Kelowna
UBCO student seeks Miss Canada crown
KELOWNA – A UBC Okanagan engineering graduate wants the world to know we need more female engineers. So she’s entering the Miss Canada pageant. Ena Vehabovic, 22, is one of the very few female fourth-year engineering students at UBC’s Okanagan campus. In a graduating class of 150, only 22 are women so she’s taking her...
Okanagan Basin Water Board demands more action on invasive mussels
OKANAGAN - The Okanagan Basin Water Board is calling on the provincial government to step up the fight against invasive quagga and zebra mussels by establishing permanent inspection stations at the five main highway entrances from Alberta. As well, in a seven-point position paper, the water board is calling on the federal government to immediately...
Median barriers will be installed on dangerous stretch of Highway 97
KELOWNA – A stretch of Hwy 97, notorious for crashes caused when a driver crosses the centre line, will receive nine kilometers of concrete median barriers this summer. The announcement was made Friday, May 8 with plans for phase one to begin this month. The $2.5-million project will start with work between University Way and...
Lots and plots predicted to be hot commodity at Kelowna Cemetery
KELOWNA - A consultant has identified one particular housing market segment in Kelowna where demand is only going to go up and where the city can eventually make some serious money — cremation lots and burial plots. Current inventory at the city-owned Kelowna Memorial Park cemetery is predicted to run out within eight years. The...
New wildfire recruits put through paces
MERRITT - More than 200 seasonal firefighter applicants have made the cut and this month they are being put through a ‘rigorous’ bootcamp near Merritt. About 1,000 people, many of which are post-secondary students, apply for the positions every year. Provincial Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek says the job is "very in demand" and the...
The heart-breaking reason this nine-year-old boy quit hockey
"TO WIN AS A TEAM AND LOSE AS A TEAM IS A PRICELESS CONCEPT THAT SHOULD BE CHERISHED AND VALUED MORE THAN WINNING AT ALL COST" KELOWNA - A young hockey player made a heart-breaking decision to quit his hockey team with only two games left in the season and his father’s written reasons for...
Treat your mom this weekend at one (or more) of these Mother’s Day events
KELOWNA – No one will ever love you as much as your mom, so here is a list of events in Kelowna to say thanks and show her how special she is. This Sunday and Monday mothers will be celebrated at the Kelowna FabFive wineries with something special at each of the five local wineries....
Plant a Row, Grow a Row for the Kelowna Food Bank
KELOWNA – For the fifth year, the Kelowna Food Bank is taking part in a national program which encourages kids and seniors to get back to their roots, and at the same time, help feed the less fortunate in the community. The Plant a Row, Grow a Row program started in 1986. Volunteers at the...
New pet registry promotes microchip implants
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The SPCA is promoting a new province-wide pet identification registry where animals with microchip implants can have their information stored in a centralized database. "We’ve created a first for British Columbia — a centralized database for pets who receive permanent identification at any B.C. SPCA shelter, veterinarian or microchip clinic across the province,”...
Rockets grab son of former NHLer in bantam draft
KELOWNA – The Kelowna Rockets have picked the son of former NHLer Adam Foote with its first selection at the Western Hockey League Bantam Draft in Calgary. Nolan Foote, a 6’1” and 150-lbs forward, was selected in the second round of the draft and 43rd overall. “Nolan is the player we wanted all along,” Rockets...
Paving work will impact traffic on Highway 97
VERNON - There will be delays on Highway 97 over the next month as repaving work gets underway. The project is for roughly 30 km of highway resurfacing between Old Vernon Road and Bailey Road. A five kilometer section on Highway 33 from Beaverdell Dump Road to Beaverdell will also be included The $3.8 million...
Union takes fight for hospital laundry services to the street
KELOWNA - Hospital Employees Union members took to the streets outside Kelowna General Hospital today to push for the Interior Health Authority to reconsider a plan to privatize laundry services. “These are workers that perform a very important health care service, they ensure that operating rooms are stocked with clean linens. Here at KGH 17,000...
Fintry Queen still waiting for forever home
KELOWNA - She looks a little lonely out there, anchored in Sutherland Bay, waiting for something to happen but the man tasked with selling the iconic Fintry Queen says interest has been steady since it was put up for sale two months ago. “We’re still marketing it, still waiting for the right buyer but we’ve...
Cracked chimney causes house fire
KELOWNA – A cracked chimney is to blame for a small house fire on Mathews Road Tuesday morning. According to a release the Kelowna Fire Department, firefighters arrived at 11 a.m. today, May 6, to one of the occupants outside the home. “Firefighters extinguished the flames which were on the side of the house between...
Hell’s Angel gives up on appeal
KELOWNA - Daniel McRae, one of the three Hells Angels associates convicted of beating to death a Kelowna father in front of his sons in 2011, is not going to appeal his sentence. According to the Vancouver Sun, the victim's son, Kody Phillips, told Justice Mark McEwan that the attack on his father lasted only seconds,...