Vernon

Grass fire burning near Vernon landfill

VERNON - Emergency crews are descending upon a new grass fire in Vernon. The fire was reported just before 5 p.m. today, July 23 on Birnie Road, near the landfill, and is an estimated two hectares in size. The Vernon Fire Department is at the scene and has requested back up from B.C. Wildfire. Fire...

Take a seat at the painted piano downtown Vernon

VERNON - The people of Vernon are making beautiful music together, thanks to a colourful, communal piano on Main Street. The old upright piano appeared about three weeks ago on the sidewalk outside a 30 Avenue business, Good Gracious. The store’s former owner Dave Russell, who is now retired, came up with the idea after...

Shelter Cove fire remains steady during the day

WEST KELOWNA - B.C. Wildfire has been hitting smoke on the south flank of the Shelter Cove fire with air tankers but other than that, not much has changed today in the 430-hectare blaze. The evacuation order continues for 70 homes along Westside Road which is closed in both directions between Cinnabar Creek and La...

Smoky skies advisory issued for Okanagan

OKANAGAN - It may come as little surprise given the number of fires burning in the area, but a smoky skies advisory has been issued for the entire Okanagan. The special air quality statement was issued by the Ministry of Environment and the Interior Health Authority yesterday evening, July 21, for the entire Okanagan, including...

Health authority hard hit by influenza last season

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Southern Interior was hard hit by influenza last season with a jump in confirmed cases and deaths. But at the same time, the flu season here in the Interior Health Authority was typical of what the rest of Canada experienced. Dr. Gillian Frosst, an epidemiolgist with the heatlh authority, told the board...

UPDATE: Evacuation order issued for aggressive wildfire near Falkland

FALKLAND - An aggressive wildfire in the Bolean Lake area of Falkland has prompted an evacuation order.  The blaze, which was reported to B.C. Wildfire about 2 p.m. Monday, July 20, quickly grew to an estimated 300 hectares in size up from four hectares earlier in the day. B.C. Wildfire reported Tuesday morning the blaze...

The cost of free parking in Vernon

VERNON - Easing up on paid parking downtown Vernon is leaving the city with a gap in revenue.  In the past year, city council approved a number of initiatives aimed at making the downtown area more customer friendly, and while it’s too early to see if they’re working, the changes are already revealing financial side-effects....

Pedestrian struck on Vernon crosswalk in critical condition

VERNON - A pedestrian is in critical condition after being hit by a car while using a Vernon crosswalk Saturday morning. The 53-year-old Vernon woman was walking in the crosswalk at Tronson Road and Okanagan Landing Road just after 7 a.m., Saturday, July 18, when she was hit by a car, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk...

RCMP investigating disappearance of migrant workers from Vernon orchard

VERNON - Police are on the lookout for a group migrant workers from Mexico who went missing from a Vernon orchard in June. The four men left personal items behind, but appear to have taken their identification papers, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. The orchard owner told police they disappeared June 26. The men are...

Sunny week ahead for Okanagan

OKANAGAN - It was a hot, sunny and stormy weekend and this week is expected to be a bit closer to normal Okanagan summer weather. Temperatures reached as high as 36 Celsius Sunday as storms rolled through the region. While there is a risk of thunderstorms again today the chance of rain forecast for the...

Yoga fundraiser planned for Kelowna woman killed in car crash

KELOWNA - A deep friendship cut short has pushed a Kelowna woman to help out her friend's family. Anna Mandl says she knew Chantal Bazin since elementary school. Bazin is the young woman who was killed last weekend along with Kayla Cartwright in a car crash on Highway 97 in Vernon. “I’ve known Chantal since...

VIDEO: Eating pie while surfing in Kal Lake? No problem for this guy

VERNON - Crumbs? No problem. Calories? He’s literally burning them off as he eats. Troy Delfs recently satisfied a Davison Orchard pie craving while surfing in Kalamalka Lake — and he made it look easy. In a video posted to Facebook and viewed thousands of times, Delfs begins in the water, holding onto a tow...

Okanagan Across the Lake Swim will be bigger than ever this year

KELOWNA – For the 67th year in a row, swimmers from across the province will plunge into Okanagan Lake for the Across the Lake Swim this weekend. And this year will be bigger than ever. Last year, 900 participants showed up but this year event organizers have increased capacity significantly. A record 1,200 swimmers of all ages...

Grass fire sparked north of Vernon

SPALLUMCHEEN - Emergency crews weren’t taking any chances with a small grass fire just north of Vernon beside Highway 97. Fire information officer Kelsey Winter says B.C. Wildfire crews were on the ground alongside firefighters from the Armstrong Spallumcheen Fire Department in an area roughly 15 kilometres north of Vernon near Gurney Creek. The fire,...

Vernon lingerie store’s not the best hangout for cadets

VERNON - It’s that time of year when hundreds of sharp-dressed cadets can be found around town, but it appears one local business wants to keep them at bay. A notice posted outside La Senza in the Village Green Centre, a popular stop for the cadets on weekends, asked that no more than five enter...

Bringing the heat in the Okanagan this weekend

OKANAGAN - Mother Nature gave us a bit of a reprieve this week, but the temperatures will be back into the 30s again this weekend. After several weeks of intense heat and then a week of near-normal temperatures, the Okanagan will again see temperatures reach the low- to mid-30s Saturday through Tuesday. Environment Canada is...

Former New Delhi restaurant building in Vernon to be demolished

VERNON - There will soon be one more parking lot, and one less building downtown Vernon. The city owned building at the corner of 29 Street and 30 Avenue near the Vernon library which many knew as the New Delhi Indian Restaurant, is getting demolished. There was a fire in the building back in December,...

Loss of school bus route leaves Cherryville mom in a quandary

CHERRYVILLE - A Cherryville mother is considering homeschooling her children after learning they will now have to walk over nine kilometres to get to the nearest bus stop. Kara-Lee Zeolkowski got a letter from School District 22 in June saying the bus stop outside the family’s home on Sugar Lake Road has been eliminated. The...

Hampton disputes testimony he left images of child porn for his wife to find

KELOWNA – The former Vernon Mountie facing child porn charges in Kelowna says he didn’t tell an investigator he left images and videos of child porn on a flash drive for his wife to find, directly contradicting testimony given by the Sargent who first interviewed him in May of 2013. Ryan Hampton is on trial...

Province changes date for open house on Stickle Road intersection improvements plan

VERNON - There’s a new date for an upcoming open house on proposed changes to the Stickle Road intersection in Vernon. Ministry of Transportation staff will present their second plan for the intersection at Highway 97 after the first was scrapped back in May. The open house was originally set for July 30, right before the long...

Unusual bike cruises down Vernon train tracks

VERNON - At first glance, it looks like an ordinary bike. But there’s something different about this particular two-wheeler, that much is clear from three pole attachments jutting out horizontally from the bike. The odd contraption, spotted on the railroad by Kal Beach in Coldstream, is made to run along train tracks. What is it,...

Solve the clues and find the treasure at Kamloops’ newest attraction

KAMLOOPS - You and three friends enter a parlour decorated with antiques and cat-themed trinkets. The door closes behind you, the clock starts and you hear the voice of a lady named Margaret. She tells you she has an estate, and the clues leading to her fortune are in the very room you’re standing in....

Aboriginal forestry business gets boost from federal funding

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Aboriginal-owned forest sector companies in B.C. and Alberta will soon enjoy technical support and business advice from Western Economic Diversification Canada. Western diversification minister Michelle Rempel announced during a press conference at the Westbank First Nation corporate offices in West Kelowna that private company FP Innovations would receive $1.8 million to deliver educational...