The Mayor of Vernon is asking the public to make sure they have filled out the census, even though the deadline has passed..Victor Cumming made the plea ahead of the regular council meeting Monday, May 25.Following the meeting the mayor reiterated the importance of filling out the form when speaking with Vernon Matters...

The agency that advocates for the protection of local water sources has a new plan to follow over the coming years.The Okanagan Basin Water Board has developed its 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.The plan has three core focus points, and those each have a number of key priorities:Advancing Science, Environmental Monitoring, a...

The plan to revise Vernon's recreation rate structure is going back to the drawing board.At the regular meeting Monday, May 25, Vernon City Council was presented with a revised plan to modernize its rec fees.This involved selling only one-day passes, 10-visit passes, and monthly and annual memberships. It also maintain...

A cyclist was injured in a crash on Highway 6 Monday morning.Emergency Health Services said paramedics were called out around 8:43 a.m. after receiving a report of a cyclist being struck by a vehicle on the highway near Middleton Way.RCMP said the cyclist entered into the intersection against the red light and was stru...

The trial of a man accused of killing his ex-wife is underway.Vitali Stefanski faces a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Tatjana Stefanski.Tatjana went missing from her Lumby home in April of 2024, and the following day her body was located in a remote area.Vitali was found in the general vicinity of the m...

The infrastructure project along the road outside the new Active Living Centre and Kal Tire Place is moving along.A staff report on the 43rd Avenue Corridor Improvement project said the work installing deep underground utilities, such as water and sewer, had been completed.As of the update, city crews were working with...

The City of Vernon has acquired two more electric vehicles.City staff have purchased two slightly-used fully electric service vans, a 2024 Ford E-Transit and a 2025 Ford E-Transit, for a total of $133,000 plus tax.The city had allocated $180,000 for the purchase of the vehicles, and the remaining funds will be used to ...

A collision on Highway 6 Friday afternoon resulted in two people going to hospital.Emergency Health Services said it was called to the scene of the crash near the Veggie Pro building between Coldstream and Lumby at around 2:50 p.m. May 22.RCMP said the collision involved a passenger sedan that attempted to turn from Ka...

The main artery in and out of Vernon's south end will see traffic delays all next week.Starting at 6:30 a.m. Monday, city crews will be doing underground utility infrastructure maintenance and upgrades along Hospital Hill.The work will require Highway 97/32nd Street to be reduced to a single alternating lane between 15...

Vernon's new Active Living Centre is set to open this fall, and the city is considering changes to its fee structure to go along with the new facility.The city has proposed modernizing and simplifying the recreation admission fees by offering only single visit passes, 10-pass, and both annual and monthly memberships.Th...

A new resource has come online to assist police in the Southern Interior when dealing with complex cases.The province has rolled out the HealthIM app in the Okanagan and surrounding regions, which is a screening tool loaded onto officer-issued phones to be accessed when responding to calls relating to mental health or ...

The program that helps feed local school children has reached a milestone year, and is continuing its ask for support from the public.The North Okanagan Starfish Program, managed by the Kalamalka Starfish Society, has entered its 10th year of providing local school children with bags containing healthy and nutritious m...

Steps are being taken to establish a new outdoor recreation amenity for the public.The Regional District of North Okanagan has directed staff to submit a Crown Tenure Application to secure a 53-hectare natural area near Commonage Road from the province.The RDNO plans to use the property, which will be named Rose's Pond...

The annual Make Water Work campaign is underway in the Okanagan.Spearheaded by the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) and FireSmart B.C., the program encourages people to choose drought tolerant plants, water wisely, and plant strategically when tending their gardens. The OBWB has put together a list of around 100 plant...

A new hockey franchise has been formed in the North Okanagan.The Enderby Icemen will be playing out of the John Pritchard Memorial Sports Complex as the newest team in the Western International Junior Hockey League (WIJHL)."Enderby is a hockey town, plain and simple," Mayor Huck Galbraith said."Hosting t...

An Alternative Approval Process has been launched to determine in a loan should be sought for a new Swan Lake Wastewater Recovery project.The project requires borrowing $4.8-million in order to build an efficient wastewater collection and recovery system.Before moving ahead with the project the RDNO will need to secure...

The Okanagan appears headed for another drought this summer. According to the B.C. River Forecast Centre, the region's snowpack had dropped to just 16 per cent of normal by May 15 - down sharply from 31 per cent at the start of the month. The latest report says seven snow monitoring stations across the province recorde...

A car crash on Highway 97 disrupted traffic between Lake Country and Vernon Thursday morning.Beach Radio listeners said a northbound vehicle crashed and rolled onto its roof near the intersection with Bailey Road at around 7:45 a.m. May 21."Two ambulances with primary care paramedics, an ambulance with advanced ca...

Vernon and area residents and visitors are being asked to put on their helmet and mount their bike for their daily commutes later this month.The Spring GoByBike Week runs May 30 to June 5, during which people are urged to leave their car at home and instead ride to work, school, when out for errands, and when out for p...

With snowpack levels at or near historic lows, the Syilx Okanagan Nation is calling on actions to protect the region's watersheds.The First Nation declared a Watershed Emergency Wednesday, May 20, as snowpacks across the region ranged from just nine to 69 per cent of normal as of May 1, raising concerns about water sho...

The group hoping to remove a local MLA from office are biding their time before filing the official paperwork.Tara Armstrong was elected in the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding as a member of the Conservative Party of B.C. in the 2024 provincial election, then later left the party to join One B.C., though now sit...

Two milestone years will be celebrated with a charity event showcasing Vernon's green-thumbed residents.The 22nd annual People Place Society Garden Tour will go June 6 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.The self-guided tours will take people through nine gardens in Foothills, East Hill and Coldstream, with proceeds going to support ...

Two major infrastructure projects in Vernon are ready to begin.On Thursday, May 21, the city will be doing emergency sanitary repairs on 32nd Avenue.The work will take place near the intersection with 27th Street, and will require the main road to be reduced to single-lane traffic in both directions, while 32nd Ave. wi...

Vernon's mayor will participate in a conversation about the city and the region's economic future.Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce and Community Futures North Okanagan will co-host Vernon Forward: A Conversation with Mayor Victor Cumming.It will see the mayor participate in a moderated discussion around Vernon's imme...

Vernonites wishing to support life-saving research and cancer care will have the opportunity to donate.The B.C. Cancer Foundation said it would be dispatching volunteers to canvass the community, going door-to-door to sign up people as monthly donors."B.C. Cancer Foundation canvassers will invite you to take part ...

The local library is running courses to help young learners with their reading.The Vernon public library will offer two free Unlock Reading: How Kids Learn to Read, Why They Struggle and How to Help sessions Wednesday and Thursday.The sessions will explore the science of reading for families to better understand how ch...

Young children in Vernon have become waterway advocates after taking part in a project aimed to protect local ecosystems.Children aged 30 months to five years enrolled in Raising Starts Preschool participated in the Only Rain Down the Drain campaign, a national storm drain marking program where students applied reflect...

It was a wild time at the Vernon Athletic Park as a local athlete took off her shoes and attempted to set a record for running barefoot.Savanah Wild hit the track at 8:17 a.m. Monday, May 18, and finished her 50 kilometre barefoot run at 1:27 p.m., clocking in a new unofficial record of 5:08:11. Savanah Wild crossing t...