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Kelowna
Rockets lead series 3-0
KELOWNA - The Kelowna Rockets defeated the Victoria Royals 4-2 on Tuesday night in Victoria, taking a three game lead in the second round the Western Hockey League playoffs. Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist as four different Rockets scored in the win, the first of two straight games in Victoria. Kelowna scored...
Remembering Const. Neil Bruce 50 years after his murder
WEST KELOWNA - The death of Const. Neil Bruce, 50 years ago today, was similar to what Kamloops experienced in 1962 or Mayerthorpe in 2005; the murder of local RCMP officers and the shocking realization for local residents that the men and women who serve and protect our communities can also end up as victims...
Robbery starts in bank, ends in bathroom
WEST KELOWNA - RCMP have arrested two men in connection with the robbery of the CIBC branch on Louie Drive in West Kelowna yesterday afternoon. RCMP spokesman Cpl. Joe Duncan said in a press release that a man walked into the bank at 2000 Louie Dr. on Monday, April 13, threatened a teller and demanded...
Kelowna Flightcraft rebrands with new name
KELOWNA – Kelowna Flightcraft is getting a facelift with a new name meant to encompass the wide variety of services the company offers. The new name — KF Aerospace — along with the new logo and look better encompass the breadth of services the company offers, including air cargo operations, aircraft leasing, maintenance and engineering...
Tourism continues to thrive in Central Okanagan
KELOWNA - It was a banner year for tourism in Kelowna, with both occupancy and revenue up at local hotels, a key indicator of a successful season. Tourism Kelowna president Nancy Cameron told Kelowna council Monday afternoon the number of room nights in local hotels and motels was up four per cent while revenue from...
Centre of Gravity music lineup announced
KELOWNA – The music lineup for the largest sports and music festival in the Okanagan has just been announced and features some of the biggest names in music. Hit makers like Diplo, Knife Party and Flo Rida will be joined by Erica Dee, Tre Funk, Emotionz, The Funk Hunters, Delhi 2 Dublin, Kytami, SkiiTour and...
Airport names former Kelowna mayor and councillor to advisory committee
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The group that advises Canada’s largest municipally-run airport will soon be joined by a couple of new faces familiar to people in the Central Okanagan. Kelowna’s former mayor Walter Gray and former city councillor Andre Blanleil, along with industry representative Meryle Corbett were all appointed to four-year terms on the Kelowna Internnational Airport...
More snow on Interior highways
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After more than 30 centimetres of snow fell on some Interior highways this past weekend, the white stuff continues to fall. The Coquihalla Summit had more than 30 cm fall in two days and after a one day reprieve, another 6 cm fell at the highway pass overnight. The Okanagan Connector also received...
Old dynamite blown up by RCMP bomb squad in Kelowna
KELOWNA – Several sticks of dynamite found in Kelowna’s Joe Rich area on Sunday have been destroyed, but the police are concerned there may be more of the explosive out there. RCMP say they were called to the 8000-block of Sun Valley Road around 6:05 a.m., April 12 to a report of found explosives. “Police...
Construction and new demand in downtown Kelowna creating parking crunch
KELOWNA - Development in downtown Kelowna is surging, putting a premium on parking spaces, and forcing the city to come up with a plan to deal with perceived shortages over the next three years. Kelowna city council will hear from parking manager Dave Duncan today who prepared the interim parking strategy based on a report...
CONCERT REVIEW: Whitehorse “Leave No Bridge Unburned”
KELOWNA - Bouncing onto the stage a-clutter with a mess of old tube amplifiers, drums and other music-making machines, the unknowing might have been forgiven for thinking that Melissa McClelland and husband Luke Doucet had left the rest of the band stranded at a motel along the way to windy Kelowna last night. But the...
Plan your route around local road closures this weekend
KELOWNA - Locals drivers should take note of some short-term road closings that could affect travel plans. Sexsmith Road will closed at 5 p.m. today to make way for crews installing sewer upgrades for a new commercial development. The closing affects the segment of Sexsmith between Cambro and Campion Roads. A detour is available via...
