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Kelowna news
VIDEO: Is your refrigerator running? This one certainly is
KELOWNA – You know that old prank call? The one where you call up someone and ask them if their refrigerator is running? Well one man may have taken the joke a bit too seriously. A video released on YouTube over the weekend shows a Kelowna man with a refrigerator that is most definitely running....
Health authority hard hit by influenza last season
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Southern Interior was hard hit by influenza last season with a jump in confirmed cases and deaths. But at the same time, the flu season here in the Interior Health Authority was typical of what the rest of Canada experienced. Dr. Gillian Frosst, an epidemiolgist with the heatlh authority, told the board...
Behind the line at the Shelter Cove wildfire
KELOWNA – The Shelter Cove wildfire along Westside Road continues to grow, however Wildfire B.C. says homes and other structures are not threatened and they are confident they will have it under control soon. The fire, which was first reported Monday afternoon, is not yet contained and continues to burn roughly 430 hectares of dry,...
UPDATE: Westside Road evacuations remain in effect; fire grows to 430 ha
WEST KELOWNA - Evacuation orders remain in effect for a wildfire burning on Westside Road between La Casa Resort and Lake Okanagan Resort. This morning the emergency operations centre updated and clarified last night's evacuations ordered after heavy winds stoked the fire caused by lightning July 19. The fire grew from 30 hectares to roughly...
Fire risk closes Giant’s Head Mountain Park to vehicle traffic
SUMMERLAND - Because of the high risk of person-caused fires, Giant’s Head Mountain Park Road is closed to vehicle traffic. The closure is effective immediately due to dry vegetation along the roadside. The fire danger rating is currently high but is expected to reach extreme in the next couple of days. “We have moved to...
Kelowna water utility may soon be forced to restrict use
KELOWNA - As drought-like conditions persist throughout the province people are being asked to cut back on water use, which means water restrictions could be around the corner for Kelowna water utility customers, who have not yet faced restrictions this summer. The province has declared a level three drought in the Okanagan and is sending...
First wife testifies in trial of former Vernon cop charged with child porn
KELOWNA – The first wife of a former Vernon RCMP officer charged with child porn described him as a confrontational man who often raised his voice. Jennifer Fisher and Ryan Hampton’s marriage officially ended in 2011, the same year he married his accuser, Valerie Little. Little, herself a member of the RCMP, told police she...
Search for missing Okanagan Mountain Park campers called off
OKANAGAN - A search for whoever left behind a tent and a cooler in Okanagan Mountain Park has been called off. RCMP were called about the abandoned camping equipment found near the shoreline between Goode’s Creek and Van Hyce Beach on Friday, July 17. A note left behind said the mystery campers had left July 7...
Kelowna Fire Department rescues exhausted cops from Okanagan Lake
KELOWNA - A lake rescue took a dangerous turn last night when the drunken victim turned on a couple of Kelowna RCMP officers trying to save her. Exhausted by the struggle, the two cops had to hang onto a bouy in Okanagan Lake until rescued by the Fire Department’s marine unit. Police were called out...
Petition calls for new Kelowna dog beach but city says its not easy to find right location
KELOWNA - An online petition is calling for a second dog beach in a North End Kelowna park but the city says its not as simple as just putting up a fence and few signs. The petition on Change.org has over 600 signatures of people who think at least a portion of Sutherland Park on Ellis...
Norwegian product joins UBCO Heat women’s volleyball team
KELOWNA – Katinka Krahn of Oslo, Norway has chosen to pursue an indoor volleyball career with the UBC Okanagan Heat women’s team this fall as the squad lays eyes on the CIS national championships in the spring. Highly recruited in both Canada and in the United States, the beach-preferring Krahn was very close to choosing...
Sunny week ahead for Okanagan
OKANAGAN - It was a hot, sunny and stormy weekend and this week is expected to be a bit closer to normal Okanagan summer weather. Temperatures reached as high as 36 Celsius Sunday as storms rolled through the region. While there is a risk of thunderstorms again today the chance of rain forecast for the...
