Page 72 - Rob Munro News Today

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca) December 21, 2020 - 11:16 AM A rampage during the evening of Dec. 15 damaged a dozen transit shelters on Gordon Drive, Springfield and Lakeshore roads in Kelowna. That increased the number of recently damaged shelters to 37 and the estimated cost of repairs to $50,000, according to an email from the City of Kelowna. A drive along Springfield Road and Gordon Drive show a number of shelters missing back or end panels but no damage to the shelter suppor...

Image Credit: Shutterstock December 20, 2020 - 6:00 AM Even though COVID-19 cost thousands of people their jobs in the Thompson and Okanagan regions, some sectors actually saw job growth by November. That’s according to a news release issued by Karen Christiansen, a Kelowna-based accountant with the Chartered Professional Accountants of B.C. “At the low-point in June, the region shed nearly one-in-ten jobs compared to the previous year, a loss of 23,200 positions,” she ...

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/BC Government December 18, 2020 - 4:40 PM There were 624 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. over the last 24 hours, for a total of 45,400 since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 60 were in the Interior Health region, according to a joint statement issued today, Dec. 18, by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix. The Interior Heath region has 788 active cases with 31 people in hospital, nine of whom are in intensive car...

Another 16 people have tested positive for COVID-19 at Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna. That brings the cluster of cases associated with the ski hill to 76 although only 44 are people who live on the mountain. Most cases are related to group housing on the mountain and it’s safe for people to ski there, an Interior Health news release stated today, Dec. 18. “The risk remains low for families and individuals visiting Big White Mountain who follow public health guidance,” the release ...

December 18, 2020 - 2:30 PM Big White Ski Resort’s cancellation of all reservations made by people from outside the Central Okanagan was about making a statement, according to the ski hills senior vice-president Michael J. Ballingal. But that action makes up only a small part of the financial damage done by the COVID-19 pandemic since 80 per cent of such reservations for the Christmas and new year period had already been cancelled by the skiers themselves. It also won’t st...

Image Credit: SUBMITTED December 18, 2020 - 7:30 AM When Sharon Shepherd was elected as Kelowna’s mayor in 2005, she was not only the first woman elected to the position, but it was a sign the notorious, fabled ‘old boys club’ in the Okanagan’s largest city could be breached. She defeated popular long-time incumbent Walter Gray in a stunning upset few saw coming.  The City has come a long way since then. “Women feel more confident that, when they do have an opport...

December 18, 2020 - 6:00 AM While tobacco smoking has been on a steady decline amongst teenagers for years, a new report shows that vaping has quickly replaced the habit. Those findings come from the McCreary Centre Society’s B.C. Adolescent Health Survey. It has been taken by most Grade 7 to 12 students in B.C. every five years since 1992. One part of the 2018 survey, which was released this week, compares teen cigarette smoking rates to previous surveys. It shows that 33 ...

Image Credit: Flickr/Province of B.C. December 17, 2020 - 4:29 PM There were 673 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C. in the past 24 hours, including 66 in the Interior Health region. That brings the B.C. total to 44,776 since the start of the pandemic with 3,064 of those in the Interior Health region. There have been 21 new deaths, bringing the death toll in B.C. to 732. “Here in B.C., the majority of new cases continue to be directly connected to somebody we know who has a conf...

December 16, 2020 - 2:33 PM The cluster of 60 people associated with Big White Ski Resort may grow as more testing is done over the next few days. About 70 people were tested in each of two clinics held there on Friday and again on Monday. Clinics will return tomorrow, Dec. 17, Friday and possibly next week, Interior Health medical health officer Dr. Silvina Mema told a news briefing today. “We don’t want people travelling from the hill and coming here to get tested,” s...

December 17, 2020 - 9:25 AM A 21-year-old Kelowna man remains in custody after being arrested in a stolen vehicle early this morning, Dec. 17. West Kelowna RCMP were called just before 5:30 a.m. about a black Subaru Legacy that had been stolen from outside of a home, according to the RCMP in a news release. A short while later, a Kelowna RCMP officer spotted travelling on Harvey Avenue in Kelowna near Gordon Drive. With the help of another officer, the vehicle was pulled ove...