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Vernon news
Whereabouts of missing workers from Vernon remain a mystery
VERNON - Two months after going missing, four migrant workers last seen in the Okanagan still have not been located. The four men, from Mexico, were working at an orchard in Vernon before going missing in late June. According to the Vernon RCMP, they’d been in Canada for ten days before taking a cab from...
Possibility of ’ember showers’ from U.S. fire causes Grand Forks evacuation alert
GRAND FORKS – An evacuation alert has been issued for some residents of Grand Forks due to the possibilty of embers being blown across the border from the 19,000 hectare Stickpin wildfire in Washington State. The alert was issued today, Aug. 26 ahead of strong winds expected in the coming days, according to a post...
Burning vehicle starts grass fire on Okanagan Connector
KELOWNA – A vehicle on fire in the westbound lane of the Okanagan Connector has started a small grass fire 26 kilometres west of Kelowna. Seven firefighters are on scene of what B.C. Wildfire Officer Melissa Klassen describes as a primarily Rank 1 “smouldering ground fire with some open flame.” Klassen says poor visibility from...
Body found in Vernon’s Polson Park
VERNON – RCMP have confirmed the body of a male was found in Polson Park in Vernon this morning. Media spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the body was found near the lawn bowling area just after 10 a.m. and a large section of the park has since been cordoned off. The investigation is still in the...
Top antique and art appraiser makes stop in the Southern Interior
KELOWNA - Here’s your chance to find out if that old painting hanging in the bathroom is really a Picasso or not. Professional antique and art appraiser Peter Blundell is making a one-day stop in Kelowna where he will appraise those uncertain antiques, collectibles and art pieces and tell you whether they are treasure or...
Daily non-stop flights announced between Kelowna and Victoria
KELOWNA – Travelers to Vancouver Island now have a non-stop flight to Victoria out of Kelowna International Airport. Pacific Coastal Airlines announced the seven day a week service Tuesday, Aug. 15, saying it will benefit communities on the island as well as the Okanagan. Effective Oct. 27, the Saab 340 aircraft will depart YLW at...
So You Think You Can Dance coming to Kelowna
KELOWNA – The top ten finalists from this year’s So You Think You Can Dance will be performing in Kelowna in January. The show is part of a North America tour that features the best dancers from the twelfth season of the 13-time Emmy Award-winning show on Fox and CTV. Judge, executive director and co-creator...
Missing woman with health concerns found
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - A missing Kelowna woman with health concerns has been located, according to RCMP. Brittany Nelson, 30, has been located and is safe and sound," Cpl. Joe Duncan says in a release sent one day after friends reported her absence. To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or...
Smoky skies continue, no end in sight to fire season
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With smoke-filled skies and reports of new fires almost every day, it begs the question that’s on everyone’s mind: When will this end? “It’s a good question. There is no hard and fast measure that tells us when things are done. Every season is its own animal,” Kevin Skrepnek says. And B.C. Wildfire’s...
Smoke wreaks havoc on already-weakened hearts and lungs
SOUTHERN INTERIOR - Looks like the smokey skies will be with us until at least tomorrow and that means more discomfort for those with chronic heart and respiratory problems. “When we talk about smokey skies, we’re talking about the tiny solid particles that remain suspended in the air. The major concern is particles smaller than...
Mom raises $14K for Cuddle Cots across Thompson-Okanagan
WEST KELOWNA – What started as an idea to bring to Kelowna General Hospital a device which gives parents of stillborn children a few extra days with their child will now help families across the entire Thompson-Okanagan. In less than three months West Kelowna resident Kristin Esmail has raised enough money to buy four Cuddle...
B.C. crews begin work on Washington wildfire
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - B.C. Wildfire firefighters have begun work on a Washington-based wildfire inching its way toward the Canadian border. With five kilometres left before reaching Canada, B.C. crews have been deployed to suppress the Stickpin Fire which is now estimated to be 19,240 hectares in size. Plans so far are for crews to assess the...
