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Kelowna news
Think you got a lot of snow? You must have a short memory
KELOWNA - This weekend’s two-day snow dump didn’t even come close to the storm that started 2015, according to the people tasked with clearing much of it out of the way. “We didn’t activate the snow routes,” says public works manager Darryl Astofooroff, in charge of the city’s snow removal service. “We didn’t consider it...
You’ll never guess what this Kamloops woman wants for her 100th birthday
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The family of a Kamloops grandmother turning 100 years old in a few months is using social media to get the attention of her favourite singer. Kelowna resident Brad Krauza’s grandmother Sylvia lives in Kamloops. With her 100th birthday coming up in March, he and his sister Wendy wanted to do something extra...
‘My roommate used my toothbrush’ and other reasons to not call 9-1-1
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The largest 9-1-1 call centre in B.C. has released its top ten worst reasons people used their service this year. E-Comm is the primary 9-1-1 answer point for 24 regional districts and other communities from Vancouver Island to the Alberta and U.S. borders, to north of Prince George. With nearly 3,400 9-1-1 calls...
Unlocked vehicle leads to theft from Lake Country garage
LAKE COUNTRY - Parked vehicles left unlocked, two with garage door openers inside, led to the theft of electronics and loose change this morning, as well as tools and fishing gear from a garage. A vehicle parked in the 9800 block Sonata Road in Lake Country was broken into sometime before 9 a.m. today, Dec....
Kelowna frozen yogurt store target of armed robbery
KELOWNA - An employee of a frozen yogurt store was forced to turn over an unknown amount of money to an armed robber last night in Kelowna. A lone masked male entered the store in the 2400 block of Highway 97 North and showed the handle of a gun before demanding money around 8:30 p.m.,...
Highway rollover sends man to Kelowna General Hospital
KELOWNA - A rollover on Highway 97 early this morning has sent a 20-year-old man to hospital with serious injuries. The man was driving a white Chevrolet Blazer northbound on the highway when it hit snow at the intersection with Leckie Road around 6:50 a.m., Kelowna RCMP says in a press release. The vehicle slid...
Surprise visitors make Free Hug event extra special
KELOWNA – A group of warm-hearted Kelowna residents giving out free hugs downtown on Boxing Day helped make the holidays extra special for two visiting American families. Event organizer for the last five years Angie Clowry says the families, one from Chicago and one from Florida, were walking downtown when they saw Clowry and the...
Cold, snow force Kelowna’s Gospel Mission to throw open the doors
KELOWNA - Last week’s cold coupled with this weekend’s snow has pushed the Kelowna’s primary homeless shelter to capacity. “We dont turn people away, we are open 24/7 and have been since the cold and snow hit last week,” Kelowna's Gospel Mission's Michael Morrison says. Morrison says the Mission’s 82 mens' beds, 12 step up...
Weather mellowing out in the Okanagan this week
OKANAGAN - It looks like snowplows will get some time to catch up this week with much less white stuff expected to fall. Communities across the Okanagan got hit with a large dump of snow over the holiday weekend, prompting a snowfall warning from Environment Canada, which ended Dec. 27. Between 7 mm and 10 mm...
Kelowna RCMP warn drivers to slow down after weekend of accidents
KELOWNA – More than a dozen centimetres of snow fell on Kelowna over the weekend, keeping emergency services busy with several accidents, including two on Highway 33 that sent two people to hospital and one Kelowna man home with a 90-day licence suspension. The first accident happened just before 3 p.m., Dec. 27, when a...
Flights delayed at Kelowna Airport
KELOWNA – Both arriving and departing flights are being delayed at the Kelowna International Airport today, Dec. 28 because of weather. Arriving flights from Calgary, Edmonton and Seattle have been delayed, according to the airport website. Departing flights to Vancouver, Phoenix and Seattle have also been delayed. If you are flying out of the airport...
Violent, armed break and enter at Kelowna home
KELOWNA – RCMP are looking for a pair of suspects they say broke into a home on Christleton Avenue in Kelowna and assaulted one of the residents Saturday afternoon. Police were called to the home on the 400 block at around 2:30 p.m. on Boxing Day, Dec. 26, with reports of a violent break and...
