Lake Country
Deal signed for Okanagan rail line
OKANAGAN – A deal between the consortium of municipalities and CN Rail to buy the decommissioned rail corridor between Kelowna and Coldstream has been reached. The consortium, made up of Kelowna, Lake Country, Coldstream, along with the North Okanagan and Central Okanagan Regional Districts, have agreed to buy the 47.5 kilometre long stretch of railway...
RCMP officers honoured for going above and beyond
WEST KELOWNA – In between the traffic stops and routine patrols, RCMP officers are sometimes called on to risk their lives to serve the public. Officers from West Kelowna, Lake Country, Kamloops, Salmon Arm and Summerland were recently recognized for their bravery at the Police Honours Night in Victoria hosted by Governor General Judith Guichon....
Judge throws cold water on this short cut police use to get warrants
LAKE COUNTRY - Police in B.C. may find it a little tougher to obtain a search warrant after a B.C. Supreme Court justice in the Okanagan put a roadblock on a common short cut used by police for years. Justice Gary Weatherill tossed out a search warrant in a Lake Country pot case Oct. 23,...
Government paves over safety feature because of ‘noise complaints’
OYAMA - The Ministry of Transportation is removing a safety feature on the new highway in Lake Country to spare nearby residents an associated rumbling sound. Rumble strips, the grooved edges found on most highways, were installed on the new $78-million section of Highway 97 through Oyama but it seems the feature had an unpleasant...
Some intersections really are accident traps
KELOWNA - Kelowna and Lake Country RCMP have pointed out a number of high-risk collision intersections in an effort to reduce the number of crashes at these locations. "You could pick out almost any intersection in the Central Okanagan and find that it has been the scene of at least one motor vehicle collision," RCMP...
Safety measures sought for dangerous stretch of Highway 97
LAKE COUNTRY - In the aftermath of two fatal accidents, officials in Lake Country are calling for the addition of a concrete median between Beaver Lake Road and the Kelowna Airport. In July, an elderly couple and a 14-year-old passenger believed to be their grandson were fatally injured after crossing the centre line and colliding...
Attention drivers: Highway 97 construction set for this month
VERNON - Construction begins Tuesday night on a notoriously dangerous stretch of Highway 97, and that means drivers could see some delays. The Ministry of Transportation is adding $5 million worth of concrete median barriers to separate four lanes of traffic on 11 kilometres of highway between Vernon and Kelowna. The work begins Tuesday night...
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...
High-risk traffic stop intercepts dangerous driver
VERNON - Police conducted a high-risk traffic stop near the Vernon Army Camp Monday to intercept a group of individuals seen leaving a Lake Country pub with a gun in the car. Vernon RCMP were alerted around 7:30 p.m. to keep an eye out for a blue Ford Taurus. Reports said the vehicle was spotted...
High speed a factor in Lake Country car crash
LAKE COUNTRY – A young Winnipeg woman lost control of her car on a sharp curve on the Pelmewash Parkway Saturday morning. RCMP say the woman, 20, was travelling at a high rate of speed north bound on the old highway around 8:30 a.m. when she reached the on ramp to Highway 97. “Witnesses say...
Winfield man’s last four months were out of this world
EARTH - A Lake Country man has been to Mars — the simulated version anyway. Ross Lockwood, a PhD candidate in condensed matter physics at the University of Alberta, hails from Winfield but has spent the last four months in a NASA built simulation centre on the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii....
Lake Country firefighters respond to brush fire
LAKE COUNTRY - The Lake Country Fire Department responded to a vehicle fire that turned into a small brush fire Wednesday afternoon. Crews were dispatched just before 3:30 p.m. to the fire, somewhere along Oyama Road. More information will be posted as it becomes available. To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston...
Stubborn wildfire near Oyama
LAKE COUNTRY – Lake Country firefighters found themselves back at the scene of a small wildfire in the hills above Oyama dealing with hot spots Sunday morning. The 0.5-hectare brush fire near Oyama Zipline on Oyama Lake Road was reported around 6 p.m. Saturday. Fire Information Officer Kayla Pepper says a 3-person initial attack crew was...
RCMP cruiser rammed by suspects in stolen pick-up
VERNON – A pair of Albertans are in court Thursday to answer to a variety of charges in connection with an RCMP chase, which ended with a stolen truck ramming a police cruiser. It started at 11:50 a.m. when the Loss Prevention Officer at Buy Low Foods in Vernon reported he was following shoplifters in...
Small grass fire sparked when old hydro pole topples in Lake Country
LAKE COUNTRY - An old, tired hydro pole on Okanagan Centre Road between Goldie and Carrs Landing Roads finally gave up the ghost Wednesday and fell over, pulling live wires down with it, sparking a small grass fire. Firefighters were called to a report of lines down and smoke at about 10 a.m., but it...