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Kamloops

Kamloops and Kelowna among top places in Canada for job seekers

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Kamloops and Kelowna have managed to crack the top-20 in a survey noting 50 of the hottest local job markets in Canada. Express Employment Professionals, a staffing agency with operations in Canada, the U.S. and South Africa, released its second annual Top 50 Hot Job Markets survey this week. The survey looks at the number...

Stolen Lake Country boat and truck recovered in Kamloops

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An observant off duty cop helped police recover a boat and truck stolen out of Lake Country Sunday night. The astute officer noticed a boat and trailer being unloaded on the side of the highway in the Dallas area early Monday morning, Sept. 7 and turned around to keep an eye on the...

Health authority moves on residential care bed promise

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Construction of 100 new residential care beds will begin this fall in Kelowna and another 85 are soon expected in Vernon as well. The Interior Health Authority announced in a press release it has awarded the contract to Baltic Properties, an existing contractor who is already providing residential care services in Kamloops, Lake...

Drive B.C. adds eight new highway webcams to help you plan your trip

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Just in time for winter, Drive B.C. has installed eight more highway cams between West Kelowna and Kaleden, and in the Merritt area to help drivers assess road conditions and traffic. The cameras include four south of West Kelowna on Highway 97 and Highway 97C, and three near Kaleden in the South Okanagan....

UPDATE: Kamloops teen located

UPDATE: 3:39 P.M., SEPT. 23, 2015 RCMP say McKenna Smith has been located and is safe. 3:16 P.M., SEPT. 3, 2015 KAMLOOPS – RCMP are looking for an 18-year-old Kamloops girl who has been missing since the beginning of the month. McKenna Smith was reported missing by her family on Sept. 1 after their last...

UPDATE: Teen spotted in Kamloops located

UPDATE: 7:05 P.M., SEPT. 3, 2015 RCMP say Hayley Haines has been located. 3:08 P.M., SEPT. 3, 2015 KAMLOOPS - A girl who was reported missing on the weekend was spotted downtown yesterday and RCMP are asking for help in locating her. Hayley Haines, 18, was reported missing Aug. 29 but was sighted in the...

UPDATE: Kamloops woman located

UPDATE: 7:09 P.M., SEPT. 3, 2015 RCMP say Rhonda Johnson has been located and is back with her family. 3:05 P.M., SEPT. 3, 2015 KAMLOOPS - A woman has been reported missing after she didn't return home from a walk to the store yesterday. RCMP is asking for the public’s help in locating a Rhonda...

Whooping cough still a concern as school approaches

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With the first day of school approaching, parents should remember a recent spike in potentially fatal whooping cough has only just began to drop. “We have been in communciations with schools informing parents about communicable diseases in general and the fact we have been observing increased cases of whooping cough,” Dr. Kamran Golmohammadi...

Forget fire, we’ve got snow on local ski hills

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The weather has flip-flopped in the last week, so much so local ski hills are reporting their first snowfalls instead of watching for wildfires. Silver Star Mountain operations director Brad Baker sent out pictures showing a fair dusting of snow at the resort near Vernon, and a reminder of the mountain’s early bird...

‘Too soon’ say critics of decision to lift campfire ban

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Some fire-shocked B.C. residents are questioning the decision by the Ministry of Forests to lift the campfire ban that has been in place since early July. The ministry announced Monday afternoon the ban would be lifted on Crown lands and campsites in the South East and Kamloops fire centres and many communities and regional districts...

Summer likely over but long weekend forecast sunny

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – If there will be any more hot summer days this year, they will come in the last two weeks of September, but the chances are summer is over in the Thompson-Okanagan. Residents from Kamloops to Penticton are currently experiencing lower than average temperatures for this time of year and that probably won’t change...

UPDATE: Body of missing Kamloops woman located

UPDATE: 3:49 P.M., SEPT. 1, 2015 RCMP confirm a body found in a wooded area this morning, Sept. 1, in the Juniper area is that of Lyla Brace. 3:24 P.M., AUG. 31, 2015 KAMLOOPS - RCMP are asking for help in locating a woman who was last seen Sunday evening. Const. Jason Epp says Lyla...

Interior Health may review case after senior receiving home care burned to death

KAMLOOPS - Interior Health may conduct a review of a Kamloops senior's file to determine if there should be improvements to senior care after the woman died from injuries relating to a fire in her home. Matilda ‘Tillie’ Olineck, 72, was smoking a cigarette before she caught fire in her chair at the Glenfair senior's...

Appeal denied for man convicted in child porn ring

KAMLOOPS — The B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed a man’s request to overturn his conviction on several child porn charges because of his right to privacy. David Caza was convicted in 2012 after police discovered he was participating in an international exchange of child pornography images online. To avoid detection by police, Caza renewed his...

Communities on edge: Thompson-Okanagan fire officials field calls for false alarms

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fire appears to be at the forefront of many peoples’ minds across the Thompson-Okanagan. With wildfires burning across the province and a blanket of smoke from Washington hanging in the air, fire officials say they are receiving a number of reports which are in fact nothing more than false alarms. In the North...

What’s in a name? Two days’ worth of debate

'IT'S LIKE A BOY NAMED SUE': JUDGE KAMLOOPS — The ‘what’s in a name’ case is taking longer than expected as lawyers continue to argue in Kamloops Supreme Court if a homeless man committed an illegal act when he gave police doing a street check a different name than his legal birth name and continued...

Get hopped up on this Kamloops Beer Festival

KAMLOOPS — If you can’t wait until Oktoberfest to get drinking, the Kamloops Beer Festival, better known as ‘Brew Loops’, might be the best place to get your fix for craft beer next month. The four-day September festival with several events will take place at three craft brewery locations: The Noble Pig, Red Beard Cafe...

Who’s to blame for wrong name? Man who gave it or police for not checking it

'SURELY BEFORE YOU GOT ACROSS THE THRESHOLD OF THE COURTROOM, THE POLICE COULD HAVE FIGURED OUT THESE THINGS': JUDGE KAMLOOPS — If a person gives a false name to police, is it up to the police, the Crown or the accused to prove who the person really is? It's a case lawyers are calling 'unique'...

Top antique and art appraiser makes stop in the Southern Interior

KELOWNA - Here’s your chance to find out if that old painting hanging in the bathroom is really a Picasso or not. Professional antique and art appraiser Peter Blundell is making a one-day stop in Kelowna where he will appraise those uncertain antiques, collectibles and art pieces and tell you whether they are treasure or...

So You Think You Can Dance coming to Kelowna

KELOWNA – The top ten finalists from this year’s So You Think You Can Dance will be performing in Kelowna in January. The show is part of a North America tour that features the best dancers from the twelfth season of the 13-time Emmy Award-winning show on Fox and CTV. Judge, executive director and co-creator...

Daughters struggle for answers about dementia care after mom suffers horrific death

'SHE COULD HAVE GONE FROM ANY ONE OF HER ILLNESSES," DAUGHTER SAYS, 'BUT SHE BURNED ALIVE." KAMLOOPS — A series of government-funded senior care failures and one last cigarette killed Matilda ‘Tillie’ Olineck, her family says. Jeanne and Jackie Olineck — Tillie’s daughters — were cleaning up their mothers apartment at the Glenfair Complex downtown...