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Vernon news
Why Vernon has issued far fewer boil water advisories recently
VERNON - Vernon residents have likely been noticing fewer boil water notices, but what they might not be aware of is that their water was switched to a different source many times over the last five years. Greater Vernon Water has changed how it responds to poor water quality events, and that means customers see...
UPDATE: Medical patient located thanks to public tip
UPDATE 10 A.M., MAY 13, 2015 In a media release issued May 13, Vernon RCMP say Robert Parker has been located safe and sound following a tip from the public. 5:05 P.M., MAY 12, 2015 VERNON - Police are asking for the public’s aid in locating a missing man. Robert Parker, 58, left a medical...
Driver ticketed after setting off three vehicle accident at Vernon intersection
VERNON - A driver has been ticketed for setting off a chain of events involving three vehicles the afternoon of Tuesday, May 12. The crash happened around 3 p.m. at Highway 6 and 15 Street and sent two children to hospital. Police spoke with the drivers involved, and witnesses to figure out what happened, RCMP...
Lumby man sanctioned by B.C. Securities Commission
LUMBY - A Lumby man who tried — and ultimately failed — to get away with circumventing B.C. securities laws won’t be working anywhere near them for years. In 2006, Donald Gordon Byrne, a self-employed technician from Lumby, partnered up with friend and former business associate Robert Scott Morrice, according to a B.C. Securities Commission...
Electoral boundary changes go to public hearing in Kamloops, Vernon
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Changes are being recommended in many electoral areas across the province and this week you can get your say in on those changes at three meetings throughout the region. The B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission held public hearings in the fall and earlier this year a report outlining the recommended changes was released. In...
Pop-up art gallery, food cart to add vibrancy to downtown Vernon this summer
VERNON - People stepping off Greyhound or public transit buses in downtown Vernon will have a unique shipping container art gallery and at least one food truck waiting for them this summer. Vernon city council approved a request from the Vernon Public Art Gallery to keep a network of steel shipping containers where they are,...
Decision on proposed Shuswap school closure expected tonight
NORTH OKANAGAN - Some tough decisions are expected to be made by the North Okanagan-Shuswap School Board tonight, May 12. It’s the meeting at which board members must decide whether or not to shut down Silver Creek Elementary School in Salmon Arm. The school was placed on the chopping block when the findings of a...
Vernon council not happy with provincial government over Stickle Road plan
VERNON - Elected representatives refuse to keep quiet about their concerns around a Ministry of Transportation initiative to modify the Stickle Road intersection at Highway 97 in Vernon. Not only does local government disagree with the plan, which would see the intersection changed to right in, right out only (municipalities want a traffic light instead)...
Elderly man crashes pickup repeatedly in Lumby
LUMBY – An 83-year-old man lost control of his pickup at the traffic light in Lumby last week. RCMP say the man hit a power pole and a flat deck truck, and the concrete retaining wall in front of the Super A Foods parking lot. A witness told police the man then tried to back...
Change in command at Lumby RCMP detachment
LUMBY - Lumby will soon be losing a familiar face — that of Cpl. Henry Proce, the village’s detachment commander. Proce announced Monday, May 11 he will be retiring as of May 22. He has served at the Lumby detachment for eight years, and 37 in total with the RCMP. Taking his place will be...
Foul play was not involved in sudden death of Lumby man
LUMBY - RCMP and the B.C. Coroners Service have determined there was no foul play involved in the death of a Lumby man last month. Police were called to the 1000-block of Trinity Valley Road, April 24, after a 79-year-old man died in an accident on his rural property. Lumby RCMP Cpl. Henry Proce said...
Vernon RCMP investigate two home invasions
VERNON - Police are investigating two recent home invasions that may be connected. Around 7:30 a.m. on Friday, May 8, Vernon RCMP responded to two separate home invasions. In both incidents people entered the residences, one in the 3900 block of 32 Street and one in the 3900 block of 27 Avenue, while the homeowners...
