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Vernon news
Ontario zoo trying to save CrocTalk reptiles from euthanasia
KELOWNA – A reptile rescue organization in Ottawa is currently raising funds to save more than a dozen animals currently housed at CrocTalk in Kelowna from euthanasia. The animals, which include four alligators, one crocodile and 13 caimans, are welcome at Little Rays Reptiles in Hamilton, Ontario any time, but according to their GoFundMe page,...
Newspaper ad congratulates aboriginal high school grads for ‘sobriety’
VERNON - A newspaper ad taken out by a Vancouver MP was meant to be congratulatory, but is instead leaving many in shock and disgust. The ad, which was taken out by Liberal MP Joyce Murray, tells aboriginal youth that ‘Sobriety, education and hard work lead to success.’ The ad is printed in First Nations...
Beach service remembers young women killed in Vernon crash
OKANAGAN - Friends and family flooded a local beach in memory of the two young Kelowna women killed Saturday night in Vernon. Kayla Cartwright, 26 and Chantal Bazin, 22, died July 11 when the car they were driving crossed the centre line on Highway 97 in Vernon and hit an oncoming vehicle. But Jeff Cartwright,...
Kelowna senior missing for two weeks
KELOWNA – A 71-year-old Kelowna senior has been missing since late last month. Police are asking for the public’s help locating Benjamin Wolfe, who has not been seen or heard from since June 29. He has no cell phone and there is no vehicle associated with him, according to Const. Steve Holmes of the Kelowna...
UPDATE: Cracks show in testimony of ex-wife of former Vernon Mountie charged with child porn
KELOWNA – The actions and recollections of a woman accusing her ex-husband of downloading child porn in 2013 were put under fire on the second day of his trial this morning, July 14. Valerie Little, 30, says she caught her ex-husband, former Vernon RCMP officer Ryan Hampton, searching for child porn on a pink laptop computer...
Pet pig flies in Vernon; councillor asks what’s next?
VERNON - It was an unusual case that some city councillors fear might not be so uncommon any more. A Vernon family desperate to keep their pet pig Felix pleaded with city council for an exception to a bylaw prohibiting swine on city property — unless on designated farm land — and got their wish...
UPDATE: Former Vernon cop accused of child porn faces ex-wife-accuser on first day of trial
ADDICTED TO COCAINE, HEROIN, ALCOHOL KELOWNA – The ex-wife of a former Vernon RCMP officer accused of possessing child pornography in 2013 says she turned him in when she found more than 60 images of child porn on his computer. His lawyer, however, said she downloaded the images in an attempt to smear his image...
Independent investigators hear from witnesses of officer involved shooting near Salmon Arm
SALMON ARM - Multiple witnesses have come forward to help the province’s police watchdog after a call for witnesses to an officer involved shooting near Salmon Arm. The Independent Investigations Office is looking into a July 3 incident, which began with an armed robbery. The suspect fled the scene in a vehicle which was found...
Kelowna women killed in Vernon car crash identified
VERNON - The B.C. Coroners Service has released the identities of two women who died in a head-on car accident in Vernon over the weekend. They were Chantal Diane Bazin, 22, and Kayla Elizabeth Cartwright, 26, both from Kelowna. According to a press release from the coroner Larry Marzinzik, Bazin was the driver, and Cartwright the...
UPDATE: Coroner identifies victim in Shuswap house boat accident
SICAMOUS - A young Alberta woman died in a house boat accident last Friday. The accident happened on Shuswap Lake near the Cinnemousun Narrows about 15 km north of Sicamous Friday, July 10. Andrea Mary Jacura, 22, of Edmonton, Alberta died Friday while swimming in Shuswap Lake in B.C.'s Southern Interior. The woman was behind...
Water board wants more control over what people do in watersheds
OKANAGAN - In an effort to put a stop to mud-bogging and pit toilets near reservoirs, the local water board is supporting a call for greater control over source watersheds. “The board wants our members to have more control and the province to give more support to water utilities to protect the quality of their...
West Kelowna mom raises funds to give more parents of stillborn babies a few extra days together
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A West Kelowna woman who lost her baby shortly before giving birth to him has successfully raised enough money to bring a device to Kelowna General Hospital that will give other parents going through the same thing a little bit of comfort. Now she’s planning to do the same for Vernon, Penticton and...
