Top Stories – May 30 – Naked and Drunk

Saturday evening RCMP received a report that a vehicle had been stolen from its owners near the Apple Bowl. The owner and his wife were sitting in the vehicle when a drunk and naked man, opened the trunk hatch, jumped in and told them to drive. They drove a block, jumped out, and then the naked guy got in the driver’s seat and took off. The vehicle was found about 45 minutes later and the suspect was located shortly after that and arrested.

Appaloosa Road, north of UBCO, will be closed in both directions between Arab Road and Academy Way starting tomorrow. The developer will work to maintain access to resident’s properties during construction which will last until Halloween.

Russian and Ukrainian troops engaged in close-quarter combat in an eastern Ukraine city yesterday as Moscow’s soldiers, supported by intense shelling, attempted to gain footholds for conquering the region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a rare frontline visit to the city of Kharkiv as he looked to assert the strength of Ukraine’s position there. Homeland fighters pushed Russian forces back from positions near the country’s second-largest city, several weeks ago.

Early yesterday morning the Kelowna Fire Department responded to an alarm on the 9th floor of a highrise apartment in the 1400 block of St. Paul Street. It became a 2-alarm call but while fire damage was confined to the unit, water from a sprinkler head activation and firefighting efforts affected units on the same floor and below the suite. The cause appears to be accidental and there were no injuries.

Twelve Central Okanagan Search and Rescue members responded to a call from BC Ambulance on Saturday afternoon to help evacuate two men who were hurt just off Postill Lake Road. They were riding in a Razor ATV when it flipped over. Both sustained injures and had to be taken away with a COSAR UTV to a place where they were transferred to an ambulance and taken to hospital.

Stats Canada says firearm-related homicides have gone up 37 percent over the past 11 years and handguns were the most commonly used weapon in 59 percent of the cases. An earlier report said the use of guns alone in violent crime increased 81 percent from 2009 to 2019.

A reminder that a major intersection in West Kelowna will be closed all week. Crews will be putting the finishing touches on a roundabout at Shannon Lake-Bartley-Stevens Roads. It will re-open on Saturday with periodic minor delays until the end of July to complete boulevard work, and landscaping.

Another hotel could be in the works for the area around the Kelowna airport. Marriott would like to build a 6 storey, 200 room hotel on Fleet Court and Kelowna Council will give it consideration. Four Points by Sheraton and a Hampton Inn are already in the vicinity.

Tom Cruise just got his first 100 million dollar opening weekend with “Top Gun: Maverick.” In its first three days in North American theaters, the sequel earned an estimated 124 million in ticket sales according to Paramount Pictures. Including international showings, its worldwide total is 248 million.

Sports

Just one NHL playoff game tonight and it is in Carolina. The Rangers and Hurricanes are tied with 3 wins each so the winner of this game will go on to play Tampa in the next round. The Oilers and Avalanche begin tomorrow in Denver.

Sam Burns sank a 38 foot putt on the first playoff hole with Scottie Scheffler to win the Charles Schwab Challenge. He takes home a cool 1.5 Million dollars. Scheffler got 915-thousand.

Finland defeated Canada 4-3 in overtime on home ice to win gold at the 2022 IIHF World Championship. Czechia beat the United States to take the bronze.

The lead went back and forth but the Toronto Blue Jays ended up edging the Angels 11-10 in Los Angeles yesterday. That gave the Jays an unexpected 4 game sweep on the west coast. They head back home to play the White Sox tomorrow.

In Monte Carlo, the Formula 1 race was rain delayed and time shortened. However Sergio Perez took the checkered flag and his first-ever win. As usual in the Monaco Grand Prix, there was very little overtaking on the streets of the principality.

Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza announced his retirement after 19 NHL seasons. The 38-year-old will join Toronto’s front office as a special assistant to general manager Kyle Dubas.