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Okanagan
Electoral boundary changes go to public hearing in Kamloops, Vernon
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Changes are being recommended in many electoral areas across the province and this week you can get your say in on those changes at three meetings throughout the region. The B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission held public hearings in the fall and earlier this year a report outlining the recommended changes was released. In...
Fire danger ratings reach extreme
OPEN BURNING RESTRICTIONS START FRIDAY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Open fires were already set to be restricted in many parts of the Kamloops fire centre beginning May 15 but with unseasonably warm and dry weather well under way, the entire fire centre will now be put under restrictions beginning this weekend. The Clearwater and Salmon Arm fire...
Mothers Day continues when mom has passed on
VERNON - Every May, Brenda Gilchrist-Sword changes her profile picture. The black and white portrait isn’t her, but her mom Grace, who passed away in 2002. Gilchrist-Sword, of Vernon, lives in a different province from where her mom is buried, so the profile picture is her way of honouring her mom around Mother’s Day. She...
Retired conservation officer speaks out about the realities of a service stretched too thin
“YOU CAME TO WORK EVERY DAY KNOWING YOU COULD NOT FULFILL EVERY PHONE CALL AND REPORTED COMPLAINT” KELOWNA - Retired B.C. conservation officer Greg Hoyer went into the field to protect fisheries and wildlife; by the time he left in 2009 that was only a fraction of his job. “Over the years, the government just...
New wildfire recruits put through paces
MERRITT - More than 200 seasonal firefighter applicants have made the cut and this month they are being put through a ‘rigorous’ bootcamp near Merritt. About 1,000 people, many of which are post-secondary students, apply for the positions every year. Provincial Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek says the job is "very in demand" and the...
HELSTON: Angry about school superintendents getting raises? You’re missing the point
Many reacted with shock when news broke that superintendents in three Okanagan school districts were given raises last year, but I think we might be missing the bigger picture. What I find more shocking than a superintendent with 30 years of education experience receiving a pay raise — the first for that position since 2006...
Move over wine, there’s a new Okanagan drink and it’s more popular than ever
OKANAGAN - There’s more for the thirsty soul in the Okanagan Valley than just wine, and locally-made cider is here to prove it. A number of cideries have blossomed in the Okanagan over the last few years, including the family-run BX Press in Vernon. Owners Dave and Melissa Dobernigg opened their craft cider house last...
Injunction hearing over Okanagan Rail corridor set for this month
VERNON – A Supreme Court Judge will hear the Okanagan Indian Band’s argument for an…
Meteors to shower the Southern Interior sky this week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A nearly full moon may play havoc with the Aquarids Meteor Shower as it peaks this week but there is still a chance to see some of the brightest meteors if you can find a patch of clear sky and are patient. The product of dust particles left behind by Halley’s Comet, the...
Cruise into days gone by at the Starlight Drive-In
ENDERBY - For Starlight Drive-In owner Paul Lindquist, the best part of the night is the intermission between shows. It’s when packs of children come blasting through the doors of the deliciously tacky concession in their pajamas to stock up on snacks and older couples stroll in holding hands, warm with the memory of days...
Expect to see smoke along the Coquihalla this week
KAMLOOPS - A series of small burns north of Merritt, off the Coquihalla Highway, will be conducted by Wildfire Management Branch personnel starting this week. The controlled burns will take place Thursday, April 30, and Tuesday, May 5, and are in preparation for a training course that will help students determine the origin and cause...
Barenaked Ladies returning to Kelowna
KELOWNA - With a new album set to release in June, the Barenaked Ladies are ramping up for yet another Canadian tour this fall. The SILVERBALL tour will kick-off in Prince George on Oct. 19 before hitting the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops on Oct. 24 and Prospera Place in Kelowna on Oct. 25. In...
Next steps for an Okanagan Rail Trail; public consultation, planning, and waiting
OKANAGAN - Money is no longer an issue for a group of Okanagan municipalities preparing to purchase an abandoned rail corridor, but it could still be some time — years even — before residents set foot on a community pathway. With Saturday’s referendum resulting in a resounding yes vote to borrow $2.6-million for the District of...
Snowfall advisory for Coquihalla
KAMLOOPS - Several centimetres of snow has already fallen on the Coquihalla Highway between Kamloops and Merritt and Drive B.C. is warning of more snow for that stretch of highway before the night is over. Drive B.C. is calling for 10 to 15 cm of snowfall for the stretch of highway from the Portia Interchange...
Upgrades set to begin on Coquihalla Highway
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Several stretches of the Coquihalla Highway will get a $15-million facelift this year as part of the province’s 10-year transportation plan. "Rehabilitation of provincial highways and side roads is a major component of our 10-year transportation plan, B.C. on the Move,” Transportation Minister Todd Stone said in a release. “These projects to improve...
Watch out for rattlesnakes; they’re out early in the Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Sunny weather has gotten many of us out from beneath our rocks looking for some rays, and we’re not the only ones in the animal world. Warm temperatures have brought rattlesnakes out earlier than normal in the Thompson-Okanagan, according to WildSafe B.C. spokesperson Frank Ritcey. “With the warm weather, the snakes will be...
Turn your eyes to the night sky this week
NORTHERN LIGHTS AND METEOR SHOWER COULD LIGHT UP THE NIGHT THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you missed the northern lights last week and if the moon was too bright and the clouds too thick to catch the Quadrantid meteor shower in January, you could get a chance at viewing both this week. The Space Weather Prediction Centre...
Early start to wildfire season in Southern Interior, numbers still below 10-year average
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A series of wildfires were ignited this past weekend as dry weather combined with warming temperatures to create conditions ideal for human-caused fires. B.C. Wildfire crews responded to four fires over the weekend, two in the Kamloops part of the fire centre and two in the southern tip. Information Officer Kayla Pepper says...
A look at the northern lights over the Southern Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Mother Nature has given us both clear skies and northern lights the last few nights, meaning local photographers have been keeping late hours this week. In Kamloops, the lights were so bright Thursday night they could be viewed by the naked eye even in the city. Space weather forecasters are calling for unsettled...
Filmmaker hopes Okanagan mussel threat documentary will create ‘groundswell of public pressure’
VERNON - There may not be any zebra or quagga mussels in B.C. yet, but the threat is very real, and very urgent, says a Vernon man who spent months interviewing experts and visiting infested lakes and rivers in the U.S. All it would take is one contaminated boat getting across the border to destroy...
More snow on Interior highways
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After more than 30 centimetres of snow fell on some Interior highways this past weekend, the white stuff continues to fall. The Coquihalla Summit had more than 30 cm fall in two days and after a one day reprieve, another 6 cm fell at the highway pass overnight. The Okanagan Connector also received...
Low snowpack could mean a dry Okanagan summer
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Current snowpack levels suggest the Okanagan could be in for a dry year, while the South Thompson should fair better. According to Tobi Gardner with the River Forecast Centre, snowpack is at 76 per cent of normal in the Okanagan — the lowest in five years. “What that translates to is a lower...
FULL HOUSE: Need for foster homes increases in Okanagan
VERNON - A shortage of foster homes is impacting the quality of care provided to children during what can be one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives, says a spokesperson for a foster parents association. Noelle Typusiak with the North Okanagan branch of the Okanagan Foster Parents Association says the number of homes...
Late snow to hit Interior highways this weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A spring snow storm is expected to drop up to 10 centimetres of wet snow on Southern Interior highways this weekend. According to Environment Canada, an unseasonably cool frontal system will reach the coast by Friday evening and rain will change to snow over the mountain passes early Saturday morning. So far 5...