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Vernon
Curtain closes on Vernon arts collective
VERNON - The curtains have closed at a venue where many local artists played their debut concerts and presented their first art shows. The Hub Arts Collective, operated by actor and director Matthew Brown, welcomed soap makers, clothing designers, culinary artists, performance artists, comedians, dancers, painters and local bands, among other talents, over its three...
The agreement that got teachers back to school
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Teachers agreed to a new contract with the government after more than 18 months of negotiations and while not all the details have been released a picture of the deal is starting to emerge. Negotiations began in February 2013 and by the end of the school year the contract expired. Negotiations continued through...
Final weekend of summer bringing the heat
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The first day of fall is around the corner, but before it arrives, we get the chance to bask in the final weekend of summer. The autumnal equinox falls on Tuesday, Sept. 22 in our part of the world, marking the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Before that can happen...
Teachers vote yes, school back in session next week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The teachers vote is in and school will be back in session next week. A total of 75 per cent of teachers cast ballots Thursday with more than 27,000 voting to accept the agreement. The number of teachers voting was up significantly from ratification votes in 2006 and 2012 and on par with...
Districts planning for back to school
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As teachers make their decision today whether to ratify a contract agreement with the province, school boards are busy making plans in the hopes that students will be back in school next week. Several districts have already reached out to parents to let them know the plan for next week and most are...
UPDATE: Body of missing Coldstream man found
VERNON - Vernon Search and Rescue located the body of a Coldstream man in the water by the wharf at Kal beach. RCMP divers were called and they recovered the body shortly after 1 p.m. today. The case is now in the hands of the B.C. Coroners Service. An RCMP appeal to the public to...
Kamloops teachers, protesters welcome Clark and cabinet with loud rally
KAMLOOPS - The atmosphere was one of celebration as Premier Christy Clark and her cabinet sat in on a luncheon in Kamloops Wednesday, though outside teachers gathered to continue the rally for a better education system. “A lot of the issues around public education still remain,” David Komljenovic, president of the local teachers’ union and...
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...
Two men charged following stolen car investigation
VERNON - An investigation into stolen cars and property has led Vernon RCMP to the arrest of two men. The men were in possession of stolen property, arrested and charged this past weekend following an investigation according to an RCMP press release. Tim Ross, 20, was charged with four counts of theft over $5,000 and...
Not much competition in Vernon election race, yet
VERNON - So far, there’s relatively little competition in the Vernon municipal election race compared to previous years. The City of Vernon reports ten nomination packages have been picked up since Sept. 2. We know three of those can be attributed to Mary-Jo O’Keefe, Victor Cummings and Klaus Tribes, all of whom are competing for...
New home for valued youth program thanks to community support
VERNON - A former Lutheran Church destined for demolition is instead being reinvented as a residential facility for youth. Dean Francks, with the North Okanagan Youth and Family Services Society, says the youth program is currently housed in the old pastor's house next to the church. Both buildings were beginning to show their age and...
Kindersley RCMP launch investigation into Vernon teen’s death
VERNON - Police in Saskatchewan are investigating the suspicious death of a Vernon teen. Dylan Cordell Hanna was found lying on the ground, unresponsive, outside his temporary work residence in Kindersley, Sask. around 6 a.m. Sept. 14. The 19-year-old was rushed to Kindersley Hospital where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. Hanna was living at...
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...
Vernon business hurting during teacher strike
VERNON - Uzair Shahid is supposed to be in school. Instead, he’s working shifts at his parents’ corner store on 27 Street. “It’s really annoying—you can’t go to school and it affects the business as well,” Shahid says. While he doesn’t mind making a little extra cash, he says the teacher strike is hurting business...
Stronger showing of northern lights expected tonight
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - We’re getting a second chance at the northern lights tonight thanks to a second blow from the sun, and this one could be even stronger thanks to the storms combining as they hit the Earth. The National Space Weather Prediction Center says a ‘moderate’ storm hit Earth late Thursday night (in the Pacific...
Investigation into abandoned house fire underway
VERNON - An investigation is underway following an overnight fire in Vernon. Fire officials and police are looking into a small fire at an abandoned house in the 2800 block of 30 Avenue. The fire broke out around 12:30 a.m. Friday and while considered minor, has the attention of investigators. Over the summer, Vernon saw...
HELSTON: Tag, you’re it Vernon
Vernon has a pretty distinct flavour when it comes to street wall art, but a new trend is adding some diversity—wanted or unwanted—to the scene. If you didn’t know, the vast majority of the city’s downtown murals were designed and painted by one extremely talented, motivated and prolific artist. You have her to thank when...
How to make your night sky photography stand out
5 TIPS FOR BETTER PHOTOS THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – If you’re like many people out there you’d…
Vernon man robs ice cream shop, turns himself in
VERNON - It wasn’t your usual ice cream run. Around 7:25 p.m. Wednesday police were alerted to a robbery at Marble Slab Creamery in the Fruit Union Plaza. The caller, an employee at the ice cream shop, said a man entered the store and asked for change for his loonie. When the clerk popped open...
Action required to remove mark left by tagging and graffiti in Vernon
VERNON - The amount of unwanted graffiti and tags is multiplying around Vernon, and it’s going to have some unpleasant consequences unless the community takes action. Rachael Zubick, the coordinator at the community policing office in Vernon says it’s not a new problem, though it’s the worst it’s been in recent years. Safety Ambassadors recorded...
Keep your eyes to the sky Thursday night
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If the skies stay clear, and they are supposed to, we could be in a for a great northern lights show Thursday night. The National Space Weather Prediction Center says a ‘moderate’ storm is expected to hit Earth late Thursday night (in the Pacific time zone) before downgrading to a ‘minor’ storm in...
Attention drivers: Highway 97 construction set for this month
VERNON - Construction begins Tuesday night on a notoriously dangerous stretch of Highway 97, and that means drivers could see some delays. The Ministry of Transportation is adding $5 million worth of concrete median barriers to separate four lanes of traffic on 11 kilometres of highway between Vernon and Kelowna. The work begins Tuesday night...
Major crime investigations interfere with proactive police work
VERNON - A number of time consuming investigations sucked up RCMP resources this summer and meant other crime in the city went unchecked, says Vernon’s top cop. Superintendent Reg Burgess presented a quarterly report to Vernon City Council Monday and said investigations into the city’s alleged serial arsonist, a shooting in Polson Park, fatal motor...
Vernon parents, students call for an end to the strike
VERNON - Teachers have been glued to their picket lines for days, but this week, there were some new faces on the block. Vernon parents, joined by students, took to 27 Street Monday afternoon with protest signs calling for an end to the strike. “The teachers have been walking the picket line long enough, I...