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Penticton news

Penticton mother of two faces eviction for paperwork error

'NOW I HAVE LITERALLY NOWHERE TO GO, EXCEPT BACK TO THE WOMEN'S SHELTER WITH MY TWO KIDS' PENTICTON - A Penticton family facing an uncertain future as the eviction deadline on their subsidized housing nears says difficulty with ministry paperwork is to blame and wishes her landlord would show a little bit of compassion for...

Pro-waterslide group launches website, plans rally supporting Skaha Park proposal

PENTICTON - A group of people in favour of the constroversial Skaha Marina and waterslides development in Skaha Park have created a website and a Facebook group to get their message out. One of the organizers Miranda Tumbach says they just want to show their support for the proposed project and don't want to criticize...

Provincial funding announced for City of Penticton labour study

PENTICTON - The City of Penticton will be able to move forward with a planned labour market study thanks to a provincial funding announcement made today. MLA Dan Ashton and several city dignitaries were on hand, Oct. 9, to announce $71,300 in community and employer partnership funding from the Ministry of Social Development and Social...

Mount Baldy to open for the upcoming ski season

PENTICTON - South Okanagan ski enthusiasts can begin preparations for a new ski season at Mount Baldy. Following fears the ski resort, about 40 kilometres east of Oliver, may not be ready for the coming season, the Baldy Capital Corporation announced today, Oct. 9, preparations are being undertaken to fully open the ski resort for...

Penticton service club pledges $250,000 to hospital project

PENTICTON - The South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation took a leap forward toward their fundraising goal of $20 million this week. Penticton’s Rotary Club pledged $250,000 towards the foundation’s Patient Care Tower campaign, beginning with member John Rankiw’s individual donation of $100,000, according to a media release. Club spokesperson Ben Amos says the group originally...

You may not be thankful for the weather in the Okanagan this long weekend

OKANAGAN - It may be a long weekend typically filled with family, friends and lots of food, but much of this Thanksgiving weekend will also be wet and windy. While both the high and low temperatures are expected to be above normal throughout the weekend there will also be a chance of rain and strong...

Reports of school closures in Kaleden and Naramata unfounded

PENTICTON - School enrolment in District 67 is down this year but it’s nothing to panic about yet, says School District 67 Board Chair Linda Van Alphen. The district is down 30 students over last year, which is less than officials had anticipated, Van Alphen says, adding Superintendent Wendy Hyer noted recently a number of...

Some Kaleden residents driving to Penticton to cast ballot after polling boundary changes

PENTICTON - A number of voters in the community of Kaleden are discovering to their dismay their polling station is no longer just down the street following changes to the community's polling boundaries. Assistant returning officer Douglas Youngstrom says this year’s polling boundary runs along Skaha Lake, all the way to Penticton, placing a number...

Okanagan wineries report progress in efforts to rein in legislation

OKANAGAN - Small and medium sized wineries say efforts are working to slow the province’s issuing of liquor licenses to allow wine sales in grocery stores. Following a meeting held at Poplar Grove Winery in Penticton last week, the B.C. Alliance for Smart Liquor Retail Choice reported the group met with staff of Premier Christy...

Meteor shower over the Okanagan this week

OKANAGAN - Patient skywatchers will get a chance to view the Draconids meteor shower as it sets to peak this week. The Draconids is a minor meteor shower that runs from Oct. 6 to 10 and produces about 10 meteors per hour, though has been known to produce hundreds or even thousands of ‘shooting stars’...

Penticton Search and Rescue bulking up on recruits

PENTICTON - Penticton Search and Rescue beefed up its ranks during a recent recruiting campaign. Search and Rescue spokesperson Randy Brown says 25 applicants were reviewed and 17 eventually selected. Those 17 began initial training Monday night, Oct. 5. The new recruits begin with a basic 70-hour search and rescue course, which will take about...

Okanagan group returning favour to rat breeder hit by flood

OLIVER - A rehabilitation centre for owls and other raptors in the South Okanagan will return a food supply favour by sending a rat breeder some new stock. Abbotsford rat breeder Mike Hopecraft "The Reptile Guy" took a major a hit last week when he lost almost 200 of the animals when a water line...

Solid consumer confidence drives strong Okanagan housing market

OKANAGAN - As goes the weather, so goes real estate activity, according to the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board, which is reporting a cooling of sales in September after a robust summer. The Central Okanagan and Shuswap markets continue to strengthen and see an improvement year-to-date over last year,” board president Christopher Miller says in...

Penticton poet waxes political in ‘The Cut’

PENTICTON - It’s Shane Koyczan at his political best. Koyczan, who is from Penticton, takes Prime Minister Stephen Harper to task in this piece written for the Imagine Oct. 20 campaign, organized by Dan Mangan in association with leadnow.ca. Likening the election campaign to a job interview, Koyczan says the Conservative leader's approach to avoiding...

A Princeton murderer just got a minimum 22 years in prison and still got lucky

PENTICTON - A Penticton judged saved a man convicted of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder from one of the harshest sentenced meted out in years. John Ike Koopmans was sentenced to three counts of life imprisonment today, Oct. 6 in the slaying of Keith Wharton and his girlfriend Rosemary Fox, but...

The 14-year-old Vernon boy charged with murder has been released

VERNON - A 14-year-old Greater Vernon boy charged with murder is out of jail — at least for the time being. The teen, whose identity is protected under the Youth Act, was released on bail Sept. 22. Details such as what the bail is set at, and the conditions of his release, were not made...

Vernon arsonist sent to jail for lighting townhouse on fire while roommate slept

VERNON - A Vernon man who flicked a cigarette onto a bedroom mattress while his roommate was asleep in another room admitted the act was ‘effing stupid.’ Brandon Joshua Milligan Boyce, 20, turned himself in the same day of the townhouse fire on July 17, 2014. The blaze resulted in over $137,000 in damages to...

Police find 18-month old child crying, alone on Penticton street early Saturday

PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP report a happy ending to an incident that could have had tragic consequences. RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says police received a call at approximately 4:45 a.m. Saturday morning, October 3, of an 18-month-old girl crying in the street at Eckhardt Avenue and Argyle Street. Police located the child and walked...