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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
Boat inspectors at work in Okanagan
PENTICTON - Inspectors are making sure Penticton beaches remain mussel-free this summer. Inspectors Branden Beck and Graham Wheating say it’s their second time to be stationed at the Kaleden scales, inspecting boats for any sign of invasive zebra and quagga mussels, part of a provincial program that has three crews monitoring highways, beaches and boat launches...
Willowbrook residents cleaning up after nature’s fury
PENTICTON - Several Willowbrook property owners continue to clean up after a brief, localized storm hit the community on Monday, June 29, around 3:30 p.m. “It must have been a twister," Kurt Klaes says, describing the storm front as 'a white wall.' On July 2, he and wife Ruth are still cleaning up with a...
Council unwavering in spite of opposition to waterfront development
PENTICTON - Penticton Council gave the go-ahead for Skaha Lake waterfront development Monday, but citizen approval was anything but unanimous. Plans for a major waterfront facelift at the south end of the city were first unveiled at the May 19 council meeting. According to all reports, including postings on social media sites and a series...
Penticton Vees mourning loss of team Chaplain
PENTICTON - The Penticton Vees lost a part of their family with the passing of the team’s chaplain, Jamie Weberg. Weberg passed away Sunday, June 28 after a two-year battle with cancer, said Fraser Rodgers, spokeperson for the team. "He was diagnosed in late 2013 with a type of bone cancer. It was an incurable...
Police report crime rates at summer levels
PENTICTON - You might say Penticton RCMP were busy as beavers heading into Canada Day. RCMP spokesperson Don Wrigglesworth says call volumes over the weekend were 'consistent with summer activity,'noting the detachment answered 75 calls through Saturday night including, yes, a call about a car hitting a beaver near the Channel Parkway on Wednesday, June...
Penticton Indian Band steps toward self-governance
PENTICTON -The Penticton Indian Band took a big step forward in its ability to self govern as the band formally announced their participation in the First Nations Land Management Regime today, June 30. The regime will allow the Penticton band opportunity to opt out of 32 land-related sections of the Indian Act in order to...
Gyro Park in Penticton the place to be for Canada Day
PENTICTON - There are lots of things planned in Penticton to ensure people can celebrate Canada’s 148th birthday. Main events for Canada Day on Wednesday, July 1, in Gyro Park include the pancake breakfast at 8 a.m., a Public Market and Food Fair at 9 a.m., along with the opening ceremonies and cake cutting at...
Penticton city councillors seeking input on waterfront upgrades at special council meeting
PENTICTON - Penticton City Council is holding a special meeting tonight at City Hall to discuss revitalization along the Skaha Marine portion of the Skaha Lake waterfront. The proposed development agreements for an upgraded marina and new waterpark at the City’s south end were originally brought before council on May 19, following which council decided to...
Search continues for man missing in Osoyoos Lake
PENTICTON - Search and Rescue volunteers and the RCMP dive team have joined the search for a missing man in Osoyoos Lake today. The 34-year-old man from West Vancouver went missing after falling of a personal watercraft into the lake around 6 p.m., Sunday, June 28, according to a RCMP media release. Police say the missing...
Intel purchase of Yaletown tech firm comes with a Penticton connection
PENTICTON - A leading edge, high-tech Vancouver company’s recent sale to computer chip giant Intel is a success story with a Penticton connection. Recon Instruments, a Yaletown based company which is an industry leader in heads up display technology, made business headlines earlier this month with the announcement the company had been acquired by computer...
Family pet succumbs to snake bite
CAWSTON, B.C. - A Cawston couple are extending a note caution to rural residents and those walking their dogs in the wild after a rattlesnake killed the family dog in their yard on the weekend. Sally Taylor let the family dog Pickles out into the front yard Saturday morning, June 27. The dog returned bleeding...
