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Steve Arstad
I have been looking for news in the South Okanagan - SImilkameen for 20 years, having turned a part time lifelong interest into a full time profession. After five years publishing a local newsletter, several years working as a correspondent / stringer for several local newspapers and seven years as editor of a Similkameen weekly newspaper, I joined iNFOnews.ca in 2014. My goal in the news industry has always been to deliver accurate and interesting articles about local people and places. My interest in the profession is life long - from my earliest memories of grade school, I have enjoyed writing.
As an airborne geophysical surveyor I travelled extensively around the globe, conducting helicopter borne mineral surveys.
I also spent several years at an Okanagan Falls based lumber mill, producing glued-wood laminated products.
As a member of the Kaleden community, I have been involved in the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, and also serve as a trustee on the Kaleden Irrigation District board.
I am currently married to my wife Judy, of 26 years. We are empty-nesters who enjoy living in Kaleden with our Welsh Terrier, Angus, and cat, Tibbs.
Our two daughters, Meagan and Hayley, reside in Richmond and Victoria, respectively.
Steve Arstad's Stories
From meth use to mischief to spitting on a cop cruiser, Penticton RCMP again kept busy
PENTICTON - It was a week filled with drugs, vandalism, guns and theft for members of the Penticton RCMP. A man high on meth attempted to check himself into emergency on Wednesday evening, Sept. 9. He was refused admission and threatened to go outside to the parking lot and start smashing windshields, which caught the...
Commemorative shirts to remember 2015 wildfire season in South Okanagan
PENTICTON – A new fundraising effort will help remember the 2015 wildfire season in the…
UPDATE: Owner reunited with artificial leg found on Penticton street
UPDATE: 3:20 P.M., SEPT. 15, 2015 The owner of the prosthetic leg found on Lakeshore Drive over the weekend has been found, Penticton RCMP report. Penticton City bylaw officers called the detachment to say they knew the owner of the leg, Penticton RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says in a press release. The woman had...
Penticton woman pleads guilty to impaired charge, driving while disqualified
PENTICTON - A Penticton woman is not to get behind the wheel for two years following a plea of guilty to a charge of impaired driving and driving while disqualified in Penticton court this morning, Sept. 14. Crown Prosecutor Kurt Froelich told court Leisha Blais was driving home from a Narcotics Anonymous meeting at a...
Penticton firefighters shake their boots for Muscular Dystrophy
Join the Penticton firefighters who are taking part in a valley wide boot drive. On Saturday, Sept. 19 they shake their boots across the valley in support of Muscular Dystrophy Canada. Stop by and drop off your extra change at one of these locations: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Penticton Market at Main and...
Penticton’s Skaha Lake dragon boat central on weekend
PENTICTON - The Skaha Lake shoreline was a busy place this weekend in Penticton, as the city welcomed thousands to the 15th annual running of the Penticton Dragon Boat Festival. “It was a great festival, probably one of our best,” Race Director Don Mulhall says. “Everything ran perfectly, races were on time, there were no...
ELECTION 2015: Harper makes promises during Penticton pit shop
PENTICTON - Stephen Harper’s campaign bus didn’t just stop at the door of Nor Mar Industries’ Brutus Truck Bodies shop — it drove right inside as Harper made a grand entrance to several hundred of the party faithful just after 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13. The event, which was quietly announced to members of the...
ELECTION 2015: Voting basics in the South Okanagan-West Kootenay
PENTICTON - Penticton voters have a number of choices available to them when it comes to casting a ballot in the upcoming federal election. The City of Penticton lies within the newly created riding of South Okanagan-West Kootenay. There are currently three candidates on the ballot; Liberal Connie Denesiuk, Conservative Marshall Neufeld, and New Democrat Richard...
Penticton city council asked to restrict new liquor licenses
PENTICTON - Local liquor and wine purveyors reacted to potential changes to the province’s liquor licensing laws by paying Penticton city council a visit. Lee Keller of Cherry Lane Liquor Store appeared before council at council's regular meeting, Sept. 8, to request council pass a bylaw stating any new liquor license, including wine in grocery...
When children play with fire, the Penticton Fire Department has a response
PENTICTON - A program run by the Penticton Fire Department works to ensure the city’s youth don’t get the wrong idea when it comes to playing with fire. Penticton Fire Department’s Jodi Fotherby says they participate in the Juvenile Firestarter Program. Three members have taken the course through the Fire Commissioner’s office and are certified...
Host team takes a beating in game two of Canucks Young Stars Tournament
PENTICTON - Hockey season got underway in Penticton as the Canucks Young Stars Classic hockey tournament began at Penticton’s South Okanagan Events Centre last night. The rookies from the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers squared off, Sept. 11, following game one earlier in the day, which pitted Calgary against Winnipeg. A capacity crowd was...
