Top Stories – Oct 11 – Stabbed To Death

A 32 year old man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna early Sunday morning. Police got a number of calls about a fight in the 1300 block of Water street and as police and paramedics arrived they were unsuccessful in saving the man. The assailant is still at large and police are asking for help from anyone who witnessed the incident or may have dashcam footage from around 12:43am.

Kelowna RCMP responded to Dr. Knox Middle School on the weekend and found someone had spray painted graffiti on the school with several racist remarks including swastikas, and references to the “N” and “F” words. School officials are working with the RCMP to identify who is responsible and arranged to have the graffiti painted over before students return to class this morning. Police are asking anyone in the neighbourhood of the school to come forward if they have any information or video footage.

Kelowna fire crews have been on the scene all night to make sure a blaze on June Springs Road didn’t flare up. It began yesterday afternoon as a barn burned to the ground and the wind spread the flames into nearby grass and trees, growing to about 2 hectares. BC Wildfire crews helped out from the ground and air. The cause is under investigation.

It was a particularly violent weekend in Vancouver. There were a number of stabbings in the area around a tent city in the downtown east side, and one man was shot with a crossbow arrow. People nearby were able to treat him until help arrived and police are still looking for the shooter.

It was around this time last year that British Columbians were beginning to learn what the words ‘atmospheric river’ meant. Of course in November it led to major flooding and road closures including the isolation of the lower mainland. However this year could be different as forecasters are saying the persistent dry conditions could continue for at least another week following what many areas experienced as the driest September ever.

It was a busy few days for West Kelowna RCMP taking impaired drivers and their vehicles off the road. One of the 11 involved a driver that parked their vehicle on a sidewalk on Louie Drive before going into a store. After coming out, police were there and determined the driver was impaired by drugs. A fine and driving prohibition were the rewards.

People experiencing homelessness in Kelowna now have access to 60 new year-round shelter beds, but the net number available stays the same. The Bay Avenue shelter at 858 Ellis is the result of work between the Province, through BC Housing, and Kelowna Gospel Mission. It will replace the 60-unit shelter on Doyle, that closed July 1.

Another bivalent covid vaccine to help protect against the Omicron variant has been given the green light. The Pfizer product is approved for those 12 and over while Moderna’s is available for people 18 and older. The updated Pfizer vaccine is scheduled to start arriving in BC this week.

We don’t have to go far, but Vogue Magazine tells its readers that the Okanagan Valley is one of the best places to travel to this fall for wine. It’s listed as one of the world’s 12 most underrated wine regions. The writer says the area produces world-class wines that are difficult to find outside of Canada, so the easiest way to taste them is to travel here.

Canada’s minister of sport says Hockey Canada must continue to transition to a new leadership team. Andrea Skinner resigned as the interim chair of Hockey Canada’s board of directors. The organization continues to draw widespread criticism for its handling of an alleged group sexual assault involving members of the 2018 men’s national junior team, and how it has paid out settlements in lawsuits.

Sports

The Kelowna Rockets are on the road tonight playing the Royals in Victoria. It’s the first of back to back games in the capital with game 2 going tomorrow night. Going into the game Colton Dach was named Captain. The pregame show on 1047 The Lizard begins at 6:35… same time on rocketfan.ca .

A Thanksgiving Day CFL game in Montreal saw Ottawa beat the Alouettes 24-18. And in Monday Night Football, a 4 touchdown night from Travis Kelce helped the Kansas City Chiefs come back from a 17 point deficit to beat the Raiders 30-29.

Just two games tonight as the NHL regular season begins. The Lightning play the Rangers while the Kings host Vegas. The Canucks begin the season with 5 road games starting tomorrow in Edmonton.

In case you missed it, the season is over for the Toronto Blue Jays. They lost two wildcard games to the Mariners. Seattle begins the AL West series in Houston later today.

The Okanagan Sun rolled to another big win on the weekend taking Prince George 54-7 to wrap up the regular season with a perfect 10 wins and no losses. The Sun will host the Langley Rams in one of the BC Football Conference semi finals on Saturday.

There are still 4 races to go in the Formula One season, but the driver’s championship has been decided. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen picked up enough points in Japan on the weekend to take his second straight title..