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Okanagan Lake
Backyard pools contaminating Okanagan Lake
OKANAGAN - Backyard pools are a source of fun and relaxation for many Okanagan homeowners but if improperly drained they are a source of excess chlorine and contaminants for Okanagan Lake. “Chlorine is unfriendly to the lake and the surge of people emptying their pools and hot tubs in the spring and fall adds to...
Man stuck with fine for illegal dock work on Okanagan Lake
VERNON - If you’re a waterfront property owner who’s ever built a dock on the lake, a B.C. Supreme Court Judge says you need a permit for that. It’s a rule cottage owner Laurent Desautels didn’t know about in March 2013, when he hired Okanagan Pile Driving Inc. to install piles into Okanagan Lake as...
Half marathon combines wine and natural Okanagan beauty
KELOWNA – The Kelowna Wine Country Half Marathon is based on the success of a similar event held in California’s famous Napa Valley. The Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon first combined a marathon with natural beauty and wine over a decade ago. Destination Races brought the idea to the Okanagan Valley for the...
City of Vernon buys another high-priced lakeshore property
VERNON - It’s all part of the big picture. Over the last two decades, the City of Vernon has been buying lakeshore property on Okanagan Lake as it pieces together enough land for a public waterfront park. The latest is the property at 2602 Lakeshore Road for $707,500. A pretty good price considering councillors have...
Top 7 romantic places in Vernon
VERNON - From postcard perfect lake views to snow covered mountains, this picturesque valley we call home has no shortage of lovely locales. This Valentine’s Day, we’ve decided to celebrate the romantic locations our city boasts, and to help us round up the top seven we caught up with some local photographers. Who better to...
Why this Okanagan woman took not one, but 12 polar bear dips
OKANAGAN - If you thought this week’s Polar Bear Swim participants were nuts, you won’t believe what this Okanagan mom has been doing for the past three months. Along with her sister and 14-year-old daughter, Kelowna resident Mix Hart has been taking a dip in Okanagan Lake once a week for the past 12 weeks....
PHOTOS: New Year’s Day frigid plunge into Okanagan Lake
KELOWNA - About 100 brave souls walked, waded, ran and dived into the fridge waters of Okanagan Lake at Kelowna's City Park on New Year's Day. The annual Polar Bear Swim not only tested the participants ability to survive in icy water, it was a fundraiser for the Community Recreation Initiatives Society. The icy spash...
VIDEO: Hauntingly beautiful mist rises from Okanagan Lake
KELOWNA – It doesn’t happen often because the weather conditions and the temperature of the water in Okanagan Lake have to be just right. Kelowna wedding videographer Jerry Mason posted a time-lapse video to YouTube he took last weekend of arctic sea smoke on the lake. The very cold air mass that flowed into the...
Okanagan Lake and S.S. Sicamous get revamped
PENTICTON - The Okanagan Lake waterfront will soon get another new look, thanks to city staff who are putting together a plan to revitalize the area around the S.S. Sicamous. Options for the plan were presented to city council last night, who will ultimately decide what they want to see in the new park. The...
Grab your cameras and binoculars; Marina Way Lookout is open
PENTICTON - The Marina Way Lookout officially opens Thursday evening, revealing the newest view of Okanagan Lake with a celebration and historical tour. The reconstruction project was part of the city’s waterfront enhancement strategy. The vision was to transform the abandoned peninsula — formally used as a Canadian National Railway loading dock — into a...
Charges possible in boat vs. Seadoo crash
VERNON - Charges may be laid under the Canada Shipping Act after two boats crashed on Okanagan Lake over the weekend. Emergency services were called out to the Fintry area around 11:30 a.m. Sunday after a fishing boat and a jet boat collided. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the 18-foot Seadoo bowrider was traveling west...
Okanagan Lake walkway opens with a splash
PENTICTON - Come celebrate the official opening of the Okanagan Lake waterfront walkway at a Beach Party fundraiser at the SS Sicamous esplanade this Saturday. Splash around in the water to help beat the heat, or take a ride on a slip-n-slide that shoots you right out into the lake. The kids can play in...
Vernon teen dies after taken off life support
KELOWNA - A Vernon teen severely injured in a tubing accident last Saturday died last night after being taken off life support. He died at 8:52 p.m. but not before donating organs to at least six people, according to the Support Miracles for Miles Facebook page, where people are invited to leave messages. "You mean...
Police seek answers in Vernon teen’s death
VERNON - Police are working to give a grieving family answers in the tragic boating death of a Vernon teen. Officers are investigating the death of Miles Wohlford, 14, who fell off his tube and was struck by the boat and its propeller June 28 on Okanagan Lake. “The investigation is to thoroughly look into...
Vigilance and caution urged on lakes following tragic boating accident
VERNON – A Vernon teenager remains in critical condition in hospital after he was run over by a powerboat on Okanagan Lake Saturday evening. Miles Wohlford, 14, was with a group of friends tubing on the northern arm of the lake off Westside Road near Mary Anns Road around 6:10 p.m. RCMP Cpl. Gerry Kovacs...
Tubing teenager hit by tow boat on Okanagan Lake
VERNON – A 14-year-old local boy was critically injured in a tubing accident on Okanagan Lake near Vernon Saturday evening. RCMP Sgt. Derrick Donovan says the boy was riding a tube behind a power boat and fell off. He was struck by the boat that had been pulling the tube. It happened just after 6...
Greenway underpasses closed again
KELOWNA – The swift and rising water in Mission Creek from the spring runoff and the rain on Friday has forced the closure of the two underpasses on the Mission Creek Greenway. The trails under the Casorso Road Bridge and south side of the creek at the Gordon Drive Bridge are closed until the water...
Boaters rescued after accidental overnighter
KELOWNA – Members of Central Okanagan Search and Rescue were called to assist in the rescue of two people who became stranded after an evening of boating Monday. COSAR vice president Duane Tresnich says RCMP requested help searching a remote area of Okanagan Lake north of Rattlesnake Island after a report the engine of a...
Sunscreen and shades kind of weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — Mother Nature has a treat for us this weekend—soaring temperatures and lots of sun. Highs of 24-25 C will be highlighted by sun for much of the day today and by Sunday the entire region will be seeing highs of 28 C with more sun. We can expect to see some cloud cover...
Years of boiling tap water over
PENTICTON – The people living on the West Bench are drinking water right from the tap in the first time in years. Interior Health says the water from the new West Bench Water System is safe following a $9.8 million dollars in improvements. The permanent boil water advisory was lifted on Friday. The new supply...