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Vernon

UPDATE: Historic 6-year term, more teachers part of new agreement

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A tentative deal has been reached between teachers and the province and that means students could be back in school as early as Monday. Kamloops-Thompson Teachers Association President David Komljenovic sits on the bargaining committee for the B.C. Teachers’ Federation. He confirmed following a marathon bargaining session ending early Tuesday morning that Monday...

Teacher strike 2014: The timeline

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A lot has happened since negotiations began on the latest contract for B.C. teachers and it’s easy to lose track of how we got to where we are today. Here we take a look back at the basics, where we are and what steps the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and the B.C. Public School...

Fassbender: ‘It’s driving me crazy’

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Education Minister kicked off a press conference Monday afternoon with not one, but two movie references (Groundhog Day and Back to the Future if you were wondering), following them with a counter proposal to the teachers’ union second request to enter binding arbitration. Since talks broke down just before school was set to...

UPDATE: General strike in support of teachers put on hold

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Plans to call for a general strike beginning Wednesday have been put on hold while B.C. residents wait for the results of a teachers' union vote on suspending the strike and whether the government will agree to binding arbitration. A group of concerned citizens originally planned a three-day general strike to begin Wednesday...

Teachers’ union continues push for binding arbitration

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Even after the B.C. government said no to binding arbitration this weekend, the teachers’ union won't give up hope. The union feels arbitration could end the strike and get its members a fair settlement. “Binding arbitration is a fair, practical and pragmatic approach,” B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Jim Iker said Monday morning at...

Teachers’ union has plan to get school back in session

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Just two days after saying the union would not consider a vote to suspend the current strike Jim Iker, the teachers’ union president, says they would recommend members vote to suspend the strike if the government is willing to agree to binding arbitration. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation president says this is another option...

Your kids aren’t getting an education so far this year, but international students are

VERNON - While B.C. students remain cut off from school during the teacher strike, some students from abroad are accessing educational resources through international programs in school districts.  Vernon school district is one of the provincial leaders in attracting 200 international students this year. Supt. Joe Rogers says they are participating in field trips and other...

TEACHERS’ STRIKE: How much money the Terry Fox Foundation stands to lose

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The kids, the teachers, the government, the parents. We’ve heard over and over again how the current labour dispute is affecting them, but what about the organizations that also rely on schools to help with fundraising? Every year during September, students raise money for the Terry Fox Run but this year, unless teachers and...

“We’re not suspending any strike:” Iker

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Teachers’ union president Jim Iker has declined the Premier's request to suspend the strike while bargaining continues. Earlier today, Christy Clark urged him, before a packed news conference, to allow teachers to vote to end the strike or suspend it. Two hours later, Iker held is own conference and stood his ground. “We’re...

Parents taking control during teacher strike

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With no end to the current labour dispute in sight many parents are wondering how they can make sure their kids do not fall behind in their education — book sections in many stores are picked over, only a few workbooks remaining, and many school-age programs filled up before the summer was even...

Teachers asked to ‘voluntarily stand down’

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - In an effort to get negotiations moving, Education Minister Peter Fassbender met with the lead negotiators today and asked teachers to ‘voluntarily stand down and let classes start while the parties are in mediation.’ Fassbender met with B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Jim Iker and B.C. Public School Employers’ Association representative Peter Cameron Wednesday...

UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch ends

UPDATE: A severe thunderstorm watch for the Okanagan, South Thompson and Nicola areas has been lifted. Environment Canada states the conditions required to produce severe weather no longer apply. THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Torrential rains, strong winds and hail are all possible as an unstable airmass moves over the region. Environment Canada has again issued a severe...

UPDATE: Smoky skies advisory ends

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After more than a week under a smoky sky advisory, the smoke has finally cleared. There have been more than 1,100 wildfires this year and more than 252,000 hectares have burned. Six of those fires have been more than 10,000 ha in size with the largest reaching more than 88,000 ha. Smoke from...

Okanagan and Splatsin band financial records revealed

VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band’s chief and council were paid double what City of Vernon elected officials received in remuneration and expenses last year. This is the first year First Nations are required to disclose their financial information as part of the new First Nations Financial Transparency Act. It’s resulted in some eye opening...

VIDEO: Smith Creek fire from above and by the numbers

KELOWNA - Take a guess: How much water have fire crews dropped on the Smith Creek fire over the past week and a half? Would you believe more than 1.2 million litres? As of Monday morning helicopters had flown more than 100 hours, skimmers had dropped more than 300 loads of water and foam and...

UPDATE: Power restored after storm cut off thousands of residents

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Power has been restored to most customers in the Thompson-Okanagan following widespread outages affecting over 16,000 customers at their peak. Sabrina Locicero with B.C. Hydro says power in the Thompson-Okanagan and Shuswap regions is back on for the vast majority of customers. Only ten customers remained without power as of Friday morning. B.C. Hydro...

Intense storm dropped record rain at rapid rate

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Several rainfall records were broken Wednesday but a local meteorologist says it is the rate of the rainfall that is the big story. “A record rain doesn’t really tell the story, the real story is the speed which it came out of the clouds,” Doug Lundquist of Environment Canada says. “You can have...

Police warn gangsters to avoid Kelowna this weekend

KELOWNA – With one of the city’s biggest festivals taking place in downtown Kelowna this weekend, local RCMP are once again issuing a public warning to gang members planning to take part. Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says every year gangs are drawn to the Okanagan, but they are not...

Cooler, wet forecast could help Thompson-Okanagan fire crews

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A little help is in the forecast for fire crews this week as Mother Nature dials down the temperatures and throws in a little rain. While temperatures will be near normal (26-29 Celsius) across the region for the next two days we can also expect to see rain today with a 40 per...

Smoky skies advisory for Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fires to the north of us are causing smoky conditions and the Ministry of Environment is now warning people to take additional precautions because of the smoke. A smoky skies advisory was issued today for the Thompson, Shuswap, Okanagan, Similkameen, Nicola, Boundary and Fraser Canyon areas. Similar advisories have also been issued for...

Teachers union, province too far apart for mediation

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The teacher’s union and the province are too far apart for mediation to be productive, a potential mediator has decided, and the union is blaming the province. B.C. Teacher’s Federation President Jim Iker says exploratory discussions with B.C. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kelleher and the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association saw the government...