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
Downtown restaurants learning to cope with boil order
PENTICTON - As day four of a boil water advisory continues for portions of Penticton, affected downtown businesses are slowly returning to a normal routine. “We have been having daily conversations with the business community,” City of Penticton communications officer Simone Blais said. “The boil advisory is still on, Interior Health continues to sample, and...
City takes a stand in graffiti war
PENTICTON - Penticton council is joining the war against graffiti in the city. The Penticton Graffiti Task Force made a presentation to Penticton council’s Committee of the Whole on Monday, Feb. 2, urging the city to join in a campaign to clean up graffiti in the downtown core. The task force asked the city for...
Smoke break proves costly for Summerland man
PENTICTON - A stop for a quick smoke—of illicit materials—cost a Summerland man his freedom earlier this week. On February 2, Penticton RCMP were notified of a male smoking drugs in a vehicle parked in the Lakeside Resort parking lot. Police attended the scene, but the driver had departed. Police had a description of the...
City manager leaving Penticton
PENTICTON - Penticton is losing its controversial city manager. Annette Antoniak announced today she will be leaving the City of Penticton later this month. Antoniak has been with the city since 2010, joining the city in time for implementation of the core review. She was also instrumental moving the city forward with the first downtown...
Signs point to more debate at city hall over nude beach
PENTICTON - The dispute between nude sunbathers and residents of Three Mile Beach could be solved for $75 - the price of a sign according to Locals Supporting Locals founder Kevin Proteau who made the proclamation on the steps of city hall prior to the regular council meeting February 2. But the answer won't be...
Boil water advisory remains for affected Penticton residents
PENTICTON - A boil water advisory remains in place for areas of the city affected by Sunday’s water main break on Main Street. Crews continue to sample water in areas affected by the boil water notice. No data has been received from samples collected and tested to date. Several samples collected over a given period...
Veteran Penticton reporter leaving the Herald
PENTICTON - Veteran Penticton reporter John Moorhouse is preparing to say goodbye to the Penticton Herald, where he has been a staff reporter for 26 years. Moorhouse recently took on a new position with the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation as its Development and Communications Officer. He’ll be working with Janice Perrino and the rest...
Group lending support to nudists at city hall on Monday
PENTICTON - Locals Supporting Locals will be standing up for Penticton naturists, a group who enjoys going nude on Three Mile Beach, in front of Penticton City Hall today, Feb. 2. In a release this week Kevin Proteau, founder of the supporting group, said the press conference is an attempt to present to the public...
Penticton website outs nudists, claims “illegal activity”
PENTICTON - Penticton’s famous nude beach continues to make headlines, even in the dead of winter. The beach began making regular headlines in June 2014 when a private landowner, who owns a strip of the beach along with the City of Penticton and the province fenced off a portion after claiming a nudist had scared off...
Lots to do in Penticton on Family Day
PENTICTON - You won’t have far to go to enjoy a full slate of Family Day activities in Penticton. The city’s community centre is teaming up with Coldwell Banker Okanagan Realty to assemble an all-ages road hockey game with the Penticton Vees from noon to 2 p.m. on Feb. 9. Some equipment courtesy of Pacific...
Rock-in-sock attacker loses appeal
PENTICTON - A man convicted of two years less a day for a vicious attack on a Penticton man will serve his full sentence after losing his appeal this week. Anthony Leonard Donald Samuelson argued his sentence was unduly harsh and requested instead a three-year suspended sentence or a reduction of the present jail term....
Apex community saddened by death of co-owner
PENTICTON - One of the most popular and highly respected residents in the village at Apex Mountain Resort died this week. Resort co-owner Louise Burgart, 68, died of a suspected heart attack on Sunday, Jan. 25. When Burgart hadn't been seen for a few days an Apex staff member, sent to check on her, found...
Public Works preparing to patch Penticton Avenue pipeline
PENTICTON - Residents living in the upper Penticton Avenue area are preparing for several weeks of road construction as the city replaces a section of the large water main connecting Okanagan Lake to the city’s water treatment plant. Work is scheduled to start Monday at 7 a.m. “We are moving ahead quickly and hope to...
“Weird Al” Yankovic’s one rule at the South Okanagan Events Centre is Mandatory Fun
PENTICTON - If it Smells Like Nirvana in Penticton, it means Weird Al Yankovic has arrived for his show at the South Okanagan Events Centre. Weird Al announced his Mandatory World Tour on Jan. 20, and takes to the stage in Penticton Wednesday, September 9, 2015. It turns out Yankovic’s latest album, "Mandatory Fun" was...
Lower speed limit in downtown Penticton accepted by most
PENTICTON - Residents appear to be content to slow down, be safe and enjoy the scenery in the Penticton's downtown core. City of Penticton communications officer Simone Blais says the reaction to the recent the drop in the speed limit downtown to 30 kilometres per hour, “Hasn’t been overly surprising.” “We’ve had some positive comments from...