Photo: Sandi Kowalyshyn
People gather at Ukrainian Catholic Church in Kelowna for fundraiser on March 12th
Kelowna’s Ukrainian Catholic Church is holding another fundraiser Saturday to raise money for Ukraine, as Russia continues its invasion of the country.
The church, at 1091 Coronation Ave, will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. for anyone to stop by and purchase items for sale, including a Ukrainian flag that will be raffled off as well as Ukrainian baked goods.
“It is a garage sale, plus all the ladies have been baking and cooking for weeks,” said volunteer David Werema.
Back on March 12th, the Ukrainian Catholic Church hosted its first fundraiser that saw residents showing up in droves to support Ukraine and the Kelowna Ukrainian community.
Last Saturday, the Kelowna Stands with Ukraine group also held a garage sale and organizer Denys Storozhuk says over $10,000 was raised. To date, the group says they’ve raised a combined $180,000 through their fundraising efforts.
Storozhuk says their next event will be held on Saturday, April 16.
“We will have a Ukrainian information session BBQ at the park. We are getting a permit with the city and will find a location in the next few days,” Storozhuk said.
Photo: Kelowna RCMP
Police have asked for assistance in finding missing woman, Wendy Tarr.
UPDATE: 9:15 a.m.
The Kelowna woman who went missing Friday has been located safe and sound Saturday morning.
ORIGINAL: 7:45 a.m.
Police and Search and Rescue crews worked through the night looking for a missing Kelowna woman, but she’s yet to be found.
Wendy Tarr, 53, was last seen just before noon on Friday, walking in the area of K.L.O. And Benvoulin Road. Police believe she may have accessed the Mission Greenway trail system.
“Police are very concerned for Wendy’s health and well-being, and family report that it is out of character for her to be out of contact for this long,” said Const. Solana Paré of the Kelowna RCMP.
“Police have searched the area where Wendy was last seen with the assistance of Central Okanagan Search and Rescue throughout the night, however she remains missing.”
Police describe Tarr as a 5-foot-6 Indigenous woman with a medium build, short brown hair and brown eyes
She was last seen wearing a purple jacket with black sleeves, blue jeans, and a purple hat – the same hat shown in the photo above.
Police have asked anyone with information about Tarr’s whereabouts to contact the Kelowna RCMP, or anonymously through CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Photo: Steve Windsor
The Lake Country Fire Department attended a semi-truck fire early Saturday morning.
Fire crews extinguished a semi-truck fire on Highway 97 in Lake Country in the early morning hours of Saturday.
At about 1:40 a.m., the Lake Country Fire Department attended the fire at Highway 97 and Beaver Lake Road.
“The semi was hauling an excavator bucket on a return trip to Prince George when the fire broke out,” said Lake Country Fire Chief Steve Windsor.
“It was determined to be mechanical in nature possibly starting from a blown tire.”
Fire crews were able to quickly get the blaze under control, but given the extreme heat from the fire, it’s not clear if the truck will be repairable.
Six firefighters responded to the call.
Victoria Femia
Friday was the first day in close to six months that proof of vaccination wasn’t required to be seated at a restaurant.
“We’re excited for it, one less step to take at the door and good to see some old faces that maybe opted out of the vaccine. We’re excited to get some people in here, nice to get back to normal,” said Jeremy Cummins, General Manager of Jack’s Kelowna.
With no COVID-19 restrictions in place at restaurants, Cummins expects business to be busier moving forward.
He noted that the elimination of checking for proof of vaccination is not expected to affect staffing.
“We greet our guests at the front door anyway, so I guess just one less step for them. They’re probably happy, for sure,” said Cummins.
BC Restaurant and Food Association President, Ian Tostenson said now that the restrictions have been lifted, they are looking at ways to bring workers back into the restaurant industry.
“We’re going to start a campaign in the next couple of weeks to encourage people who have kids at home that aren’t working for the summer to go to their favourite restaurant and apply for a position. It’s a great first time job,” said Tostenson.
“We’re going to attract as many people back into the industry as possible.”
Rob Gibson – Apr 9, 2022 / 4:00 am | Story: 365520
Photo: Contributed
The last payphone in Lake Country is being decommissioned.
Telus tells Castanet the move is being made at the 7-Eleven at 9724 Highway 97 in Winfield, because of a decline in usage.
“The use of payphones has steadily declined over the last two decades due to the popularity and availability of cell phones and wireless coverage across Canada,” says Lena Chen, a spokesperson for Telus.
