Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
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
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...
Penticton looks at automated garbage collection system
PENTICTON - Automated garbage pickup could be coming to the curbs of Penticton as the city contemplates the idea of moving to a more modern system. Penticton City Council heard about a mechanized garbage collection system at a Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday, Sept.8. Penticton Public Works Manager Len Robson says the cart program,...
Theft, unusual odours and annual grad party all part of Penticton RCMP work week
PENTICTON - Thefts kept police busy this week, along with some mischief and an annual unsanctioned graduation event. Tuesday, Sept. 1, a suspect was arrested by the drug task force after stealing men’s jeans from Mark’s Work Wearhouse at 2607 South Main St., according to Penticton RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth. The man was identified...
Young Stars Classic begins with Canucks training camp in Penticton
PENTICTON - Hockey season is almost here again, and nowhere will that be more evident than Penticton's South Okanagan Events Centre this week. The roster and schedule for the Vancouver Canucks Young Stars Classic Tournament was announced today, Aug. 31. The tournament begins with the Canucks training camp on Sept. 10. Practices on the arena's main...
Grist Mill’s Apple Day too late for early harvest
PENTICTON - An early season harvest has forced a change of plans for one of Keremeos Grist Mill’s most popular late season events. Apple Day at the Grist Mill usually takes place in October, but due to the early harvest this year most apple varieties will be ready long before that. Grist Mill Manager Chris...
Gaining ground in fight against Naramata’s fire ants
NARAMATA - A biologist from Thompson Rivers University has made some progress in his battle to stop an invasive species of fire ant from gaining a foot hold in the South Okanagan. Dr. Robert J. Higgins and assistant Naomi Harder have been working to find an effective method of eliminating the invasive species discovered in Naramata...
Ministry seeks solution to off road vehicle use and ecosystem conflicts
PENTICTON - A desire to minimize the impacts of off road vehicle use in sensitive areas in the Okanagan has the province seeking further public input. Residents are being asked to provide input into how grassland ecosystems in the area of Oliver Mountain can be protected from off road vehicle use, while at the same...
Why the bridge to nowhere in Penticton is actually going somewhere
PENTICTON - It’s being called a “bridge to nowhere” by some on social media, but developers building the Satikw Bridge at Green Avenue on the Penticton river channel say that’s an unfair label for a project which has taken two decades to come to fruition. Penticton Indian Band Development Corporation’s economic development consultant Chris Scott...
Penticton RCMP ask for your help to find a stolen truck
PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP hope the public can help locate a vintage pickup truck reported stolen earlier this week. Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says the pickup truck was stolen from the Okanagan Marina parking lot on Marina Way in the early hours of Sept. 2. Police are looking for a grey, custom built 1950 Chevrolet short...
Penticton firefighters called to townhouse bedroom blaze
PENTICTON - Quick action by Penticton firefighters kept a bedroom blaze from spreading in a townhouse complex yesterday. Penticton Fire Chief Wayne Williams says the department received a call to 3099 South Main St. at 6:38 p.m., Sept. 3, to find a bedroom in one of the units at the Chateau Village ablaze. “The truck...
What’s happening on the last long weekend of summer
PENTICTON - The last long weekend of summer will be a low-key affair in Penticton this year. The entertainment agenda is light on this year’s Labour Day long weekend, as the city takes a pause before ramping up the schedule the following weekend with the Pentastic Jazz Festival, the Vancouver Canucks Young Stars Classic and...
Brother and sister facing identical charges in Penticton homicide case
PENTICTON – A brother and sister accused of murder are now facing identical charges. Lawyers…
Penticton’s economic development office heading into a busy fall season
PENTICTON - This fall promises to be a busy time for Penticton’s Economic Development office. Economic development officer Colleen Pennington says she is working on several initiatives in addition to preparing for the GoMedia convention slated for Sept. 27 to Oct.1 at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. One of those projects is the Virtual...
New executive director for Chamber of Commerce
PENTICTON - The Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce has a new executive director. Brandy Maslowski was selected by the chamber board earlier this week to head the organization as it seeks to build a thriving business community in Penticton. Maslowski has been with the chamber since May working as the events planner and...
Drivers beware: Increased enforcement of school zones next week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - RCMP are sending a message to the province’s drivers reminding them September is back to school time. Police are asking drivers to remember their ABCs and if they don’t, they will certainly help teach them a lesson, according to a RCMP media release. The driver’s ABC’s are: A for attention, B to be...
Judge holds out hope for rehabilitaton of drug dealer
PENTICTON - A man's troubled past and his desire to rehabilitate himself convinced a judge to give a convicted drug dealer a break in Penticton Supreme Court today, September 2. Judge Gordon Weatherill handed down a sentence of three years, less time served, to Grant McEwen, who was convicted Feb. 4, 2015 of unlawfully possessing...
Check those campfire plans if you’re camping in the south Okanagan
PENTICTON - Campers planning a campfire this weekend in the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen may need to rethink those plans. While the campfire ban was lifted earlier this week on lands under jurisdiction of the B.C. Wildfire Service, it will not affect the regional district’s temporary open fire ban, which remains in effect. All...
Seasonal tourism business takes a late season hit due to smoke, weather
PENTICTON - Wildfire smoke and a sudden change in the weather has blemished what was a stellar summer in the South Okanagan, according to local tourist operators. The Penticton area was hit hard by smoky skies during the last week of August, conditions which were followed by a sudden change in the weather to cooler...
Four rescued from Manning Park
PENTICTON - Four missing men are safe due to the combined rescue efforts of the RCMP, B.C. Parks and three search and rescue organizations. Princeton ground search and rescue teams were activated by Princeton RCMP yesterday, September 1, after police received a distress call from four men stranded in the wilderness area straddling the Canada...
Penticton radio personality leaving the city for new opportunity
PENTICTON - A radio personality very familiar to Penticton and residents of the South Okanagan-Similkameen is leaving the city for a new job in the Kootenays. SO Country Internet Radio host Dennis Walker announced yesterday, Aug. 31, he would be taking the morning show host’s position for the new Clear Sky Broadcasting radio station, to...
A week of thefts and threats for Penticton RCMP
PENTICTON - Summer activity appears to be winding down in the city with Penticton RCMP reporting a quiet week. RCMP media spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says police investigated several vehicle thefts, mischief and domestic complaints over the past week in Penticton. On Monday, Aug. 24, police were called in the early morning hours to a...