North Okanagan
Police believe Trinity Valley suspects were cooking up crystal meth
VERNON - A six day investigation and clean-up at a North Okanagan property wrapped up over the weekend, leaving authorities strongly suspecting crystal meth was being produced there. A significant quantity of hazardous materials believed to be used in the manufacturing of crystal meth were removed from the Trinity Valley Road rental home and secured...
Torched boat latest in series of suspected arsons
VERNON - A torched boat is the latest in a series of suspicious fires under investigation by authorities. Deputy fire chief Jack Blair says an 18 foot recreational ski boat with a For Sale sign on it was set ablaze in a parking lot in the 2300 block of 48 Avenue around 11 p.m. Tuesday....
Rash of fires spark concern
VERNON - A series of suspicious fires has police appealing to the public for information. The most recent of the suspected arsons include a vacant building and porta-potty set ablaze Sunday and Monday. Police continue to investigate a pair of suspicious dumpster fires from early May, as well as a chain of unsolved arsons from...
Five arrests made in connection with suspected synthetic drug lab
VERNON - Police, environmental agencies and a HAZMAT team descended upon a secluded North Okanagan property over the long weekend following the discovery of an alleged drug lab. Police had already been investigating the Trinity Valley Road property near Enderby for months, but is was reports of shots fired in the area that led police...
Local couple brewing up new downtown destination
VERNON - You’ll still be able to buy a drink at the former night club on the corner of 30 Avenue and 30 Street downtown, but the similarities end there. Stefan and Pearl Marten, the new owners of the prominent Main Street building, are brewing up a different approach, one that invites families, foodies and...
Former Vernon vice-principal punished for boosting student’s grades
VERNON - A former Vernon vice-principal has been reprimanded for boosting a student’s grades. The B.C. Teacher Regulation Branch is suspending former Vernon Secondary School vice-principal Tony Martin Dolinar’s teaching certificate for one month because he increased the grades “of a student whom he wished to favour” without the consent of the student’s teacher. Dolinar...
North Okanagan school district axes positions and prepares for the next tough decision
SALMON ARM - The North Okanagan school district is looking at closing schools and reducing the number of trustees on its board to settle ongoing financial challenges in the operating budget. Those ideas surfaced at a board meeting Tuesday as trustees passed a preliminary budget for the 2014/15 school year that would involve laying off teachers...
Debris from Kingfisher landslide endangers boaters
SHUSWAP - Debris from the massive landslide east of Enderby has made its way into Mara Lake. It’s been almost two weeks since a massive deluge of logs, mud and water washed out a portion of Mabel Lake Road and the bridge over Cook Creek. Some of that debris flowed downstream into Mara Lake and...
New recycling program could be unfair to seniors, people with disabilities
VERNON - Vernon City Hall is learning from its populace you can’t put everyone in the same box. Multi-Material B.C. is set to take over the city’s recycling system next Monday, and that will involve shifting pick up from blue bags to blue bins. There are concerns seniors and people with disabilities will struggle with...
Vernon woman pleads to have mother’s stolen ashes returned
VERNON - A Vernon woman is pleading to have her mother’s ashes returned after they were stolen in a break and enter. “I can’t even focus on anything else, I’ll do anything to get my mother back,” Manon Care says. “I feel more violated than when she passed away a couple months ago.” Care kept...
New Vernon visitor centre stalled by approval process
VERNON - People passing through Vernon won’t be able to visit the city’s new tourism centre for at least a few more weeks. The visitor information centre was pegged to open May 1 on 39 Avenue beside Civic Arena, but the Ministry of Transportation’s approval process to rezone the property is taking longer than expected....
Sweet gesture helped firefighters tackle weekend blaze
LUMBY - A long night of firefighting became a little easier through the generosity of a Lumby restauranteur. Around a dozen members of the Lumby volunteer fire department were called to Shuswap Avenue around 10 p.m. Sunday to battle a fire in a machine shop. It was well after most shops closed, and the firefighters...
New motorcyclist dies in head-on collision near Enderby
NORTH OKANAGAN - Police responded to a fatal motorcycle accident in Enderby mere hours after attending the scene of a tragic car crash in Lumby involving two brothers. Police and emergency crews responded to the motorcycle around 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Cpl. Gerry Kovacs says a 64-year-old Enderby man new to motorcycling was killed in a...
Passenger watches his brother die in Lumby car crash
NORTH OKANAGAN - A Lumby man tried to save his brother before he died after an early morning car crash Sunday. The 23-year-old man and his 25-year-old brother at the wheel were on their way to help some friends having vehicle troubles around 2:20 a.m. Along the 1000 block of Whitevale Road near Lumby, the 2003...
RBC Cup a boon for local economy
VERNON - The return of the RBC Cup is expected to bring economic benefits to the region for years to come. Vernon is hosting the national Junior A Hockey Championship for the first time since 1990, and the city’s economic development manager Kevin Poole says it’s going to infuse the local economy with players and...