Julie Whittet
How visitors feel in Canada’s crime capital
KELOWNA - Tourists soaking up the sun on the downtown waterfront today were scratching their heads over yesterday's report the city is home to the country's highest crime rate. Out of 33 Canadian cities, Kelowna came number one for the highest rate of police reported crime in 2012 according to Statistics Canada. Edmonton resident Dennis...
Rutland shops hit with back-to-back break-ins
KELOWNA - On the same day it was declared Kelowna has the highest crime rate in Canada – partly due to an increase in property crime – two Rutland businesses reported break and enters just minutes apart from each other. The Berezan Liquor Store and My Neighborhood Restaurant located on Roxby Road reported the incidents...
Kelowna has highest crime rate in Canada
KELOWNA - Crime rates may have declined across the country in 2012 but Kelowna's crime rate has climbed—and now leads the country. According to a Statistics Canada report released this morning on 2012 police-reported crime, crime in Kelowna was up six per cent from 2011, with a rate of 8,875 crimes per 100,000 population. But Kelowna...
WIENS VERDICT: What the jury didn’t hear
KELOWNA - The twelve jurors responsible for deciding the fate of Keith Gregory Wiens heard evidence from over twenty witnesses in the past two months. But they didn't hear about allegations that Wiens had bragged about his ability to commit the perfect crime and how he knew how to dispose of a body as well...
Boaters and paddlers: are you safety equipped?
KELOWNA - If hopping onto a boat or paddleboard is how you spend summer in the Okanagan, you'll want to make sure you're following regulations to avoid hefty fines. Missing just one lifejacket could land you a $230 federal violation ticket with another $115 for each additional missing vest. Not having your pleasure craft operator...
Justin Trudeau talks about a future Liberal majority
KELOWNA - Federal Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau shook hands with Kelowna residents on the downtown waterfront this morning. Kerry Park filled with people all of ages hoping to get photos, ask questions and chat with the leader who one day hopes to replace Stephen Harper as Prime Minister. Trudeau stepped away from parliament to...
Cost of raising a family in Central Okanagan on the rise
KELOWNA - It's getting more expensive for two-parent and two-child families to get by in the Central Okanagan. Just how expensive? Each parent now has to make a minimum of $18.01 per hour—up nearly five percent from last year's figure—to meet their family's basic needs: food, rent, transportation, child care and education. According to the...
WIENS GUILTY
KELOWNA - It took just five hours of deliberation for jurors to decide Keith Gregory Wiens was guilty of second degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of Lynn Kalmring. After two months of trial proceedings family and friends of the victim gathered at Kelowna Supreme Court around 8 p.m. in nervous anticipation of the...
WIENS GUILTY: Judge urged to consider 12 to 15 years without parole
"LYNN AND I HAD A GREAT RELATIONSHIP:" TEARFUL WIENS ON THE WOMAN HE MURDERED KELOWNA - Former Mountie Keith Gregory Wiens wept openly, wiping tears from his face, as he apologized to the court and the family of his common-law wife Lynn Kalmring, who he shot in the face over an argument about money. He...
WIENS TRIAL: Accused exaggerates story to justify self-defence
KELOWNA - It was anger—not fear—that led Keith Gregory Wiens to shoot his partner Lynn Kalmring in the heat of the moment. Crown lawyer Colin Forsyth told jurors in his closing submissions Monday that while the jury can never know Kalmring's point of view, her story speaks through the crime scene where she was found...
Fireworks suspected as cause of Kalamoir fire
WEST KELOWNA - Fire crews were able to find the origin of the fire that spread through two hectares of Kalamoir park land on Saturday night. Human use of either flares or fireworks likely ignited the flames but West Kelowna Fire Department Assistant Chief Darren Lee says they couldn't find any trace of the materials....
WIENS TRIAL: The argument, the knife and the former police officer
A RECAP OF EVIDENCE AHEAD OF JURY DECISION NEXT WEEK KELOWNA - Next week twelve jurors will decide whether they find Keith Gregory Wiens guilty of second degree murder in the August 16, 2011 shooting of Lynn Kalmring. Police found Kalmring lying in a pool of blood in the master bedroom of her Penticton home...
Kelowna to host Okanagan’s first tattoo convention
Scotty Enberg has been tattooing in Kelowna for 20 years and next weekend he'll be attending the Okanagan's first ever tattoo convention. The Okanagan Tattoo Show will be setting up at the Parkinson Recreation Centre July 26th to unite both artists and admirers of inked skin. "When I came here there was only one other...
Legacy condos were built with history in mind
KELOWNA - This week is not the first time the Legacy condominiums have made headlines. The now roofless building at 770 Rutland Road was initially built to accompany one of the city's most historically significant residences. But Tuesday's devastating fire ignited by a patio barbeque made history many will want to forget. At the heart...
Barbeque on balcony ignited Rutland apartment building
After hours spent extinguishing the fire that scorched a Rutland apartment building yesterday, the Kelowna Fire Department has determined the cause of the inferno: a barbeque on a second floor balcony. Deputy fire chief Lou Wilde says residents were using the barbeque at the time, but it's still to be determined whether it was human...