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Vernon
So you want to be a wildland firefighter?
NOW IS THE TIME TO APPLY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The wildfire season is just barely over but the provincial branch responsible for protecting us from wildfires is already getting prepared for next year. This past year crews attended nearly 350 fires, which burned a total of more than 3,800 hectares, in just the Kamloops centre. Across...
Third day of record highs in Interior
COOL DOWN BEGINS THOMPSON- OKANAGAN - For the third day in a row more high temperatures records were set in the region Thursday. According to temperatures recorded by Environment Canada Vernon set a new record with a high of 12.6 Celsius Thursday, more than three degrees higher than the previous record set in 1939, and...
Warm weekend perfect for meteor show
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A mix of sun and cloud, low temperatures of only -2 Celsius and a moon in the last quarter may give us just the perfect conditions to take in the peak of the Geminid meteor shower this weekend. The meteor shower is visible Dec. 4-17 this year but overnight Dec. 13-14 is likely...
HELSTON: What a young Vernon artist showed us all this week
Marie-Anna Michaud didn’t start rinsing paint off a vandalized mural because she was disturbed by the obscenities scrawled there. She didn’t do it to right a wrong, and she didn’t do it out of anger for the perpetrators. No one asked or paid her to do it. Her act of kindness came as a surprise...
Second person arrested after Mountie shooting faces unrelated charges in Vernon
KAMLOOPS – A woman with previous warrants and a connection to last week’s shooting that left a Mountie in hospital will likely be released on bail, as long as she can meet bail requirements. Marquee Jasmin Klim, 28, appeared by video in Kamloops Provincial Court Thursday morning for an obstruction of justice charge from Dec....
More weather records broken in Interior
BACK TO NORMALS BY SUNDAY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As temperatures soared as high as 15 degrees above seasonal normals more weather records were broken across the region Wednesday. According to Environment Canada, temperatures reached 15.6 Celsius in Kamloops Wednesday, nearly three degrees higher than the previous record for the second day in a row, while Vernon...
A famous Vernon mural was vandalized, then this happened
"IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE ACT OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT TO DISCOVER HER CLEANING THE MURAL" VERNON - Without being asked or paid, a young artist took it upon herself to undo the damage a vandal did to one of Vernon’s heritage murals. Marie-Anna Michaud, 19, saw a post by muralist Michelle Loughery on Facebook Monday morning....
Weather record set in Kamloops, Okanagan communities just shy
COULD BE ANOTHER RECORD DAY IN INTERIOR THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Kamloops was among a handful of B.C. communities to set new weather records as temperatures soared to above 14 Celsius Tuesday. According to Environment Canada Kamloops reached a high of 14.2 C Tuesday, 3.6 degrees higher than the previous record that was set in 1896. Today...
Vernon RCMP on the lookout for armed robber
VERNON - Police are turning to the public for help locating the suspect in an armed robbery. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the Interior Savings Credit Union on 32 Street was robbed by a man with a gun around 4:40 p.m. Tuesday. He made off with an undisclosed amount of cash. The police dog team...
IH secures enough flu vaccine to open postponed clinics
OKANAGAN - Some flu clinics postponed last week have been rescheduled now that Interior Health has secured enough vaccine. An additional 10,000 doses of influenza vaccine means IH can open their doors for public flu clinics starting next week. There are multiple options for those seeking the jab. Kelowna – The December 15 public drop-in...
Vernon city councillor suggests softening up parking rules
VERNON - A Vernon city councillor hopes to make the downtown core a more inviting place by giving shoppers a grace period at the parking meter. Coun. Brian Quiring led a motion to have city staff investigate the possibility of establishing a five minute grace period at expired meters. “I think you should be able...
Fire at Vernon restaurant deemed suspicious
VERNON - Police and the Vernon Fire Department are looking into the cause of a suspicious fire at the New Delhi Restaurant in Vernon. Deputy fire chief Lawrie Skolrood says the fire started inside the building sometime before 3:15 a.m. when the building’s sprinkler system went off and triggered an alarm. Firefighters forced their way...
