Vernon

Okanagan rail corridor proponents pledge $5 million for community trail

VERNON - A citizens group has committed to raising $5 million to build a rail trail from Vernon to Kelowna if local municipalities secure the land. Brad Clements of the Okanagan Rail Trail Initiative says several community members have already expressed interest in making donations toward the creation of the trail. “People say, 'Let us...

FORECAST: This could get loud

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - One more day and you might have thoughts the folks at Environment Canada were playing an odd April Fool’s Day prank, but it is only March 31 and there is a chance of thunderstorms in parts of the region today. In Kamloops, Environment Canada is calling for a 70 per cent chance of...

Vernon woman step closer to MasterChef Canada crown

VERNON - Vernon’s Jennifer Innis continues to prove her cooking skills on national television. The dental hygienist and mother of three made it to the top ten on MasterChef Canada Sunday night, March 29. “I never thought I'd even make the show, let alone the top ten. Thanks everyone for your continuous support,” Innis writes on...

New hotel opens in Vernon after years of delays

VERNON – A hotel on Vernon’s north end overlooking Swan Lake has quietly opened after the property stood partially developed for years. The Castle at Swan Lake by Pomeroy, next to Atlantis Waterslides, started booking guests on Thursday, March 12. The 44-room hotel, which has been built to look like a castle complete with towers,...

Spring snow at Okanagan resorts leaves ski bums less bummed

OKANAGAN - It may have been a rainy week in the valley, but it was dumping snow at local ski hills. Silver Star Mountain in Vernon got close to 60 cm of new snow in the last week, blanketing alpine runs with a 209 centimetre base. As of Friday morning, all chair lifts except the...

Second year without a vigil to mark Vernon Good Friday massacre

VERNON – For the second year in a row, a vigil to remember the nine members of the Gakhal and Saran families who were murdered in Vernon on Good Friday in 1996 will not be held. The families will be remembering their loss in private, according to a media release from the Vernon Women’s Transition...

HELSTON: Hundreds of bears die every year for this stupid reason

This goes out to anyone who’s left their garbage out and had a bear get into it; you might as well have put a bullet through its head. It sounds harsh, I know, but hundreds of bears across B.C. are killed by conservation officers every year because they’ve grown habituated to garbage. Sorry to break...

Local clothing stores to remain open under creditor protection

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The company behind Cleo, Bootlegger and Ricki’s has filed for creditor protection but says at this point all stores will remain open. Comark Inc. filed for protection today, March 26 and plans on using it to bring stability to restructuring of its operations. "For our customers and employees, what is most important is...

History of the Okanagan Commonage Reserve

VERNON - With the impending sale of the discontinued rail corridor between Vernon and Kelowna, the Okanagan Indian band has revived a historic land claim on a large tract of land known as the Commonage Reserve. Formed in 1877 by the Joint Indian Reserve Commission (established by the governments of Canada and B.C. to create...

Malakwa man killed by CP train indentified

KELOWNA – The man killed on the CP tracks in Malakwa last weekend couldn’t get out of the way of the freight train in time. Gilles Robert Joseph Thivierge, 61, of Malakwa was in the back seat of a car, which became stuck on the tracks just off Malakwa Road and Summerville-Husted Road around 9:45...

Satellite images show just how much Vernon has changed in 30 years

VERNON - It’s no surprise the Vernon area has grown over the last 30 years, but now you can see just what those changes look like from above. This incredible time lapse of satellite images from 1984 to 2012 on Google Earth Engine shows how different the city looks today. You will see new building...

Rain, snow increase avalanche risk in Interior

OKANAGAN - With less than a week left in March spring is well under way in the valleys, but that doesn’t mean winter conditions are not present on mountain highways or in the backcountry. Avalanche Canada is warning of a moderate to high risk of avalanches in many of the alpine and treeline elevations throughout...

Opinions wanted on local election spending

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fresh off the heels of the fall municipal election a special committee is now looking at whether spending limits should be put in place for candidates and third party advertisers. The provincial government committee will speak with stakeholders and the public over the coming weeks to discuss whether a limit should be put...

Vernon native named to WHL all-star team

VERNON - It’s the end of the regular season in the Western Hockey League and while Vernon does not have a team in the league a local player has still cracked the all-star team. The all-star teams along with the 2015 WHL Awards finalists were named Wednesday, March 25 with awards set to be handed...

Lake Country referendum mail ballot options

LAKE COUNTRY – If you won’t be in town for the referendum on April 25, 2015 or during any of the advance polls on April 15, 16, 17, 20 and 21, you may still be able to vote by mail. Lake Country is seeking elector assent through a referendum to approve the borrowing of up...

Two Vernon athletes nominated to compete in 2015 Toronto Parapan Am Games

VERNON - Two athletes from Vernon are among 40 swimmers nominated to represent Canada this summer at the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games. Sarah Mehain, 20, is a seasoned paralympian and will compete in four events in Toronto, while the games are a first for teammate Riley McLean. The two will compete alongside another fellow...

Interior Target stores will be closed before Easter

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - By April 2 a total of 62 Target stores will be shut down, including those in Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops. Target Canada opened doors in Western Canada in May 2013. In January 2015 it was announced the company would be shutting down all 133 stores and liquidation sales began immediately. Last week the...

Rail corridor in doubt as Okanagan Indian Band takes land claim to court

VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band is filing a notice of claim in B.C. Supreme Court, asserting aboriginal title to a portion of the discontinued CN rail corridor between Lake Country and Vernon. It’s part of the same rail corridor local municipalities are working towards purchasing for conversion into a trail, but Okanagan Indian Band...

Vernon parents left frustrated with City Hall over student safety

VERNON - Vernon parents are disappointed local government isn’t planning to do more to make the roads around Beairsto School safer as a drive-through Tim Hortons is built across the street. Out of 11 traffic safety recommendations made by the Beairsto Parent Advisory Council — such as widening sidewalks, reducing the speed limit on 27...

Four local pharmacies to participate in ground-breaking genomics project

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The concept of tailored medical care based on individual DNA was once the stuff of science fiction novels but now the possibility is ever closer with four pharmacies in the Thompson-Okanagan signed on to take part in a first-of-its-kind genomics project. The 'Genomics for Precision Drug Therapy in the Community Pharmacy' project is...

Co-workers step up efforts to support Vernon nurse badly injured in hit and run

VERNON - Co-workers continue to support a Vernon nurse left unable to walk after a hit and run last winter.  As part of an ongoing fundraiser called Robin’s Journey, co-workers have launched a silent auction to help support her financially. Organizer Tina Berg says the community’s response so far with donations has been overwhelming. “Robin...

Ringo Starr to play in Penticton

PENTICTON - If you are on tour celebrating the release of an album named Postcards From Paradise, it only makes sense Penticton would be one of your stops. Former Beatle Ringo Starr is touring with his All-Starr Band and is making Penticton just one of three B.C. stops, and one of only eight Canadian tour...

Wet start to spring in Southern Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Spring has officially sprung and based on the forecast, you should have your umbrella and rain boots handy. Some in the region woke to rain Friday, March 20, and Environment Canada is calling for more over the next few days. A chance of rain begins today throughout the region and Saturday will bring...

That’s the spirit – Okanagan distiller wins international awards

OKANAGAN - Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery is celebrating a repeat win after being named distillery of the year for the second time at the 2015 World Spirits Awards in Dennmark. The distillery’s black currant liqueur beat out competition from 25 countries and 65 distilleries to take Spirit of the Year. Its Danish-style Aquavitus and Haskap...