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Vernon news
Second crossing 20 years out but planning now is essential, transportation ministry says
WEST KELOWNA - If you ask project director Murray Tekano, the current study about where to put a second Okanagan Lake crossing is not just a public relations exercise to be seen doing something. Tekano says 20 years for planning a major infrastructure project such as the second bridge is standard for the industry and...
Why Vernon won’t have fireworks at this year’s Canada Day celebration
CITY DOESN'T PUT ON THE SHOW, BUT IT MANAGED TO PUT IT OUT VERNON - A time-honoured tradition won’t be on the lineup of events for Canada Day in Vernon this year due to a shift in the event’s organizational structure. Normally, Vernon resident Terry Schmauder would lead preparations for the Canada Day fireworks show,...
Man says bull called Slow Poke was violent despite name, sues Vernon rodeo company
KAMLOOPS – A novice rider is suing a rodeo company in Vernon, B.C., over a bull named Slow Poke that he alleges failed to live up to its name and caused him serious injury.
Numerous snake scares in the Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Snake encounters have shaken up a number of Okanagan residents in the last few days — including one in an apartment building — and a wildlife control expert says in many cases, it has to do with the weather. Pete Wise runs a wildlife control service based in Vernon and says he’s had...
You have a few more months to register your off-road vehicle
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Good news for the estimated 200,000 trail riders across the province as the government has pushed the deadline to register off-road vehicles from June 1 to Nov. 1. According to a press release sent Wednesday, May 20, the deadline change will give users more time to prepare for the mandatory registration as well...
Interior Health to consider ebola preparedness recommendations
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If the world has learned anything from the ongoing ebola epidemic, it’s that you cannot predict where and when a person carrying the dreaded virus will show up. The Interior Health Authority learned that in December when one of its own employees, nurse practitioner Patrice Gordon, returned from Sierra Leone and began displaying flu-like...
Proposed regulations could see motorized boats disappear from the Shuswap River
SHUSWAP - Proposed regulations could mean the end for motorized boats on much of the Shuswap River. The reasoning behind the proposal is environmental degradation and the safety of other river users, such as tubers, swimmers and kayakers, says the North Okanagan Regional District’s sustainability coordinator Anna Page. The proposed regulations would ban motorized boats...
‘Two full open cans of beer (dropped) at the officer’s feet’
HAVEN'T HAD ANYTHING TO DRINK SINCE LAST NIGHT, OFFICER LUMBY - It was more a question of what laws a Lumby man wasn't breaking when he was pulled over on Victoria Day. A cop parked at the Lumby RCMP detachment noticed him drive by without a seat belt on and using his cell phone on...
Hot weather ahead for the Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Dig out your sunscreen and your flip-flops because B.C.’s Interior is in for some unseasonably hot weather over the coming week. Although the average temperature for the region is in the low 20s from Kamloops all the way south to Penticton, residents can look forward to highs of 29 C with only occasional...
Westside Road shooter could get dangerous offender status
KELOWNA – The man who shot at police as he and two accomplices fled from police along Westside Road in 2012 will be evaluated by a psychiatrist to determine if he is a dangerous offender. In late February, Michael Ellis, 41, was found guilty of unlawful discharge of a prohibited weapon, armed robbery, attempted robbery,...
Check out all your summer camps before you sign up
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A first-of-its-kind kid’s camp expo coming to a community near you is your chance to get a taste of all the fun activities available to keep your little ones busy all summer long. Campapalooza is a chance to meet counsellors and see what all the great summer camps offer for toddlers to teens...
Vernon dog team nabs neighbourhood thief
VERNON - A man accused of stealing from peoples’ boats, cars and garages was stopped in his tracks by the Vernon RCMP’s dog unit over the long weekend. Police received a report of a suspicious man going through cars and yards in the Cranberry Lane area of Middleton Mountain Monday, May 18. One caller reported...
