Here are the top stories of the week.
COVID-19 cases identified in Kelowna, after public gatherings
Contact tracing and further investigation of current COVID-19 cases has allowed Interior Health (IH) to identify two specific locations in Kelowna where individuals may recently have been exposed to COVID-19.
IH is urging anyone who attended private gatherings at the following locations on the dates noted to self-isolate and monitor themselves closely for symptoms of COVID-19, and get tested if they have symptoms:
- Discovery Bay Resort (1088 Sunset Dr., Kelowna) from July 1 to 5.
- Boyce Gyro Beach Lodge (3591 Lakeshore Rd., Kelowna) on July 1.
YouTubers claim to be Kelowna display toilet ‘poopers’
After Kelowna RCMP announced its investigation into a person defecating into a display toilet at businesses in both Kelowna and West Kelowna in early-June, the incident quickly faded into a mystery.
Not a hint was heard for a few weeks.
Until social media accounts under the name “Blue Ballz” started to crop up.
The comedy group, which appears to consist of five men in their 20s from the Lower Mainland, posted a now-removed video entitled Cops Investigating Us For Testing Display Toilets! on its YouTube and Instagram pages. In the 17-minute-long video, the men claimed to be the culprits who soiled the display toilets — and they have proof.
Kelowna taxpayers could pay $90K for losses caused by cancelled Memorial Cup
Kelowna’s taxpayers could be on the hook for some of the funds lost due to the cancellation of the 2020 Memorial Cup tournament.
In August 2018, city council agreed to support a bid and committed $225,000 towards hosting the prestigious junior hockey event in 2020.
The CHL announced Kelowna won that bid in October 2018. It was anticipated that the tournament would bring over 10,000 visitors to the city between May 21 to 31, 2020 with an economic spinoff of more than $12 million to the local community.
Pedestrian numbers skyrocket on car free Bernard Avenue
People are flocking to Bernard Avenue in record numbers amid the City of Kelowna’s patio expansion program, which sees the street closed to vehicle traffic, allowing pedestrians and businesses to expand into the road.
According to preliminary data from the City of Kelowna, people counters have recorded a 67.5 per cent increase in pedestrian traffic over 2019 numbers since the thoroughfare was closed to vehicle traffic on June 29, 2020. People counters are used by the city to understand trends and movement on its pedestrian and bicycle network.
Former Kelowna football player drowns in Fraser River
The Richmond RCMP has found the body of a former Kelowna football player in the Fraser River in Richmond.
Kory Nagata, 24, a former member of the Okanagan Sun football team, was found dead on Monday, July 6, after being reported missing the previous day.
The Richmond-native apparently jumped into the water to retrieve a football after a boat docked at the pier.
Kelowna woman fights off nighttime intruder
We’ve all seen the horror movies where the main character investigates a strange sound inside their home in the middle of the night, only to find an intruder lurking, but for one Kelowna resident, that cliche scene became a stark reality.
It was about 4 a.m. on July 6, when Sandy Lintick heard an unusual sound coming from the front foyer of her residence in the 1400 block of Richter Street.
“I didn’t think someone was in my home, so I didn’t think to grab the martial arts stick that I have,” said Lintick.
“I went down the hallway towards the kitchen at the front of my house and that’s when I saw him, standing there, looking at me in the doorway.”
According to Lintick, the man had grabbed a rock-like object from her neighbour’s window sill and broke the front door window. He then reached in, unlocked the door and entered.
But rather than running for her life, Lintick bravely faced the intruder in an effort of self-defence.
