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Kelowna news
Meteor shower peaks over the Southern Interior this week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If clouds part enough tonight you may be able to get a glimpse of the Orionid meteor shower as it peaks early Thursday morning. The Orionid meteor shower, which is formed from the debris of Halley’s comet, is known for producing bright and quick meteors. This meteor shower runs throughout October and into...
Is Lake Country the new hot spot for crime in the Okanagan?
LAKE COUNTRY - The District of Lake Country is already known as a beautiful, quiet little community nestled between two major Okanagan cities, but a group of concerned citizens fear it is becoming known for something much more troubling. Radmila Machalka has lived in Lake Country for eight years and is part of a group...
Former Okanagan MPs to earn millions in pension
OKANAGAN - Colin Mayes may have retired, and Ron Cannan may have been defeated in the 2015 federal election, but with pensions set to pad their bank accounts to the tune of between $1.3 million and $2.3 million over their life-times, taxpayers are not quite done with them yet. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released the...
Kelowna cop accused of assaulting barfly not guilty
KELOWNA - A Kelowna courtroom was packed with members of the RCMP in a show of support for a fellow cop who was found not guilty of assaulting a 61-year-old man during an early morning bar flush in 2014. Const. Grant Jacobson pleaded not guilty to criminally assaulting John Patrick McCormick on the patio of...
Man in critical condition after North Okanagan shooting
ENDERBY - Police are investigating a shooting in the North Okanagan that left a man in critical condition. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says police were called to a rural property in the Enderby area about 5:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19. Officers located a 55-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds, Noseworthy says. He was transported to...
Voter turnout jumps in Thompson-Okanagan ridings
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Voter turnout numbers in the 42nd federal election jumped to more than 70 per cent throughout the region, just above the national average and well ahead of 2011 turnout. In the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding, where Conservative Cathy McLeod was re-elected, voter turnout jumped to 74.07 per cent this election, up significantly from the 63.3...
ELECTION 2015: Fuhr ousts Conservatives as Kelowna-Lake Country goes Liberal
"AN HONOUR AND A PRIVILEGE:" CANNAN KELOWNA - In a surpise upset Liberal Stephen Fuhr has won Kelowna-Lake Country, ousting three term Conservative Ron Cannan. The riding has been a bastion for the Conservatives but the surging Liberals managed to tap into a desire for change that washed across Canada in recent weeks under leader...
ELECTION 2015: Shocker in Kelowna-Lake Country; Liberals win
KELOWNA – Liberal candidate Stephen Fuhr has upset a Conservative dynasty in Kelowna-Lake Country. Fuhr has been declared the unofficial winner in the riding. Conservative Party of Canada incumbent Ron Cannan took 56 per cent of the vote in the 2011 federal election, one of the widest margins in the country, but he couldn't hold...
ELECTION 2015: ‘I will be making sure that my constituents get the level of service they deserve:’ MP Albas
WEST KELOWNA - Voters in the newly formed riding of Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola have voted to give the incumbent Dan Albas another term. Albas told infonews.ca he was disappointed in the results federally, but praised voters for making their voices heard. “It’s wonderful to see so many people exercise their franchise but if they’re going to...
Kelowna tackles need for second dog beach
KELOWNA - There isn't a lot to building a dog park — but figuring out where to put it can take years. With that in mind, the city’s urban planning manager Terry Barton is proposing the city start a public engagement process to figure out what is needed and, most importantly, where people will tolerate another...
Kelowna Diwali dinner raises $30,000 for orphans in India
KELOWNA - A Kelowna fundraising Diwali dinner and dance over the weekend raised roughly $30,000 for a local orphan’s foundation that helps kids in India. The first ever East Meets West Orphans Foundation event at Rutland Centennial Hall included traditional Indian food, a live dance performance, an auction and a lively dance to Bhagra music...
Referendum likely for Kelowna recreation centre replacement
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - No matter what shape or form Parkinson Recreation Centre takes in future redevelopment, planners think it’s going take another city-wide referendum to get funding approval. There are four different directions the city can take, from ongoing redevelopment to full replacement of the aging recreation centre and pool, the only multi-purpose recreation facility...
