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Vernon news
Overnight brush fire on highway north of Vernon ‘could’ve been a different story’
SPALLUMCHEEN - Emergency crews took no chances with a brush fire burning on a slope off Highway 97 Wednesday night. Armstrong-Spallumcheen fire chief Ian Cummings says the half-acre blaze was reported just after 9 p.m., Aug. 26, just north of Greenhow Road on Highway 97. “It was quite visible, there was pretty high flames. We...
Serious crimes unit investigates body found in Vernon park
VERNON - Police continue to investigate the death of a man found in Polson Park Wednesday. The man’s body was discovered shortly before 10 a.m. Aug. 26. In a media release issued today, Aug. 27, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk confirmed the man was in his late 40s, but said his identity is not being released...
Whereabouts of missing workers from Vernon remain a mystery
VERNON - Two months after going missing, four migrant workers last seen in the Okanagan still have not been located. The four men, from Mexico, were working at an orchard in Vernon before going missing in late June. According to the Vernon RCMP, they’d been in Canada for ten days before taking a cab from...
Possibility of ’ember showers’ from U.S. fire causes Grand Forks evacuation alert
GRAND FORKS – An evacuation alert has been issued for some residents of Grand Forks due to the possibilty of embers being blown across the border from the 19,000 hectare Stickpin wildfire in Washington State. The alert was issued today, Aug. 26 ahead of strong winds expected in the coming days, according to a post...
Burning vehicle starts grass fire on Okanagan Connector
KELOWNA – A vehicle on fire in the westbound lane of the Okanagan Connector has started a small grass fire 26 kilometres west of Kelowna. Seven firefighters are on scene of what B.C. Wildfire Officer Melissa Klassen describes as a primarily Rank 1 “smouldering ground fire with some open flame.” Klassen says poor visibility from...
Body found in Vernon’s Polson Park
VERNON – RCMP have confirmed the body of a male was found in Polson Park in Vernon this morning. Media spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the body was found near the lawn bowling area just after 10 a.m. and a large section of the park has since been cordoned off. The investigation is still in the...
Top antique and art appraiser makes stop in the Southern Interior
KELOWNA - Here’s your chance to find out if that old painting hanging in the bathroom is really a Picasso or not. Professional antique and art appraiser Peter Blundell is making a one-day stop in Kelowna where he will appraise those uncertain antiques, collectibles and art pieces and tell you whether they are treasure or...
Daily non-stop flights announced between Kelowna and Victoria
KELOWNA – Travelers to Vancouver Island now have a non-stop flight to Victoria out of Kelowna International Airport. Pacific Coastal Airlines announced the seven day a week service Tuesday, Aug. 15, saying it will benefit communities on the island as well as the Okanagan. Effective Oct. 27, the Saab 340 aircraft will depart YLW at...
So You Think You Can Dance coming to Kelowna
KELOWNA – The top ten finalists from this year’s So You Think You Can Dance will be performing in Kelowna in January. The show is part of a North America tour that features the best dancers from the twelfth season of the 13-time Emmy Award-winning show on Fox and CTV. Judge, executive director and co-creator...
New Vernon sports track opens this Friday
VERNON - Locals will get their first chance to check out the new sports track by Okanagan College this week. A soft opening is set for this Friday, Aug. 28, for the Greater Vernon Athletics Park. Regional district staff and volunteers will be at the park from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. to welcome visitors...
Missing woman with health concerns found
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - A missing Kelowna woman with health concerns has been located, according to RCMP. Brittany Nelson, 30, has been located and is safe and sound," Cpl. Joe Duncan says in a release sent one day after friends reported her absence. To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or...
Smoky skies continue, no end in sight to fire season
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With smoke-filled skies and reports of new fires almost every day, it begs the question that’s on everyone’s mind: When will this end? “It’s a good question. There is no hard and fast measure that tells us when things are done. Every season is its own animal,” Kevin Skrepnek says. And B.C. Wildfire’s...
The prettiest thing your butt will touch downtown Vernon
VERNON - Boring city benches in Vernon recently got a bright new facelift. Two downtown Vernon benches were removed over the weekend and painted at Riot on the Roof as part of an initiative between the Vernon Public Art Gallery, Downtown Vernon Association and the City of Vernon. Dauna Kennedy Grant, the executive director at...
