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Kelowna news
If your dog is suddenly paralyzed this could be why
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Mary Verigin knew something was wrong with her dog as soon as she opened her crate last Monday morning. “She could get up on her front feet but there was no strength behind her shoulders,” she says. “I didn’t know what to do. Of course I was crying.” Verigen phoned her vet, Dr....
Kelowna townhouse fire leaves family homeless
KELOWNA – The cause of a fire at a Kelowna townhouse complex early Sunday morning is unknown as investigators work to find answers. Just after midnight, March 29, the Kelowna Fire Department received multiple reports of fire coming from the roof of the two-storey Maple Lanes complex at 170 Kneller Rd. in Rutland. When crews...
Outdoor farmers’ market staying on Springfield, opens this week
KELOWNA – After a confusing 2014 rife with rumours of a split and a possible move downtown, the beloved Kelowna Farmers' and Crafters' Market is nearly ready to open for the season, once again on Springfield Road. The Springfield Road market is set to open April 1 and has been setting up inside the Parkinson...
Mamas for Mamas to host charity gala
KELOWNA – A fast growing group of Okanagan moms who provide help and support for other moms in the area will hold their first ever fundraising gala this fall. And they are looking to the public for help with auction items. Mamas for Mamas founder Shannon Christensen says the group has grown so quickly that...
Surging greenback, failing fire truck means Kelowna taxpayers on the hook for more money
KELOWNA - The plunging Canadian dollar and a failed mechanical assessment on one of its big rigs means the Kelowna Fire Department needs to ask city council for more money. Fire chief Jeff Carlisle, in a report to council, says the department needs an additional $130,000 to complete the purchase of a fire engine originally...
Kelowna man arrested for threatening the government on his Facebook page
KELOWNA – A Kelowna man was arrested this week for posting “threatening comments” to his own Facebook page. Cpl. Joe Duncan says the man believes the government owes him money and although the comments didn’t mention any specific agency, they were serious enough that someone notified the police and RCMP arrested him. “I don’t know...
Big dump of snow cost Kelowna taxpayers big bucks
KELOWNA - The big dump of 2015 dropped a near-record amount of snow on Kelowna and cost taxpayers over a half-million dollars to clean up. During the two-day snow storm, which began Jan. 3 and ended Jan. 5, about 37 centimetres of snow fell in and around the Central Okanagan. At one point, snow was...
Spring snow at Okanagan resorts leaves ski bums less bummed
OKANAGAN - It may have been a rainy week in the valley, but it was dumping snow at local ski hills. Silver Star Mountain in Vernon got close to 60 cm of new snow in the last week, blanketing alpine runs with a 209 centimetre base. As of Friday morning, all chair lifts except the...
Owner of stolen truck needs your help
WEST KELOWNA - Brazen thieves made off with a nearly $300,000 prize this morning and a West Kelowna businessman is hoping you can help him get it back. When Scott Horovatin showed up for work at his yard at 3 a.m., March 27, he found his 2014 Kenworth truck and 2008 Peerless lowbed trailer gone....
Armed robbery at West Kelowna motel
WEST KELOWNA – Staff at the Super 8 motel in West Kelowna were held up early this morning by an armed man who got away with some cash. RCMP say the robbery happened at about 2:50 a.m., March 27, at the motel on Westgate Road. A man with a weapon and with a black t-shirt...
Regional district budget down this year, but could have dropped further
KELOWNA - The Central Okanagan Regional District will spend $59.4 million of your tax dollars this year and you’re welcome to say something about it. “There is an opportunity for the public to address the board regarding the 2015-19 financial plan,” said spokesman Bruce Smith. “They don’t have to preschedule or anything. There is a...
Spring brings out the job fairs at local restaurants and hotels
KELOWNA - A sure sign of spring in the Okanagan is the job fair blitz by local restaurants and hotels. The yet-to-open Cactus Club inside the Kelowna Yacht Club is leading the pack Friday, March 27 and 28. The brand new operation is looking to staff all positions front and back, including management. The franchised...