No fishing in several South Okanagan rivers and streams this summer
PENTICTON – Fans of fishing across the province will be disappointed to learn that as of July 15 they will no longer be permitted to fish many rivers and streams in the South Okanagan this summer due to low flows and warming water temperatures. For the rest of the summer all streams and rivers in...
Police confirm identity of Black Mountain murder victim but still no arrests
KELOWNA – RCMP have confirmed the identity of the man found murdered in his home on Black Mountain earlier this week. The body of Amardeep Singh Ahluwalia, 47, was found in his home on Feedham Avenue in the early morning hours of July 7. Police have said very little about the cause of death but...
Family of man presumed drowned in Kalamalka Lake desperate for answers
VERNON - The family of a missing man presumed drowned in Kalamalka Lake is raising funds to continue the search for their loved one by hiring a specialized team. Police dive teams spent multiple days unsuccessfully scouring the lake and surrounding area for Curtis Wilson, who has been missing for nearly two weeks now. RCMP spokesperson...
Jury finds Okanagan women guilty of teaching fraudulent tax scheme that cost government millions
KELOWNA – Two Okanagan women who helped defraud the Canadian government of roughly $200 million in taxes have been found guilty of all charges by a jury in Kelowna Supreme Court. Donna Marie Stancer and Deanna Lynn Lavalley were both charged with making false statements in their own personal income tax returns, counselling others to commit...
$110,000 pontoon boat stolen from Kelowna business turns up in Alberta field
KELOWNA – Thanks to social media a luxury pontoon boat that was stolen from a Kelowna business last weekend has been recovered in Alberta. The boat, a 2015 Campion Biltmore worth more than $110,000, was taken from Banner Recreational Products some time Sunday. Amanda Jefferson, Marketing Co-ordinator at Banner Recreation and Marine, says the suspects...
Missing documents for Westbank audit mysteriously resurface
WHAT IT MEANS TO RECALL PETITION FOR CHIEF AND COUNCIL | In February, Westbank First Nation members demanded an audit of band dealings in the Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre after they found themselves on the hook for $7.9 million. When they failed to get it, they pursued the recall of Chief and council. In our ongoing...
Chance, community spirit, and the power of social media reunite lost cockatiel with Vernon family
VERNON - It would have been a different story if Allison Griffiths hadn’t taken the afternoon off. But she did, and when she got home, it was as if a lost little bird was just waiting for her. She noticed the exotic, grey and yellow cockatiel on a neighbour’s roof and thought, “That’s not a...
Coroner identifies woman killed on bicycle in Vernon
VERNON - A woman killed when she was hit by a pickup truck while riding her bike in downtown Vernon July 2 has been identified. Jennifer Wadsworth, 37, of Vernon, was a mother of two daughters. She was riding eastbound on 25 Avenue at roughly 6:20 a.m. when she was in a collision with the truck. She...
No, you can’t do that in B.C. right now
‘SOMEONE IN AN INTERFACE AREA WAS USING A BLOW TORCH TO GET RID OF THEIR WEEDS’ KELOWNA – This hot, dry summer makes beach days all the more necessary, but it has taken at least some of the fun out of other favourite Thompson-Okanagan pastimes. By now we should all know that, during fire season...
UPDATE: First Nations woman confronts Justice Minister at Vernon luncheon
VERNON – An angry and upset First Nations woman used a Chamber of Commerce luncheon…
Vehicle thief handed nine months jail for stolen truck, ATVs
KAMLOOPS - A 22-year-old with a taste for stolen vehicles will spend the next four-and-a-half months in jail after pleading guilty to possessing a stolen pickup truck and two all terrain vehicles last spring. Justice Gary Weatherill handed Waylon Faulhafer a nine-month sentence yesterday, July 6 for his involvement in two separate stolen property files....
The power of information during electrical failure
WHO HAS IT, WHO DOESN'T THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - When the power goes out, so do most of the things we depend on for life and business — lights, refrigerators, internet, air conditioning, point-of-sale machines, cash machines — and depending on which power company you use, so does information. The Thompson-Okanagan is divided between Fortis B.C. and...