Vernon news
Drop your envelope of cash? You need to talk to the Vernon RCMP
VERNON - An envelope of cash has been turned into the Vernon RCMP after someone dropped it at the downtown Safeway almost a month ago. RCMP say the small, light brown envelope was dropped at a grocery store check stand around 12:55 p.m., July 29. An employee at Safeway found the cash and no one...
Man in hospital after rolling ATV near Vernon
VERNON - A 59-year-old man remains in hospital after rolling his ATV in the Lavington area east of Vernon Sunday. The rollover happened around 11:40 a.m., Aug. 30, in the Noble Canyon Road area, according to a media release. The man and his wife, both from Vernon, were going up a hill quite slowly when...
Vernon woman asleep in car wakes to man breaking through window
VERNON - A young Vernon woman sleeping in her car awoke to an intruder smashing in her window Sunday morning. The 20-year-old woman was parked at the corner of 30 Street and 29 Avenue around 7:50 a.m., Aug. 30, when a man broke the passenger side window of her Volkswagen Jetta and grabbed her purse...
Foul play involved in body found in Polson Park
VERNON - Police are revealing more information about a man found dead last week in Polson Park. He has been identified as 42-year-old Jason Thomas Hardy, and police believe foul play was involved in his death. His body was found the morning of Aug. 26 in Polson Park. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says Hardy has...
Pot oil extraction cause of explosion in Vernon apartment building
VERNON - An apartment fire that sent two men to hospital with serious burns was caused when a marijuana extraction operation exploded, police say. The occupants, a 21 and a 22-year-old, were badly burned in the fire and remain in hospital. Vernon police are now confirming the Aug. 14 fire was started by a marijuana...
Weekend rain should help improve air quality in Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The rain falling throughout the Thompson-Okanagan today should help with the forest fire smoke in the air. Although Environment Canada meteorologist Louis Kohanyi isn’t optimistic the rain forecast to fall throughout the weekend will be enough to lift the special air quality statement issued for the region. The forecast is calling for showers...
ELECTION 2015: Mulcair plans Vernon visit
VERNON - The leader of the NDP will stop in Vernon next week. Tom Mulcair is visiting Tuesday, Sept. 1, to help launch local candidate Jacqui Gingras’ campaign in the North Okanagan-Shuswap riding. The public event is happening at Gingras’ office at 3023 30 Avenue starting at noon. Other party leaders Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper...
Communities on edge: Thompson-Okanagan fire officials field calls for false alarms
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fire appears to be at the forefront of many peoples’ minds across the Thompson-Okanagan. With wildfires burning across the province and a blanket of smoke from Washington hanging in the air, fire officials say they are receiving a number of reports which are in fact nothing more than false alarms. In the North...
RCMP marine unit focus is saving lives not writing tickets
OKANAGAN - With just one boat covering lakes throughout the southern Interior, there’s plenty of times when the long arm of the law simply ends at the lakeshore. But if you do run into the RCMP marine enforcement unit and you’re boat’s not up to snuff, they’ll be on your case, either writing you a...
Vernon motel to become low-income housing complex
VERNON - The hunt for an affordable place to call home in Vernon just got a bit easier. The Journey Inn, the former Travelodge located behind the Fruit Union Plaza in downtown Vernon, was recently bought by B.C. Housing and will be operated as a low-income housing complex for people at risk of homelessness, the...
Rainy weather and thunderstorms for Okanagan
OKANAGAN - In the wake of the extended period of hot, dry weather, the Okanagan is about to receive several days of rain. Environment Canada is calling for clouds and showers beginning today, Aug. 28, and continuing through to Wednesday. Thundershowers are forecast for Saturday. And it will be cool with highs of 19 Celsius and...
Okanagan Lake water level not bad, next year could be the problem
OKANAGAN - Despite sitting smack dab in a region beset by a level four drought, Okanagan Lake is not doing too badly when it comes to water level, at least at first glance. Estimates from the natural resources ministry predict the lake won’t go down as far as it has in previous drought years. It's...
Overnight brush fire on highway north of Vernon ‘could’ve been a different story’
SPALLUMCHEEN - Emergency crews took no chances with a brush fire burning on a slope off Highway 97 Wednesday night. Armstrong-Spallumcheen fire chief Ian Cummings says the half-acre blaze was reported just after 9 p.m., Aug. 26, just north of Greenhow Road on Highway 97. “It was quite visible, there was pretty high flames. We...
Serious crimes unit investigates body found in Vernon park
VERNON - Police continue to investigate the death of a man found in Polson Park Wednesday. The man’s body was discovered shortly before 10 a.m. Aug. 26. In a media release issued today, Aug. 27, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk confirmed the man was in his late 40s, but said his identity is not being released...
It’s bear season: how to keep yourself (and your dogs) safe
THOMPSON–OKANAGAN – If you haven't seen a bear in town, you just might soon. Provincial WildSafe B.C. Coordinator Frank Ritcey says the number of bear sightings was down considerably at the start of the season but have steadily climbed. Bears are becoming more visible because of the change in weather and their pre-hibernation activities. “When...