but officers had no major incidents to...
Fun and fireworks in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - Riverside Park was buzzing with activity Tuesday during the annual Canada Day festivities. Temperatures soared into the mid-30s during the afternoon as tens of thousands of people descended on Riverside Park, many deciding to hang out at the waterpark or beach in an effort to cool down. The evening brought the annual fireworks...
Canada Day in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - The weather may not be great this weekend but come Canada Day, Tuesday, the sun will be hot and the parks busy as patriotic activities take over the city. The official Canada Day activities, which attract about 30,000 people every year, will kick off at Riverside Park at 7 a.m. Tuesday with a...
Take the bus to your Canada Day activities, for free
KAMLOOPS - The City of Kamloops is offering free transit on the bus for Canada Day. Riverside Park is the place to be for festivities; parking may be limited. Those who wish to take the bus are advised transit is operating on a Saturday schedule for the holiday. For spectators hoping to catch the evening...
Kamloops ‘Catfish’ bullies ex-girlfriends through fake Facebook account, lands in court
KAMLOOPS – If you take a look at Chrissy Last’s Facebook page you’ll see she likes Nicholas Spark’s The Notebook, Breaking Bad, Seinfeld and listening to Drake. What you don’t know is she's a bully, harassing people—three women in particular—through her Facebook account. What you also may not know about Last: She is actually 38-year-old...