• Members of the Secwépemc Nation called for better protocols for notifying First Nations of COVID-19 cases. Kukpi7 (Chief) Judy Wilson of the Neskonlith Band said the band was not properly notified by the Interior Health Authority about a confirmed COVID-19 case within the community and had to do its own inquiring to get confirmation. She noted that First Nations COVID-19 cases are on the rise in B.C. The First Nations Health Authority received notice of 67 new cases, which is 200 per cent over last month, 40 per cent on reserve, she said.
• Retired Sorrento resident Glenn Welschlau won more than $100,000 after playing Keno and Keno Bonus. Welschlau used his winnings to purchase a new TV, gutters for his house, and a new Jeep.
• The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) launched an investigation into a Chase incident in which a woman jumped from a bridge shortly after an interaction with an RCMP officer. The woman was transported to hospital with serious injuries.
• A rural North Shuswap property that was supposed to be the home of a cannabis production facility was the subject of an $8.5 million transaction reportedly delayed by COVID-19. The property is owned by Citation Growth Corp. – formerly Liht Cannabis Corp. (and Marapharm Ventures before that). In 2018, the company sought to transform the 40-acre lot, once a family farm, into a medical cannabis production facility, with 10 buildings at 10,000-square-feet each, all with the capacity to grow 1.6 million grams annually. In an April 15, 2020 release, Citation announced that on April 8, it had executed a letter of intent for the sale of the property with Indigenomix International, a private Saskatchewan-based business, for the agreed price of $8.5 million. In a June 30, 2020 release, Citation announced the transaction had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Salmon Arm council opted to not support a Santa Claus parade proposed by the Salmon Arm and Shuswap Lake Agricultural Association. Mayor Alan Harrison said the plan made him nervous. “I think with 50 floats, you’re going to have a thousand people there, which would be hugely successful, but during COVID times, I can’t authorize 1,000 people. That’s what I think is going to happen.”
• In years past, Nov. 2 was a happy time. Festivities would have been underway as Jane Aubertin and her family celebrated a special birthday. This year, Aubertin will instead light a single candle and think about her daughter, Nicole Bell, who hasn’t been seen or heard from for three years. This year would have been the celebration of Nicole’s 35th birthday. Nicole Bell is one of four women in the Shuswap who went missing over the course of four months between February 2016 and September 2017. She was last seen on Sept. 2, 2017, in Sicamous.
• A Salmon Arm man was killed in an early morning collision on Highway 1 east of Salmon Arm on Monday, Oct. 26. Police said the driver was travelling east when he lost control of his van on slippery road. The vehicle skidded into the westbound lane and collided with a trailer that was parked in a pull-out, clear of the lanes of travel. “Tragically, the driver of the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of the impact,” said Staff Sgt. Scott West.
Nicole Bell, one of the women missing from the Shuswap, has been missing since Sept. 2, 2017. (Photo contributed)
