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Okanagan
Snow on Coquihalla
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Winter has returned to the Coquihalla Highway and the rest of the region can expect heavy rain today. Drive B.C. is reporting slushy sections from the Great Bear Snowshed to the Coquihalla Lakes exit, water pooling north of that section and fog in the section of the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Kamloops....
Okanagan gone ‘batty’ over new program
OKANAGAN - The Okanagan has a new bat program to help with conservation, using the public’s help in detecting bat sites. The Okanagan Community Bat Project offers resources to the public, such as bat education and options for dealing with bats in buildings. References can be found online and questions can be called in to...
Study finds multi-million dollar benefits to Okanagan Rail Trail
OYAMA - Converting the rail bed between Vernon and Kelowna into a multi-use pathway would drive over $3 million in visitor spending in the first year alone, states a consulting report on predicted benefits. The Okanagan Rail Trail held a press conference Tuesday morning in Oyama to release the findings of a 70 page impact...
Road safety highlighted during Bike to Work Week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - This week is Bike to Work Week, a celebration that kicks off a season of more cyclists on the roads, and both cyclists and motorists are being reminded to do their part to help keep everyone safe. ICBC notes an average of nearly 1,000 cyclists are injured during the warmer months of May...
Conservation group rallies for support with video
PENTICTON - A national nature group made a video to support turning Okanagan land into a national park, in order to protect endangered species and grasslands wildlife. There has been controversy in the last few months around the Okanagan grasslands and how to keep them protected. Earlier this spring, the Nature Trust of British Columbia,...
Trap catches excessive speeders on 97c
West Kelowna – More than half a dozen excessive speeders were stopped and their vehicles impounded during a speed trap in West Kelowna last Friday. Const. Kris Clark says seven vehicles were stopped by members of the Kelowna Integrated Road Safety Unit who were looking for aggressive drivers along Hwy. 97c on May 23. “The...
Mapping Okanagan travel habits
KELOWNA – A survey of local travel habits reveals a number of insights into how Okanagan residents get where we need to go. Conducted by the City of Kelowna, City of Vernon, Districts of Lake Country, West Kelowna, Peachland, Westbank First Nation and the Regional District of the Central Okanagan, the survey shows the travel...
Burnt pallets add to list of suspected arsons
VERNON - Police and the fire department are burning for answers after responding to another suspected arson. A flaming pile of pallets drew firefighters to an industrial area in the 4600 block of 34 Street shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday. Authorities are calling the fire suspicious and investigating whether it is connected to a recent...
New meteor shower to put on a show tonight
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A new meteor shower is set to light up the sky around midnight on Friday and predictions are it could be quite the show. NASA says the shower could rival the well-known Perseids meteor shower that happens in August, even though no one has ever seen the Camelopardalids before. The Camelopardalids are caused...
Carjacking and stabbing may be linked
KELOWNA – A man who stopped to help what he thought were stranded motorists was instead beaten and had his car stolen Tuesday morning. RCMP Const. Kris Clark says the man stopped on Gordon Dr. at around 6 a.m. after he saw three men and one woman pulled to the side of the road. “When...
Trial date set for former Vernon mountie facing child porn charges
VERNON - A former Vernon cop will stand trial in B.C. Supreme Court next March. Ryan Hampton, 35, faces nine charges, including possessing and accessing child pornography. He was arrested in June 2013 and subsequently suspended from the force. He has since resigned from the RCMP. Hampton will be tried before judge alone starting March...
UPDATE: Teacher strikes begin Monday
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Teachers announced today they will conduct a rotating strike next week in an effort to move along negotiations with the province. The strike begins Monday, May 26 in School District 67 (Okanagan Skaha) and will be followed by the Central Okanagan (SD23) and North Okanagan-Shuswap (SD83) districts Tuesday. On Wednesday, May 28 teachers...
Wet weather won’t stop Kelowna’s weekend of events
KELOWNA – It’s the first busy weekend of the year for events in Kelowna, but those attending the Knox Mountain Hill Climb and Rutland May Days will want to bring jackets and umbrellas. Showers are expected Saturday through Sunday combined with lows of only 8 Celcius, but that won’t stop these two marquee Kelowna events...
What fans, players and organizers have to say about the 2014 RBC Cup
VERNON - It seems everyone involved in the RBC Cup can’t help but tweet about it. Players, organizers and fans shared their experiences this week on Twitter. Their tweets take us into the grandstands, beyond the locker room doors, and behind the scenes of the ten day Junior A Championship event held at Kal Tire...
Gas prices skyrocket for long weekend
THOMPSON OKANAGAN - Gas prices have skyrocketed just in time for the long weekend. Many pumps across the Thompson-Okanagan are advertising a ten cent jump today. In Vernon, many gas stations are selling at 143.9 cents per litre. It’s the same story in Kelowna, with most places selling at 143.9 and one, the Superstore on...
Teacher negotiations moved forward
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — The province announced Thursday it would remove the 10-year term from the table and the teachers’ union president says it’s a relief to finally see it off the table. “It shows the government is willing to get more serious about it and we are happy about that,” B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Jim Iker...
Preliminary inquiry set to hear evidence in Vernon child pornography case
VERNON - The courts will decide next month whether a man accused of luring girls online for sexual purposes will stand trial. David Willerth, born in 1974, was arrested last summer on a slew of online luring and child pornography charges. A preliminary inquiry to determine if there is enough evidence for the matter to...
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...
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...
Summer forecast predicts eastern Canadian vacation invasion
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – It’s going to be hot and dry in B.C. this summer, while our fellow Canadians to the east will experience cool weather from June to August. The meteorologists at AccuWeather have released their Canadian summertime forecast. They predict the West will have a warmer, drier summer compared to normal, while the cool weather...
National Day of Honour recognized at Kelowna airport
KELOWNA – Almost three dozen men and women serving with the Canadian Armed Forces deployed through the Kelowna International Airport to the war in Afghanistan. The B.C Dragoon reservists and all of the country’s military veterans were recognized Friday at a ceremony at the Kelowna airport during the National Day of Honour. The Dragoons presented...
Security, impact on residents take centre stage in planning for COG
KELOWNA - In an effort to broaden appeal, heighten security and reduce negative impact on residents, Center of Gravity is making some changes for 2014. This year will mark the 7th in a row the summer sports and music festival has come to Kelowna courtesy of Wet Ape Production. While the festival certainly helps promote...
Peachfest adds high-flying acts
PENTICTON - A high-flying act was added to the lineup for the 67th annual Penticton Peach Festival. A trampoline show, performed by The Trampoline Wall and Power Track Show, will present daily in Okanagan Lake Park during the festival. “This system allows the acrobat to carry out performances where he may walk on a vertical...
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...