Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
politics
Park downtown Vernon for free on the following days
VERNON - There are several opportunities to park downtown Vernon without plugging the meter over the next few months. At the request of the Downtown Vernon Association, council approved free parking on Saturday, Feb. 14 from 12-3 p.m. for the Winter Carnival Chili Cook-Off event. The association also requested free parking on Feb. 21, May...
“Mayor’s Minute” blog provides instant update on city happenings
PENTICTON - A new feature on the City of Penticton’s website will update you on all things Penticton in one minute. The “Mayors Minute” blog launched this week as a new feature on the city’s website. The blog gives many residents an easy to access opportunity to read about council news and councillors’ thoughts. Mayor...
Increased fines would better protect animal welfare says Vernon SPCA
VERNON - The Vernon SPCA wants local governing bodies to look at ways of improving animal welfare through the use of bylaws and fines. Branch manager Chelsea Taylor came before Vernon council Monday, Jan. 26, to highlight some of the things the city, and the North Okanagan Regional District, could do for animals in the...
HELSTON: Our libraries are worth the money
As the Okanagan Regional Library looks for places to snip and save costs, one municipality has stepped up as a champion for its local branch. In the last few months, we’ve heard about cuts to staff positions and reductions in business hours as part of a process to improve equity at the regional library’s 29...
Splatsin First Nation takes lead role acquiring rail corridor
ENDERBY - The Splatsin First Nation is taking a lead role shaping the future of the abandoned Canadian Pacific Rail line between Armstrong and Sicamous. The band is hoping to bring all stakeholders together in the coming weeks to develop a plan to preserve the line in its entirety, and come up with a use...
Vernon tax hike lower than expected
VERNON - This year’s taxes will go up, but not as much as first expected. After three days of budget deliberations for the 2015 financial plan, council wrapped up with a hike of 3.43 per cent, down slightly from the original 3.7 per cent. “That just shows the amount of work the management and their...
City will fund Sundays at the Vernon Library after near cancellation
VERNON - Sundays at the Vernon Library are here to stay. The Okanagan Regional Library dodged having to cancel Sundays at the Vernon branch Friday, Jan. 16, after appealing to Vernon council for financial support in the amount of $21,000. Without the funding, executive director Stephanie Hall said the branch could be shutting down its...
Burnt out Vernon street lights a B.C. Hydro problem
VERNON - A city official is wondering what it will take for B.C. Hydro to change 29 burnt out street lights throughout Vernon. Coun. Brian Quiring illuminated his colleagues about the issue Monday, Jan. 12, saying, “Someone’s got to get Hydro’s attention and say it’s a priority.” Quiring said the lights—some of which have been...
Longer grace period coming to Vernon parking meters
VERNON - Thanks to a directive from city council, when you pay for 15 minutes of parking downtown Vernon, you now get 20. Council increased the parking meter grace period to five minutes from two Monday, Jan. 12. More than 900 parking meters will be reprogrammed at a cost of roughly $3,200 to provide the...
Lavington pellet plant yet another step closer to breaking ground
COLDSTREAM – A controversial wood pellet plant has made it over another procedural hurdle. In…
Lavington pellet plant opposers push politicians to stall project
COLDSTREAM - Now that the Ministry of Environment has granted a permit to the operators of a proposed wood pellet plant in Lavington, opponents of the project are increasing pressure on local politicians to stall construction. Representatives of Lavington Is For Everyone (LIFE) will go before Coldstream council tonight, Jan. 12, to ask the municipality...
Changes could be coming at Vernon parking meters
VERNON - Vernon currently has the shortest grace period among nearby communities when it comes to expired parking meters, but that could be about to change. City council will vote on changing the grace period to five minutes from the current two next Monday to make downtown Vernon more customer friendly. City staff reviewed other...
NEWSMAKERS 2014: Okanagan rail corridor makes history
THIS WEEK, INFONEWS.CA IS COUNTING DOWN THE TOP FIVE STORIES OF THE YEAR. TODAY: NUMBER TWO VERNON - This year, Okanagan municipalities made history by signing a deal with the Canadian National Railway to buy a nearly 50-kilometer long corridor between Vernon and Kelowna. The scenic stretch of land came available after the Kelowna Pacific...
