Kelowna
Mayor says no time for referendum on CN Rail corridor deal
KELOWNA - Lake Country Mayor James Baker says there isn’t enough time to hold a referendum on the CN Rail corridor purchase before the April 1 deadline, unless the rail company and Transport Canada can somehow be persuaded to change the rules and extend it. With Lake Country out, the entire deal could collapse, leaving...
Lahey and Randy from Trailer Park Boys in Kelowna this week
KELOWNA – Two beloved actors from the Canadian cult TV show The Trailer Park Boys are coming to Kelowna Thursday. The actors who play the drunken trailer park manager Jim Lahey and his burger-loving, beer-bellied sidekick Randy will be making an appearance at Kelowna’s Habitat Feb. 19 at 9 p.m. The 'adults only' show will...
UPDATE: Witnesses say cop ran red light, sent woman to hospital
KELOWNA – Witnesses to an accident involving a police vehicle that sent a Kelowna woman to hospital Tuesday afternoon are saying the officer caused the accident by running a red light. Amanda May Embree was on her way to Mission Creek Park with two friends and a three-year-old boy around 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24. "We were...
Race on to save CN Rail corridor deal despite no vote
KELOWNA - Whether it takes a referendum in Lake Country or Kelowna buying the whole thing outright, both politicians and staff in the two municipalities say they’re determined to find a way to make the CN Rail corridor purchase a reality. “We see this as too good an opportunity to pass up,” said City of...
Shuswap woman petitions Province for improved seniors care
VERNON - Judy Galley uses words like horrific, neglectful and nightmarish to describe the state of seniors homes in B.C., and she wants to change that. The Shuswap woman launched a petition calling on the provincial government to improve staff-to-patient ratios at care homes after experiencing the system firsthand. Her parents resided in Kelowna care...
Dog that survived horrific attack now has just days left to live
KELOWNA – She has defied the odds before, but this one she won't come back from—one of the two dogs that survived a horrific attack five months ago has developed terminal cancer and will be euthanized this week. Sheena is a 10-year-old Rottweiler and one of three dogs subjected to a brutal late night attack...
‘One can hardly imagine a more horrific assault’ than Bobbitt’s: Crown
KELOWNA – Reckless, self-serving, grandiose, entitled, antisocial, narcissistic, lacking in empathy, sexually sadistic, psychopathic and violent. Those are some of the words the Crown used to describe David Wesley Bobbitt in a hearing to determine if he deserves dangerous offender status. Bobbitt, 39, has already pleaded guilty to seven charges, but before Justice Peter Rogers...
Alleged gangster convicted for cache of guns released
KELOWNA – A man suspected of having ties to the Hells Angels who was convicted of almost a dozen weapons-related charges last year has been released from custody pending an appeal. Cory Joseph Montemurro, 45, was driving a rented Jeep Grand Cherokee Nov. 25, 2010 when police found him and three other men with an...
Early spring weather means early return of ticks
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - This spring-like weather may have you enjoying the outdoors with a hike or two, but beware, ticks are already out in full force. Hikers and dog owners are already reporting tick sightings, with one Kamloops-area hiker picking up nine in a single hike last week. In the Southern Interior the most common tick...
It’s back… snow expected overnight
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - We just knew it was too good to be true, Mother Nature is set to remind us winter is not quite over with a couple centimetres of snow by Friday morning and well below normal low temperatures early next week. Environment Canada is forecasting high temperatures to be within the seasonal normals of...
Firefighters investigate report of smoke at Executive House apartment complex
KELOWNA - Firefighters weren't taking any chances following a report of smoke coming from a fourth floor unit at the Executive House apartment complex this afternoon. Emergency crews were called out at roughly 3 p.m. Feb. 24. According to Kelowna Fire and Rescue Platoon Capt. Tim Light, the smoke was the result of a cigarette...
No such thing as free parking; budget for parkade expansion takes off
KELOWNA - City councillors have found out what the rest of us have known for years — that parking doesn’t come cheap in Kelowna. City staff have asked council to transfer $762,000 from the future Ellis St. parkade budget to the current Library parkade expansion, allowing the project to be complete for summer, 2016. The...
Kelowna woman charged after trying to smuggle 35 kg of cocaine into B.C.
WEST KELOWNA – A large amount of drugs found in a hidden compartment in the trunk of a car over the summer have led to charges against a Kelowna woman. Charges of were laid against Caitlin Christine Gladdish, 26, over the weekend for trying to bring more than 35 kilograms of cocaine into Trail, B.C....
What Colin Basran had during the election that rival Sharon Shepherd didn’t
KELOWNA — The 2014 mayoral race in Kelowna, which quickly came down to current councillor Colin Basran versus former mayor Sharon Shepherd, was billed as youth versus experience. It might have been better pegged as 'have' and 'have-not.' Winner, and now Mayor, Basran outspent Shepherd well over three to one, raising through contributions almost $76,000...
Hells Angel sentencing could be postponed until after Christmas
KELOWNA - What was supposed to be a day of final submissions ahead of sentencing has turned into a multi-day examination into the lives of two men convicted of multiple weapons charges. Admitted Hells Angel Joseph Bruce Skreptak and alleged gang associate Cory Montemurro asked to postpone sentencing until early January so they can spend...