Vernon News

A Vernon Mountie has been fined and had his licence pulled for a year in a drinking driving related case.

Constable Jody Turpin was arrested December 19th by two other officers who'd spotted a man behind the wheel of a parked vehicle.

They thought he was about to drive his personal vehicle and recommended impaired charges.

Cst Turpin has now had the original charge of care and control of a vehicle while impaired stayed by the Crown.

He in turn pled guilty to failing to provide a breath sample, that produced the thousand dollar fine and suspension .

Senior RCMP staff are preparing a statement on the case.

Vernon's Sonja Gaudet and Armstrong's Ina Forrest open up play with their Canadian wheelchair curling team Saturday in Vancouver.

They are members of the team skipped by Richmond's Jim Armstrong that open up against Great Britain at 12:30 Saturday.

The 43 year old Gaudet is the only returning member of the Canadian team that won gold at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy.

She suffered a spinal cord injury after falling from a horse several years ago.

The 47 year old Forrest was a member of the British Columbia Wheelchair Curling Team that won silver in the 2004 and 2005 National Wheelchair Curling Championships.

29 year old Josh Dueck of Vernon (pictured) goes for a medal in alpine skiing Saturday afternoon in Whistler.

He broke his back in a ski accident, leaving him with paraplegia.

The Paralympic games begin tonight, and last until March 21st.

The games in Vancouver and Whistler involve around 600 athletes from 40 countries.

John Furlong, chief of the Paralympic organizing committee, says the event is about possibility -- not disability.

The Vernon Vipers are in Quesnel to play the surprising Millionaires in game 3 of the BCHL interior semi final tonight.

The series is tied at 1.

The Vipers will have to find a way to get to the series star so far, 18 year old Mills goalie Kirby Halcrow who stopped 55 shots in game 2 for a 4-2 win.

The other concern for Venro is their anemic power play which went 0 for 6 in game 1's 6-2 victory, and 0 for 6 in the game 2 loss.

We'll have the game on Kiss FM with Todd Miller starting at 7:15.

Also tonight, Penticton is at Westside with the Vees up 2 games to none.

Elsewhere, Nanaimo took a 2-1 lead over coastal top seed Alberni with a 4-2 win last night. Powell River leads Langley 2 games to none with game 3 tonight in Langley.

 

A tense situation for RCMP officers near Lumby this week.

Corporal Henry Proce says while responding to a routine family disturbance call at a rural location, police were confronted with a man armed with a rifle inside the residence. 

Proce says deadly force was avoided when the suspect  acceded to police demands and dropped the gun. 

RCMP say 42 year old Chad Shunter has been charged with possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and two other run related charges.

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LUMBY/CHERRYVILLE RCMP NEWS - WEEK OF MARCH 5-12TH

Submitted by Corporal Henry Proce

 During the past week, Lumby RCMP members responded to 30 complaints or calls for service ranging from trespassing to sudden deaths. 

We got a strong reminder this week that police should never relax their guard.  While responding to a routine family disturbance call at a rural location, police were confronted with the suspect male armed with a rifle inside the residence.  Deadly force was avoided when the suspect wisely acceded to police demands and dropped the weapon.  Charged with Careless Use of a Firearm, Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm and Possessing a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose is Chad SHUNTER ( age: 42) of Lumby. 

On March 6^th police responded to two thefts from autos within the Village limits. Both vehicles were parked in the lot at the Twin Creeks motel.  A hammer used to smash the windows and gain entry was located at the scene.  Item were stolen from both vehicles.  The vandalism probably occurred during the previous night of March 5 - 6^th.  The owners of both vehicles were the only occupants in the motel that evening.  If you have any information of these incidents, please give the Lumby RCMP a call.

Again on March 6^th, 3 similar theft from autos were reported on Highway 6 in Cherryville across from the golf course.  Back country skiers park their vehicles here for days at a time while they are transported to the lodge in the Monashee mountains.  A similar method was used in these thefts as the culprit(s) used a rock to smash out the car windows and steal what they wanted.

After breaking into the cars across from the golf course, the thieves then stole a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche pick-up that had also been parked there.   They again gained entry by smashing out the rear and passenger windows with a large rock.  Nothing subtle about that!  The stolen truck was recovered parked in front of the "Route 6 Campground" on the east side of Cherryville.  Stolen from the vehicle were gloves, mittens, brown Oakley sunglasses, a gold wedding band, Dewalt tool bag and a tackle box contained a specialized 1^st aid kit as the vehicle's owner is a plastic surgeon.
I would surmise that the same person(s)is responsible for all these crimes and we are seeking anyone with information to come forward.

 

Boaters have long been calling for more launch sites on local lakes, and now local government is ready to take a closer look at the issue.

The Greater Vernon Advisory Committee is recommending NORD launch a $65,000 study into what's needed over the next 20 years on Kalamalka and Okanagan lakes.

 Parks and Rec general manager Al McNiven says significant development at the north end of Okanagan Lake has increased demand.

"Paddlewheel Park is the major one there now and during weekends in the summer, where it gets really busy."

New launch sites for motorized boats won't be considered for Kal Lake--- but McNiven says the Kekuli Bay launch could be expanded by the province, over the next few years.

"It's not a given that it's going to happen in 2010 or 2011. It's in their plan and my reading of it is that it's a matter of when, not if."

The upgrade would see the current parking space for 46 trucks and trailers, expanded to 83 stalls.