Top Stories – July 25 – More Fires

Shortly after noon yesterday, West Kelowna Fire Rescue responded to some grass fires along Highway 97 near Nancee Way. They were within 200 meters of each other, with the largest about 100 feet by 60 feet. All three fires were quickly extinguished and while the cause is undetermined, sparks from a mechanical source are likely to blame.

The federal government is putting $156 million over three years toward a new three-digit suicide-prevention hotline. Starting Nov. 30, people in crisis will be able to dial 988 anywhere in Canada to be connected with trained responders 24 hours a day by phone or text message. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health will receive funding to launch and operate the hotline.

If you could use 70 Million dollars, or even 1 Million, pick up a Lotto Max ticket. The main prize wasn’t won on the weekend, so it carries over until tomorrow. There will also be 26 Maxmillion prizes up for grabs.

As an Amber Alert moves into its seventh day in BC, RCMP say it may not be easy to find the 2 kids that were not returned to their father. They have received credible information that suggests the group is likely living ‘in trailers somewhere in a rural area.’ Eight-year-old Aurora Bolton and 10-year-old Joshuah Bolton are believed to be travelling with their mother Verity Bolton and her boyfriend, as well as the kids’ grandfather.

Six Ukrainian refugees who took part in Quebec City’s peewee hockey tournament earlier this year are returning to the city to attend school. One of the organizers says the players fell in love with the city but had to return home after the tournament. They were part of a Ukrainian team of 11 and 12-year-olds who were showered with attention at the event.

There has been mixed reaction to Twitter’s new logo. Elon Musk replaced the famous blue bird with a new “X” as part of a major rebranding of the social media platform he bought for 44-Billion dollars last year. He already has SpaceX and earlier this year, created X Corp, which Twitter was merged into.

Nova Scotia remains under a province-wide state of emergency as residents and businesses recover from monster rains on the weekend. Nineteen bridges are damaged, six have been destroyed and at least 50 roads were significantly damaged. CN Rail is dealing with a major washout on its main line and Via Rail says no bookings will be available until Friday between Halifax and Moncton

The BC government is updating policing standards in response to sexual assaults to ensure more effective investigations and improved outcomes for survivors. It will include a review of closed cases, and new ways for police to work with victims services workers during investigations. There will also be “supervisory oversight” of investigations to make sure officers are impartial and “trauma informed.”

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is among associations calling for the federal government to extend the deadline for small businesses to repay pandemic loans from the Canada Emergency Business Account program. Around $49 Billion went out to about 900-thousand businesses and just 21 percent had fully repaid their loans as of May 31, seven months ahead of the current December 31 deadline.

Sports

The Kelowna Falcons begin their final 2 weeks of the regular season with a trip to Vancouver Island. First game is tonight against the Nightowls in Nanaimo.

The details were not released but Miami Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill has resolved his dispute with a man he was accused of assaulting at a marina. Hill had been under investigation by Miami-Dade police for assault and battery.

The Dallas Stars signed general manager Jim Nill to a two-year contract extension. He was named GM of the Year at the draft in June. He played for the Canucks for a couple of years in the early 80s.

As Aaron Rodgers prepares to begin the next part of his career as quarterback for the New York Jets, the Green Bay Packers say they will retire his number 12 ‘at an appropriate time’. The 39-year-old will wear No. 8 in New York.