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West Kelowna
Clark to make announcement about West Kelowna power needs
WEST KELOWNA – Premier Christy Clark will be in West Kelowna Thursday afternoon to make an announcement regarding the district's power supply. West Kelowna is one of the few areas supplied by a single transmission line, which runs from Merritt to Shannon Lake. In October a fire atop one of the poles left thousands without...
Sheer volume of snow overwhelmed West Kelowna crews during January dump
WEST KELOWNA - With just a couple years experience managing their own snow removal, staff with District of West Kelowna said they did alright during the near-record breaking snowstorm in early January with local reports of snow as deep as 50 centimetres. “We’re still quite new at this but we heard from other communities that...
Why West Kelowna council balked at a $100,000 gift to community
WEST KELOWNA - They don’t mind having it, just not where B.C. Hydro wants to put it. That’s the reaction of West Kelowna council to the utility’s proposal to install a fast charging station for electric cars at the Mt. Boucherie complex. “They liked the idea just not where they want to put it,” communications...
Big bucks on big plans for bikes and pedestrians in West Kelowna
WEST KELOWNA - West Kelowa is pushing ahead to improve and upgrade its pedestrian and bike path network with an ambitious plan both to make cycling and walking easier and to find ways to help pay for it. West Kelowna council saw the first draft of the 20-year pedestrian and bicyle path plan this week,...
Vandals spray paint car, garage door in Glenrosa
WEST KELOWNA - Someone is tagging personal property with spray paint in the Glenrosa neighbourhood of West Kelowna. The latest incident happened last night, Jan. 28, in the 3200-block of McMahon Road, a few blocks from Glenrosa Elementary School, according to a post on Facebook. A Subaru Forrester and garage door were spray painted with pink...
Evicted trailer park tenants threatened with legal fees
KELOWNA – As the deadline to remove their home from Jubilee Mobile Home Park nears, evicted tenants Ross Arnott and Ed Schneider say they are now being threatened with legal fees incurred by the managers who want to use the spot as a maintenance facility. The manufactured home, where they have lived since 2007, is...
American travel writer predicts Kelowna the Next Big Thing
KELOWNA – A story written for a weekly newspaper in Colorado is getting some love on social media in the Okanagan. Travel writer Amiee White Beazley has an article in the Aspen Times predicting Kelowna will be the Next Big Thing calling it the Boulder, Colorado of 40 years ago, but with the added bonus...
West Kelowna mayor presses other jurisdictions to support power line back-up bid
KELOWNA - While he insists progress is being made on a solution to the vulnerability of its single-line power supply, West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater says the district is calling for expressions of support from other affected jurisdictions in advance of a soon-to-be-released B.C. Hydro study into the issue. “We’re being cautious,” Findletter said, of...
Tenant dispute has nothing to do with WFN
WESTBANK – A dispute between two tenants in a mobile home park and a mobile home park owner has nothing whatsoever to do with the Westbank First Nation, Chief Robert Louie says. Ross Arnot and his partner Ed Schneider took a dispute with their landlords public this week as they face eviction from unit 144...
Appeal court sinks houseboater’s legal challenge
WEST KELOWNA — Mayor Doug Findlater is savouring the latest B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that again backs the district’s right to govern live-aboard houseboats moored off its shores. “It’s been a long, long, battle, over seven years,” he said of the precedent-setting case that pitted local government against houseboat-owners intent on mooring long-term in...
Accused Westside shooter trial coming to an end
"THE CASE BECOMES STRONGER WITH EACH PASSING KILOMETRE." KELOWNA – Was Michael Ellis only doing what he was told when he led police on a high speed shootout along Westside Road in 2012 or is his friend and former co-accused taking the blame because he knows it can’t affect his sentence? That was the focus...
Three people, two pets homeless after West Kelowna fire
WEST KELOWNA – Three people and two animals are safe despite their home in West Kelowna catching fire late Thursday night. West Kelowna Fire Rescue were called to the 3100 block of Country Pines Way around midnight. Firefighters were able to contain the fire, however the house was severely damaged. The three occupants and their...
