UBCO invites wine lovers to learn and wine taste virtually – Kelowna News

Picture: Jeff Kozak and Brian Prevalnig

Jeff Kozak and his pal Brian Prevalnig of Kelowna are using their bikes via the Okanagan Valley in help of the BC SPCA, and up to now, the 2 have gone above and past their aim.

They created an “Ascending 4 Animals” charity web page via the SPCA with a aim of elevating $1,000. Now that their initiative is coming to an in depth on the finish of Could, the 2 have now raised $3,680. They gathered funds by selling their donations web page, creating an Instagram web page and by using the identical stretch of street in what is named a “half Everest.”

“Half Everest” is in reference to the truth that they needed to every trip the identical distance as half of Mt. Everest, which implies between the 2 of them they’ll be using the total distance of 8,849 metres.

Kozak says the explanation they began the fundraiser was easy: he and Prevalnig have an enormous love for animals.

“We’re each animal lovers. Having owned canine, cats, fish and extra, we all know that not all animals have a heat, loving place to reside. We now have determined to endure for pets and animals alike. Our legs will burn, our hearts will pound and we can be exhausted on the finish of our climb. However along with your help, we might help to guard and improve the standard of life for animals in British Columbia.”

Okanagan Well being and Efficiency in addition to Canada Life have supplied the 2 courageous bikers with giveaways for individuals who donated to their trigger, and so they’ll be drawing the names of the winners on the Instagram web page @ascending4animals. You’ll be able to nonetheless make a donation here.

Picture: Google Maps

Inside Well being has introduced COVID-19 exposures at Rutland Senior Secondary.

Impacted employees or college students are self-isolating at house with help from native public well being groups. Inside Well being follows up with anybody probably uncovered to a confirmed case instantly via contact tracing.

“The protection and well-being of scholars, households, and employees stays our highest precedence. Central Okanagan Public Colleges will proceed to implement the strict well being and security protocols and procedures which might be in place so college students and employees can proceed to attend college as safely as doable,” mentioned SD 23 in a information launch.

A full checklist of energetic COVID-19 college exposures may be discovered here.

Picture: RCMP

Kelowna RCMP want your assist discovering a 16-year-old Kelowna teen.

Danaejah “Cody” Boyd was final seen in Kelowna on Could 18. Household and police are very involved for Cody’s well being and well-being.

She described as:

• Caucasian feminine
• 16 years
• six-feet tall (183 cm)
• 141 kilos (64 kg)
• Brief darkish brown hair
• green-blue eyes

Since Cody’s disappearance, police have adopted up on a number of leads and doable sightings, however they continue to be lacking.

“Police are very involved for Cody’s well being and well-being, and family and friends report that it’s out of character for them to be out of contact for this lengthy,” mentioned RCMP spokesperson Const. Solana Paré.

Anybody with data on Boyd’s whereabouts is urged to contact their native police, or stay nameless by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Picture: Inside Well being

Inside Well being employees delivered about 300 doses of vaccine throughout Wednesday’s pop-up clinic in Rutland.

Inside Well being’s chief medical well being officer says he is “involved” concerning the rising variety of new COVID-19 instances in Rutland.

The most recent knowledge from the BC Centre for Illness Management confirmed the Kelowna group had a day by day an infection price of 30.1 cases per 100,000 people between Could 18 and 24, larger than every other group within the Thompson-Okanagan or Decrease Mainland.

However IH’s chief medical well being officer Dr. Albert de Villiers says there’s nothing notably distinctive concerning the transmission that is occurring in Rutland.

“I did ask our immunology crew if there may be something particularly happening that they’ll see, and it is the identical as the remainder of the area; there’s a bit little bit of transmission with youngsters, there’s some transmission within the households, however nothing particular that stands out,” Dr. de Villiers mentioned.

“[We need to be] ensuring that individuals are nonetheless following the principles. Now just isn’t the time to calm down it, now’s the time to truly go get your vaccine.”