Mom raises $14K for Cuddle Cots across Thompson-Okanagan
WEST KELOWNA – What started as an idea to bring to Kelowna General Hospital a device which gives parents of stillborn children a few extra days with their child will now help families across the entire Thompson-Okanagan. In less than three months West Kelowna resident Kristin Esmail has raised enough money to buy four Cuddle...
Smoke wreaks havoc on already-weakened hearts and lungs
SOUTHERN INTERIOR - Looks like the smokey skies will be with us until at least tomorrow and that means more discomfort for those with chronic heart and respiratory problems. “When we talk about smokey skies, we’re talking about the tiny solid particles that remain suspended in the air. The major concern is particles smaller than...
Coroner identifies North Okanagan man killed in crash
SPALLUMCHEEN - The B.C. Coroners Service has released the name of a North Okanagan man who died in a car accident last week. He was Matthew Jordon Maxime, 30, of Enderby, the Coroners Service says in a media release. Maxime was driving on Highway 97 near Eagle Rock Road in Spallumcheen, just south of Armstrong,...
B.C. crews begin work on Washington wildfire
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - B.C. Wildfire firefighters have begun work on a Washington-based wildfire inching its way toward the Canadian border. With five kilometres left before reaching Canada, B.C. crews have been deployed to suppress the Stickpin Fire which is now estimated to be 19,240 hectares in size. Plans so far are for crews to assess the...
ELECTION 2015: Getting to know Jacqui Gingras, North Okanagan-Shuswap NDP candidate
VERNON - For North Okanagan-Shuswap NDP candidate Jacqui Gingras, running in the 2015 federal election has been four years in the making. The longtime Okanagan resident committed herself to the task shortly after NDP leader Jack Layton died in 2011. Inspired by his call for all Canadians to consider serving their communities, Gingras stepped up....
Decision on Kelowna Mountie accused of assault expected in September
LANGUAGE ADVISORY KELOWNA – The judge in the trial of a Kelowna RCMP constable accused of assaulting an elderly bar patron will have to decide if the officer believed John McCormick was obstructing justice when he refused to leave Rose’s pub in downtown Kelowna last summer. Judge Gregory Koturbash heard final submissions in Kelowna Provincial...
Small North Okanagan town bands together for Rock Creek fire victims
GRINDROD - A small community in the North Okanagan area is rallying together for victims of the Rock Creek wildfire. The Riverfront Pub & Grill is organizing a Ride for Rock Creek to assist people affected by an aggressive wildfire east of Osoyoos in the Rock Creek area. The human-caused fire destroyed 30 homes and...
Heavy smoke blankets Okanagan; the rest of southern B.C. gets smoke haze
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Smoke from the huge forest fires burning in Washington State pumped into the southern Interior yesterday evening has been trapped in the valleys by a temperature inversion. The Okanagan is getting the worst of the smoke with visibility down to less to a kilometre in some areas this morning, Aug. 23. Environment Canada,...
ELECTION 2015: Why North Okanagan-Shuswap candidate Cindy Derkaz wants to earn your vote
VERNON - You might know her from her days working at Derkaz Shoes, her parent’s shop, or from her involvement in organizations like the Shuswap Community Foundation or Shuswap Trail Alliance. And now, Cindy Derkaz is introducing herself in a new capacity, as the Liberal party candidate for the North-Okanagan Shuswap riding. Derkaz grew up...
Dream wedding for a dying father
"HE'S DONE SO MUCH FOR US NOW IT'S OUR TURN TO LOOK AFTER HIM" KELOWNA – Christina Richard was just 11 years old when Eric Lavoie entered her life in 2003 and changed it forever. Her mom, Sophy Zaglis, 49, was raising five kids on her own, working as a registered nurse and volunteer with...
Illegal burn doused by Vernon firefighters
VERNON - Vernon firefighters are reminding the public there is still a fire ban, something a local man apparently didn’t know. About 10 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 20, the Vernon Fire Department was called out to the 7300-block of Old Stamp Mill Road for a burning complaint. “It was a homeowner there claiming he didn’t know...