Top Stories – Feb 14 – Three Rutland B&E’s

The Kelowna RCMP is warning residents in Rutland to lock their doors after a series of break and enters on the weekend. Police are investigating three B&E’s into homes in an area off Mugford Road. Investigators believe the same suspect is responsible for all three incidents. He is described as being in his twenties with a tall, thin build, wearing dark-coloured clothes, dark-coloured hoodie, gloves, and a mask.

A fire which the Kelowna fire department is calling suspicious, started at the back of a house early yesterday morning in the 700 block of Harvey. The first arriving crew reported flames and black smoke. All occupants made it out safely.

Police cleared out protestors at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor yesterday making dozens of peaceful arrests in the process. It reopened last night. Meantime, in Ottawa there is apparently a tentative agreement to move big rigs out of residential areas over the next couple of days. And there was another procession of anti-vax-mandate vehicles honking horns and people with posters in downtown Kelowna on the weekend.

It may be easier and cheaper for the fully vaccinated to cross the border into Canada soon. The federal health minister says changes to border mandates will be coming this week. Right now, most people coming or returning to Canada need to show proof of a recent PCR test, even if fully vaccinated… speculation is that requirement will end.

We will find out later today what happened as far as weekend covid numbers go. On Friday there were 335 new cases in interior health, down from the day before but there were also an additional 3 deaths from the virus. Doctor Bonnie Henry is expected to announce a loosening of restrictions tomorrow.

Canada has closed its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv (KEEV) and relocated its diplomatic staff to a temporary office in the western part of the country amid fears of a war. Russia has mobilized 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine and is demanding a series of concessions from the NATO alliance, which includes Canada.

A woman is in custody and has been charged in connection with a murder in Kelowna more than a year ago. In December 2020, RCMP responding to a disturbance call discovered the body of a man outside a home in the 1700-block of Highway 33. Thirty-three year-old Marlena Isnardy from Kelowna is charged with second degree murder.

A Kelowna-based digital content provider with ties to dogs has made a large donation to help real life animals. RuffLife Rescues NFT has donated over 100-thousand dollars to the BC SPCA. That’s 40 percent of the profits made from the sale of the digital content since December, and RuffLife says it will continue to make donations to the SPCA in the future.

If you’re taking your Valentine out for dinner, the restaurant owner will appreciate it. Some eateries are bracing for another lacklustre Valentine’s Day amid ongoing physical distancing rules, capacity restrictions and uncertainty. Thousands of restaurants have permanently closed during the pandemic, while others have survived through a mix of subsidies, debt and sheer grit.

Sports

In women’s semi final hockey at the Beijing Olympics yesterday, Canada dumped Switzerland 10-3 to advance to the gold medal game on Wednesday. Canada remains undefeated at the 2022 games and will play the United States for the Gold Medal on Wednesday at 8:10pm.

The men’s hockey preliminary round at the Olympics wrapped up yesterday. Canada beat China 5-0 to improve to 2 wins and 1 loss. Canada will play China again in the qualifying round tomorrow morning at 5:10, with the winner taking on Sweden in the quarter final.

The Kelowna Rockets beat Everett 4-3 in a shootout on Friday, and on Saturday, a second period penalty shot goal by Pavel Novak, and a 3-goal third period and one in overtime, gave Kelowna a 5-4 win against Tri-Cities. Novak ended with a hat trick. Prince George is in town on Wednesday.

Super Bowl 56 in California was won 23-20 by Los Angeles over the Cincinnati Bengals. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp had two touchdowns, including the winner with 1:25 left and was named MVP.

In the BC Hockey League the West Kelowna Warriors dumped Merritt 7-2. In the last 2 games West Kelowna has outscored the Centennials 14-3. The Warriors can now rest up before 3 games this coming weekend.

The PGA’s W-M Phoenix Open went to a playoff after Patrick Cantlay and Scottie Scheffler finished at 16-under. Sheffler won it on the 3rd extra hole.