Kelowna

Local Woman Fakes Cancer

A Kelowna woman who allegedly faked she had cancer is due in court later this month. Kendra Loughheed is charged with fraud, forging a doctor's note and false pretenses. She used to work at Home Depot in Kelowna. In the summer 2003, she showed up at work wearing a head scarf, claiming she was...

Open Burning Crackdown Update

Kelowna's fire department says it has handed out more than a dozen fines as a result of the clampdown on open burning. Last month, City Council instructed Fire Chief Gerry Zimmermann to take a zero tolerance approach to Burning Bylaw infractions following complaints from the public. It's a $100...

No Jail For Kelowna Perv

His name will be added to Canada's sex offender registry, but a Kelowna man convicted of molesting a young girl is not going to jail. Dieter Helmut Wittmer, 71, was recently convicted for assaulting a nine-year-old Kelowna girl by pulling down her panties and touching and kissing her during a...

Dramatic Cocaine Bust

RCMP took-down a cocaine dealer in dramatic fashion Tuesday in downtown Kelowna. The bust happened in the parking lot of the former KSS at Richter and Harvey where a red Honda had pulled in. A man driving the vehicle bolted and ran toward the Petro Canada across the street where he was...

Water Interruptions In Mission

A number of homes in the Okanagan Mission area will experience low water pressure or be without water service between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 10, while the City of Kelowna conducts water network upgrades. All impacted residents were sent notification letters advising of the...

Chief Phillip's Last Hurrah

One of the most influential native leaders in the Okanagan is calling it quits. Penticton Indian Band Chief Stewart Phillip says this will be his last term. Phillip, 55, still has another 3.5 years to serve as Chief before he steps down. He's also president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and...

Camp Dunlop Replanting

After fires, floods and frustration, replanting at Camp Dunlop is ready to begin this weekend. On Saturday Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers, adult volunteers, family members, siblings and numerous others will begin replanting of the Lakeshore Road Scout camp. The area will be be divided...

Local Bank Robber Busted

Thanks to a good samaritan, Kelowna RCMP have a bank robber in custody -- possibly the same man wanted in connection with two robberies this week. The latest robbery happened mid-Tuesday afternoon at Bank of Nova Scotia on Dilworth where a man robbed the teller. But the money was loaded with a...

Gouged At The Pump

Kelowna motorists got another shock at the pump Tuesday. Gas prices shot up from 94.9 cents a litre to 97.9. At one point the price climbed to 99.9 Tuesday but for some reason, went back down to 97.9. In Vernon, prices are at 99.9. It could be worse though. In Vancouver gas prices shot up to...

Rutland Power Outage

Fortis BC is hoping to have power restored for 2500 customers in the Rutland area by 8 am. The problem was caused around 6:45 by a cement truck hitting power lines near Hartman and Richards Road near the YMCA. Meanwhile, several traffic lights in the area are out including McCurdy Road and and...

Extra Food Robbery Details

RCMP have released more details on yesterday's Extra Foods' robbery on the Westside. At about 11:25 two men entered the pharmacy, produced a knife, and demanded cash and drugs. The two departed taking money and narcotics with them. No one was injured. Witnesses in the area report seeing the two...

Kelowna Gets Aquatic Cash

Kelowna got some welcome news from the province Monday as did Penticton. The province is giving the city several million dollars to help pay for the new Aquatic Centre next to the Capital News Centre in The Mission. Last year, council voted to go ahead with building a $32 million 50 metre pool...

Three Local Robberies

Local RCMP had to deal with not one -- but three robberies Monday. The first robbery occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. at the Royal Bank at Ellis and Leon in downtown Kelowna where a lone male demanded cash but walked away empty handed. But that wasn't going to deter him. He made his way to...

Man Found Safe & Sound

There were some anxious moments for the friends and family of a 28 year old Westbank man this weekend. Jan Thorp was destined home from the lower mainland Saturday but never turned up. He was last seen at the Coquihalla toll booth just before 6 am Saturday. Police say he was finally located in...

Credit Card Fraud Booming In The Okanagan

Kelowna RCMP are offering some free friendly advice to local retailers -- lock-up your goods and be wary of credit card scam artists. The warning comes in the wake of last week's big busts in the Central Okanagan where police seized thousands of dollars worth of stolen goods. Some were obtained...

Teen Hates Seal Hunt

Things are heating up off Canada's East Coast as the annual seal hunt enters it's second week. Rifle shots were fired into the air April 1 during a confrontation between sealers and protesters off the north coast of Prince Edward Island. Officers with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans...

Greenway Length Will Double

In just a month, the popular Mission Creek Greenway will more than double in length. Crews continue working at a feverish pace to ensure the 9.2-kilometer Phase 2 expansion is ready for the May 1st Grand Opening. Residents are reminded that for their safety and that of the workers on site that...

No Cart Roundup

There are reports that the Kelowna RCMP will not be seizing shopping carts from the homeless. Police had planned to round up the stolen carts beginning April 1. Now apparently RCMP are saying they will only take a cart away from a street person if that person is arrested for another crime. RCMP...

Small Lakeshore Road Fire

Kelowna firefighters were called out to a small fire about two o'clock Friday afternoon in an abandoned house on Lakeshore Road. Platoon Captain Ian Chapman says when they got the call there was smoke coming out of a number of windows from a fire in the basement area. The cause is officially...

Semi Flips In Westbank

A semi driver is lucky to be alive after flipping his fully-loaded rig in downtown Westbank. The crash happened early Friday morning as the truck was rounding a curve approaching Gellatly Rd. Police say the truck was rounding the curve when the driver lost control and flipped on its side before...