Top Stories – March 31 – RDCO & SPCA

The Regional District Board has approved a new contract for services with the SPCA. The agreement sees the agency providing a spay, neuter and microchip program, community outreach services and dog adoption through its Kelowna branch and shelter. The Regional District provides 96-thousand dollars a year to the SPCA for those services in the Central Okanagan.

A man has been banned from being within 40 kilometres of 100 Mile House. He was arrested after breaking a store sign, throwing rocks, and while he was being taken to the RCMP station, busted the device that separates the front and back seats. The suspect is well-known to police who believe the ‘no-go zone’ is best for the community.

Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces bombarded areas around Kyiv and another city. It happened just hours after pledging to scale back operations in those zones to promote trust between the two sides. The shelling hit homes, stores, libraries and other civilian sites. Russian troops also stepped up their attacks on the Donbas region in the east.

The Conservation Officer Service seized a truck and riverboat valued at 60-thousand dollars from a prolific offender in northern BC. It was part of an investigation stemming from a 2017 night hunting decoy operation when a man shot the decoy and was later tracked down by Officers. He also received a $5,000 penalty and five-year hunting ban for using a light at night.

Fruit growers and farmers will have lower costs this year as the province has ended the quarantine program for migrant workers. Arriving workers will travel directly to their farms and it will be the employer’s responsibility to ensure federal quarantine requirements are met for those who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. The government says 97% of incoming workers are fully vaccinated.

At least 17 solar eruptions from a single sunspot on the sun have blasted into space in recent days, including some charged particles that may create a colorful show on Earth. These Coronal Mass Ejections could lead to better than average views of the Northern Lights tonight and tomorrow.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business hopes the federal government gives an extra 6 months to an incentive for companies to hire new staff to help firms only now hitting recovery mode. The government introduced the credit in last year’s budget, providing a subsidy to struggling businesses that expanded their payrolls by hiring staff or giving their workers more hours during the pandemic.

Ottawa is eyeing a five-year timeline to build a national monument to honour children who suffered its residential school system. Construction of a memorial in the national capital was listed as one of the calls to action in the final report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Fully vaccinated travelers coming or returning to Canada will no longer need a covid test before getting on a plane starting tomorrow. That, along with an overall increase in passengers is good news for the country’s flagship carrier. Air Canada says it expects to recover to 75 percent of the total seats offered in 2019, a 150 percent bump compared to last year.

Sports

The Canucks are not making it any easier on themselves to get to post season play as they lost their second straight game to St. Louis last night by a 4-3 score. Vancouver is off until Sunday afternoon when Vegas visits Rogers Arena.

The Blue Jays host the Tigers in MLB preseason today at TD Ballpark in Florida. Yesterday, Toronto thumped the Yankees 11-3.

Kelowna Rockets announced that Terry McFaul has been named the team’s director of player personnel. McFaul has spent the last 31 years with the Rockets as a scout, in 2020 he was named the club’s head scout.

Jets forward Kyle Connor and defenseman Nate Schmidt have both tested positive for COVID-19 in Buffalo and have entered protocol, which means they have to stay in the States for 5 days. Connor ranks fifth in the league with 41 goals and is tied for seventh in scoring with 82 points.

Boston’s Taylor Hall won’t miss any games for his sucker punch at Ilya Lyubushkin during a game against the Leafs Tuesday night. He was handed a minor penalty at the time but has since been fined $5,000.

Speculation is bubbling that Tiger Woods may return to professional golf at the Masters next month. He reportedly played a practice round at Augusta National on Tuesday with his son, Charlie, and world No. 7 Justin Thomas.