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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
More to Penticton bridge project than meets the eye
PENTICTON - As bridges go, one wouldn’t think the new Satik bridge currently under construction at Green Avenue and the Channel Parkway in Penticton would be a very complicated project. After all, it’s a small bridge, with a low span running a distance of 100 feet or so. But there is more to the Satik...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Two shot dead for revenge: Crown
PENTICTON — Two people from Princeton were shot to death and another was seriously wounded because the gunman was "crushed" and betrayed by his belief they broke into his home and stole from him, a Crown prosecutor told the jury today, Feb. 25, in the opening of the murder trial of John Ike Koopmans. Koopmans...
Penticton municipal candidates spent more than $100,000 on campaigns
PENTICTON - It cost an average $4,526.34 to try to get elected to Penticton City Council during last year’s November municipal election. The six successful candidates spent a total of $27,158.09 to get elected. That compares to an average expenditure of $2,322.21 spent by all of the 25 council candidates that tossed their hat into...
February weather helps city move capital project along
PENTICTON - The almost complete absence of winter in Penticton this February has helped the city make steady progress with its capital works program this year. Work on the rebuilding of Industrial Avenue that began in October, 2014 restarted recently after a short shut down. A mild and relatively precipitation free February has helped city...
Threatening letter reaction, the line between thwarting a threat and mentioning a menace
PENTICTON - The only thing that appeared out of place at four schools named in last week’s threatening letter was the presence of police in parking lots Monday. Ty Carey and Nolan Aubie, grade 11 students at Princess Margaret Secondary School said they had attended an assembly Monday just prior to lunch. They said there...
Canadian country music star George Canyon to play Peachfest
PENTICTON - Country music fans, mark Friday, Aug. 7 on your calendar. That's the day George Canyon performs during this year’s 68th annual Penticton Peach Festival. Canyon is considered to be one of the most requested and well known stars on Country Music Television, in addition to being the most played Canadian artist on Canadian...
Mayor’s race was close from a budget point of view
PENTICTON - The contest for the Mayor’s chair in last November’s Penticton municipal election proved to be a closer spending race for two of the candidates than the results at the ballot box. The province recently released financial disclosure statements for the November municipal elections. In Penticton, winning candidate Andrew Jakubeit’s campaign cost $21,888, while...
Regional board grant will assess public appetite for conservation fund
PENTICTON - The South Okanagan Similkameen conservation program manager approached the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen board of directors Thursday, seeking $65,000 to investigate the development of a conservation fund for the regional district. Bryn White described a regional district conservation fund as “a dedicated source of funding for organizations to work together to conserve in...
Homes evacuated as firefighters tackled Penticton blaze
PENTICTON - Two people required rescue by firefighters when a fire at the corner of Maple Street and Birch Avenue burned through a garage. Penticton RCMP, B.C. Ambulance and Penticton firefighters were called to the townhouse complex at approximately 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. Penticton Fire Chief Wayne Williams said members arrived on scene to...
Gangster parolee back behind bars
PENTICTON - A man previously convicted of offences in Kelowna and Winnipeg is back behind bars following his arrest in Osoyoos on the weekend. Osoyoos RCMP arrested Donald Bryce Lyons at his residence on Feb. 21 after his parole was revoked, according to an RCMP news release. Lyons was apprehended without incident after a Canada...
THREATENING LETTER: What Penticton police are telling parents as they prepare for a new school week
PENTICTON - Fears of a continued threat and frustration over communication was on parents’ minds at a community meeting set up by School District 67 following last week’s discovery of a threatening letter at Skaha Lake Middle School. Police and school officials met with students' parents and members of the public to hear their concerns...
RCMP considered risks of making school threat letter public
PENTICTON - The threatening letter found on Penticton school property this week is in the hands of RCMP behavioural experts as they try to sort out who is behind the writing and why they did it. A stack of roughly 30 copies of the letter containing what appears to be a threat by a young...
