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Kelowna
Keep control of campfires this weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Most campfire bans have been lifted heading into the Labour Day long weekend but that does not mean you should be careless with your fires while camping. B.C. Wildfire is reminding people to use extreme caution while out camping or in the backcountry. Last weekend, just days after the campfire ban was lifted...
UPDATE: Coq reopened after tour bus crash, 43 injured
MERRITT - A rollover has injured 43 people on board a tour bus and shut down the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Hope Thursday afternoon. Kelsie Carwithen of B.C. Ambulance Service says they got the call at 3 p.m. of an incident 30 kilometres south of Merritt involving a tour bus. They dispatched six air...
Hot Wednesday hits records, cools off for long weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It was the last hot day of August Wednesday with temperatures soaring into the 30s across the region, and while several cities closed in on record highs only Vernon hit the mark. Yesterday Vernon hit 33.5 Celsius, hot enough to tie the record set in 1986, and Kelowna also came close but couldn’t...
Police search for bear spraying robber
KELOWNA – RCMP officers are searching for a suspect who sprayed bear spray after robbing the Dilworth Drive Scotia Bank Tuesday afternoon. Before deploying the spray, a man walked in the bank with his face covered and demanded cash. He fled with an undisclosed amount. After searching the scene, police were unable to find the...
Teachers asked to ‘voluntarily stand down’
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - In an effort to get negotiations moving, Education Minister Peter Fassbender met with the lead negotiators today and asked teachers to ‘voluntarily stand down and let classes start while the parties are in mediation.’ Fassbender met with B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Jim Iker and B.C. Public School Employers’ Association representative Peter Cameron Wednesday...
Taking the hit before taking the shot: What your hockey helmet isn’t protecting you from
THOMPSON/OKANAGAN - It’s easily the most important piece of your hockey gear; you’re not even allowed on the ice without it even though the helmet you have now isn’t doing much to prevent concussions. But there could be significant changes in the works to adapt it. Paul van Donkelaar is the director of UBC-O’s school...
Electronic music festival showcases female talent
KELOWNA – A two-day music and arts festival featuring an all-female lineup is coming back to Kelowna for the second year in a row. The Female Arts and Music Exhibition (FAME) is a collection of female promoters, DJ’s, artists, musicians, technicians and engineers who share a passion for electronic music and art. It takes place...
UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch ends
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A severe thunderstorm watch issued this morning has been lifted for Kamloops, Vernon and the Shuswap. Environment Canada issued the watch for nine different regions, include the North and South Thompson, the North Okanagan and the Shuswap, this morning. The watch extended north through the Cariboo and east to the Alberta border in...
Loss of rail is loss of history
VERNON - It once brought growth to the region, but now the railway linking Vernon with Kelowna is being erased one rail tie at a time. Since the last spike was laid in 1925, the nearly 50-kilometer stretch of track has carried many passengers and untold quantities of freight. But its glory days are long...
Contaminated soil found under Lakeshore Road
KELOWNA – Crews upgrading the stretch of Lakeshore Road south of Mission Creek Bridge dug something up three weeks ago that wasn’t supposed to be there. “We had an area contaminated by gas,” says project manager Purvez Irani. “We are going through the environmental (clean-up) process now. At this stage it’s looking like (it came...
Crews chasing abandoned campfires after ban ends
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The first weekend after the campfire ban was lifted, B.C. Wildfire crews were called to put out abandoned campfires across the region that could have resulted in much larger fires. “We had nine abandoned campfires, we definitely did see the number of calls go up,” Fire Information Officer Kayla Pepper says. “It is...
RCMP see surge in thefts due to residents’ negligence
KELOWNA – Calling it a “crime of opportunity” Mounties are advising Kelowna residents to keep doors and windows locked when leaving home; thieves are taking advantage of those who fail to do so. Unlocked doors and open windows have led to a surge of break-and-enter cases in the city, with officers noting most offenses in...