Support from church members no help to Kelowna child pornographer
"I'VE DESTROYED FAMILIES. I REALIZE WHAT I'VE DONE." KELOWNA – A man who admitted to having more than 500 images of child pornography on various computers and hard drives was sentenced to two years in jail in Kelowna Provincial Court Friday, April 10. David Gerald Smart, 43, pleaded guilty to making and possessing child pornography...
Gas rupture forces people out of their homes in Glenmore
KELOWNA – Road blocks were up in Glenmore and homes evacuated as crews dealt with a natural gas leak this afternoon. RCMP say an excavator hit a natural gas line in a backyard on Valley Road just south of Kane Road. Police cordoned off the area, evacuating the people from four homes and closing Valley...
And the survey says… life is good in Kelowna
KELOWNA - If you consider yourself pretty much an average Kelownian, then you’re also pretty much satisfied with your life in the city. That’s the conclusion of the most recent citizens survey, released Friday, April 10. “We are generally encourage by the survey results,” city communications supervisor Jodie Foster Sexsmith says. She believes the key...
UPDATE: Suspicious car fires at Boyd’s under investigation
KELOWNA - A blaze at an autobody shop was one of two arson fires in Kelowna early this morning. RCMP say around 2:50 a.m., today, April 10, firefighters put out four burning cars at Boyd’s Autobody and Glass in the 1900 block of Dayton Street. A second fire on Bedford Avenue damaged a camper. “Police...
Faulty landing gear light causes anxious moments at Kelowna Airport
KELOWNA - A faulty landing gear indicator light on a light plane landing at Kelowna Airport this morning had emergency crews on standby. “We had a Piper Cherokee, which is a small aircraft, coming in. It only had one person onboard,” Kelowna International Airport spokesperson Jenelle Hynes. “They had contacted the tower because there was...
Wildfire fuel reduction critical as risk on the rise in West Kelowna
WEST KELOWNA - If you see smoke coming from up Bear Creek in the next few weeks, it’s likely not a raging wildfire. What you’re seeing is actually a fuel mitigation program designed to stop a raging wildfire from starting in the first place. “What you see behind me is what keeps firefighters awake at...
Lake Country referendum could prove pivotal in closing CN Rail corridor deal
KELOWNA - The provincial government recently pledged more than $7 million for the CN Rail corridor purchase but it does nothing to solve Lake Country’s shortfall of $2.6 million. It may also have created a new problem — voter apathy in Lake Country where a yes vote for the purchase is still critical to the deal...
Three Rockets make NHL Central Scouting rankings
KELOWNA - The National Hockey League Central Scouting rankings are out for the 2015 draft and three Rockets have made the list this year. Nick Merkley sits at 23rd among North American skaters. The Calgary native has 90 points in 72 games this season and has already tallied six points in four playoff games. With...
UPDATE: Police say man sought in ‘inappropriate’ pictures did nothing wrong
LAKE COUNTRY - Photos found on a second-hand camera purchased in Lake Country had RCMP looking for the man found among ‘inappropriate’ photos, but after finding him yesterday, say he was not related. A Lake Country woman called police when she ‘discovered some inappropriate photos’ on a child's camera she purchased it second-hand on March...
Late snow to hit Interior highways this weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A spring snow storm is expected to drop up to 10 centimetres of wet snow on Southern Interior highways this weekend. According to Environment Canada, an unseasonably cool frontal system will reach the coast by Friday evening and rain will change to snow over the mountain passes early Saturday morning. So far 5...
Kelowna kitchen fire damages home
KELOWNA - Firefighters were able to keep a fire contained to the kitchen of a Bouvette Street home Wednesday night but the resulting smoke caused damage throughout the home. The Kelowna Fire Department responded to a call of a fire in a kitchen in a single family residence Wednesday, April 8. In total three engines,...
Local electronics retailer expands as big box stores close shop
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If Andre Blanleil gets any satisfaction from the demise of his retail competitor, electronics giant Future Shop, he doesn’t show it. “They were good competitors. They did a good job for the market they were going after,” the president of Andres Group of companies says. The regional chain operates 21 locations under the...