Spring skiing reaches its peak this weekend as the Seismic Spring Festival wraps up at SilverStar Mountain Resort. The festivities ramp up with the Spring Queening terrain park events Friday through Sunday, as well as multiple other events running through the weekend.Saturday, April 4Retro DaySpring QueeningSovereign2S...

Smoke billowed over Okanagan Lake after a fire broke out in a gated community Thursday afternoon.Vernon Fire Rescue Services received a report of a grass fire at the Cameron Point community off Delcliffe Road, south of Hurlburt Park, at around 2 p.m. April 2."Upon arrival crews found a fire that had started on the...

Volunteers will be taking to the streets to ensure motorists are being safe behind the wheel.Speed Watch kicks off in Vernon Tuesday, April 7.The program sees volunteers out monitoring drivers to ensure they are driving safely and within the speed limit.In 2025, the program saw volunteers donate over 420 hours of their...

The organization that puts on the annual slo-pitch tournament and music festival is looking to support local sports groups.Funtastic Sports Society has opened the application process for its annual Community Grant Program.The organization has been offering these grants since it was founded in 1985, and over that time a...

Youth in the North Okanagan are getting more access to health services.Canadian Mental Health Association Vernon and District (CMHA Vernon), in partnership with Interior Health, will open a free drop-in sexual health and immunization clinic for youths aged 12 to 24 on Thursdays starting April 16."The focus of the ...

The local ski hill will be joining a new pass network.Starting in the 2026-27 winter season, SilverStar Mountain Resort will be taking part in Ikon Pass.Through the service, Ikon Pass holders will have seven-day access to the hill with no blackout dates per season. Ikon Base Pass holders will have five days of access w...

A number of residents at a Vernon apartment building have been able to return home a week after a fatal fire.The blaze sparked in a unit around 6 a.m. March 25 and spread to neighbouring apartments at the Parkview Garden Apts. building on 36th Street. The City of Vernon said initial assessments were completed and a num...

An alert has been issued for a street drug found in Vernon.Interior Health said a substance that has a white, chunky look being sold in Vernon as crystal meth or methamphetamine has been found to contain undiluted p-fluorofentanyl.P-fluorofentanyl is an opioid that can be twice as strong as fentanyl, posing a high risk...

People and community groups looking to run projects for their neighbourhoods could be eligible for some financial aid.Community Foundation North Okanagan is running its Neighbourhood Small Grants program, offering up to $500 to help residents turn their ideas into community projects.Those can include community gardens,...

The North Okanagan is joining a global organization to promote healthy, active lifestyles.Jason Pass, a teacher at Seaton Secondary and a B.C. Dragoons Army Cadet officer, is bringing Parkrun to the area.Parkrun is a non-profit organization that brings running groups together for free 5K runs/walks in their communities...

Organizers are calling on Enderby residents to do their part to keep their community clean.The 14th annual Community Clean-Up Challenge will go in the North Okanagan city from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, April 18.Volunteers will meet at the City Hall Parking lot in the morning for coffee and snacks then go out to pick...

Police are investigating a suspected arson in Coldstream Tuesday morning.Vernon North Okanagan RCMP said officers were on patrol in the 11000-block of Kalamalka Lake Road at around 3:30 a.m. when they came across an SUV on fire.Police used extinguishers from their vehicle to knock down the flames, and Coldstream Fire D...

The new pump house that will feed water from Okanagan Lake to agricultural properties in the Bella Vista area is moving along.The Regional District of North Okanagan said the Canoe Bay Pump Station project was moving along as planned and was expected to be substantially completed by June."Construction activities a...

Fuel prices spiked locally overnight.The fuel price tracing website GasBuddy said the average price for a litre of regular gasoline in Vernon was $191.9 Tuesday, March 31.That was up 28 cents from Monday's average. It was also up 54 cents from the previous month and 30 cents on an annual basis.The price for gasoline in...

The fire at a Vernon apartment building last week claimed the life of one person.The fire sparked at a ground floor unit of the Parkview Garden Apartments around 6 a.m. Wednesday, March 25.Vernon RCMP said firefighters responding to the blaze discovered what were believed to be human remains inside the building, and ha...

Several area communities will be benefiting from a provincial investment into volunteer and composite fire departments.The $4-million investment coming through B.C.'s Community Emergency Preparedness Fund aimed to strengthen emergency response and keep communities safe throughout the province."Volunteer firefighte...

Anyone in need of a new job or career will have a chance to explore local opportunities.Community Futures North Okanagan and WorkBC will hold the Spring Job Fair at the Prestige Vernon Lodge from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 16.The fair will feature dozens of local employers looking to fill part-time, full-time an...

Companies are being sought to replace the roof at the local arena.The City of Vernon opened its Request for Quotations (RFQ) for a Kal Tire Place Roof renewal project Monday, March 30.The RFQ proposals would be non-binding and require quotations for supply of labour and materials to undertake the project.The City of Ve...

Residents within the Regional District of North Okanagan have a chance to protect their properties from wildfires this year.The RDNO's FireSmart Chipping Program will allow people to have tree branches, shrubs and other woody debris picked up from their properties and disposed of from April 1 to October 31. The service...

Construction of the Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail has been modified to accommodate a pair of bald eagles nesting in the area.The birds, who mate for life, have established nests along the trail near Farmers Bridge.The Yucwmenlúcwu Environmental Planning & Management Division was tasked with monitoring th...

Vernon residents are asked to provide their input into the longer term future of Polson Park.The city is developing the Polson Park Revitalization Plan, with the goal of creating a vision and guide future improvements for the downtown park over the next 20 years."Polson Park has long been one of Vernon's most trea...

Foundry North Okanagan is getting some money back from the city.The new youth mental health hub, which will be run by the Vernon and District branch of Canadian Mental Health Association was ineligible for tax exemption during construction.In light of this, CMHA Vernon requested the city provide the agency with a $25,0...

A fire that broke out at a Vernon apartment building Wednesday morning is not being considered suspicious or criminal.The City of Vernon said, on behalf of Vernon Fire Rescue Services (VFRS), that the fire broke out in a unit on the ground floor of Parkview Garden Apartments around 6 a.m. on March 25, and quickly sprea...

The local police force is getting a boost.At Monday's meeting, Vernon city council was provided an opportunity to allocate $292,690 from the RCMP surplus to the RCMP contingency reserve, and then use those funds to bring in two new RCMP members, effective July 1.This addition would bring the local police force up to 64...

A portion of Highway 97 damaged by a water main break will be repaired over the weekend.The City of Vernon will have crews out doing temporary road surface repairs between Coldstream Avenue and 25th Avenue Sunday, March 29.A water main break on March 20 damaged the road. The underground repairs were completed on that d...

The decision in a Vernon murder case will be coming down in the late-spring.Closing submissions wrapped up Wednesday, March 25, in the trial of Peter Visintainer.Visintainer was facing a charge of first degree murder in the death of Wolf Ingo Beyer, who's body was found in the Six Mile Creek area in May of 2022.The B.C...

A bestiality charge has been laid in a case involving an assault of a horse at a rural Vernon property.The B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed Seth Christian was facing the charge stemming from an incident that happened at a local equestrian centre in January. A person was arrested in connection with that case but later...

The City of Vernon will look for a boost to help fund wildfire-risk reduction activities.The Union of BC Municipalities is offering grants to support FireSmart related initiatives. Those include community education and outreach, FireSmart home and neighbourhood assessments, wildfire resiliency planning, and training an...