(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

This is the time of year, after we’ve looked back and reflected on our work, that I like to invite readers to continue supporting us based on the strength of that work.

I’m still going to do that, but first I’m also going to invite readers to support all our colleagues and competitors in local news. 

These are tough times. Cam Fortems was, before he changed careers earlier this year, the last of the reporters from the Kamloops Daily News still reporting in Kamloops. The last piece of invaluable, multi-generational, institutional knowledge about the city created and stored within that newsroom is now gone. I suspect the city will pay a price for that loss, if it hasn’t already. We’ll just never know what stories they couldn’t tell us.

The Kelowna Daily Courier and Penticton Herald somehow survived 2017. Will they get through 2018? For the sake of many fine reporters, editors and columnists, people who have served their cities’ interests well and in good faith for years — and for the cities they have covered — I sure hope so.

We’re going to support local news more this year by acknowledging the truly good work they do and I invite you to do the same.

I believe we also have some of the best journalists right here at iNFOnews.ca and I invite you to support us all by reading and sharing and participating in your community. Support advertisers who invest locally — they are paying for the service.

So here it is: The service we provide. We chose 25 stories from among our most read and some of our favourites from 2017; all of them either news we broke or stories that wouldn't have been told without us. You can find more here and many more to come in 2018. 

The free life — and lives — of Dag Aabye

One of your — and our — favourites this year. The amazing story of Dag Aabye, now in his 70s, a legend in the North Okanagan and across the province. Reporter Charlotte Helston's fine writing and story telling brought out his legend and wisdom. Don't forget to read the comments and see how readers responded and how his way of life has inspired others.

Dag checks out the latest Death Race brochure, which contains a picture of him.

(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)

PTSD: Why some paramedics never leave the scene

Why so many Interior families have to choose between work and family

SURVIVING FENTANYL: Overdose survivor shares his story of despair and recovery

“I was high for my entire stay:” Why B.C. prisons aren’t helping addicts

The hidden population dying from B.C.'s overdose crisis

For two years, the province responded to the overdose crisis by trying to reach addicts, mostly on the street. But the numbers kept rising and reporter Ashley Legassic realized something was missing and the problems health authorities face trying to reach this new demographic. 

Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK

52 staples and 38 screws: Young Kelowna cheerleader recovering from emergency spine surgery

Kelowna murder victim was five months pregnant and trying to start new life

No toilets, shower from a hose: Former employee describes life in a West Kelowna fruit picker camp

Kelowna farm forced to replace 'perfectly fine' foreign worker accommodations

Doing business on Leon Ave means having a plan for the neighbours

GUIDING HAND: How city manager Ron Mattiussi helped prepare Kelowna for next stage of growth

Kelowna's city manager is about to retire after more than 20 years of immense growth and the challenges that creates. Reporter John McDonald has had a ringside to this period and shows Ron Mattiussi's fingerprints all over the city. 

Kelowna's city manager Ron Mattiussi

(JOHN MCDONALD / iNFOnews.ca)

Kelowna teen died in mall bathroom after being turned away from drug treatment

DIFFICULT CHOICES: What Kelowna doctors are discovering about medically assisted deaths

GET IN LINE: What it takes to see a doctor in Kamloops

How a Kamloops man with nothing gives so much back to his community

MISDIAGNOSED: What a Vernon woman learned from five-year fight for justice

Kelowna man spent 14 months assembling massive jigsaw puzzle to find one missing piece

Reporter Adam Proskiw is typically a hard news guy, but he's also helping us redefine local news with quirky, readable features that go way, way beyond the headlines. 

Robert Miles and 5,999 pieces of a 6,000-piece jigsaw puzzle he put together over the last 14 months.

Image Credit: Submitted

High profile Vernon homeless camp makes issues hard to ignore

Vernon mayor given immediate roadside prohibition after breathalyzer test

How some people are avoiding the high cost of Penticton real estate

Munson Mountain wedding woes for couple after it collides with Penticton Multisport event

Starling control program takes bite out of invasive species before birds take bite out of grapes

Penticton open for business? Not this one

News isn't just what happened today, it's also about understanding how we got here. Reporter Steve Arstad has an eye and an interest for history so when he hears a tale of times of old, he jumps on it. This entire series about Archduke Ferdinand — yes, the man who's assassination touched off World War II — visiting the South Okanagan is worth reading. 

SERIES: One of Europe's most powerful and wealthy men was an Okanagan tourist in 1893

Franz Ferdinand's hunting elephants in Ceylon in January, 1893. The Archduke is reputed to have killed more than 240,000 animals in his lifetime.

Image Credit: Wikimedia commons

— Marshall Jones is the editor of iNFOnews.ca

News from © iNFOnews, 2017