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Vernon news
Help these local musicians win the chance of a lifetime
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Your vote could help a local artist win over $100,000 and some serious musical cred. The B.C. Peak Performance Project opens up the public voting portion of its contest today, Oct. 16. Online voting runs until Oct. 23. Two artists from around the Thompson-Okanagan are in the running this year: Vernon’s Corey Myraas...
Warm weather, chance of frost in the Okanagan this weekend
OKANAGAN - Day time temperatures will remain above seasonal normals this weekend but overnight lows mean there is a chance of frost in parts of the Okanagan. Environment Canada is calling for highs of 17 Celsius today, Oct 16, and 16 C Saturday and Sunday in the Vernon and Penticton areas while Kelowna will see...
Paralyzed Okanagan FMX rider makes history
'WHEN YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO SOMETHING YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN' KELOWNA - A freestyle motocross rider who was paralyzed two years ago while attempting a double front flip has just made history. Bruce Cook is the first paraplegic to land a backflip on a motorcycle in front of a major audience. And he...
Deadline to register your off-road vehicles quickly approaching
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Backcountry riders have until Nov. 1 to register their dirt bikes, ATVs and snowmobiles. The new law, which also stipulates several safety regulations while on Crown land, has been voluntary since last November, and back in May the provincial government extended the hard deadline from June 1 to the start of next month....
North Okanagan-Shuswap: Green candidate Chris George
We don’t endorse any single candidate. Our comments on these answers are an assessment of whether the candidate gave a candid answer as we asked for (REAL) or relied on party platforms, leadership or attacks on rivals for their answers (PUPPET). To understand this post, please read this first. __________________ OUR TAKE: No strings on...
North Okanagan-Shuswap: Conservative candidate Mel Arnold
We don’t endorse any single candidate. Our comments on these answers are an assessment of whether the candidate gave a candid answer as we asked for (REAL) or relied on party platforms, leadership or attacks on rivals for their answers (PUPPET). To understand this post, please read this first. __________________ OUR TAKE: If you are...
North Okanagan-Shuswap: Liberal candidate Cindy Derkaz
We don’t endorse any single candidate. Our comments on these answers are an assessment of whether the candidate gave a candid answer as we asked for (REAL) or relied on party platforms, leadership or attacks on rivals for their answers (PUPPET). To understand this post, please read this first. __________________ OUR TAKE: Go ahead, move...
North Okanagan-Shuswap: NDP candidate Jacqui Gingras
We don’t endorse any single candidate. Our comments on these answers are an assessment of whether the candidate gave a candid answer as we asked for (REAL) or relied on party platforms, leadership or attacks on rivals for their answers (PUPPET). To understand this post, please read this first. __________________ OUR TAKE: We made sure...
Questions arise over new Vernon arena cost, location
VERNON - Building a new arena in Vernon hasn’t even gone to referendum yet and is already generating concerns. Local officials are currently waiting for the province to sign off on a borrowing referendum to decommission the Civic Arena and add a second ice sheet at Kal Tire Place — a process that has been...
Destructive Vernon fire deemed suspicious
VERNON - Police are appealing to the public for tips as they investigate a recent fire. The Oct. 14 blaze destroyed three vehicles at a property on Davidson Road. Police and the Vernon Fire Department were called to extinguish the fire just after 4 a.m. Among the wreckage was a commercial truck and two personal...
Fire ban fully rescinded in Kamloops Fire Centre this week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As the weather continues to cool off and fire season comes to a close, open burning is now allowed throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre. As of noon today, Oct. 15, the current open burning ban will be completely rescinded in the areas under the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction. Many local municipalities are following...
Vernon councillor calls for action over ‘crazy loud’ shrimp boats on Okanagan Lake
VERNON - It might be saving Kokanee salmon populations, but a Vernon city councillor says shrimp harvesting on Okanagan Lake is ‘crazy loud.’ “It’s like, wow, you hear this thing from across the whole lake,” Coun. Brian Quiring said at a council meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13. “I mean, we have to find a way that...
