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Vernon news
Missing Vernon dirt biker facing charges
VERNON – The dirt biker who showed up at home yesterday after he was missing for over 36 hours is facing charges for breaching his bail conditions. Kyle Macinnes, 25, went missing April 21 after telling his family he was going for a ride in the rugged Commonage area south of Vernon. They were concerned...
Rude awakening for North Okanagan town; winter is back
VERNON - After temperatures soared into the mid 20s this week in the North Okanagan, Cherryville woke up to a cruel surprise this morning: a dump of snow. Residents say about two inches of the white stuff fell overnight, blanketing patio furniture, previously green fields, and porches. Lindsay Myers sent us several pictures of her...
Motorcyclist dies after hitting rock face near Sicamous
SICAMOUS - Police are investigating after a Malawka man died in a motorcycle crash Thursday night. So far, the RCMP have learned two motorcycles were travelling together northbound on Highway 97A towards Sicamous around 7 p.m., April 23. “One of the motorcycles went off road striking a rock face, coming to rest in the southbound...
Mussels with wings; the new front in the battle against invasive species
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The defensive war on invasive mussels hitching a ride into British Columbia’s lakes and rivers via recreational boats has just begun but there’s already talk of opening up a new front — float planes. While recreational boats and commercial boat haulers are the primary target of the recently-launched Don’t Move A Mussel educational program,...
Fatal Shuswap boating trial told ‘collective shock’ hampered police probe
KAMLOOPS – The shock of seeing a speedboat lodged inside a houseboat blinded police who were investigating a fatal 2010 crash on Shuswap Lake, a defence lawyer has argued.
Vernon School District will use reserves to bridge budget shortfall
VERNON - The Vernon School District will dip into its reserves to cover next year's budget shortfall, but it's already worried about what to do the year after that. Once again, School District 22 is facing a budget deficit, this time in the amount of $950,000 due to cost pressures and a $400,000 cut in...
UPDATE: Dirt biker no longer missing
"THE FAMILY IS VERY HAPPY THE WORST DIDN'T HAPPEN" VERNON – The search for a missing dirt biker in the Vernon area has been called off after the man showed up at home this morning. “The Vernon RCMP want to let the public know that the missing man on the dirt bike has returned home...
UPDATE: Vernon RCMP appeal to public for help finding overdue biker
VERNON - Search and Rescue has joined the effort to locate an overdue, and inexperienced, motorbike rider last seen Tuesday afternoon. Kyle Macinnes, 25, went out on his dirt bike at 4 p.m. April 21, and has not returned. “His family is very concerned as he is not a very experienced rider,” Molendyk says in...
Public consultation process goes to consultation
HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A lot of people have recently expressed concerns over how the environmental assessment process works and now the provincial government is asking for input on how to improve the public consultation portion of the process. The B.C. Government's Environmental Assessment Office is asking the public...
CN Rail corridor purchase generates more voter interest than Lake Country municipal election
LAKE COUNTRY - By the time the results of the referendum on the CN Rail corridor purchase are in, a vote that could cause the entire deal to fail, most of the people who cast a ballot will be asleep. “It’s the same rules as an election,” said Willene Perez, deputy chief election officer for...
VIDEO: Car on fire halts highway traffic near Armstrong
ARMSTRONG - A vehicle on fire in the middle of Highway 97 A near Armstrong tied up traffic for about an hour Wednesday afternoon. The Armstrong Spallumcheen Fire Department was dispatched to the scene, just north of Eagle Rock Road, about 1:30 p.m. April 22. Fire chief Ian Cummings says a Volkswagen was completely engulfed...
Enraged Sicamous father’s video of public urination brawl leads to police investigation
SICAMOUS - A video making the rounds on Facebook has people downright pissed. It all started when a group of men were reportedly relieving themselves on Main Street in Sicamous, across the road from a high school. Brent Graf, the man who shot the video, says he was picking up his daughters at the time....
