Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Shannon Quesnel
Bootlegger chooses Penticton woman for fall campaign
"I WAS LIKE A BASKET CASE" PENTICTON - When she was told she'd be a Bootlegger model, Amberlee Erdmann, 24, squealed with glee but was then told to keep it to herself for a little while. "I even avoided telling my dad because he's (bad) at keeping secrets." The clothing company called her where she...
Excess weight big factor in plane crash: TSB
PENTICTON - Excess weight contributed to the crash of a Piper plane that departed Penticton Regional Airport on Aug. 13, 2012. Two out of the four people onboard were killed. A Transportation Safety Board report released today stated too much weight, a reduced rate of climb and reduced power in the right engine were major...
GMO is serious health concern, former Summerland scientist says
PENTICTON - Genetically modified foods, such as the non-browning Arctic Apple, can be unsafe for humans according to two scientists. Dr. Thierry Vrain, a retired soil biologist and former staffer at the Summerland Research Station and Dr. Shiv Chopra, a former Health Canada advisor, told about a dozen people at the Lier House Cultural Centre,...
The Band Perry plays SOEC this January
PENTICTON - Half-a-million fans and counting is the score for the all-sibling group The Band Perry. The trio of Kimberly, Neil and Reid Perry will bring their youthful country sound to the South Okanagan Event Centre on Jan. 9. This will be another nick on their guitar cases as they have already toured in spots...
Oliver tree fire suspicious
PENTICTON - An Oliver firefighter is calling a Sunday morning tree blaze suspicious. Two pumper trucks headed out to a mobile home park across from Oliver Car and Truck Sales near the corner of Okanagan Highway and Road 1 at 2:24 a.m. The crews found a tree burning beside one of the mobile homes when...
Trailer fire put out on Green Ave. W
PENTICTON - Someone was towing a hot load down city streets on Monday near Walmart but no one was injured. The Penticton Fire Department responded to a utility trailer fire on Green Avenue West near Paris Street shortly before 10:30 a.m. Only one fire truck and its crew were needed to spray foam onto the...
Kelowna law firm hired to fight City of Penticton
PENTICTON - The Penticton Hospitality Association is hiring a law firm to help fight the city for control of the two per cent hotel room tax. The association and the City of Penticton are taking their disagreement on who should be handling the approximately $400,000 generated annually from the two per cent hotel room tax...
Child porn charge nets Penticton man 90-day sentence
"IF YOU WOULDN'T LOOK AT THIS STUFF, IT WOULDN'T BE MADE" PENTICTON - A Penticton man will not have to spend Christmas in jail for possessing child pornography as his 90-day intermittent sentence will be served on weekends. David Thorp, 57, was in Penticton Provincial Court on Monday after pleading guilty to one count of...
Penticton man wants plastic bags off planet
PENTICTON - A local man is trying to raise money to bring thin natural fibre bags from Bangladesh to stores in Penticton so shoppers will have an alternative to buying plastic sacks. Tarik Sayeed started this project, Zero Plastic Bags, to reduce the erosion of the environment by First World consumers. To pay for his...
The Penmar will see its name in lights once more
PENTICTON - The curtains will go up at the Penmar cinema again if Penticton movie and theatre fans and $100,000 have anything to do with it. That's how much money will be neeed just to get the overhaul ball rolling. More renovations will be required in the future. CoWork Penticton and the Penticton Community Arts...
German machine guns given to Naramata as thanks
PENTICTON - Solving the mystery of how two First World War German machine guns came to Naramata hasn't dulled Jack Godwin's enthusiasm. They were tucked away in the back of the Naramata Heritage Museum for an unknown number of years when Godwin learned of their existence. Knowing how they came to be in his hometown...
Glass Tiger proves durable after 30 years
PENTICTON - Glass Tiger wants no one to forget about them in their journey to find another hit song. The Canadian rock band has been hitting the bars and concert halls since 1983 and plan to prowl the stage at the Barking Parrot Bar tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $38 per person. The music...
