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Kelowna news
Car roll over accident claims life of Kelowna woman
KELOWNA - A woman from Kelowna has been identified as the passenger killed when a car rolled on Highway 16 on June 26. Coroner Donita Kuzma has identified Jamie Kathleen Doornbosch, 29, along with driver Paul John Constantineau of Thorsby, Alta., as the two people who died at the scene of the single-vehicle accident aproximately...
Second phase of Stuart Park finishes off Kelowna’s waterfront facelift
KELOWNA - Stuart Park, part two, is scheduled to open just in time for Canada Day. Walkways and the new sidewalk fronting Water Street are complete and the lawn has been laid although the City of Kelowna says it will be fenced off for a few more weeks so it can get established. A pair...
Record heat in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - Several Okanagan cities were among the 30 communities to set a new high temperature record in the province on Sunday. With a high of 39.3 C on Sunday, June 28, Vernon was one of the hottest Okanagan communities, surpassing a former high temperature record of 35.4 C. With a high of 38.7 C...
Scorching heat sizzles high temperature records
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The heat wave blasting the Southern Interior cranked the temperature up a notch Saturday breaking high temperature records in the Thompson-Okanagan. Canada’s hot spot June 27 was Osoyoos where the mercury climbed to 40.9 Celsius, snapping the old high temperature record of 37.7 C recorded on the same day in 2000. Kamloops hit...
Heat wave continues though not as hot has originally forecast
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – While it will still be hot this weekend, it won’t be has hot as first forecast by Environment Canada. The Special Weather Statement issued on Thursday, June 25, for the South and North Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and Okanagan warning of temperatures as high at 40 Celsius has been ended. Meteorologists are still forecasting...
UPDATE: Semi fire on Coquihalla Highway
MERRITT – A semi burst into flames on the Coquihalla Highway this afternoon, severely restricting traffic for several hours. VSA Highway Maintenance says the route was fully reopened as of 4:30 p.m, June 28. The fire, about 1 kilometre north of the Great Bear snowshed, had forced the closure of one lane. No word on...
No hiking on Okanagan rail corridor just yet
LAKE COUNTRY - Officials with the District of Lake Country are trying to get out the message the CN Rail line through the community is off limits despite the referendum which approved the purchase of the land as part of the Okanagan Rail Trail. Crews have put up signs at access points along the rail...
Wildfire crews hopping with 16 new fires on weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Almost half of the 16 new wildfires sparked in the Thompson-Okanagan region over the weekend were preventable because people caused them. Kelsey Winter with B.C. Wildfire Management says seven of the fires crews have either put out, or are currently working to put out, have been listed as human caused. The rest of...
Kelowna Mountie injures himself with own gun
KELOWNA - An RCMP officer is under investigation after he somehow shot himself with his own gun. This incident occurred around 6:10 p.m. tonight, June 26, when the officer was responding to a break and enter in progress, according to a release by RCMP Sgt. Mona Kauffeld. "During the response, the police officer's firearm discharged,...
Magic of Enchanted Forest put new owner under its spell
REVELSTOKE - The Enchanted Forest had its new owners spellbound from the first time they saw the woodland wonderland many years ago. The roadside amusement park located between Sicamous and Revelstoke on the Trans Canada Highway has, for the fifth time in its 55 years, changed hands, but longtime visitors need not fear any drastic changes;...
FINAL UPDATE: Wildfire near Zipzone Peachland contained
PEACHLAND – Wildfire Management threw everything they had at wildfire above Peachland this afternoon and it paid off. The blaze is now 100 per cent contained. Smoke from the fire near Zipzone Peachland on Brenda Mines Road was spotting at about 11:30 a.m., June 27. It grew to three hectares in size before crews and...
Old Western Star plant could soon meet the wrecker’s ball
KELOWNA - The last vestiges of Western Star Trucks, a manufacturing success story in Kelowna, could soon be meeting the wreckers ball. Owner of the site on Enterprise Way, 3752 Investments Ltd., has applied for a permit to raze the former Western Star truck and replace it with a Lowes home improvement store and garden...
Cracks were showing in Westbank First Nation’s private hospital plan last year
WESTBANK FIRST NATION - Despite assertions from the partners behind Canada’s first for-profit private hospital that it is proceeding as planned, documents show the deal to develop the Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre was in disarray last year. When it became clear in October 2014 that Ad Vitam Health Care was out of money and unable...
UPDATE: Two Kelowna Rockets picked in NHL entry draft
KELOWNA - Kelowna Rockets forward Nick Merkley and defenceman Devante Stephens are NHL Draft picks after the conclusion of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. After Merkley was a first round selection by the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night, at 30th overall, defenceman Devante Stephens was drafted on Saturday morning during the conclusion of the draft. Stephens...
UPDATE: Highway between Merritt and Spences Bridge reopens following rock slide
MERRITT - The highway between Spences Bridge and Merritt has reopened completely following a rock slide yesterday afternoon. According to Drive B.C., the slide took place around 12 p.m. June 26 on Highway 8, at Voght Street, about 45 kilometres west of Merritt. It originially blocked traffic in both directions about 45 kilometres west of...