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Kelowna
Will we have a white Christmas?
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The halls are decked, the trees are trimmed and the presents are wrapped, or at least bought, or at least thought of, but it doesn’t really feel like Christmas until there’s snow on the ground. But will Mother Nature cooperate? Right now, it’s not looking so good. With Environment Canada forecasting above normal...
Changes to curbside waste collection on Christmas and New Year’s
KELOWNA – Kelowna residents with curbside waste pickup normally scheduled for Thursday and Friday will have to wait an extra day to get rid of their Christmas and New Year’s trash. With no collection on Christmas and New Year’s day, for those weeks Thursday pickup will happen on Friday, and Friday pickups will be made...
$60K public art contract up for bid
KELOWNA – A new public art project worth $60,000 will soon be commissioned to honour and inspire women recovering from addictions. The artwork will be installed adjacent to a major public space planned for outside the Karis Supportive Housing Project that is expected to be completed next year. According to Urban planner Pat McCormick, the...
Police seek information in bizarre Kelowna handgun incident
KELOWNA - Police are looking for a man who allegedly pointed a gun at a pair of Okanagan residents and then offered to help them change a tire. The strange incident happened Nov. 4 around 12:30 a.m. at the Willow Park Church parking lot at 439 Highway 33, states a release from the Kelowna RCMP....
UPDATE: Explosion and fire on Knox Mountain
KELOWNA - Quick thinking by a Kelowna homeowner likely saved his house after the gas tank on a vintage car exploded in the attached garage Monday afternoon. At about 2:25 p.m., fire crews responded to a call about an explosion and fire at a home at 311 Woodpark Cres. in Magic Estates on Knox Mountain....
Kelowna shed fire kills pet chicken
KELOWNA – A shed has been destroyed by fire and a pet chicken killed thanks to an unattended space heater. Kelowna firefighters were called to the blaze at 1629 Parkridge Ct. at around 6:57 a.m. and arrived to find 15’X15’ shed at the rear of the property fully engulfed in flames. The fire was quickly...
UPDATE: Body found in burning truck
KELOWNA - The RCMP and the coroner are investigating after a man's body was discovered in a burning truck in Kelowna, though police don't suspect foul play. Fire crews were called Saturday at around 6:07 p.m. to the truck, which was found engulfed in flames Casorso Road at Barrera Road near Casorso Elementary School in...
So you want to be a wildland firefighter?
NOW IS THE TIME TO APPLY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The wildfire season is just barely over but the provincial branch responsible for protecting us from wildfires is already getting prepared for next year. This past year crews attended nearly 350 fires, which burned a total of more than 3,800 hectares, in just the Kamloops centre. Across...
A second chance for Thistletown Boxing Club
KELOWNA – One of B.C.’s last remaining boxing clubs is getting a fresh start thanks to some help from a local business owner. Kelowna’s Thistletown Boxing Club first opened in 2007. For seven years it was managed by former National champion Graham McIntosh before financial troubles forced him to close the doors in July. A...
Seven small Kelowna businesses make B.C. awards semi-finals
KELOWNA - The Top 10 semi-finalists for the 12th Annual Small Business BC Awards have now been selected, and seven very special companies are from Kelowna. These semi-finalists include: CoreHealth Technologies for Best Workplace and Best Company, Culinary Ink GastroVentures Ltd. for Best Emerging Entrepreneur, Float Space for Best Emerging Entrepreneur, The Greenery Garden Centre...
Gluten-free baker from Kelowna catches chef Jamie Oliver’s attention
KELOWNA - A large cardboard cutout of a slice of bread caught food guru Jamie Oliver’s attention. Matthew and Nicole Knegt of the Kelowna-based Four Spoons Bakery, which specializes in gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and nut-free goods, sent the lazer-cut two-by-one-and-a-half-foot cardboard toast with a bite mark in it to world-renowned chef Jamie Oliver’s production company...
Third day of record highs in Interior
COOL DOWN BEGINS THOMPSON- OKANAGAN - For the third day in a row more high temperatures records were set in the region Thursday. According to temperatures recorded by Environment Canada Vernon set a new record with a high of 12.6 Celsius Thursday, more than three degrees higher than the previous record set in 1939, and...
