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Kelowna news

Vernon man accused of murder released from custody

VERNON - An 18-year-old Vernon man accused of murder is no longer in custody. Brandon Wellington, who stands accused of second degree murder in connection with the death of Jason Hardy, was released on bail Monday, Oct. 26. His bail is set at $10,000 and he must adhere to a number of court-ordered conditions.  Greater...

Cannan packs up old life, ponders future after election defeat

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Sitting amid the boxes and bags in his half-packed up office, former member of Parliament Ron Cannan can’t resist a joke. “The always said you could run a dog in this riding as a Conservative and it would get elected. Well, I proved them wrong.” Cannan has until Nov. 18 to vacate...

Everything you wish you didn’t need to know about rats in the Thompson-Okanagan

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Just a few years ago, Thompson-Okanagan residents didn’t have to worry about rats invading attic spaces or chewing up electrical wires, simply because the rodent was a rarity in these parts. That's all changed.  Steve Ball owns BugMaster Pest Control, which services the North, Central and South Okanagan, and he says rat complaints...

How to keep your jack o’ lantern from rotting

KELOWNA – An unusually warm summer may have been nothing but a help to most farmers in the Okanagan but it’s forced pumpkin farmers to take steps to ensure customers get products that aren’t mushy and spoiled. Jas Sanghera is the owner of Don-O-Ray Vegetables on Benvoulin Road. He says the unusual weather this year...

Knox Mountain Park under popularity pressure

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Knox Mountain, the crown jewel of Kelowna’s park system, is under increasing pressure as its popularity grows. Use of the landmark park has jumped in all areas including vehicle use which has climbed from a daily average of 448 in 2012 to 582 in 2014. Event use has gone up as well...

Heritage buildings to get some love in Kelowna

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - It’s a pretty big to-do list but city planners have come up with priorities for some of Kelowna’s main heritage buildings. Topping the list is remedial work for the former Glen Avenue school, the Water Street firehall and Cameron House, planning specialist Pat McCormick says in a report to city council. The...

UBCO professor helps discover new species of giant tortoise

KELOWNA – A UBC Okanagan professor was part of an international research team that discovered a new species of giant tortoise on an island in the Galapagos Archipelago. The new species, now called the Eastern Santa Cruz tortoise, is so physically similar to its cousin that it took genetic testing to identify it as distinct...

Wet fall week ahead for the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - A mixed bag of weather — cloud, rain and sun — is expected in the Okanagan for the last week of October. Environment Canada is calling for temperature highs at or just above seasonal normals of 9 Celsius throughout the region all week, with the warmest temperatures expected today, Oct. 26. Overnight lows...

Okanagan Regional Library approves budget increase

KELOWNA – Half of the Okanagan Regional Library budget increase for 2016 is wage increases for staff at branches up and down the valley. The board of directors has approved a spending plan worth over $18.2 million, which reflects a 1.98 per cent increase from 2015. The increase amounts to an extra $351,818 tax dollars....

Investigators looking for cause of Kelowna house fire

KELOWNA – Two people escaped unharmed from a house fire in Kelowna last night. The Kelowna Fire Department was called to the house in the 600-block of McClure Road in the Mission at about 7:40 p.m., Oct. 23. Flames were coming out the roof when crews arrived, according a media release. “The fire was knocked...

Zombies to take over entire UBCO building

KELOWNA – An entire building at UBC Okanagan will be transformed into a zombie-filled nightmare at the Asian Student Association’s Haunted House next Friday. The second annual haunted house is organized by the president of the Association Peter Teng with help from the UBCO student union and the UBCO residency advisors. UBCO student union vice...

Kelowna man charged in death of Calgary toddler

KELOWNA – A Kelowna man has been arrested and charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a Calgary toddler in 2005. Police caught up with Ryan John Podhorodecki, 32, in Victoria where he was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 21, and transferred to Calgary to face the manslaughter charge.  Calgary police Staff Sgt. Colin...

Kelowna tourists caught in path of worst hurricane in history

KELOWNA - A small group of tourists from Kelowna who are vacationing in Nuevo Vallarta are fleeing to higher ground to escape the strongest hurricane ever recorded. Rod Robinson, owner of Bogie and Bacall Hair Salon in Orchard Park Mall, is travelling with his wife Donna and friends Denny and Patty Pirot, who are also...

Why leaving an abusive husband is necessary but dangerous

"THAT JUDGE SAID I SHOULD HAVE USED THE SYSTEM. WELL, THE SYSTEM FAILED ME." KELOWNA – She was just 16 when they met and fell in love. He, four years older, was charming and attentive. He was a man who seemed to know what he wanted in life and one year later she was pregnant...

Some Kelowna infrastructure grants could be in limbo after Liberal election win

KELOWNA - Despite election promises about investment in infrastructure, the advent of a new Liberal government will likely delay some Kelowna projects already in the works. “We do have various applications out there, but with the election, it’s been very quiet,” infrastructure director Alan Newcombe says. While he expects the Liberal government will honour applications...

Sun and frost this weekend in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - Temperatures should be close to seasonal normals, on both the high and low end, this weekend and with those cooler overnight temperatures comes frost. Environment Canada is calling for a high in the double digits today, Oct. 21, and Saturday, with a high of 9 Celsius being forecast for Sunday. The seasonal normal...

UPDATE: One dead in single vehicle crash on Connector, highway reopens

CENTRAL OKANAGAN – A man died in an early morning crash on Highway 97C at the Pennask summit. RCMP and B.C. Ambulance paramedics were called to the scene, Oct. 22, and while RCMP will not confirm if anyone was hurt, Global Okanagan reports one man was killed in the single vehicle accident. The man, who is...

OK Corral needs to wrangle up new customers

KELOWNA – After 31 years of being Kelowna’s only country bar, the OK Corral is struggling to survive. The nightclub, one of the few in Kelowna not located downtown, has seen a dramatic drop in attendance over the last two years, says marketing director Angie Clowry. “The last few years have not been successful,” she...

Kokanee salmon population explodes in Okanagan Lake with biggest spawn in quarter century

OKANAGAN - It’s a record year for Kokanee salmon spawning on Okanagan Lake. Jason Webster, a Vernon-based fisheries biologist, says more than 300,000 shore spawners were counted during this year’s annual survey — the most in more than 25 years. “It’s turning into a cyclical thing where every four years there’s a great big run,...

Embarrassed by your own bad behaviour during election campaign? It’s time to make amends

OR NOT THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - You likely had one or two of them among their Facebook friends — someone highly partisan, emotionally charged and willing to to go to the wall defending their particular political brand. Taking on all commenters, some of these people have left scorched earth in their wakes, fighting out the election in...

Three patients remain in hospital after violent attack near Lillooet

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Three of the original 11 people who were admitted to Interior Health hospitals after an attack at the Bridge River Indian Band office near Lillooet remain under medical care. “One patient is in serious but stable condition and two are stable and beginning their recovery,” Tracy Watson of Interior Health says. The patients...

Winter forecast is warm with lots of snow

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – AccuWeather is forecasting one of the warmest winters on record for much of Canada, thanks to El Nino. Western Canadians can expect above to well-above temperatures as a prevailing westerly flow delivers milder Pacific air across the region, according to a news release. “Compared to last winter, there will be more snow across...

ELECTION 2015: We could do way more to help youth vote, says UBCO professor

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - A local professor who conducted his own youth voting campaign thinks we could do a lot more to get young people into a voting booth. “I had students on the last day asking about how they can vote back home. A lot of students don’t live here, their home address is somewhere...