NEWSMAKERS 2014: Okanagan rail corridor makes history
THIS WEEK, INFONEWS.CA IS COUNTING DOWN THE TOP FIVE STORIES OF 2014. TODAY: NUMBER FIVE KELOWNA - Okanagan municipalities making history by signing a deal with the Canadian National Railway to buy a nearly 50-kilometer long corridor between Vernon and Kelowna. The scenic stretch of land came available after the Kelowna Pacific Railway announced bankruptcy...
Splatsin First Nation acquires portion of rail corridor
ENDERBY - There’s been a significant advancement on the discontinued rail corridor between Armstrong and Sicamous. Following lengthy negotiations with Canadian Pacific Rail and the federal government, the Splatsin First Nation has acquired 29.25 acres of land along the old rail corridor, which was shut down in 2009. Splatsin Chief Wayne ‘Wunuxtin’ Christian says the...
Okanagan Indian Band opposes rail corridor sale
BUYER BEWARE: BAND SAYS NO CLEAR TITLE ON RAIL CORRIDOR VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band is speaking out against a recent deal between Okanagan municipalities and CN Rail to buy the decomissioned rail line between Vernon and Kelowna. Chief Byron Louis said Tuesday the band is advancing a land claim for the Commonage Reserve,...
Vernon Rec Centre gets a fresh new look
VERNON - The outdated Vernon Recreation Centre is going modern in look, feel and accessibility. City council approved $1.3 million for the upgrades and Doug Ross, recreation services director, says the 12-16 month project could begin as early as next spring. “The plan is to keep the facility open the whole time,” Ross says. Construction...
Words of support in Ottawa for Kamloops RCMP officer shot on the job
KAMLOOPS – The RCMP officer shot and wounded in Kamloops has been praised in the House of Commons. Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod rose in the House of Commons Wednesday to speak about the “horrific event” in her riding. Cpl. Jean Michaud continues to recover from the gun shot wound he received on Dec. 3 during...
Vernon city councillor suggests softening up parking rules
VERNON - A Vernon city councillor hopes to make the downtown core a more inviting place by giving shoppers a grace period at the parking meter. Coun. Brian Quiring led a motion to have city staff investigate the possibility of establishing a five minute grace period at expired meters. “I think you should be able...
The high cost of waiting to replace Vernon’s aging water system
VERNON - Costs of aging water pipes are beginning to pile up in the City of Vernon with 86 water main breaks in just the last three years—four of them this month. And the costs are not just in dollars and cents. Breaks on Nov. 25 left over 100 residents without water. Earlier in the year,...
Okanagan rail trail dream on track
"I THINK WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THERE WILL BE A COMMUNITY PATHWAY" VERNON - Brad Clements remembers sitting around his kitchen table over a year ago, discussing the odds of a rail trail on the decommissioned track between Vernon and Kelowna becoming a reality. “We thought it was only a 20...
New Vernon mayor and council sworn into office
VERNON - Vernon’s new council members officially took their seats for the next four years Monday evening. Mayor Akbal Mund, incumbents Bob Spiers, Juliette Cunningham, Catherine Lord, and Brian Quiring, along with new councillors Scott Anderson and Dalvir Nahal were sworn into office by Justice Mayland McKimm to a packed room at City Hall. “Collectively,...
Okanagan municipalities ink rail corridor deal, now what will they do with it?
VERNON - A team of local governments has reached a multi-million deal with CN Rail to purchase nearly 50 km of discontinued track between Vernon and Kelowna, but just how the land will be used remains unknown. Doug Gilchrist, the City of Kelowna’s community planning and real estate director, says the group of municipalities are...
Native court workers protest for equal pay
OKANAGAN - Native court workers are standing up against the government asking for equal pay after being cut out of a deal five years ago that increased the wages of others but not court workers. Jack Kruger, a veteran native court worker and counsellor, has spent the past two days outside the Penticton and Kelowna...