Man accused in doctor beating granted bail
PENTICTON - A Summerland man accused of the savage beating of a Penticton doctor was released, pending payment of $50,000 bail, Thursday, Feb.19. Gregory Stanley Nield is accused in the Dec. 5, 2014 assault of a Penticton psychologist in the hospital’s psych ward. Nield’s attack left the doctor unconscious resulting in severe facial injuries, including...
School district provides update on security measures after finding threatening message
PENTICTON - Following the discovery of a note threatening harm to students at Penticton Secondary School on Feb.18, School District Superintendent Wendy Hyer issued a communication Thursday, Feb. 19 explaining the district’s Threat Assessment Protocol. The protocol was developed in order to respond to situations where students may be a threat to themselves or others....
Early morning house fire leaves elderly couple homeless
PENTICTON - Fire crews arrived at a fire in Penticton early Thursday morning to find an elderly man trying to put out his burning house with a garden hose. The man and his wife, who were asleep in their home were awakened by the fire at about 4:30 a.m., Feb. 19 and managed to escape,...
History repeating itself with Main Street revitalization
PENTICTON - The more things change, the more they remain the same. That adage proves to be applicable to the City of Penticton’s most recent efforts at downtown revitalization. The subject is particularly pertinent this week as B.C. celebrates Heritage Week, with the theme "Main Street: At the Heart of the Community". Penticton historian Randy...
Downtown’s Ellis Street could see new life with relocating business
PENTICTON - A Penticton business’s relocation to a downtown side street could provide the impetus for a new look - and new uses for a street that presently sits underdeveloped and underutilized. As Cannery Brewing’s new facility on Ellis Street nears completion, Manager Pat Dyck is excited about the prospect of relocation to the downtown...
Petition to stop trapping going to Penticton council
PENTICTON - One of the oldest animal protection groups in Canada is taking aim at Penticton city council in an attempt to restrict leg-hold traps within city limits. A cat was found in January with a leg badly mangled as the result of being caught in a leg-hold trap. The incident has prompted The Association...
Former Penticton city manager is Alberta bound
PENTICTON — Monday night’s council meeting was the last one for departing Penticton Chief Administrative Officer Annette Antoniak, after announcing her intention to leave the city earlier this month. A recent press release issued by the Regional Recreation Corporation of Wood Buffalo in Fort McMurray announced Antoniak’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer. The release said...
News software lost in Sportsplex theft
PENTICTON - The news has stopped temporarily, but the music plays on at SO Country Internet radio. A break-in at the Adidas Sportsplex in Penticton on the weekend cost well-known Internet radio broadcaster Dennis Walker his news software program. Early Sunday morning, Feb. 15, Walker was at his studio, which is set up in the...
Fair promotes healthy lifestyles
PENTICTON - The Okanagan-Similkameen Healthy Living Fair Society plays host to an expansive healthy living forum, just in time for spring. On Saturday, March 4, the Okanagan-Similkameen Healthy Living Fair returns to the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. The fair showcases organizations offering health related resources, products and services that support and promote a healthy...
Keremeos Grist Mill operator gets renewed lease
PENTICTON - After a long wait, the present operator of the Keremeos Grist Mill Historic site can get on with the business of operating the property. Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson announced a lease offering to Mathieson Heritage Services for operation of the Keremeos Grist Mill on Feb.16. Mathieson...
Penticton group posts Lyme Sucks Challenge video
PENTICTON - A Penticton group has put out a YouTube video with a twist on last summer’s “Ice Bucket Challenge” in an attempt to raise awareness about Lyme Disease. The Penticton B.C. and Area Lyme Group recently put together the video as part of the “Lyme Sucks Challenge,” which started last October. Video producer Gary...
Trial begins for man accused in Princeton double homicide
PENTICTON - The trial of a man accused of a double homicide and attempted murder of a third individual near Princeton in 2013 begins in Penticton this morning. The jury trial of John Ike Koopmans is slated to get underway in Penticton Supreme Court this morning, Feb.16. Koopmans was charged in 2013 with two counts...