Top Stories – Oct 19 – Stabbed to Death

An RCMP officer in Burnaby has been stabbed to death in what Solicitor General Mike Farnworth calls a terrible tragedy. Police say the 31 year old woman was a member of the mental health and homeless outreach team. Const. Shaelyn Yang and a bylaw officer were called to Broadview Park yesterday morning, and were engaged with someone in a tent when an altercation erupted. Farnworth said her death is a stark reminder of the dangers police face to keep us safe.

More work on Lakeshore road for drivers to contend with. This time it will be single lane alternating traffic from 7am to 530pm starting today and lasting until late November at Lakeshore and Uplands in the South Mission. To improve the sewer system in the area, crews will be upgrading the lift station at the intersection.

Airstrikes cut power and water supplies to thousands of Ukrainians yesterday, in what the president called an expanding Russian campaign to drive the nation into the cold and dark and make peace talks impossible. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said nearly one-third of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed in the past week. Russia has broadened use of so-called suicide drones that nosedive into targets.

There were a few tense minutes at Springvalley Middle School in Kelowna yesterday afternoon when a shelter-in-place was initiated just before 3pm. RCMP had called to say they had a report of gunshots in the neighbourhood. It turned out to be false and the procedure was lifted 17 minutes later.

West Kelowna is doing safety upgrades at three parks this fall. Starting this week, crews will temporarily close Moonbeam Park for up to two weeks to replace the pea gravel surface with wood fibre. After that they will move to Rose Meadow Park on the 26th and Stonegrove Park, November 3.

The atmospheric river has moved East this year. Rainfall warnings are in effect for parts of eastern Canada as the event will be stronger than last week’s, which brought days of persistent rain. By the time all is said and done, up to 100 mm is possible in some areas, prompting the warnings for parts of Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

The Okanagan was included in a Smoky Skies Bulletin issued by the province and health authorities. As you could probably see if you were outside, we are still being impacted by wildfire smoke. Things should start to clear out toward the end of the week when the wind pattern changes and rain is forecast to move in.

The Slow Down and Move Over safety stop event by the RCMP and BCAA yesterday brought the rules of the road to a number of drivers. Over 126 warning letters were handed out on the Northbound Highway 97 pull out close to Ellison Lake… or Duck Lake if you prefer.

An economic outlook by the Conference Board of Canada says a recession is possible, but the underlying conditions are working in the economy’s favour. Overall, the board expects growth for 2022 to come in at 3 percent based on the strength of the first half of the year. Increases to the consumer price index are expected to be 3.8 percent in 2023 and 2.2 in 2024

Sports

Game night for the Kelowna Rockets as the Brandon Wheat Kings make a western swing. The teams haven’t played each other since 2019. Regan Bartel will have the game call from Prospera Place starting with the pregame show on 1047 The Lizard and Rocketfan.ca at 6:35.

Quarterback Zach Collaros (coll-AIR-ohs) has signed a three-year contract extension with the Blue Bombers through the 2025 season. He was set to become a free agent next year.

The Toronto Raptors begin their NBA regular season at home today. Tip off against the Cleveland Cavaliers is at 4:30.

Golfweek reports the PGA TOUR will soon announce that it’s elevated the status of four 2023 events, including the Phoenix Open, the RBC Heritage, the Wells Fargo, and the Travelers. Most of the 12 events will have purses of at least $20 million.

At the BC Hockey League Showcase tournament in Chilliwack, the West Kelowna Warriors dumped the Powell River Kings 5-1 yesterday afternoon to go 2 out of 2 at the event.

The Vancouver Canucks got their first point of the season last night in a 4-3 overtime loss to Columbus. Vancouver will end the road trip tomorrow in Minnesota.