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Vernon news
It’s not all always about the money in municipal election campaigns
VERNON – Akbal Mund spent less than half the money his closest competitors did in his successful bid to win the November 2014 civic election. According to campaign contributions released by Elections B.C. today, Feb. 23, Mund spent just over $8,500 on his campaign in November 2014 and grabbed 3,714 votes. Compare that to the...
RCMP search for a driver in bizarre crash investigation
VERNON – RCMP have a mystery on their hands after officers showed up at a car crash on Silver Star Road on the weekend to find the vehicle upside down and running, but no sign of the driver. The driver of a Toyota Corolla hit a power pole around 3:40 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 21. The...
UPDATE: Three injured, one seriously, in Vernon head-on crash
VERNON – A three vehicle crash on Highway 97 just north of Vernon sent three people to hospital and closed the route in both directions for about three hours Friday afternoon. The crash happened around 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 20 at the intersection of Highway 97 and Old Kamloops Road. Two cars and a semi...
Residents respond to Enderby eviction notice
"I AM EXTREMELY ANGRY WITH THE CITY AND HOW THEY'VE DEALT WITH THINGS." ENDERBY - Zhao Walker, a 25-year-old artist who hitchhiked to the area four years ago, is one of the people who lived in the back of the Gypsy Bazaar in Enderby before the city evicted them. For years, he helped run the...
Why a jury found a Vernon man guilty of raping his daughter, but not of incest
VERNON - A Vernon man continues to show no remorse for years of sexual abuse on his daughter and her friend and that got him some extra time in prison. The man, who cannot be named by court order to protect the identity of his daughter, was originally charged with three counts of sexual assault—two...
Lake Country counters CN rail objections with mass mail out
KELOWNA - Lake Country civic officials are countering what they are calling misinformation by residents opposed to the purchase of the CN Rail corridor and the alternative approval process being used to seek its approval. Corporate services manager Reyna Seabrook said the district decided to do another mass mail out to all Lake Country households...
Come discover Enderbeagle
ENDERBY - A small North Okanagan community might have to change its name to Enderbeagle in honour of its latest celebrity—a beagle named Miss P. Miss P (for Peyton) is being celebrated worldwide as this year’s best in show after a surprise win at the Westminster Kennel Club in New York Tuesday. Four-year-old Miss P...
Unsafe Enderby boarding house possibly a chemical drug lab
ENDERBY - An Enderby building decorated on the outside with brightly painted murals is now being investigated as the site of a possible chemical drug lab. Police discovered evidence of a drug lab Wednesday, Feb. 18 while assisting the City of Enderby with an evacuation order. Eleven boarders, including up to four children, were ordered...
Authorities evacuate residents from hazardous Enderby boarding complex
ENDERBY - Eleven people, including as many as four children, have been displaced after authorities issued a do not occupy order on the building. Kevin Alstad, local assistant to the Fire Commissioner for the City of Enderby, described the building as “a hazard requiring the immediate removal of the occupants for their own safety.” In...
Shuswap woman petitions Province for improved seniors care
VERNON - Judy Galley uses words like horrific, neglectful and nightmarish to describe the state of seniors homes in B.C., and she wants to change that. The Shuswap woman launched a petition calling on the provincial government to improve staff-to-patient ratios at care homes after experiencing the system firsthand. Her parents resided in Kelowna care...
Movie shoot in progress in Vernon and Lumby
VERNON - Another film shoot is already two days along in the Okanagan, bringing stars and crew to locations in Vernon and Lumby for the next 16 days. “We are very pleased to have the second film of the year being shot in the second month of the year," Okanagan Film Commission spokesperson Jon Summerland...
Lumby RCMP appeal to public after two thefts in less than a week
LUMBY - Police are reaching out for public assistance in solving two thefts earlier this month in Lumby. The first was a break and enter Feb. 8 at Tire Craft on Dyffryn Road. The alarm was set off, and when police arrived, they found the rear door had been forced open and money stolen from...
