Some homes hit by Thursday’s flooding were also flooded in 2017 – Kelowna News – Castanet.net

Photo: The Canadian Press

A passenger on a flight into Kelowna last week has tested positive for COVID-19.

The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control recently added an additional impacted domestic flight to its list of flights where a passenger later tested positive for the virus.

On May 5, a passenger on WestJet flight 3387 from Calgary to Kelowna later tested positive. The passenger was sitting in seat 5A.

As of March 27, the BC CDC no longer contacts passengers who were sitting near passengers with the virus. Instead, the organization has been updating its online list.

Several local domestic flights have carried passengers who later tested positive for COVID-19.

In early April, a lack of demand saw all international flights into and out of Kelowna International Airport end.

With few events taking place this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Castanet and Total Restoration's Total Fun Cruiser is finding new ways to help spread good will in the community.

Under normal circumstances, the Total Fun Cruiser can be found at all sorts of events in the Central Okanagan, handing out goodies and spreading fun.

Total Restoration and Castanet's Total Fun Cruiser generally has a pretty full schedule this time of year. We're spotlighting events fundraisers, charity events, festivals, concerts and more throughout the Central Okanagan, but due to the current situation, those events have been cancelled or otherwise postponed, said Marisa Wilson, CEO of Total Restoration.

We wanted to do something with the cruiser in the community so we contacted some of our community contacts to find out what we could do to help people that are facing challenges during this time.

Saturday morning, Wilson used the cruiser and help deliver Mother's Day care packages to families in need around Kelowna and West Kelowna.

Wilson is looking for more ways to help over the coming weeks.

If you have any ideas of how we can help, we're happy to entertain everything, she said.

Photo: Contributed

Kelowna native Mia Burgess has been appointed co-CEO of an Okanagan-based organization that focuses on brain injuries.

BrainTrust Canada announced this week that Burgess, who previously served as the non-profits programs director, is sharing role with current CEO Mona Hennefent. The move became official on Monday.

I am committed to building a healthier, more inclusive community for our clients and championing a positive work culture with the dedicated and hard-working staff at BrainTrust, Burgess said in a press release.

BrainTrusts goal is to maximize the potential of those who have been affected by brain injury and reduce preventable brain injury.

Burgess, who has experience in policy advising, government relations, advocacy, funding management, communications, media relations and program design and delivery, has also worked with Community Corrections, John Howard Society and Central Okanagan Foundation.

Photo: Nicholas Johansen

Total Restoration crews outside 534 Sutherland Avenue.

Downtown Kelowna residents near Mill Creek woke early Thursday morning to find the creek had flooded its banks, no doubt bringing back flashbacks of 2017.

Almost three years ago to the day, the same area near Sutherland and Rowcliffe avenues and Marshall Street flooded in 2017, forcing many to evacuateand causing extensive damage to a number of homes in the area. Thankfully, Thursday's flooding was not as widespread, but several homes were still hit hard.

Some of the places we were at (Thursday) were also the same places we were at in 2017 so it was a bit of a heartbreaker for those guys, said Marisa Wilson, CEO of Total Restoration.

We responded to three apartment buildings, varying from one with a little bit of water in it, one had a couple inches of water and another had a couple feet of water. Some of the houses, the same thing. One had a couple of feet in the basement.

The flooding wascaused by a pulse of debris thathad been washed down the creek by the heavy rain Wednesday.

By Thursday afternoon, Mill Creek's water levels had come down significantly, leaving several flooded basements in its wake.

Wilson said her crews will be working to restore some affected homes in the area forseveral months.

Total Restoration had about 20 of their 60 employees working in the area, while other restoration companies also attended. Wilson said they're also working to restore Big White's Snow Ghost Inn after the roof collapsed last month.

Construction crews on the corner of Sunset Drive and Water Street spent all Friday pouring 2,200 cubic metres of concrete, forming the base of the second tower of One Water Street.

Construction of the development began in early 2018, and 33 of the 36 stories of the east tower have since been completed. With the pouring of the base for the west tower Friday, Kelowna residents will begin to see the second tower take shape over the next few months.

Exciting pours, these things, said Leonard Kerkhoff, CEO of Kerkhoff Construction. It takes a lot of effort to co-ordinate, months of planning, and it all comes down to today.

The pour began at 3 a.m. Friday, and continued through the afternoon.