UPDATE: Downtown Kelowna street reopens; suspicious package empty
KELOWNA – RCMP have reopened a downtown Kelowna street after a “suspicious” package discovered earlier today turned out to be empty. Police closed Cawston Avenue from Ellis Street to St. Paul Street this morning, July 19, as officers and firefighters investigating a “suspicious” item. “Through the combined effort of the Kelowna RCMP, it's police dog...
B.C. Green candidate joins forces with Liberals as way to defeat Conservative MP
KELOWNA – The battle to unseat a Conservative party member of Parliament in Kelowna has begun with a tag-team match between the Green party and Liberal candidates.
Kelowna Rockets raise thousands to help kids with autism play hockey
KELOWNA – Players, coaches, scouts and fans of the Kelowna Rockets helped raise more than $15,000 to help children with autism enter hockey programs Friday morning. The sold out Rockets Alumni Foundation 15th Annual Golf Tournament teed off July 17 as they attempt to raise $100,000 over the next three years for the Canucks Autism...
Yoga fundraiser planned for Kelowna woman killed in car crash
KELOWNA - A deep friendship cut short has pushed a Kelowna woman to help out her friend's family. Anna Mandl says she knew Chantal Bazin since elementary school. Bazin is the young woman who was killed last weekend along with Kayla Cartwright in a car crash on Highway 97 in Vernon. “I’ve known Chantal since...
Possibly missing hiker or hikers in Okanagan Mountain Park
KELOWNA – RCMP have a mystery on their hands as they investigate a possible missing persons case involving camping equipment found abandoned in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park. Police say a tent and a cooler were discovered near the shore of Okanagan Lake, south of Commando Bay between Goode’s Creek and Van Hyce Beach in the...
Okanagan Across the Lake Swim will be bigger than ever this year
KELOWNA – For the 67th year in a row, swimmers from across the province will plunge into Okanagan Lake for the Across the Lake Swim this weekend. And this year will be bigger than ever. Last year, 900 participants showed up but this year event organizers have increased capacity significantly. A record 1,200 swimmers of all ages...
Get some colour at the third annual Okanagan Tattoo Show this weekend
KELOWNA – Fans of counterculture from around the world are gathering at Parkinson Recreation Centre this weekend for the third annual Okanagan Tattoo Show. The event, which runs Friday to Saturday, features 70 tattoo artists from across Canada and the world as well as merchandise booths, food, live music and events. There will also be...
Be fire safe, not sorry, when you use your tools and toys in the bush
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you plan on being a lumberjack or ripping around on your ATV in the bush this weekend, B.C. Wildfire Management is asking you to take into account the fire risk before firing up a chainsaw or starting up the quad. “If members of the public or industry personnel plan to do any...
Clerk assaulted during robbery of religious supply store
KELOWNA - Apparently this guy doesn’t believe in divine retribution. RCMP are looking for a man who assaulted a store clerk during the robbery of Loaves and Fishes Book and Church Supply yesterday afternoon, July 16. The man came into the store around 1:30 p.m. and began helping himself to silver and gold crosses, pendants...
Kelowna cyclist dies after collision with car door
KELOWNA - A local cyclist has succumbed to injuries she suffered when someone opened a car door in front of her bike. Patricia Keenan, 38, was cycling behind a friend on Bernard Avenue Tuesday evening, July 14, just past Ethel Street when the incident happened. Police say Keenan was wearing a helmet but the force...
‘Ungovernable’ lawyer with history of misconduct disbarred
KELOWNA – A Kelowna lawyer with a long history of professional misconduct has lost his licence to practice law for representing a company running a Ponzi scheme. Douglas Warren Welder was disbarred from the Law Society of B.C. after a panel found he received and redistributed more than US$1.65 million while representing International Fiduciary Corporation,...
Bertram Creek Park reopens after cougar sightings
KELOWNA – Officials have reopened the Bertram Creek Regional Park after sightings of a cougar in the area shut it down Wednesday. Regional District spokesperson Bruce Smith says signs about the recent sightings will remain up to warn residents of the ongoing risk. “Those using this and other Regional Parks in a more natural-setting should be...