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Adam Proskiw
Adam has lived in B.C. most of his life. He was born in the Caribou, grew up in the Okanagan, went to university on Vancouver Island and worked as a news photographer in Vancouver. His favourite stories incorporate meaningful photography and feature interesting, passionate locals. He studied writing at UVic and photojournalism in California. He loves talking tractors, dogs and cameras and is always looking for a good story.
Adam Proskiw's Stories
First wife testifies in trial of former Vernon cop charged with child porn
KELOWNA – The first wife of a former Vernon RCMP officer charged with child porn described him as a confrontational man who often raised his voice. Jennifer Fisher and Ryan Hampton’s marriage officially ended in 2011, the same year he married his accuser, Valerie Little. Little, herself a member of the RCMP, told police she...
Kelowna Rockets raise thousands to help kids with autism play hockey
KELOWNA – Players, coaches, scouts and fans of the Kelowna Rockets helped raise more than $15,000 to help children with autism enter hockey programs Friday morning. The sold out Rockets Alumni Foundation 15th Annual Golf Tournament teed off July 17 as they attempt to raise $100,000 over the next three years for the Canucks Autism...
Okanagan Across the Lake Swim will be bigger than ever this year
KELOWNA – For the 67th year in a row, swimmers from across the province will plunge into Okanagan Lake for the Across the Lake Swim this weekend. And this year will be bigger than ever. Last year, 900 participants showed up but this year event organizers have increased capacity significantly. A record 1,200 swimmers of all ages...
Get some colour at the third annual Okanagan Tattoo Show this weekend
KELOWNA – Fans of counterculture from around the world are gathering at Parkinson Recreation Centre this weekend for the third annual Okanagan Tattoo Show. The event, which runs Friday to Saturday, features 70 tattoo artists from across Canada and the world as well as merchandise booths, food, live music and events. There will also be...
‘Ungovernable’ lawyer with history of misconduct disbarred
KELOWNA – A Kelowna lawyer with a long history of professional misconduct has lost his licence to practice law for representing a company running a Ponzi scheme. Douglas Warren Welder was disbarred from the Law Society of B.C. after a panel found he received and redistributed more than US$1.65 million while representing International Fiduciary Corporation,...
Bertram Creek Park reopens after cougar sightings
KELOWNA – Officials have reopened the Bertram Creek Regional Park after sightings of a cougar in the area shut it down Wednesday. Regional District spokesperson Bruce Smith says signs about the recent sightings will remain up to warn residents of the ongoing risk. “Those using this and other Regional Parks in a more natural-setting should be...
Judge orders former Mountie charged with child porn be allowed to shave, change clothes
KELOWNA – Ryan Hampton, a former Vernon RCMP officer facing child porn charges in Kelowna Supreme Court, has not changed his clothes in eight days. Hampton, who has been in custody since his arrest in June 2013, was supposed to be shipped back to Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre on the weekends, but was kept in...
Hampton disputes testimony he left images of child porn for his wife to find
KELOWNA – The former Vernon Mountie facing child porn charges in Kelowna says he didn’t tell an investigator he left images and videos of child porn on a flash drive for his wife to find, directly contradicting testimony given by the Sargent who first interviewed him in May of 2013. Ryan Hampton is on trial...
Ontario zoo trying to save CrocTalk reptiles from euthanasia
KELOWNA – A reptile rescue organization in Ottawa is currently raising funds to save more than a dozen animals currently housed at CrocTalk in Kelowna from euthanasia. The animals, which include four alligators, one crocodile and 13 caimans, are welcome at Little Rays Reptiles in Hamilton, Ontario any time, but according to their GoFundMe page,...
Cougar sighting shuts down Kelowna park
KELOWNA – A popular Kelowna park has been shut down after a cougar was sighted earlier today, July 15. Bertram Creek Regional will be closed until further notice, says a release from the Central Okanagan Regional District. The release does not say who spotted the big cat but Kelowna RCMP and parks staff helped clear...
Kelowna senior missing for two weeks
KELOWNA – A 71-year-old Kelowna senior has been missing since late last month. Police are asking for the public’s help locating Benjamin Wolfe, who has not been seen or heard from since June 29. He has no cell phone and there is no vehicle associated with him, according to Const. Steve Holmes of the Kelowna...
UPDATE: Cracks show in testimony of ex-wife of former Vernon Mountie charged with child porn
KELOWNA – The actions and recollections of a woman accusing her ex-husband of downloading child porn in 2013 were put under fire on the second day of his trial this morning, July 14. Valerie Little, 30, says she caught her ex-husband, former Vernon RCMP officer Ryan Hampton, searching for child porn on a pink laptop computer...
