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Kelowna

Power back on at CrocTalk animal rescue… for now

KELOWNA – You might say he’s caught between a hot rock and a hard place. Doug Illman is the owner and operator of CrocTalk Conservation and Rescue, a reptile rehabilitation and education centre in Southeast Kelowna. With more than 50 animals including adult crocodiles, exotic cats, fish and birds, the centre functions as both a...

Taxpayers First slate has plans for the Central Okanagan Regional District

KELOWNA – The slate of five council hopefuls known as Taxpayers First have unveiled a plan that, if elected, would put a massive, multi-storey commercial/residential building on the current Regional District lot on KLO Road as part of a restructuring plan. Taxpayers First, made up of Carol Gran, Graham James, Dale Olson, Michael Gorman and...

Police need help solving five-year-old murder

KELOWNA – Five years after Kelowna resident Christopher Daniel Hetu died from multiple gunshots at a park in Kelowna, police are still looking for clues about what happened. Hetu, an unemployed construction worker who was 20 at the time of his death, was found in Millbridge Park suffering from three to five gunshot wounds in...

Big White hammered by snow overnight

KELOWNA - Crews at Big White awoke to about seven centimetres of the white stuff this morning and with temperatures sitting below zero and snow still falling, it is expected enough snow will be on the ground for season opening Nov. 27. Josh Foster says in his 11 years at Big White they have only...

Why wildland firefighters keep coming back

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It can feel like warfare; heading into a fire, in the middle of nowhere for days on end at the mercy of Mother Nature. Yet something about being on the battle lines draws in wildland firefighters season after season. For Jarvis Manuel, a 14-year veteran with B.C. Wildfire, it’s the people. For Thomas...

Centre of Gravity welcome back but only in July

KELOWNA – Centre of Gravity is welcome to return to Kelowna for its eighth year, but only if it’s not during the August long weekend. Council received a report from the Outdoor Events Committee Monday, which looked at how the three-day festival impacted residents, the RCMP and local infrastructure. Wet Ape Productions agreed to move the...

Universities taking pro-active approach to Ebola despite low transmission risk

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The risk of Ebola in the interior of British Columbia is a low one, but that hasn’t stopped the international departments at Thompson Rivers University and the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus from taking direction or developing a plan for international student travel. “The key part of what we’re doing is really...

Alberta man charged with threatening WestJet flight in Kelowna

KELOWNA – A 35-year-old Alberta man, who is living in Summerland, is facing a number of charges in connection with a threat made to a WestJet flight in Kelowna on Saturday. At about 12:24 p.m., someone phoned in a threat regarding the flight scheduled to depart Kelowna for Calgary. Police still refuse to say what...

Get your skis shined up

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Two of the three big ski hills in the region are starting to see snow accumulate and that means one thing, ski season is just around the corner. The first runs are set to open Nov. 22 at Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops, though preseason race training will start as soon as there...

Two of three Westside Road shooters sentenced

KELOWNA - Two of the three people involved in the infamous Westside Road shooting that took police on a 60-kilometre chase from West Kelowna to Vernon in 2012 were sentenced in Kelowna Supreme Court Friday. Shawn Wysynski, 34, pleaded guilty and will serve nine years in federal prison for using a loaded gun to carjack...

Kelowna man allegedly driving stolen car arrested for theft and weapons

KELOWNA - It started with a mounty locating a stolen car outside a Bernard Avenue residence Wednesday night and ended with the arrest of a Kelowna man who faces a number of potential theft and weapons charges. A Kelowna RCMP officer was patrolling a known problem residence in the 700 block of Bernard Avenue at...

Get ready for the snow

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There have been small amounts of snow on mountain passes already this fall, but it hasn’t lasted long or accumulated enough for many people to really take note. Thursday morning Highway 97C saw warnings of slushy and slippery sections near the Pennask Summit and Environment Canada issued a special weather statement warning of...

Penguins fans sing Canadian anthem

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - National Hockey League fans showed their love and support for Canada Wednesday night at a game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers. The team flooded the arena with red light, images of the Canada flag and maple leafs while the words to the anthem were posted on the large screens so...

Candidates square off at first mayoral election forum

KELOWNA – Five of the eight candidates for mayor were at Manteo Resort Wednesday morning for the first public forum of the municipal election. Mayoral hopefuls Colin Basran, Sharon Shepherd, Kelly Row, Glendon Smedley and Chuck Hardy were each given two minutes to answer eight questions put forward by the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce. During...

Constituency offices shut down following Ottawa shooting

KELOWNA - It appears the constituency offices of Members of Parliament across the country have been shut down following events in Ottawa this morning, including local MP Ron Cannan's. Cannan's Capri Mall office was dark this morning after a gunman opened fire at Parliament Hill. Cannan, MP for Kelowna-Lake Country, was in Ottawa at a...

Kelowna Legion not surprised by attack in Ottawa

KELOWNA – Past president of the Kelowna Legion Ron LeRoy says he actually wasn’t all that surprised when he found out a gunman had shot and killed one soldier and injured two more. “I just wondered when (it would happen),” he says. “We’re not a small country anymore and we’re in there now with the big guys so...

Students across province prepare to vote

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Students across the province will get a chance to take part in the democratic process this November, from meeting candidates and hosting forums to reading about election issues and casting votes. In Kamloops Westsyde Secondary School students will once again be participating in Student Vote, a program aimed at getting young people involved...

Upcoming election forums are your chance to meet the candidates

KELOWNA – As the election draws near, several groups and organizations have candidate forums planned where residents will have the opportunity to meet and ask questions of those running for council, mayor and school trustee. The first forum is for mayoral candidates only and is organized by the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce. Participating candidates will...

Don’t forget, it’s flu season

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - While the public's attention has been on Ebola and enterovirus D68 recently, Interior Health is preparing for flu season, rolling out influenza vaccines to clinics and phamacies around the region. Dr. Robert Parker says they start getting calls in September but early November is when they typically start offering vaccinations to the general...

Bear repair to cost $40k

KELOWNA – A public art work in downtown Kelowna is undergoing repair work caused by residents and tourists who can’t seem to look without touching. Bear is a six metre sculpture next to Stuart Park on Water Street. According to building services manager Martin Johansen, stone pavers at the base have been broken repeatedly since...

Development director leaves city job to take over campus position

PENTICTON - The city will lose one of its greatest assets when development planner Anthony Haddad heads north to work on the expansion of the UBC Okanagan campus. Haddad leaves for his new position as the director of campus planning and development at UBC Okanagan in Kelowna, in a few weeks time. Haddad has been...

Just call it Autummer as high temperatures approach records

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - People in the Shuswap enjoyed a record breaking day Sunday and for much of the Thompson-Okanagan region it was a warm day, just not quite hot enough to break records. In Salmon Arm, a temperature of 20.8 Celsius was enough to break a 40-year-old record and was well past the seasonal normal of...

New Yacht Club officially open

KELOWNA – After two years of construction and many more spent planning, the new Kelowna Yacht Club is finally open. The new 24,000 sq. ft. clubhouse adjacent to the Water Street boat launch includes offices, a classroom, a boardroom and a privately-operated public restaurant and patio. The second floor has a covered deck and houses...