Penticton news

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...

New president and CEO announced for Interior Health

KELOWNA - A new president and chief executive officer has been named for the Interior Health Authority. It was announced at a board meeting today, Oct. 6, that Chris Mazurkewich will take over as president and CEO on Oct. 26. He is replacing Dr. Robert Halpenny, who announced his resignation earlier this year. Halpenny’s last...

New movie of the week being filmed in Osoyoos

OSOYOOS - A new Valentine’s Day TV movie that begins filming this week is being shot entirely in Osoyoos. A Hand in Love is a ‘story about true love in an on again - off again relationship.’  The movie will feature a young couple dealing with business, a vineyard, a blog and a baby. The...

City of Penticton purchases $1.5M parcel of land

PENTICTON - The City of Penticton has acquired a piece of real estate adjacent to the South Okanagan Events Centre property on Power Street. The announcement was made during Monday night’s council meeting, Oct. 5, and came following an in camera discussion following from a previous meeting. The 1.495 acre parcel is located at 903...

Motorcycle thief surrenders after heroin-induced ‘vision’

PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP came across a motorcycle thief, an excessive speeder and several break ins during their patrols last week. Penticton RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth reports a motorcycle belonging to a Surrey resident was found by police Tuesday, Sept. 29, after the driver crashed it on Marina Way near the art gallery. The...

What Interior residents need to know about the killer gas radon

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It sounds like something from a thriller sci-fi movie - a colourless, odorless radioactive gas that seeps from the ground, infiltrates buildings and kills people. In real life, radon gas is a known carcinogen, the second leading cause of lung cancer accounting for 10 per cent of cases and is found in elevated...

City of Penticton continues to seek a solution to leaking leisure pool

PENTICTON -  City staff and professional engineers continue to seek a solution to the Penticton Community Centre leisure pools leaky drains. The pool was scheduled to reopen following a summer closure to replace slippery deck tiles around the leisure and main pools on Sept. 14, but as staff was refilling the leisure pool, a leak...

You can be on reality TV if you have inherited a house in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - If you’ve recently inherited a house in the Okanagan the producers of a new reality TV show want to hear from you. Anaid Productions, the company behind such shows as X-Weighted and The Liquidator, is searching for families that have been bequeathed a home in the Okanagan. Those selected for the show will be...

Three-car crash during morning commute in Penticton

PENTICTON – A morning rush hour collision in Penticton resulted in a short closure of Fairview Road today. Penticton RCMP media spokesperson Rick Dellebuur says at approximately 8:30 a.m., Monday, Oct. 5, a 53-year-old Cawston woman was driving a 2013 Toyota Prius northbound on Highway 97 when a man driving a Honda Civic made a...

Week of perfect fall weather ahead in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - As far as autumn goes, this should be a good week in the Okanagan with temperatures above normal during the day and overnight. While we are waking up to temperatures several degrees below seasonal normals of 5 Celsius the mercury is supposed to stay above those normals for the rest of the week....

Iconic Penticton sign vandalized

PENTICTON - The city’s famous Penticton sign on Munson Mountain was vandalized recently. City of Penticton communications manager Simone Blais says city crews noticed the defacement a few weeks ago. Someone had spray painted a large band across the lower section of the “i” in Penticton, turning it into an exclamation point. City crews will...

Not all wineries sold on idea of selling wine in grocery stores

PENTICTON - British Columbia’s small and medium sized wineries are asking the province to put the brakes on their wine and liquor modernization initiative. Approximately 100 winemakers, local politicians and stakeholders gathered at Poplar Grove Winery this week for a town hall meeting hosted by the B.C. Alliance for Smart Liquor Retail Choices. The meeting...

ELECTION 2015: Will strategic voting give NDP the boost they need to unseat Conservatives in the Thompson-Okanagan?

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – If strategic voting is embraced in the Thompson-Okanagan, the NDP will likely see a significant jump in their final numbers when polls close Oct. 19. That's according to a popular website for voters who want any candidate but Harper to win in this year’s general election. StrategicVoting.ca gives a riding-by-riding breakdown of which...

National recognition for Penticton based youth leadership program

PENTICTON - A Penticton leadership program has been recognized nationally as the best in Canada. Junior Chamber International Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 program, held in 2013 and 2014 in partnership with the Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce was given the nod as best local community empowerment program in Canada from JCI Canada...

Skaha Marina agreement given extension

PENTICTON - A lack of time to review an impending agreement between the City of Penticton and Trio Marine Group has resulted in a one year extension to the proposed agreement for Skaha Marina development. Penticton City Council authorized execution of the agreement on June 29 of this year, and since then city staff and...

Vacant Penticton lot will become a car dealership

PENTICTON - A large, empty lot on Westminster Avenue in Penticton will be enhanced and put to use as a car dealership. Penticton city council has approved a temporary use permit for the former Fraserview RV site at 249 Westminster Avenue West. Fraserview RV ceased operations in 2014 and prior to that the lot had been...

Two Canadians, two Americans appointed to Osoyoos Lake Board

PENTICTON - Four new members have been appointed to the International Osoyoos Lake Board of Control. The appointments - two American and two Canadians from the Osoyoos Lake region - were announced yesterday, Oct. 1, by the International Joint Commission. The Commission was established in 1909 by the Canadian and US governments to help prevent...

Fire ban remains in place in Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen

PENTICTON - The B.C. Wildfire Service may have rescinded the campfire ban on lands within provincial jurisdiction, but Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen residents shouldn’t get the marshmallows out just yet. The regional district’s open fire ban remains in place for all lands which are contained within the regional district fire protection areas, including Anarchist...

Things to do in the Okanagan before they close for the season

VERNON - So much to do, so little time. Mere weeks remain before a number of Okanagan attractions close down for the season — and that means you’ve got to get moving, or wait until next year. The Kalavida Surf Shop in Vernon closes its doors for the season on Oct. 4, although special arrangements...