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Kelowna
Health authority hard hit by influenza last season
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Southern Interior was hard hit by influenza last season with a jump in confirmed cases and deaths. But at the same time, the flu season here in the Interior Health Authority was typical of what the rest of Canada experienced. Dr. Gillian Frosst, an epidemiolgist with the heatlh authority, told the board...
Kelowna water utility may soon be forced to restrict use
KELOWNA - As drought-like conditions persist throughout the province people are being asked to cut back on water use, which means water restrictions could be around the corner for Kelowna water utility customers, who have not yet faced restrictions this summer. The province has declared a level three drought in the Okanagan and is sending...
First wife testifies in trial of former Vernon cop charged with child porn
KELOWNA – The first wife of a former Vernon RCMP officer charged with child porn described him as a confrontational man who often raised his voice. Jennifer Fisher and Ryan Hampton’s marriage officially ended in 2011, the same year he married his accuser, Valerie Little. Little, herself a member of the RCMP, told police she...
Search for missing Okanagan Mountain Park campers called off
OKANAGAN - A search for whoever left behind a tent and a cooler in Okanagan Mountain Park has been called off. RCMP were called about the abandoned camping equipment found near the shoreline between Goode’s Creek and Van Hyce Beach on Friday, July 17. A note left behind said the mystery campers had left July 7...
Kelowna Fire Department rescues exhausted cops from Okanagan Lake
KELOWNA - A lake rescue took a dangerous turn last night when the drunken victim turned on a couple of Kelowna RCMP officers trying to save her. Exhausted by the struggle, the two cops had to hang onto a bouy in Okanagan Lake until rescued by the Fire Department’s marine unit. Police were called out...
Petition calls for new Kelowna dog beach but city says its not easy to find right location
KELOWNA - An online petition is calling for a second dog beach in a North End Kelowna park but the city says its not as simple as just putting up a fence and few signs. The petition on Change.org has over 600 signatures of people who think at least a portion of Sutherland Park on Ellis...
Sunny week ahead for Okanagan
OKANAGAN - It was a hot, sunny and stormy weekend and this week is expected to be a bit closer to normal Okanagan summer weather. Temperatures reached as high as 36 Celsius Sunday as storms rolled through the region. While there is a risk of thunderstorms again today the chance of rain forecast for the...
Kelowna Rockets raise thousands to help kids with autism play hockey
KELOWNA – Players, coaches, scouts and fans of the Kelowna Rockets helped raise more than $15,000 to help children with autism enter hockey programs Friday morning. The sold out Rockets Alumni Foundation 15th Annual Golf Tournament teed off July 17 as they attempt to raise $100,000 over the next three years for the Canucks Autism...
Yoga fundraiser planned for Kelowna woman killed in car crash
KELOWNA - A deep friendship cut short has pushed a Kelowna woman to help out her friend's family. Anna Mandl says she knew Chantal Bazin since elementary school. Bazin is the young woman who was killed last weekend along with Kayla Cartwright in a car crash on Highway 97 in Vernon. “I’ve known Chantal since...
Okanagan Across the Lake Swim will be bigger than ever this year
KELOWNA – For the 67th year in a row, swimmers from across the province will plunge into Okanagan Lake for the Across the Lake Swim this weekend. And this year will be bigger than ever. Last year, 900 participants showed up but this year event organizers have increased capacity significantly. A record 1,200 swimmers of all ages...
Get some colour at the third annual Okanagan Tattoo Show this weekend
KELOWNA – Fans of counterculture from around the world are gathering at Parkinson Recreation Centre this weekend for the third annual Okanagan Tattoo Show. The event, which runs Friday to Saturday, features 70 tattoo artists from across Canada and the world as well as merchandise booths, food, live music and events. There will also be...
Clerk assaulted during robbery of religious supply store
KELOWNA - Apparently this guy doesn’t believe in divine retribution. RCMP are looking for a man who assaulted a store clerk during the robbery of Loaves and Fishes Book and Church Supply yesterday afternoon, July 16. The man came into the store around 1:30 p.m. and began helping himself to silver and gold crosses, pendants...
