Shannon Quesnel

By Shannon Quesnel A South Okanagan man will plead guilty to two assault charges later this spring. Marcus William Sheena was in custody and appeared by video at the Penticton Provincial Court today to listen to his lawyer Michael Welsh and Crown lawyer Mallory Treddenick discuss his fate. Welsh said Sheena, who was once on...

By Shannon Quesnel The body of a missing 81-year-old Penticton woman was found in Skaha Lake Saturday morning. Olivene Bourke went missing last Wednesday and was reported being spotted near Skaha Lake Road and Channel Parkway. Sgt. Rick Dellebuur said police found some of her personal effects on Skaha Lake shore. RCMP divers were called...

An alleged murder victim in Hedley has been identified as 55-year-old Douglas Smith. Cst. Lesley Smith said the Southeast District Major Crime Unit continues to investigate the alleged homicide. Last week, RCMP were called to the residence at about 8 p.m. on March 6. They found Smith dead. The major crime unit  are looking for...

By Shannon Quesnel A logging truck is suspected to have badly injured a pair of wild horses on Friday morning on Highway 97, north of Penticton. Sgt. Rick Dellebuur said the driver of the truck was never caught or identified. A witness had called the police about the event. When RCMP officers arrived the two...

By Shannon Quesnel Area social programs are getting some TLC (tender-loving-cash) from the provincial government. Three organizations and two anti-bullying campaigns will be getting $221,500. About $177,000 will come from the Community Gaming Grants program and $45,500 will come from civil forfeiture proceeds. Civil forfeiture seizes property or items alleged to have been used in...

By Shannon Quesnel RCMP confirm they are investigating a homicide of a 55-year-old man in Hedley. The Southeast District Major Crime Unit were called in to a Hedley residence where a dead man was discovered. Police arrived on Wednesday at about 8 p.m. Const. Lesley Smith said no further information will be provided at this...

By Shannon Quesnel Okanagan Lake might be facing disaster if zebra and quagga mussels infect it. Water consultant Heather Larratt brought her message of doom to the Thursday board meeting of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen. She said these species can do millions in damage to Okanagan Lake and Skaha Lake. These invasive critters, no...

Police are at a Hedley residence to investigate a suspicious death. The BC Coroners Service and the Southeast District Major Crime Unit are at a home where a dead man was found. RCMP were called to the scene at about 8 p.m. Wednesday. A police spokesperson said there is no new information but more might...

RCMP have asked the public if they have seen 81-year-old Olivene Bourke who has been missing since 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Bourke was last seen around noon when she got off a transit bus near Cherry Lane Mall. She might also have been seen at about 2 p.m. near the Skaha Lake Road and Channel Parkway...

By Shannon Quesnel Apex Freestyle Ski Club will get a City of Penticton bailout to the tune of $2,000. The group has an $8,000 budget shortfall for hosting the FIS Nor-Am Cup and the Canadian Junior Nationals Freestyle Skiing Championships. The club wants $2,000 each from Area E, Area F and the City of Penticton....

A cross-border investigation has identified human remains as Miguel Joao Goncalves of Keremeos who went missing in Washington State in 2007. The breakthroughs in this five-year-old case started in March, 2012. At a weekly B.C. and Washington State law enforcement meeting, the Osoyoos RCMP learned of an unsolved Okanogan County human remains investigation from 2008....

By Shannon Quesnel About 150 demonstrators stood in bad weather today in support of a doctor-led plan to get a $300-million expansion for the Penticton Regional Hospital. The demonstration was led by the Penticton Medical Society and its president Dr. David Paisley. The society and the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation want the province to...

PHOTO RADAR TO BE PUT ON PROVINCE'S RADAR By Shannon Quesnel Parkway Elementary School will get its speed reader board thanks to Penticton city council reversing one of its decisions. This Monday, city council agreed to help the school and its parent advisory committee (PAC) with the cost of a new speed reader board. This...

By Shannon Quesnel About 150 people, and hundreds of drivers, hollered and honked today in support of the Penticton Regional Hospital's patient care tower. Doctors, nurses, citizens and politicians formed a rally in front of the hospital. Everyone waved their hands and signs on both sides of the Government Street and Carmi Avenue intersection. Drivers...

By Shannon Quesnel Penticton's leadership wants smokers to butt out before hitting the beach. City councillors voted five-to-one at Monday's council meeting to ban smoking at publicly-owned beachesincluding Okanagan Lake, Skaha Lake, Marina Way, Sudbury Beach and Three Mile Beach. Coun. Wesley Hopkin voted against the idea. He argued smoking is legal, the beaches are...

"IT WAS KIND OF WEIRD" By Shannon Quesnel Someone in Penticton might have been driving a burning van last night. At 4:28 a.m. the Penticton Fire Department was told a vehicle was burning on Columbia Street. When a fire truck and its crew arrived at the scene there was no sign of the vehicle. Only...

By Shannon Quesnel Warm weather can be hard to find in Canada unless you live in Penticton, B.C. People are being frozen in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario and are being buried by snow in Newfoundland and Labrador. Out in B.C., in the Okanagan Valley, spring has arrived. Every day that passes people are wearing less...

By Shannon Quesnel Smokers might need to butt out their cravings before lighting up on Penticton's public beaches. Penticton's elected leadership will discuss amending a smoking bylaw tonight at a city council meeting. There are signs on public beaches asking smokers to stop smoking but it has no teeth. If the smoking bylaw is amended...

By Shannon Quesnel A 23-year-old woman was sentenced to 12 months probation and given a $500 fine for punching an RCMP constable in the face and disturbing the peace. Melissa Kruger pleaded guilty at Penticton Provincial Court on Thursday to assaulting a police officer and causing a disturbance. She was busted nearly eight months ago...

UPDATE: March 1, 2013, 4:58 p.m. A man detained by RCMP officers yesterday for allegedly swinging a 10-foot pipe into traffic remains at Penticton Regional Hospital. No charges have been made against the unidentified 21-year-old male. He was brought to hospital for examination on Thursday after his detainment . Once released he will be further...

By Shannon Quesnel A former Penticton man was sentenced to nearly eight months in jail for multiple driving violations and an assault charge. The former Penticton man was sentenced to 130 days in jail for four counts of operating a motor vehicle while disqualified and one count of driving with a suspended license at Penticton...

By Shannon Quesnel Don't be alarmed by the walking wounded shuffling in front of Penticton's First Baptist Church this Wednesday. This will be part of a public rally to show support for the Penticton Regional Hospital's badly-needed patient care tower. The Penticton Medical Society invites citizens to a March 6 rally to show support for...

By Shannon Quesnel A wanted Penticton man, considered a high-risk to re-offend, was arrested in Dryden, ON yesterday. Philipe Poisson, 21, was arrested at a junior A hockey game at Dryden Memorial Arena says Insp. Kevin Glenister. Dryden officers were called to deal with a suspicious man making inappropriate comments. When police confronted Poisson, the...

A man was detained today for swinging a 10-foot pipe into Main Street traffic. RCMP officers detained the man in front of the Wholesale Club. The man was yelling and appeared intoxicated. His shoes were removed and he was hauled to his feet and put into a police car. A nearby taxi driver said he...