Pickers scour ice wine fields thanks to cold snap
PENTICTON - Ice wine picking was almost a communal experience at 1775 Bench winery Thursday night. Seen from afar the pickers looked like blue glowing stars thanks to their headlamps. There were laughs, brief conversations and cheers about how there was no snow on the ground to drag one's feet through. General manager and co-owner Val...
Regional district examines limiting garbage to one bag
PENTICTON - More bylaw enforcement teeth and limiting homes to only one garbage bag on the curb could generate some heat in the regional district board room tomorrow. At previous meetings Director Tom Siddon of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen complained bylaw enforcement didn't have enough muscle or lacked clear direction. Tomorrow's discussion will seek...
Ice wine harvest started early this year
ICE WINE PRODUCTION NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART PENTICTON - Ice wine grape picking might have stopped at about 7 a.m. this morning at the 1775 Bench winery but that didn't mean a break for the tired and frozen staff. The grapes were picked and hauled directly to the processing rooms to be pressed...
Lawyer fires client after argument in court
PENTICTON - A prolific offender is facing jail time and his defence lawyer wants nothing to do with him. Attorney Robert Maxwell told Provincial Court Judge Gregory Koturbash he was firing his client, Andrew Robert Hardenstine, 33, who pleaded guilty to possessing illegal firearms, drug possession and other crimes committed in mid-September. Hardenstine was busted...
RCMP take down Mcinnis Road grow-op
WEST KELOWNA - Cops raided a pot grow op in the 3200 block of McGinnis Road today. The search revealed a sophisticated, illegal marihuana growing operation with 227 mature marijuana plants and other offence-related property. Several West Kelowna residents face potential drug charges after police executed their search warrant. They might be charged with production...
Taxi company needs city OK to add wheelchair vans
PENTICTON - Wheelchairs are common in Penticton but what's not nearly as common are taxi cabs designed to transport the one-person movers. Penticton Klassic Kabs wants a support letter from the city from tonight's council meeting to expand its taxi cab fleet with three wheelchair-capable vans. Kabs president Amar Kahlon is applying for the vans...
Arctic apple producer to seek fed approval despite opposition
PENTICTON - An orchardist is hoping a genetically modified, non-browning apple might boost the industry but that's not how others in the business see it. Neal Carter and Okanagan Specialty Fruits in Summerland have been working on a solution to reverse shrinking apple sales. He said the public would be more likely to buy a...
Tickets, charges go out with suspended RCMP officer
PENTICTON - The suspension of an Osoyoos RCMP officer is having a ripple effect on those he arrested and ticketed. Lawyers James Pennington and Don Skogstad had clients arrested by suspended Const. Amit Goyal and those charges have been dropped by Crown prosecutors. Pennington said his client was charged with driving while prohibited and Goyal...
Bobbitt to be sentenced in Penticton
PENTICTON - A Supreme court justice agrees David Wesley Bobbitt should be sentenced in Penticton but the convicted sex offender can be transferred to Kelowna if security is in danger of being compromised. Sheriff Staff Sgt. Tracey Biro said he was obligated to tell the court his security and safety concerns earlier this month. Crown...
New housing development passes council, fails residents
PENTICTON - New home construction will go ahead in the Dartmouth Drive area despite plenty of opposition. City leadership voted unanimously on Monday night to allow 2725 Dartmouth Dr. and other nearby locations be the new home of more than two dozen new houses. "This is my third time speaking in front of the council,"...
Crown, defence fight to keep Bobbitt case in Penticton
PENTICTON - Defence and Crown attorneys want convicted sex offender David Wesley Bobbitt to be sentenced in Penticton—not Kelowna. Defence lawyer James Pennington and Crown prosecutors Vern Frolick and Deb Drissell agreed they want to keep the case at home. The lawyers were responding to security concerns raised earlier by Penticton Sheriff Tracey Biro who said...
B.C. Coroner identifies victim found in burning home
PENTICTON - The woman found dead in Thursday's mobile home fire is Julianna Dorothy Dolores Bergum, 81, of Penticton, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. Firefighters discovered her body inside her burning home, unit 18 at Figueira's Mobile Home Park Thursday afternoon. Bergum was alone in the mobile home when neighbours noticed it was on fire...