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Vernon news
The 14-year-old Vernon boy charged with murder has been released
VERNON - A 14-year-old Greater Vernon boy charged with murder is out of jail — at least for the time being. The teen, whose identity is protected under the Youth Act, was released on bail Sept. 22. Details such as what the bail is set at, and the conditions of his release, were not made...
Vernon arsonist sent to jail for lighting townhouse on fire while roommate slept
VERNON - A Vernon man who flicked a cigarette onto a bedroom mattress while his roommate was asleep in another room admitted the act was ‘effing stupid.’ Brandon Joshua Milligan Boyce, 20, turned himself in the same day of the townhouse fire on July 17, 2014. The blaze resulted in over $137,000 in damages to...
New president and CEO announced for Interior Health
KELOWNA - A new president and chief executive officer has been named for the Interior Health Authority. It was announced at a board meeting today, Oct. 6, that Chris Mazurkewich will take over as president and CEO on Oct. 26. He is replacing Dr. Robert Halpenny, who announced his resignation earlier this year. Halpenny’s last...
New movie of the week being filmed in Osoyoos
OSOYOOS - A new Valentine’s Day TV movie that begins filming this week is being shot entirely in Osoyoos. A Hand in Love is a ‘story about true love in an on again - off again relationship.’ The movie will feature a young couple dealing with business, a vineyard, a blog and a baby. The...
Guilty verdict for dangerous driver who hit Vernon firefighter with truck
VERNON - A man has been found guilty of hitting a North Okanagan firefighter with his truck. Ian Douglas Burns, 28, was convicted of dangerous driving causing bodily harm in connection with the June 26, 2013 incident this week in Vernon Provincial Court. The victim, Stephan Hidasi, a firefighter with the BX/Swan Lake Fire Department,...
When one of the best places to eat in town is the hospital
VERNON - Like airline fare, hospital food has a certain stereotype associated with it, but in Vernon and across the Interior, those perceptions are changing one home-cooked meal at a time. The meatloaf, for example, is just like mom used to make it, says Interior Health Authority food production manager Ron Eichberger of his favourite...
What Interior residents need to know about the killer gas radon
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It sounds like something from a thriller sci-fi movie - a colourless, odorless radioactive gas that seeps from the ground, infiltrates buildings and kills people. In real life, radon gas is a known carcinogen, the second leading cause of lung cancer accounting for 10 per cent of cases and is found in elevated...
ELECTION 2015: This probably isn’t the attention vandals intended when they hit Conservative election signs in Vernon
'IF YOU WANT TO SCRIBBLE SOMETHING, GO TO THE BALLOT BOX ON VOTING DAY.' VERNON - A damaged federal election sign making its rounds on social media is just the tip of the iceberg for one North Okanagan-Shuswap party. Vernon resident Chris Van der Molen walked out of his house Sunday morning to find vandals...
The most common traffic violation observed by Lumby RCMP in one day at one intersection
LUMBY - There was some good news, and some bad news, when police spent a day observing driving habits in Lumby last week. Prompted by numerous complaints about bad driving in the school zone and at the four way stop at Shuswap Avenue and Vernon Street, police dispatched an officer to the area on Friday,...
You can be on reality TV if you have inherited a house in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - If you’ve recently inherited a house in the Okanagan the producers of a new reality TV show want to hear from you. Anaid Productions, the company behind such shows as X-Weighted and The Liquidator, is searching for families that have been bequeathed a home in the Okanagan. Those selected for the show will be...
Police in Vernon investigate another incident involving gunshots
COLDSTREAM - Mounties are investigating a confrontation in Coldstream which allegedly led to gunshots being fired in a front yard. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says police were called out to a barn in the 6400-block of Highway 6 in Coldstream about 1:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 3 for a report of multiple shots fired in a...
Week of perfect fall weather ahead in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - As far as autumn goes, this should be a good week in the Okanagan with temperatures above normal during the day and overnight. While we are waking up to temperatures several degrees below seasonal normals of 5 Celsius the mercury is supposed to stay above those normals for the rest of the week....