Telus cell coverage reaches more than 99 per cent of the population of British Columbia. Chen says, the payphone has made $17 in the last two years, which represents 35 phone calls since January 2020.
The payphone is expected to be retired by the end of April and notification of the removal was posted on the phone along with a note: “If you have any questions, please contact WiMacTel Canada Inc., at 1-844-825-8481 about this removal.”
Chen says Telus is very thoughtful about removing payphones and is donating $1,000 to the Telus Friendly Future Foundation on behalf of the Lake Country community.
“In recognition of the nostalgia associated with payphones for many generations, if a member of Lake Country’s community or a local organization would like to keep the decommissioned payphone for display purposes, we would be happy to work with them to ensure that it stays within the community as an acknowledgement of a shared piece of technology history,” Chen says.
Residents who are interested in seeing this payphone showcased as a piece of history in a local museum or community centre can email Telus to learn more.
Telus is not the only payphone provider in B.C. but Chen says she believes there are still 1,600 Telus payphones operational in the province.
Photo: City of Kelowna
The next group of nine people sitting around the Kelowna council table will have the option of a taxpayer funded extended health package.
The issue was endorsed by council last month during a broad debate around overall council remuneration.
However, an amendment to the city’s remuneration and expense bylaw was required to make it official.
That bylaw change will be brought forward to council for their final approval Monday.
The benefit package would include extended health, dental, life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance coverage.
City employees receive the package at the present time, however, it is only offered to elected officials if they foot the bill for premiums themselves.
No one on council has opted into the plan.
Deputy city clerk says city paid premiums would cost about $50,000 if mayor and council all opted in.
During last month’s debate, Coun. Luke Stack said he didn’t understand the double standard of providing the package to employees and not to elected officials.
He also stated that many on council already have similar plans through their current employment or that of a spouse, and therefore would not be taking advantage of the city’s plan.
This change aligns with best practices and the core principles of reflecting and compensating elected officials for the time needed to perform their duties, and reducing barriers to participating as an elected official,” said Bentley in her presentation to council.
If adopted, the new measure wouldn’t come into effect until after the October election.
Council agreed not review overall remuneration,instead going with a formula that sees pay increase based on the yearly Consumer Price Index.
Rob Gibson – Apr 9, 2022 / 4:00 am | Story: 365510
Photo: Campion
Another Kelowna business is on the move and possibly closing for good.
A real estate listing on the HM Commercial Group website shows the current location for Campion Marine at 200 Campion St. in Kelowna is for sale for just under $15 M.
The website listing indicates, “200 Campion Street is well located in the Reid’s Corner area of Kelowna, one of the most sought after industrial areas in the city. The location provides easy access via Sexsmith Road to Highway 97 at a signalized intersection and is listed for $14,995,000.”
Kelowna-based Campion Boats was sold to an Edmonton company called KV Private Equity for an undisclosed price back in 2018.
Castanet was contacted by several employees who indicated the company will close its doors after more than 50 years in the Okanagan.
“An accounting company from Alberta bought Campion in late 2018 (and they are) claiming that due to supply chain and labour market issues, they have to close,” said an employee who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
The person with knowledge of the sale noted KV Equity also owns Northern Lite Mfg. Ltd. and some Campion employees have been offered positions with that company.
Castanet has reached out to KV Equity and Campion for comment but have not received a response.
Campion is Canada’s largest independent fibreglass boat builder and is very well respected in the industry.
Campion currently employs more than 100 people at the Kelowna location. No timeline for the sale or the closing of the facility has been given but the source Castanet spoke with indicated the last employees are expected to be done work in early August of 2022.
Photo: Nicholas Johansen
Robert Riley Saunders leaving the Kelowna courthouse last month.
A short appearance was held in Kelowna’s Supreme Court Friday morning in the Robert Riley Saunders criminal case, but the public was barred from entering.
Saunders pleaded guilty to three of his 13 charges last September, stemming from his fraudulent scheme that saw him steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Ministry of Children and Family Development while he worked there as a guardianship social worker. The criminal charges date back to 2011.
A seven-day Gardiner hearing was held last month, where the Crown and defence argued about whether Saunders’ admitted fraud against the government deprived the youth in his care of funds. Saunders argues the youth would never have been entitled to the funds that he stole in their name, while the Crown disagrees.