New officer takes the reins at Vernon RCMP detachment
VERNON - There’s a new top cop in the City of Vernon. Insp. Jim McNamara has been the acting superintendent of the Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP since Reg Burgess retired in March 2015, and on Wednesday, Oct. 14, he was officially promoted to the position. "On behalf of Council and the staff of the City of...
Splatsin First Nation launches lawsuit against B.C. government
ENDERBY - A local First Nation has filed a lawsuit against the B.C. government accusing it of ignoring the band's jurisdiction over the welfare of its children. The Splatsin First Nation in Enderby served the province a notice of claim during a rally outside Premier Christy Clark’s constituency office in Kelowna Tuesday, Oct. 13. The...
The cause of that foul odour at Vernon’s Polson Park
VERNON - It should smell like the fresh outdoors, but instead Polson Park in Vernon has been wrinkling noses lately. People are complaining about a foul, septic smell in the park, and Vernon city councillor Juliette Cunningham says she’s not only heard from community members about the problem, but experienced it firsthand. “I walk on...
ELECTION 2015: Strategic voting group calls for Liberals to vote NDP in three Southern Interior ridings
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Stephen Harper says strategic voting doesn’t really exist but Just The Facts Canada Inc. says it does and it is using a full-page ad in the Globe & Mail newspaper to get the message out. The pitch by the strategic voting group includes a call for Liberal supporters in three Southern Interior ridings...
More questions about Vernon blue bin recycling program
VERNON - Vernon city council is embarking on a blue bin fact-finding mission. Spurred by a pair of motions brought forward by Coun. Scott Anderson, council agreed to investigate concerns — and possible solutions — around the Multi-Material B.C. blue box recycling system which came into effect in May 2014. "Numerous people have expressed dissatisfaction...
Cattle poaching problem continues in the North Okanagan
VERNON - Another cow was found killed and left to rot over the weekend. It was found Saturday, Oct. 10, on the Aberdeen Forest Service Road in Lavington. The cow appeared to have been shot, but no meat was taken. It’s the fourth cow to be found dead on range land leased by the Coldstream...
Boil water notice from 2012 lifted in North Okanagan
NORTH OKANAGAN - Water users in the Okanagan Landing area can finally have water straight out of the tap. A boil water notice was issued by Interior Health in 2012 for the Claremont Water Utility area, which includes properties on Longacre Road and Apollo Road, and since then work was done to connect the water...
ELECTION 2015: New polls paint different pictures in North Okanagan-Shuswap
VERNON - Hot on the heels of a poll released by local citizens, two other groups have commissioned surveys and the findings show mixed results. The latest poll, conducted by Mainstreet Technologies and funded by Liberal candidate Cindy Derkaz’s campaign team, found 38 per cent of decided voters plan to vote for Conservative candidate Mel...
The pesky problem a Vernon politician says is causing bed bugs to spread like wildfire
VERNON - A Vernon councillor is shocked at how common bed bugs are in the city, and he has at least one idea of how they’re spreading. Coun. Brian Quiring spoke up about the matter at a council meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13, after being contacted by a concerned resident. “I’m shocked actually by how big...
Vernon RCMP cut man’s spending spree with stolen credit card short
VERNON - He charged purchases to a stolen credit card, and now police are charging him with possession of stolen property. Police believe the man got the credit card out of a wallet he stole from a car in the Findlay Road area of Coldstream the night of Sept. 30. The card was subsequently used...
Kelowna woman sentenced for trying to smuggle 35 kg of cocaine into Canada
KELOWNA – A 27-year-old Kelowna woman was sentenced to more than six years in jail for trying to smuggle 35 kilograms of cocaine into Canada from the United States, according to Global Okanagan. Caitlin Gladdish was arrested at the Waneta border crossing near Trail in July last year. Her Volkswagen Jetta had been outfitted with...
Vernon man says saving a life opened his eyes
VERNON - Ryan Winkler says he was just the guy who happened to drive by on that particular morning; police call him a life saver. Winkler, 36, was on his way to work around 4 a.m. when he saw a truck parked on the side of North Westside Road. The windows were taped up, the...