Top Stories – Aug 9 – Decent Bust

A routine traffic stop in South Rutland turned up a fair amount of illicit drugs. It happened August 1st at Highway 33 and Molnar Road. As RCMP investigated, they came across 56.5gr of suspected cocaine/crack-cocaine, 68.1gr of suspected meth, small plastic baggies, a digital scale and a substantial amount of cash. The two people in the truck were released pending testing of the drugs.

A section of Pandosy Avenue will be closed overnight for paving three times over the next week. The first is tonight between 8pm and 6am tomorrow morning, between Sutherland and Royal. And then next Monday and Tuesday, same times, same place.

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge says Meta would rather block its users from accessing good quality and local news instead of paying its fair share to news organizations. It has started blocking Canadian news content on its platforms in response to a federal law forcing it and Google to pay publishers for content they link to or repurpose.

A new Interventional Radiology Suite has opened at Kelowna General Hospital. It is designed for minimally invasive procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of various medical conditions. It will benefit everyone in Interior Health for things like blood clots, cancer care and inserting intravenous tubes deep into the body to deliver medicine.

A 92-year-old Toronto man is facing criminal charges after a sexual assault investigation. Police say he would call victims onto his front porch and start a conversation before exposing himself, hugging and sexually assaulting them. He is charged with two counts of sexual assault and committing an indecent act and one count of criminal harassment.

RCMP seized more than 100 weapons including 53 restricted guns from a man in southwestern Manitoba. Police say 121 firearms, several thousand rounds of ammo and three sets of body armour were taken from a home. The man is facing several firearms charges, and RCMP say more charges are possible as they continue to investigate.

The BC Wildfire Service says there are now more than 400 active wildfires burning across the province, and more than half of them are out of control. Thirty-four new fires were reported Monday. There is cooler, rainy weather in the forecast for some areas, but nowhere near enough to put a dent in the drought conditions across many parts of the province.

The regional district has released its area priorities for the next few years. They include Emergency preparedness, Health and wellness, Transportation and Truth and reconciliation. Each of the areas include regional and electoral area actions to advance the priorities and allocate resources.

Jeremy Hansen is still on schedule to become the first Canadian astronaut to fly around the moon next November. The 47-year-old CF-18 fighter pilot says the ultimate objective is to get astronauts to Mars. The mission is a precursor to the next phase of Artemis: to put a man and woman on the moon as early as 2025 before setting sights on Mars.

Sports

The best of 3 first round of the West Coast League playoffs began yesterday and at Elks stadium, the Kelowna Falcons lost 1-0 to the Bells. Game 2 is tonight in Bellingham.

In Cleveland, it wasn’t exactly a display of offensive power as the Guardians beat the Jays 1-0. They’ll play game 3 of their four-game series later today.

BC Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. took reps in practise yesterday and is expected to start against Calgary on Saturday barring any setbacks. He will play with a brace on his left knee.

The Atlanta Hawks haven’t enticed the Toronto Raptors in talks for Pascal Siakam so far. The Raptors rebuffed an offer consisting of De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin, and draft picks in exchange for the star forward.