Distress call leads police, Vernon Search and Rescue to mountains outside Lumby
LUMBY - A pair of injured men were lucky to have a well-prepared outdoorsman come along after they crashed their ATV in a remote area outside Lumby. The men were riding a two-person, side-by-side ATV on a forest service road near Squaw Valley Road outside Lumby on Sunday, May 17, when they hit a rut...
UPDATE: Rainfall warning ended in Okanagan
OKANAGAN – A rainfall warning issued for the Central and South Okanagan has been ended by Environment Canada. Forecasters say significant rainfall is no longer expected. The heavy rain has tapered to light and scattered showers. An upper disturbance brought rain to the entire Okanagan valley overnight and Saturday morning, May 17. Osoyoos received about...
RCMP looking into Lake Country grass fire
LAKE COUNTRY – A grass fire in Lake Country this afternoon was likely human caused. A report of smoke and flame at Sherman Drive and Copper Hill Road behind Peter Greer Elementary was called in about 12:48 p.m., May 16. Lake Country firefighters, with help from B.C. Wildfire, put out the fire which produced heavy...
$1.4 million to train Okanagan Aboriginal workers for “in-demand” jobs
VERNON – The province is spending nearly $1.4 million dollars to train 50 Aboriginal workers to be heavy equipment operators it says are in-demand. The program will be run in partnership with the Southern Interior Construction Association with workers from the Splatsin First Nation, the Okanagan Indian Band and the Westbank First Nation will take...
Armstrong man’s story “did not ring true” in sexual assault trial: Judge
ARMSTRONG - What began as a cordial conversation between two strangers hiding out from the rain at an Armstrong church took a sinister turn when the man pinned the woman against a wall, sexually assaulted her, and threatened to strangle her if she resisted. The woman, in her early 20s, was scared and hesitant at...
Premier asks you to burn responsibly this May long weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – In light of the unseasonably hot and dry conditions throughout the province, Premier Christy Clark is asking residents to be extra cautious this long weekend. "Every summer, the risk of fire increases. With many parts of the province facing unseasonably warm and dry weather, that risk increases even more — putting people's homes...
Dozens of vehicles impounded due to excessive speeding
KELOWNA – In the last two months, more than 50 vehicles were ticketed and impounded for excessive speeding between Kelowna and Vernon. Since March 1, the Kelowna RCMP Integrated Road Safety Unity conducted speed enforcement along the Hwy 97 corridor targeting aggressive drivers travelling more than 40 km/h over the posted speed limit. “Aggressive driving...
Feral cats of the North Okanagan: “Somebody has to help them”
VERNON - There’s Blackie, and Boots, Tigger One and Tigger Two, and of course Mr. White, a Siamese whose ears are wrinkled by frostbite. They, and the other dozen or so cats make up the band of misfits, just some of the tens of thousands of feral cats in the North Okanagan. They have it...
Your low-down on the May long weekend weather
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Environment Canada is calling for some pretty spectacular weather this May long weekend. Across the Thompson-Okanagan there will be sunny skies for much of the weekend, with highs getting up to 26 Celcius. Those in Vernon can expect sunshine and a high of 26 C on Saturday, followed by a reprieve from the...
What you should know about this delicious, and potentially poisonous, local delicacy
VERNON - You might have seen the bright, vibrantly green curlicues in classified ads or at the local grocery store recently and wondered what they are and where they come from. They’re called fiddleheads, and they’re found around the world, including the Thompson-Okanagan, for a few short weeks every spring. Those who have tried the...
Possible arson at Gatzke farm
LAKE COUNTRY – The owners of Gatzke Orchards are hoping someone knows how a suspicious fire started on their property Monday night. According to a post on their Facebook page, the fire started on the south end of the property on May 11 but was noticed before it could spread out of control. “Feeling a...
Lumby man sanctioned by B.C. Securities Commission
LUMBY - A Lumby man who tried — and ultimately failed — to get away with circumventing B.C. securities laws won’t be working anywhere near them for years. In 2006, Donald Gordon Byrne, a self-employed technician from Lumby, partnered up with friend and former business associate Robert Scott Morrice, according to a B.C. Securities Commission...