The City of Kamloops knows it has a labour shortage coming, and work is underway to help local businesses meet the future demand for workers.

Effective at 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016, the current Category 2 and Category 3 open burning bans in the Clearwater Fire Zone and Salmon Arm Fire Zone will be rescinded.

Plans to upgrade Kamloops Transit’s full fleet of busses to compressed natural gas (CNG) powered vehicles that come with modern features like Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) received the green light from city council after a successful pilot that showed these busses to perform well in all four seasons while garnering significant savings in operating costs.

The Peterson Creek Bridge in Kamloops will undergo drainage improvements this fall, providing long-term benefits to the structure and for hikers who use the Peterson Creek trail system.

Students throughout British Columbia are heading back to school this week and the Province of B.C. along with ICBC and Kamloops RCMP are urging drivers to stay alert and adhere to school zone speed limits to ensure that children get safely to school and back home again.

Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is providing Aboriginal students a range of programs and services that will support their learning journey. This will include an Aboriginal Awareness Week during March 2017 that will showcase Aboriginal culture and knowledge, Elders-in-residence, cultural learning and mentoring.

To protect sensitive grasslands and riparian ecosystems in the Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations is introducing measures to restrict motorized recreational use in the Lac du Bois/Batchelor and Lower Noble Creek areas.

Given the marked increase in wildfire activity in the Okanagan Valley and elsewhere in the province over the past week, the BC Wildfire Service is again urging the public to be extremely cautious with any allowed fire use.

Hot and dry weather is in the forecast throughout the province this weekend, along with strong, gusty winds. The BC Wildfire Service is preparing for increased wildfire activity and urges the public to be cautious with any activities in the backcountry.

The project to pave 48.5 kilometres of Highway 5 between the North Thompson Bridge in Avola and Whitewater Bridge is now complete.