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Kamloops news
Penticton man identified as victim in fatal Okanagan Connector crash
KELOWNA – The first big winter storm on the Okanagan Connector and Coquihalla highways proved deadly early this month. A car crash claimed the life of a Penticton man on Highway 97C around 1:30 p.m., Nov. 16, according to a media release from the B.C. Coroners Service. Martin Lewis Schultz, 44, was the driver and...
Suspects in Merritt car-jacking face assault charges in court
MERRITT - Two suspects arrested after an alleged car-jacking turned into a police standoff at a Merritt hotel are in court today. Samantha Kathleen Vleeming, born 1990, and Cory Claudio Battilana, born 1984, were arrested Nov. 25 after police followed up on a report of an attempted car-jacking at gunpoint. A man allegedly offered two...
Kamloops RCMP asking for help to find missing teenaged girl
KAMLOOPS – RCMP are requesting the public's help to find a missing teenaged girl. Police say Alexis Towle, 16, was last seen on the evening of Monday, Nov. 23. She was last seen wearing a black ball cap, a green and pink floral sweater, leopard print pants and was carrying a backpack, according to a...
Kamloops and Salmon Arm filmmakers receive $10,000 for digital shorts
KAMLOOPS - Two aspiring filmmakers from Kamloops and Salmon Arm were selected to receive $10,000 each from Telus to produce short films. Kamloops native Simon Ryder and Tabatha Golat from Salmon Arm were chosen to be part of 15 finalists in the company's Storyhive project, a funding program for film shorts. Ryder worked as a...
The unusual way some local residents mourn through Facebook
"IT'S NICE TO KNOW THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LOVED HIM." KELOWNA – Earlier this month Facebook announced a new option designed to help you get over a relationship breakup without blocking or unfriending your ex. But some Okanagan residents are using Facebook to help get over an even greater loss. Three years ago, suddenly and...
Highway 97C back open following police incident
VERNON - A police incident forced the closure of a major highway today. According to Drive B.C., what is described as a ‘police incident’ shut down Highway 97C in both directions between Huston Street and Menzies Street in Merritt Wednesday, Nov. 25. As of 4:35 p.m., the road was back open and traffic flowing. No...
Another reprieve for Interior Health laundry workers
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Hospital Employees’ Union is welcoming news that Interior Health is delaying its decision to contract out laundry services. New Interior Health President and CEO Chris Mazurkewich says in a release today, Nov. 25, not to expect a decision before March 2016. He’s been on the job less than a month and wants...
Photo of Kamloops teen jokingly asking PM Trudeau to prom goes viral
KAMLOOPS - A local high school student is learning the power social media has after posting a photo of her inviting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be her prom date. After breaking up with her boyfriend last Friday, Nov. 20, Kashlee Taylor-Proulx, 17, decided she needed a joke to make her smile. Now without a...
Kamloops search manager keen to get drones approved for search and rescue missions
KAMLOOPS - They’ve been used to capture birds-eye view images and to find hotspots from a wildfire, and following a successful test run this weekend drones could soon be used on search and rescue missions in B.C. as well. Kamloops Search and Rescue and local startup Hummingbird Drones partnered on a training mission this past...
Jann Arden tour includes stops in Kamloops and the Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An award-winning Canadian singer will be making stops in two local cities this coming spring. Jann Arden is bringing her Almost Everything tour to the Vernon Performing Arts Centre on March 19 and the Sagebrush Theatre in Kamloops on March 21. Arden is a Canadian born singer, songwriter, broadcaster and author with eight...
Snowfall warning for North Okanagan, Shuswap and North Thompson
VERNON – A system of moist air from the Pacific is going to crash into cold Arctic air descending from the north dumping snow over the North Okanagan, Shuswap and North Thompson tonight and tomorrow. Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for the regions today, Nov. 22. Forecasters say the snow will be caused...
Southern Interior braces for winter storm with blast of Arctic air
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The first Arctic outbreak of the season is going to blow through the Thompson-Okanagan bringing blowing snow, cold temperatures and “crummy travel conditions,” according to Environment Canada. A special weather statement, which covers most of southern B.C., has been issued by Environment Canada warning of a winter storm expected with the worst of...
