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Charlotte Helston
REPORTER
Charlotte Helston grew up in Armstrong and after four years studying writing at the University of Victoria, she came back to do what she loves most: Connect with the community and bringing its stories to life.
Covering Vernon for iNFOnews.ca has reinforced her belief in community. The people and the stories she encounters every day—at the courthouse, City Hall or on the street—show the big tales in a small town.
If you have an opinion to share or a story you'd like covered, contact Charlotte at Charlotte Helston or call 250-309-5230.
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Removing land from Kal Park in Vernon continues to worry local officials
VERNON - Additional concerns are arising around a controversial plan to remove land from Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park in Vernon. The Regional District of the North Okanagan board of directors finally heard from B.C. Parks this week about a Ministry of Transportation proposal to remove a 20 metre right-of-way, down from an originally requested 30...
What to do if you encounter a cougar
Merely seeing a cougar does not mean you are in imminent danger. Watch the cougar’s behavior and respond accordingly. STOP - Pick up all small children immediately. Do Not Run. Sudden movement may provoke an attack. Try to back away from the cougar slowly. SPACE and DISTANCE. Never approach a cougar at any time for any...
Take a seat at the painted piano downtown Vernon
VERNON - The people of Vernon are making beautiful music together, thanks to a colourful, communal piano on Main Street. The old upright piano appeared about three weeks ago on the sidewalk outside a 30 Avenue business, Good Gracious. The store’s former owner Dave Russell, who is now retired, came up with the idea after...
Why Vernon fields are being watered daily despite water restrictions
VERNON - A number of people are complaining about watering restrictions in Vernon, but it’s not quite what you think. Greater Vernon Water manager Zee Marcolin says most people are getting the message about stage one restrictions and have reduced their water consumption accordingly — no big objections there. What people are complaining about is...
Surprise gives Armstrong woman the ‘wedding of a lifetime’
THE WHOLE TOWN WAS BASICALLY IN ON IT ARMSTRONG - Joan Jong was sad to be missing the Saturday farmers market in Armstrong — even if it was because she was getting married. She’s been selling vegetables at the market, which her family helped establish many years ago, for practically her whole life. But as...
UPDATE: Evacuation order issued for aggressive wildfire near Falkland
FALKLAND - An aggressive wildfire in the Bolean Lake area of Falkland has prompted an evacuation order. The blaze, which was reported to B.C. Wildfire about 2 p.m. Monday, July 20, quickly grew to an estimated 300 hectares in size up from four hectares earlier in the day. B.C. Wildfire reported Tuesday morning the blaze...
Pedestrian struck on Vernon crosswalk in critical condition
VERNON - A pedestrian is in critical condition after being hit by a car while using a Vernon crosswalk Saturday morning. The 53-year-old Vernon woman was walking in the crosswalk at Tronson Road and Okanagan Landing Road just after 7 a.m., Saturday, July 18, when she was hit by a car, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk...
RCMP investigating disappearance of migrant workers from Vernon orchard
VERNON - Police are on the lookout for a group migrant workers from Mexico who went missing from a Vernon orchard in June. The four men left personal items behind, but appear to have taken their identification papers, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. The orchard owner told police they disappeared June 26. The men are...
Okanagan Indian Band members being taught how to dispose of dangerous military explosives
VERNON - Members of the Okanagan Indian band are training to clear unexploded military mortars left littered on their lands decades ago. Since the Boer War in 1906, the Department of National Defence used band land at Madeline Lake about 24 kilometres northwest of Vernon and Goose Lake to train soldiers in firing live mortars,...
Shuswap house boat fatality brings woman back two decades to ‘spookily’ similar accident
HAVE THINGS CHANGED AT ALL IN 22 YEARS? SHUSWAP - After hearing a young woman was run over by a houseboat and killed on Shuswap Lake, Diane Castle’s first thought was ‘oh no, not again.’ The story took the Calgary woman back 22 years ago to the day her best friend died in the same...
VIDEO: Eating pie while surfing in Kal Lake? No problem for this guy
VERNON - Crumbs? No problem. Calories? He’s literally burning them off as he eats. Troy Delfs recently satisfied a Davison Orchard pie craving while surfing in Kalamalka Lake — and he made it look easy. In a video posted to Facebook and viewed thousands of times, Delfs begins in the water, holding onto a tow...