Kelowna man dies after being pulled from lagoon
KELOWNA - A Kelowna man pulled out the lagoon near the Delta Grand Saturday morning has died. Just before 11 a.m. on Oct. 17 RCMP were called to the lagoon near the 1300-block of Water Street where the body of a 52-year-old man had already been pulled out of the water by the Kelowna Fire...
Kelowna and Kamloops well represented on Canada Russia Series roster
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Two Kamloops natives and two Kelowna Rockets will be playing for Team WHL in the 2015 Canadian Hockey League Canada Russia Series next month. Kamloops natives Ryan Gropp, Seattle Thunderbirds, and Joe Hicketts, Victoria Royals, both made the cut, as did Kelowna Rockets teammates Rourke Chartier of Saskatoon and Nick Merkley of Calgary....
VIDEO: Nitro Circus honours Okanagan athlete’s historic return to the ramp
KELOWNA - The biggest freestyle motocross and action sports promotion in the world is honouring a Kelowna rider who made history last week as the first paraplegic to pull of a backflip in front of a major audience. Bruce Cook was paralyzed from the waist down two years ago while attempting the first ever double...
Warm weather and chance of rain on the way for the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - It might be fall in the Okanagan, but that’s not stopping Mother Nature from keeping temperatures mostly above seasonal normals this week. Environment Canada is calling for a high of 16 Celsius in Vernon and Kelowna today, Oct. 19, with the expected high gradually dropping off to 10 C by Friday. Overnight the...
Kelowna General Hospital could face fines for laundry room crushing accident
KELOWNA - A workplace accident that saw a laundry worker crushed by automated equipment at Kelowna General Hospital resulted in a number of work orders from WorkSafe B.C. And Alan Davies, regional director of support services, says the Interior Health Authority could eventually face some fines over the infractions that saw the young laundry worker...
Rats are here to stay; Kelowna ramps up eradication efforts
KELOWNA - Rats were once unknown in the Okanagan but in recent years have suddenly become firmly established. That’s the conclusion of urban forestry supervisor Blair Stewart in a report to Kelowna city council that says above all, rats are here to stay. Stewart says black rats may have been accidently introduced and separate populations...
This year’s flu vaccine to target relatively vicious strain
KELOWNA – If you feel like this fall has already been worse than others for getting a cold or the flu, Interior Health has some bad news for you. It won’t peak for another month. According to Interior Health medical officer Kamran Golmohammadi the influenza virus and all the other viruses that cause flu-like symptoms...
Crown drops charges against North Okanagan man accused of dangerous driving causing death of three people
VERNON - Charges have been dropped against a North Okanagan driver involved in a tragic accident over two years ago. Crown spokesperson Neil MacKenzie says evidence in the dangerous driving causing death case of Brandon McGregor did not support a conviction. McGregor, 23, from Spallumcheen, was previously scheduled to go on trial Oct. 19 on...
Third sexual assault reported in Kelowna involving half naked hoodie wearing man
KELOWNA - A third sexual assault involving a man wearing only a hoodie is under investigation by Kelowna RCMP. Spokesman Cpl. Joe Duncan says in a media release a man dressed the same way as in two previous assaults, exposed himself to a women walking to work about 6:19 a.m., Oct. 16, on the Mission...
Okanagan rail trail opening still a ways off as planning process begins
OKANAGAN – Don’t plan a party around the Okanagan rail trail corridor being open for…
Would you like fries with your unsolved crimes?
KELOWNA – RCMP have released details on three unsolved crimes in Kelowna, West Kelowna and Lake Country, including stolen guns, credit card fraud and a man who broke into a fast food restaurant and stole boxes of food. On Sept. 5, a suspect used two stolen cards, a bank card and a credit card, to...
Mission Creek restoration project begins Monday in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Regular users of the popular Mission Creek Greenway will lose access to part of the creekside trail for almost six months, starting on Monday. But in exchange, the whole of Kelowna will eventually be gaining a revitalized and restored waterway that will look a lot like the lower part of the creek did...