Heartland stars rolling through town
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are a fan of Heartland get your cameras ready, the stars of the hit Canadian show tour Southern B.C. raising funds for Sophie’s Place during a six-day motorcycle marathon. The Cruise with a Cause marathon began Monday and first stopped in Whistler. Tuesday the stars will make their way to Cache...
City running low on large garbage carts
KELOWNA – A combination of more customers and higher demand has the City of Kelowna’s supply of oversize wheeled garbage bins running low and staff has asked for more funds to keep up with demand. The city was alerted to the impending shortage by Okanagan Environmental Waste Systems, the company contracted to collect garbage curbside....
OOPS: Man accidentally released on bail on domestic violence charges
KAMLOOPS – A man held in custody on a string of domestic violence charges was mistakenly set free on bail from the Kamloops Law Courts and a Supreme Court judge was asked to fix it last week. "Confusing," was how Justice Hope Hyslop described the situation surrounding Jeremy Allen, born 1980. It's not clear exactly...
Accused in drive-by shooting granted bail
KAMLOOPS – One of two men accused in a fatal drive-by shooting in Salmon Arm was granted bail Friday morning in Kamloops Supreme Court. Jeremy Davis, 24, was released on a $100,000 surety. He and Jordan Larry Barnes, 27, are charged with the second degree murder of Nicolas Larsen, 24. RCMP statements say Larsen was...
Making a better helmet to help reduce brain injuries
KELOWNA – Researchers in Kelowna are part of an international team of researchers are working on applications for a new gel-like material that absorbs the shock from impacts. A pair of professors from Imperial College London were in Kelowna this past week working with UBC Okanagan’s new Survive and Thrive Applied Research or STAR facility....
Local government to make an offer on rail corridor
OKANAGAN - A group of Okanagan municipalities plan to make CN an offer this fall for an almost 50 kilometre long rail corridor between Vernon and Kelowna. Doug Gilchrist, City of Kelowna real estate and community planning director says a jurisdictional acquisition team made up of Kelowna, Lake Country, Coldstream, the North Okanagan Regional District...
Why you’ve seen so many missing person reports on your news feed this summer
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The faces of missing people from the Thompson-Okanagan have poured into news feeds over the last few months, but police say it’s nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year. Spokesperson for the RCMP Const. Kris Clark says the summer months typically see more reports of missing people. “You’ve got the...
Homeless diners sit down to a delectable lobster meal
KELOWNA - The hungry and homeless of Kelowna recently sat down to plates of fresh, Atlantic lobster at the Kelowna Gospel Mission. The Mission says they were thrilled a courier company thought of them when they had to discard a damaged shipment of lobsters. The lobsters filling two large boxes were broken, but every part...
UBCO student union removes The Phoenix from campus
KELOWNA – The Phoenix, UBCO’s 25 year-old campus newspaper, is being removed from campus. The move is part of the UBCO student union's (UBCSUO) re-allocation of space in the UNC, which will see Resource Centers merged and new businesses added. “It just comes down to the utilization of space,” UBCSUO President Rocky Kim said, “we have...
UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch ended
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The severe thunderstorm watch for today ended at 6:54 p.m. for all regions except Penticton, which saw the watch lifted just before 9 p.m. Today marked the fifth day in the past 10 days a severe thunderstorm was issued for the region. Environment Canada issued the severe thunderstorm watch Thursday morning for the...
Campers rejoice, fire ban rescinded
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Recent cool, wet weather means that as of today, Thurs. Aug. 21, you can once again have campfires in the Kamloops Fire Centre one week ahead of the long weekend. B.C. Wildfire lifted the ban, which was put in place more than five weeks ago, following a decrease in wildfire risk thanks to...
Public can weigh in on Mixed Martial Arts ban
VERNON - The public will soon get a chance to provide input on a controversial Mixed Martial Arts bylaw. The City of Vernon has given first readings to the bylaw, which would ban professional MMA events. Members of the public can have their say on the bylaw at the start of the Sept. 8 council...