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Kelowna news
Police issue warning after woman attacked on Harvey Avenue
KELOWNA - Mounties are looking for a man who assaulted a woman on Harvey Avenue in the early morning hours of Saturday, February 7. The incident happened at 5:12 a.m. while the 21-year-old woman was walking in the area of Burtch Road, according to an RCMP media release. Mounties were told the woman was walking...
Shaw shuttering Kelowna call centre
KELOWNA - Shaw Communications announced today it will be closing down contact centres in three Canadian cities starting this summer, including Kelowna. The customer care operations in Calgary, Edmonton and Kelowna will be relocated to Victoria, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Montreal, where the contact centres will expand. A total of about 1,600 employees in the three...
How local Mamas helped a new Kelowna family overcome misfortune
KELOWNA – When Nelly Barclay talks about her family’s first week in Kelowna, she starts to cry. A new, non-profit group called Mamas for Mamas came to their aid when an accident left the family with little else but the clothes they were wearing. “I can’t even put it into words,” she says. “I can...
Okanagan to get more residential care beds for the elderly
KELOWNA – Two cities in the Okanagan will be getting significantly more care beds for the elderly sometime in the future, according to an Interior Health announcement Tuesday. Kelowna-Mission MLA Steve Thompson says the beds, which are for seniors with complex care requirements requiring round-the-clock care, will help more than just Okanagan seniors. “These additional...
West Kelowna firefighters have a new head honcho
WEST KELOWNA - The District of West Kelowna announced their new fire chief today. Jason Brolund takes the place of retiring West Kelowna Fire Rescue chief Wayne Schnitzler who leaves his position March 27, 2015. “I am extremely pleased to join West Kelowna Fire Rescue as their Chief," Brolund said in a media release. "I...
Colin James spring tour is about more than rock ‘n roll
KELOWNA - The Colin James concert in Kelowna next month will be more than rock and blues because James is embracing all of himself these days. The six-time Juno Award winner has been part of the music scene for almost a quarter of a century, exploring multiple genres such as rock, blues, pop, gospel and...
Papa John’s rescues Dreamlift
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — Papa John's pizza outlets in Kelowna, West Kelowna and two in Kamloops have stepped up to revive the Sunshine Dreams for Kids program in the area after Wendy's outlets in the area pulled out earlier this year. Papa John's will continue the tradition of donating all proceeds and staff wages for one day...
Two drivers, two crashes, same potential impaired charges
KELOWNA - Two separate crashes over the weekend could result in impaired driving charges for two Kelowna men. A concerned citizen flagged down police Feb. 7 at 11:16 p.m. to alert them to a 32-year-old Kelowna man slumped over the steering wheel of a blue Mazda 3 parked on Water Street, according to an RCMP...
Rockets lose to Seattle 2-1 Tuesday
The Seattle Thunderbirds defeated the Kelowna Rockets 2-1 on Tuesday night in Seattle, snapping a five game Kelowna winning streak in the process. The T-Birds scored twice in the third period to come from behind for the win. Nick Merkley had the Rockets only goal on the night, scoring midway through the first period as...
Aerosmith ‘Back in the Saddle’ in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Show your Valentine you have What it Takes and give them a gift sure to make they go Crazy, tickets to see one of the most-loved classic rock bands live in Kelowna. The multi-platinum band Aerosmith is set to hit the stage at Prospera Place July 13 and tickets will go on sale this...
Kelowna breaks warm weather record
KAMLOOPS – The spring-like weather continues for Kelowna with a record high temperature on Sunday, Feb. 8. The mercury rose to 11.7 C, smashing the old record of 6.6 C on the same day in 2008, according to Environment Canada’s website. To put things into perspective, the normal high for his time of year is...
High fives, cheers and tears at Canadian chef contest
KELOWNA – It’s not your typical Okanagan dinner fare, but you’d expect nothing less from the nation’s top chefs as they competed in the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna this weekend. The grand finale winning dish from chef Ryan O’Flynn from the Westin Hotel in Edmonton was a Terrine of pine smoked Alberta river sturgeon...
