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Vernon
Watch this North Okanagan apple grow; incredible one minute time lapse
VERNON - A Vernon orchard has captured the magic of an apple’s growth from blossom to fruit in a one minute video. Davison Orchards put a camera on a single Honeycrisp apple in March and watched it grow. You can see the incredible transformation in the time-lapse below. The video has already been shared 1,878...
While others walked away, you won’t believe who saved a Vernon pet shop from disaster
"THE AVERAGE PERSON WOULDN'T HAVE DONE WHAT HE DID" VERNON - If not for the heroic act of a homeless man, the owners of a Vernon pet store believe their business — and animals — would have been destroyed by fire. AJ’s Pets & Things owners Andrew Willmott and Lisa Badach caught the suspected arsonist...
Risk of frost in the Okanagan tonight
OKANAGAN - If you haven’t already harvested all your tomatoes you should spend some time covering them up today — there’s a risk of frost through much of the Okanagan tonight. Environment Canada is calling for a risk of frost tonight, Sept. 21, in the North and Central Okanagan with temperatures expected to dip as...
Vernon’s Village Green Centre celebrates 40 years in the community
VERNON - After four decades the Vernon mall still offers something you can’t get with online shopping: a social, community atmosphere. Much has changed at the Village Green Centre since its grand opening Aug. 6, 1975. Now, friends can meet at Starbucks for a cup of coffee before strolling through the automatic doors. You can...
Mystery continues for Vernon’s rash of arson cases, despite recent arrest
VERNON – A series of suspicious fires in Vernon is not being pinned on a…
UPDATE: Former Vernon RCMP officer guilty, sentenced for possessing child pornography
"HE HAS... BEEN SUBJECTED TO PUNISHMENT WELL BEYOND THAT... (OF) A USUAL INMATE" KELOWNA - Former Vernon Mountie Ryan Hampton has been found guilty of possessing and downloading child pornography as well as several counts of breaching court orders. Hampton, 37, pleaded not guilty to possessing child pornography, accessing child pornography and six counts of breaching...
Why drivers will want to be on their best behaviour this week on North Okanagan highways
NORTH OKANAGAN - Consider this your first warning to follow the rules of the road. Ignore it, and you might get into some trouble with the police over the next week in the North Okanagan. The RCMP is deploying officers from Vernon, West Kelowna, Sicamous, Revelstoke, Golden and the South Okanagan to patrol areas in...
Wet weekend ahead for the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - If you were hoping for one last good hurrah before the end of summer, you may have waited too long — the final weekend of summer is set to be filled with rain. Environment Canada is calling for temperatures to be near seasonal normals of 19 Celsius today, Sept. 18, and Saturday before...
Changing trends force Okanagan libraries to seek two per cent increase in budget
KELOWNA – The board of directors for the Okanagan Regional Library have approved a draft of next year’s budget that calls for a 1.98 per cent increase. Half of the extra money would go towards wage increases for staff while the remainder would be used to offset higher rents and utilities, higher book and eResource...
UPDATE: Vernon mayor responds to income tax charges
'EVERYTHING WILL BE CLEARED UP" VERNON - Vernon’s mayor is in trouble with the tax man. Mayor Akbal Singh Mund is charged with two counts of failure to comply with the Income Tax Act but he doesn't expect the action to go anywhere. “They’re looking for further paperwork. It’s not like I haven’t paid my...
Man arrested after Vernon armed robbery
VERNON - An armed man who police say robbed a Vernon store earlier this week has been arrested. A lone male armed with a large knife entered Lakeview Market on 32 Avenue around 10:30 a.m., Sept. 15. He attempted to access the cash register but was unable to open it. He fled the scene and...
Arrest made in Vernon pet store arson
VERNON - Police have charged a local man with arson in connection to a small fire outside AJ’s Pets & Things earlier this month. RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says surveillance footage released by the store showed a man appearing to start the Sept. 6 fire. Police appealed to the public for help locating and identifying...
