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Vernon
Scenic, convenient trail off limits, according to rail police
VERNON - It’s a scenic shortcut into town and a popular place to walk your dogs, but as many residents are just finding out, trespassing near rail lines carries a $115 fine. The path runs parallel to Canadian National Railway's tracks behind the Vernon Golf Course, and is commonly accessed off Browne Road, where a...
Vernon paralympian Josh Dueck announces retirement
VERNON - Beloved Vernon athlete and three-time Paralympic medallist Josh Dueck is moving on to a new chapter in his life. After winning gold and silver medals at the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games, the sit-skier has decided to retire. “So, the time has come to retire from competition and redirect my energy on family, community...
Sir Anthony Hopkins spotted at Vernon’s Village Green Mall
VERNON - An Oscar-winning actor is out and about in the North Okanagan. Sir Anthony Hopkins, who stars in the movie Go With Me, currently shooting in the region, spent some time at the Village Green Mall in Vernon Monday. Clad in a newsboy cap and sunglasses, Hopkins kept a low profile while shopping with...
Vernon council backs down from golf course water rate hike
VERNON – Golf courses who buy reclaimed or grey water from the City of Vernon to irrigate won’t be gouged with an almost doubling of rates after all. City councillors voted unanimously this week to freeze the rates for spray irrigation at 2013 levels. Representatives from the local golf courses pleaded with the councillors at...
Vernon’s first parks plan taking shape
VERNON - Vernon city council had its first look at the first ever Draft Parks Master Plan at their meeting on Monday. The City took over management of the parks in the city from the North Okanagan Regional District about ten months ago and the first order of business was the development of a Parks...
Snow possible as cold front moves in
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An Arctic mass of cold air is moving over the region bringing cold temperatures to the region, and as cold as it will get, we still will not be hitting record low temperatures. Temperatures will reach overnight lows of down to -11 Celsius over the next several days but that is nowhere near...
Highway between Vernon and Kamloops to be closed next Monday
KAMLOOPS – Motorists looking to travel between Kamloops and Vernon are being advised Highway 97 will be closed for 12 hours overnight starting at 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 10. The railway crossing between Monte Lake and Westwold will be replaced, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Transportation. The construction will block traffic...
Blackjack Billy and Doc Walker coming to country rock Vernon
VERNON – The promoter is promising a '70s concert feel for the Bands on the Run tour coming to Kal Tire Place in Vernon next month. The concert features country rockers Blackjack Billy and Canadian country artists Doc Walker and the Road Hammers. David Hesketh says the December 13 concert will feature affordable ticket prices...
Vernon child sexual predator gets 4 years in prison
VERNON – A Vernon man who lured girls over the Internet and asked them for nude photos is going to spend the next four years in a federal prison. David Clayton Willerth, 40, was sentenced in Vernon Supreme Court Thursday on 18 counts, including luring children with a computer and arranging a sexual offense against...
Housing sales continue to rise
KELOWNA – The housing market in the Kelowna and Vernon areas shows no signs of slowing down with sales up fifteen per cent in October compared to the same month in 2013. Numbers released by the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board show a jump of fourteen per cent in the Central Okanagan and twelve per...
Water board has money to give away
KELOWNA – There is another $300,000 up for grabs for those who need money to fund a project to save water or improve its quality in the Okanagan in 2015. The Okanagan Basin Water Board is back with its Water Conservation and Quality Improvement grant program. It’s the ninth year for the program. The cash...
Social media campaigns fire up to improve voter turnout in the North Okanagan
HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS BEING USED TO GET RESIDENTS OUT ON VOTING DAY VERNON - Local groups and municipalities are hoping social media campaigns can help boost voter turnout this civic election. The City of Vernon is encouraging voters to use the #ivotedvernon hashtag and to post selfies on Facebook and Twitter of themselves wearing...