The most recent knowledge, as of Could 24, reveals Rutland has the bottom vaccination price within the Thompson-Okanagan area, with 52 per cent of adults having acquired their first dose. However on Wednesday, Inside Well being hosted the well being authority’s first pop-up vaccination clinic in Rutland Centennial Park, the place residents might get vaccinated with out a prior appointment.

About 300 individuals had been vaccinated throughout Wednesday’s pop-up clinic.

“The thought there was that we had some visibility with our immunization efforts, encouraging individuals to only stroll up, register for his or her immunization and develop into immunized on the identical time,” mentioned Karen Bloemink, IH’s interim vice chairman of Pandemic Response.

“We’re actually taking a look at what we will study from these impromptu, low-barrier alternatives for individuals to entry immunization extra simply, each in Rutland, the place we all know we’ve the necessity, but additionally in different areas, and there can be extra to return on that.”

Thursday, Well being Minister Adrian Dix mentioned a “major effort” is required to get extra individuals within the Central Okanagan vaccinated.

Up to date community-level knowledge on transmission and vaccine charges is anticipated to be launched by the BC Centre for Illness Management subsequent Wednesday.

Castanet Workers – Could 28, 2021 / 2:20 pm | Story: 335324

An enormous condominium challenge deliberate for downtown Kelowna is seeing extra curiosity from locals than first anticipated, in keeping with its developer.

“After we began this factor, I used to be advised that nobody from Kelowna would need to purchase. We’ve seen the precise reverse,” mentioned Anthony Beyrouti, founding father of Orchard Park Properties, the corporate behind Water Street by the Park.

The 650-unit growth on the nook of Water Avenue and Leon Avenue will characteristic three towers, the biggest being 42-storeys. It’s being designed by Vancouver-based Ciccozzi Structure.

Beyrouti says their gross sales representatives have seen a deluge of curiosity since they began taking pre-sale registrations, and Kelowna residents are involved in residing downtown.

“They need to be down right here. They need to be within the space, strolling round,” he mentioned.

A number of different downtown condominium initiatives coming on-line have additionally bought very nicely, in keeping with their builders.

Water Avenue by the Park launched their ground plans over the lengthy weekend and work is nearing completion on a sale centre on Leon Avenue.

Beyrouti says they’re working in direction of development at full velocity.

“We need to break timelines like individuals have by no means seen,” he mentioned.

He mentioned they plan on breaking floor early subsequent yr and finishing the primary 42-storey tower in two years time.

Picture: Opera Kelowna

The Metropolis of Kelowna has chosen 18 native non-profit sport and cultural organizations that may obtain a one-time grant from the municipality’s one-time Restoration and Sustainability Grant program.

The cash will enable the teams to arrange for the way forward for their organizations post-COVID-19. Most of the organizations impacted had been pressured to shut/cancel their seasons or occasions attributable to COVID-19 and the ensuing public well being orders created which threaten their future viability.

“All collaborating organizations proceed to be affected by the pandemic and are prepared to start out getting ready for the long run,” mentioned Christine McWillis, Cultural Providers Supervisor. “We’re happy to have the ability to provide this program to help them via the preliminary phases of the restoration course of.”

The Metropolis of Kelowna has employed consulting company, EQ Growth Group, to help the organizations in exploring what restoration will seem like for them and to develop an motion plan to information them shifting ahead.

The next organizations have been chosen to take part in this system:

• Throughout the Lake Swim Society
• Ballet Kelowna
• Central Okanagan Heritage Society
• Central Okanagan Wrestling Affiliation
• Centre Culturel Francophone de l’Okanagan
• Chamber Music Kelowna Society
• Kelowna Group Music College
• Kelowna Curling Membership
• Kelowna Skating Membership
• Kelowna Velocity Skating Membership
• Kelowna Visible Performing Arts Centre Society
• New Classic Theatre Society
• Okanagan Artists Various Affiliation
• Okanagan Athletics Membership
• Okanagan Gymnastics Centre Society
• Okanagan Mainline Soccer Society
• Okanagan Mission Corridor Affiliation
• Opera Kelowna

Program funds various between $5,000 and $10,000 are supposed to help organizations that had been impacted by misplaced participant charges, misplaced ticket gross sales, cancelled main fundraising occasions or cancelled group occasions and festivals.