About 30 concrete trucks were involved in the pour, more than are generally available in Kelowna. As a result, the construction company had to pull trucks from across the Okanagan.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought many industries to a grinding halt, construction was deemed an essential service in British Columbia.

Obviously it's been a troubling couple of months, the last couple of months, Kerkhoff said. "It's been hard on our workers to adapt to the new policies and procedures around COVID-19 and there's been a lot of team effort to make that happen, to keep the work moving forward in a safe manner.

Kerkhoff doesn't expect the pandemic to impact the towers' completion dates, which are scheduled for Spring 2021 and Spring 2022. Currently, about 86 per cent of the two towers' units have been sold.

During the big pour Friday, Kerkhoff Construction bought 200 meals from the nearby Train Station Pub and Soul de Cuba for their workers, as part of the Lunch Box Challenge. Started by a couple of contractors in Vancouver, the initiative helps support local restaurants during the tough economic times that the pandemic has brought.

Photo: Facebook

A group of Filipino-Canadian friends based in Lake Country have created a dance video in dedication to all frontline workers.

Allan Evangelista, Immanuel Sahol,Grace Sahol andNarvi Mendoza wanted to do something to thank those who have been, and continue tocombatthe COVID-19 pandemic on the frontlines.

The inspiration came from hearing his friends' stories, says Evangelista, who immigrated to Canada as a permanent resident in 2015.

"Most of my high school classmates are now nurses and doctors and then hearing from them their sacrifices and their hard work ... it's the least we could do.

"We have many friends and family members that are frontliners. Its just our simple way of saying thank you and then we hear stories, we hear the news about their sacrifices and for us, if they see the video it just puts some smile on their faces. Itsa humble way of showing that we appreciate their sacrifices in the fight against the pandemic."

He says the video, filmed overlooking Wood Lake on a Sunday afternoon hike,has now been viewed by friends in the Philippines, London, New Zealand and across Canada via social media.

When it comes to the dance moves, those were inspired by a popular video going viral right now in the Philippines, says Evangelista.

To watch the video, click here.

Photo: Flickr

As businesses in B.C look to ramp back up and get back to work they are facing many COVID-19 related challenges.

Many businesses say they are scrambling to find personal protection equipment and figure out the best way to keep employees and customers safe.

In places where people are allowed to congregate, if high-touch surfaces such as handrails, fixtures, countertops, and public seating aren't disinfected, harmful viruses like COVID-19 could spread.

Companies like NorHaz and Orkin Canada have ramped up the disinfectant cleaning side of their businesses in an effort to fill a void.

Sean Rollo, technical director with Orkin tells Castanet, they have started a new service geared directly towards helping business disinfect and stay clean.

"The Orkin VitalClean service uses aHealth Canadaregistered disinfectant labeled for use against a wide variety of pathogens and is included on Health Canadas list of products that meet their criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19," Rollo says.

Some businesses have been shut down for eightweeks, so who knows what they may look like inside. Aside from a good cleaning and disinfecting, some may also see an increase in pest activity. "Pests don't read the Wall Street Journal, it doesn't matter to them what the economy is doing, they're going to find a way to flourish."

Rollo says cleaning and disinfecting after fumigation is a normal part of their business but this expansion is a natural progression. He believes they will be busy.

"As these businesses get back into the swing of things we fully expect to be really busy on the pest control front as well as the disinfection side," Rollo says.

Photo: @mattworona

Construction on the latest addition to Kelowna's active transportation network is complete.

In a news release Friday, the city says construction is now complete on work at the intersection of Ethel Street and Sutherland Avenue.

Transportation engineering manager Gordon Foy notes the project is a significant milestone for the city in that it connects two major active transportation projects, Phase 4 of the Ethel Street active transportation corridor and Phase 1 of the Sutherland Avenue protected bike lanes.

People riding bikes or driving in this area should be aware that thetravel patterns have changedand be alert to the movements of others, said Foy.

These two projects are key componentsofthe citysPedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, whichaims to create an interconnected active transportation networkin Kelowna.

Work has includedotherneighbourhood improvementsin addition to cycling infrastructure, includingnew sidewalk, landscaping,traffic signal and utility upgrades, improved street lighting, and a new multi-use pedestrian/bicyclebridge at MillCreek.For increased safety, the bike corridors are separated from vehicle traffic by a concrete barrier.

