Vernon News

Teen Tumbles from Falls

Wendy McLeod — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:58:00 GMT

A Salmon Arm teen remains in hospital after falling over 60 feet at Gleneden Falls.

Police say Friday the 17 or 18 year old was out hiking with a friend, lost her footing and slipped from a trail above the falls.

Corporal Sardinha says she was taken out on a back board and is in hospital in Kamloops.

The girl is expected to make a full recovery from her injuries.

People Planning Camping Trips

Betty Selin — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:55:00 GMT

British Columbians have made more than 6,000 camping reservations for
the Victoria Day long weekend. Environment Minister Terry Lake says that's about a 13 per cent increase
over last year,
To see which campsites are still available, check out discovercamping dot ca

95 BC Parks can be reserved on line.

Becker Park Will Get Fire Smart

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:42:00 GMT

It's an interface park where there have been some wildfires in the past , but Vernon's Becker Park is getting a clean up Thursday.
Firefighters and forest officials from the Vernon Fire Zone have been invited by the City of Vernon and Vernon Fire Rescue to help remove combustible forest fuels that pose a risk to interface communities around Becker Park.

They will be identifying Mountain Pine Beetle killed trees and falling them, plus cleaning up other debris in the park that could pose a fire risk. The debris will be placed in a wood/debris chipper and taken to Enderby to be used as Biomass by Burhard Fink, a Bio fuels expert from Fink Machine Inc. in Enderby.

Deputy Chief, Lawrie Skolrood says, "This event will significantly reduce wildfire risks, but also provide an opportunity for Wildfire Management Personnel to build relationships with Vernon Fire Rescue in the case that Wildfire Management is asked to assist with an incident within city boundaries. Building inter-agency cooperation is one of the anticipated outcomes of this project."
Furthermore, crews will be assisting by spreading awareness to the adjacent residents about the FireSmart program.
The FireSmart program is an initiative focused on reducing the risk of wildfire around homes and communities. More info is found here: http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/firecom/pdf/homeowner-firesmart.pdf
Residents play a key role in wildfire protection because everyone shares the responsibility for preserving life and property by planning for fire protection.
On May 17th, the northeast and the southeast corners of Becker Park will be the focus.

Library Strike Could Escalate

Gord Vizzuttii — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:25:00 GMT

Limited job action by workers at 16 Okanagan libraries could escalate, depending on the outcome of a library board meeting Wednesday night.

The workers have been refusing to collect fines or work overtime as part of their demands for better health benefits.

The last contract expired in December of 2010 and the workers hope a new offer will come from the board after the board meets.

Lock Your Vehicle

Betty Selin — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:21:00 GMT

Vernon RCMP have arrested three suspects they believe are responsible for a rash of vehicle B & E's.
About 4:15 yesterday morning an officer was doing patrols in the area of the Polson Mall when she saw a teen run from the area after he saw the police car. A short time later three 17 and 18 year-old guys were arrested. Police say eight vehicles in the area around VSS.

With the help of a police dog several items were recovered.
All three - two from Salmon Arm and one from Vernon - have been released and will appear in court at a later date.

Vernon RCMP are reminding you to lock your vehicles, and don't keep valuables in plain view to entice thieves to target your vehicles.

Arrested for Trafficking Cocaine

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:19:00 GMT

On Saturday May 12th just after midnight officers from the Vernon Drug unit noticed a vehicle that appeared to operate in a manner that was consistent with drug dealing. Police formed reasonable grounds to determine the male operating the vehicle was trafficking drugs from his vehicle.
The suspect a 32 year old Vernon man was arrested as he returned to his vehicle in the area of 32nd St and 39th Ave. The suspect was found to be in possession of suspected crack cocaine a quantity of cash.
He has been released from custody and is expected to make a court appearance in June to answer to the charges of Trafficking in a controlled substance.
This type of enforcement remains a priority of the Vernon/North Okanagan Detachment to identify, and disrupt the sale and distribution of drugs not only in Vernon, but the whole North Okanagan.

Spring Spruce Up

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:13:00 GMT

Merchants of Downtown Vernon are getting in to the spring spirit on May 16th as they hold the Downtown’s Annual Spring Clean-Up and Sparkle Day.

According to DVA Executive Director Earl Hansen, “the event gives businesses the opportunity to make the downtown area more visually appealing for customers. And for some, like Fraser Financial who had every one of their staff out in 2011, an opportunity to work together as a team and make their business sparkle, getting rid of any sign of winter dirt.”

