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Kelowna
Kelowna truck fire sparks suspicion
KELOWNA - A pair of vehicle fires in the Rutland area, one of them suspicious, has sparked the interest of Kelowna RCMP. Police are considering a fire in a white Chevorlet pickup found in the 500 block of Hollydell Road around 10:30 p.m. yesterday, Jan. 4, suspicious, RCMP spokesman Const. Jesse O’Donaghey says. A passing...
Kelowna sees nearly 10 per cent jump in property values
KELOWNA - Homeowners in the Central Okanagan can expect some of the biggest increases in property assessments in the Okanagan region when official notices hit mailboxes this week. B.C. Assessment says the average single-family home in Kelowna went up 9.63 per cent to $567,600, with Lake Country close behind at 9.16 per cent and an...
Police check possible link between Kelowna restaurant robberies
KELOWNA - Police are investigating the possible connection between the robbery of a pizza restaurant on Sunday to a similar incident at a frozen yogurt store last week. Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Jesse O’Donghey says in a media release investigators are looking at the similarities of the two incidents and will be reviewing security footage...
City of Kelowna clearing main routes during latest snowfall
KELOWNA - City crews are asking for patience and cooperation as they deal with the latest snow fall in Kelowna. City and contract snow removal crews are working non-stop concentrating on priority one and two roads — high traffic main roads and secondary collector roads, according to a media release issued this afternoon, Jan. 4....
Thieves break into Westbank First Nation office
WEST KELOWNA - Someone has broken into the Westbank First Nation main office and stolen a computer. Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Jesse O’Donaghey says police received a call at 11:21 a.m., Jan. 1, from a passerby who noticed a broken window on the ground floor of the band’s office at 515 Highway 97 South. Investigators...
MAP: Kelowna dominates list of most valuable properties in the Thompson-Okanagan
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - When it comes to property values, Kelowna is the clear leader among communities in the Thompson-Okanagan region, dominating the top 100 most valuable properties list. B.C. Assessment’s annual property valuations show a waterfront home 4358 Hobson Rd. in Kelowna was assessed at $9.51 million, the clear leader in the top 100 residential...
Weather warming up, snow on the way in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - Temperatures are set to warm up this first week of 2016, and along with those warmer temperatures will be several days of snow. Temperatures stayed at or below seasonal normal lows the past few days but after today are expected to be a bit warmer than the -6 Celsius that is typical at...
B.C. Assessment out with Kelowna home values next week
KELOWNA - Thousands of local homeowners will find out tomorrow, Jan. 4, just how much the B.C. Assessment Authority thinks their house is worth. That’s when the authority’s 2016 assessment rolls are made public and official assessments begin landing in some two million mailboxes across the province, spokesman Tim Morrison says. Assessments are used by...
2015 TOP STORIES: Politics divided our ridings like never before as Liberals take office
THOMSON-OKANAGAN - Big changes in the political map across Canada translated this year into upheaval for local politicians. Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, seeking a fourth term after nearly ten years in power, dropped the writ on the longest federal election campaign in history, an eleven week marathon largely seen to benefit the incumbents. It...
Small fire at Kelowna high-rise sparks evacuation
KELOWNA - Fire crews were called to small blaze in a suite on the eighth floor of a Kelowna high-rise this morning and arrived to find the fire was out. Firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the Conservatory in the 700-block of Glenmore Road around 11:12 a.m., Jan. 2., which turned out to be...
Kelowna will spend millions on new vehicles in 2016
KELOWNA - Kelowna will be dropping lots of money on new wheels this year as it prepares to replace an assortment of vehicles. The city will spend almost $2 million in 2016 replacing 25 vehicles or pieces of equipment of various types that are at the end of their service life cycles. That includes 15...
2015 TOP STORIES: Marijuana goes mainstream as legalization looms
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Marijuana made the news so much in 2015 you could almost smell it wafting across Canada. Supporters could definitely smell change in the air as outright legalization of the drug became part of Justin Trudeau's winning campaign in the 2015 federal election. No sooner was he elected that unions started proposing responsible ways...
