Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Vernon
Keep control of campfires this weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Most campfire bans have been lifted heading into the Labour Day long weekend but that does not mean you should be careless with your fires while camping. B.C. Wildfire is reminding people to use extreme caution while out camping or in the backcountry. Last weekend, just days after the campfire ban was lifted...
Vernon school board to hear community concerns over controversial pellet plant
VERNON - Parents will be given an opportunity to voice their concerns to the Vernon School District regarding a proposed pellet plant. The district called another meeting on Pinnacle Renewable Energy and Tolko’s plans to build a pellet plant near Lavington Elementary at a special board meeting Wednesday night. Residents asked the board to hold...
Hot Wednesday hits records, cools off for long weekend
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It was the last hot day of August Wednesday with temperatures soaring into the 30s across the region, and while several cities closed in on record highs only Vernon hit the mark. Yesterday Vernon hit 33.5 Celsius, hot enough to tie the record set in 1986, and Kelowna also came close but couldn’t...
Vernon teachers, parents frustrated after passionate plea to school board
VERNON - Teachers and parents urged the Vernon school board to push for mediation between the B.C. Teachers Federation and the provincial government at a meeting Wednesday. Tensions were high in the packed boardroom, which had standing room only. School board trustees, teachers and parents all agreed they needed to get students back in the...
Owners worried about missing pet store cat
VERNON - Russel the cat is always pulling wild and ridiculous stunts, but a recent vanishing act is worrying his owners. Russel, a fixture of AJ’s Pets & Things for nearly seven years, has been missing since Aug. 20. While possible, owner Lisa Badach says it’s not like the champagne coloured tabby to wander out...
Park concept dashed with sale of historic Kal Lake estate
VERNON - One of the Okanagan’s top 100 most expensive residential properties—a historical home on the shores of Kalamalka Lake—is in new hands, albeit not the ones its former owner had hoped for. The 2.4-acre estate belonging to the late Margaret Ormsby, featuring 420 feet of waterfront off Coldstream Creek Road, was on the market...
UPDATE: Coq reopened after tour bus crash, 43 injured
MERRITT - A rollover has injured 43 people on board a tour bus and shut down the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Hope Thursday afternoon. Kelsie Carwithen of B.C. Ambulance Service says they got the call at 3 p.m. of an incident 30 kilometres south of Merritt involving a tour bus. They dispatched six air...
Public meeting will focus on teacher strike, proposed Lavington plant
VERNON - A special meeting set for tonight will focus on two topics that have been in the news lately: The teacher strike and a proposed pellet plant in Lavington. The special meeting, called specifically by the school district to address the two issues, starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the board office on 15...
Loss of rail is loss of history
VERNON - It once brought growth to the region, but now the railway linking Vernon with Kelowna is being erased one rail tie at a time. Since the last spike was laid in 1925, the nearly 50-kilometer stretch of track has carried many passengers and untold quantities of freight. But its glory days are long...
UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch ends
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A severe thunderstorm watch issued this morning has been lifted for Kamloops, Vernon and the Shuswap. Environment Canada issued the watch for nine different regions, include the North and South Thompson, the North Okanagan and the Shuswap, this morning. The watch extended north through the Cariboo and east to the Alberta border in...
Heartland stars rolling through town
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you are a fan of Heartland get your cameras ready, the stars of the hit Canadian show tour Southern B.C. raising funds for Sophie’s Place during a six-day motorcycle marathon. The Cruise with a Cause marathon began Monday and first stopped in Whistler. Tuesday the stars will make their way to Cache...
Crews chasing abandoned campfires after ban ends
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The first weekend after the campfire ban was lifted, B.C. Wildfire crews were called to put out abandoned campfires across the region that could have resulted in much larger fires. “We had nine abandoned campfires, we definitely did see the number of calls go up,” Fire Information Officer Kayla Pepper says. “It is...
Donation jars lifted from Vernon corner store
VERNON - A thief was caught on camera after a botched robbery at a corner store in Vernon last week. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the crook entered Lakeview Market, located at 1501 32 Avenue, around 5:30 p.m. Friday. The approximately 40-year-old man had a white t-shirt wrapped around his face and yellow gloves on...
Suspect arrested after trying to run police off the road with stolen truck
VERNON - The driver of a stolen truck gave police a hard time before crashing the absconded ride and being placed under arrest. Police were notified Aug. 23 around 12:31 p.m. that a stolen vehicle was traveling on 25 Avenue towards Francis Street. Officers located the truck speeding down Hartnell Road a short time later....
Accused in drive-by shooting granted bail
KAMLOOPS – One of two men accused in a fatal drive-by shooting in Salmon Arm was granted bail Friday morning in Kamloops Supreme Court. Jeremy Davis, 24, was released on a $100,000 surety. He and Jordan Larry Barnes, 27, are charged with the second degree murder of Nicolas Larsen, 24. RCMP statements say Larsen was...