Bear complaints overwhelming Okanagan conservation officers
KAMLOOPS NUMBERS SLOW DOWN AFTER EARLY SPIKE THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Conservation officers in the North and South Okanagan regions are being swamped with bear complaints as the large animals begin to prepare for hibernation. While fall always sees an uptick in bear activity, conservation officer Jim Beck says this year is worse than normal. “It’s crazy...
Fishing reopens on drought-affected Okanagan rivers
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fishermen can again drop a line in streams and rivers that were closed to angling this summer because of drought in Southern B.C. The natural resource ministry announced in a press release the reopening of fishing on the Kettle, West Kettle and Similkameen Rivers and their tributaries, the Middle Shuswap River and the main...
Trial coming to an end for former RCMP officer accused of downloading child porn
KELOWNA - A former RCMP officer accused of possessing child pornography will soon find out his fate. Closing arguments were made Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the Supreme Court trial of former RCMP officer Ryan David Hampton, who is accused by his wife of downloading child porn during a messy separation. Hampton pleaded not guilty to...
High bacteria levels prompt swimming advisory at Vernon’s Kal Beach
VERNON - That last swim of the summer might not feel so refreshing after you read this. An advisory is in effect recommending people not go swimming at Kal Beach due to high counts of E. coli in the water. Jennifer Jacobsen, a team leader for environmental health with the Interior Health Authority, says the...
Last day to book super cheap WestJet flights to London
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - WestJet has announced a super-low airfare to London, England with the cheeky slogan 'If that’s not cheap enough, you can always try mailing yourself.' Pricing for a non-stop flight from Vancouver to London’s Gatwick Airport starts at $299, one-way, with similar deals at select airports across Canada, including Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and...
Vernon men charged with murder return to court
VERNON - A pair of local men accused in the murder of 42-year-old Jason Hardy were in Vernon Provincial Court again this week. Brandon Joseph Clayton Wellington, 18, and Tal Kalum La Riviere, 28, both face second degree murder charges in relation to Hardy’s death. A 14-year-old Greater Vernon boy, whose name is protected under...
What the Vernon airport is today and what it could be 20 years from now
VERNON - Seated on a flat landing below orchard-brushed hillsides on the west side of town, the Vernon airport is a little known nook of activity where corporate jets offload business people, ambulances airlift patients to hospital and adrenaline-hunters enjoy the rush of a freefall. It’s small enough that curious onlookers might be treated to...
Locals winners named for Aboriginal Business Awards
THOMPSON-OKANGAN - Some local aboriginal entrepreneurs are coming away from the B.C. Aboriginal Business Awards with wins this week. Troy Fraser Chiropractic of Kamloops has won Business of the Year in the one to two person enterprise category. Skyride Bike and Board Inc. of Vernon has won an outstanding achievement award for companies with three...
Vernon judge ruffles feathers by refusing to sentence alleged fraudster
"I CAN’T BE THROWING PEOPLE IN JAIL WHO SAY ‘I DIDN’T DO IT’" VERNON - A bit of courthouse drama unfolded at the Vernon Law Courts Monday when a judge refused to sentence an accused fraudster on charges she wouldn’t admit to committing. Desiree Dorothy Pelletier is charged with forgery, theft of $5,000 or under...
Snow on the Okanagan Connector
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Drivers heading out on the highway should be prepared for a bit of snow at the higher elevations this morning. Drive B.C. is showing snow at several of the higher Okanagan elevations and temperatures are currently sitting around 0 Celsius. At the Coquihalla Summit it is currently raining and temperatures are sitting around...
Water drilling rush in B.C. Interior to get jump on new water regulations
IMPACT UNKNOWN THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Companies drilling water wells in the B.C. Southern Interior appear to be busier than usual and the reason may be the introduction next spring of the provincial Water Sustainability Act and its new well licensing requirements. While hard numbers of how many wells are being drilled are hard to come by...
Return to seasonal normals in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - The mercury soared heading into the weekend, but has dropped considerably coming out of it. Temperatures were in the high-20s Friday and Saturday, well above seasonal normal highs of 20 Celsius. Sunday things cooled off to highs of 23 C in the North and Central Okanagan, but at 27 C remained quite a...