Vernon’s Priest Valley Arena de-ices early due to electrical fire
VERNON - An electrical fire is responsible for early ice removal at Priest Valley Arena and disruptions at the Vernon Aquatic Centre over the weekend. A major breaker blew Sunday morning and caught fire, resulting in the evacuation of a minor hockey team from Kamloops. The fire was contained to the electrical panel, and firefighters...
Electrical fire evacuates Priest Valley Arena
VERNON – It was a busy weekend for Vernon firefighters as they responded to three separate blazes, including one at the Priest Valley Arena this morning. The main electrical panel at the aging arena went up in flames, May 10, according to Fire Capt. Dan Walker. He says the custodian called in the fire and...
Splash of Colour in Vernon a success
VERNON – The Splash of Colour Family Fun Run in Vernon Saturday raised over $51,000 for the Easter Seals Camp in Winfield. The fundraiser at Kin Beach included a pancake breakfast, a hydration station, bouncy castles for the kids, according to the event’s Facebook page. The participants were given sunglasses before they were blasted with...
Mothers Day continues when mom has passed on
VERNON - Every May, Brenda Gilchrist-Sword changes her profile picture. The black and white portrait isn’t her, but her mom Grace, who passed away in 2002. Gilchrist-Sword, of Vernon, lives in a different province from where her mom is buried, so the profile picture is her way of honouring her mom around Mother’s Day. She...
Shipping containers, coffee cart could stay the summer downtown Vernon
VERNON - A pop-up shipping container art gallery and coffee vendor could stay the summer if they get permission from City Hall. That’s why the Vernon Public Art Gallery has asked the City of Vernon to extend its license agreement for the temporary steel shipping container structure at the bus loop downtown, across from Cenotaph...
Okanagan Basin Water Board demands more action on invasive mussels
OKANAGAN - The Okanagan Basin Water Board is calling on the provincial government to step up the fight against invasive quagga and zebra mussels by establishing permanent inspection stations at the five main highway entrances from Alberta. As well, in a seven-point position paper, the water board is calling on the federal government to immediately...
Retired conservation officer speaks out about the realities of a service stretched too thin
“YOU CAME TO WORK EVERY DAY KNOWING YOU COULD NOT FULFILL EVERY PHONE CALL AND REPORTED COMPLAINT” KELOWNA - Retired B.C. conservation officer Greg Hoyer went into the field to protect fisheries and wildlife; by the time he left in 2009 that was only a fraction of his job. “Over the years, the government just...
Vernon School District budget: What will be cut, what will be gained
VERNON - Three vice-principal positions are among the cuts being made at local schools to help balance next year’s budget. School District 22 announced what’s being kept, and what’s being cut, as part of the 2015/2016 budget in a media release. Three vice-principal positions, one each at J.W. Inglis, Hillview and Coldstream Elementary, will not...
UPDATE: Legion president injured in Highway 97 crash
KELOWNA – A car crash on Highway 97 near Old Vernon Road in Kelowna this morning seriously injured three people, including two members of the Royal Canadian Legion. Branch 26 president Syd Pratt and member Frank Truman were on their way to a Flag Day event at the Lakeview Memorial Cemetery, Lynda Wachter the Legion's manager...
New wildfire recruits put through paces
MERRITT - More than 200 seasonal firefighter applicants have made the cut and this month they are being put through a ‘rigorous’ bootcamp near Merritt. About 1,000 people, many of which are post-secondary students, apply for the positions every year. Provincial Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek says the job is "very in demand" and the...
Summer watering restrictions likely as province records average lowest snowpack levels in 31 years
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The lastest snowpack measurements from the provincial government’s river forecast centre are showing record low levels in some areas including the Okanagan and Similkameen regions. Without substantial rain in the next couple of months, reservoirs across the region will also be lower than normal, likely leading to water use restrictions in many communities...
VIDEO: Local RC pilots strut their stuff
KELOWNA - While most people would have a hard time simply flying and landing a radio controlled airplane, some locals have put together a video showing what's possible when a skilled set of hands are behind the stick. Triple Threat RC uploaded the 13-minute video to YouTube last week. It contains footage of gas-powered planes...