Enthusiasts to be cautious in the backcountry
The year started with Central Okanagan Search and Rescue warning outdoors enthusiasts to be cautious in the backcountry due to avalanche conditions.
• Neil Snelson was in court early January to request a new trial after he was convicted for manslaughter in the strangulation death of Jennifer Cusworth in 1993. One person in the courtroom happy to see him was Jean Cusworth, Jennifer’s mother. After her daughter’s murderer had remained unknown for 18 years, that Snelson had been spending time in jail for the crime had renewed her confidence. However, Snelson’s 2011 conviction was overturned by the B.C. Court of Appeal because of an error made by the trial judge. He was freed on $75,000 bail in June. A new trial was set for Kamloops court in the spring of 2015.
• Peachlandradio.com started up with ‘golden oldies’ streamed to listeners over the Internet.
• Sopa Square, the mixed-use retail and residential development on Pandosy Street, went into receivership for a third time.
• In January, construction of the Sneena Road underpass was well underway in West Kelowna. Drivers would deal with months of being rerouted through the construction zone.
• Interior Health dealt with the H1N1 flu virus with 35 confirmed cases in the Interior and one death in the Okanagan.
• The first 3-D X-ray computer tomography microscope in B.C. came to UBC Okanagan. It was hailed as the way of the future, allowing lighter weight but stronger materials to be used in manufacturing. With magnification up to 1,000 times, internal structures of materials are made visible and their defects revealed.