Local
Millions announced for upgrades to Westside Road
WEST KELOWNA – Premier Christy Clark announced Friday that the province would invest $45 million over five years to upgrade one of the worst roads in B.C. The first step involves widening an 800 metre section from Waterfront Farm to Blue Grouse as well as installation of roadside barriers and rock protection. Construction on...
Proposed cell tower scrubbed
WEST KELOWNA – A controversial plan to build a cell phone tower in West Kelowna has been abandoned amid protest from neighbours. The 20-metre tall tower, which was to be erected by Rogers Wireless at Mount Boucherie Winery, drew criticism from neighbours who worried it would be an eyesore and could negatively affect their health....
Two Kelowna locals fight for the UFC this weekend
KELOWNA – Two MMA fighters from Kelowna will be on the same UFC card this weekend. For one of them, this will be his long-awaited UFC debut. Toshido’s Rory MacDonald and Matt Dwyer are currently in Halifax readying for the televised UFC Fight Night 54 Saturday night. Welterweight contender MacDonald (17-2) will headline against Tarec...
2003 firestorm hero enters council race
KELOWNA – The woman who coordinated the evacuation of thousands of residents during the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire is running for a seat on council. Beryl Itani, 76, was the Emergency Social Services director for the Central Okanagan for 30 years. She retired in 2011. According to the City of Kelowna website, Itani has...
Former NDP candidate seeks a seat on Vernon city council
VERNON - A former NDP candidate is running for a seat on Vernon city council. Mark Olsen has lived in Vernon for 28 years and wants to give back to his community. The CUPE school support staff president was an NDP candidate in the last provincial election. Olsen believes one of the big issues in...
Former NDP candidate running for council
KELOWNA – A controversial former NDP provincial candidate announced her return to Kelowna politics Tuesday. Dayleen Van Ryswyk says she will run for a seat on Kelowna Council in the upcoming November municipal election. Van Ryswyk, a former NDP candidate for the Kelowna-Mission riding, was forced out of the race after comments about First Nations...
West Kelowna mayor seeking third term
WEST KELOWNA – Doug Findlater has announced he will seek his third term as mayor of West Kelowna in the upcoming election. First elected six years ago, Findlater has been on the West Kelowna District Council since incorporation. According to a press release sent Monday morning, “Doug is seeking re-election because he believes that the...
Tearful testimony from cops who thought they were going to die
KELOWNA – Two RCMP constables, testifying in the Kelowna Supreme Court trial of accused Westside Road shooter Michael Ellis Thursday afternoon, relived a day they will never forget. Const. Tara Schneider was working general duty in Vernon the afternoon of July 31, 2012 when a call that police were in pursuit of a suspect who...
PROSKIW: We are not the worst animal
The shockingly brutal attack on three sleeping dogs by a coward with a machete last week has truly shown the best and worse in us all. I admit to wishing very bad things for whoever did this; a swift, violent payback from some anonymous hero. But the better part of me says be patient and...
Walk to fight Ebola at Mission Creek this weekend
KELOWNA – A local non-profit is on the front lines battling a microscopic foe that threatens tens of thousands of West Africans. Hope for the Nations is a Kelowna-based charity that focuses on empowering at-risk children around the world. They are currently in 20 countries, including Liberia, the country hit hardest by the Ebola virus....
Unprecedented interest in Mayor’s chair
KELOWNA – It’s looking like voters will have an unprecedented number of choices for mayor this November. With the opportunity to file still a month away, the numbers are far from final, however outgoing Mayor Walter Gray says there does seem to be more interest this year than at any other time he can remember....
Tough as nails councillor announces his retirement
KELOWNA – After three years on council and 15 as fire chief, Coun. Gerry Zimmermann is stepping down from public office. Zimmermann was first elected to council in 2011, was Fire Chief from 1990 to 2005 and also served one term on the Agricultural Land Commision. “I had a hard time making this decision but...
Masterchef responds to claim she stole thousands from restaurant
KELOWNA – A dispute between a local reality show chef and her former business partner at Krafty Kitchen may be headed to Supreme Court. Kaila Klassen, a semi-finalist in the TV show Masterchef Canada, says she was removed from the company, Krafty Kitchen and Bar Ltd., after she broke off a personal relationship with owner...
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...
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...