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Vernon City Council

Bow hunting pitched as solution for Vernon deer population

VERNON - There’s talk about using bow hunting to help manage the deer population in Vernon. Coun. Brian Quiring made the suggestion at a council meeting Nov. 9, noting the city is overrun with deer. “There are so many deer it’s unbelievable,” Quiring said. He added the sheer volume of deer crossing city roads is...

Plans for huge new care home in downtown Vernon coming along

VERNON - The creation of a large, multi-storey care home in downtown Vernon is moving along, but there are concerns it won’t be much to look at. The City of Vernon supported several development variances for the project, which includes 90 residential care beds, 52 assisted living units, 72 one- and two-bedroom condo units, and...

Vernon’s Canada Day fireworks could return, but not without your help

'WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO COMPLAINED... WHY DON'T YOU COME OUT AND SUPPORT THIS' VERNON - Vernon’s mayor is asking members of the public to step up and lend a hand in next year’s Canada Day festivities. The longtime tradition of Canada Day fireworks was cancelled in 2015, but looks like...

Disagreement over use of Vernon dog park has council at end of leash

VERNON - City officials continue to spar over the use of a green space near Marshall Fields as an off-leash dog park. Residents have been using the area, which runs alongside Marshall Fields by the Lakers Clubhouse, to let their dogs run off leash for years, but now the City of Vernon is now tightening...

The cost of free parking in Vernon

VERNON - Easing up on paid parking downtown Vernon is leaving the city with a gap in revenue.  In the past year, city council approved a number of initiatives aimed at making the downtown area more customer friendly, and while it’s too early to see if they’re working, the changes are already revealing financial side-effects....

Province’s new Stickle Road proposal fails to impress Vernon officials

VERNON - Better, but not good enough is the message Vernon council sent to the Ministry of Transportation during a presentation about a new idea for improving the Stickle Road intersection. Plans for a right-in, right-out only access to and from Stickle Road on Highway 97 just north of the city were scrapped in May...

Pet pig flies in Vernon; councillor asks what’s next?

VERNON - It was an unusual case that some city councillors fear might not be so uncommon any more. A Vernon family desperate to keep their pet pig Felix pleaded with city council for an exception to a bylaw prohibiting swine on city property — unless on designated farm land — and got their wish...

Upswing in payroll at Vernon city hall

VERNON - There’s been a hike in payroll at the City of Vernon. Staff salaries went up over half a million dollars last year, according to financial information released in a 2014 annual report.  The city shelled out more than $21.7 million in pay and expenses for its employees in 2014, up nearly $520,000 over 2013. Among...

City approves wage increase for Vernon firefighters

VERNON - Vernon firefighters will be getting a raise as part of a negotiated deal reached with the City of Vernon this week. The new collective agreement between the Vernon local of the International Association of Firefighters and the city calls for a 2.5 per cent retroactive salary increase for each year, starting in 2013,...

Vernon recreation fees going up

VERNON - Residents will notice new prices when they pay for recreation services, but a Vernon councillor insists the fee increase is a reasonable one. The cost for rentals, programs and recreation services is going up 2.6 per cent this year. Coun. Catherine Lord says the increase is needed to cover rising operational costs. “It’s...

Vernon debuts new city brand: ‘Activate Life’

VERNON - McDonald’s has ‘I’m lovin’ it’, NIKE has ‘Just do it’ and now the City of Vernon is embracing the power of the slogan with the new tagline, ‘Activate Life.’ It’s part of a branding initiative to market and promote Vernon among locals and tourists alike. The new tagline replaces the former ‘Vernon Make...

Vernon mayor tight-lipped about Green Valley Motel evictions

VERNON - As tenants of the Green Valley Motel search for new homes after being served eviction notices last week, discussions about the property are going on behind closed doors at Vernon city hall. People living at the motel need to be gone in two months, and local agencies like the John Howard Society and...

Vernon city council prepares decades ahead for future highway bypass

VERNON - It wouldn’t be built, or required, for another 25 to 65 years, but Vernon council is starting to plan for a potential bypass around the city. It’s been talked about for years, but today’s council is taking a firm stance on the need to start planning, and protecting a corridor for it, now....