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Vernon
Vehicle tumbles down embankment, driver’s neck impaled with stick
VERNON - A local man remains in hospital with a neck wound after crashing his car over an embankment. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says officers were called to the 6000 block of Cosens Bay Road Sunday around 5:40 p.m. for a report of a vehicle over the embankment. “The driver, a 21-year-old Vernon man, was...
Accident sends cyclist to hospital
VERNON - A cyclist was taken to hospital after colliding with a truck last Friday. Police were dispatched to the area of 39 Avenue and 32 Street around 7:50 a.m. Sept 5. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the driver of the truck was turning right as the cyclist came up beside him. The 30-year-old cyclist...
Have your say on Vernon Mixed Martial Arts ban
VERNON - This is your chance to tell Vernon City Hall what you think about a ban on Mixed Martial Arts. The city is providing an opportunity for public input Monday at the start of its regular council meeting. The city has already given first readings to the bylaw — which would ban professional MMA...
Mary-Jo O’Keefe joins the race for the mayor’s seat
VERNON - Another candidate tossed a hat into the ring Friday morning for the upcoming Vernon mayoral race. Mary-Jo O’Keefe stood before a crowd at Davison Orchards to announce her intention. In her speech, O’Keefe said her 15 years of experience serving on the Vernon school board and second consecutive term as city councillor will...
School board contemplates decision on Lavington pellet plant
VERNON - The Vernon school board will soon let the Ministry of Environment know how it feels about a proposed pellet plant. Trustees received input from those in favour of the project and those against, and are now preparing to send their recommendations to the Ministry. Pinnacle Renewable Energy president Leroy Reitsma presented to the...
Return to the wild: Okanagan bear doesn’t look back
VERNON - From the top of a power pole, to a rehabilitation shelter, Polaris the black bear has had quite a journey in her young life, and now she’ll be continuing her adventures in the wild. The year-and-a-half old black bear found perched on a power pole in Lumby last fall was taken in by...
Teacher strike throws off extra-curricular programs in the North Okanagan
VERNON - The B.C. teacher strike has thrown off many school sports and other non-curricular programs, though some activities remain on course thanks to parents and outside maintenance workers. Superintendent of the Vernon School District Joe Rogers says some fields aren’t being maintained due to picket lines, while others run in conjunction with Greater Vernon...
Baby, three others taken to hospital after rollover near Vernon
VERNON – The hunt is on for the driver of a car who may have caused a rollover on Highway 6 between Vernon and Lumby Friday afternoon. Four people, including an infant, were taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital with minor injuries after the car they were in ended up on its roof in the ditch,...
Enjoy warm weather while it lasts
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Enjoy the weekend while it lasts — another blast of heat is coming our way this weekend but there'll be a significant drop in temperatures Monday. Temperatures will reach as much as 30 Celsius in the region and the sun in expected to shine throughout the weekend. Kamloops will see the warmest temperatures...
What you can do to prevent bear conflicts this fall
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Hide your picnic baskets and tuck away your garbage cans, it’s high season for bears as they look to take in about 20,000 calories per day before settling in to hibernate for the winter. WildSafeBC Provincial Coordinator Frank Ritcey says bear sightings in the month of August were more than the four previous...
Endless summer in B.C…. snow in Alberta?
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Mother Nature is welcoming some Alberta kids back to school in Canadian style today — with a snow storm. The southeast corner of Alberta, from Brooks to the B.C. border, is currently under a heavy rainfall warning but combined with temperatures hovering not much above zero some areas are instead seeing wet snow....
At least someone’s getting a laugh over the teachers’ strike
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It appears someone working for the provincial government's web department has added a little ironic wit—if not annoying editorial—to the rhetoric on the teachers strike. When all hope of ending the teachers strike before Sept. 2 was lost on the weekend, the B.C. government opened up its website so parents can register to...
Surprise wedding gives dying groom best day of his life
VERNON - Not knowing how many more days he’d wake up next to her, how many more drives they would go on together, or how many more times he’d get to say I love you, Ryan Langley rose from his wheelchair—defying everything his doctors had said—and watched the love of his life, Alisa, walk down...
Charges laid in connection with death of Armstrong woman
ARMSTRONG - A Salmon Arm man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of an Armstrong woman. Jillian McKinty, 27, was found deceased in her home on Wolfenden Terrace in Armstrong Nov. 27, 2013. She was a mother of two. “The circumstances surrounding Jillian’s death were suspicious in nature,” RCMP spokesperson Gord...
LARRY KWONG: How a Vernon man defied the odds and broke the NHL’s colour barrier
VERNON - From the frozen ponds of Vernon to the rink of a big league game, Larry Kwong became many things: The first to break the colour barrier in the NHL, a hero to countless fans, and an inspiration that anyone, no matter what their heritage, can follow their dreams. And yet the 92-year-old has...