Pnjul0815

Farewell party for second departing Penticton city manager a more frugal affair

PENTICTON - Going away parties for city staffers have been scaled back following a large bill submitted earlier this year. City of Penticton Communications Officer Simone Blais says the farewell party for exiting Interim City Manager Chuck Loewen cost the city $235 last month. “That was the total spent in food, for veggies, meat and cheese...

Pilot in critical condition after suffering burns in Osoyoos crash

OSOYOOS -  A 46-year-old Surrey man lies in critical condition in a Vancouver hospital a day after crashing his single engine Beechcraft plane on Highway 97 just north of Osoyoos. The pilot has been identified as Todd Lewendon of Surrey, a husband and father with three daughters. He is a veteran pilot with nearly 20...

Report clears way for new Penticton BMX track application

PENTICTON - A 10-acre parcel of city owned property at 630 Munson Mountain Rd. received a failing grade for farmland use, allowing Penticton City Council to move forward in its quest to locate a BMX track and other cycling facilities there. Public Works Manager Len Robson says results of a recently commissioned agrologist’s report revealed...

UPDATE: New weather records for Okanagan

OKANAGAN - The day isn’t even over but new high temperature records were set in Kelowna and Vernon by 4 p.m. and Penticton was just behind with a record set by 5 p.m. As of 4 p.m. Environment Canada was showing the temperature in Vernon as 35.6 Celsius, just enough to beat the 35.5 C...

No, you can’t do that in B.C. right now

‘SOMEONE IN AN INTERFACE AREA WAS USING A BLOW TORCH TO GET RID OF THEIR WEEDS’ KELOWNA – This hot, dry summer makes beach days all the more necessary, but it has taken at least some of the fun out of other favourite Thompson-Okanagan pastimes. By now we should all know that, during fire season...

Summerland power outage to last until at least 2 p.m.

SUMMERLAND - A power outage has been affecting the majority of Summerland residents since earlier this morning and Fortis B.C. says it will be at least 2 p.m. before power is restored. Fortis B.C. says crews are busy on site and were inspecting a problem with a transformer on the feed to the city. Interior...

B.C. Wildfire crews find weed in the Okanagan wild

PENTICTON - A grow-op in the woods above Naramata was discovered by B.C. Wildfire crews who were called to the area to fight a small wildfire yesterday. RCMP Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski says members were called after firefighters tending a small wildfire made the discovery on Tuesday afternoon, July 7. The firefighters were in the...

Weather records could fall in Okanagan

OKANAGAN - As temperatures in the Okanagan keep reaching well above 30 Celsius the possibility of new records being set throughout the region is very real today and tomorrow. Temperatures climbed above 30 C nearly every day in the last two weeks and we can expect the same for the rest of this week. While...

Local produce retailer caught in competitive Penticton grocery market

PENTICTON - Penticton lost another small business last week, just as seasonal farm producers begin looking for local outlets. The Old Town Farm Market, located at 104-2100 Main St., closed its doors July 1. Market owner Dave (Doc) Willoughby says the rise of big box stores made the location uneconomic. He says the store got 'tons...

South Okanagan gets on board with transit plan

PENTICTON - A plan to see transit improved in the Penticton area is moving forward after getting the green light from city council this week. The Okanagan Similkameen Transit Future Plan received thumbs up from Penticton City Council, clearing the way forward for initial steps in the implementation of a plan that attempts to project...