Vernon RCMP looking for individual who was in Polson Park night of alleged murder
VERNON - Investigators believe there was someone else in Polson Park the night of an alleged murder, and they’re hoping that person will come forward. Police issued a statement earlier this week asking for additional witnesses in the Jason Hardy murder investigation, but RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says it appears investigators are looking for one person in...
ELECTION 2015: Will strategic voting give NDP the boost they need to unseat Conservatives in the Thompson-Okanagan?
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – If strategic voting is embraced in the Thompson-Okanagan, the NDP will likely see a significant jump in their final numbers when polls close Oct. 19. That's according to a popular website for voters who want any candidate but Harper to win in this year’s general election. StrategicVoting.ca gives a riding-by-riding breakdown of which...
Future of Civic Arena unclear if Vernon’s ice sheet referendum succeeds
VERNON - As the conversation around a new ice rink in Vernon continues to move ahead, some are wondering what that means for the historic arena it would be replacing. When the Civic Arena was constructed in 1938, it was the first indoor ice rink in the Okanagan Valley. In April of that year, the...
Vernon CrossFit rallies around Kelowna athlete injured in accident
VERNON - Those who CrossFit together, stick together — that much is clear from the heartfelt efforts of a Vernon gym to support one of their own who was seriously injured in a recent workplace accident. Cole Bernier, 23, was crushed under some roof trusses while working at a construction site in West Kelowna on...
Things to do in the Okanagan before they close for the season
VERNON - So much to do, so little time. Mere weeks remain before a number of Okanagan attractions close down for the season — and that means you’ve got to get moving, or wait until next year. The Kalavida Surf Shop in Vernon closes its doors for the season on Oct. 4, although special arrangements...
Chance of snow at higher elevations around the Okanagan tonight
OKANAGAN - We all know it’s officially fall but you may not be ready to hear this — snow levels are dropping to 1,500 metres tonight. Environment Canada is calling for a low of just 8 or 9 Celsius tonight, Oct. 2, throughout the Okanagan, just above seasonal normals of 6 C, but with a...
Malicious honk from passing driver sends Vernon horseback rider to hospital
VERNON – A competitive show jumper was seriously injured by the thoughtless and dangerous actions of an unknown motorist near Armstrong this week. Kristen Marie Pym, 20, was out for a relaxing ride on her seven-year-old black and white mare Lilly on a warm, early fall evening Sept. 30. Pym was riding Lilly in a...
North Okanagan locked into recycling system, says MMBC director
VERNON - Those demanding changes to the North Okanagan’s recycling system appear to be out of luck. Allen Langdon, the managing director for Multi-Material B.C., says the new program is working well in the North Okanagan Regional District and, overall, generating few complaints. “We had some around the launch but in the last few months...
TAYLOR TRIAL: If teen was rushed to hospital after injuries, death could have been prevented, doctor says
KAMLOOPS — The injuries to a teen’s head, neck and chest were severe enough to cause her death, but the 16-year-old girl could have been saved if she had received immediate medical attention, a jury has heard. Dr. Gilles Molgat, the pathologist who performed the autopsy of CJ Fowler, testified in Kamloops Supreme Court today,...
TV pilot highlights luxury homes being built in the Okanagan
KELOWNA - A local TV producer is putting the finishing touches on a pilot TV episode that gives viewers a glimpse of what goes into building Kelowna’s newest and most expensive homes. Pamela Tomlinson, who produced The Carnies, The Canadian Culinary Championships and a feature length film called Hitler’s Speech Writer, has turned her lens towards a local construction...
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...
Orange Shirt Day remembers residential school victims
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you saw someone wearing orange today, don’t assume they are supporters of the federal NDP. “Orange Shirt Day is a reminder of the pain and anguish of residential school survivors and their families,” Rose Caldwell says. “For the ones who made it through and the ones who never came home.” Caldwell is...