Top Stories – Dec 1 – Fill The Stands!

Local junior hockey teams have scored big after Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said capacity limits will be lifted in the Interior Health region for indoor events and gatherings where proof of vaccination is required. That means teams like the Kelowna Rockets and West Kelowna Warriors can fill their stands. Yesterday in I-H there were 85 new cases of coronavirus.

More than 98% of people working for the provincial government are partially or fully vaccinated as a requirement to keep working. Unvaccinated employees, those who refuse to disclose, and partially vaccinated ones who don’t get their second dose within the 35-day time frame, are placed on unpaid leave for three months. If they don’t show proof of full vaccination after the three months, they may be terminated.

BC’s Provincial Health Officer says Worship services must now be limited to 50 per cent of seated capacity, unless all participants are vaccinated. Dr. Bonnie Henry added that everyone above the age of 5 must now wear a mask when attending worship services, including choirs. She added that BC has identified its first case of the new Omicrom variant in someone who traveled from Nigeria and is now in the Fraser Valley.

The latest Atmospheric River is bringing the highest temperatures we are likely to see for some time. Low to mid-teens are predicted for today, before it drops to about freezing by Friday. On the coast and Vancouver Island rainfall forecasts range from 100 to 150 millimetres from the latest storm.

BC Transit is thanking Kelowna riders for their patience and understanding as service is being impacted by a driver shortage. While they recruit to bring service back to optimum, Transit says cancellation alerts are now listed immediately on its website and a new, short-term service schedule is being prepared for early January.

Congratulations to Jesse Lafontaine, a Métis student graduate of Kelowna Secondary School, and current medical student, for being named a Rhodes Scholar. He is one of 11 Canadians who will attend Oxford University in 2022. Lafontaine says his education in Kelowna helped lay the foundation for success and inspired his passion for pursuing higher education.

New technology will help reduce the frequency and impact of caller ID spoofing. That’s when a caller hides their identity by displaying fake or altered phone numbers on a call display. The CRTC says service providers will certify whether a caller’s identity can be trusted by verifying the caller ID information for internet protocol-based voice calls.

Earlier this week, Big White Ski Resort said it wished Highway 3 would be opened up to all traffic at times as it was taking an economic hit. Senior V-P Michael Ballingall has now apologized saying he recognizes how his comments could be misconstrued as insensitive. He says the intention was never to diminish the devastation of flooding throughout BC, but to give some certainty to families and the tourism industry during the upcoming holiday season.

A Quebec Superior Court judge has dismissed a defamation suit brought against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by a woman who heckled him at a 2018 rally near Montreal. The Justice wrote that Diane Blain’s lawsuit was ill-founded and abusive. The judge also said Blain had used the encounter to promote her political views on social media and in interviews.

Sports

It’s a battle of Okanagan BC Hockey League teams tonight in Vernon. The West Kelowna Warriors travel north for a 7pm tilt with the Vipers.

The NHL suspended Los Angeles Kings forward Brendan Lemieux for five games for biting Senators forward Brady Tkachuk during Saturday’s game. The Department of Player Safety singled out a moment where it could see Lemieux biting Tkachuk’s hand.

With the road conditions and winter weather, the BC Hockey League has decided to postpone all out-of-conference games for the rest of the season. So no trips to the coast or Island for interior teams.

Hockey Hall of Famer and Montreal Canadiens icon Patrick Roy is interested in the club’s vacant general manager job. Roy is the head coach and GM of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. He hasn’t worked in the NHL since stepping down as coach and vice president of the Colorado Avalanche in 2016.

The Kelowna Rockets WHL game against the Vancouver Giants tonight at Prospera Place is still on as scheduled in what could be a full capacity rink. Vancouver is making a ‘giant’ detour through the U-S to get here. Face-off remains at 7.

The Canucks wrap up their road trip tonight in Ottawa hoping for a repeat of Monday’s win in Montreal. It’s a 4:30 start in the Capital.