Gary Huston and Brent Barker of The Fraser Financial Group LLP are stepping it up again this year, and issuing a challenge to all medium-large sized businesses located within Downtown Vernon. “Last year, we had 12 employees participate in the ‘Spring Clean-up & Sparkle Day’ and plan to have at least that many participate again this year. We - The Fraser Financial Group - challenge all larger businesses in the downtown area to "meet or beat" 12 employees participating in the Downtown’s Annual Spring Clean Up & Sparkle Day event.”

Hansen said there will be three main areas of activity occurring during the Spring Clean-Up and Sparkle Day. The first part will see merchants with brooms, dust pans, window cleaner & scrub brushes cleaning the front of their building, their sidewalk area and any other areas around their business that may need a little bit of TLC after the winter months. Merchants are also being encouraged to think green and place a planter outside their store or do a new window display.

The second part of the program is the placement of the hanging baskets on the lampposts in the heart of the downtown area, a true sign of the start of spring.

Foerster Granted Bail

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:21:00 GMT

The Cherryville man charged with being an accessory to the murder
of an 18-year-old woman in Armstrong will have to post 100-thousand
dollars bail, in order to get out of jail.

58-year-old Stephen Foerster was granted bail, but only if he can come up with the cash and have
two people guarantee he will comply with court orders.

His 26-year-old son, Matthew, is charged with first-degree murder in the beating death of Taylor van Diest last Halloween.
Her family is disappointed with the judge's ruling to grant bail.

Fire Restrictions Begin Tues

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:17:00 GMT

Effective at 12 noon on Tuesday, May 15, the size of open
fires will be restricted in most of the Kamloops Fire Centre to help prevent
human-caused wildfires and protect the public.

Since April 1, Kamloops Fire Centre crews have responded to wildfire
incidents covering approximately 300 hectares. Many of these wildfires
resulted from poorly planned open burning.

This prohibition applies to all areas of the Kamloops Fire Centre except the
Clearwater and Salmon Arm fire zones. Anyone conducting Category 2 or 3
fires outside of those two zones must extinguish such fires by noon on May
15. This prohibition will remain in effect until Oct. 15, 2012, or until further
notice.

The Clearwater and Salmon Arm fire zones will become subject to this
prohibition on June 15, when all open burning will be prohibited
throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre.

Specifically, prohibited activities include:

* The burning of any waste, slash or other materials (piled or unpiled) at a
size larger than a half-metre by a half-metre in size.
* The burning of more than two open fires of any size at the same time.
* Stubble or grass fires of any size over any area.
* The use of fireworks or burning barrels of any size or description.

This prohibition does not ban campfires that are a half-metre high by a
half-metre wide (or smaller) and does not apply to cooking stoves that use
gas, propane or briquettes.

This prohibition covers all BC Parks, Crown lands and private lands, but it
does not apply within the boundaries of a local government that has forest
fire prevention bylaws in place and is serviced by a fire department. Before
lighting any fire, residents should check with local civic authorities
regarding any current prohibitions.

The Kamloops Fire Centre stretches from the northern border of Wells
Gray Park near Blue River to the U.S. border to the south, and from the
Bridge River Glacier west of Gold Bridge to the Monashee Mountains east
of Lumby.

Anyone planning to conduct an open burn before the prohibition takes
effect should review the Information Bulletin at:
http://bcwildfire.ca/hprScripts/WildfireNews/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=1865

For information about open burning and for more tips on making
responsible burning decisions, please download one of the guides to open
burning at: http://bcwildfire.ca/hprScripts/WildfireNews/Bans.asp

Anyone found in contravention of an open fire prohibition may be issued a
ticket for $345 or, if convicted in court, be fined up to $100,000 and
sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to
a wildfire, the person may be subject to a penalty of up to $10,000 and be
ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

To report a wildfire or unattended campfire, call 1 800 663-5555 toll-free
or dial *5555 on a cellphone.

For the latest information on fire activity, conditions and prohibitions, visit
the Wildfire Management Branch website: www.bcwildfire.ca

Vandalism Witneses Needed

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:16:00 GMT

The Vernon RCMP members attended several complaints of vandalism over the weekend. It appears that one or more people caused damage to numerous vehicles around the city Saturday evening. Three vehicles had their windows broken in the 3000 block of 29th Ave one in the 3300 block of 39th Ave and then four at the parking of the hospital. In all cases it appears a rock was used in several cases items were stolen from the vehicle.
Then in the 6500 block of Longacre Drive on Saturday night individuals did considerable damage to landscaping, planter boxes and a rock wall as well as lighting at the end of drive ways. The police are asking anyone with any information about this senseless vandalism and thefts to please contact them our call Crime Stoppers.