Vernon news
Pac-Man takes on the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if Pac-Man took over the streets of the Okanagan, wonder no more. Google Maps is now offering a local version of Pac-Man. Only available in some browsers, you will see a Pac-Man box in the bottom left of the screen. You simply need to...
If your dog is suddenly paralyzed this could be why
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Mary Verigin knew something was wrong with her dog as soon as she opened her crate last Monday morning. “She could get up on her front feet but there was no strength behind her shoulders,” she says. “I didn’t know what to do. Of course I was crying.” Verigen phoned her vet, Dr....
Vernon mall says goodbye to another retailer
VERNON - Shopping options continue to shrink at Vernon’s Village Green Mall. Ricki’s, a fixture at the mall since the shopping centre opened 40 years ago, will close its doors by the end of the month as part of a company restructuring plan. The news comes not long after Target announced it was pulling out...
Man feared erratically driven speedboat would crash into his boat on B.C. lake
KAMLOOPS – A B.C. man says he feared an erratically driven speedboat would crash into his boat moments before a fatal collision killed the owner of a houseboat on Shuswap Lake.
Lumby man picks fight with rescue crews after rolling pickup
CHERRYVILLE – A Lumby man pulled from the wreckage of his pickup in facing drunk driving charges after becoming combative with the people trying to help him. RCMP say the man, 39, rolled his pickup on Highway 6 near Frank’s General Store around 10 p.m., Thursday, March 26. After he was removed from the truck,...
Small fire at Armstrong Tolko mill
ARMSTRONG – The sprinkler system and an employee with a fire extinguisher quickly dealt with an electrical fire at the Tolko Industries mill in Armstrong this afternoon. Fire crews responded to what they thought was a structure fire at about 1:25 p.m., Monday, March 30, but it turned out to be an electrical motor fire....
Licensed marijuana grower ripped off in Lumby
LUMBY – The owner of a licensed marijuana grow-op in Lumby was robbed last week in what police call a “grow rip.” RCMP say they were called to a home on Grandview Avenue on Friday, March 27, about an insecure premise. The officers arrived to find it was actually a break and enter. The man...
Top Gear episode airs featuring Okanagan highways
OKANAGAN – Residents of the Okanagan will see some familiar scenery in a recently aired episode of the hit BBC television series "Top Gear." In a rare review of two North America’s truck companies, stars James May and Jeremy Clarkson race each other across B.C. in a Ford F150 VelociRaptor and a Chevy Silverado 2500HD....
Second year without a vigil to mark Vernon Good Friday massacre
VERNON – For the second year in a row, a vigil to remember the nine members of the Gakhal and Saran families who were murdered in Vernon on Good Friday in 1996 will not be held. The families will be remembering their loss in private, according to a media release from the Vernon Women’s Transition...
UPDATE: Highway 6 near Needles ferry reopens
VERNON - The section of Highway 6 on the way to the Needles ferry dock closed for repairs following a mud slide and the appearance of a sink hole over a month ago ihas reopened. The Ministry of Transportation says the work on the new drainage installation and rebuilding of the section of road about...
UPDATE: Power restored to 2,400 Enderby and Spallumcheen residents
VERNON - More than 2,400 residents in Enderby and Spallumcheen were without power this afternoon. B.C. Hydro says power went off at 11:43 a.m., March 27 for some 2,450 customers east of Highway 97. The outage was caused by a tree falling on the wires and power was restored shortly after 2 p.m. To contact...
History of the Okanagan Commonage Reserve
VERNON - With the impending sale of the discontinued rail corridor between Vernon and Kelowna, the Okanagan Indian band has revived a historic land claim on a large tract of land known as the Commonage Reserve. Formed in 1877 by the Joint Indian Reserve Commission (established by the governments of Canada and B.C. to create...
Satellite images show just how much Vernon has changed in 30 years
VERNON - It’s no surprise the Vernon area has grown over the last 30 years, but now you can see just what those changes look like from above. This incredible time lapse of satellite images from 1984 to 2012 on Google Earth Engine shows how different the city looks today. You will see new building...
Malakwa man killed by CP train indentified
KELOWNA – The man killed on the CP tracks in Malakwa last weekend couldn’t get out of the way of the freight train in time. Gilles Robert Joseph Thivierge, 61, of Malakwa was in the back seat of a car, which became stuck on the tracks just off Malakwa Road and Summerville-Husted Road around 9:45...
Proposed legislation will strip presumption of innocence: Defence lawyer
KAMLOOPS – New legislation proposed by the B.C. Liberals this week throws out the presumption of innocence and instead presumes people accused of impaired driving are guilty until they prove otherwise, says a Vancouver defence lawyer specializing in impaired driving. Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act strengthen the government’s controversial Immediate Roadside Prohibition, which avoids...