Penticton helicopter team called to multiple rescues around Okanagan Sunday
PENTICTON - A week-long search in the South Okanagan ended on a positive note Sunday, but Penticton Search and Rescue crews were quickly put to work helping with emergencies in other parts of the region. Search and rescue spokesperson Randy Brown says the search for two lost Ontario hikers had no sooner ended in the...
Weekend weather made to order for classic cars and the King of Rock and Roll
PENTICTON - Visitors to Penticton might have found themselves thinking about "the good old days" this weekend. Between the Penticton Pacific Northwest Elvis Festival and the Peach City Beach Cruise with it’s classic cars, the 1950s, 60s, or 70s didn’t seem far in the past. Hundreds of antique, classic and specialty cars and trucks graced...
UPDATE: Missing Princeton teenager found
UPDATE: 8:49 a.m., JUNE 24, 2015 RCMP say Tianna Angstadt has returned home safe and sound. Poilce thank the media and the public for their assistance. 1:10 P.M., JUNE 27, 2015 PRINCETON - Police are asking for help to find a missing Princeton teenager. RCMP say Tianna Angstadt, 13, was last seen at her home...
Penticton’s community radio station wins national recognition
PENTICTON - Penticton’s fledgling online radio station has been given national recognition at an annual radio awards ceremony in New Brunswick. The National Campus and Community Radio Association showed its recognition for the efforts volunteers and staff put forward at member radio stations across Canada, with Peach City Radio being recognized for the second year...
Water main upgrade will impact Main Street traffic
PENTICTON - The City is making preparations in advance of the Penticton Regional Hospital patient care tower expansion project, beginning next week. Water main installation work will take place on Main Street at Carmi Avenue, beginning Monday, June 29. The project, which is necessary to provide adequate water for the upcoming hospital expansion, is expected...
Penticton nurse awarded Red Cross medal for exceptional service
PENTICTON - A Penticton nurse has won an International Committee of the Red Cross’ award honouring exceptional nurses and nursing aides. Dawn Anderson was one of 36 nurses from 18 countries recently listed on the Red Cross website as a recipient of the Florence Nightingale Medal, which recognizes the recipient’s courage and devotion to victims...
VIDEO: Animal advocate wants unnecessary suffering by injured wildlife to end
PENTICTON - A Penticton animal advocate believes a change in policy is necessary when it comes to police and conservation officers dealing with injured wildlife. Theresa Nolet was driving along Highway 97 near the intersection of Duncan Avenue and the Channel Parkway in Penticton on June 23 when she saw a wounded deer with a...
Nova Scotia allows wine shipments from B.C.
KELOWNA – Wine lovers at both ends of the country have a reason to tip…
Central City Foundation continues to seek new operator for The Crossing
KEREMEOS - Five months after the Portage residential treatment centre for addicted youth, known as The Crossing at Keremeos closed its doors, the owner of the property says work to reopen the facility continues. Central City Foundation president Jennifer Johnstone says a made-in-B.C. solution is being sought to reopen The Crossing and the foundation has...
Hot time in Penticton this weekend
PENTICTON - The Peach city is heating up in more ways than one this weekend as two major events at the same time temperatures expected to soar into the high 30s. The Penticton Elvis Festival runs June 26 to 28 for the 14th year, as Elvis fans come from all over to celebrate the “King...
Regional heritage strategy looks at local values
PENTICTON - Seeking grassroots input into what is historically important, rather than relying on historical experts' opinions, is at the heart of the regional district’s heritage program. The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen continues work on the Regional Heritage Strategic Plan following a director’s workshop at a board meeting earlier this month. Public consultations were completed...
Penticton lawyer new vice-president of B.C. branch of Canadian Bar Association
PENTICTON - A Penticton lawyer has been acclaimed vice-president of the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. Michael Welsh, an Okanagan lawyer with a practice based out of Penticton with Mott Welsh and Associates Law Offices and Mediation Services accepted the role at the provincial council meeting held in Richmond, B.C. on June 20....
Roxanne Louie murder trial moves toward preliminary hearing
PENTICTON – The preliminary hearing for two people accused in murder of Roxanne Louie is…