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Kelowna
Kelowna property tax increase comes in lower than originally planned
KELOWNA - It’s not much, but homeowners in Kelowna will be happy to hear the property tax increase for 2015 will be a bit less than originally planned. Adjustments to the final budget will see an official tax increase of 3.2 per cent, down from the 3.46 per cent established in the provisional budget submitted in...
UPDATE: Kelowna teenager found
KELOWNA – A Kelowna teenage last seen on Thursday, April 30 has been found. RCMP say Gabriel Hamel, 16, has been located. Police are not releasing any other information about the missing case. To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or...
Newest Interior beer festival promises greatness
KELOWNA – The Great Okanagan Beer Festival in Kelowna next weekend is all about the world of craft beer. The main event is Saturday, May 9 in Waterfront Park on Okanagan Lake with an estimated 2,500 people expected to sample beers from over 40 breweries. Gibbons Festivals and Events have three days of events planned...
South East Kelowna residents facing big rate hikes
KELOWNA - Water managers from the South East Kelowna Irrigation District heard loud and clear from residents concerned with the $23.7-million price tag for a water system upgrade. Irrigation district chair Brian Wright described the discussion around the proposed system as “robust” but claimed most residents understand it has little choice but to upgrade water...
Kelowna student association hosting vigil for Nepal
KELOWNA - Nepalese students in Kelowna are joining hands to honour the thousands of people who lost their lives when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal last weekend. The Nepalese Scholars’ Association of the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus will be hosting a candlelight vigil to raise awareness and funds for the Red Cross this...
UPDATE: Missing Kelowna man found
KELOWNA – RCMP say a Kelowna man missing since Monday has been found. Missing person Nathan Gartner has been located, according to a media release issued early this morning, May 2. The RCMP asked for the public’s help to find Gartner yesterday morning. Police aren’t releasing any other details about the missing person case. To...
Kelowna Fire Department calls up two per cent
KELOWNA - The release of the 2014 annual report by the Kelowna Fire Department provides a glimpse of what the largest fire department in the B.C. Interior goes through in a year. “Kelowna Fire Department responded to just over 9,500 calls for service which was a two per cent increase from 2013,” says fire chief...
MAP: 1,500 expected for 18th annual Kettle Valley Neighbourhood Garage Sale
KELOWNA – For the 18th year in a row, Kettle Valley will host one of the biggest community garage sales in Kelowna this weekend. Last year more than 1,100 people visited the 78 booths, but this year is expected to be even larger. So far more than 100 homes have agreed to take part, and according...
Kelowna honours outstanding contributions during 40th annual civic awards
KELOWNA - The City of Kelowna celebrated its 40th annual civic and community awards at a gala event at the Kelowna Community Theatre. The awards recognize outstanding contributions and achievements by Kelowna residents in a range of categories. The full list of award recipients is provided below: Teen Honour in the Arts Antony Knight Honour...
Mounties shoot moose in downtown Kelowna
KELOWNA – RCMP had to shoot and kill a moose in downtown Kelowna early this morning after it was hit by an SUV on Harvey Avenue. Cpl. Joe Duncan says the call came in shortly after 4 a.m., May 1, and RCMP arrived to find a badly injured moose in the westbound lanes of the...
Jason Aldean set to ‘Burn It Down’ in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Country music star Jason Aldean is coming to town this October on the Canadian leg of his recently expanded Burn It Down tour. Aldean, a three-time Academy of Country Music Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year nominee will be coming to Kelowna and Kamloops, as well as Vancouver and Prince...
Jail for amateur boxer who had sex with Kelowna minor
KELOWNA – A 25-year-old Kelowna man was handed a minimum sentence of 90 days in jail for having consensual sex with a 14-year-old girl last summer. Alexander Schoenherr, 25, is an amateur boxer and self-described 'loner' with no prior criminal record. He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual touching of a person under 16....
Almost $50k raised at first Papa John’s Dreams for Kids Day
KELOWNA – The first ever Papa John’s Dreams for Kids Day raised more than $42,000 to help make dreams come true for kids with disabilities and life-threatening illnesses. Papa John’s took over the program from Wendy’s late last year. And yesterday, April 29, five participating restaurants in Kelowna, West Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George raised...
Who is killing the stone people of Knox Mountain Park?
KELOWNA - Silently they stand, motionless, offering mute testimony to what their cold hard eyes have witnessed. Which is nothing, really, because they are just piles of rock. Locals and the more adventurous hikers have long known of the intricate free-style stone sculptures which have come and gone in a remote corner of Knox Mountain...
Live music competition to rock Kelowna
KELOWNA – A local music competition hopes to highlight just how hard the Okanagan can rock. Okanagan Rocks is an all-categories music competition that is open to solo acts, duos and bands. Six acts will play their original music for the audience and judges, with the winning act getting recording time at Big Audio Productions....
Backyard pools contaminating Okanagan Lake
OKANAGAN - Backyard pools are a source of fun and relaxation for many Okanagan homeowners but if improperly drained they are a source of excess chlorine and contaminants for Okanagan Lake. “Chlorine is unfriendly to the lake and the surge of people emptying their pools and hot tubs in the spring and fall adds to...
School board says superintendent’s pay raise long overdue
KELOWNA - A pay raise negotiated last year by Hugh Gloster, the superintendent of schools for the Central Okanagan School District, was long-overdue and well within the normal range for the educational sector, according to the school board chair. “His contract was up for renewal July 1 and we did negotiate a pay raise with...
Convicted murderer who rammed police in stolen truck released
KELOWNA – A convicted murderer who Justice Peter Rogers calls a 'serial criminal' will be released from custody later today despite using a stolen truck to ram a police car just one year after being released from prison. Daniel Mader, 31, was sentenced to time served Wednesday in Kelowna Supreme Court. He pleaded guilty to...
School board searching for $1.5 million in budget cuts
KELOWNA - Some late additions to the Central Okanagan school district’s 2015 budget has pushed the anticipated shortfall to $1.5 million on a budget of $220 million. “The superintendent wanted to add two programs he thought were worth supporting,” says secretary-treasurer Larry Paul, who pegged the cost of the programs at $133,000. “He’s looking to...
Motorcycle, cash and pendant stolen in separate thefts
KELOWNA – RCMP are asking the public for help locating several items stolen in Kelowna and West Kelowna over the last ten days. On April 19 a client at a Kelowna tanning salon left behind a gold eagle pendant in one of the rooms. When the owner returned the pendant was missing. It is said...
Kelowna man arrested in Edmonton drug bust
KELOWNA – A Kelowna man has been arrested in Alberta after a search warrant led…
Kelowna charity sending aid to Nepal
KELOWNA – A local charity that helps marginalized children around the world is collecting funds for displaced residents of Nepal after the worst earthquake to hit the country in nearly a century. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck near the capital of Kathmandu Saturday, April 25. The most recent numbers show more than 4,600 dead, but with...
Pay raise on the table for Central Okanagan school trustees
KELOWNA - Central Okanagan school trustees are considering the politically delicate subject of giving themselves a pay raise next year and how exactly to calculate it. Director of Finance Eileen Sadlowski, in a report to the school board, is recommending they choose one of three options; a raise that reflects the consumer price index, a...
Codling moth tax levy approved by Kelowna council
KELOWNA - Orchardists, and the rest of Kelowna, will pay just over $1 million in 2015 to combat the codling moth, a destructive pest that preys on apples and pears. Kelowna council approved the local levy and parcel tax, which covers all properties within city boundaries. Properties of at least 0.3 acres, containing 20 or...