Picture: GoFundMe

Samara Haverko

UPDATE 1:10 p.m.

The Kelowna Secondary Father or mother Advisory Committee has now launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the households of all three crash victims.

“Many individuals have reached out to KSS this week asking how they’ll present help,” says the fundraiser.

“We want to prolong our deepest condolences to the entire people who’ve been impacted by this heartbreaking tragedy. We stand in solidarity with you in our collective grief. Funds raised can be divided equally among the many three households impacted for use at their very own discretion.”

The Kelowna Gospel Mission has additionally launched a video assertion on the passing of Samara, who was associated to 4 employees members on the centre.

“There aren’t any phrases for the loss. There’s ache in our group proper now,” mentioned govt director Carmen Rempel. “Right here on the Gospel Mission we’re like a household. We’re tight.”

“This can be a time of grief and loss right here on the Mission, a time the place no one is aware of what to say.”

ORIGINAL 10:55 a.m.

Fundraising has began to help the household of one among three Kelowna Secondary college students who misplaced their lives in a car crash Tuesday night.

A GoFundMe page has been launched to assist pay for the funeral and different bills for Samara Haverko.

“Samara was an exceptionally type, good, humorous, selfless and accountable younger woman. She graduated a yr early with honors and had plans to develop into a marine biologist. She labored two half time jobs and was saving cash for her training. Her mother and father could not have requested for a greater daughter,” mentioned fundraiser organizer Terra Le Claire.

“Samara was very near all her members of the family and valued the time she spent with them and made positive they had been first in every thing. Secondly, got here all her friendships which meant the world to her.”

“She is survived by her father Mike, mom Daybreak, stepmother Leah, sister Paige and brother Hunter, grandfather Richard and grandmother Renee,” Le Claire continued. “This household has sufficient disappointment and grief that any extra stress of bills can be too overwhelming.”

Fundraising has additionally began throughout the Lil’wat First Nation group, which Samara was part of, in keeping with social media posts.

Castanet Information will replace this story ought to extra fundraisers be launched to help the opposite victims’ households.

Picture: DunnEnzies

One in every of DunnEnzies Pizza areas in Kelowna has closed its doorways for good.

On Thursday, the enduring Kelowna pizza chain introduced on Fb that they’re closing the Landmark District location.

“We fought the great struggle however we had been unable to beat the challenges of this final yr at that location,” homeowners Karyn MacKenzie and Deb Dunnigan wrote.

The Landmark location has been in operation for the previous 5 years, however largely caters to a enterprise lunch crowd within the space.

Whereas the one location is closing for good, Kelowna residents will nonetheless be capable to get their DunnEnzies repair at their three different areas – downtown, Airport Village and within the Mission.

Picture: FortisBC

UPDATE 9:30 a.m.

Energy has been restored to nearly all of residents after an early morning outage.

The lights are again on for all however a number of dozen houses within the space. FortisBC says electrical energy must be restored for these residents nonetheless at nighttime by 3 p.m.

ORIGINAL 6:15 a.m.

A big energy outage is affecting a swath of Kelowna, with nearly 3,500 FortisBC clients with out electrical energy.

Energy has been out since about 1:30 a.m. from the Capri Mall space to Guisachan, Mission and East Kelowna neighbourhoods.

Residents report a automobile hit an influence pole on Benvoulin Street.

FortisBC tweeted that crews are working to revive energy to three,429 clients.

Work is being completed on gear, and the estimated time of restoration is 8:30 a.m.

The realm seems to be affected by two separate outages, with 2,941 clients already having energy restored, Fortis says on its website.

The second, smaller outage affected 407 clients. Its trigger is listed as unknown, however energy has now been restored.

That outage began about 2:30 a.m.

Picture: Contributed