Penticton

Hot temperatures in Kamloops not quite record-breaking

KAMLOOPS - Temperatures soared into the high 20s Wednesday, and will get even hotter Thursday and Friday, but it wasn’t quite enough for a record. According to Environment Canada, temperatures reached upwards of 28 Celsius in the Okanagan and 29.4 Celsius in Kamloops on Wednesday, May 20, but those numbers fell shy of records ranging...

You have a few more months to register your off-road vehicle

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Good news for the estimated 200,000 trail riders across the province as the government has pushed the deadline to register off-road vehicles from June 1 to Nov. 1. According to a press release sent Wednesday, May 20, the deadline change will give users more time to prepare for the mandatory registration as well...

Interior Health to consider ebola preparedness recommendations

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If the world has learned anything from the ongoing ebola epidemic, it’s that you cannot predict where and when a person carrying the dreaded virus will show up. The Interior Health Authority learned that in December when one of its own employees, nurse practitioner Patrice Gordon, returned from Sierra Leone and began displaying flu-like...

Hot weather ahead for the Thompson-Okanagan

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Dig out your sunscreen and your flip-flops because B.C.’s Interior is in for some unseasonably hot weather over the coming week. Although the average temperature for the region is in the low 20s from Kamloops all the way south to Penticton, residents can look forward to highs of 29 C with only occasional...

Check out all your summer camps before you sign up

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A first-of-its-kind kid’s camp expo coming to a community near you is your chance to get a taste of all the fun activities available to keep your little ones busy all summer long. Campapalooza is a chance to meet counsellors and see what all the great summer camps offer for toddlers to teens...

Lake Country family bringing anime to the Okanagan

"THERE'S ALWAYS THAT 'YOU'RE A NERD THING', BUT THAT'S CHANGING." KELOWNA – A family from Lake Country has opened a store in Orchard Park Mall which has no competition anywhere in the Okanagan. The product they sell may be unfamiliar to most people, but it’s a marketgaining in popularity around the world. Anime, the broad...

B.C. ROAD TRIP: Where to go, when you need to go

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Road trips are a great way to see this magnificent province of ours but need to be planned out carefully, especially if you have little ones. Not only do you need to have snacks, drinks and activities to help keep them from getting cranky, you need to plan regular bathroom and stretching breaks....

Your low-down on the May long weekend weather

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Environment Canada is calling for some pretty spectacular weather this May long weekend. Across the Thompson-Okanagan there will be sunny skies for much of the weekend, with highs getting up to 26 Celcius. Those in Vernon can expect sunshine and a high of 26 C on Saturday, followed by a reprieve from the...

Province to hold public meetings on second Okanagan Lake crossing

KELOWNA - It’s at least twenty years before it will be built but the province still wants to hear what you have to say about a second lake bridge in the Central Okanagan. A press release from the Ministry of Transportation says two open houses are scheduled next week, one in Kelowna and the other...

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...

Penticton poet’s work featured in B.C. tourism campaign

PENTICTON – Shane Koyczan is fast becoming one of Canada’s most well known spoken word artists and his work shines in the latest Super Natural British Columbia campaign from Tourism B.C. Koyczan modestly says he wrote a little poem about being out in nature and folks made a little video out it. The powerful poem...

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...

Okanagan Basin Water Board demands more action on invasive mussels

OKANAGAN - The Okanagan Basin Water Board is calling on the provincial government to step up the fight against invasive quagga and zebra mussels by establishing permanent inspection stations at the five main highway entrances from Alberta. As well, in a seven-point position paper, the water board is calling on the federal government to immediately...

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...

Summer watering restrictions likely as province records average lowest snowpack levels in 31 years

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The lastest snowpack measurements from the provincial government’s river forecast centre are showing record low levels in some areas including the Okanagan and Similkameen regions. Without substantial rain in the next couple of months, reservoirs across the region will also be lower than normal, likely leading to water use restrictions in many communities...

New pet registry promotes microchip implants

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The SPCA is promoting a new province-wide pet identification registry where animals with microchip implants can have their information stored in a centralized database. "We’ve created a first for British Columbia — a centralized database for pets who receive permanent identification at any B.C. SPCA shelter, veterinarian or microchip clinic across the province,”...

Fintry Queen still waiting for forever home

KELOWNA - She looks a little lonely out there, anchored in Sutherland Bay, waiting for something to happen but the man tasked with selling the iconic Fintry Queen says interest has been steady since it was put up for sale two months ago. “We’re still marketing it, still waiting for the right buyer but we’ve...

VIDEO: 20,000 young fish pumped into lake

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Moving more than 20,000 young fish from a hatchery into a lake isn't easy, unless you have the right tools for the job. On Sunday, May 3, Go Fish B.C., a nonprofit program organized by the Freshwater Fisheries Society of Canada, released a behind-the-scenes video of the restocking of rainbow trout in Paul Lake...

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...

Tenors tour coming to Penticton

PENTICTON - Prepare for a night of powerful voices and memorable melodies as the multi-platinum JUNO award winning vocal group known as The Tenors perform at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015. The tour coincides with the release of the group’s fourth album Under One Sky on May 4....

Jason Aldean set to ‘Burn It Down’ in Kelowna

KELOWNA - Country music star Jason Aldean is coming to town this October on the Canadian leg of his recently expanded Burn It Down tour. Aldean, a three-time Academy of Country Music Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year nominee will be coming to Kelowna and Kamloops, as well as Vancouver and Prince...

Jason Aldean set to ‘Burn It Down’ in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS - Country music star Jason Aldean is coming to town this October on the Canadian leg of his recently expanded Burn It Down tour. Aldean, a three-time Academy of Country Music Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year nominee will be coming to Kelowna and Kamloops, as well as Vancouver and Prince...

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...