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Merritt
UPDATE: Missing woman found
MERRITT - The missing woman the Upper Nicola Band and Okanagan Indian Band were in search for has been located. Before she was found, Annie Joe Gottfriedson, 20, of the Upper Nicola Band was last seen Feb. 16 at noon near Nicola Street in Merritt. “Our concerns run deep for Annie Jo and her family,”...
Big and Rich returning to Merritt
JOINS DIERKS BENTLEY, LADY ANTEBELLUM AND OTHERS MERRITT - Dierks Bentley was announced as the Saturday night headliner for the Rockin’ River Fest in Merritt back in November and now several other big country names are set to join him. Big and Rich, who have previously performed in Merritt, will return to close out the...
UPDATE: Semi fire on the Coquihalla
MERRITT – A tractor trailer loaded with lumber caught fire this morning Jan. 12 on the Coquihalla Highway south of Merritt. The semi was driving southbound at the Comstock exit when it started on fire, according to a tweet from VSA Highway Maintenance. The southbound lanes were closed for a couple hours until the burnt...
One person injured in Okanagan Connector rollover
MERRITT – A rollover early Saturday morning on the Okanagan Connector sent one person to hospital. The crash happened at around 5 a.m. at the junction of 97C and the Coquihalla about 25 kilometres east of Merritt, according to VSA Highway Maintenance. The B.C. Ambulance Service says one patient was taken by ambulance to hospital....
Vehicle fire on Coquihalla
KAMLOOPS – No word from RCMP on the cause of a vehicle fire on the Coquihalla Highway Saturday morning. Traffic was blocked between Kamloops and Merritt at around 9 a.m., as police let the vehicle burn itself out. RCMP haven’t said if anyone was hurt in the blaze. The highway has reopened to traffic with...
Low gas prices a present at the pump
PLAN A KAMLOOPS PIT STOP TO FILL UP THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Spent a little too much on gifts this year? You might still come out flush on your holiday budget thanks to the dropping prices at gas pumps around the country. For those that plan to drive during the holidays gas prices are often a thing...
Father acquitted in allegations of sexually abusing daughter
DISCRETION ADVISED; CONTENT MAY BE DISTURBING KAMLOOPS – A justice in Kamloops Supreme Court acquitted a Merritt father accused of touching his daughter for a sexual purpose after determining the daughter’s testimony was inconsistent. Justice Miriam Gropper said while she found the daughter to be “extremely poised and coherent” as she delivered evidence in court,...
Several accidents caused by weather on highway north of Merritt
KAMLOOPS - A 45 kilometre stretch of road North of Merritt is reopened after partially being closed due to several accidents caused by poor road conditions. Logan Lake and Merritt RCMP are on Highway 5 to assist emergency personnel as they tend to accidents on the roads. There is no official word from Mounties on...
Dierks Bentley headlining in Merritt
MERRITT - Country star Dierks Bentley is the first big act to sign up for Riverfest 2015 in Merritt. Bentley recently released his eighth album, Riser, featuring hit singles I Hold On and Drunk On A Plane. The award-winning star is the first act signed to the music festival, which will run July 30 through...
ELECTIONS 2014: Results from around the region
KAMLOOPS - Voters have spoken and while there are only two new faces around the council table in Kamloops there are a slew of new faces around the rest of the region. Council tables in both Clinton and Sun Peaks will remain unchanged with all incumbents unchallenged but in Ashcroft, Barriere, Chase, Lillooet and Merritt...
Audit shows company had issues prior to crash on Coquihalla
"SERIOUS FALSE STATEMENTS, DRIVING OVER DAILY AND CUMULATIVE HOURS NEED TO BE ADDRESSED" KAMLOOPS – The company which owns the bus involved in August's multiple injury crash on the Coquihalla had a history of spotty record-keeping before the incident, according to a recently released government audit. Tourists were travelling to Vancouver on a Western Bus...
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...
Victim’s name from fatal crash near Merritt released
MERRITT - The coroner's office has released the name of the Coquitlam passenger who died in a fatal car accident near Merritt on Sunday. She was Elizabeth Joan Savoie, 27. The driver of the vehicle, a Mazda 3 rolled the car several times before it rested in a ditch. The accident took place around 7...
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...
Murray Lake evacuation rescinded
KAMLOOPS - An evacuation notice for 35 properties at Murray Lake will be lifted at noon Thursday as the fire risk continues to decrease in the area. The 340 hectare Maka-Murray fire, south of Merritt and west of the Coquihalla Highway, is now 45 per cent contained and some heavy equipment has been pulled from...
UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm warnings end
UPDATE: A severe thunderstorm warning reissued for the Okanagan Valley has now ended. Twice today, Environment Canada has warned the storms could produce strong wind gusts, dime to nickel sized hail and heavy rain. All weather warnings have now ended for the South Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and North Thompson regions that were under warnings earlier...
Crews slowly containing Murray Lake fire
KAMLOOPS - A 340 hectare fire burning south of Merritt just off the Coquihalla Highway is now 40 per cent contained and crews continue to build on the guards already in place. Crews continue to make progress on the fire, which was just 30 per cent contained Monday, and today more than 100 crew members...
UPDATE: Aggressive Murray Lake fire partially contained
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An aggressive fire south of Merritt near Murray Lake is now 30 per cent contained, though an evacuation order for all properties adjacent to the lake remains. The Thompson Nicola Regional District issued the state of emergency and evacuation order around 9 p.m. Wednesday due to the potential threat. The evacuation order covers...
Guilty pleas can’t be withdrawn because of ‘confusion’
KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops Supreme Court judge dismissed a man who wants to take back the guilty plea he made because he was “confused” and didn’t understand his criminal record could lead to a harsher sentence. Last week, Craig Robert Cecil Ferguson learned he will face sentencing on charges stemming from an assault he committed...
Fire destroys old downtown buildings in Merritt
MERRITT - A fire that broke out Monday night in downtown Merritt destroyed two old buildings and left another block of buildings with smoke damage. Mayor Susan Roline says there were no significant injuries but the fire did displace several businesses and residents. She notes the ‘very old buildings’ did not have a firewall separating...
Former co-accused in smuggling case will be paid to testify
KELOWNA - A Supreme Court Justice ruled Friday that a West Kelowna man living in Manitoba will be reimbursed for expenses incurred while testifying in a criminal trial in Kelowna. Barry Ready, now 53, was at one time a co-accused in the trial of Clifford Roger Montgomery and Tariz Mohammed Aslam of Surrey. Both men...
Halley’s Comet debris trail sets the sky aglitter tonight
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A peak at the annual debris trail from Halley’s Comet may be possible tonight and early Tuesday morning if skies clear. Every spring bits of the debris trail burn up resulting in the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower. This year the peak will occur tonight, Monday, May 5, through Tuesday morning. The bright...
Spring cleaning on the Coquihalla
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — If you plan on hitting the highways this week plan for delays as crews clean and fix highways hit hard by a cold, wet winter that left potholes and frost heaves on many roads in the region. Work has already begun on some highways and over the next week drivers can expect to...