Vernon

Help these local musicians win the chance of a lifetime

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Your vote could help a local artist win over $100,000 and some serious musical cred. The B.C. Peak Performance Project opens up the public voting portion of its contest today, Oct. 16. Online voting runs until Oct. 23. Two artists from around the Thompson-Okanagan are in the running this year: Vernon’s Corey Myraas...

Warm weather, chance of frost in the Okanagan this weekend

OKANAGAN - Day time temperatures will remain above seasonal normals this weekend but overnight lows mean there is a chance of frost in parts of the Okanagan. Environment Canada is calling for highs of 17 Celsius today, Oct 16, and 16 C Saturday and Sunday in the Vernon and Penticton areas while Kelowna will see...

HELSTON: Learning to vote is like learning to drive, we all need a little practice

In Canada, you might be born with the democratic right to vote, but you’re not born with a magical gene that makes you a natural voter. That’s a skill that takes time and patience to cultivate. And, no, I’m not talking about the basic hand-eye coordination required to draw an ‘X’ on a piece of...

Deadline to register your off-road vehicles quickly approaching

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Backcountry riders have until Nov. 1 to register their dirt bikes, ATVs and snowmobiles. The new law, which also stipulates several safety regulations while on Crown land, has been voluntary since last November, and back in May the provincial government extended the hard deadline from June 1 to the start of next month....

Questions arise over new Vernon arena cost, location

VERNON - Building a new arena in Vernon hasn’t even gone to referendum yet and is already generating concerns. Local officials are currently waiting for the province to sign off on a borrowing referendum to decommission the Civic Arena and add a second ice sheet at Kal Tire Place — a process that has been...

Destructive Vernon fire deemed suspicious

VERNON - Police are appealing to the public for tips as they investigate a recent fire. The Oct. 14 blaze destroyed three vehicles at a property on Davidson Road. Police and the Vernon Fire Department were called to extinguish the fire just after 4 a.m. Among the wreckage was a commercial truck and two personal...

Fire ban fully rescinded in Kamloops Fire Centre this week

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As the weather continues to cool off and fire season comes to a close, open burning is now allowed throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre. As of noon today, Oct. 15, the current open burning ban will be completely rescinded in the areas under the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction. Many local municipalities are following...

Vernon councillor calls for action over ‘crazy loud’ shrimp boats on Okanagan Lake

VERNON - It might be saving Kokanee salmon populations, but a Vernon city councillor says shrimp harvesting on Okanagan Lake is ‘crazy loud.’ “It’s like, wow, you hear this thing from across the whole lake,” Coun. Brian Quiring said at a council meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13. “I mean, we have to find a way that...

New officer takes the reins at Vernon RCMP detachment

VERNON - There’s a new top cop in the City of Vernon. Insp. Jim McNamara has been the acting superintendent of the Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP since Reg Burgess retired in March 2015, and on Wednesday, Oct. 14, he was officially promoted to the position. "On behalf of Council and the staff of the City of...

The cause of that foul odour at Vernon’s Polson Park

VERNON - It should smell like the fresh outdoors, but instead Polson Park in Vernon has been wrinkling noses lately. People are complaining about a foul, septic smell in the park, and Vernon city councillor Juliette Cunningham says she’s not only heard from community members about the problem, but experienced it firsthand. “I walk on...

More questions about Vernon blue bin recycling program

VERNON - Vernon city council is embarking on a blue bin fact-finding mission. Spurred by a pair of motions brought forward by Coun. Scott Anderson, council agreed to investigate concerns — and possible solutions — around the Multi-Material B.C. blue box recycling system which came into effect in May 2014. "Numerous people have expressed dissatisfaction...

Cattle poaching problem continues in the North Okanagan

VERNON - Another cow was found killed and left to rot over the weekend. It was found Saturday, Oct. 10, on the Aberdeen Forest Service Road in Lavington. The cow appeared to have been shot, but no meat was taken. It’s the fourth cow to be found dead on range land leased by the Coldstream...

Boil water notice from 2012 lifted in North Okanagan

NORTH OKANAGAN - Water users in the Okanagan Landing area can finally have water straight out of the tap. A boil water notice was issued by Interior Health in 2012 for the Claremont Water Utility area, which includes properties on Longacre Road and Apollo Road, and since then work was done to connect the water...

Vernon RCMP cut man’s spending spree with stolen credit card short

VERNON - He charged purchases to a stolen credit card, and now police are charging him with possession of stolen property.  Police believe the man got the credit card out of a wallet he stole from a car in the Findlay Road area of Coldstream the night of Sept. 30. The card was subsequently used...

Vernon man says saving a life opened his eyes

VERNON - Ryan Winkler says he was just the guy who happened to drive by on that particular morning; police call him a life saver. Winkler, 36, was on his way to work around 4 a.m. when he saw a truck parked on the side of North Westside Road. The windows were taped up, the...

UPDATE: Missing Okanagan woman found

UPDATE: 6:22 A.M. OCT. 27, 2015  A 26-year-old woman missing for weeks has been located. Police say Celina White was found safe and sound Oct. 26.  12:05 P.M., OCT. 13, 2015 VERNON - RCMP are on the lookout for a woman who last spoke with her family several weeks ago. Celina White, 26, was last...

This Salmon Arm artist’s project took her to the Jim Henson studios

SALMON ARM - For her family, it’s getting used to seeing pieces of fluff all over the house, but for Melissa Nasby, being a fibre artist is about seeing what adventure is down the road. In the last six years, Nasby has been working with felt as her medium to create a host of different...

Young Kelowna man sentenced for assaulting teenaged girl

Kelowna – A 21-year-old Kelowna man has been sentenced on a charge of assault for pushing the head of a 13-year-old girl towards his crotch. Zachary Xavier Heise, now 21, was with three friends - two girls, aged 13 and 14, and a boy, 16 - in Vernon in May 2013. Heise was significantly older...

You may not be thankful for the weather in the Okanagan this long weekend

OKANAGAN - It may be a long weekend typically filled with family, friends and lots of food, but much of this Thanksgiving weekend will also be wet and windy. While both the high and low temperatures are expected to be above normal throughout the weekend there will also be a chance of rain and strong...