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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
How council ended up in a two-day meeting
PENTICTON - Tuesday’s council meeting may have been a record-setter for length, thanks to three public hearings that pushed the meeting into a second day. Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said he suspects the six-and-a-half hour meeting that ended at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday broke some kind of record; it was certainly the longest meeting in his...
Daycare needs highlighted in Penticton debate
PENTICTON - Residents of a south Penticton neighbourhood made their feelings, good and bad, known about a proposed daycare this week. The zoning amendment application for 96 Yorkton Ave. first came before council Jan. 12 where it was read for a first time and forwarded to a public hearing three weeks later. Opposition to the...
No change in park status for south Penticton streets
PENTICTON - It may have been an innocent initiative put forward by a Penticton city staffer, but the citizen backlash resulted in the biggest turnout to a public hearing and regular council meeting Penticton’s present council has seen. Several hundred residents packed council chambers and other rooms on the second floor of city hall Tuesday,...
Naturist group appeals for respect and cooperation
PENTICTON - A local naturist group is appealing for calm following the latest debate over Three Mile Beach. The Okanagan Naturist Association issued a plea for naturists to be respectful following Penticton council’s decision not to endorse clothing optional use of Three Mile Beach. In a press release issued April 8, the Okanagan Naturist Association...
PUCKER UP: RCMP members suck limes for a good cause
PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP members were told to suck it Wednesday, but it's for a good cause so they played along. Penticton RCMP members took the Lyme Sucks Challenge April 8 as they attempted to kick off a national Lyme Sucks Challenge amongst the nation’s RCMP detachments. In an effort to raise awareness and money...
Bare-all beach to maintain status quo
PENTICTON - After months of discussion and rhetoric, no changes are forthcoming to the status of Penticton’s controversial nude beach. Faced with a number of possible options from staff to deal with the clothing optional issue at Three Mile Beach, Penticton City Council last night made the most simple one: Do nothing. The issue came...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Key witnesses can’t be trusted: Defence
PENTICTON - The lawyer for John Koopmans attacked the credibility of key Crown witnesses—including one of the complainants—telling jurors they can’t be believed. Don Skogstad got his chance in Penticton Supreme Court today, April 7, to make some sense of six weeks of evidence the 12-member jury heard in the double murder trial. John Ike...
Naturist issue at Three Mile Beach back before council
PENTICTON - Three Mile Beach is back at the table Tuesday as staff are set to present a number of options on how to deal with the contentious issue of naturists using the Penticton beach. Staff will be presenting a number of options to council members at a meeting tonight, April 7, and some do...
Lumberjacks coming to Peachfest
PENTICTON - A group of unlikely television celebrities are set to return to Penticton this summer. The West Coast Lumberjacks will bring their show to Okanagan Lake Park during the Penticton Peach Festival Aug. 5 to 8. The group have recently become television celebrities, appearing on Bachelor Canada, the Amazing Race and Canada’s Got Talent....
Striking employees at Naramata Centre reach agreement
PENTICTON - After 11 months of labour dispute and the closure of the Naramata Centre earlier this year, the long strike by union staff at the centre has finally come to an end. The Naramata Centre Society and CUPE 608 announced an agreement today, April 7, noting they have finally come to a 'mutually agreeable...
Penticton French school wants deal on use of city recreation facilities
PENTICTON - A school in Penticton may be able to offer French immersion programming, but it doesn't have a proper gym or playground and needs help offering recreational activities to students. Up until about four years ago the city considered Ecole Entre-Lacs to be part of School District 67 and the school was able to...
Regional District looks at transit future in South Okanagan
PENTICTON - The future of transit in the South Okanagan and Similkameen includes more connections to Kelowna and increased ridership. B.C. Transit staff have been busy meeting with local politicians across the province about the developing Regional Tranist Future Plan and made a stop in Penticton on April 2 to update Okanagan Similkameen Regional District...