Warm weekend perfect for meteor show
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A mix of sun and cloud, low temperatures of only -2 Celsius and a moon in the last quarter may give us just the perfect conditions to take in the peak of the Geminid meteor shower this weekend. The meteor shower is visible Dec. 4-17 this year but overnight Dec. 13-14 is likely...
Charity comes easy to this Kelowna family
KELOWNA – For the third year in a row a Mission family is showing that charity doesn’t have to be a lot of hard work. For the past two years, the de Haas family have partnered with a local pizza shop to donate more than a dozen pizzas they take to school and offer to...
Kelowna’s housing prices will continue to climb in 2015
KELOWNA – It’s going to continue to be a seller’s market in Kelowna over the next year as low interest rates combine with low inventory to drive prices up. According to RE/MAX Housing Market Outlook Report, the 2015 average residential sale price in Kelowna rose seven per cent over 2014. Although that is one per...
More weather records broken in Interior
BACK TO NORMALS BY SUNDAY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As temperatures soared as high as 15 degrees above seasonal normals more weather records were broken across the region Wednesday. According to Environment Canada, temperatures reached 15.6 Celsius in Kamloops Wednesday, nearly three degrees higher than the previous record for the second day in a row, while Vernon...
Convicted killer due for sentencing for ramming police car
"IT DOES NOT APPEAR THAT PERIODS OF INCARCERATION HAVE AFFECTED HIM." KELOWNA – A Kelowna man with an extensive criminal history is being sentenced for using a stolen truck to ram a police car as he tried to evade arrest only one year after being released from prison for a 2005 manslaughter conviction. "It was only...
Energy efficiency program puts $700K back in UBCO hands
KELOWNA - An energy efficiency program at UBC Okanagan resulted in $700,000 in rebates since it was first implemented in 2005. Upgrades began in the gymnasium, where energy-efficient lighting was installed. From there, the University has worked alongside FortisBC during large campus expansion projects to ensure they meet the new standards while most older campus...
Weather record set in Kamloops, Okanagan communities just shy
COULD BE ANOTHER RECORD DAY IN INTERIOR THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Kamloops was among a handful of B.C. communities to set new weather records as temperatures soared to above 14 Celsius Tuesday. According to Environment Canada Kamloops reached a high of 14.2 C Tuesday, 3.6 degrees higher than the previous record that was set in 1896. Today...
IH secures enough flu vaccine to open postponed clinics
OKANAGAN - Some flu clinics postponed last week have been rescheduled now that Interior Health has secured enough vaccine. An additional 10,000 doses of influenza vaccine means IH can open their doors for public flu clinics starting next week. There are multiple options for those seeking the jab. Kelowna – The December 15 public drop-in...
Test results back on trees suspected of being poisoned
KELOWNA – Test results on a stand of trees the City believes were poisoned to improve someone’s view of the lake last month have come back inconclusive. Environment manager Todd Cashin says they still believe the trees were vandalized but whoever did it must have used a chemical that is quite common and ultimately untraceable....
Hells Angel sentencing could be postponed until after Christmas
KELOWNA - What was supposed to be a day of final submissions ahead of sentencing has turned into a multi-day examination into the lives of two men convicted of multiple weapons charges. Admitted Hells Angel Joseph Bruce Skreptak and alleged gang associate Cory Montemurro asked to postpone sentencing until early January so they can spend...
Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd coming to Kelowna
KELOWNA - The band Lynyrd Skynyrd will make Kelowna their sweet home for one night to share more than 41 years of southern rock with fans. The show takes place March 19, 2015 with tickets going on sale Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers rose to prominence in 1973...
Firefighters called to apartment fire on De Montreuil Crt.
KELOWNA - Residents were evacuated when a fire broke out in a second floor apartment at 3175 De Montreuil Crt. in Kelowna Monday afternoon. Shortly after 1 p.m. Dec. 8, 2014 firefighters received a call about the fire at Willowbrook Gardens. When they arrived they found a mattress was in open flame in a bedroom...