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Vernon
Temperatures continue upswing
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After a dump of nearly 40 centimetres of snow in many parts of the Southern Interior we are now looking at temperatures above seasonal normals all week. According to Environment Canada we can expect to see highs of about 2 Celsius Monday and Tuesday and of 0 C Wednesday and Thursday. By the...
Changes could be coming at Vernon parking meters
VERNON - Vernon currently has the shortest grace period among nearby communities when it comes to expired parking meters, but that could be about to change. City council will vote on changing the grace period to five minutes from the current two next Monday to make downtown Vernon more customer friendly. City staff reviewed other...
Biggest jump in Okanagan real estate sales in seven years
OKANAGAN – Real estate sales across the Okanagan had the biggest jump in seven years last December, according to the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board. Overall the region saw sales increase 24 per cent during the last month of 2014, with apartment sales up a massive 42 per cent over the previous year. Townhouse and...
Arrest made in Vernon corner store armed robbery
VERNON - Police arrested a man who allegedly pepper sprayed a corner store employee and made off with cigarettes and cash. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said officers identified the suspect as a 19-year-old Vernon man and arrested him the afternoon of Jan. 8. The man is expected to appear in court Jan. 9 to answer...
Senior pedestrian left unconscious; police seek information
VERNON - Police are looking for more information about a hit and run that left a 69-year-old man unconscious on the side of the road. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said the accident happened Thursday, Jan. 8 just before 9 p.m. at the intersection of Husband Road and Kalamalka Lake Road in Coldstream. “The witness who...
STAHN: Yes it snowed, now get over it
We had a bit of snow this week. In fact we saw upwards of 40 centimetres over a two-day period, an amount not seen for between 77 and 87 years here in the Thompson-Okanagan region. Yes, that’s a lot of snow, but that’s all it was - snow. I’ve heard a lot of people exclaiming...
Suspect drives stolen car into snowbank
VERNON COP IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME TO CATCH THIEF VERNON - A man well known to police didn’t get far in a stolen vehicle in Vernon early Thursday morning. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says a Kimberley man was on his way back to his hotel from Denny’s around 1:40 a.m. when...
Equipment break down delays Vernon snow removal
VERNON - Machinery issues have set back snow removal efforts in Vernon. Snow clearing on 27 Street was delayed Wednesday due to mechanical difficulties with the city’s large snow blower, communications coordinator Tanya Laing Gahr said in a media release. The blower was repaired late Wednesday and snow removal in the downtown core picked up...
Lights out for thousands of North Okanagan residents
NORTH OKANAGAN - A number of snow-related power outages are plaguing North Okanagan residents all the way from Cherryville to Spallumcheen. As of 2:52 p.m. Wednesday Jan. 7, B.C. Hydro was responding to 21 individual outages across the North Okanagan, most of them snow related, leaving over 2,000 customers without power. Vernon claimed 14 outages,...
Vernon RCMP disrupt ‘potentially dangerous’ drug trafficking operation
VERNON - Mounties have busted a Vernon drug ring with ties to the Lower Mainland. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said two men, Andres Naranjo, 21, and Daniel Penton, 21, both of the Lower Mainland but residing in Vernon, were arrested Dec. 19. Naranjo is facing charges of trafficking cocaine and possession of cocaine and heroin...
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS: Snow-dogs of the Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - You’d think four legs are better for getting around in the snow than two. But that’s not the case when you’re a dog and the snow is higher than you are. Like us humans, some Thompson-Okanagan dogs embraced the snow this week, while others sulked about it. You’ll see some grumpy dog faces...
Highway 1 remains closed because of avalanche risk
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A storm system that left behind upwards of 40 centimetres of snow in our region and closed some schools for two days has also shut down Highway 1 in several spots. Avalanche control took place between Craigellachie and Revelstoke Monday because of the high risk and that section of highway was again shut...
UPDATE: 1,200 still without power in Shuswap
SALMON ARM - More than 1,200 customers are still without power in the Shuswap area after power was restored to about 1,700 customers earlier today. A few customers have been without power since Tuesday afternoon but for many the power went out early Wednesday morning. B.C. Hydro is blaming the snow storm that buried the...
Most of Thompson-Okanagan well shy of record snowfall amounts
ONLY KELOWNA COMES CLOSE THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Nearly enough snow fell on Kelowna to set new two-day snowfall records this week but it was nowhere near the amount that fell on Penticton in 1932. The storm began late Saturday evening and had ended in much of the region by Monday evening. After two days of solid...
Vernon maintenance crews move onto side streets
VERNON - City of Vernon crews are finally moving onto residential streets after more than 24 hours of continuous snowfall. According to city communications coordinator Tanya Laing Gahr crews have plowed and sanded all main roads and are now shifting to side streets. The snowstorm dumped over 35 cm of snow on roadways. Starting late...
Fentanyl-laced heroin still in Kamloops
WARNING COMES ON HEELS OF VERNON OVERDOSES KAMLOOPS - The tainted drugs that have Vernon RCMP concerned following a recent rash of overdoses have been in Kamloops for awhile already but people have ‘learned how to use it’ according to an outreach worker. There have been six overdoses, including two fatal ones, in Vernon since...
Winter storm shuts down highways
BACK TO SEASONAL NORMALS BY END OF DAY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A winter storm warning is over for much of the Southern Interior, but it has left toppled trees, black ice and high avalanche risk in its wake. A winter storm warning remains in place for the Shuswap and regions north and east of the Shuswap,...
Second snow day in a row for North Okanagan-Shuswap students
SCHOOL DISTRICTS 22 AND 83 CANCEL CLASS VERNON - Students in the Vernon and North Okanagan-Shuswap School Districts are getting a second snow day Tuesday, Jan. 6. School District 83 announced Monday evening it will be shutting down all schools due to the continued winter storm warning and Environment Canada’s prediction of freezing rain. District...
There is an end in sight to the snow
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – It’s been a long time since the Thompson-Okanagan received such a massive dump of snow in such a short time. “It has been quite an amazing snowfall so far,” Environment Canada meteorologist Lisa Coldwells says. By 10 a.m. Monday, we were looking at amounts which ranged from 25 centimetres in the South Okanagan,...
Vernon search team locates missing snowmobilers in ‘horrendous’ weather
VERNON - Members of Vernon Search and Rescue spent a long night in severe weather conditions searching for a group of missing snowmobilers. A team of 16 rescuers headed out at 5 p.m. Sunday after a report of three missing snowmobilers in the Park Nelson area, east of Lumby. “Once base camp was set up,...
Gold medal game on a snow day
COULD IT BE MORE CANADIAN? THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - You watched them come out on top in every game so far, including a win over the United States on New Year’s Eve, but today, as an unprecedented snow day shuts down schools across the Southern Interior, many of us are preparing to cheer on Team Canada during...
‘Very potent’ batch of drugs circulate in Vernon with fatal results
VERNON – Six overdoses in the last week—two of them fatal—have Vernon RCMP sounding the…
Travel advisories in effect for highways
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Heavy snowfall is limiting visibility on several Interior highways leading Drive B.C. to put out a travel advisory for both Highway 5 and Highway 97C. The Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Kamloops and the Okanagan Connector both have travel advisories as of 8:30 a.m. Drive B.C. asks travellers to consider alternate plans or...
Be patient; Vernon road crews will eventually get to your street
UPDATE: PUBLIC TRANSIT RESUMES SERVICE WITH SOME DETOURS IN EFFECT VERNON - City of Vernon crews are working as fast as they can to clear roads, but it will still be some time before all streets are plowed and sanded. With over 35 centimetres of snow in the last 24 hours, public works manager James...