Top Stories – May 11 – Still Missing

It’s been a year since 42 year old Jacob Wilson went missing and the Kelowna RCMP is asking for the public’s help again in finding him. He’s white, 5 feet 9 inches tall with hazel eyes and at the time he went missing, he had a thin build and short blonde hair. There’s a picture of him above.

The Central Okanagan Journey Home Society updated city council with a strategy report including an implementation progress update. It shows that significant progress has been made towards the Society’s goal of a functional end to homelessness, but that much work remains to be done. The report focuses on factors impacting change, milestone achievements and key future priorities.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is again calling on WorkSafeBC to rebate surplus funds back to small business owners and legislate a refund threshold. This equates to nearly 2.9-Billion dollars for business owners who pay into the system. This would amount to a 61-hundred dollar rebate for a BC business with five employees, who could use that money to help in recovery efforts.

The province has released the covid vaccination rates of various medical professions. At the top of the list were physicians, surgeons and dieticians at 98%. At the bottom were naturopathic physicians at 69.2%. The numbers for nurses and midwives will be announced in a couple of weeks due to the number of people involved.

Boucherie Road between Hayman and Stuart in West Kelowna will be closed tomorrow evening from 5:45 to 10pm to conduct the first of two phases of seasonal maintenance. Crews will maintain access for emergency vehicles, residents living within the immediate area, buses and transit users. Another closure will happen later this Spring.

The District of Lake Country in conjunction with Interior Health has issued a boil water notice today for customers affected by the water system outage on the east side of Oyama. Water intended for drinking, washing fruits and vegetables, making beverages or ice, or brushing teeth should be boiled for one minute. Boiled water should then be refrigerated in a clean, covered container.

The Provincial Health Officer is advising those who haven’t had their covid booster shot, to get one. Dr. Bonnie Henry says more than 4 Million British Columbians have had their first 2 doses but less than 3 million have had their third. She says it boosts protection against severe disease and protects people from some of the long-term complications of COVID-19.

The Okanagan is the best place to be in BC right now when it comes to the probability of no major flooding. Snowpack around here is about 80 percent of normal which means there is less water to come down when it warms up. The BC River Forecast Centre says the extreme northeast of the province is most as risk with a snowpack at 400 percent of normal.

Canada is providing 229 million dollars in aid for Syria and neighbouring countries hosting refugees from the war-torn state. The package includes 169-million for food, clean water and hygiene and health services, as well as support for women facing sexual and domestic violence. It will also help Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, where many Syrian refugees have fled.

Sports

In the NHL playoffs last night the Leafs beat the Lightning to take a 3 games to 2 lead heading back to Tampa tomorrow. In Edmonton, the Kings beat the Oilers 5-4 in overtime and now lead that series 3-2. Calgary hosts Dallas tonight with the series tied at 2 wins each.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed American defensive lineman Charleston Hughes. He is a six-time CFL All-Star and won two Grey Cups with the Stampeders in 2008 and 2014.

In the NHL Draft Lottery yesterday, Montreal won the first overall pick. New Jersey will pick second, and Arizona third. The Canucks will get the 15th pick in the draft to be held July 7-8 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

At Yankee Stadium last night, a 3-run 9th inning gave New York a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays. They play again at 9:30 this morning… which is a nooner in the Big Apple.

Longtime San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau retired yesterday after an amazing 23 NHL seasons. He’s the league’s all-time leader in games played with 1,779… beating the 1,767 of Gordie Howe. The closest active NHL player is Joe Thornton at 1,714.

Charges will not be filed against former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson after he was recorded on video punching a fellow first-class passenger aboard a plane at San Francisco International Airport last month. It showed the other passenger taunting the champ. Both parties asked authorities not to press charges.