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Merritt

Crash on Okanagan Connector kills three people

MERRITT – Three people in a U-Haul van were killed last night on the Highway 97C when it slammed into the back of a semi transporting crushed cars. The crash happened at about 8:45 p.m., Nov. 6, about six kilometres east of Merritt, according to a media release from RCMP Central Interior Traffic Services. “The...

Merritt woman searching for long lost sister born in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS - Terri Beckett grew up always having cousins she could play with — the same people her two daughters now refer to as aunts and uncles — but she always wanted a sibling. When she was 15 she found out her mother did actually have another child, her baby sister, but had given her up...

Merritt woman claims razorblades included in grandson’s Halloween haul

MERRITT - Mounties in Merritt are reminding parents to check their children’s trick or treat bags after a grandmother reported finding two razorblades amongst her 11-year-old grandson’s candy Halloween night. Const. Tracy Dunsmore with the Merritt RCMP says the grandmother reported the incident today, Nov. 2 and doesn’t have a clue what area of town...

Locals winners named for Aboriginal Business Awards

THOMPSON-OKANGAN - Some local aboriginal entrepreneurs are coming away from the B.C. Aboriginal Business Awards with wins this week. Troy Fraser Chiropractic of Kamloops has won Business of the Year in the one to two person enterprise category. Skyride Bike and Board Inc. of Vernon has won an outstanding achievement award for companies with three...

Man killed in Merritt crash named

MERRITT - A 32-year-old man from Surrey died when the vehicle he was in hit a rock bluff near Merritt last week. Jesse Dan Dietz was a passenger in a pickup truck that left the roadway and hit a rock bluff on Highway 5 near Merritt around 8 a.m. on Aug. 31, according to the...

Alberta man dies in Okanagan Connector crash

MERRITT - A man who died on Highway 97 in an nearly morning single vehicle roll-over last week has been identified. Daniel Thomas Semeniuk, 25, died when the vehicle he was driving left the road and rolled, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. The Red Deer man was the only occupant in the vehicle, which...

UPDATE: Coquihalla Highway fully reopens southbound

MERRITT – A motorcycle crash partially closed the Coquihalla Highway southbound between Merritt and Hope this afternoon. According to Drive B.C., the crash closed the southbound lanes on Highway 5 about two kilometres north of the Mine Creek exit around 1 p.m., July 18. One southbound lane reopened at about 2:30 p.m. and both lanes...

Province to review bus industry after two Coquihalla crashes

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Two major bus crashes in the last year resulted in serious injuries and now the provincial government is moving forward with a safety review on the motor coach industry. Minister of Transportation Todd Stone says the review will include examining safety statistics, analyzing vehicle inspections and vehicle licensing. It will also compare the...

UPDATE: Missing Princeton teenager found

UPDATE: 8:49 a.m., JUNE 24, 2015 RCMP say Tianna Angstadt has returned home safe and sound. Poilce thank the media and the public for their assistance. 1:10 P.M., JUNE 27, 2015 PRINCETON - Police are asking for help to find a missing Princeton teenager. RCMP say Tianna Angstadt, 13, was last seen at her home...

UPDATE: Highway between Merritt and Spences Bridge reopens following rock slide

MERRITT - The highway between Spences Bridge and Merritt has reopened completely following a rock slide yesterday afternoon. According to Drive B.C., the slide took place around 12 p.m. June 26 on Highway 8, at Voght Street, about 45 kilometres west of Merritt. It originially blocked traffic in both directions about 45 kilometres west of...

Cisco Road wildfire grows under controlled burns

LYTTON - A wildfire that was discovered a week ago near Lytton and grew rapidly over 24 hours has grown again, but this time because of controlled burns. B.C. Wildfire crews are working the Cisco Road Wildfire which was first discovered on June 11. It was first estimated at 150 hectares and by the end...

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...

Upgrades set to begin on Coquihalla Highway

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Several stretches of the Coquihalla Highway will get a $15-million facelift this year as part of the province’s 10-year transportation plan. "Rehabilitation of provincial highways and side roads is a major component of our 10-year transportation plan, B.C. on the Move,” Transportation Minister Todd Stone said in a release. “These projects to improve...

One person injured in Okanagan Connector rollover

MERRITT – A rollover early Saturday morning on the Okanagan Connector sent one person to hospital. The crash happened at around 5 a.m. at the junction of 97C and the Coquihalla about 25 kilometres east of Merritt, according to VSA Highway Maintenance. The B.C. Ambulance Service says one patient was taken by ambulance to hospital....

Low gas prices a present at the pump

PLAN A KAMLOOPS PIT STOP TO FILL UP THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Spent a little too much on gifts this year? You might still come out flush on your holiday budget thanks to the dropping prices at gas pumps around the country. For those that plan to drive during the holidays gas prices are often a thing...

Dierks Bentley headlining in Merritt

MERRITT - Country star Dierks Bentley is the first big act to sign up for Riverfest 2015 in Merritt. Bentley recently released his eighth album, Riser, featuring hit singles I Hold On and Drunk On A Plane. The award-winning star is the first act signed to the music festival, which will run July 30 through...

Audit shows company had issues prior to crash on Coquihalla

"SERIOUS FALSE STATEMENTS, DRIVING OVER DAILY AND CUMULATIVE HOURS NEED TO BE ADDRESSED" KAMLOOPS – The company which owns the bus involved in August's multiple injury crash on the Coquihalla had a history of spotty record-keeping before the incident, according to a recently released government audit. Tourists were travelling to Vancouver on a Western Bus...

Just call it Autummer as high temperatures approach records

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - People in the Shuswap enjoyed a record breaking day Sunday and for much of the Thompson-Okanagan region it was a warm day, just not quite hot enough to break records. In Salmon Arm, a temperature of 20.8 Celsius was enough to break a 40-year-old record and was well past the seasonal normal of...

Victim’s name from fatal crash near Merritt released

MERRITT - The coroner's office has released the name of the Coquitlam passenger who died in a fatal car accident near Merritt on Sunday. She was Elizabeth Joan Savoie, 27.  The driver of the vehicle, a Mazda 3 rolled the car several times before it rested in a ditch. The accident took place around 7...

UPDATE: Coq reopened after tour bus crash, 43 injured

MERRITT - A rollover has injured 43 people on board a tour bus and shut down the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Hope Thursday afternoon. Kelsie Carwithen of B.C. Ambulance Service says they got the call at 3 p.m. of an incident 30 kilometres south of Merritt involving a tour bus. They dispatched six air...

UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm warnings end

UPDATE: A severe thunderstorm warning reissued for the Okanagan Valley has now ended. Twice today, Environment Canada has warned the storms could produce strong wind gusts, dime to nickel sized hail and heavy rain. All weather warnings have now ended for the South Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and North Thompson regions that were under warnings earlier...