Witnesses come forward in fatal Vernon car crash
VERNON - Valuable information has come forward in an impaired driving causing death investigation. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says two men who were at the scene of a fatal accident downtown Vernon Oct. 23 contacted the detachment after a call out was posted in the media. At first, the men didn’t think they were the...
Collision on Highway 6 in Vernon sends two to hospital
VERNON - A head-on collision Wednesday evening on Highway 6 sent two people to hospital. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says a black Volkswagen Jetta traveling west on Highway 6 around 5:30 p.m. suddenly veered into the oncoming lane near Aberdeen Road, hitting a Dodge Ram pick-up. “There was extensive front end damage to both vehicles,”...
North Okanagan voters prepare to make multi-million dollar decision
NORTH OKANAGAN REGIONAL DISTRICT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IT WILL DO IF RESIDENTS VOTE NO VERNON - If North Okanagan voters say yes to borrowing millions of dollars for improvements to the water system in an upcoming referendum, the answer is easy: the upgrades get done. But if they say no, things get complicated. Right now,...
Okanagan Regional Library axes service in some communities
OKANAGAN - The Okanagan Regional Library has already cut services at some branches, and more are on the chopping block. It’s all part of a process to improve equity at the regional library’s 29 service locations, after a financial audit found some discrepancies. Some branches, including those in West Kelowna, the City of Kelowna, the...
RCMP members are searching for this woman
UPDATE 11:30 a.m. Nov. 5 : RCMP report Jessica Lynn Black has been found in the Lower Mainland. VERNON - Local RCMP members are searching for a woman who has been reported missing. Jessica Lynn Black is from the Vernon area but has been known to travel to Vancouver Island and the lower mainland of...
What a Vernon sex offender learned from his last conviction
CROWN WANTS CHILD LURER TO SPEND 6-7 YEARS BEHIND BARS AFTER GUILTY PLEA VERNON - Planned and predatory are the words Crown counsel used to describe the actions of a man who lured Okanagan girls over the Internet and asked them for nude photographs. David Clayton Willerth, born in 1974, pleaded guilty to 18 of...
Snow accumulating on TransCanada
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you needed proof winter is coming, you need not look further than Rogers Pass, where the snow is beginning to stick around. Over the past day more than a centimetre has fallen in Albert Canyon between Glacier National Park and Mt. Revelstoke National Park, with even more falling at the higher elevations...
Vernon man facing luring, child porn charges to be sentenced
VERNON - A Vernon man facing luring and child pornography charges will be sentenced this week. David Clayton Willerth, born in 1974, is charged with 25 counts, including luring children under 16 by computer, making or publishing child pornography, and invitation to sexual touching of a person under 16. Willerth’s lawyer, David Johnson, appeared in...
Good citizens lend a hand in Vernon police pursuit
VERNON - Members of the public played a big role helping authorities track down a man running from police. Police first tried to arrest the 21-year-old suspect on Oct. 28 after he allegedly assaulted a pedestrian. When the officer approached him, he ran. On Oct. 30, around 4:40 p.m., the officer recognized the suspect walking...
Vernon RCMP investigate gun theft
VERNON - Police are appealing to the public for information about a break-and-enter over the weekend. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says around 3:45 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to a report of a break-and-enter in the 9500 block of Highway 97. An entire gun safe containing 17 rifles and five handguns was stolen from a shed...
Learn more about Vernon school board candidates at upcoming forum
VERNON - A chance to learn more about your Vernon school board candidates is approaching. The Vernon Teachers’ Association, in partnership with the District Parent Advisory Council, will hold a public forum for Vernon and Coldstream school trustee candidates on Tuesday, Nov. 4 from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Vernon Secondary School Theatre. “Teachers and parents...
Poppy campaign is underway
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The annual poppy campaign began on Halloween and runs until Remembrance Day. Every year legions around the country sell poppies, the international symbol of remembrance, from the last Friday in October through to Nov. 11. Cadets, veterans and volunteers will be out in the community peddling poppies and donation boxes are going up...