Interior hotel, GM and chef up for BC Hotel Association awards of excellence – Kelowna News

Photo: Pixabay

If you’re living with type 2 diabetes and are between the ages of 19 and 75, Okanagan Clinical Trials would like to hear from you.

Okanagan Clinical Trials is looking for people to take part in an ongoing research study to evaluate the safety and determine the best dose of a new once-a-week injectable.

“If you are taking type 2 diabetic medications and your average blood sugar trends are 7.5 per cent you may be a good fit for this study,” says Dr. Colleen Maytham, principal investigator for Okanagan Clinical Trials.

The study’s research goals include achieving better glycemic control and weight management with this new investigation medication.

“OCT recognizes the need for more research into medications that can help people maintain optimal glycemic control. If you are living with Type 2 diabetes, please reach out to our clinic for more information,” says Dr. Kim Christie, president of Okanagan Clinical Trials.

Investigational treatment will not affect provincial medical coverage and all study-related costs will be paid for by the sponsor. Participants are free to leave the study at any time.

To learn more about the study or to volunteer, click here, or call 250-862-8141.

Madison Reeve

Tick season is here, and although Lyme disease isn’t the dominant tick-borne illness across the Okanagan, it is becoming more prevalent.

Janet Sperling, president of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, says it’s important to check yourself and your animals for ticks after an excursion outside.

“We know that there are lots of diseases in ticks. We know that Lyme disease in the ticks isn’t as bad as it is in Nova Scotia, but the most important thing when you are in B.C. in the spring is to recognize that you very well might be bitten by a tick.”

Sperling says people should specifically watch for smaller ticks.

“I’m not quite so panicked when I see the big wood tick, but if you see the Ixodes tick, which is a little bit smaller, then I would be very worried.”

“I would expect the larger wood tick to be very common, and I would expect everyone in the Okanagan to run into at least one or two, but make sure that you take that tick off quickly enough, and you have probably eliminated your problems right there,” Sperling said.

If you have been bitten by a tick and suspect you could have Lyme disease, it’s important to seek medical help right away. Lyme disease often goes undiagnosed for months or even years.

“Some people get a rash and you are lucky if you get a rash, but some people don’t even pay attention because the rash doesn’t necessarily itch, it doesn’t do anything. You see this red expanding rash… if you see that immediately go to the doctor.”

“As things go on, you might get arthritis, so maybe the Lyme disease ends up in your joints. Sometimes it affects your heart, and then you can have heart problems, and sometimes it goes to your head, and that’s when you can start getting neurological problems,” Sperling added.

For more information on Lyme disease, click here.

Photo: Colin Dacre

Kelowna RCMP are asking for the public’s help locating a missing senior.

Mounties say an 80-year-old man has been missing since April 16. Family is concerned for his well-being as the amount of time he’s been out of touch is “extremely concerning”.

The senior’s name is not being released at the family’s request.

The missing man is described as five-foot-six with grey hair and green eyes. He was last seen wearing a black leather jacket, blue shirt and black pants.

The man was also last seen leaving his home in a dark blue or black 2021 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup with a tonneau cover. The vehicle has a BC license plate 8847BH.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300.

Photo: Google Street View

The turnoff to the 201 Forestry Road from Big White Road.

A deceased person was found in a creek near a forestry road off Big White Road Saturday afternoon.

Big White resident Eric Bergeron was riding quads with his young son on the 201 Forestry Road when they came upon a body in a creek at about 1 p.m. Saturday.

Bergeron said the man’s body was approximately five km up the forestry road from Big White Road, where a bridge crosses the creek. He said it looked like the body hadn’t been there for very long.

“We stopped at the creek … to look for fish. As soon as I stepped off the quad, I looked down and saw it,” he said. “I grabbed my kid and put him right back on the quad before he saw anything.”

Bergeron and his son immediately rode back to their vehicle and drove back to Big White to alert the authorities. Friends later told him they saw a number of police vehicles blocking access to the forestry road turnoff later in the day.

Castanet has reached out to the RCMP for more information about the incident.

It’s not clear at this time if the death involved any criminality, but Bergeron says he didn’t see any other vehicles parked in the area and the body was quite a ways from Big White Road.

“The snow just starts where that bridge is pretty much, you have to turn around there,” Bergeron said. “It definitely looked to me like somebody dumped it there. There’s no way somebody walked up there.”

Photo: Scott Graham, Unsplash

A Kelowna commercial insurance brokerage and risk management firm has generated $3.5 million during its seed round of financing.

Summit, which was founded in 2022 by Davis Gilbert and Josh Pillsbury, wants to change the way commercial insurance is distributed. Summit says it is “building the commercial brokerage of the future: driven by human expertise, fuelled by technology.”