UPDATE: Former Vernon cop accused of child porn faces ex-wife-accuser on first day of trial
ADDICTED TO COCAINE, HEROIN, ALCOHOL KELOWNA – The ex-wife of a former Vernon RCMP officer accused of possessing child pornography in 2013 says she turned him in when she found more than 60 images of child porn on his computer. His lawyer, however, said she downloaded the images in an attempt to smear his image...
West Kelowna mom raises funds to give more parents of stillborn babies a few extra days together
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A West Kelowna woman who lost her baby shortly before giving birth to him has successfully raised enough money to bring a device to Kelowna General Hospital that will give other parents going through the same thing a little bit of comfort. Now she’s planning to do the same for Vernon, Penticton and...
No fishing in several South Okanagan rivers and streams this summer
PENTICTON – Fans of fishing across the province will be disappointed to learn that as of July 15 they will no longer be permitted to fish many rivers and streams in the South Okanagan this summer due to low flows and warming water temperatures. For the rest of the summer all streams and rivers in...
Police confirm identity of Black Mountain murder victim but still no arrests
KELOWNA – RCMP have confirmed the identity of the man found murdered in his home on Black Mountain earlier this week. The body of Amardeep Singh Ahluwalia, 47, was found in his home on Feedham Avenue in the early morning hours of July 7. Police have said very little about the cause of death but...
Three local fighters take centre stage in UFC next week
KELOWNA – It’s a huge week ahead for Kelowna fans of the UFC. Three local fighters, Rory MacDonald, Matt Dwyer and Sarah Moras, will step into the octagon to represent local fight club Toshido Mixed Martial Arts. On Saturday, July 11, Rory MacDonald (18-2) squares off for the second time against legendary Pat Miletich-trained fighter...
Jury finds Okanagan women guilty of teaching fraudulent tax scheme that cost government millions
KELOWNA – Two Okanagan women who helped defraud the Canadian government of roughly $200 million in taxes have been found guilty of all charges by a jury in Kelowna Supreme Court. Donna Marie Stancer and Deanna Lynn Lavalley were both charged with making false statements in their own personal income tax returns, counselling others to commit...
Milfoil harvester vandalized and other unsolved Kelowna crimes
KELOWNA – RCMP are asking the public for help with several unsolved crimes that happened around Kelowna in the last two weeks. On Sunday, July 5, an alarm was set off at the Husky gas station on Okanagan Highway in West Kelowna shortly after 2 a.m. A security officer found holes cut into the roof...
$110,000 pontoon boat stolen from Kelowna business turns up in Alberta field
KELOWNA – Thanks to social media a luxury pontoon boat that was stolen from a Kelowna business last weekend has been recovered in Alberta. The boat, a 2015 Campion Biltmore worth more than $110,000, was taken from Banner Recreational Products some time Sunday. Amanda Jefferson, Marketing Co-ordinator at Banner Recreation and Marine, says the suspects...
No, you can’t do that in B.C. right now
‘SOMEONE IN AN INTERFACE AREA WAS USING A BLOW TORCH TO GET RID OF THEIR WEEDS’ KELOWNA – This hot, dry summer makes beach days all the more necessary, but it has taken at least some of the fun out of other favourite Thompson-Okanagan pastimes. By now we should all know that, during fire season...
Judge skeptical career criminal ready to change
"AT WHAT POINT IS THE COURT TO SAY 'TALK IS TALK?'" KELOWNA – A Supreme Court judge ignored a career criminal's assertion that he was finally ready to change. Rory Richard Francis Feeney, 31, was on parole for a prior robbery conviction and living in a Kelowna halfway house last December when he signed himself...
Man accused of running down paper carrier during police chase won’t face judge until 2016
KELOWNA – A preliminary inquiry of prolific offender Donald Maxwell Brodie, accused of critically injuring a paper carrier while evading a police road block in 2013, has been set for early 2016. Brodie, 35, is charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, flight causing bodily harm, impaired driving causing bodily harm and two counts of...
West Kelowna boy run over by work van released from hospital
KELOWNA – The eight-year-old West Kelowna boy who was run over and seriously injured by a work van in his neighbourhood on June 22 has been released from hospital. Candice Loring, the mother of the boy, says in a Facebook post the family will return home Tuesday. “Doctors said it was a miracle that he...