Top Gear episode airs featuring Okanagan highways
OKANAGAN – Residents of the Okanagan will see some familiar scenery in a recently aired episode of the hit BBC television series "Top Gear." In a rare review of two North America’s truck companies, stars James May and Jeremy Clarkson race each other across B.C. in a Ford F150 VelociRaptor and a Chevy Silverado 2500HD....
Why that glass of Okanagan wine is $10
WEST KELOWNA – Neil Martens decided the best way to respond to customers who are ticked-off about the 'high' price of a glass of Okanagan wine in his West Kelowna restaurant was to tell it like it is. In an open letter published on the 19 Okanagan Grill + Bar website, Martens, the owner and...
Commercial vehicles collide on Highway 97 near Winfield
KELOWNA – An accident between two commercial vehicles on Highway 97 near Winfield Thursday morning resulted in one of the drivers going to hospital and another issued a traffic violation. Cpl. Joe Duncan of the Kelowna RCMP says the accident happened just north of Ellison Lake when one of the drivers merged his vehicle into...
Southeast District RCMP may not lose its helicopter
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The RCMP helicopter based in Kamloops may not move up north just yet according to an RCMP spokesperson who says the move is merely a 'recommendation' still under review. “Our assessment of Air Services in B.C., recommends the re-aligning of these resources more effectively by moving one of two helicopters currently in the...
History of the Okanagan Commonage Reserve
VERNON - With the impending sale of the discontinued rail corridor between Vernon and Kelowna, the Okanagan Indian band has revived a historic land claim on a large tract of land known as the Commonage Reserve. Formed in 1877 by the Joint Indian Reserve Commission (established by the governments of Canada and B.C. to create...
Lots of smoke but not much fire; health inspectors clear Valoroso Foods of serious violations
KELOWNA - If Joe Valoroso is bitter about his specialty food store being called out for label tampering and other minor food safey infractions, he’s now showing it. “No one is entitled to judge anybody else,” he simply says. In fact, the president of Valoroso Foods seems quite forgiving about having his name dragged through...
Thirty years in the Central Okanagan: See how it has changed
KELOWNA - We all know Kelowna and the Central Okanagan have grown over the last 30 years but Google Earth shows us just how much. This time lapse of satellite pictures from Google Earth shows the amazing changes in this area of the world from 1984 to 2012. According to Wikipedia and other sources, in 1984,...
Rain, snow increase avalanche risk in Interior
OKANAGAN - With less than a week left in March spring is well under way in the valleys, but that doesn’t mean winter conditions are not present on mountain highways or in the backcountry. Avalanche Canada is warning of a moderate to high risk of avalanches in many of the alpine and treeline elevations throughout...
Techno-geek dream job up for grabs in Central Okanagan
KELOWNA - For some people, mainly techno-geeks, it would be a dream job — driving around the Central Okanagan in a computer-equipped car or truck tricked out with commercial grade still and video cameras plus an array of eye-safe lasers. It doesn’t say Google on it, but the job-hunting website Adecco is advertising for “streetview...
Rockets players grab four WHL all-star team spots
KELOWNA - It’s the end of the regular season in the Western Hockey League and with the Kelowna Rockets sitting in first place in the Western Conference, several players made the all-star team while a few more were named finalists for 2015 awards. The all-star teams along with the 2015 WHL Awards finalists were named...
Employee takes punch to face trying to stop liquor store robbery
WEST KELOWNA - Staff and a patron at a West Kelowna liquor store were able to take down two of three men allegedly attempting to steal liquor Monday night. The attempted robbery took place at the Liquor Depot on Gosset Road at 9:46 p.m. on March 23, according to a media release from West Kelowna...
Kelowna woman wins B.C.’s biggest banked slalom snowboarding race
KELOWNA - A Kelowna woman walked away with a trophy, and bragging rights, after earning the fastest time in the ladies portion of the biggest annual banked slalom snowboarding event in British Columbia. A total of 265 participants raced in 20 different categories as Big White Ski Resort once again hosted the Annual Neil Edgeworth...