Iconic Vernon mural hit by vandals
VERNON - It’s an iconic mural many have stopped to gaze at over the past 15 years, but Monday, something else was turning heads. The mural, which depicts a locomotive traveling over a trestle bridge, was vandalized with a series of obscene words, printed at the bottom of this article with viewer discretion advised. Michelle...
Vernon RCMP still looking for driver who ran from accident scene
VERNON - Police continue to investigate a two vehicle accident that left a woman with life changing injuries. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said an appeal for information generated several tips about the Dec. 3 car crash, which left a 44-year-old woman with numerous broken bones and a fractured spine. She continues to recover at Vancouver...
Freezing rain, warm temperatures in forecast
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After more than a week of below normal temperatures we finally climbed above 0 Celsius this weekend, and temperatures will continue to warm up over the next few days. Over the past 10 days we went from a heavy snowfall to well below normal temperatures and then this weekend to a couple days...
Police searching for missing 15-year-old boy
VERNON - Police need help finding a 15-year-old boy who went missing from his home a few weeks ago. Dalton James Prasloski-Spencer has indicated he's ok through social media, but his family and police are very worried about his well-being, according to an RCMP media release. He has a history of choosing a high-risk lifestyle....
UPDATE: Power outage persists for some Vernon and Coldstream homes
UPDATE: 1:13 P.M. DEC. 5 Power has been restored to most customers affected by a large outage Friday morning. According to a 12:19 p.m. update on B.C. Hydro's website, only 202 of an original 2,393 customers are still without power. The remaining outages are focused in the area south of Star Road, north of French...
Self harm among Okanagan youth higher than rest of province
OKANAGAN – The results of a province-wide survey on the health of B.C. adolescents shows that young people in the Okanagan are more likely to participate in activities that risk their health than teens in the rest of the province. The study was conducted by the McCreary Centre Society and looked at survey responses from...
Risk of freezing rain extended
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A system bringing freezing rain to the Coquihalla Highway could also bring the hazardous conditions to other Interior cities and highways this weekend. Environment Canada issued a statement Thursday warning of the potential for freezing rain to develop on parts of Highways 5 and 3 and now forecasters are saying it could also...
Freezing rain to hit the Coquihalla tonight
SNOW FORECAST FOR IN TOWN THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are hitting the highways tonight beware, Environment Canada is calling for a risk of freezing rain. There is a chance of snow on the Coquihalla from Merritt to Hope and Highway 3 from Princeton to Hope this afternoon and evening, but as a Pacific system moves...
Man who ran from accident scene may be injured
VERNON - Police need help finding the driver of a Jeep involved in a hit-and-run Wednesday evening. The two vehicle crash between a blue Jeep and a Hyundai happened at 39 Avenue and Alexis Park Drive at roughly 5:30 p.m. The driver of the Jeep ran from the scene while the 44-year-old driver of the...
Temporary food services set up after flood at Vernon’s Upper Room Mission
VERNON - The community is making sure no one goes hungry in the coming weeks while damages are repaired at the Upper Room Mission. Fundraising director Lisa Anderson says it could take 6-8 weeks before repairs are complete. The 27 Avenue soup kitchen flooded earlier this week after a pipe burst and triggered the sprinkler...
Former accountant handed jail time for fraud schemes in Vernon
"IT MAKES ME WONDER HOW I FELL FOR HER THE LAST TIME:" JUDGE VERNON - A former accountant who tried to cash a forged cheque grew more sophisticated in her ploys since her last court appearance for fraud, a Vernon provincial court judge said. Abigail Marie Mcelman, 36, was arrested at Vernon’s Venue Financial Centre...
Just a few more days of cold
WARMER WEEKEND EXPECTED THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - We are beginning to see a break in the cold weather and by Sunday the entire region should finally be above 0 Celsius. Environment Canada was originally calling for Friday to be the day we would see temperatures rise to above normal, after a week of well-below normal temperatures. Now...