Top Stories – Feb 22 – Dog Poisoned

RCMP and a dog owner are warning people about a suspected poisoning in the Mission Dog Park off leash area. The owner says her dog drank water from the bowls which were set out in the area. On the way home the dog became violently ill, and was sluggish the following day. Blood work confirmed her dog had high level of toxins, and suffered severe kidney damage. The bowls have been removed and police would like to speak with a heavier set white woman, roughly 50-60 years old, with brown/red hair who was seen filling the bowls but did not have a dog.

The Province is committing a further $180 million to the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund to support projects that help local communities prepare for the risks of climate change and lessen the effects before disasters happen. Since 2017 more than 1,300 projects have been approved.

Food inflation should start to slow by the end of this year, but don’t expect to pay less for groceries in the near future. Stats Canada says food prices grew by 10.4 per cent year-over-year in January, while groceries saw an 11.4 per cent jump. A professor at Ivey Business School, says supply chains are starting to normalize after two years of disruptions.

A suspect in a car theft in Kelowna yesterday morning was caught within a few hours, but it wasn’t easy. The vehicle was spotted and an officer followed at a distance before it turned onto a dead end road. The suspect rammed police vehicles before running off, however he was quickly tracked down by a K9 and arrested. The 4Runner that had been stolen sustained a lot of damage because he had also run into a light pole.

The Kelowna fire department and RCMP were investigating the cause of a suspicious fire yesterday morning. The call came in after 7 to a house in the 200 block of Rutland Rd. South. There were no occupants and crews managed to contain it to a single room.

Big White, FortisBC and GreenStep Solutions have launched an energy conservation program. The goal is to identify energy conservation measures, programs, and policies that the resort, property owners, stratas, and businesses can implement to save energy. A report will come up with recommendations that will lead to cost savings, and improved environmental sustainability performance for the community.

Former Kelowna mayor Colin Basran was not in court for his second appearance on a sexual assault charge yesterday. The case will be back in court April 4. In December the B.C. Prosecution Service announced the charge against Basran for an incident that allegedly occurred in Kelowna last May when he was still mayor.

It’s Pink Shirt Day and this year’s Anti-Bullying theme is to lift each other up by encouraging compassion, empathy, and kindness. Kelowna Fire Department personnel will be wearing pink shoulder flashes on their uniforms today. Pink Shirt Day originated in 2007, when 2 two high school students in Nova Scotia, learned that a Grade 9 student had been bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. Shortly after, they gave pink shirts to their fellow students in solidarity.

Homicide investigators were sent to Richmond after the bodies of a 43-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl were found inside a home. RCMP were responding to a report of a deceased woman on the city’s west side, and they also found the girl’s body. Police says the victims were related, and believe the deaths were an isolated incident.

Sports

In Nashville last night 2 goals in less than a minute, the second with 15 seconds left in regulation sent the Canucks eventually to a shootout tied at 4 where the Predators won it. Vancouver wraps up this short road trip tomorrow in St. Louis.

Former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch got some hefty fines for avoiding the media during his career. Speaking on a podcast, he said the total came to about 1.2 Million dollars for not complying with the league’s media policy.

Brittney Griner will be back in the WNBA this season, once again playing with the Phoenix Mercury. She returned home from her 10-month detainment in Russia in December after she was arrested at an airport just outside of Moscow on drug possession charges.