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Vernon news
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,...
B.C. sending more firefighters out-of-province
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - B.C. is answering a request for assistance from the Yukon, sending 31 firefighters there to help fight wildfires. According to B.C. Wildfire, the request was made through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, responsible for coordinating sharing of firefighting personnel and resources with other jurisdictions. B.C. just sent 21 firefighters, four fixed wing...
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...
Young boy with Down syndrome airlifted to Vancouver after work van ran over his chest
WEST KELOWNA – An eight-year-old boy with Down syndrome from West Kelowna is in critical condition in Vancouver Children’s Hospital today after a commercial van ran over his chest in his neighbourhood yesterday, June 22. Jonah Pevach's mother Candice Loring says the accident happened around 4:30 p.m. and they were airlifted to Vancouver yesterday evening....
Family with prohibited pet pig appeals to Vernon council
VERNON - This little piggy wants to stay home, but a little known Vernon bylaw stands in the way. In the hope of keeping their pet pig Felix, a local family is asking Vernon council for a variance to the Animal Regulation and Animal Pound Bylaw, which states swine cannot be kept within the city,...
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...
Cisco Road wildfire evacuation alert rescinded
LYTTON – The Regional District Emergency Operations Centre has rescinded the evacuation alert for roughly 60 properties near the Cisco Road wildfire near Lytton. The alert was issued at 9 p.m. June 11 for the west side of the Fraser River from the intersection of Lytton Ferry Rd. and South Spencer Rd., south to the...
Scorching temperatures ahead for Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – With the official start of summer on Sunday, the weather forecast for the Southern Interior appears ready to cooperate. Penticton and Kelowna can expect a week of sunny, hot weather leading into a possibly record-breaking weekend, according to the meteorologists at Environment Canada. There is a slight chance of showers Monday night, June...
Man and kids escape fire in Vernon garage
VERNON - A blaze that lit up the night sky over Swan Lake in Vernon Sunday night destroyed a garage and threatened a home on Old Kamloops Road. Firefighters were called out about 9 p.m. Sunday, June 22, BX-Swan Lake Fire Chief Bill Wacey says. A garage was destroyed in the fire, and an adjacent...
Six-year-old Shuswap student’s letter about friendship will melt your heart
SHUSWAP - Here is your dose of adorable for the day. Hillcrest Elementary School student Brody S. wants to create Friendship Day, and he’s looking for support from Salmon Arm City Hall, specifically the mayor herself. In what must have been the best letter the mayor received that day, six-year-old Brody S. outlines his vision...
RCMP, SPCA investigating woman accused of dragging puppy behind moving vehicle
OKANAGAN – After news of four Kelowna women who rescued a puppy that was injured while being pulled behind a moving vehicle in Oliver last week, the SPCA and RCMP have begun a joint investigation into possible animal cruelty. On Friday, June 12 at around 7:30 p.m., four women from Kelowna were on a wine...
Another grass fire in Vernon’s Becker Park; this one is suspicious
VERNON – Vernon fire crews put out another grass fire in a park right in the middle of city. Firefighters were called to a third blaze in just over a week in Becker Park at about 6:36 a.m., Saturday, June 20. The cause of this one has been deemed suspicious in nature. Capt. Brent Bond...
Treat dad like a king with these Father’s Day events in the Southern Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Father’s Day is one day every year where families can tell dad how much he means and do the things he enjoys. So with forecasts calling for sun and temperatures in the mid-20s any of these outdoor events happening around the Thompson-Okanagan should keep him smiling for the next 12 months. If you’re in...
Man assaulted at Vernon business
VERNON – Police are investigating after a 24-year-old man was assaulted at a Vernon business last night. RCMP say they were called to the business in the 8100-block of Highland Road in a light industrial area on the north end of Swan Lake at about 10:50 p.m., June 18. The victim had minor injuries and...
Hospital laundry workers continue anti-privatization protest as decision looms
KELOWNA - The Hospital Employees Union continued its public pressure campaign against privatization of laundry services this week with a pair of rallies in the largest communities within the Interior Health Authority. Laundry workers sought to bring provincial politicians into the mix by protesting in front of the contituency offices of MLA Terry Lake in...
Why CN Rail doesn’t want to talk about soil contamination along the Okanagan rail corridor
OKANAGAN - CN Rail is refusing to release the contents of an environmental study into possible soil contamination along the 48-kilometre Okanagan rail corridor. Even though the report has been reviewed in turn by an environmental consultant hired by the inter-jurisdictional acquisition team, the leader of the team says it will not release the details...
Fewer rentals available in Thompson-Okanagan as prices rise
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – It's getting harder to find an apartment to rent in most Thompson-Okangan cities, and those that are available cost significantly more than they did one year ago. Kelowna and Kamloops saw minor adjustments in rental availability rates this year compared with the B.C. average. Between April 2014 and April 2015, the provincial average...
Big air and local talent featured in extreme mountain bike movie
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Ever wondered what it’s like to do a 70-foot front flip on a tricked out mountain bike? Now you can get an idea without risking reconstructive surgery or a lengthy hospital stay. An extreme mountain biking movie, unReal, is premiering in Kamloops and Kelowna next week. UnReal is a movie that does for...
Filmmaker captures awe of Okanagan Valley
OKANAGAN - The essence of what makes the Okanagan Valley breathtaking has been captured by a filmmaker from Summerland in a short video entitled Born To Wonder. Steve Cogbill, 19, says he just finished several months of work on the video and he hopes it will motivate both locals and would-be tourists to take a...
Rentals in Vernon more expensive and harder to find, report suggests
VERNON - It’s a harsher market in Vernon for those looking to rent and a community outreach worker says it’s even worse than the statistics suggest. The vacancy rate of available rental units dropped to 3.4 per cent in April 2015, down from 4.1 per cent the same time last year, according to the Canada...
Kelowna women rescues dog being pulled behind moving vehicle
"WE ALMOST THREW UP WE WERE SO SCARED." OKANAGAN – Four friends from Kelowna were driving on Road 22 in Oliver last Friday night when they saw something they couldn’t believe: A puppy, less than two months old, being pulled behind a moving vehicle. “It was one of those really small lane roads,” says one...
Why Silver Star Mountain won’t have Canadian Ski Patrollers this winter
VERNON - The volunteer agency that has been providing ski patrol service at Silver Star Mountain for the past 16 years will no longer be looking out for people on the hill. The resort is transitioning to a new service model that will replace volunteers from the Canadian Ski Patrol by adding four full-time, paid ski...
Apparently this isn’t a good place to stop for a drink
VERNON - Just FYI: An unlocked compound is not an invitation to mosey inside and borrow a motorhome for some father-son bonding over a drink. A security company thought it was suspicious that the two men were drinking in the motorhome around 9:50 p.m. Saturday, June 14 and called police thinking it was a break...