Shuswap
UPDATE: Southern Interior severe thunderstorm watch expanded
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Environment Canada has expanded its severe thunderstorm watch to include the South Thompson, North Thompson and Nicola regions, including the city of Kamloops. The original watch issued early this morning, May 24, covered the Okanagan, Shuswap and Boundary regions, including Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Salmon Arm. Forecasters say conditions are favourable for the...
UPDATE: Power restored for over 2,000 in Shuswap
SHUSWAP – Equipment failure is being blamed for a power outage in the Shuswap which impacted over 2,000 B.C. Hydro customers for two hours this morning. The power was back on at about 10:15 a.m., May 17, according to the B.C. Hydro website. The lights went out at about 8:19 a.m. in an area west...
North Okanagan-Shuswap budget cuts ‘gut-wrenching’
NORTH OKANAGAN - Literacy programs, grief counselling and class sizes are all taking a hit next year in what the North Okanagan-Shuswap school board chair calls some ‘gut-wrenching’ decisions to balance next year’s budget. The school board approved two pages of reductions totalling $1.7 million at its board meeting Tuesday, May 12. "We have tried...
Shuswap school closure decision difficult for school district
SALMON ARM - The closure of a rural Salmon Arm elementary school has been avoided, at least for one more year. Faced with the decision of whether or not to close Silver Creek Elementary a majority of trustees voted to keep the school open for another year while exploring the feasibility of introducing a Montessori...
Decision on proposed Shuswap school closure expected tonight
NORTH OKANAGAN - Some tough decisions are expected to be made by the North Okanagan-Shuswap School Board tonight, May 12. It’s the meeting at which board members must decide whether or not to shut down Silver Creek Elementary School in Salmon Arm. The school was placed on the chopping block when the findings of a...
Highway roundabout in Sicamous goes to open house
SICAMOUS - Plans for proposed highway improvements that could see a roundabout installed on Highway 97A in Sicamous will be presented to the public later today. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will present the project, which includes a roundabout at Highway 97A and Main Street, as well as intersection improvements at the highway and...
Mobile home on ‘Heroin Hill’ in Shuswap goes up in flames
SCOTCH CREEK – A suspicious fire burned a partially demolished mobile home in Scotch Creek to the ground Friday night, March 20. Fire chief Art Stoll says they decided to let the fire in the abandoned singlewide trailer at 4143 Butters Road burn itself out. People in Shuswap town called the property Heroin Hill due...
How a group of North Okanagan teachers took funding into their own hands
NORTH OKANAGAN - It’s not always easy in cash-strapped times for teachers to find spare change for programs, but a group in the North Okanagan has found a way to think outside the box. The Outdoor Learning program in the North Okanagan and Shuswap, unlike many other courses in School District 83 such as the cancelled adult...
School District 83 facing yet another budget shortfall with little left to cut
NORTH OKANAGAN - Deeper cuts are on the way in the North-Okanagan Shuswap School District. At a board meeting Mar. 10, secretary-treasurer Sterling Olsen said the district must find $1.8 million in savings to balance next year’s budget. “It is a very challenging financial picture and it looks like we have a number of years...
February home sales best in years says real estate board report
KELOWNA – After a disappointing start to 2015, the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board is reporting a 34 per cent improvement in home sales in February compared with the same month in 2014. “After a more than usual slowdown in January, Okanagan-Shuswap home sales rallied along with consumer confidence during February despite weaker economic conditions...
Shuswap woman petitions Province for improved seniors care
VERNON - Judy Galley uses words like horrific, neglectful and nightmarish to describe the state of seniors homes in B.C., and she wants to change that. The Shuswap woman launched a petition calling on the provincial government to improve staff-to-patient ratios at care homes after experiencing the system firsthand. Her parents resided in Kelowna care...
Man dead after driving snowmobile off cliff
SICAMOUS – The RCMP have confirmed a 49-year-old man was killed in a snowmobile accident in Shuswap backcountry Friday afternoon, Jan. 9. Police say the man was driving his snowmobile in the Owl Head Recreation Area east of Sicamous when he mistakenly drove off a 40-foot high cliff. RCMP officers, paramedics with the B.C. Ambulance...
Highway 1 closed for avalanche control Friday
AVALANCHE RISK AGAIN HIGH THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are heading east for the long weekend you might want to adjust your travel times. In addition to a winter driving advisory from the Shuswap to the Alberta border, delays of up to three hours are expected on Highway 1 through Glacier National Park on Friday. Drive...
UPDATE: 1,200 still without power in Shuswap
SALMON ARM - More than 1,200 customers are still without power in the Shuswap area after power was restored to about 1,700 customers earlier today. A few customers have been without power since Tuesday afternoon but for many the power went out early Wednesday morning. B.C. Hydro is blaming the snow storm that buried the...
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...