Meteor viewing party Aug. 11

If recent close encounters with Mars have you excited about sky watching, you’ll want to check out the next major cosmological display coming next month.

On Aug. 11, the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory will host its annual Perseid meteor shower viewing party.

After opening the gates at 7:15 p.m., staff members Roland Kothes, Ken Tapping, Tim Robishaw, Tom Landecker and Chris Purton will give talks at 8 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., and the sky show should be visible by 9:30 p.m.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Okanagan Centre will set up telescopes for the public to enjoy other celestial wonders. The event will concludes at 11 p.m.

There is no cost to attend. Guests are reminded to dress warmly and bring their own chairs or blankets.

The observatory is about a 30minute drive south of Penticton. its current consultation on allowing retired first responders to obtain the same plates as military veterans.

“As the son of a firefighter, I believe the NDP should be looking for ways to honour first responders in their own right, without taking away from the unique contributions of veterans,” Kamloops MLA Todd Stone said in a press release.

“Honouring first responders should not involve extending to them eligibility for veterans’ licence plates.”

Consultation on changes to the program runs through Sept. 4 and is being conducted entirely online at engage.gov.bc.ca.

The BC Coroners Service has taken the lead into the investigation of a body recovered near Mabel Lake.

Search and rescue volunteers who’d been searching for a kayaker missing since July 18 discovered a body last Friday night. The body was found at the south end of Mabel Lake about 250 metres up a steep embankment.

Efforts are underway to officially determine the identity of the deceased. But the search for the missing kayaker, 58-year old Vernon Secondary high school teacher John Keeley, has been called off.