Kelowna cyclist dies after collision with car door
KELOWNA - A local cyclist has succumbed to injuries she suffered when someone opened a car door in front of her bike. Patricia Keenan, 38, was cycling behind a friend on Bernard Avenue Tuesday evening, July 14, just past Ethel Street when the incident happened. Police say Keenan was wearing a helmet but the force...
‘Ungovernable’ lawyer with history of misconduct disbarred
KELOWNA – A Kelowna lawyer with a long history of professional misconduct has lost his licence to practice law for representing a company running a Ponzi scheme. Douglas Warren Welder was disbarred from the Law Society of B.C. after a panel found he received and redistributed more than US$1.65 million while representing International Fiduciary Corporation,...
Bertram Creek Park reopens after cougar sightings
KELOWNA – Officials have reopened the Bertram Creek Regional Park after sightings of a cougar in the area shut it down Wednesday. Regional District spokesperson Bruce Smith says signs about the recent sightings will remain up to warn residents of the ongoing risk. “Those using this and other Regional Parks in a more natural-setting should be...
ELECTION 2015: Liberals and Greens join forces in Kelowna to take down Conservative Cannan
KELOWNA - Local Green Party members have chosen to back Liberal candidate Stephen Fuhr in the upcoming federal election. Greens in the Kelowna-Lake Country riding made the decision last night after Fuhr agreed to incorporate key planks from the Green platform into his campaign. Although the national Green Party office has yet to give its...
Bringing the heat in the Okanagan this weekend
OKANAGAN - Mother Nature gave us a bit of a reprieve this week, but the temperatures will be back into the 30s again this weekend. After several weeks of intense heat and then a week of near-normal temperatures, the Okanagan will again see temperatures reach the low- to mid-30s Saturday through Tuesday. Environment Canada is...
Judge orders former Mountie charged with child porn be allowed to shave, change clothes
KELOWNA – Ryan Hampton, a former Vernon RCMP officer facing child porn charges in Kelowna Supreme Court, has not changed his clothes in eight days. Hampton, who has been in custody since his arrest in June 2013, was supposed to be shipped back to Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre on the weekends, but was kept in...
CrocTalk reptiles on the move to new homes
KELOWNA - Over half of CrocTalk’s animals are on the move and heading for a new home. Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo is reporting in a Facebook post 10 of the 18 crocodilians boarded a Westjet flight in Vancouver this morning bound for Ottawa. “Stay tuned for photos of them being uncrated in Ottawa and us...
Hampton disputes testimony he left images of child porn for his wife to find
KELOWNA – The former Vernon Mountie facing child porn charges in Kelowna says he didn’t tell an investigator he left images and videos of child porn on a flash drive for his wife to find, directly contradicting testimony given by the Sargent who first interviewed him in May of 2013. Ryan Hampton is on trial...
What happens when your music becomes noise in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Nothing spurs political action like personal experience. When Kelowna city bylaw officers shut down a garden concert last weekend by local legends The Cruzeros, city councillor Charlie Hodge was in the front row. “It was not over the top. The didn’t even have the full band. There were no drums,” Hodge says. When...
Speed considered factor in crash; two sent to Kelowna hospital
KELOWNA - A crash on Gordon Drive last night sent two Kelowna men to hospital and damaged a nearby fence. Const. Steve Holmes with Kelowna RCMP says a driver in a Nissan SUV was attempting to make a left turn from Gordon Drive onto Bothe Road when he was struck by a man driving a...
Shania Twain coming to Kelowna
KELOWNA - If you are disappointed that you missed out on seeing Shania Twain live in Vancouver, you are in luck, the singer just announced seven new tour dates in five more cities, including one in Kelowna. The Canadian country star is currently touring North America and performed in both Vancouver and Edmonton back in...
Solve the clues and find the treasure at Kamloops’ newest attraction
KAMLOOPS - You and three friends enter a parlour decorated with antiques and cat-themed trinkets. The door closes behind you, the clock starts and you hear the voice of a lady named Margaret. She tells you she has an estate, and the clues leading to her fortune are in the very room you’re standing in....