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Vnjan2016

Secret proposals exchanged over Vernon horse racing dispute

VERNON - Proposed resolutions over an ongoing legal dispute between the City of Vernon and the Okanagan Equestrian Society are on the table, but neither side is commenting on the details. The society’s lawyer, Ed Woolley, says proposals were exchanged this week and both parties are now considering their options. The legal dispute has been...

Why a break-in couldn’t have happened at a worse time for two single Vernon moms

VERNON - Kris Zacharuk is pushing her son into the arrivals gate of the Kelowna Airport in a wheelchair when her phone rings. It’s been tough lately to keep the phone bills covered, but she has to in case the doctors call about Christopher’s kidney transplant. It’s her 17-year-old daughter calling. The house Zacharuk shares...

Still confused about consent? Judge’s ruling on Coldstream sex assault might help

VERNON - A man has lost his appeal over a sexual assault that happened after a birthday party in Coldstream. According to a Jan. 6, 2016 judgment by Justice Martha Devlin, a group of people spent the evening drinking and going to a nightclub in Vernon in September 2011 to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Later,...

Why the government thinks someone intentionally blocked a culvert causing flood damage in the North Okanagan

VERNON - Plastic and wood debris found near a culvert after a devastating landslide in the North Okanagan in 2014 leads investigators to believe the flood was human caused, according to information obtained by iNFOnews.ca. Investigators with the Ministry of Forests announced in November 2015 they believed someone intentionally blocked a culvert, causing Dale Lake...

Gloomy dark clouds over the Okanagan won’t part any time soon

OKANAGAN - That stifling grey pall of gloom hanging over the Okanagan is here courtesy of El Nino and Environment Canada says we can expect more of the same for at least the next ten days. Meteorologist Matthew MacDonald says we are at the mercy of major weather systems conspiring to blot out the sun. That...

Expect to feel the squeeze as walk-in clinics close or cut back hours in Vernon

VERNON - Dwindling access to walk-in clinics in Vernon will lead to longer line-ups, and more people travelling outside their communities to see a doctor, says a Kelowna advocate for walk-ins. While the community is still absorbing the impending closure of the Vernon Family Doctor’s Walk-In Clinic, another blow came this week with news that...

Snowfall warning for Coquihalla Highway

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - While temperatures continue to warm up in town, a system is expected to drop enough snow on area highways today to prompt a snowfall warning for at least one section of highway. Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt, where up to 25 centimetres of...

Strain for medical care grows as Vernon walk-in clinic reduces to half-days

VERNON - Access to medical care continues to shrink in Vernon. Shortly after it was learned the Vernon Family Doctor’s Walk-In Clinic is closing down permanently, news has come that another walk-in clinic has drastically cut its hours. The Gartree Medical Clinic in the Vernon Square Mall has reduced its hours to 8 a.m. to...

Online contest puts Silver Star in North American spotlight

VERNON - The Star is getting some international attention for its cross country skiing. Silver Star Mountain Resort is in the running for a top 10 contest on USA Today for the best nordic resorts in North America. Three Olympians, Sadie Bjornsen, Holly Brooks and Sophie Caldwell were asked to nominate their favourite cross country...

Salmon Arm pawn shop offers reward for stolen stuff

SALMON ARM - The owner of a Shuswap pawn shop is offering a reward for the "losers" who stole stuff from his store during a break in. RCMP have confirmed that Shuswap Pawn was broken into at 7:47 p.m., Jan. 10. Owner Mike Jalving says the thieves damaged display cases and the front door but...

Salmon Arm RCMP want your help finding stolen truck

SALMON ARM - Police are on the lookout for a stolen pickup truck and could use your help. Salmon Arm Staff Sgt. Scott West says the 2007 black GMC Sierra truck with Alberta plates EKS767 was stolen from a parking lot on Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. in the 2400 block of the Trans Canada...

Vernon man handed jail term for child porn offence

VERNON - A Vernon man has been sent to prison after getting caught possessing child pornography. A Vernon provincial court judge sentenced Karl David Lawrence to nine months in jail for the offence, longer than the four to six months requested by Crown counsel during sentencing. Police began investigating Lawrence in March 2014 when suspected...

Mild week ahead for the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - We can expect temperatures to hover around the freezing mark this week, with temperatures expected to be at or near seasonal normal temperatures throughout the Okanagan. Environment Canada is calling for daytime high temperatures to range from -1 Celsius to 2 C this week, with overnight lows expected to reach between 0 C...

Busiest construction year ever for Lake Country

LAKE COUNTRY – B.C.’s fastest growing community is working to keep up with the infrastructure needed to support all the construction activity. Lake Country had it’s busiest year of construction in the district’s 20 year history in 2015, 36 per cent higher than 2014, according to a media release. There was over $68 million worth...

Feds shell out $11 million over Vernon property possibly hiding explosives

VERNON - The federal government paid out an $11-million settlement to a B.C. developer who sued after discovering a property purchased in Vernon could be littered with an unknown quantity of unexploded bombs, mortar shells and grenades. Vancouver-based K&L Land Partnership sued the government in 2013 over the 1,349 acre property overlooking Kalamalka Lake. Its...

Local politician launches petition to give RCMP auxiliary officers a tax break

VERNON - A Vernon city councillor is petitioning the federal government to get a tax credit for auxiliary police officers. The petition is posted on the Parliament of Canada website, and calls upon the government to extend the same credit to auxiliary constables — unarmed, unpaid, uniformed RCMP volunteers — as it does to certain...

Warmer weekend ahead for the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - After cooler temperatures and lots of snow over recently, this weekend marks what should be a welcome break for many in the Kamloops area. Environment Canada is calling for highs to be just above seasonal normals of -1 Celsius all weekend, with Penticton expected to reach 2 C today, Jan. 8, and tomorrow,...

International expert says global warming good for Okanagan wines

OKANAGAN - An Australian winemaker says in a CNBC opinion editorial that global warming is going to turn the Okanagan into the best wine region in the world in the coming years. Philip Mcgahan starting making wine in in Hunter Valley, Australia in 2002. The area regularly reaches more than 40 Celsius and with temperatures...

Vernon RCMP on the lookout for wanted man

VERNON - Police are asking you to keep an eye out for a wanted man. A warrant for theft of a motor vehicle and possession of stolen property relating to a Dec. 17 incident in Vernon was issued Dec. 18 for Dale Christopher Babiy, 22. Babiy is described as Caucasian, and 5’4” tall, 150 lbs,...

Vernon RCMP seek rightful owner of professional photography equipment

VERNON - A box of photography equipment is the latest in a string of items the Vernon RCMP is hoping to reunite with its rightful owner.   Vernon RCMP recovered a black plastic box of professional style photography equipment on Jan. 5, 2016, Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy said. The equipment is believed to have been stolen.  ...

Vernon RCMP want to know if you can identify this man

VERNON - Police in Vernon want to know if you recognize a man caught on video surveillance. On Dec. 18, a trailer and Polaris ATV were stolen from the 5300 block of 27th Avenue in Vernon, Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy says in a release. They were later recovered in the 5500 block of Willow Place in Vernon....