Revenue Canada scam making the rounds in Penticton
PENTICTON - Scammers posing as Canada Revenue Agency employees are plaguing Penticton residents. The RCMP are receiving up to 40 reports daily from residents advising police they have received threatening and harassing phone calls from people posing as employees of Canada Revenue Agency and demanding money, Penticton RCMP media spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says. The...
Penticton 9/11 anniversary ceremony a first responders’ Remembrance Day
PENTICTON - The bagpipes began playing this morning as those gathering in Veterans Park prepared to pay homage to fallen emergency service workers during the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre buildings. Penticton Auxiliary firefighter Carsten Von Dein says today's ceremony, Sept. 11, is meant to remember all emergency service workers who have...
ELECTION 2015: Stephen Harper tentatively scheduled to visit Penticton
PENTICTON - Conservative leader Stephen Harper could be making a stop in Penticton this weekend. There are tentative plans for Harper to arrive Sunday, Sept. 13, for a 5:45 p.m. rally at a location still to be disclosed, according to an invitation sent out to party faithful. Plans are also in the works for Harper...
Penticton plays host to hockey, jazz and dragon boats this weekend
PENTICTON - The Penticton entertainment scene is ramping up for the coming weekend, filling the city with a mix of music, dragon boats and National Hockey League prospects. “There is not a room to be had,” Penticton Hospitality Association President Robert Appelman says. “I know the various organizations have been trying to get rooms, but...
Osoyoos business conference bringing native and private sector entrepreneurs together
PENTICTON - Native business leaders and private sector business groups are getting together in the South Okanagan to discuss potential joint business opportunities this month. The sixth annual Native Aboriginal Business Opportunities Conference takes place at the NK'MIP Resort in Osoyoos from Sept. 15 to 17. The event, which brings private sector professionals and business...
Concern over density of Wilson Street development
PENTICTON - It's just too much for the small residential area, neighbours of a proposed Wilson Street development told council this week. A zoning amendment is required to rezone the property from duplex housing to low density multiple housing, in addition to a site specific amendment to increase the maximum density. Variances will also be...
Racing bathtubs raise more than $18K for Penticton hospital
PENTICTON - A fledgling fundraiser featuring bathtubs did better than expected for the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation last month. The Aug. 22 running of the inaugural Great Ogopogo Bathtub Race raised more than $18,000 for the foundation, money that will go towards providing medical equipment for the proposed Patient Care Tower at Penticton Regional...
Man wanted on Canada-wide warrant picked up in Oliver
PENTICTON - A man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant is now in police custody following an arrest by Penticton RCMP Drug Task Force and Oliver RCMP members this week. Marcus Wilfred Sheena was apprehended on Sept. 9 for breaching conditions of a two-year sentence for a violent assault four years ago. Sheena and a female...
Injured man found at downtown Penticton intersection
PENTICTON - An injured man found in the downtown core area this weekend has police asking for the public's help in determining exactly what happened. Police responded to a call of an injured man found at the intersection of Nanaimo Avenue and Main Street on Saturday, Sept. 5 at approximately 4:30 a.m., Penticton RCMP media...
Overdone dinner results in fire call in Penticton
PENTICTON - A dinner a little too overcooked prompted a response from Penticton firefighters yesterday afternoon, Sept. 9. Penticton firefighters responded to a call for a structure fire on Barton Court at approximately 2:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Two trucks and six crew members arrived at the scene to find a smoke-filled kitchen. Upon entering the...
Much of Penticton’s aging water infrastructure facing corrosive buildup
PENTICTON - Penticton’s aging water delivery infrastructure has forced city staff to rethink a recently introduced maintenance program for its cast iron water pipes. Public Works Manager Len Robson asked council to reallocate the remaining 2015 budget for the city’s cast iron water main cleaning and inspection program in order to implement a water utility...
Police patrols respond to impaired octogenarian and other offences in Penticton
PENTICTON - It was a busy week for local RCMP as they dealt with a variety of infractions while patrolling area highways last week. Police received several complaints of an erratic driver behind the wheel of a grey Chevy Cobalt on Tuesday afternoon, Sept.1. The vehicle was located shortly after it struck another vehicle, but...
RDOS board scuttles economic development bylaw
PENTICTON - Plans for a regional economic development fund came to a sudden end at last week’s regional district board meeting. Directors at the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen voted to rescind and abandon a new economic development bylaw at last Thursday’s regular board meeting. West Bench Director Michael Brydon spearheaded the effort to create a...