Industry insiders getting down to specifics of B.C. wine regions
PENTICTON - B.C. wines continue to grow in sophistication. The province recently announced the formation of a task force to make recommendations on ways to improve the B.C. appellation system for wine produced from 100 per cent B.C. grapes. An appellation is a legal means of describing the location of where grapes are grown in B.C....
Good Friday fire destroys a home in Cawston
PENTICTON - A house was reduced to rubble after a fire last night in Cawston and the cause of the blaze is under investigation. Keremeos and District Volunteer firefighters were called to the fire at a home on Armstrong Drive just before 10 p.m., Friday, April 3. “The fire was located at the south end...
Okanagan College tuition going up
OKANAGAN - Tuition fees are going up two per cent with Okanagan College’s board of governors approval of a $94.95 million operating budget. Okanagan College Board of Governors Chair Tom Styffe says the board initially faced "a seven digit issue, created by a number of pressures,” according to a media release. He says administration and...
Search for a Penticton family doctor proves to be daunting task
PENTICTON - Finding a family doctor in Penticton is next to impossible for newcomers to the Peach City. Holly Stengel and her husband moved to the city in February. “My husband and I split the responsibilities to find health care professionals. I said I would take on getting us a physician,” Stengle says. They lined up...
New president for Penticton Hospitality Association
PENTICTON - As the new President of the Penticton Hospitality Association Barb Haynes is excited to help move the organization forward. The hospitality association reflected on last year’s successes, including the court case with the City of Penticton over allegations of financial mismanagement, which the association won, and planned for a busy 2015 at its annual general...
Shelf price of liquor changes; little consumer impact expected
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Consumers won’t actually see much difference in costs following the new B.C. liquor laws that took effect today, according to one liquor merchant. Fred Vassilaki, the manager of Last Call Liquor Mart in Penticton, says changes to the province’s liquor laws went into effect on April 1 but they won’t have a huge...
Osoyoos incidents keep RCMP busy
PENTICTON - An illegal border crossing and two stolen vehicles kept Osoyoos RCMP busy overnight March 30 and throughout the following day in two separate incidents. Police were alerted by the U.S. Border Patrol just before 10 p.m. Monday of three males illegally crossing the U.S. - Canada border near Highway 3 on Anarchist Mountain....
Cherry Lane losing three fashion retailers
PENTICTON - Penticton’s largest shopping mall is losing three high profile tenants at the end of April. Cleo, Bootlegger and Ricki’s will be closing their doors in Cherry Lane Mall around the end of April, according to media spokesperson Nick Anstett. The three stores operate under the umbrella of parent organization Comark, a Canadian specialty...
Ridership steady on new transit route to OK Falls
PENTICTON - If you like the new bus service linking Okanagan Falls and east Skaha Lake to Penticton, you should probably get on it—it's under review. Regional District Okanagan Similkameen Project Coordinator Lindsay Bourque says the regional district has been receiving “lots of feedback” from those using the new bus route which began service along...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Accused had no ill will toward shooting victim: Friend
PENTICTON - The last witness in the John Koopmans murder trial said he’d never seen the accused show any ill will towards victim Keith Wharton. Robert Hart, a friend of Koopmans, testified if Koopmans had guns, he was unaware of it, calling him an “even-tempered man” who he had never seen angry. The double murder...
Rail trail north of Princeton closed due to slide
PENTICTON - The Trans Canada Trail and Kettle Valley Rail Trail has been closed until further notice between Princeton and Coalmont. A large rockslide came down on the former rail bed approximately 10 kilometres west of Princeton at the 125 kilometre marker of the Trans Canada Trail. Deemed unsafe for recreational use, the trail is...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: ‘You were there to settle a score:’ Crown
PENTICTON - Crown Prosecutor Frank Dubenski continued to pummel accused murderer John Koopmans with questions regarding Koopmans’ strange social behaviour the night three people were shot in Princeton. In Koopmans' third day on the stand in his own defence today, March 30, Dubenski demanded to know why he would walk for miles late in the...