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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
Member loses land claim against Penticton Indian Band
MEMBER CLAIMED ORAL TRADITION GRANTING LANDS PENTICTON - A Penticton Indian Band member has lost another round in court against his own band as he tries to reclaim land he says his grandfather was verbally granted in the early 1900s. The dispute dates back to 2008 when Lavern Jack took up residence on Lots 197...
Submission deadline for inaugural Penticton film festival looming
PENTICTON - Peach Festival is coming up fast, and so is the first ever Reel Peach Film Festival. Taking place Aug. 5 to 9 during the annual Peach Festival, the film festival will feature one to three minute commercials or short films prior to nightly headline events at Okanagan Lake Park. “Our vision for the...
Composting study sniffing out consultant
PENTICTON - The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen continues to move forward in its quest to divert more organic waste from the region’s landfills. The district has issued a Request for Proposals for an Organics Consultant as it develops a strategy to better handle and treat organic waste. Part of strategy development includes such things as...
Archery could soon be legally practised in Penticton
PENTICTON - Penticton city council could make using a bow and arrow within city limits legal next month. Council meets August 4 to vote on a new bylaw covering the weapon. The move to exclude a bow and arrow from the city’s current firearms bylaw began April 20 this year when a delegation approached council...
Penticton crime stats continue to climb
PENTICTON - Crime isn’t taking a holiday in Penticton, at least not in this year’s second quarter. Penticton RCMP responded to 4,885 calls for service from April to June of 2015, up from 4,188 calls received during the same period last year, a 17 per cent increase. There was a 26 per cent increase in...
Boston Pizza founder returns to Penticton to share wisdom
PENTICTON - Three former Pentictonites who have made a name for themselves in the business world enjoyed a relaxing luncheon discussing their successes and passing some advice along to members of the Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce. Jim and Brad Treliving and Rick Kozuback were guest speakers yesterday, July 23, briefly discussing their...
Main Street to shutdown for water, sewer upgrades
PENTICTON - Next Tuesday, July 28 might be a good day for city motorists to avoid Main Street between Carmi Avenue and Granby Street. Ongoing underground work to upgrade water and sewer systems along Carmi Avenue in anticipation of the hospital care tower expansion at Penticton Regional Hospital will result in the closure of Main...
Oliver firefighters looking for reprieve from battling Willowbrook wildfire
PENTICTON - Oliver Volunteer Fire Department members are starting to feel the effects of fighting a wildfire while attempting to conduct their daily routines. The department continues to send firefighters up into the mountains above the Village of Willowbrook to assist B.C. Wildfire Management crews put out the Willowbrook fire, which began Monday, July 20....
RCMP have their man; prolific offender in custody
PENTICTON – The RCMP manhunt for prolific offender Ronald Teneycke has ended with his arrest…
South Okanagan governments make a plea for voluntary cuts in water consumption
PENTICTON - There are concerns about water supply as the summer’s hot weather combines with minimal rainfall in the South Okanagan. The Okanagan Similkameen Regional District recently followed the City of Penticton’s move, made last week, to ask residents to voluntarily reduce water consumption by 30 per cent. The regional district was responding to the...
Power pole problem solved?
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton’s Public Works Department recently completed modifications to a couple of errant Fortis power poles located at the intersection of Industrial Avenue and Atkinson Street. The work was required after a major upgrade of the street earlier this year to add curbs and sidewalks at the intersection. Two Fortis power...
Heightened security at Penticton Courthouse
PENTICTON - Following the discovery of a concealed shotgun at the courthouse in Penticton last week, security has been stepped up. People attending the Penticton Law Courts today, July 22, found themselves subject to security screening. A portable walk-through metal detector was set up inside the courthouse foyer in a setup similar to airport screening....
UPDATE: Fugitive Ronald Teneycke believed to have car-jacked a new ride
PENTICTON - RCMP now believe prolific offender Ronald Teneycke has car-jacked another vehicle after assaulting the driver. Teneycke was picked up hitchhiking on Baldy Mountain Forest Service Road by the driver of a 1999 3/4 ton GMC pickup truck with the words Okanagan Rustic Furniture across the back window. The license plate is 6721 GG, Cpl....
Big plans for former waterslides property in Penticton
PENTICTON - Plans to construct three residential towers and a hotel in the city’s south end continue to move forward after receiving the first set of approvals for a zoning change earlier this week. The development is proposed for a 2.5-acre portion of the property at 3388 Skaha Lake Rd. that was the former location...
Stolen cigarettes and ice cream bars, and other Penticton crime
PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP continue to deal with higher call volumes this summer with another busy week at the detachment. - Police continue to search for chronic offender Ronald Teneycke following his failure to show up for an intermittent jail sentence. Police media spokesperson Don Wrigglesworth says police have followed up on a number of...
Penticton council stands resolute in waterpark decision
PENTICTON - Several hundred residents converged on city hall Monday to voice support for and against a Skaha Lake Marina waterfront proposal, but Penticton council appears to be unfazed by demands of those opposed to the plans. Those against the plan called on council to call a referendum, or otherwise force a re-thinking, on the...
Big cat sighting on Duncan Avenue in Penticton
PENTICTON - A mid-city street was the location of a cougar sighting in Penticton early this morning. Penticton Conservation Officer Mike Stern says the conservation office answered a call placed at approximately 12:30 a.m., July 21, by residents who said they possibly saw a cougar running across Duncan Avenue East, towards them. The two residents...
Two new fires in the South Okanagan
PENTICTON – B.C. wildfire crews are working to extinguish two new fires in the South…
Regional building stats point to heightened construction activity
PENTICTON - After several years of slow growth, the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District is seeing a surge in building activity. Development services manager Donna Butler says 2014 was "a very busy year" and statistics so far indicate 2015 on track to meet or exceed last year’s building activity. To date, the regional district has issued...
Regional district office renovations to start in September
PENTICTON - The first major renovation to the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen’s headquarters on Martin Street in Penticton is late in starting, but still expected to be completed this year. The project was supposed to get started shortly after this year's budget was tabled, but a change in staff and lengthy discussions over how to...
Curbside collection initiatives could benefit from contract extension
PENTICTON - The regional district is following up on a contract option included in its curb side collection agreement to extend the present service an additional two years. With the Okanagan Similkameen Regional District’s contract with BFI Canada, which is now called Progressive Waste Solutions, slated to end on June 30, 2016, solid waste management...
Anti-waterpark group disrupts Penticton council meeting
PENTICTON - Hundreds of people showed up at City Hall to let council know their feelings about waterfront revitalization at the city’s south end. Enduring 35 Celsius heat, a huge crowd formed in front of Penticton City Hall well before the designated time of 5 p.m. today, July 20. Police cordoned off the 100-block of...
Where there’s smoke, there’s sanitary sewer testing
PENTICTON - Sanitary sewer smoke testing is set to begin next week at a various locations around Penticton. The city's contractor Coast Pipeline will be using smoke to locate storm water entering the sewer system, starting Monday, July 27, according to a media release. Crews will attach a smoke blower to the top of a...
Both sides plan city hall rally over Penticton waterfront revitalization plans
PENTICTON – Groups for and against the proposed waterfront renewal projects around Skaha Lake Marina are planning to make their views known in front of Penticton city hall Monday.