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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
Windy weather turns tiny tear into major maintenance
PENTICTON - Last Friday’s windy weather turned a small problem into a major concern at Penticton’s only indoor soccer field. A rip in the roof at Penticton’s Adidas Sportsplex has suddenly became a huge, open tear after a windstorm on Friday, June 12, but Ezra Cremers, head coach and executive director of the Pinnacles Football Club...
Aboriginal court case could break new ground in Okanagan
PENTICTON - A woman facing sentencing over a litany of conditional sentence and personation breaches and minor thefts may soon make legal history in Penticton. Mae Lynnette Postel’s sentencing led both counsel and Judge Gregory Koturbash to look into the possibility of diverting her case to a form of aboriginal justice known as a 'sentencing...
Protest against Penticton winery liquor license fails
PENTICTON - Local outcry over a Naramata winery’s application for a special events liquor license had the makings of a major protest. When it was all over, there appeared to be little substance to the negative views heard in council chambers earlier this week though. Bench 1775 Manager Val Tait explained the reasons behind her...
Career criminal earns another seven years behind bars
PENTICTON - Call it courthouse math: A man who has been sentenced to 21 years in jail in the last 19 years, yet still managed to find time to commit more crimes, has earned another seven years in prison. Jon Russell Lowe appeared by video before Judge Gregory Koturbash in Penticton Provincial Court today, June...
Notorious corner claims another vehicle near Penticton
PENTICTON - The sharp curve on Highway 97 at the northern entrance to Penticton was the scene of yet another crash last night, June 15. Witness Tanya Speirs says the vehicle she was in came upon the scene, at the 90-degree corner at the intersection of West Bench Drive, around midnight, moments after it happened....
Penalty for shooting someone with an airsoft gun? More than you might think
PENTICTON - A 19-year-old Penticton man with a penchant for shooting people with an airsoft gun discovered today they are no toys in the eyes of the law. Christian Darren Leggatt will spend 96 more days in jail for one incident and another 90 days for a second occurrence, Judge Gregory Koturbash decided in Penticton...
Neighbours fear ‘another Boonstock’ if Naramata winery gets special liquor licence
PENTICTON - A Naramata winery operator who faced a gallery full of people against an application for a special events liquor licence, hopes to assuage fears at tonight’s council meeting. The matter first came before council on May 4 and council deferred a decision on the licence for Bench 1775 Winery for 30 days following...
Third time proves unlucky as fire destroys Keremeos restaurant
PENTICTON - The Riverbed Bistro in Keremeos was destroyed by fire early this morning, the third fire at the restaurant in the past four years. Firefighters were called to the blaze at about 3:30 a.m., Monday, June 15, at the restaurant directly across the street from the local firehall. Keremeos Chief Jordy Bosscha says the...
First annual Jail n’ Bail coming to Penticton
PENTICTON - High profile Pentictonites — and anyone else, for that matter — beware. You could be 'arrested' when the Downtown Penticton Association stages its first annual Penticton Jail n’ Bail on June 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Colleen Wright of the Canadian Cancer Society and Downtown Penticton Association Executive Director Kerri Milton...
Bad Tattoo wins medals for good brew
PENTICTON - A Penticton craft brewery, not even in business for a year, has attracted award winning national attention. Bad Tattoo was awarded two silver medals in the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards held last week in Niagara Falls, Ontario, according to a media release The brewery won silver for best North American-style amber lager as...
Waterfront walkway project completed
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton officially completed its latest waterfront project yesterday, just in time for the summer season. The Peach Plaza portion of the Okanagan Lake walkway opened, June 12, completing the sidewalk from the SS Sicamous all the way to Rotary Park. The project included construction of a three metre wide concrete...
Heavy intoxication cause of Sawmill Lake drowning: Coroner
PENTICTON - A suspicious drowning death that occurred last year in a lake near Oliver has been deemed accidental following a report by the B.C. Coroners Service. No trauma was found on Grace Marie Capot-Blanc’s body to indicate she was forced into the water. She was, however, heavily intoxicated at the time of her death,...