Kamloops Search and Rescue tests potentially lifesaving drone technology
KAMLOOPS – Drones are getting a bad rap for everything from endangering aircraft and invading…
Curious about the price of marijuana in your city? Check PriceOfWeed website
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It isn’t legal yet in Canada, but that won’t stop people from keeping a close eye on weed market in their city. Akin to the website Gas Buddy, which monitors gas prices to help consumers find the lowest price in town, there’s a website called Price of Weed, in which users report the...
Anti-time change petition catches provincial government’s attention
KAMLOOPS - The Kamloops man with the plan to stop Daylight Saving Time in B.C. will seek support from local municipalities on the project after speaking with local MLAs last week. Bob Dieno created his Stop The Time Change in British Columbia on the website Change.org petition three weeks ago. Within the first three days...
Lake Country couple start multi-million dollar legging company
LAKE COUNTRY - A young Lake Country couple had no idea their idea to start a legging company would grow so fast. Addie and Chris Pafiolis started SweetLegs in their house in Lake Country just one and a half years ago. In that time they have sold more than half a million pairs of the...
Discover Wines stores set to shut down in Kelowna and Kamloops after company sells licenses to Overwaitea
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Two VQA wine stores in Kelowna and another in Kamloops have agreed to sell their wine licenses to the Overwaitea Food Group, paving the way for wine sales in local grocery stores. Tracy Gray, owner of Discover Wines in Kelowna and Kamloops, confirms the sale and pending closure of her stores, saying the...
Cattle rustler handed jail time, ordered to pay over $30,000 in restitution
KAMLOOPS - A cattle rustler who attempted to sell his boss’s livestock in Alberta before fleeing to work at a Cache Creek ranch will spend the next year-and-a-half in jail after pleading guilty to several offences. On Nov. 12, Kamloops Provincial Court Judge Roy Dickey sentenced Jason John McDowell, 38, to 18 months after he...
Kamloops businessman recounts his experience when first shots rang out during Paris attacks
KAMLOOPS - A local business owner is thankful to be alive and home today, Nov. 16 following a work trip that turned tumultuous after he found himself at a downtown restaurant close to the targeted attack in Paris on Friday, Nov. 13. Mike Miltimore says he was on a trip for his Kamloops-based guitar company...
UPDATE: Chaos on the Coquihalla as crashes close highway
MERRITT – Two separate crashes on the Coquihalla Highway completely closed the route from Merritt to Hope for several hours today and people posting to social media describe a chaotic scene with overturned vehicles and frustrated drivers. Teresa Seibel was driving north on the Coquihalla when she was stopped for over an hour shortly outside...
More heavy snow on southern Interior mountain highways; Kamloops gets a dump
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The heavy snow originally forecast to let up overnight continues today in southern Interior mountain passes, while snow also fell Kamloops and more can be expected this morning. Environment Canada has updated the special weather statement this morning, Nov. 15, calling for more heavy snow on the Okanagan Connector from Kelowna to Merritt,...
Winter driving conditions with heavy snow in mountain passes
SNOWFALL WARNING FOR SOUTH THOMPSON THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The heavy snow is forecast on the highways through mountain passes in the southern Interior today, Nov. 14, and overnight will make travel a challenge, and winter tires or chains a necessity. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement warning of up to 40 centimetres of snow...
Local agencies preparing for Syrian refugees, awaiting government direction
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It's unknown how many Syrian refugees will be arriving in the souther Interior, but in the meantime, officials with the Immigrant Service Society of B.C. are looking for housing to place those escaping the conflict in the Middle East. Director of settlment services Chris Friesen says the are awaiting to receive further direction...
Kamloops man escapes attacks in Paris, reported as safe
KAMLOOPS - A local business-owner travelling in Paris is now in a safe location following this afternoon’s attacks Nov. 13. Mike Miltimore, who co-owns Lee’s Music in Kamloops and is the founder of Riversong Guitars, says he was close to where shots rang out in the city but managed to leave the location to return...