Local News

Emergency crews clean up at the scene of a fender bender at the corner of Highway 97 and Cooper Road early Tuesday afternoon. There was no word on injuries, but the accident did not appear serious.

New Democrat leader Adrian Dix and agriculture critic Lana Popham will be in Kelowna this afternoon to talk about proposals their party wants to implement to help the artisan distillery industry.
Following policies now allowed in the wine business, the NDP proposed today:
— Direct sales to restaurants and licensees, in addition to sales through the Liquor Distribution Branch;
—On-site lounges and event areas;
— Adjusting the Liquor Distribution Branch mark up to 129 per cent from 170, and exempting storefront sales from commission.
The NDP proposes creating a craft artisan distillery designation. This classification would entail producing less than 50,000 litres annually in an artisan pot still, using at least 50 per cent local agriculture products.
Kelowna has at least two small distillers — Vernon-based Okanagan Spirits' second outlet, and Urban Distilleries.

A smoldering blaze burning deep underground in tree roots ignited Sunday into a full-scale forest fire.
The blaze has destroyed 10 hectares in a remote area 35 kilometres west of Summerland. It was being worked by two dozen firefighters, three helicopters, and an air tanker.
The fire was one of 10 to have broken out in the Okanagan over the weekend, as temperatures reached into the mid-30s. But the others were of a much smaller scale, and were quickly brought under control.
"The one west of Summerland is definitely the largest fire burning near the Okanagan right now," fire information officer Michaela Swan said.