Impaired driver wreaks path of destruction in Penticton
PENTICTON - An impaired driver operating his vehicle “like he was playing bumper cars” ran amok through Penticton streets. Penticton RCMP Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski says police arrested the driver of a white BMW yesterday afternoon, June 11, for impaired driving on Wilson Street in the city’s south end. Lozinski says no police chase was...
Robbery at a Penticton Scotiabank branch
PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP are on the lookout for a suspect after bank robbery earlier this week. Police were called to the Scotiabank branch at 2062 Main St. at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9 after bank employees reported a robbery. RCMP say a man entered the bank and handed a note to a...
Murdered Penticton man remembered as a diligent worker
PENTICTON - The man murdered in Penticton last week was a father of four and worked at the Copper Mountain Mine. Frank Armitage worked with Darren Leadbeater, 36, the person police named yesterday as the man murdered at Golden Sands Resort in Penticton, and says he was shocked when he learned of his co-worker's death. “I knew...
City’s triathlon investment proves costly for Penticton taxpayers
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton has divested itself of the Challenge Penticton race with the dissolution of the Penticton Triathlon Race Society and it turns out the city’s investment in the race wasn’t a great one from a taxpayer’s point of view. The City spent $377,022 to run Challenge in the first year and...
Bon Jovi to play Stanley Park
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Book your hotels and get your bags packed, rock superstar Bon Jovi is coming to Vancouver. Jon Bon Jovi and The Kings of Suburbia will be playing Brockton Fields in Stanley Park this summer before the band embarks on an Asian tour. They’ll be playing for three nights beginning Friday, Aug. 21. The...
Deadline for hotel proposal on South Okanagan Events Centre property extended
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton’s search for a developer to build a first class hotel on the South Okanagan Events Centre property has been so successful it’s been extended for another two weeks. The deadline for the city’s Expression of Interest was extended to June 29 following a request from a potential proponent, communications...
Penticton mayor pays up for city losing Bike to Work Challenge
PENTICTON - City of Penticton officials got off easy in this year’s victory ride following the Bike to Work Week Challenge between the city and Regional District Okanagan Similkameen. In previous years, mayor and city staff have ridden tricycles and penny farthing bicycles and dressed up as barnyard animals as a consequence of losing the...
Penticton photographer has passion for night photography
PENTICTON - A Penticton photographer uses the night sky as his subject and the great Okanagan outdoors as his studio. Stephen Hancock recently took some spectacular photographs of an aurora-filled night sky above Brunell Lake, northwest of Oliver. Over the past two years, Hancock has taken photos of the Okanagan night sky. Locally he often...
B.C. SPCA to acquire Penticton Veterinary Hospital
PENTICTON - The local SPCA is receiving a generous gift from a well known Penticton veterinarian. The B.C. SPCA announced June 10 it will be acquiring the Penticton Veterinary Hospital from retiring Penticton veterinarian Dr. Steve Harvey. The hospital will continue to retain existing staff and will offer the same full services to the public,...
Close shave at the OK Barber Shop
PENTICTON - The quick actions of the Okanagan Falls Volunteer Fire Department helped save the community’s only barber shop early this morning, June 10. Firefighters were called to Main Street and Ninth Avenue shortly after midnight to find flames racing up the west side of the OK Barber Shop. “It appears to have started in...
Restrictions on channel use until end of the month
PENTICTON - Those wishing to beat the heat with a trip down the channel need to be aware the channel won’t be completely open to floaters until the end of the month. Several floaters could be seen travelling south beyond Green Mountain Road in swift current on the afteroon on Monday, June 8. Penticton Indian...
‘Summer island surfer vibe’ in the air at Skaha’s Sudbury Beach
PENTICTON - The early summer heat being experienced in Penticton has at least one local entrepreneur smiling these days. Darcy Godfrey is the owner of Glow SUP Adventures, located at Sudbury Beach on Penticton’s Skaha Lake side. She operates the only two concessions on both Hulley and Sudbury beaches, and lately she’s beaming like the...