Decision on Kelowna Mountie accused of assault expected in September
LANGUAGE ADVISORY KELOWNA – The judge in the trial of a Kelowna RCMP constable accused of assaulting an elderly bar patron will have to decide if the officer believed John McCormick was obstructing justice when he refused to leave Rose’s pub in downtown Kelowna last summer. Judge Gregory Koturbash heard final submissions in Kelowna Provincial...
Heavy smoke blankets Okanagan; the rest of southern B.C. gets smoke haze
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Smoke from the huge forest fires burning in Washington State pumped into the southern Interior yesterday evening has been trapped in the valleys by a temperature inversion. The Okanagan is getting the worst of the smoke with visibility down to less to a kilometre in some areas this morning, Aug. 23. Environment Canada,...
Dream wedding for a dying father
"HE'S DONE SO MUCH FOR US NOW IT'S OUR TURN TO LOOK AFTER HIM" KELOWNA – Christina Richard was just 11 years old when Eric Lavoie entered her life in 2003 and changed it forever. Her mom, Sophy Zaglis, 49, was raising five kids on her own, working as a registered nurse and volunteer with...
How the Thompson-Okanagan fared in the Ashley Madison cheating website data leak
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Locals in the B.C. Southern Interior aren’t immune to exposure from the dump…
KF Aerospace announces more layoffs in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - Rebranding the company hasn’t helped KF Aerospace avoid the turbulence of the marketplace which has forced the company to cut jobs in both Kelowna and Hamilton. President Tracy Medve was not available for interviews Friday as the Kelowna-headquartered company announced layoffs equivalent to eight per cent of its workforce. However, Medve said in...
Police investigate deadly crash in Spallumcheen
SPALLUMCHEEN - A man is dead after crashing his car on the highway just south of Armstrong early this morning. RCMP say an off-duty police officer discovered the man’s flipped car around 4:20 a.m., Aug. 21, on Highway 97A at Eagle Rock Road. “The investigators have determined the vehicle was north bound (and) jumped the...
For this Vernon family, nearly 200 years of sweet tradition is baked right in
VERNON - Not many people can say they’re carrying on family traditions stretching back to 1825, but Vernon baker Roy Bouman continues to do so with pride. Every perfect cream puff, every birthday cake, and each smiling customer pays homage to the long line of family bakers who passed down recipes, strong work ethic and...
Kelowna man who died while rafting lived and loved ‘all in’
"DON'T FORGET HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO LOVE YOUR LOVED ONES SO MUCH IT HURTS" KELOWNA – They were high school sweethearts planning their dream Kelowna wedding when Rene Bourgault’s life was cut short in a tragic rafting accident last weekend. Friends, family and everyone who has been touched by his life are mourning his...
Local man documents entire CN rail corridor for posterity
KELOWNA – An Okanagan man with a passion for local history has begun work on a video he hopes will preserve the significance of the CN Rail corridor for generations to come. Alan Gatzke spent dozens of hours and thousands of dollars from his own pocket to modify his pickup so it could be used...
UFC extends contract with Kelowna fighter
KELOWNA – Local UFC welterweight Matt Dwyer has had his UFC contract extended by four fights. Dwyer, 25, a Kelowna resident since he was two years old, fights out of Toshido MMA in Kelowna. He was signed to a remarkably rare four-fight contract with the UFC in 2014. Although his first appearance resulted in a...
Mussel threat turns real during training session
OKANAGAN - A training session on how to inspect for invasive mussels turned hands-on when a contaminated boat showed up from Ontario. An Ontario couple shipped the boat to the Lower Mainland after it was moored for several months in the mussel-infested Rideau Canal, according to a press release from the Okanagan Basin Water Board....
Warm fall, mild winter in long-range forecast
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Look for a hotter, drier fall across the Southern Interior if AccuWeather’s long-range fall forecast holds true. Issued by AccuWeather’s global weather centre, the forecast says a stubborn high pressure system anchored over the West coast and abnormally warm water over the north-eastern Pacific have kept the weather warm and dry. This is...