FINLAY CREEK
Firefighters continue to gain the upper hand on the Finlay Creek fire with it now 75 percent contained. Yesterday there were plans for some controlled burning within the perimeter of the fire along the east slope of Mount Acland. This will continue to help manage volatile fuels within the fire and reduce the fire intensity over the next few weeks. Some smoke will still be visible…. and ‘smellable’ from time to time.
JOURNEY HOME
Kelowna Council appointed 19 members to the Journey Home Task Force for the development of a long-term strategy to address homelessness. They represent a wide diversity in sector-representation, skills and knowledge areas. The Task Force will have recommendations by next June.
STORMS TRAVEL
A travel agency says the business impact from this year’s tropical storms and hurricanes hasn’t been too bad. Travelwise in Kamloops says their biggest business hit could come in October which is one of their busiest months for Caribbean bookings. They have had to cancel a few trips to Cabo after Tropical Storm Lidia a couple of weeks ago… they also cancelled a few flights to Florida.
LG WINES
The Lieutenant-Governor will be in the Central Okanagan this afternoon to present the 2017 Lieutenant-Governor’s Awards of Excellence in British Columbia Wines. This year, 486 wines from 132 wineries were considered by a panel of nine judges in a blind test. Local wines getting the nod include The Hatch for its Crown & Thieves The Broken Barrel Syrah 2013, Gray Monk’s Estate Odyssey White Brut 2014 and Kitsch Wines Riesling 2015.
YLW STATS
Another month, another passenger record at Kelowna International. With 179,153 passengers, August was the busiest month ever… up 11.4% from a year ago. So far this year almost 1.3 million passengers have gone through YLW that’s up almost 12% compared to 2016.
CITY HALL PARKING
It won’t break the bank but the days of free evening and weekend parking at the Kelowna City Hall parking lot are coming to an end. Starting November 1st short term rates will be $1 an hour and full day parking will be $6 an hour for evenings and weekends. Anyone using the visitor parking during business hours will be required to register their license plate at no charge at a pay station.
SCUM
How low can some people go. RCMP are looking for a guy believed to have been involved in a fatal accident on Highway 3 on Tuesday. A number of people stopped to help, but the guy stole one of the vehicles of a Good Samaritan and took off towards Hope. Police believe this lowlife was the driver of the vehicle involved in the accident in which a woman was killed.
MOBILITY CUP
You’ll be seeing a lot more sailboats on Okanagan Lake over the next few days thanks to the Remax Mobility Cup regatta. It has been Canada’s international regatta for sailors with a disability since 1991. This year’s event is being held at Kelowna Yacht Club through Saturday.
IRMA
The death toll from Hurricane Irma has risen to at least 55… most of those in the Caribbean. Small islands like St. Maarten, Antigua and Barbuda, the British territories of Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and the US Virgin Islands suffered extensive damage that could take years to repair. In Florida, power has been restored to just over a million people, with millions more still to go.
SPORTS
As they prepare for their home opener later this month, the Kelowna Rockets are going ahead with two goaltenders, Brodan Salmond and James Porter. The team has released goaltender Cody Porter outright and reassigned Roman Basran to the Okanagan Rockets.
Okanagan Sun Receiver, Shamar Donelson was named BCFC Offensive player of the week for his 5 receptions, 178 yards and all 4 of the Sun touchdowns in the 31-31 tie with the VI Raiders
Not good news for the BC Lions. Quarterback Travis Lulay is out for the rest of the season due to knee ligament damage that will require surgery. Lulay went down in the first series of plays against Saskatchewan last Friday.
Everyone knew that the Los Angeles Lakers would retire Kobe Bryant’s jersey, the only question was which number would be emblazoned across the back. The Lakers found an appropriate solution. Bryant’s 8 & 24 will both be retired.
Facebook is reportedly paying Bleacher Report millions of dollars for a reality show called “No Script” starring Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch. It’s supposed show to start streaming in this month and includes eight episodes about 10-15 minutes long.
