Top Stories – July 29 – Bike Park Work

The Mission Creek Mountain Bike Skills Park is undergoing annual maintenance to improve jump lines and partial closures are in place throughout the long weekend. The black and double black jump ones are closed until early next week. The blue jump line and green pump track are still open.

As it does every holiday weekend, ICBC is advising people to be careful when travelling. There’s an average of one death and 85 injuries in 350 crashes in the Interior over the BC Day long weekend. The advice is to plan ahead, not drink and drive, allow for extra travel time, and to pay attention to other road users, especially motorcycles and those towing boats and trailers.

The federal government is proposing 13-hundred dollars in compensation for turning in an AR-15 rifle under a mandatory buyback program. At the higher end of the scale, forfeiting a Swiss Arms SG550 could net an owner 62-hundred bucks. The program would cover the more than 15-hundred models and variants of what the government considers assault-style firearms, that were banned two years ago.

There will be a number of road closures tomorrow morning starting at 6 around the waterfront as the annual Dream Rally shifts into gear. There will be more than 240 luxury and exotic vehicles taking part. The Water Street Boat Launch will be closed from 6am to 10:30, but the Cook Road Boat Launch is an alternative. To get specific times and where to watch, check out okanagandreamrally.com .

British Columbians can now nominate someone for this year’s Medal of Good Citizenship. It recognizes people for extraordinary generosity, service, acts of selflessness and contributions to their community. Nominations are open until September 6th and recipients will be announced in early December to coincide with International Volunteer Day.

The parliamentary budget officer says Canada’s current fiscal policy is sustainable over the long term. The annual report aims to identify any necessary changes to current fiscal policy to ensure government debt accumulation does not become unsustainable. For the provinces, the PBO says relative to the size of their economies, they will face rising health-care expenses due to the aging population.

The fire danger rating in the Central Okanagan is now extreme… as high as it can go. That means new fires will start easily, spread rapidly, and challenge fire suppression efforts. If you are out this long weekend, campfires are still allowed, but they must be small and controlled. Keep up to speed at bcwildfire.ca or the app.

The Kelowna area RCMP will be out all long weekend on Okanagan Lake conducting patrols, making sure boats have enough life jackets and checking for operator certificates and safety equipment. Above all, they remind boaters to play it smart. 80 percent of the drownings in BC in the summer have been men, with those aged 19-29 accounting for 23% of the deaths, followed by 50-59 year-olds at 17 percent.

Russian forces launched missile strikes on the Kyiv area yesterday for the first time in weeks, in what a Ukrainian official said was revenge for the fierce resistance the Kremlin has faced after it invaded its neighbour. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials announced an operation to liberate an occupied region in the country’s south. Media quoted the presidential adviser as saying that Ukraine’s operation to liberate the region of Kherson has already begun.

Sports

The BC Hockey League has added a year-end honour for the Most Valuable Player of the postseason, which will be called the Jeff Tambellini Trophy. It’s named after the former Chilliwack Chiefs star, 12-year pro and recent head coach and general manager of the Trail Smoke Eaters.

The Seattle Seahawks have lost another player to free agency. Pass rusher Carlos Dunlap is signing a one year deal with Kansas City for up to 8 Million dollars.

The BC Lions are in Saskatchewan today for a game against the Roughriders with the kickoff at 6pm. Yesterday in Hamilton, the Ti-Cats picked up their second win of the season beating Montreal 24-17. The Als drop to 2 & 5.

It was a bit of a cross-European trek for the Formula One teams from France last week to Hungary this weekend. It’s the usual schedule with practise today, qualifying tomorrow and the race on Sunday. And 4 time champion Sebastian Vettel has announced he will retire at the end of the season.

In Toronto last night the Blue Jays got back on track with a 5-3 win against the Detroit Tigers. They will play again today with the first pitch just after 4.

Heading into the 2nd day of the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Taylor Pendrith from Richmond Hill, Ontario, shares the lead with Tony Finau at 8 under par. There are 5 golfers two shots back.