Vernon news

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: Power restored for over 2,000 in Shuswap

SHUSWAP – Equipment failure is being blamed for a power outage in the Shuswap which impacted over 2,000 B.C. Hydro customers for two hours this morning. The power was back on at about 10:15 a.m., May 17, according to the B.C. Hydro website. The lights went out at about 8:19 a.m. in an area west...

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...

$1.3 million facelift ready to begin at Vernon Rec Centre

VERNON – Renovations to give the City of Vernon’s aging Recreation Centre a fresh, new look will take up to a year-and-a-half to complete. The over $1.3 million dollar facelift will begin on Monday, May 25 and city staff promise the facilities will stay open during all phases of the construction. The Rec Centre gets...

$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...

Mud bogging, hill climbs jeopardize North Okanagan water security

VERNON - Efforts are being stepped up to educate and enforce when it comes to the rules of the road in and around Vernon’s drinking water reservoirs. An increasing number of off-road vehicles in areas like the Aberdeen plateau are causing concerns for water quality, and security, says regional district Water Quality Manager Renee Clark....

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...

Precautions taken after confirmed Norovirus case at Vernon school

VERNON - The Vernon School District is taking precautions after a child was diagnosed with Norovirus earleir this week.  Superintendent of School District 22 Joe Rogers says a single case of the virus was confirmed Wednesday, May 13, at Ellison Elementary School, prompting a precautionary response.  “When we have a potential outbreak, once we have...

Police ticket driver after electric wheelchair accident

VERNON - A person driving a motorized wheelchair was sent to hospital Thursday after being hit by a car. Const. Daniel Gow says an investigation revealed the car was reversing out of an alleyway onto 30 Street, near A&W, and struck the electric wheelchair, May 14. The person on the wheelchair suffered minor injuries and...

Emergency personnel respond to traffic accident on Highway 97 in Vernon

VERNON - Emergency crews responded to a collision involving a truck and a motorcycle on a busy Vernon road Friday morning. Witnesses say the accident happened at the bottom of Hospital Hill on Highway 97 in Vernon and a person was seen lying in the roadway. Vernon RCMP confirm there had been an accident between...

HELSTON: Improving Stickle Road needs to be a two-way street

Anyone who’s waited five minutes to make a risky, left-hand break for it off Stickle Road onto Highway 97 towards Vernon knows something needs to change before someone gets killed. Agreeing there’s a problem is the easy part. Finding a solution is where the road rage sets in. Right now, we’ve got the Ministry of...

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...