Top Stories – Mar 20 – Technical Rescue

The Kelowna fire department had to do a technical rescue in Canyon Falls Park on Saturday afternoon. A 21 year old woman had fallen and injured her leg while hiking by a waterfall about an hour’s walk from the nearest road. She was cold and could not put any weight on her leg. The Tech crew transported her out to waiting paramedics.

The Regional District Board will provide a letter of support to BC Transit which plans to apply for ‘Investing in Canada Infrastructure’ program funding for two local projects. One would refurbish the present Hardy Transit Centre while the second would see funding for planning, designs and cost estimates for a new Hollywood Road Operations and Maintenance facility.

The sun will cross the Equator on its way North this afternoon marking the official beginning of Spring. If you want to stand outside and watch it, clear your schedule for 2:24. Next up is summer on June 21.

Starting today until April 14, a portion of Lakeshore, between Lanfranco and Richter by Gyro Beach will be closed to through traffic. It’s to allow for site servicing for the condo development on the east side of Lakeshore. Detours will be marked and businesses will remain open, and access will be provided for local traffic.

Just as the home heating season is about to come to an end, the cost of heating your home is going down. Fortis BC says it’s rates will drop by $1 per gigajoule from April through June. That means a saving of about $7.50 per month for the average household.

A deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat was extended just before its expiration. The United Nations and Turkey announced the extension, but neither confirmed how long it would last. The U.N., Turkey and Ukraine had pushed for 120 days, while Russia said it was willing to agree to half that.

A number of homes and businesses along Lakeshore Road in Kelowna were without power for about 4 hours yesterday morning. Fortis said it lasted from about 5:45 to 9:30 for just over 1700 customers. It was caused by damage to a power pole from a car accident by Rotary Beach.

Companies that went from producing booze to making hand sanitizer and wipes at the start of the pandemic are now switching back. Mad Laboratory Distillery founder Scott Thompson of Vancouver says they managed to avoid getting stuck with large amounts of unsold sanitizer after demand evaporated. Other companies have been left with hundreds of thousands of litres.

U-S President Joe Biden will make a two-day visit to Canada this week. On Thursday and Friday he will be in Ottawa to meet with the Prime Minister to discuss a number of bilateral issues. Ambitious climate action, NORAD’s role in defending North America and cooperation in the Arctic are among the topics up for discussion.

Sports

The Kelowna Rockets dropped both games to Kamloops on the weekend including an OT loss at home. Kelowna’s final two games of the regular season are a home and home series with Vancouver on Friday and Saturday

Two road games on the weekend for the Vancouver Canucks. They took a shootout win against the Kings on Saturday and last night hung on for a 2-1 win in Anaheim.

Just over a week left in Spring Training and the Blue Jays are playing just over .500 ball so far with 13 wins and 11 losses. They play the Tigers this morning at 10.

The Formula 1 teams were in Saudi Arabia yesterday for a night race. Red Bull driver Sergio Perez led from green to chequered flag for the win over teammate Max Verstappen who started 15th