Penticton news

Expect a sunny fall week in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - The temperatures will be warm and the sun will be bright following the Thanksgiving long weekend in the Okanagan. Environment Canada is calling for highs of 15 Celsius to 19 C all week, a few degrees warmer than the seasonal normals of 13 C, while lows will be just below seasonal normals of...

Restoration efforts underway following downtown Penticton fire

PENTICTON - The owner of a downtown Penticton building damaged by fire last week says it will not have to be torn down. Nikkos Theodosakis says restoration work has begun on the building, which caught fire in the early hours of Sept. 30, with cleaning of the ten office units on the building’s second floor....

Dying Nsyilxcn language given new life in classroom

OKANAGAN - Reviving an endangered language is a daunting task but Syilx Language House is going to try to do just that with Nsyilxcn, the Okanagan language. Thirteen beginning students have signed on with five co-teachers, who are also students. Lead teacher Michele Johnson says in a media release there are fewer than 100 fluent...

UPDATE: Penticton car crash victim dies in hospital

PENTICTON - One of the two people seriously injured following a head-on crash in Penticton last night has died in hospital. RCMP say the crash happened at about 7 p.m., Oct. 9, on Lakeside Road. “A Ford pickup truck, which was travelling south, and a Kia car, which was travelling north, hit head-on,” Const. Michael...

Gap between rich and poor getting wider in South Okanagan-Similkameen: Vital Signs report

PENTICTON - The third annual Vital Signs report has given the South Okanagan-Similkameen failing grades when it comes to jobs, affordable housing and the gap between the rich and poor. The report is produced by the Community Foundation of Okanagan-Similkameen and studies 11 issues in an attempt to define the overall health and wellbeing of...

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...