West Kelowna
Agri-biz in Kelowna under pressure from near and far
KELOWNA - Agri-business is under pressure in Kelowna, facing changes and challenges locally and globally, requiring a new and improved agricultural plan. Forty per cent of the city is within the Agricultural Land Reserve, restricting its use to agriculture and related activities, Kelowna city councillors will hear from staff. “Agricultural land is woven throughout the...
UPDATE: Bag of drugs, assault rifle lead to charges after man runs from cops
KELOWNA - A Midway man is facing trafficking and weapons charges after fleeing a traffic stop with a bagful of guns, drugs and money. Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Jesse O’Donaghey reported in a media release on Thursday that 29-year-old Anthony Graham bolted from his black Mercedes SUV after police stopped him Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 6,...
New homelessness coordinator will face big challenge in Kelowna
KELOWNA - When Kelowna’s new homeless coordinator is hired sometime this spring, they will find themselves working with a system that local service providers say is bursting at the seams. NOW Canada’s executive director Liz Talbot says the non-profit society’s 20-bed womens shelter has been running well over capacity for months now, even before the...
Kelowna truck fire sparks suspicion
KELOWNA - A pair of vehicle fires in the Rutland area, one of them suspicious, has sparked the interest of Kelowna RCMP. Police are considering a fire in a white Chevorlet pickup found in the 500 block of Hollydell Road around 10:30 p.m. yesterday, Jan. 4, suspicious, RCMP spokesman Const. Jesse O’Donaghey says. A passing...
Kelowna sees nearly 10 per cent jump in property values
KELOWNA - Homeowners in the Central Okanagan can expect some of the biggest increases in property assessments in the Okanagan region when official notices hit mailboxes this week. B.C. Assessment says the average single-family home in Kelowna went up 9.63 per cent to $567,600, with Lake Country close behind at 9.16 per cent and an...
City of Kelowna clearing main routes during latest snowfall
KELOWNA - City crews are asking for patience and cooperation as they deal with the latest snow fall in Kelowna. City and contract snow removal crews are working non-stop concentrating on priority one and two roads — high traffic main roads and secondary collector roads, according to a media release issued this afternoon, Jan. 4....
Thieves break into Westbank First Nation office
WEST KELOWNA - Someone has broken into the Westbank First Nation main office and stolen a computer. Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Jesse O’Donaghey says police received a call at 11:21 a.m., Jan. 1, from a passerby who noticed a broken window on the ground floor of the band’s office at 515 Highway 97 South. Investigators...
MAP: Kelowna dominates list of most valuable properties in the Thompson-Okanagan
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - When it comes to property values, Kelowna is the clear leader among communities in the Thompson-Okanagan region, dominating the top 100 most valuable properties list. B.C. Assessment’s annual property valuations show a waterfront home 4358 Hobson Rd. in Kelowna was assessed at $9.51 million, the clear leader in the top 100 residential...
B.C. Assessment out with Kelowna home values next week
KELOWNA - Thousands of local homeowners will find out tomorrow, Jan. 4, just how much the B.C. Assessment Authority thinks their house is worth. That’s when the authority’s 2016 assessment rolls are made public and official assessments begin landing in some two million mailboxes across the province, spokesman Tim Morrison says. Assessments are used by...
Taxpayers heap abuse on snow removal staff
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Few things, it seems, can bring out the ugly in a person more than a snow covered street. A story posted yesterday with a photo from the perspective of a West Kelowna snowplow driver showed cars parked willy-nilly on a local road, making it virtually impossible to plow. The story touched a nerve and...
If your street looks like this, your complaint isn’t with snow plowing
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As snow removal complaints begin to pile up and residents begin pointing fingers, one municipality is pointing the finger right back. The City of West Kelowna sent this picture to local media and posted it to its Facebook page to show residents what snow plow drivers face on a daily basis while trying...
Search for missing Kelowna man ends tragically
WEST KELOWNA - The search for a local man who was missing for over a month ended with a tragic result today, Jan. 5 after RCMP confirmed he was located deceased in a shed. Police positively identified the remains as Peter Schouten, a Kelowna man who was reported missing Dec. 8. The body was found...
City of Kelowna take lead on homelessness file
KELOWNA - One of the front-line agencies dealing with the homeless in Kelowna is thrilled to see the city step up and provide leadership with plans to hire a full-time homeless coordinator. Local John Howard Society executive director Gaelene Askeland also says the city is on the right track embracing the low-barrier housing first philosophy...
Cold, snow force Kelowna’s Gospel Mission to throw open the doors
KELOWNA - Last week’s cold coupled with this weekend’s snow has pushed the Kelowna’s primary homeless shelter to capacity. “We dont turn people away, we are open 24/7 and have been since the cold and snow hit last week,” Kelowna's Gospel Mission's Michael Morrison says. Morrison says the Mission’s 82 mens' beds, 12 step up...
Think you got a lot of snow? You must have a short memory
KELOWNA - This weekend’s two-day snow dump didn’t even come close to the storm that started 2015, according to the people tasked with clearing much of it out of the way. “We didn’t activate the snow routes,” says public works manager Darryl Astofooroff, in charge of the city’s snow removal service. “We didn’t consider it...