West Kelowna

Gasthaus burglars caught on tape

RCMP hope somebody can identify two men who broke into the Gasthaus Pub in Peachland in January. Rural RCMP say the men smashed a window to gain entry into the pub at about 11:30 p.m. January 24. "An activated security alarm initiated a call to police who discovered that a break and enter had...

Westbank Irrigation District's contract

Employees at the Westbank Irrigation District have accepted a new contract. On January 31, the latest Collective Agreement proposed by the union and the WID was accepted overwhelmingly. This followed two months of talks between the SARDCO negotiation committee and members of the management team...

WFN turns down pontoons

A day after the City of Kelowna turned down an opportunity to utilize pontoons from the Okanagan Lake Floating Bridge, Westbank First Nation has followed suit. In a press release issued late Tuesday afternoon, WFN says it contemplated the notion of using pontoons from the soon to be decommissioned...

WFN could take pontoons

Kelowna's loss could be the Westside's gain. A decision by the City of Kelowna to turn down an opportunity to convert pontoons from the Okanagan Lake Floating Bridge into a public pier, has left the door open for a possible acquisition by Westbank First Nation. Kelowna Mayor, Sharon Shepherd,...

Regional District highlights

Crown Land License Referral Application - The Regional Board has given conditional support to a Crown Land License of Occupation referral application from the province. A Toronto-based company would like to erect two 60-metre towers to monitor wind and collect data in the vicinity of Brenda Lake...

Houseboat owners high and dry

They're still waiting for the official eviction, but houseboat owners at Shelter Bay Marina on the Westside say they're being given the boot. Lisa Kolar is one of those owners. She says word from staff at the marina is they have to vacate by the end of next October. "We're hearing from the...

Crooks caught on camera

Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers has released a couple of photos of thieves at work, hoping you might be able to help nab them. One deals with mail theft, the other credit card fraud. The mail theft occurred on November 19, 2008 at 4 a.m. at 3521 Carrington Road in West Kelowna where two females...

Westside hires CFO

The District of Westside has again looked south in hiring a key senior staff member. Jim Zaffino has been hired as the Municipality's Chief Financial Officer. Zaffino is currently the General Manager of Finance for the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen. In December, the district hired...

Traffic stop leads to pot

RCMP got a little more than they bargained for following a routine traffic stop on the Westside over the weekend. Police stopped the vehicle late Saturday afternoon on Boucherie Road near Anders Road after observing a motor vehicle infraction. "During the traffic stop, police noted evidence of...

Westside Council briefs

Westside Municipal Council has authorized the spending of $162,000 to complete the detailed redesign of the Westside Public Safety Building. The money, to be paid to Omicron, is on top of $450,000 already spent for design, prep work and plans. "The money to date, plus the additional $162,000 is...

RDCO construction record

A record $236.7 million worth of construction projects was approved by the Regional District of Central Okanagan in 2007. That's an increase of 65 percent over the previous record of $143 million in 2006. Building permits were for the Central Okanagan East and Westside Electoral areas for 2007 as...

Two Westside B&E's

RCMP believe two break and enters in Westside may be connected. The thefts both occurred during the day, Tuesday. Rural RCMP says the first incident, in the 1800 block of Olympus Way, was reported shortly before 4 p.m. "A resident had returned home to discover the residence had been broken into...

Yacht club retains tax status

The Westbank Yacht Club will be exempt from paying municipal taxes --- at least for now. Westside Municipal Council voted Tuesday to pass the Tax Exempt Bylaw as it was presented. The bylaw exempts 15 places of worship and seven non-profit lands, including the Westbank Yacht Club, from paying...

Lack of bathrooms stall waterpark

A provincial government regulation requiring public washroom facilities is standing in the way of a children's waterpark on the Westside. The Westbank Rotary Club has offered to build a Spray Park in the Westbank Town Centre Community Park and donate the facility to the municipality. The Rotary...

No new cops for Westside

The new District of Westside will have to make do with current policing levels for at least another year. Westside Interim Administrator, Rod Drennan, informed Municipal Council Tuesday that Westside will not be receiving any additional officers over and above the 25 already allotted for the area...

Driver in critical condition

A driver is in critical condition at KGH after losing control of his vehicle early Sunday morning. RCMP say a southbound vehicle on Shannon Lake Road hit a telephone pole at the intersection of Shannon Ridge Drive. Five people were in the vehicle, three weren't wearing seat belts . Four of...

Westbank couple kicks habit

It took several tries, but a Westbank couple is finally smoke free. National Non-Smoking Week has special meaning to Stephanie Sedmak and Melvin Lui, a couple who supported each other as they tried to kick the tobacco habit. “We’ve tried a variety of ways to quit, but this time we just did...

Robbed at gunpoint

Police are on the look out for several people involved in an armed robbery Friday afternoon. Constable Scott Falkingham says two men were robbed just before 3 p.m. on Old Ferry Wharf Road on Westside. “They were robbed at gunpoint for a small amount of cash and some personal clothing items. A...

Westside fire leads to charges

Three Edmonton men have been charged with setting a forest fire on Blue Grouse Mountain in July of 2006. Kelowna RCMP Constable, Julie Rattee, says RCMP officials from Kelowna and Edmonton as well as the Ministry of Forests investigated the fire. "The investigation has identified that the...

Thieves hit City Furniture

Thieves made off with a couple of flat screen TV's following an early morning break-in at City Furniture on the Westside. The break-in occurred sometime before 4:30 Monday morning. "The suspect had pried open the front gate of the store and made off with two flat screen televisions worth...