Local flooding possible as El Nino-like weather melts lower snowpack
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – It doesn’t happen often, but a perfect alignment of the right conditions may cause some flooding in the Southern Interior. The warm Pacific air bombarding the region, thanks to the Pineapple Express, is creating above normal temperatures, which in turn are starting to melt the lower elevation snowpack. Add the still frozen ground...
Big White receives top honours from Ski Canada magazine
KELOWNA - It's been a great year so far for Big White Ski Resort, with a record snowfall, plenty of business and now, Ski Canada Magazine has ranked it among the top Canadian world-class ski destinations. "We collect anecdotes all year from readers, writers and ski industry types" Ski Canada Magazine editor Iain MacMillan said in...
Father thought he’d be celebrating her wedding, not her life
KELOWNA – In the parking lot of a large church in Rutland, friends and family of the young woman killed in a car accident last week watched as her remains were slowly driven down Highway 33 atop a Joe Rich Fire Rescue truck. Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday morning, Feb. 7, to remember Alexandra Paulina...
UPDATE: Oyama Road reopens following rock slide
LAKE COUNTRY – A stretch of Oyama Road closed since Thursday following a rock slide has reopened. The unstable slope was going to be the target of a rock scaling between Willett Road and Hebbert Road, but the slide beat Lake Country workers to the punch. “Crews worked hard Friday to clear the debris from...
Gangster and girlfriend busted in Lake Country
LAKE COUNTRY – The resurgence of an organized criminal gang in the Okanagan has been delivered a blow following the arrest of a long-time member of the Independent Soldiers and his girlfriend on gun and drug charges. As a result of an investigation by the RCMP Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, which began in early...
RCMP arrest 13 people in drug trafficking investigation
KELOWNA - A drug trafficking investigation led to 13 arrests Friday morning but only five will face the judge. Kelowna RCMP showed up at what they say is a known problem residence in the 1300 block of Belaire Avenue with a search warrant, according to an RCMP media release. Mounties found cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and...
Kelowna grandmother turns tables on phone scammer
KELOWNA – A 90-year-old grandmother was the target of an organized scam designed to pressure her into wiring almost $2,000 to get her grandson out of jail. The grandmother, who asked to remain anononymous, says a man called her at 11:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6 and pretended to be her grandson. “I was already asleep,”...
Annual non-profit race cancelled after 35 years
KELOWNA – A 35-year-old racing tradition in Kelowna has run its course. The annual Ski2Sea race is an annual non-profit relay event where teams and individuals alternate biking, skiing, kayaking and running 95 km from Big White to City Park. According to their website the reasons the race has been cancelled are to do with...
Kelowna RCMP ‘routinely’ breach privacy during strip searches: Judge
KELOWNA – Kelowna RCMP "routinely" violate the right to privacy of female prisoners during strip searches at the detachment and show "ignorance of the law" on the subject, according to a ruling from a provincial court judge. Judge Ellen Burdett said local Mounties' practice of recording and broadcasting female strip searches to a guard room...
Service planned for Fire Chief’s daughter killed in car wreck
KELOWNA – A memorial service for Alexandra Nyuli, the woman who died last week after her vehicle left the road in Joe Rich and tumbled 100 m down a bank will be held this weekend in Kelowna. Nyuli, who was 21, was one of three daughters of Joe Rich Fire Chief Curtis Nyuli. On Jan....
Lake Country to jump on rail corridor purchase if no vote fails
KELOWNA — Lake Country will move ahead quickly with the purchase of its portion of the CN Rail corridor should the alternative approval process succeed, a prospect that seems increasingly likely. “If we’re good and we don’t reach the 931 by noon on Feb. 23 then hopefully we would have a special council meeting on...
Family Day fun events in Kelowna
KELOWNA – It’s family day next Monday and with many people getting a three-day weekend Kelowna has a pile of fun events to make it special. Start the weekend off with a special parent and child floorball game at OKM Secondary Feb. 6. With rules that limit stick contact and physical play, the action is...