New York-based IA Capital Group led the cash infusion during the seed round, with Harvest Ventures also contributing.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Josh, Davis and the entire Summit team in the next stage of their growth serving the commercial insurance needs of businesses in Canada,” IA Capital vice-president Ravi Shah said in a press release. “We’ve been incredibly impressed by the traction to date in one of Canada’s fastest growing retail brokerages.”

Summit says it is trying to modernize the industry, which it believes is suffering due to entry barriers and consolidation, citing too much paperwork and limited insurance options as the result.

A sneak peek of upcoming events in the Thompson-Okanagan this week.

The Vancouver Canucks face the Nashville Predators in Round 1 action of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It’s their first time playing playoff hockey in front of their hometown fans in nearly a decade, so Castanet headed over to Chevy’s Source for Sports in Kelowna to see how hockey fans believe the series will unfold.

While many fans are just excited to see the Canucks back playing meaningful hockey in the spring, most locals believe the Canucks should be able to handle the Predators.

While some fans expect the powerplay to be the difference-maker for Vancouver, others are counting on the goaltending of Thatcher Demko to lead the way.

Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson are also two Canucks fans believe will step up to help take down Nashville.

Throughout the season series, Vancouver triumphed over Nashville in all three contests, going a perfect 3-0 while outscoring the Predators 13-6.

Puck drop for Game 1 goes down at 7 p.m. Sunday.

Photo: Contributed

A Kelowna company that created a countertop composter is now offering to pick up the waste that the devices produce.

The Lomi Food Waste Recycling Program will be piloted in Kelowna beginning in May, offering convenient organics collection to residents. The company will turn food waste into a natural lawn and garden fertilizer called Lomi Earth, which can then be used at home or donated to local farms and collection partners, where it can regenerate the soil.

“Residents of the Kelowna area have voiced their overwhelming support for curbside food waste collection,” Lomi CEO Matt Bertulli said in a press release. “The Lomi Food Waste Recycling Program is a simple solution that meets this need. It is not only clean and convenient but has a positive local and environmental impact.

“Plus, by partnering with farms, like Helen’s Acres, on this initiative we give back to the community, enhance local agriculture and support community food banks.”

Residents interested in joining the program can sign up for the service, which includes a Lomi food recycler and on-demand Lomi Earth pickup. The Lomi Smart Waste food recycler transforms food scraps into natural fertilizer with the push of a button and without the mess of smelly, wet green bins, rotting food, or the challenges and danger of rodents and pests.

More information about the Lomi Food Waste Recycling Program can be found on its website here.

Photo: Contributed

Mona Wang (left) shows her injuries after a violent ‘wellness check’ in 2020.

The Kelowna RCMP officer who was caught on surveillance footage in 2020 assaulting a young nursing student while she was experiencing a mental health crisis remains employed by the force, but the officer is currently on leave for unknown reasons.

Const. Lacy Browning was captured on surveillance footage in January 2020 dragging Mona Wang through the hallways of Wang’s apartment building near UBC Okanagan, and stepping on her head, after Browning had attended Wang’s residence to perform a wellness check.

Wang’s boyfriend, who was out of town, had called police as he was worried she would harm herself.

The incident received national attention after Castanet published video of the assaults. The video came out as a part of civil litigation into the incident that has since been settled out of court.

Browning pleaded guilty to assault back in November 2022 but she was handed a conditional discharge this past summer. This means that if Browning completes 160 hours of community service and follows her probation conditions for two years, she’ll be left with no criminal record.

During sentencing, the court heard how the public backlash to Browning’s actions caused her to suffer from stress, paranoia, anxiety, medical complications, and depression. The attention was significant enough for her to move to another community.

Browning has been on administrative duties for years, while the criminal process played out, but last week, Staff Sgt. Kris Clark, spokesperson for the RCMP E Division, said Browning is now on administrative leave “for reasons unrelated to (the Wang) matter.”

Clark wouldn’t provide any additional information about the reason for this change, citing B.C.’s Privacy Act.

He also added that an internal RCMP investigation concluded that an RCMP Code of Conduct allegation against Browning’s actions in the Wang incident “was established.” But he wouldn’t say whether any disciplinary actions have been taken against Browning, again citing the Privacy Act.

It appears Browning will be keeping her job as an officer though. RCMP Code of Conduct hearings are held when an officer is facing dismissal from the force. At this time, a hearing is not scheduled for Browning.

Clark would not say whether Browning is being paid while she’s on leave. Once again, he said the Privacy Act prevented him from disclosing that information.

During Browning’s sentencing last August, Judge Roy Dickey said the light sentence “should not be seen as condoning Const. Browning’s treatment to Miss Wang.”

“Const. Browning’s actions were criminal and highly inappropriate in arrest of Miss Wang under the Mental Health Act,” he said.

Wang called the sentence a “slap on the wrist.”