Top Stories – Nov 16 – Highways Mess

The Interior remains pretty much cut off from the coast due to flooding and broken pavement on highways. Parts of the Coquihalla have become part of the Coldwater River and there are mudslides and water on Highways 1, 3 and 99 among others.  Get the latest info at DriveBC and @EmergencyInfoBC on Twitter. (Above – Coquihalla Highway near Othello Tunnels)

The Province is moving to prevent disruptive behaviour from affecting schools and health-care facilities. Legislation will protect hospitals, COVID test and vaccination centres, and K-12 schools by establishing 20-metre access zones around them. It will give police the power to arrest or issue tickets to anyone impeding access to a facility, and courts will be able to issue an injunction to prevent people from contravening the act.

There were 275 new cases of covid in Interior Health over the weekend, with 762 active cases, which is actually down 100 from Friday. In all of BC there were 1,270 over the weekend. There were 16 additional deaths over the period, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 2,273.

The entire city of 7,000 Merritt residents is under an evacuation order after its wastewater treatment plant was damaged by flooding. Evacuation centres have been set up in Kelowna and Kamloops for those who do not have friends or family to stay with. Areas of the Sumas Prairie in the Fraser Valley were also ordered evacuated.

We told you earlier this year about explosions people in the Penticton area kept hearing around the city. The incidents occurred within various open areas. RCMP now say 49 year old Penticton resident Robert Blair Balch has been charged with possessing an explosive device and mischief.

West Kelowna RCMP is asking the public for help in the search for James Wood. He was last seen November 8 leaving his home on foot in the 2000 block of Peters Road near Sonoma Pines. An extensive search turned up no trace of him. Police are asking people living on, and around the Peters Road area to check their properties, sheds and outbuildings in the event Wood found shelter.

Kelowna council has decided to make some changes to how far drivers can go, and when, on Knox Mountain Drive. For a two-year trial period, public vehicles will be allowed access just to the First Lookout and no further. And they will only be allowed from noon to 8pm, 7 days a week. The road will continue to be closed to vehicles during the winter months and periods of extreme fire danger.

A thief wasn’t quick enough making a getaway Saturday night in West Kelowna. RCMP responded to an alarm at a jewelry store on Main Street. Officers searched the area and found a man running from the store with his loot. A 33-year-old man from West Kelowna was arrested for Break and Enter, Theft over $5000 and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime.

Well wasn’t THAT a storm yesterday afternoon. It came on fast with rain, hail, wind, thunder and lightning, and left just as quickly. In its wake, power was out for thousands of Hydro and Fortis customers and there were reports of shingles ripped off roofs and one tent trailer flipped over and there were cancellations at the airport. The next couple of days are going to be a lot calmer and we will have details coming up.

Sports

Just 2 games in the NHL last night. Tampa Bay beat the Islanders 4 to 1, and Columbus got by Detroit 5 to 3. The Canucks host Colorado tomorrow.

Cam Newton’s first start since rejoining the Carolina Panthers could come this weekend. Head coach Matt Rhule says Newton will receive the majority of the first-team reps in practice this week ahead of Sunday’s game against Washington.

The Ottawa Senators won’t play their next three games against New Jersey, Nashville, and the Rangers because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Associate coach Jack Capuano and 10 Ottawa players are currently in the NHL’s COVID protocol.

There is a rare Tuesday night CFL game. The Edmonton Elks are in Toronto to take on the Argos at 4:30.

In the Battle of California Monday Night Football game, the San Francisco 49ers surprised just about everyone, including the Los Angeles Rams with a 31-10 win.

Kelowna Rockets announced that Eli Wilson has joined the organization as a goaltender coach. He founded the largest goaltending school in Western Canada and runs camps, clinics, and consults worldwide.