City lands new airport lease
By Peter McIntyre
There won't be any service disruptions at the Vernon Airport now that a new long term lease has been finalized.
The deal covers part of the facility's runway which is owned by Okanagan Indian Band member John Jack.
Mayor Wayne Lippert says the new deal is for 49 years and will pay Jack $275,000 over five years, with further payments to be negotiated.
Lippert tells KISS FM, the city may also look into buying the seven acres.
"There is opportunities to be able to purchase the land, but we felt, and John Jack felt, let's get this done and over with, and that's something we can always investigate (in the future)."
Lippert maintains the deal was the same as one both sides had agreed to 18 months ago but he says it got caught up in red tape.
He says the Jack's move to take their concerns to the media helped bring the issue to the forefront for the other government agencies involved like Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
Jack had threatened to restrict access to the airport if a long term lease wasn't reached.
No more GVS
By Peter McIntyre
It's the end of the line for the Greater Vernon Governance Service.
NORD directors have repealed the bylaw that created the agency in 2001 to manage local issues like parks and rec, water and economic development.
Vernon and Coldstream were opposed.
Under NORD's committee restructuring plan, Greater Vernon Services will be renamed the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee.
NORD directors have given three readings to a new bylaw that will restructure the district's committee system.
Chairman Jerry Oglow says the changes will save some money, use staff time more wisely and allow the board to work more closely together.
NORD takes action on irrigation concerns
By Peter McIntyre
Concerns about the spray irrigation program at Silver Star contaminating the local water supply will be taken up by the regional district.
Some residents are concerned the private operator of the program may be affecting water quality in the watershed's four creeks.
Environment Ministry protection officer Mike Reiner assured NORD the spraying was having no impact as proper safeguards are in place.
NORD chair Jerry Oglow says there's still some doubts, so the district will attempt to get more public involvement in the process.
"A lot of the concerns revolved around the fact it was up to the operator to do the monitoring and is there enough independence in that, and should the Ministry of Environment be insuring there's more independence to the monitoring."
NORD will also check the annual reports of Silverhawk, the company that runs the system to see if there's been any problems in the past.
Smoky skies result of US fires
By Peter McIntyre
A large part of BC---including the Okanagan--- has been under a smoky haze for the last two days.
David Jones from Environment Canada says it's coming from the U-S.
"The haze is actually from smoke from fires in Northern California and from satellite imagery, I can see it's affecting the area from the Northern tip of Vancouver Island eastward, all the way through the Interior, stretching right up the the area north of Fort St John."
Jones says the smoke should dissipate gradually in conjunction with the end of the current heat wave on Saturday.
Accidental kitchen fire
Kiss FM News
Fire officials are praising the actions of some Vernon residents after a house fire.
Three occupants of a home on 41-st Avenue near Alexis Park, evacuated the structure after a blaze in the kitchen Tuesday night, and then phoned the fire department.
Deputy Fire Chief Rick Owens says that's the best way to avoid smoke inhalation.
"It's actually the smoke that does a lot of damage. A lot of people feel that in a fire where people die, it's from the burns. Actually, it's more common that the they die from the smoke."
The fire started after one of the occupants left an electric deep fryer on the stove and accidentally turned on an element.
The fire torched the stove and also resulted in smoke damage.
Woman set on fire
A charge of attempted murder has been laid against a man after his 79-year-old mother was splashed with gasoline and set on fire in Clearwater last Friday.
Fifty-one-year-old Parker Matthias was arrested at the scene of the attack.
His mother, Kathleen Jennings, is listed in critical condition in Vancouver General Hospital, with second and third degree burns to her upper body.
Her dog was also set on fire in the attack and had to be put down, and Matthias is also charged with animal cruelty. (CHNL)
Body found
A man's body has been found in the water off Nanaimo.
The R-C-M-P say the body was discovered near some log booms last night by two canoeists.
The man's name has not yet been released, and police and the coroner's service are investigating. (The Canadian Press)
Doctor penalized for touching
A Victoria doctor who admitted touching a patient in a sexual manner has been disciplined by the B-C College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The college says Dr. Jonathan Mark Follows pleaded guilty to unprofessional conduct during medical appointments in 2004 and 2005 when he inappropriately touched a patient.
Dr. Follows has been suspended from practicing medicine for six months, but that could be reduced to three months if he meets other conditions, which include having counseling.
The patient involved initially contacted the College, but did not pursue a formal complaint. (The Canadian Press)
Cell phone used in rescue
A remarkable rescue story is emerging from Sunday's plane crash on Vancouver Island that killed five people and left two others injured.
One of the survivors, Bob Pomponio, used text messages to summon rescuers, but almost ran out of juice on his cell phone before he was found.
His brother-in-law, Martin Young, says it was tricky for Pomponio because he had to keep turning off the phone to allow it to conserve power.
Young says Pomponio would send out a text message every time a search plane flew over the area.
It took about nine hours before rescuers were able to use the data gleaned from the messages to triangulate the crash site.
Meantime, a federal Transportation Safety Board spokesman is contradicting reports that Sunday's crash resulted from an engine stall.
Bill Yearwood says it's too early to say why the 1940's-vintage Grumman Goose slammed into a mountainside near Port Hardy.
He says investigators hope an examination of the unburned parts of the plane -- which are being recovered from the crash site today -- will provide clues to why it went down.
Meanwhile, Pacific Coastal Airlines says the man at the controls of the plane -- 36-year-old Simon Lawrence -- was a seasoned pilot who knew the Port Hardy area well. (The Canadian Press)
Mystery feet could be linked
A detective in Washington state says he thinks there must be some connection between the five feet washed up on B-C beaches in the last year and a foot found near Port Angeles last week.
Sergeant Lyman Moores of the Clallam County sheriff's department says all these feet turning up can't be a coincidence.
He says they may originate from a plane or boat accident or even the tsunami that struck southeast Asia in 2004.
Moores says a D-N-A sample has been taken from the latest foot, with results expected back from the lab in about a month, and he's also sharing information with the R-C-M-P. (The Canadian Press)
Stockwell Day reacts to bus security
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says it would be tough to impose pre-boarding security at all of Canada's highway bus stations.
He was commenting on last week's horrific beheading of a passenger aboard a Greyhound bus in Manitoba.
Speaking in Peachland today, Day says improving security on buses is a challenge because of the thousands of bus trips that happen in rural areas.
He also says despite the tragedy, buses are still the safest way to travel in Canada. (CKOV)
Street race fatal
Police are recommending charges against a driver involved in a street race that led to a fatal crash in Delta Monday night.
Police managed to stop one of two cars that were racing along Scott Road, but the second car fled before plunging over an embankment and exploding, killing the passenger and leaving the driver in hospital on life support.
Police say they are recommending charges of impaired driving and dangerous driving against the 30-year-old man who stopped for police before the other car crashed.
The 38-year-old driver of the second vehicle is in serious condition at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, while his passenger was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. (The Canadian Press)
Glacier death
The R-C-M-P are withholding the identity of a 63-year-old Rossland man who fell to his death on a glacier near Revelstoke last Thursday.
Police say the man was among two groups of three people hiking on the Durand Glacier near Zwillings Peak when he plunged down a crevasse.
He was not roped to his companions.
A Parks Canada rescue team rappelled down the 30-metre crevasse, but found the victim dead. (CHNL)
