Kelowna

Cost of new downtown Kelowna parkade on the rise

KELOWNA - The number of parking stalls planned for the city’s latest downtown parkade has jumped but so has the price tag. In a report to council, director of infrastructure Allan Newcombe says capacity of the new parkade will jump from 438 stalls under the original proposal to 566 stalls. The original budget of $15.83...

Mothers Day continues when mom has passed on

VERNON - Every May, Brenda Gilchrist-Sword changes her profile picture. The black and white portrait isn’t her, but her mom Grace, who passed away in 2002. Gilchrist-Sword, of Vernon, lives in a different province from where her mom is buried, so the profile picture is her way of honouring her mom around Mother’s Day. She...

Intersecting trends making mead a sales phenom

KELOWNA - So is it the current Viking craze, Game of Thrones mania or just plain old hipsters that have thrust the ancient beverage mead back into the modern world? Judie Barta isn’t exactly sure but what she does know is that she can barely keep up with demand for the honey wine she makes...

UBCO student seeks Miss Canada crown

KELOWNA – A UBC Okanagan engineering graduate wants the world to know we need more female engineers. So she’s entering the Miss Canada pageant. Ena Vehabovic, 22, is one of the very few female fourth-year engineering students at UBC’s Okanagan campus. In a graduating class of 150, only 22 are women so she’s taking her...

Okanagan Basin Water Board demands more action on invasive mussels

OKANAGAN - The Okanagan Basin Water Board is calling on the provincial government to step up the fight against invasive quagga and zebra mussels by establishing permanent inspection stations at the five main highway entrances from Alberta. As well, in a seven-point position paper, the water board is calling on the federal government to immediately...

Lots and plots predicted to be hot commodity at Kelowna Cemetery

KELOWNA - A consultant has identified one particular housing market segment in Kelowna where demand is only going to go up and where the city can eventually make some serious money — cremation lots and burial plots. Current inventory at the city-owned Kelowna Memorial Park cemetery is predicted to run out within eight years. The...

UPDATE: Kelowna teen located

UPDATE: 10:56 A.M., MAY 25, 2015 RCMP say Raven Graham has been located. 3:32 P.M., MAY 8, 2015 KELOWNA – A 17-year-old girl from Kelowna who police say went missing April 14 may in fact be in Alberta. RCMP issued a media release Tuesday, May 5, asking for the public’s help locating Raven Graham, but according...

Median barriers will be installed on dangerous stretch of Highway 97

KELOWNA – A stretch of Hwy 97, notorious for crashes caused when a driver crosses the centre line, will receive nine kilometers of concrete median barriers this summer. The announcement was made Friday, May 8 with plans for phase one to begin this month. The $2.5-million project will start with work between University Way and...

New wildfire recruits put through paces

MERRITT - More than 200 seasonal firefighter applicants have made the cut and this month they are being put through a ‘rigorous’ bootcamp near Merritt. About 1,000 people, many of which are post-secondary students, apply for the positions every year. Provincial Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek says the job is "very in demand" and the...

Summer watering restrictions likely as province records average lowest snowpack levels in 31 years

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The lastest snowpack measurements from the provincial government’s river forecast centre are showing record low levels in some areas including the Okanagan and Similkameen regions. Without substantial rain in the next couple of months, reservoirs across the region will also be lower than normal, likely leading to water use restrictions in many communities...

Young hockey player’s sad story may have a happy ending

KELOWNA - It appears the story of the nine-year-old boy who quit his hockey team in tears after being repeatedly benched, may have a happy ending after all. Our story about Sam Lescarbeau has gone truly viral with people from all over Canada writing to encourage him, share similar stories from all manner of sports teams...

Plant a Row, Grow a Row for the Kelowna Food Bank

KELOWNA – For the fifth year, the Kelowna Food Bank is taking part in a national program which encourages kids and seniors to get back to their roots, and at the same time, help feed the less fortunate in the community. The Plant a Row, Grow a Row program started in 1986. Volunteers at the...

Treat your mom this weekend at one (or more) of these Mother’s Day events

KELOWNA – No one will ever love you as much as your mom, so here is a list of events in Kelowna to say thanks and show her how special she is. This Sunday and Monday mothers will be celebrated at the Kelowna FabFive wineries with something special at each of the five local wineries....

New pet registry promotes microchip implants

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The SPCA is promoting a new province-wide pet identification registry where animals with microchip implants can have their information stored in a centralized database. "We’ve created a first for British Columbia — a centralized database for pets who receive permanent identification at any B.C. SPCA shelter, veterinarian or microchip clinic across the province,”...

Valley mayors push for early start to water conservation

OKANAGAN - Mindful of the dry winter the Okanagan has just experienced, valley mayors and councillors joined the Okanagan Basin Water Board for an early launch of the Make Water Work conservation campaign today. Mayor Doug Findlater, who chairs the water board, used his own community of West Kelowna as an example of why the...

Rockets grab son of former NHLer in bantam draft

KELOWNA – The Kelowna Rockets have picked the son of former NHLer Adam Foote with its first selection at the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft in Calgary. Nolan Foote, a 6’1” and 150-lbs forward, was selected in the second round of the draft and 43rd overall. “Nolan is the player we wanted all along,” Rockets...

Paving work will impact traffic on Highway 97

VERNON - There will be delays on Highway 97 over the next month as repaving work gets underway. The project is for roughly 30 km of highway resurfacing between Old Vernon Road and Bailey Road. A five kilometer section on Highway 33 from Beaverdell Dump Road to Beaverdell will also be included The $3.8 million...

Fintry Queen still waiting for forever home

KELOWNA - She looks a little lonely out there, anchored in Sutherland Bay, waiting for something to happen but the man tasked with selling the iconic Fintry Queen says interest has been steady since it was put up for sale two months ago. “We’re still marketing it, still waiting for the right buyer but we’ve...

Union takes fight for hospital laundry services to the street

KELOWNA - Hospital Employees Union members took to the streets outside Kelowna General Hospital today to push for the Interior Health Authority to reconsider a plan to privatize laundry services. “These are workers that perform a very important health care service, they ensure that operating rooms are stocked with clean linens. Here at KGH 17,000...

Cracked chimney causes house fire

KELOWNA – A cracked chimney is to blame for a small house fire on Mathews Road Tuesday morning. According to a release the Kelowna Fire Department, firefighters arrived at 11 a.m. today, May 6, to one of the occupants outside the home. “Firefighters extinguished the flames which were on the side of the house between...

Hell’s Angel gives up on appeal

KELOWNA - Daniel McRae, one of the three Hells Angels associates convicted of beating to death a Kelowna father in front of his sons in 2011, is not going to appeal his sentence. According to the Vancouver Sun, the victim's son, Kody Phillips, told Justice Mark McEwan that the attack on his father lasted only seconds,...

New film to focus on Kelowna motocross rider Bruce Cook

KELOWNA - Bruce Cook, the freestyle motocross rider who was paralyzed last year attempting a difficult stunt, will be the focus of a new film by local filmmaker Carey Missler. Missler, who recently received an award of excellence from the Canada International Film Festival for his work as director of The Paddler, confirms he is...

What’s good for the master is good for the pets: Natural remedies at a vet clinic near you

"PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO RECOGNIZE THAT MAYBE CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS" KELOWNA – When you walk into Pandosy Village Veterinary Hospital, it feels like a combination of old fashioned apothecary, modern day pet store and coffee shop. As a licenced veterinarian, Dr. Jason Rowan does all the procedures that a normal...