Mud slide shuts down Highway 6 near Needles Ferry crossing
VERNON - Highway 6 is shut down in both directions one kilometre west of the Needles Ferry, due to a mud slide. According to Drive B.C., there is a detour available on Barnes Creek Forest Service Road. As of 3 a.m. Feb. 19, road assessment was still in progress and there was no estimated time of...
Police believe Cherryville vandal was motivated by logging dispute
CHERRYVILLE - Police believe a recent act of vandalism was motivated by a controversial logging operation in Cherryville. Heavy equipment belonging to the company contracted to build a logging road in the Cherry Ridge area was vandalized sometime around Jan. 13, Lumby Cpl. Henry Proce says. The construction of the road is part of a...
B.C. Fruit Growers Association to choose a president this weekend
PENTICTON - Kelowna's Fred Steele, president of the B.C. Fruit Growers' Association, will find out if he'll remain at the helm for a second term when he goes head-to-head with Vernon's Jeet Dukhia at the annual convention in Penticton this weekend. Dukhia was the association president in 2013, prior to Steele's term, so each candidate...
Better than money: John Howard Society gets major property donation
VERNON - The John Howard Society has received a gift few non-profits ever do: real estate. A 3,600 square foot suite inside the Creekside Professional Building was given to the society by a local couple, Mike and Beverly Davies, Tuesday, Feb. 17. It’s the largest gift ever received by the society, and believed to be...
UPDATE: Missing woman found
MERRITT - The missing woman the Upper Nicola Band and Okanagan Indian Band were in search for has been located. Before she was found, Annie Joe Gottfriedson, 20, of the Upper Nicola Band was last seen Feb. 16 at noon near Nicola Street in Merritt. “Our concerns run deep for Annie Jo and her family,”...
Vernon RCMP still looking for one of two missing women
VERNON - Two women went missing from Vernon medical facilities Monday, Feb. 16. It didn’t take police long to locate the first woman, Natasha Archibald, 51, who was reported found Tuesday morning. She was returned to hospital to complete her medical treatment. The second woman, Heidi Roos, 52, remains missing. Vernon RCMP say the incidents...
UPDATE: Highway 97 A between Grindrod and Sicamous reopens with delays
GRINDROD - Highway 97A is back open following a mud slide Sunday night, but travellers can still expect delays Tuesday. The road will be open to single lane alternating traffic Tuesday, Feb. 17 while crews conduct maintenance work. The work is being conducted from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. according to Drive B.C. and travellers...
Kal Lake water shut off due to increased turbidity, milfoil removal
VERNON - The Kalamalka Lake water supply has been shut off due to increased turbidity and milfoil removal. The Greater Vernon Water Utility turned the water off Monday, Feb. 16. Until it’s back on, water will be supplied through the Duteau Creek Water Treatment Plant to avoid issuing a boil water advisory. “The decision to...
Vernon RCMP issue warning after rash of thefts from vehicles
VERNON - A rash of thefts from vehicles has police asking the public to take precautions. In the last week alone, there were over 20 thefts from vehicles, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. “The Vernon North Okanagan Detachment would like to remind people not to leave items in plain view in your vehicles,” Molendyk says....
Alleged thief fails again, and again, and then it gets worse
VERNON - First, an alleged thief failed to steal the goods and then it went downhill from there. Vernon RCMP brought in the dog unit to investigate a report of a theft of a trailer in progress at Silver Star Mountain Resort, Thursday, February 12. Mounties were called to parking lot "E" at 6:30 p.m.,...
A fraudulent credit card, $400 worth of meat, and an off-duty cop
VERNON - A pair of people trying to buy hundreds of dollars worth of meat on Valentine’s Day attracted the attention of an off-duty officer. The individuals, a 31-year-old man from Penticton and a 32-year-old woman, were trying to pay for approximately $400 worth of meat from M&M Meats on Saturday, but the man was...
Salmon Arm man struck with metal pipe during bizarre altercation
POLICE APPEALING TO PUBLIC FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SUSPECTS VERNON - Mounties say a Salmon Arm man was attacked through his car window last week while stopped at an intersection. The unusual assault occurred last Wednesday, Feb. 11, around 9:15 p.m. in front of the Green Valley Motel on 25 Avenue. A 26-year-old Salmon Arm man...