Grass fire sparked north of Vernon
SPALLUMCHEEN - Emergency crews weren’t taking any chances with a small grass fire just north of Vernon beside Highway 97. Fire information officer Kelsey Winter says B.C. Wildfire crews were on the ground alongside firefighters from the Armstrong Spallumcheen Fire Department in an area roughly 15 kilometres north of Vernon near Gurney Creek. The fire,...
Vernon lingerie store’s not the best hangout for cadets
VERNON - It’s that time of year when hundreds of sharp-dressed cadets can be found around town, but it appears one local business wants to keep them at bay. A notice posted outside La Senza in the Village Green Centre, a popular stop for the cadets on weekends, asked that no more than five enter...
HELSTON: Hair, politics, and why things aren’t always as they seem
This week while getting my hair cut, the stylist sheared off the curtains on something I didn’t know and had been incorrectly assuming for years. The revelation was this: Those celebrities showing off flawless braids and buns at ritzy award shows? Well, a lot of that hair just isn’t real. Many of the looks are...
Unusual bike cruises down Vernon train tracks
VERNON - At first glance, it looks like an ordinary bike. But there’s something different about this particular two-wheeler, that much is clear from three pole attachments jutting out horizontally from the bike. The odd contraption, spotted on the railroad by Kal Beach in Coldstream, is made to run along train tracks. What is it,...
Newspaper ad congratulates aboriginal high school grads for ‘sobriety’
VERNON - A newspaper ad taken out by a Vancouver MP was meant to be congratulatory, but is instead leaving many in shock and disgust. The ad, which was taken out by Liberal MP Joyce Murray, tells aboriginal youth that ‘Sobriety, education and hard work lead to success.’ The ad is printed in First Nations...
Mixed views on proposed Shuswap River boating restrictions
VERNON - There’s been plenty of interest in proposed boating regulations on the Shuswap River, though it's still to early to tell which side of the debate the majority lands on. The North Okanagan Regional District has so far received 1,065 electronic surveys, plus 118 paper copies submitted in response to the proposed changes, which...
Pet pig flies in Vernon; councillor asks what’s next?
VERNON - It was an unusual case that some city councillors fear might not be so uncommon any more. A Vernon family desperate to keep their pet pig Felix pleaded with city council for an exception to a bylaw prohibiting swine on city property — unless on designated farm land — and got their wish...
Independent investigators hear from witnesses of officer involved shooting near Salmon Arm
SALMON ARM - Multiple witnesses have come forward to help the province’s police watchdog after a call for witnesses to an officer involved shooting near Salmon Arm. The Independent Investigations Office is looking into a July 3 incident, which began with an armed robbery. The suspect fled the scene in a vehicle which was found...
Kelowna women killed in Vernon car crash identified
VERNON - The B.C. Coroners Service has released the identities of two women who died in a head-on car accident in Vernon over the weekend. They were Chantal Diane Bazin, 22, and Kayla Elizabeth Cartwright, 26, both from Kelowna. According to a press release from the coroner Larry Marzinzik, Bazin was the driver, and Cartwright the...
UPDATE: Coroner identifies victim in Shuswap house boat accident
SICAMOUS - A young Alberta woman died in a house boat accident last Friday. The accident happened on Shuswap Lake near the Cinnemousun Narrows about 15 km north of Sicamous Friday, July 10. Andrea Mary Jacura, 22, of Edmonton, Alberta died Friday while swimming in Shuswap Lake in B.C.'s Southern Interior. The woman was behind...
Police watchdog looking for witnesses to Shuswap shooting
SALMON ARM - B.C.’s police watchdog is asking for anyone who witnessed a shooting involving an officer in the Salmon Arm area to come forward. The Independent Investigations Office is looking into a July 3 incident that left an individual, and an officer, injured. The extent of their injuries has not been disclosed. All that...
HELSTON: The power of one woman’s voice
No one came to hear her speak, but everyone will remember what she said. Angie Todd-Dennis of the Carrier First Nation wasn’t on the schedule of a Chamber of Commerce luncheon with Justice Minister Peter MacKay this week in Vernon. She wasn’t invited, didn’t register, and in fact slipped in on the heels of a...
Family of man presumed drowned in Kalamalka Lake desperate for answers
VERNON - The family of a missing man presumed drowned in Kalamalka Lake is raising funds to continue the search for their loved one by hiring a specialized team. Police dive teams spent multiple days unsuccessfully scouring the lake and surrounding area for Curtis Wilson, who has been missing for nearly two weeks now. RCMP spokesperson...