Man stuck with fine for illegal dock work on Okanagan Lake
VERNON - If you’re a waterfront property owner who’s ever built a dock on the lake, a B.C. Supreme Court Judge says you need a permit for that. It’s a rule cottage owner Laurent Desautels didn’t know about in March 2013, when he hired Okanagan Pile Driving Inc. to install piles into Okanagan Lake as...
Watch out for rattlesnakes; they’re out early in the Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Sunny weather has gotten many of us out from beneath our rocks looking for some rays, and we’re not the only ones in the animal world. Warm temperatures have brought rattlesnakes out earlier than normal in the Thompson-Okanagan, according to WildSafe B.C. spokesperson Frank Ritcey. “With the warm weather, the snakes will be...
Construction just around the corner for Vernon’s new Tim Hortons
VERNON - Construction on Vernon’s latest Tim Hortons is expected to start soon across from Beairtso Elementary School. Southborough Vernon Investments Ltd. director David Longpré says the company plans to break ground within the next month and complete the drive-through Tim Hortons and CO-OP Gas Bar by the end of the year. “There’s anticipations it...
Low snowpack prompts Greater Vernon water warning
VERNON - Greater Vernon residents are being advised to go easy on the water in light of a lower than normal snowpack this year. Recent snowpack readings at three monitoring stations near the Duteau Creek Watershed suggest the region could be in for low water levels this summer, water sustainability coordinator Jennifer Miles said in...
Turn your eyes to the night sky this week
NORTHERN LIGHTS AND METEOR SHOWER COULD LIGHT UP THE NIGHT THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you missed the northern lights last week and if the moon was too bright and the clouds too thick to catch the Quadrantid meteor shower in January, you could get a chance at viewing both this week. The Space Weather Prediction Centre...
Police withdraw ticket given to Vernon scooter user involved in accident
VERNON - A Vernon woman recovering from injuries sustained when her scooter was hit by a truck was going to fight a violation ticket police handed her after the accident, but now she won’t have to. After reviewing the Motor Vehicle Act, the RCMP is rescinding the ticket issued to Patricia Parent for entering a...
Early start to wildfire season in Southern Interior, numbers still below 10-year average
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A series of wildfires were ignited this past weekend as dry weather combined with warming temperatures to create conditions ideal for human-caused fires. B.C. Wildfire crews responded to four fires over the weekend, two in the Kamloops part of the fire centre and two in the southern tip. Information Officer Kayla Pepper says...
Bif Naked headlines Fantastic music festival
VERNON – Vancouver rocker Bif Naked will headline the music festival component at the Funtastic slo-pitch tournament in June. The Funtastic Sports Society expects up to 6,000 people each night during the festival which runs from June 26 to June 29 in Vernon at the Department of National Defence grounds, according to a media release....
Growing appetite for food cart plaza in downtown Vernon
VERNON - Excitement is brewing around two unique pop-up ventures at Vernon’s downtown bus loop, a shipping container art gallery and a mobile coffee cart, and rather than see that momentum falter when the exhibit ends and the space returns to an empty gravel parking lot, some would like to see it continue to thrive...
New money to fight invasive plants in Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The province is spending more than $1.7 million to help local governments and other organizations with the battle against unwanted plants damaging local ecosystems. Minster of Lands and Kelowna MLA Steve Thomson announced the grants to fight invasive plant species in a media release this week. “It’s important we get a handle on...
Vernon man admits guilt in car crash: nurse left paralyzed
VERNON - A Vernon man has pleaded guilty to causing a car crash that left a local nurse paralyzed from the neck down. Robin Orcherton, a Vernon nurse and mother, was on her way home from work Dec. 3, 2014 when her car was struck by a blue Jeep. The driver fled the scene and...
InfoNews houseboat prize winner all smiles
KAMLOOPS - The winner of the InfoNews grand prize is all smiles after claiming her trip last week. “This is an awesome prize,” Debbie Sampson, who is a social development worker with the Adams Lake Indian Band, says about winning the InfoNews houseboat vacation grand prize. Though Sampson is excited her kids might be even...