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Kelowna

Councillor announces she will run again

KELOWNA – Add one more name to the list of sitting councillors who will be on the ballot again this fall. Mohini Singh, who was first elected three years ago, has announced she will seek re-election to a second term. “There's a lot of unfinished business,” she says. “I see good things happening for Kelowna...

Keep your eyes to the sky Thursday night

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If the skies stay clear, and they are supposed to, we could be in a for a great northern lights show Thursday night. The National Space Weather Prediction Center says a ‘moderate’ storm is expected to hit Earth late Thursday night (in the Pacific time zone) before downgrading to a ‘minor’ storm in...

Ex-boyfriend busted for breaking and entering

Kelowna – A 34-year-old Kelowna man was arrested Tuesday after his ex-girlfriend found him in her home going through her personal belongings. RCMP were called to a house on Gerstmar Road in the early afternoon with reports of a break and enter. According to Const. Kelly Brett, the homeowner had just returned home to find...

Can Kamloops beat Kelowna?

KAMLOOPS - What better way to increase voter turnout than by placing a wager on it? Coun. Arjun Singh is a supporter of the Kamloops 50 initiative, a group looking to increase voter turnout in the November election to 50 per cent from just under 30 per cent as happened in 2011, and he's extending...

Westside shooter threatened man and his young son

KELOWNA – The encounter lasted only a few minutes but left a strong impression on Mark Langmead and his 11-year-old son. “It was very disturbing,” he told Justic Ian Josephson in the B.C. Supreme Court trial of accused Westside shooter Michael Ellis Tuesday. “(My son) was very upset. He was extremely quiet and refused to...

Local fighter ranked third best in the country

KELOWNA – Local MMA athlete Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras was recently ranked in the top three female fighters in Canada by MMACanada.net. Moras, 26, got her start on the TV show The Ultimate Fighter last year and won her first official fight in the UFC by unanimous decision July 6 against Alexis Dufresne. “I think every ranking does...

Fassbender: ‘It’s driving me crazy’

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Education Minister kicked off a press conference Monday afternoon with not one, but two movie references (Groundhog Day and Back to the Future if you were wondering), following them with a counter proposal to the teachers’ union second request to enter binding arbitration. Since talks broke down just before school was set to...

UPDATE: General strike in support of teachers put on hold

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Plans to call for a general strike beginning Wednesday have been put on hold while B.C. residents wait for the results of a teachers' union vote on suspending the strike and whether the government will agree to binding arbitration. A group of concerned citizens originally planned a three-day general strike to begin Wednesday...

Teachers’ union continues push for binding arbitration

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Even after the B.C. government said no to binding arbitration this weekend, the teachers’ union won't give up hope. The union feels arbitration could end the strike and get its members a fair settlement. “Binding arbitration is a fair, practical and pragmatic approach,” B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Jim Iker said Monday morning at...

Coroner identifies Kelowna residents who died in crash near Quesnel

Quesnel - The B.C. Coroners Service has identified two Kelowna area residents who died in a head-on collision near Quesnel Thursday. They were Brian Scott Knutson, 48, of Westbank and Alma Helen Wert, 70, of Kelowna. The third person who died, 73-year-old Shirley Wakefield, was from New Hazelton. Knutson was the sole occupant of a...

Enjoy warm weather while it lasts

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Enjoy the weekend while it lasts — another blast of heat is coming our way this weekend but there'll be a significant drop in temperatures Monday. Temperatures will reach as much as 30 Celsius in the region and the sun in expected to shine throughout the weekend. Kamloops will see the warmest temperatures...

Teachers’ union has plan to get school back in session

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Just two days after saying the union would not consider a vote to suspend the current strike Jim Iker, the teachers’ union president, says they would recommend members vote to suspend the strike if the government is willing to agree to binding arbitration. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation president says this is another option...

PROSKIW: The lesson of the day: It’s okay to fight dirty

At a recent B.C. Teachers Federation anti-government rally, one of the speakers brought someone with her to the microphone. Her five-year-old son was suddenly before 300 cheering people on the side of a busy highway. The boy tries to hide in her arms a few times but after some gentle prodding he eventually parrots “I want school.”...

Coroner confirms identity of man found dead

KELOWNA - A man found dead in a wooded area of Kelowna Wednesday has been identified. The B.C. Coroners Service says he was Melvin Davis Maygard, 56, of West Kelowna. A passerby found Maygard on the ground Sept. 3 on the banks of Mill Creek near the intersection of Enterprise Way and Commerce Avenue. The...

Parole violator drives like a fool and gets arrested

KELOWNA - Two women violating parole might have gone on to violate another day if they hadn’t drawn attention to themselves Tuesday. Kelowna RCMP Const. Sheldon Herman was conducting a routine patrol along Highway 33 when he noticed a black Mustang near Bryden Road. He ran the plates and discovered the car belonged to a...

TEACHERS’ STRIKE: How much money the Terry Fox Foundation stands to lose

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The kids, the teachers, the government, the parents. We’ve heard over and over again how the current labour dispute is affecting them, but what about the organizations that also rely on schools to help with fundraising? Every year during September, students raise money for the Terry Fox Run but this year, unless teachers and...

“We’re not suspending any strike:” Iker

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Teachers’ union president Jim Iker has declined the Premier's request to suspend the strike while bargaining continues. Earlier today, Christy Clark urged him, before a packed news conference, to allow teachers to vote to end the strike or suspend it. Two hours later, Iker held is own conference and stood his ground. “We’re...

Parents taking control during teacher strike

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With no end to the current labour dispute in sight many parents are wondering how they can make sure their kids do not fall behind in their education — book sections in many stores are picked over, only a few workbooks remaining, and many school-age programs filled up before the summer was even...

This ‘Floating island’ on Okanagan Lake could be yours

OKANAGAN – It’s the size of a small island, has multiple bedrooms and bathrooms like a cottage, but it can take you across the lake at 65 km/h. A luxury sport yacht owned by Penticton resident George Speirs was listed for sale on Kijiji this past weekend. The price tag for the 63’ Sea Ray...

Endless summer in B.C…. snow in Alberta?

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Mother Nature is welcoming some Alberta kids back to school in Canadian style today — with a snow storm. The southeast corner of Alberta, from Brooks to the B.C. border, is currently under a heavy rainfall warning but combined with temperatures hovering not much above zero some areas are instead seeing wet snow....

What you can do to prevent bear conflicts this fall

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Hide your picnic baskets and tuck away your garbage cans, it’s high season for bears as they look to take in about 20,000 calories per day before settling in to hibernate for the winter. WildSafeBC Provincial Coordinator Frank Ritcey says bear sightings in the month of August were more than the four previous...

At least someone’s getting a laugh over the teachers’ strike

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It appears someone working for the provincial government's web department has added a little ironic wit—if not annoying editorial—to the rhetoric on the teachers strike. When all hope of ending the teachers strike before Sept. 2 was lost on the weekend, the B.C. government opened up its website so parents can register to...

Small fire forces evacuation at Mission Meadows

KELOWNA - A small fire in the kitchen of a first floor condo on Casorso Road forced the evacuation of the Mission Meadows complex Tuesday. The building's fire alarm system notified Kelowna Fire at 11:39 a.m. at the same time a neighbour noticed smoke coming from unit 108 directly opposite the main entrance and lobby. Captain...