Kelowna

UPDATE: Kelowna woman found safe and sound

UPDATE: RCMP say 54-year-old Valerie Fast has been located and she is safe and sound. KELOWNA - RCMP are looking for public assistance to help them find a missing Kelowna woman. Valerie Fast was last seen November 28, according to an RCMP media release. Police, friends and family are very worried about her well-being because...

Regional District offering free Christmas tree chipping

KELOWNA – Disposing of your real Christmas tree certainly isn’t the best part of the holidays, but the Regional District of the Central Okanagan has several locations in Kelowna and West Kelowna offering free tree chipping this year. From Dec. 26 until Jan. 31, drop off spots will be available at the Glenmore Landfill as...

Singing the stories of the Southern Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Our region has long been a destination spot in Canada, and back before the Internet made it easy to share stories and pictures of your travels, music was used to share the beauty of our land. Tourism companies put out records with a single on the region, or even a specific city, while...

PHOTOS: New Year’s Day frigid plunge into Okanagan Lake

KELOWNA - About 100 brave souls walked, waded, ran and dived into the fridge waters of Okanagan Lake at Kelowna's City Park on New Year's Day. The annual Polar Bear Swim not only tested the participants ability to survive in icy water, it was a fundraiser for the Community Recreation Initiatives Society. The icy spash...

Second round of Ebola tests negative

KELOWNA - A second set of Ebola tests being conducting on an Interior Health nurse practitioner have returned negative, but a third and final test will still need to be done before she is given the all clear. Patrice Gordon returned from helping to treat Ebola patients in Sierra Leone on Christmas Day and it...

Stolen hard drive contains 3 years of irreplaceable UBCO research

KELOWNA - A woman didn't just lose her physical property in a recent theft, she lost three years of research for UBC Okanagan and now police are asking the public to help get it back. Mounties were told of the theft in the 1100 block of Research Road at the UBC Okanagan Campus Nov. 28,...

UPDATE: Ebola tests on patient in Kelowna ‘negative’

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Interior Health has confirmed a patient is in isolation at Kelowna General Hospital while being tested for the Ebola virus. Patrice Gordon, a nurse practitioner with Interior Health, was in Sierra Leone earlier this month to help treat Ebola patients. She returned this week and soon after began showing signs consistent with the...

Avalanche warning extended

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If backcountry play is in your New Year’s plan be prepared, an avalanche warning issued to the public on Christmas Day has been extended to include the Whistler and Pemberton area, and is now in effect until Sunday, Jan. 4. Throughout our region avalanche risk is considered moderate below the treeline but increases...

Weather warming up for new year

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - We’ll still be facing temperatures below seasonal normals, but it will be several degrees warmer for New Year’s Day than it has been over the past few days in the Southern Interior. According to Environment Canada temperatures will reach a high of between -8 Celsius and -5 C today and by the first...

Team Canada prepares for New Year’s Eve battle

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - On Wednesday afternoon all eyes will be on the World Junior Championship tournament in Montreal as Team Canada takes on Team United States in the final round robin game for the two teams. Canada is 3-0 in the first three games and went 2-1 during exhibition play after an overtime loss to Russia...

UPDATE: Highway 1 near Golden reopens after fatal crash

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - One person is dead and another in critical condition after a serious crash involving two tractor trailers that shut down Highway 1 from Golden to Revelstoke overnight. United Towing was called out to a head-on collision between two semis west of Golden just before 11 p.m. Both units were on fire at the...

Record breaking Christmas at Big White

KELOWNA – It was a very busy Christmas at B.C.'s second largest ski resort. The hill broke all-time records for ski and snowboard equipment rentals, water use, day parking and overnight guest bookings in the two days following Christmas, according to a media release from Big White Ski Resort. Equipment rentals topped out at 1,774...

Cold weather and wind move in

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Pull the scarves and gloves back out, the cold weather is back and by tonight much of the region will be at least 10 degrees lower than seasonal normals. According to Environment Canada, temperatures will drop to -10 Celsius by this afternoon in Kamloops and winds will increase to 50 gusting to 70...

Teacher strikes to continue next week

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — If you have kids, be prepared to find alternate plans next week because the teachers’ union has announced a second week of rotating strikes, set to take place next week. Students in the Central and North Okanagan School Districts (SD23 and SD83) will be home Monday, June 2. On Tuesday, the strikes rotate...

UPDATE: Teacher strikes begin Monday

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Teachers announced today they will conduct a rotating strike next week in an effort to move along negotiations with the province. The strike begins Monday, May 26 in School District 67 (Okanagan Skaha) and will be followed by the Central Okanagan (SD23) and North Okanagan-Shuswap (SD83) districts Tuesday. On Wednesday, May 28 teachers...