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Vernon news

‘Too soon’ say critics of decision to lift campfire ban

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Some fire-shocked B.C. residents are questioning the decision by the Ministry of Forests to lift the campfire ban that has been in place since early July. The ministry announced Monday afternoon the ban would be lifted on Crown lands and campsites in the South East and Kamloops fire centres and many communities and regional districts...

Vernon pedophile sentenced to over six years in jail for ‘depraved’ acts

JUDGE SEES TO REMOVAL OF TATTOO 'TROPHY' VERNON - A diagnosed pedophile is going behind bars for what a Vernon Provincial Court judge called vile, depraved and repeated sex crimes against his step-daughters. The 41-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identities of the girls, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the girls when...

Local girl to make TV debut on First Dates Canada tonight

KELOWNA - A local model and freestyle motocross rider will appear on the debut episode of a new TV show that films couples on first dates in all their awkward glory. First Dates Canada was filmed in Vancouver earlier this year and debuts on the Slice Network for the first time tonight, Sept. 1. Kelowna’s...

Big Brother Canada cast coming to Okanagan to help local girl with depression

PEACHLAND – Cast members of TV game show Big Brother Canada will be in Peachland this weekend to help cheer up a local 15-year-old struggling with mental illness. Thirteen cast members from all three seasons, including season two runner up Neda Kalantar, will be at Davis Cove Lakeshore Resort Sunday, Sept. 6. Manager Shelley Peach...

Performance audit looks at City of Vernon purchasing practices

VERNON - B.C.’s auditor general has pulled back a curtain on the City of Vernon’s purchasing activities. Acting auditor Arn van Iersel took a look at the city’s purchasing practices over a two-year audit period, from 2010 to 2012, and released the findings this week in a report. The performance audit reviewed whether the city...

Summer likely over but long weekend forecast sunny

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – If there will be any more hot summer days this year, they will come in the last two weeks of September, but the chances are summer is over in the Thompson-Okanagan. Residents from Kamloops to Penticton are currently experiencing lower than average temperatures for this time of year and that probably won’t change...

Plan in place to support people evicted from Vernon motel

VERNON - Local organizations have a plan in place to support people evicted from the Green Valley Motel. Tenants must be out of the building by the end of the day today, Aug. 31, and Annette Sharkey from the Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan says local organizations, primarily the John Howard Society, are...

Cougar shot near elementary school

LUMBY - A cougar was put down by the Conservation Service Monday morning in Lumby after it attacked livestock. Conservation officers trapped and shot the large, roughly five-year-old, 170 pound male cougar, after it killed a resident’s sheep and alpaca in the Schwartz Road area behind J.W. Inglis Elementary. Conservation officer Ken Owens says the...

Drop your envelope of cash? You need to talk to the Vernon RCMP

VERNON - An envelope of cash has been turned into the Vernon RCMP after someone dropped it at the downtown Safeway almost a month ago. RCMP say the small, light brown envelope was dropped at a grocery store check stand around 12:55 p.m., July 29. An employee at Safeway found the cash and no one...

Man in hospital after rolling ATV near Vernon

VERNON - A 59-year-old man remains in hospital after rolling his ATV in the Lavington area east of Vernon Sunday. The rollover happened around 11:40 a.m., Aug. 30, in the Noble Canyon Road area, according to a media release. The man and his wife, both from Vernon, were going up a hill quite slowly when...

Vernon woman asleep in car wakes to man breaking through window

VERNON - A young Vernon woman sleeping in her car awoke to an intruder smashing in her window Sunday morning. The 20-year-old woman was parked at the corner of 30 Street and 29 Avenue around 7:50 a.m., Aug. 30, when a man broke the passenger side window of her Volkswagen Jetta and grabbed her purse...

Foul play involved in body found in Polson Park

VERNON - Police are revealing more information about a man found dead last week in Polson Park.  He has been identified as 42-year-old Jason Thomas Hardy, and police believe foul play was involved in his death. His body was found the morning of Aug. 26 in Polson Park. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says Hardy has...

Pot oil extraction cause of explosion in Vernon apartment building

VERNON - An apartment fire that sent two men to hospital with serious burns was caused when a marijuana extraction operation exploded, police say. The occupants, a 21 and a 22-year-old, were badly burned in the fire and remain in hospital. Vernon police are now confirming the Aug. 14 fire was started by a marijuana...

Cool, wet week in store for the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - The mercury has dropped and rain is expected to fall as summer break wraps up this week. With Environment Canada calling for high temperatures to only reach the mid- to high-teens all week, you can expect temperatures to remain quite a bit below seasonal normals of 23 Celsius for a high and 11...

Weekend rain should help improve air quality in Thompson-Okanagan

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The rain falling throughout the Thompson-Okanagan today should help with the forest fire smoke in the air. Although Environment Canada meteorologist Louis Kohanyi isn’t optimistic the rain forecast to fall throughout the weekend will be enough to lift the special air quality statement issued for the region. The forecast is calling for showers...

ELECTION 2015: Mulcair plans Vernon visit

VERNON - The leader of the NDP will stop in Vernon next week. Tom Mulcair is visiting Tuesday, Sept. 1, to help launch local candidate Jacqui Gingras’ campaign in the North Okanagan-Shuswap riding. The public event is happening at Gingras’ office at 3023 30 Avenue starting at noon. Other party leaders Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper...

RCMP marine unit focus is saving lives not writing tickets

OKANAGAN - With just one boat covering lakes throughout the southern Interior, there’s plenty of times when the long arm of the law simply ends at the lakeshore. But if you do run into the RCMP marine enforcement unit and you’re boat’s not up to snuff, they’ll be on your case, either writing you a...

Vernon motel to become low-income housing complex

VERNON - The hunt for an affordable place to call home in Vernon just got a bit easier. The Journey Inn, the former Travelodge located behind the Fruit Union Plaza in downtown Vernon, was recently bought by B.C. Housing and will be operated as a low-income housing complex for people at risk of homelessness, the...

Rainy weather and thunderstorms for Okanagan

OKANAGAN - In the wake of the extended period of hot, dry weather, the Okanagan is about to receive several days of rain.  Environment Canada is calling for clouds and showers beginning today, Aug. 28, and continuing through to Wednesday. Thundershowers are forecast for Saturday. And it will be cool with highs of 19 Celsius and...

Communities on edge: Thompson-Okanagan fire officials field calls for false alarms

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fire appears to be at the forefront of many peoples’ minds across the Thompson-Okanagan. With wildfires burning across the province and a blanket of smoke from Washington hanging in the air, fire officials say they are receiving a number of reports which are in fact nothing more than false alarms. In the North...

Okanagan Lake water level not bad, next year could be the problem

OKANAGAN - Despite sitting smack dab in a region beset by a level four drought, Okanagan Lake is not doing too badly when it comes to water level, at least at first glance. Estimates from the natural resources ministry predict the lake won’t go down as far as it has in previous drought years. It's...

It’s bear season: how to keep yourself (and your dogs) safe

THOMPSON–OKANAGAN – If you haven't seen a bear in town, you just might soon. Provincial WildSafe B.C. Coordinator Frank Ritcey says the number of bear sightings was down considerably at the start of the season but have steadily climbed. Bears are becoming more visible because of the change in weather and their pre-hibernation activities. “When...