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Meaghan Archer
Free bus rides on election day
PENTICTON - The City and Transit B.C. are offering free bus rides on voting day to encourage Penticton residents to come out and vote, free of charge. All regular route buses and HandyDart rides will be free for passengers heading to the polls on Saturday, Nov. 15. The General Election will be held at the...
Wine documentary rolls out the red carpet for Okanagan premiere
SOUTH OKANAGAN - A documentary that follows three South Okanagan wineries through a season is rolling out the red carpet for its premiere showing in Oliver in two weeks. Local production artists and videographers Jon Hunwick and Kenton Gilchrist of Asymetriq Productions Inc. are ready to release their latest film titled Ventures in Wine Country,...
New curator to oversee Penticton’s history
PENTICTON - The City has named Dennis Oomen as the new curator for the Penticton Museum and Archives after losing former curator Peter Ord to the Royal B.C. Museum. Oomen has worked all over Canada at prestigious museums including the Federal Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que., The Museum of Nature, the National Aviation...
Penticton’s own Shane Koyczan coming home for a sold out show
PENTICTON - Okanagan sensation Shane Koyczan will return to his hometown of Penticton for an already sold out show at the Dream Cafe in December. Koyczan is one of the Okanagan’s richest artistic talents, most recently performing his show, Stickboy, in Vancouver with the Vancouver Oprea. He is an award-winning spoken-word poet, author and performed...
Store owner wants shoplifters to know they’re being watched
PENTICTON - A downtown shop owner has caught another two thieves robbing his store in the last week by posting surveillance footage on Facebook. Leigh Follestad, owner of SmartShopper on Main Street, has been hit several times, but he wants them to know that if they’re going to steal from him, he will put their face...
Penticton rapper gets on board with voting campaign
PENTICTON - A social media campaign to encourage Penticton residents to vote in the municipal election this weekend is using locally made music videos to reach the younger voters. The Get Out and Vote Penticton campaign raised over $300 at a pub night fundraiser last week, with proceeds going to online marketing to encourage people...
Oliver man to serve weekends for assault with a weapon
PENTICTON - An Oliver man who entered a home in Okanagan Falls and beat the residents with a crow bar because of an alleged sexual assault, will spend 90 days in jail every weekend until his 90 days are up. Robert David Delve, born in 1979, pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a...
Forged prescription for painkillers lands accused in jail for one day
PENTICTON - A local man who pleaded guilty to using a forged prescription got off with a one-day jail sentence and never had to leave the Penticton Courthouse. Alexander Milne, 60, was caught on March 3, 2014 trying to get a prescription filled using a forged document. Milne, who suffers from an auto-immune deficiency had...
Centre at Naramata risks being shut down
PENTICTON - The Centre at Naramata risks a chance of shutting down unless the organization can raise $500,000 by the end of the month. The Centre has had financial difficulties, which became known to the public this past spring when 30 CUPE workers, employed by the Centre went on strike. A statement released earlier this...
Votes cast at advance polls break records
PENTICTON - Attendance numbers from the advance polls earlier this week have broken records for number of ballots cast. On the first day of advance polls, 746 ballots were cast, and 1,147 ballots were cast on the second day, for a two-day total of 1,893—1,103 more votes cast than in 2011. The Local Government now...
City and RCMP open to policy changes following jury recommendations
PENTICTON - The City and RCMP are actively considering implementation of recommendations made by a jury following a coroner’s inquest into the death of 30-year-old Steven J. Scott who died in police custody two years ago. The RCMP have already implemented some changes after Scott’s death that the jury also recommended be made. One suggestion...
Investigation of alleged assault by Penticton police officer dismissed
PENTICTON - No charges will be laid against a police officer who allegedly assaulted a woman while she was in custody. An investigation conducted by the Independent Investigations Office “concluded there is no substantial likelihood that the officer … would be convicted of any offences arising from the circumstances.” In April 2014, an officer was...
Fire in southwest hills almost out
PENTICTON - A large slash pile fire that started on Wednesday night on the Southwest hills of Penticton is nearly out after if was left to burn out naturally. The Penticton Indian Band fire crew stood by the fire that was approximately 100 square feet and 20 feet high but because of the size of...
Local innovators create educational kids app
OKANAGAN - Local innovators are putting the Okanagan on the map by creating educational apps that will help kids develop reading skills. Technology expert Tarik Sayeed and veteran educator Brenda Larson have put their knowledge together to create five educational games for kids available on Android tablets. The games are based on a line of...
ARCHER: The importance of being a jury member
I spent three days this week at the Penticton courthouse sitting in on a coroner’s inquest for the death of a 30-year-old man, Steven Joseph Scott, who died two years ago while in police custody. I had never been to an inquest before and was happily surprised to find the five-person jury and all the...
Penticton remembers those who have fallen
PENTICTON - Remember all those who have fallen for our country at the Remembrance Day ceremonies this Tuesday, November 11. The ceremony will be held at the Trade and Convention Centre and doors open at 10 a.m. The ceremonies will start around 10:30 a.m. as police, veterans, boy scouts and other protective service agents march...
Remember to vote, local marketing agency uses social media campaign to spread the word
PENTICTON - A local marketing company is lending its services and expertise to the Rock the Vote campaign encouraging Penticton residents to get out and vote next weekend during the general election. Dave MacCoubrey, owner of SIRF Marketing and Spotted in Penticton has been collecting video footage, photos and comments from election candidates over the...
Celebrate Christmas with the Celts
PENTICTON - Get into the Christmas spirit with a seasonal visit from the Barra MacNeils, one of Canada’s favourite Celtic musical groups. The Cape Breton clan are bringing their Celtic roots and musical artistry to Penticton to get the Okanagan in the holiday spirit. The show features the family group’s seasonal fare mixed with entertaining...
Southwest hills ablaze in possible logging fire
PENTICTON - A fire that began burning on Penticton Indian Band land Wednesday night is being controlled by the Band Fire Department, however it will take a few days to burn out since it is too large a fire to put out. Dispatch received calls about the fire on the Southwest hills just before 7...
Churchill development gets go ahead from council
PENTICTON - An unwanted double duplex development on Churchill Avenue will move forward despite disapproval from neighbours. Residents of Churchill Avenue erected signs in protest of the development that was the subject of a public hearing Monday night. Residents raised concerns of traffic, parking and the style of housing. Coun. Helena Konanz asked staff to...
Jury finds death accidental, makes recommendations
'STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING AN ALCOHOL DETOXIFICATION CENTRE IN THE SOUTH OKANAGAN' PENTICTON - The coroner’s inquest on the death of Steven J. Scott who died two years ago while in police custody has ended with recommendations from a five-person jury on how to improve conditions to avoid a similar incident in the future....
CORONER’S INQUEST: Penticton lacking substance abuse resources and police manpower
PENTICTON - The need for more rehabilitation resources and police manpower were the running themes of this morning’s testimonies made during the coroner’s inquest on the death of Steven J. Scott who died in a cell at the Penticton RCMP detachment two years ago. Patricia Gartner, a social worker at the Penticton Regional Hospital oversaw...
Penticton is invited to Rock the Vote
PENTICTON - One election candidate is taking the issue of voter turnout into his own hands by organizing a Rock the Vote event to spread the word about the importance of voting. Mayoral candidate Andrew Jakubeit arranged an event for Thursday Nov. 6 at the Barking Parrot Bar and Grill that includes live music and...
Cause of in-custody death related to alcohol withdrawal: Pathologist
PENTICTON - The cause of death of Steven J. Scott, who died in a cell at the Penticton RCMP detachment two years ago, was determined to be a breathing problem related to alcohol withdrawal. Dr. William R. Currie, a now-retired pathologist at the Penticton Regional Hospital performed the autopsy of Scott, 30, who was found...