Man will face the judge for what RCMP say he did during Smith Creek fire
WEST KELOWNA - The man who RCMP believe took advantage of the West Kelowna fire evacuation notice last July to break into an empty home to steal has been charged. On July 2014, West Kelowna RCMP received a report of break and enter and theft from a home in the 2500 block of Cobblestone Road....
Driver blames black ice; West Kelowna rollover
KELOWNA – The driver and passenger walked away from a rollover in West Kelowna Monday morning. The driver lost control on black ice on Lower Glenrosa Road around 9:30 a.m. and rolled the vehicle which ended up on its roof, according to Global Okanagan. Traffic was disrupted for about an hour as crews righted the...
Passenger during Westside Road police shootout says he was in charge
LANGUAGE ADVISORY KELOWNA – Michael Ellis, accused ringleader of a 2012 high speed shootout with police, was just doing what he was told. At least that’s what his only defence witness says. Shawn Wysynski, who is also a lifelong friend of Ellis, told Kelowna Supreme Court Justice Ian Josephson that the only reason his friends were...
Sneena Road overpass open to traffic
WEST KELOWNA – The Sneena Road overpass, which has slowed traffic on Highway 97 north of the William Bennett Bridge for close to a year, has finally been completed. The overpass is a $9.3 million dollar connection between Westbank First Nation lands on either side of the highway. In an official ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday,...
West Kelowna seeks public input on carriage houses
WEST KELOWNA - The District of West Kelowna is beginning a two month consultation process to find out if the community is in favour of seeing carriage houses in the neighbourhood. Often referred to as a granny suite, garden flat, laneway house or coach house, a carriage house is a smaller second home on a...
$400,000 worth helicopter parts stolen in West Kelowna worthless to thief: police
WEST KELOWNA - Someone has made off with $400,000 worth of helicopter parts from the back of a van in West Kelowna but police say they're worthless to the thief. Alpine Helicopters reported the theft to the RCMP on Saturday, saying 31 helicopter parts in several boxes were taken. Jill Seaton, the company's chief financial...
Westlake Road water main work next week
TRAFFIC DELAYS MAY OCCUR ON WESTLAKE ROAD WEST KELOWNA - Watermain replacement work on Westlake Road between Caledonia Way and Sussex Road, part of the Westlake Road Upgrade project, will begin Wednesday, December 10. Motorists can expect minor traffic delays when travelling through this section. Work is expected to take four days. Motorists are asked...
RCMP officers honoured for going above and beyond
WEST KELOWNA – In between the traffic stops and routine patrols, RCMP officers are sometimes called on to risk their lives to serve the public. Officers from West Kelowna, Lake Country, Kamloops, Salmon Arm and Summerland were recently recognized for their bravery at the Police Honours Night in Victoria hosted by Governor General Judith Guichon....
Get your jingle on; Christmas Kettle campaign underway
KELOWNA – There may not be much snow around to get you into the holiday spirit, but the sound of jingling bells might help as the annual Salvation Army Christmas Kettle campaign gets underway. Local politicians and celebrities gathered at Kelowna’s Walmart on Friday to take a shift at the kettle outside the department store....
Progress in fight against drunk driving stalls in Central Okanagan
KELOWNA – After years of statistics showing a steady decline in the number of drunk drivers in the Central Okanagan, over past few years those numbers have leveled off. The people behind the Central Okanagan Chapter of Mothers’ Against Drunk Driving aren't giving up. The group launched its annual Project Red Ribbon campaign at the...
Latest WFN art honours veterans of all backgrounds
WEST KELOWNA – A new sculpture by renowned First Nation artist Smoker Marchand was unveiled in West Kelowna Tuesday. Marchand says the steel monument, which depicts three warriors in full battle dress, represents veterans of all backgrounds who have served in the military. “I wanted to show a strong Indian man. I wanted to show...
West Kelowna candidates forum tonight
WEST KELOWNA – On the day advanced voting opens across the valley, candidates for mayor, councillor and school trustee will be at Constable Neil Bruce Middle School in West Kelowna Wednesday night for the first all candidates forum. The three part forum, organized by the Westside Board of Trade, starts with candidates for council at 6:30...