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Kelowna news

Local man documents entire CN rail corridor for posterity

KELOWNA – An Okanagan man with a passion for local history has begun work on a video he hopes will preserve the significance of the CN Rail corridor for generations to come. Alan Gatzke spent dozens of hours and thousands of dollars from his own pocket to modify his pickup so it could be used...

UFC extends contract with Kelowna fighter

KELOWNA – Local UFC welterweight Matt Dwyer has had his UFC contract extended by four fights. Dwyer, 25, a Kelowna resident since he was two years old, fights out of Toshido MMA in Kelowna. He was signed to a remarkably rare four-fight contract with the UFC in 2014. Although his first appearance resulted in a...

Kelowna wants input on how residents and amenities can live together

KELOWNA - Would you be comfortable with condos and commercial spaces cheek by jowl with the Okanagan Heritage Museum and the Kelowna Community Theatre? That’s one of the ideas that has come out of the ongoing consultation over the so-called civic block, which includes those buildings and others in the area. “We’ve had great input...

18 aerial photos showing Central Okanagan beauty from above

CAN YOU FIGURE OUT WHERE THE PHOTOS ARE? CENTRAL OKANAGAN - We already know we live in paradise, with some of the most stunning views anywhere, but if you need further proof, check out these photos taken from Apple Maps and Google Maps. Unfortunately, not all municipalities have such high quality images so we limited...

Mussel threat turns real during training session

OKANAGAN - A training session on how to inspect for invasive mussels turned hands-on when a contaminated boat showed up from Ontario. An Ontario couple shipped the boat to the Lower Mainland after it was moored for several months in the mussel-infested Rideau Canal, according to a press release from the Okanagan Basin Water Board....

Where we found those photos

Bylands yards on Whitworth Road %%image19%% Southeast Kelowna %%image3%% Bylands yards on Pritchard Road and Boucherie Road, West Kelowna %%image4%% Sand and gravel quarry on Westlake Road, West Kelowna %%image5%% Log booms along Westside Road %%image20%% Log booms along Westside Road %%image7%% Carr’s Landing %%image8%% Ellison Lake %%image9%% Land cleared near Ellison Lake %%image10%% Kelowna...

ELECTION 2015: Kelowna Chamber will host federal candidates forum

CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Three candidates battling it out for the Kelowna-Lake Country federal riding will square off in a candidates forum next month. The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce says it has invited Conservative incumbent Ron Cannan, New Democrat Norah Bowman and Liberal Stephen Fuhr to a federal candidates forum. The forum will allow the three...

Credit card skimmers prompt public warning by RCMP

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Police in the Central Okanagan are once again warning about card skimmers after the devices were discovered in Vernon and Kamloops. Spokeswoman Const. Anne Donnelly of the Kelowna RCMP fraud section, said in a press release there are ways to foil the scam, which requires both your debit card number and your personal...

Warm fall, mild winter in long-range forecast

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Look for a hotter, drier fall across the Southern Interior if AccuWeather’s long-range fall forecast holds true. Issued by AccuWeather’s global weather centre, the forecast says a stubborn high pressure system anchored over the West coast and abnormally warm water over the north-eastern Pacific have kept the weather warm and dry. This is...

Turning industrial trash into home furnishing treasures

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There's something quintessentially Canadian about taking an item like a lowly wooden pallet or a fruit packing box and making good use of it. Keith Hamer and his crew take it one step further in an old fruit packing house in Oyama, creating a business to make new furniture out of old wood...

Vernon cadets show bravery in moments after head-on collision

VERNON - A group of staff cadets and instructors celebrating at a recent graduation parade in Vernon didn’t hesitate to drop what they were doing and run to help those involved in a serious car crash. “The flags were just being marched on and we heard a loud bang,” Major Keri Winkelaar says. “We turned...

Who’s paying their property taxes and who isn’t in Kelowna

KELOWNA - All in all, we’re a pretty honest bunch if measured by how promptly we pay our property taxes. “We do have some people who don’t like having to pay but the majority of people are really good about it,” financial planning manager George King says. Property taxes totalling $226.7 million were due by...

Bird book inspired by UBCO’s bio-diversity

KELOWNA - If you’re looking for hot chicks, look no further than the Birds of the UBC Okanagan Campus 2016 calendar. Produced by biologists, the annual calendar features some of the birds that can be found on the school’s campus. Photographers this year ranged across the entire 209 hectares of campus grounds and includes bluebirds,...

Rafting accident claims life of Kelowna man ahead of wedding

KELOWNA – Less than a month before he was set to be married, a young Kelowna man has drowned while white-water rafting near Golden over the weekend. Rene Bourgault was rafting with three other people in Kicking Horse River Sunday, Aug. 16 when the group was thrown into the water roughly ten kilometres east of...

Apple Triathlon president finishes 15 year run

KELOWNA – After 15 years as president of the Apple Triathlon, Richard Montgomery is crossing the finish line and calling it quits. Montgomery has been head of the city’s biggest annual race since 2000 and says in that time he has seen participation go from roughly 300 racers to more than 1,800 and host six...

Police investigate a suspicious package that wasn’t

KELOWNA - Police closed off an area in Rutland late last night and called in the explosive disposal unit for two 'suspicious' packages that turned out to be nothing. Sgt. Ann Morrison says the packages were found on Houghton Road and they closed off the road between Hein Road and Hollywood Road. The disposal unit...

Ghost bike placed on Bernard Avenue in cyclist’s memory

KELOWNA - A cycling advocacy group is marking the spot where a Kelowna cyclist died with a memorial ghost bike. Patricia Keenan, 38, died in hospital a few days after colliding with a car door opened in front of her on Bernard Avenue. Keenan sustained a head injury even though she was wearing a helmet. Now...

Head office confirms closing of West Kelowna Sears

WEST KELOWNA - Sears Canada has confirmed the closing of its West Kelowna store and says its not sure if it will continue to operate a store on that side of the lake. Sears director of communications Alicia Richler says in an email statement all customer purchases will be honoured. “While we have not yet...

Water managers preparing for longer-term Okanagan drought

KELOWNA - While they are still in the midst of dealing with this year’s widespread drought in the southern B.C. the province’s top water managers are already looking ahead to next year. “Current weather patterns is for a strong El Nino blob off the coast. It is setting up the scenario for a drier than...

Severe thunderstorm watch for Okanagan

OKANAGAN - After a record day in the Okanagan temperatures are set to cool down and we can expect to see heavy rain and possibly severe thunderstorms over the next couple of days. Yesterday, Aug. 13, a new high temperature record was set in Kelowna, 37.8 Celsius, with Vernon, at 36.5 C, and Penticton, at...

You’re not the only one not feeling frisky in this heat

HEAT KILLING CATTLE (SEX) DRIVE THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Beef is meeting supply needs so far this year, but it hasn’t been easy for ranchers as they deal with drought and extreme conditions that leave cattle not wanting to mate. Kevin Boon, general manager of the B.C. Cattleman’s Association, says the hardest hit areas in the province’s...

Despite a spike in water-related deaths, drownings down overall

VERNON - A number of water-related deaths in the Thompson-Okanagan over the past month have brought the topic to the forefront of many people’s minds, but the province’s Lifesaving Society says the number of drowning deaths is actually down considerably so far this year. Just this past weekend, a 27-year-old man was critically injured while...