Top Stories – July 13 – West K Watering

West Kelowna residents will be placed on further watering restrictions at some point later this month. They will continue until further notice because below normal rainfall and high demand are causing reservoir levels to drop rapidly. Under Stage 2, even addresses can only water on Tuesdays and Saturdays and odd addresses must only water on Sundays and Wednesdays.

A ceremony was held yesterday to mark the second anniversary of the fatal crane collapse in downtown Kelowna. Four construction workers and a man working in a nearby building were killed in the incident. The United Way has launched a campaign to raise 300-thousand dollars for a permanent memorial in Knowles Heritage Park, just a few blocks from the site.

It has been just as hot, if not hotter than here in the Northwest Territories recently. Several communities have broken all time daily temperature records in recent days as heat warnings linger. Highs reached 33 in Inuvik and around 38 in Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope. Those two were the fourth and fifth hottest temperatures ever recorded in the territory.

Wildfire officials are having enough problems with lightning starting fires this summer, they don’t need people doing it as well. Officers issued $9,200 in fines related to just 8 unlawful campfires last weekend. Conservation Officers along with the BC Wildfire Service have enforcement patrols as the province, with the exception of Haida Gwaii, remains under a campfire ban.

Don’t forget that starting today, Boucherie Road in West Kelowna will be closed from Ogden to Montigny for ongoing roadwork. It will stay that way until the end of August. Traffic will be detoured and a 30K limit will be posted, so plan extra time.

Canadian Armed Forces is going to welcome Ukrainian officer cadets to Canada this summer. They will take part in an intensive training program at the Royal Military College in Quebec that’s been developed in partnership with NATO. Prime Minister Trudeau told Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy Canada will continue supporting Ukraine for as long as necessary.

West Kelowna Council is set to approve amendments to the Fees and Charges Bylaw. That would increase Johnson Bentley Memorial Aquatic Centre rates by 10% and most other recreational facility and program fees by 3%. The new rates would align with those in Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, and Kamloops.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem says the decision to raise interest rates again was a difficult one. The central bank boosted its key rate a quarter point to five percent. It released new projections that suggest it will take longer than expected – until mid-2025, to get inflation back to the two percent target.

A source close to negotiations over the BC port strike said both sides have received the terms of a settlement recommended by a federal mediator that could end the 12-day-old walkout. The two sides have 24 hours after receiving the recommendations to decide whether or not to ratify the agreement. Business groups have said there’s no guarantee the strike will end quickly.

Sports

Just one game tonight as week 6 begins in the CFL. The winless Edmonton Elks are hosting the 1 & 3 Hamilton Tiger Cats with the kickoff just after 6.

Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano will be checking in with the team’s training staff back in Toronto. He left Tuesday’s all-star game in Seattle with tightness in his lower back.