We urge residents to pay close attentionwhen travelling,notonlyon Ethel Street and Sutherland Avenue, but anywhere in the city.

People riding bikesshoulduse hand signals when turning,activatebike signals, yield to pedestrians and use the green bike turn box when available.

Photo: file photo

Mission Creek

The snowpack in the hills across the Okanagan remains slightly above normal, but not in a range to cause serious concern.

The latest snow survey, compiled May 1, shows the snowpack is at 110 per cent of normal, down from 116 per cent a month ago.

BC River Forecast hydrologist Jonathan Boyd says the Okanagan overall is in pretty good shape when it comes to flood risk, but does indicate there are some pockets that are still pretty high and could become problematic.

One of those is Mission Creek, which Boyd says has a snowpack 143 per cent of normal.

"In terms of the risk to places like Mission or Mill Creek, there still is that chance, there still is a lot of snow up at Mission Creek. We're not quite through the season yet," said Boyd.

Much of the lower to mid-low areas have already either melted off or are close to being snow free.

But, Boyd says there is still a lot of snow at the higher elevations.

"The last few years we've some really hot temperatures in late April and early May and, although it's pretty nice right now, it hasn't really been that extreme yet for most of the province.

"The danger is if we have an extended period of heat for five to seven days, then have another rain event like we had this week fall on that melting snow."

Conditions across the region are much different than they were during the floods of 2017 and 2018 when the snowpack on May 1 was 147 and 206 per cent above normal respectively.

The really good news, Boyd says, is the fact Okanagan Lake is relatively low. He says dam operators are looking to get the lake level a bit higher.

In the South Okanagan and Shuswap, Boys says the snowpack is 119 per cent of normal which is not a major concern.

"Of course there is that chance of flooding if we get an extended hot spell and big rain in the Similkameen of Tulameen valley's."

Further north, the snowpack around the South Thompson is 124 per cent above normal, which is basically the same as two years ago.

"Even just 24 per cent above normal is quite significant there, so it really revolves again how the melt process takes place.

"If we continue with this dry period and season temperatures, we'll have this slow melt off of the snow. That might be one of the most ideal situations"

Photo: Contributed

Photo: Flickr

UPDATE 1:47 p.m.

The cancellation of graduation ceremonies across the province and here in the Okanagan is having a polarizing impact on students, parents and school boards.

Ally Wyllie, a grade 12 student at Rutland Senior Secondary has started a petition to have grad when it's safe, "I do not believe a virtual zoom which we have to pay for is acceptable. We have been working our whole life working so hard to be able to walk downtown in our pretty dresses, and cross that stage. I dreamed of this day for my whole life. I didnt spend $500 (plus) on a dress to never wear it, and I know lots of girls are in the same boat."

Tammy Hobbs says, "students are devastated, so many have invested into grad dresses and suits, want to walk across the stage and celebrate 13 years of hard work and dedication. Virtual grad is not acceptable."

Scott Sieben, Principal of Mount Boucherie Secondary School tells Castanet, "we are meeting with our Grad Council this afternoon (Friday) to help develop a plan. We are hoping to have this ironed out by next week. As well, we collect monies for a dinner/dance (All of these funds will be refunded to families; we are hoping by next week) separately from the ceremony. We are determining costs for the [virtual] ceremony, and then families will be reimbursed any leftover monies."

As of Friday afternoon Wyllie's petition had been signed by more than 600 people.

ORIGINAL 4:00 a.m.

Graduating high school students and their parents in the Central Okanaganare upset and disappointed after learning that this year's graduation ceremonies have been postponed indefinitely.

Parents received an emailfrom the Central Okanagan School Board indicating, "there is currently no model in place to accommodate the logisticsof our graduating class size to ensure the safety of students and their families."

As a result, planning for prom and grad walk and been shelved with focus turning to a "virtual convocation ceremony."

Central Okanagan Public Schools assistant superintendent, Rick Oliver tells Castanet, "we are all heartbroken for the students and their families" that some celebrations have been cancelled, "others will be able to be reimagined and will go ahead."

Kristina Wheeler's daughter goes to Kelowna Secondary School and was very much looking forward to this year's grad, "I understand why (grad was cancelled). What I don't understand is why they can't do it at a later date?"

Wheeler says manystudents have been looking forward to graduation for many years and feel let down that they won't have one.

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Some homes hit by Thursday's flooding were also flooded in 2017 - Kelowna News - Castanet.net