If Justice Steven Wilson finds the Crown proved this aggravating factor beyond a reasonable doubt, it’s expected to have a significant impact on the length of Saunders’ eventual sentence.
While it’s not clear when Justice Wilson expects to rule on the Gardiner hearing, a short 30-minute appearance on the Saunders matter was held in Kelowna court Friday morning. Saunders was not in attendance, and the appearance was labelled “for direction by judge.”
While Canadian courts are open to the public by default, a “closed session” sign was posted on Courtroom 1 Friday morning, and the public was barred from entering.
While no rationale for the closure was provided at the courthouse, Bruce Cohen, B.C.’s Superior Courts communications officer, later said the closure was ordered by Justice Wilson.
“The matter before the court was procedural and related only to sequencing and scheduling,” Cohen said in an email. “Justice Wilson needed to address with counsel the specifics of their calendars which would not be appropriate in a public forum.”
Discussion of scheduling future court dates is regularly done in open court and it’s not clear what was different about Friday’s matter.
The Supreme Court of Canada has repeatedly ruled the public’s access to court proceedings is “essential to a healthy democracy,” and in 2004, Canada’s top court emphasized the open-court principle “is “not to be lightly interfered with.”
“The freedom of the press to report on judicial proceedings is a core value,” the Supreme Court of Canada stated. “Equally, the right of the public to receive information is also protected by the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.”
In open court on March 31, Justice Wilson and counsel discussed an in-progress pre-sentence report for Saunders that’s expected to be completed in mid-May. At that time, the judge noted a two-day sentencing hearing would be expected to be scheduled sometime in late May or early June.
As the public was barred from Friday’s “procedural” matter, it’s still not clear when Justice Wilson will deliver a ruling on last month’s Gardiner hearing, or when the final sentencing hearing may occur.
Photo: Kelowna Chamber of Commerce
Dan Rogers makes his pitch to the Electoral Boundaries Commission.
The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce is the latest organization in the city to back the addition of another provincial riding.
Chamber executive director Dan Rogers made the pitch to the Electoral Boundaries Commission during their stop in Kelowna earlier this week.
The region’s three Liberal MLAs have proposed adding a fourth riding to the Central Okanagan, a move which has been endorsed by other organizations as well.
It has also been suggested that Big White, which is part of Kootenay Boundary Regional District, be included within any new boundary lines.
Rogers cited the rapidly growing Central Okanagan as a need for additional representation in Victoria.
“As we are a business organization, we will leave it to you to determine, and others to suggest, what the redefined boundaries for such a new riding would look like, but we believe that the significant increases in development, business, and population growth in Kelowna’s urban core lend themselves well to a new city centre riding,” Rogers told the commission members.
The commission will make its recommendations to the government in October.
Any electoral boundary changes would come into effect in time for the next provincial election in 2024.
Photo: City of Kelowna
Redevelopment of Kelowna’s north end needs to include affordable housing, more waterfront access, parks and green space.
Those were some of the conclusions to come out of an extensive public engagement process on the future vision of the mostly residential area.
An update on development of a north end plan, which is expected to be finalized early next year, will be presented to city council Monday.
The latest engagement ran over a two month period earlier this year.
In its report for council, staff detailed several themes and priorities that emerged from public engagement.
Key considerations that emerged from this early phase of engagement include the need to prioritize local shops and community services to cater to the daily needs of residents, the need for a greater variety of diverse housing options, the desire to expand waterfront access and investment in amenities,” the report outlines.
There was also a desire for more dog parks within the area, better biking and pedestrian infrastructure, more affordable housing along with diverse housing options, and a need for more basic services such as groceries.
There was also a widespread acknowledgement as to the rich history of the area, and a desire to preserve and commemorate that history, beginning with the sylix/Okanagan culture.
“Public and stakeholder input during the early phases of the project will help shape a draft vision and objectives for the north end which will inform the development of preliminary neighbourhood concepts,” the report added.
“Concepts will be shared later in 2022 and will be the focus of the next phase of public engagement.”
The boundary of the study area was increased slightly to include future expansion of Sutherland Bay park to the north.
There were some comments made around the future of the Tolko sawmill site, which is the subject of a separate, concurrent area redevelopment plan.
While those comments will be forwarded to the those conducting that plan, some of the more popular comments for the mill site centered around a people-friendly, mixed-use waterfront destination with an eclectic mix of uses including local markets and shops, arts and culture venues and displays, maker-spaces and
community spaces.
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