2015 TOP STORIES: Big bridges, little players and water wasters hot topics in the Central Okanagan
KELOWNA - Transportation and water were prominent in local news in 2015 and transportation over water — in this case, a second bridge over Okanagan Lake — generated lots of interest. Even though it’s at least 25 years away and may never be built, the province began consultations on a possible second crossing of Okanagan...
2015 TOP STORIES: Major crimes across the B.C. Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - This year had no shortage of crime stories, with the RCMP launching several major investigations and the courts wrapping up cases from previous years. Here is a summary of some of the top crime stories of 2015. In August, a man was found dead in Vernon’s Polson Park. Police have kept mum on...
Christmas package leads to drug charges in Kelowna
KELOWNA - A Christmas package destined for Kelowna was actually filled with drugs and two Kelowna residents are now facing multiple charges. Officers became aware of an overseas shipment destined for a Kelowna address on Dec. 11. Officers in the Kelowna RCMP Drug Section believed the shipment contained 100 litres of Gamma Butyrolactone, commonly known...
Expect a chilly start to the new year in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - Temperatures are set to dip below normal this New Year’s Day long weekend but the good news is it looks like it will warm up again early next week. Environment Canada is calling for a high of -4 Celsius to -7 C today, Dec. 31 through Sunday before warming up slightly to start...
Channel your inner polar bear during icy plunge in Okanagan Lake
KELOWNA - Polar bear swims have become a traditional way to welcome the new year for many people and residents of the Central Okanagan are no exception. There will be two to choose from the region, one in Kelowna and another in Peachland, and those willing to go a bit further also have the option...
Think you got a lot of snow? You must have a short memory
KELOWNA - This weekend’s two-day snow dump didn’t even come close to the storm that started 2015, according to the people tasked with clearing much of it out of the way. “We didn’t activate the snow routes,” says public works manager Darryl Astofooroff, in charge of the city’s snow removal service. “We didn’t consider it...
Unlocked vehicle leads to theft from Lake Country garage
LAKE COUNTRY - Parked vehicles left unlocked, two with garage door openers inside, led to the theft of electronics and loose change this morning, as well as tools and fishing gear from a garage. A vehicle parked in the 9800 block Sonata Road in Lake Country was broken into sometime before 9 a.m. today, Dec....
Kelowna frozen yogurt store target of armed robbery
KELOWNA - An employee of a frozen yogurt store was forced to turn over an unknown amount of money to an armed robber last night in Kelowna. A lone masked male entered the store in the 2400 block of Highway 97 North and showed the handle of a gun before demanding money around 8:30 p.m.,...
Highway rollover sends man to Kelowna General Hospital
KELOWNA - A rollover on Highway 97 early this morning has sent a 20-year-old man to hospital with serious injuries. The man was driving a white Chevrolet Blazer northbound on the highway when it hit snow at the intersection with Leckie Road around 6:50 a.m., Kelowna RCMP says in a press release. The vehicle slid...
Cold, snow force Kelowna’s Gospel Mission to throw open the doors
KELOWNA - Last week’s cold coupled with this weekend’s snow has pushed the Kelowna’s primary homeless shelter to capacity. “We dont turn people away, we are open 24/7 and have been since the cold and snow hit last week,” Kelowna's Gospel Mission's Michael Morrison says. Morrison says the Mission’s 82 mens' beds, 12 step up...
Crash closes Connector between Merritt and Highway 5A
MERRITT - The Okanagan Connector was closed between Merritt and Highway 5A after a car crash this afternoon. Details are limited but multiple emergency vehicles responded to the vehicle incident, Dec. 28, including a B.C. Ambulance helicopter. Some reports on social media said the crash was a rollover. Drive B.C. says Highway 97C, east of...
Weather mellowing out in the Okanagan this week
OKANAGAN - It looks like snowplows will get some time to catch up this week with much less white stuff expected to fall. Communities across the Okanagan got hit with a large dump of snow over the holiday weekend, prompting a snowfall warning from Environment Canada, which ended Dec. 27. Between 7 mm and 10 mm...