Top Stories – Feb 22 – West Kelowna Arrest

A 24 year old man was arrested in West Kelowna on the weekend after reports he had assaulted a woman and had been throwing rocks at cars. He was taken into custody without incident for assault causing bodily harm, uttering threats and mischief. The victim of the assault, who is in her 60’s received non life-threatening injuries including cuts and bruises that were treated at hospital.

We will get details this week on the distribution of rapid covid tests to the general public in BC. The Health Ministry says they will go to seniors first, depending on availability. Schools will also get test kits when available for students to take home. On Friday, there were 217 new cases of covid-19 in Interior Health as part of 692 in the province.

Life is not back to normal, but the streets in downtown Ottawa were mostly quiet over the Family Day weekend. Many businesses are still closed as many streets were blocked off and barricaded so protestors could not return. At least 191 people were arrested, 389 charges laid, and 76 vehicles towed during the clean-out operation.

Construction will begin today to install a protective netting system around Lombardy Park in Kelowna. It requires the section of the Okanagan Rail Trail between Gordon Dr. and Clifton Rd. to be closed for about a week. A short detour following Gordon and Wilson will be available.

The public health order on post-secondary housing COVID-19 preventive measures for students living in residence has been extended to June 30. It requires students to be vaccinated, show proof of vaccination and, if they are not vaccinated, wear a mask when in any area of post-secondary housing in which they live other than the resident’s room.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that two separatist areas of Ukraine are now independent. There are reports he has ordered, what he calls, ‘Peacekeeping Troops’, into those areas. The U-S said Russia had up to 190-thousand troops along the Ukraine border.

A woman was taken into custody after what police say was an attempted robbery using bear spray at the Home Depot in Kelowna. It happened Saturday afternoon when the suspect, attempting to steal power tools from the store, sprayed a number of people with bear spray. Investigators were looking to hold her in custody for this incident and for an outstanding warrant.

602 new nursing seats are being added to public post-secondary institutions throughout the province. As part of this expansion, they will support health-care assistants who want to train as licensed practical nurses, and LPNs looking to move into a career as a registered nurse. UBC Okanagan welcomed additional students in September 2021, and this will help more locals if they decide to go into nursing.

He had many personal problems after he became a household name, but a generation will remember Steve Fonyo as a young man who ran across Canada to raise funds for cancer research. Like Terry Fox, he lost a leg to cancer at a young age. Fonyo was found dead by his longtime girlfriend on Sunday. He was 56.

Sports

The Kelowna Rockets won both games against the Cougars in Prince George on Friday and Saturday, and yesterday at Prospera Place, they wrapped up a 3 game long weekend with a 5-3 win over Tri-Cities. Next up is a home and home set with Kamloops on the weekend.

Summerland’s Justin Kripps and his bobsleigh crew won a bronze medal on the final day of the Beijing Olympics. Canada ended with 26 medals, 4th in total medal count.

At Rogers Arena last night the Vancouver Canucks beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2. Vancouver has another home game on Thursday against Calgary before they hit the road for 4.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have added former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores to their staff as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach. Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and three teams alleging racial discrimination in hiring practices.

The Kelowna Chiefs begin their best of 7 KIJHL playoff series against the Summerland Steam with games tonight and tomorrow at Rutland Arena at 7. Kelowna beat Summerland 6-2 on Friday.

As the lockout continues, Major League Baseball says there won’t be any spring training games until March 5 at the earliest. The league said a new collective bargaining agreement is needed by the end of the month in order to start the regular season by March 31.