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Kelowna
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...
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...
Local clothing stores to remain open under creditor protection
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The company behind Cleo, Bootlegger and Ricki’s has filed for creditor protection but says at this point all stores will remain open. Comark Inc. filed for protection today, March 26 and plans on using it to bring stability to restructuring of its operations. "For our customers and employees, what is most important is...
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....
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...
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...
Opinions wanted on local election spending
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fresh off the heels of the fall municipal election a special committee is now looking at whether spending limits should be put in place for candidates and third party advertisers. The provincial government committee will speak with stakeholders and the public over the coming weeks to discuss whether a limit should be put...
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...
Lake Country referendum mail ballot options
LAKE COUNTRY – If you won’t be in town for the referendum on April 25, 2015 or during any of the advance polls on April 15, 16, 17, 20 and 21, you may still be able to vote by mail. Lake Country is seeking elector assent through a referendum to approve the borrowing of up...
Negotiations to continue despite Okanagan Indian Band lawsuit aimed at CN Rail corridor purchase
KELOWNA - The acquisition team responsible for the $50-million group purchase of the abandoned CN Rail corridor will be meeting right away to discuss the latest threat to the already-beleagured CN Rail corridor purchase — an injunction to stop the sale by the Okanagan Indian Band. “This would potentially halt the transaction if an injunction...
Interior Target stores will be closed before Easter
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - By April 2 a total of 62 Target stores will be shut down, including those in Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops. Target Canada opened doors in Western Canada in May 2013. In January 2015 it was announced the company would be shutting down all 133 stores and liquidation sales began immediately. Last week the...
Valoroso Foods faces second verification inspection later this week
KELOWNA - Valoroso Foods was open for business today even as officials from the health protection branch of the Interior Health Authority say they will be conducting a second inspection to ensure the company has taken action on violations it found during an inspection last Friday. “We will be going back at the end of...
Breast-feeding supporters crowd West Kelowna council
MAYOR ASKS FOR PROTOCOL TO DEAL WITH FUTURE DELEGATION REQUESTS KELOWNA - Crying and cooing babies provided the soundtrack as proponents of breast-feeding crowded West Kelowna council chambers tonight to show their displeasure at what they said was a lack of support for their cause. Breast-feeding mothers nursed their babies inside and outside of council...
Women struck by plywood while out for a walk in Lake Country
LAKE COUNTRY - Two women out for a stroll in Lake Country were struck by a leather covered, wooden pick-up box cover which apparently flew off a passing truck last week. The pair were out walking their dogs at around 4:30 p.m., Saturday, March 14, in the 3500-block of Woodsdale Road when the incident occurred,...
West Kelowna breast-feeding protest to go ahead as planned
WEST KELOWNA - The West Kelowna Feed-In is going ahead as scheduled despite a bit of damage control by the district. The group declared they would protest at the March 24 council meeting after a delegation from the Interior Health Authority and UBC Okanagan asking council to help them promote breast-feeding were turned away at...
Four local pharmacies to participate in ground-breaking genomics project
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The concept of tailored medical care based on individual DNA was once the stuff of science fiction novels but now the possibility is ever closer with four pharmacies in the Thompson-Okanagan signed on to take part in a first-of-its-kind genomics project. The 'Genomics for Precision Drug Therapy in the Community Pharmacy' project is...