UPDATE: Snowfall warning ended for Okanagan and South Thompson
ROADS AND HIGHWAYS IN WINTER DRIVING CONDITION THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A dump of snow overnight and this morning is making the busiest travel day of the year a challenge for drivers. The snowfall warning issued by Environment Canada for the Thompson-Okanagan earlier this morning was ended at about 10:15 a.m., Dec. 27. Forecasters say significant snowfall...
Kelowna hopes to end year without ‘significant snow event’
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - About half of Kelowna’s civic workers will be off the job over the holidays but snow removal crews won’t be amongst them. “Yes, it’s all hands on deck if needed,” public works manager Darryl Astofooroff says. “It’s looking good though, nothing much in the forecast." The city has gotten off lightly so...
Kelowna woman’s miniature Christmas village will blow your mind
KELOWNA - In a quiet neighbourhood on the outskirts of Glenmore is a Christmas town so perfect it looks like it sprang from the brush of Norman Rockwell. K-Town, or Kathy's Town, is a sprawling, snowy little village replete with a Town Hall, a theatre, outdoor skating rink, veterinary hospital and everything else you’d expect...
Garbage and recycling pick-up changes over the holidays
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Along with the holidays comes celebrations and gifts, which means more garbage and recycling. But the pick-up people get some days off too which means some slight adjustments to the schedule. Curbside pick-up ervice is largely unaffected by the holidays with Christmas and New Years the only days with service changes throughout...
Okanagan MLAs share favourite Christmas traditions
KELOWNA - MLAs Norm Letnick and Steve Thomson agreed to share some of their favourite Christmas holidays and traditions with infoNEWS.CA. NORM LETNICK Letnick says his favourite game to play is hide the turkey (by eating it) while his favourite song is Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant and his favourite movie is It’s a...
Kelowna councillor shares Christmas memories and traditions
KELOWNA - While Christmas traditions vary from family to family, everyone has their own that make the day so special. Kelowna city councillor Luke Stack agreed to share with infoNEWS.ca what he and his loved ones do on Dec. 25. Every year the Stack family, including wife Anne and children Laura, Joel and Heather, set...
Some quirks of the calendar will bring you a lot more fun next year
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Before you book your vacation next year, you might find some surprises you haven’t seen on the calendar — like an extra four long weekends next year. Thanks to a few quirks of the calendar, all four date-based holidays fall on or near weekends this year. Canada Day, Remembrance Day and New Years...
MAP: Winter fun in Kelowna is just a snowball throw away
KELOWNA - With the kids home from school and clients busy with their families, parents everywhere are looking for fun activities they can do with their kids. Kelowna is known as one of the best summer travel destinations, but there is no shortage of exciting winter fun to be had as well. From tobogganing in...
Kelowna cops collar suspected armed robber with thing for Subway
KELOWNA - Police managed to collar a man who robbed two Subway sandwich shops and attempted to rob a third in the city yesterday. Police eventually caught up to the 29-year-old suspect but not before he escaped custody once, briefly led police on a chase and later tried to evade police again on foot, according...
A cool, white Christmas for the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - You’re in luck if you dreamed of a white Christmas, but expect slightly cooler temperatures to go along with it. Enough snow has fallen this month to give much of the Okanagan a white Christmas, something that has only a 50 per cent chance of happening in Kelowna and only a 20 per...
A look at what the City of Kelowna accomplished in 2015
KELOWNA - The city claims its goal is building the best mid-sized city in North America and progress toward that goal is outlined in the 2015 Year in Review, released by the city this week. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment the city made this year actually involved other communities. This past year the abandoned CN Rail...
No car seat, no ride for Armstrong mom and baby trying to board the bus
VERNON - A North Okanagan woman is sharing her experience after being told she couldn’t board a public transit bus without a car seat for her baby. Chelsey Dyer planned to take the Route 60 bus into Vernon from her Armstrong home last week to pick up her car, but wasn’t allowed on. “The driver...