Top Stories – Sept 28 – Senior Almost Carjacked

Monday afternoon police got a call that a 79 year old woman and her 2 adult children were the victims of an attempted carjacking by a woman in a parking lot in the 200 block of Rutland Road South. The suspect said she had a knife and was going to stab them and grabbed a cane from inside the car and hit them before running off. RCMP located the suspect who was inside a business and arrested her. She faces charges of Robbery, Assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats.

Play On Canada returns this weekend, bringing two days of street hockey to downtown Kelowna Saturday and Sunday. Water Street between Sunset and Cawston will be closed beginning at 5am on Friday to allow for event setup. Water Street will remain closed until 11pm on Sunday, and there will be partial parking restrictions at the Dolphins and Prospera Place.

After 10 years as a firefighter, 3 of them as fire chief at Big White, Chris Cormack in calling it a career. He’d been a volunteer firefighter for 10 years after changing his career as a pastor on Vancouver Island. He and his family will be heading back to the Island, but will hang on to their Big White condo for some winter skiing.

A man who’s wanted in two different provinces and has had several police contacts in Kelowna is now facing additional charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of a Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose. He was busted downtown on Friday while sitting behind an umbrella on a bench. RCMP found large quantities of Fentanyl, Cocaine, Dilaudid, weapons, cash, and other equipment.

Interior Health has issued a drug alert for its entire area after 5 people died from overdoses in Kelowna and West Kelowna on the weekend. I-H advises people to check their drugs by using take home fentanyl test strips, never use alone and always have naloxone handy. There are 3 drug testing locations in downtown Kelowna and one in downtown Westbank.

Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba as a major hurricane yesterday and left 1 million people without electricity, then churned on a collision course with Florida over warm Gulf waters. Tropical storm-force winds were across the southern peninsula late Tuesday, reaching hurricane-force today, when the hurricane’s eye is predicted to make landfall bringing a storm surge to Tampa Bay.

A development permit for Westcorp was approved by Kelowna Council for the second phase of a multi-family development at the site of the Hiawatha Mobile Home Park on Lakeshore. It’s for one 17-storey building, two 10-storey buildings, and townhouses. The 439 units will include a variety of rental housing types ranging from one and two bedroom apartment units and two bedroom townhomes.

Some think it sounds like a name for a soccer team, but after months of talks within its membership, the BC Liberal Party announced a potential name change. Members will decide by year’s end if “BC United” will be its new name. The process began at the party’s June convention in Penticton where it says two-thirds of delegates voted in favour of considering a new name.

The head of a union representing Canada’s customs and immigration officers says chronic staffing shortages mean long waits at the border won’t necessarily disappear when the ArriveCan becomes optional on Saturday. Mark Weber warned that if travel volumes start to increase substantially there will be ‘significant delays’ at Canada’s border points. He said the Canada Border Services Agency needs thousands more officers to fulfil its mandate.

Sports

It’s the rubber game between the Blue Jays and the Yankees today at Rogers Centre. After winning on Monday, Toronto lost 5-2 to New York last night which clinched the American league East with the win.

The Calgary Stampeders have signed quarterback Jake Maier to a contract extension through the 2024 season. He was named a CFL Top Performer for Week 16 after throwing for 294 yards with no interceptions in Saturday’s win against the Lions.

This week in Rocketfan.ca, find out which sport Kelowna Rocket forward Adam Kydd says is mentally the toughest one to play… it’s not hockey. You’ll also find out what degree he’s working toward. All the team news is at rocketfan.ca .

Phil Mickelson, the driving force among PGA Tour players in the rival LIV Golf series, and three other players asked a judge to remove their names from the antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour. He says now that LIV is part of the suit, there’s no need for him to be a litigant.

New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL in Monday’s loss to the Cowboys. He tore his Achilles in Week 15 last year after playing in just seven games.

The PNC Championship is adding another PGA superstar to its field. Jordan Spieth plans to compete in this year’s event alongside his father, Shawn. It will be Spieth’s first appearance and is scheduled for Dec. 17-18 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando