Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Meaghan Archer
Mount Baldy expected to reopen for skiing this season
PENTICTON - Mount Baldy may be up-and-running this season despite financial setbacks that kept the ski resort closed last year. The company that has been handling the Mount Baldy foreclosure account, G-Force Real Estate, says the only thing left to do is assemble all the required pieces to re-launch the resort this upcoming season. A...
Dogs get between cougars and people during two Osoyoos encounters
OSOYOOS - Two people encountering cougars in Osoyoos were fortunate to be with their dogs when the chance meetings occurred. A cougar was spotted near Magnolia Place (Destiny Beach) on Monday, Sept. 29 around 8:30 p.m. The cougar was chased off by a dog who came back injured but with blood on his mouth, according...
Konanz runs to keep her seat
PENTICTON - Helena Konanz says she wants to continue to improve Penticton’s economy and culture by continuing her reign on city council. "My portfolio for the past three years has been towards economic development and job creation, and I would like to continue to advocate for the business and manufacturing sector of our city for...
Batman villains and zombie candidates: The Penticton election is getting kooky
PENTICTON - Growing frustrations with Penticton’s political landscape has inspired now two political lampoons, inspired by gold rush heroes and Batman villains. A poster of mayoral candidates depicted as villains from Batman showed up around town Tuesday, and ultimately made its way to Facebook. The poster shows Mayor Garry Litke as the Joker, Coun. Andrew...
Chamber loses Campbell to council campaign
PENTICTON - Council candidate, Campbell Watt will take a leave of absence from his posts at downtown business organizations during his campaign. Watt has requested formal leaves from his presidency positions at the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Penticton Association. If he is elected to council he will fully resign, he says. Both boards...
Cycling: the Penticton tourism industry’s next target
PENTICTON - Cycling is a popular hobby and sport in the South Okanagan but it could soon be a major tourism driver. City representatives introduced the idea of Penticton as a province-wide cycling destination to provincial ministers at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Whistler last week. But Tourism Penticton, an entity of the city, already...
Have a seat, will you? Three trustees won’t run for re-election
PENTICTON - There's a big hole to fill on the Penticton school board with three trustees deciding not to run for re-election. Linda Beaven, Walter Huebert and Tracy St. Claire have all decided to throw in the towel. “I figure half a century is long enough,” says Huebert who was a teacher for 41 years...
Sentes contemplating running for mayor
PENTICTON - The mayoral race could get a little heated by the end of the week, depending on whether one councillor decides to follow her peers and run for mayor. Coun. Judy Sentes says her name will be on the ballot, but she's not sure yet if she'll run for council or the mayor's seat....
Litke says election rumours are ‘terrible’
PENTICTON - Mayor Garry Litke is keeping his lips sealed about whether he will run for reelection despite the circulating rumours he does not want to be mayor any longer. Litke will still announce his decision on October 7 — three days before nominations close — whether he will seek more time at the head...
Empowered Penticton citizens won’t back down from political mission
PENTICTON - A group of citizens want to educate, encourage and empower the people of Penticton. Back in August, Pentictonites congregated on the Facebook page Time For Change Penticton to engage in conversation about how to improve the city. The Facebook group was deleted this week after the page was “hijacked” by member Jennifer Taylor...
Chamber president Campbell Watt will run for council
PENTICTON - Campbell Watt has announced he’s running for a seat on Penticton city council and says his experience in local organizations and the business sector will give him a leg-up in the competition. Watt has entered the race with hopes of making a positive change to the city, for example by finding an easier...
Penticton police officer at risk of being charged with causing injury
PENTICTON - The fate of a Penticton RCMP officer is in the hands of Crown Counsel after a complaint was filed by a woman who allegedly sustained injuries while in police custody. Chief Civilian Director Richard Rosenthal of the Independent Investigations Office filed the report after a complaint was made by the woman involved in...
Edson Chan represents young population in mayoral race
PENTICTON - A fresh face is joining the race for mayor of Penticton and he hopes his presence will draw the attention of youths into the world of politics. Edson Chan, 26, was born and raised in Penticton. He says he has paid attention to many of the changes Penticton has gone through and wants...
Mayor and council discuss job retention and insurance
PENTICTON - Mayor and council have been busy this week at the 2014 Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Whistler, discussing issues from insurance claims to job recruitment and retention with provincial ministers. A resolution to restore full ICBC claim coverage was passed by the UBCM membership Wednesday. Municipalities want ICBC to reimburse cities in...
This is who’s running for city council so far
PENTICTON - There is a growing list of candidates bidding for a spot on city council and there's still almost two months until ballots are cast. Coun. John Vassilaki and Coun. Andrew Jakubeit are both giving up their council seats for a chance at being mayor, and former councillor Wes Hopkin's seat is also vacant....
Who is Elvena Slump?
PENTICTON - We know Elvena Slump for her letters to the editor and recent controversy over a lawsuit filed against her by the city for remarks she made about senior staff in those letters. But this isn’t her first controversy. Slump, 76, spent nearly two decades working in print, publishing news, including a paper called The...
A Penticton proposal getting support from unexpected places
PENTICTON - Penticton council has an unexpected supporter for its push to put oversight for large-scale events under the provincial umbrella—the Boonstock Music and Arts festival. All but one member of Penticton's councillors and mayor used the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention this week to lobby provincial government ministers hard to take on the regulatory...
Wine sensory lab officially open at Okanagan College
PENTICTON - Wine and viticulture courses at the Okanagan College are about to get a sensory overload with the official opening of the B.C. Wine Information Society Sensory Centre. The Centre is having its grand opening today thanks to a $300,000 donation form the B.C. Wine Information Society that made construction of the facility possible....
Councillors ‘think money grows on trees:’ Vassilaki
PENTICTON - While every member of city council has traveled to Whistler this week for the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, Coun. John Vassilaki says they are wasting money by sending so many people to the same conference. Vassilaki, who announced his mayoral candidacy at the beginning of the month, says the cost for sending...
Penticton man sentenced to five years in prison for sex assault
PENTICTON - A local man was sentenced today to nearly five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of sexual and aggravated assault. Darren MacDonald, 42, appeared in Penticton Supreme Court via video conference from Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre where he has been in custody since Aug. 11, 2013. He pleaded guilty this...
Penticton wants province to look after Boonstock
PENTICTON - City council has taken its Boonstock woes straight to the provincial government and it appears the province is interested in taking it on, along with other large music festivals. In a release today, the City of Penticton says its full contingent of mayor and councillors (minus only Coun. John Vassilaki) at the Union...
Jakubeit tosses hat into mayoral race
PENTICTON - Add Andrew Jakubeit to the list of mayoral candidates for the upcoming election, alongside fellow councillor John Vassilaki. Jakubeit announced Tuesday morning he will run for mayor, which leaves another seat open around the council table. He said his platform will centre on community pride, economic diversity, building a better relationship with the...
Who let the fish out? Penticton Indian Band opens hatchery
PENTICTON - The new sockeye salmon hatchery on the Okanagan River is a First Nations and salmon success story according to the Penticton Indian Band chief. The Penticton Indian Band held a ceremony for the grand opening of the hatchery Sunday. The Band has had a very successful salmon program for over a decade, and...
Dip your paddle in the water this weekend at Steamfest Regatta
PENTICTON - Experience a bit of Penticton history at the Steamfest Regatta this weekend on Okanagan Lake. The Regatta races were held on Okanagan Lake a hundred years ago, and the tradition stays alive today with the community-building event. The Penticton Museum has worked to restore four war canoes it received in 2010, and hopes...