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Penticton news
Defective pavement discovered on Penticton’s Main Street
PENTICTON - Work crews will be returning to one of the city’s first capital projects of the year, which was just completed in May, after discovering an issue with the asphalt. Quality control testing of the new asphalt recently installed on Main Street, which was done in conjunction with the rebuilding project on Industrial Avenue,...
Cisco Road wildfire evacuation alert rescinded
LYTTON – The Regional District Emergency Operations Centre has rescinded the evacuation alert for roughly 60 properties near the Cisco Road wildfire near Lytton. The alert was issued at 9 p.m. June 11 for the west side of the Fraser River from the intersection of Lytton Ferry Rd. and South Spencer Rd., south to the...
Osoyoos break and enter results in re-arrest of multiple offender
PENTICTON - Osoyoos RCMP arrested a repeat offender following a break, enter and theft in the community last week. Oliver resident Brooks Vandenbroek was arrested following a break-in and theft at Joe’s Plumbing and Heating in Osoyoos on June 18. He was also charged with several other counts of fraud and mail theft, eventually pleading...
Victim of Oliver motorcycle crash identified
PENTICTON - An Osoyoos man has been identified as the victim of a June 9 motorcycle crash in Oliver. Robert Andrew Derby, 63, crashed his motorcycle after swerving to avoid a deer, according to a media release from the B.C. Coroners Service. He struck a utility pole after leaving the roadway in the 7300-block of...
Scorching temperatures ahead for Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – With the official start of summer on Sunday, the weather forecast for the Southern Interior appears ready to cooperate. Penticton and Kelowna can expect a week of sunny, hot weather leading into a possibly record-breaking weekend, according to the meteorologists at Environment Canada. There is a slight chance of showers Monday night, June...
No reason to feel particularly antsy in the Okanagan this summer
OKANAGAN - The early summer weather in the Okanagan Valley this year has meant a spike in ant activity. According to pest control experts, we aren't experiencing a higher than normal ant population, it's just they are active earlier than usual. Mark Dawson with Enviropro Pest Control assures us ants aren't taking over. “Ants are...
Six-year-old Shuswap student’s letter about friendship will melt your heart
SHUSWAP - Here is your dose of adorable for the day. Hillcrest Elementary School student Brody S. wants to create Friendship Day, and he’s looking for support from Salmon Arm City Hall, specifically the mayor herself. In what must have been the best letter the mayor received that day, six-year-old Brody S. outlines his vision...
RCMP, SPCA investigating woman accused of dragging puppy behind moving vehicle
OKANAGAN – After news of four Kelowna women who rescued a puppy that was injured while being pulled behind a moving vehicle in Oliver last week, the SPCA and RCMP have begun a joint investigation into possible animal cruelty. On Friday, June 12 at around 7:30 p.m., four women from Kelowna were on a wine...
Kitchen fire in Kaleden sends one to hospital
KALEDEN – Fire crews put out a fire in a kitchen at a home in Kaleden this afternoon but not before extensive damage was down. The Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department was called to the home at 420 Lakehill Rd. around noon, June 21, according to fire chief Darlene Bailey. Bailey says one person was taken...
Treat dad like a king with these Father’s Day events in the Southern Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Father’s Day is one day every year where families can tell dad how much he means and do the things he enjoys. So with forecasts calling for sun and temperatures in the mid-20s any of these outdoor events happening around the Thompson-Okanagan should keep him smiling for the next 12 months. If you’re in...
Beading a path through the Okanagan
PENTICTON - An Okanagan artist and entrepreneur turned a daydream into a unique business opportunity which continues to grow with each new tourist season. Karen Griggs was looking for a way to make a living while following her passion when she came up with the idea of the Bead Trail. According to her blog, a...
Penticton RCMP safety blitz targets motorcycles, commercial and seasonal vehicles
PENTICTON - Drivers on Highway 97 south of Penticton noticed a large police presence at the weigh scales near the junction of Highway 3A today. The scales was the location of a RCMP campaign, June 19, targeting commercial vehicles, motorcycles and anything hauling a trailer. “This is the time of year when things have been...
Kaleden car crash sends one to hospital
KALEDEN – A two-car crash on Highway 97 in Kaleden this afternoon has sent one person to hospital. The Dodge Intrepid turning onto the highway from Lakehill Road was hit by a northbound BMW SUV, according to emergency officials at the scene. The SUV ended up in the ditch. Traffic is getting past the wreckage...
Okanagan residents needn’t fear the “big one” following a Penticton quake
PENTICTON - The small earthquake in the South Okanagan yesterday startled a number of people in Penticton and Naramata, but not to worry, seismologists say, it wasn’t a harbinger of the "big one". The shallow depth, magnitude 2.5 quake took place at 4:45:02 p.m., Thursday, June 18, “almost directly under Penticton, just to the southeast,”...
Coroner rules Okanagan Falls drowning death ‘undetermined’
OKANAGAN FALLS - The B.C. Coroner's Service figured out what killed an Edmonton man found floating in the Okanagan River near Okanagan Falls last spring, but questions about why he ended up in the river remain unanswered. Coroner Walter Burns has determined Andrew Scott Gangl drowned in the river and alcohol and drugs were contributed...
Regional director seeks accountability from Fortis B.C. and the Utilities Commission
PENTICTON - A South Okanagan politician continues his campaign to make Fortis B.C. and the B.C. Utility Commission more accountable to the public for rate increases. Regional District South Okanagan-Similkameen director Tom Siddon has requested questions about Fortis B.C.'s two-tiered electrical rate system and the Commision's accountability be added to the agenda of the next...
Hey Penticton: Did you feel that?
PENTICTON - Plenty of people in the South Okanagan are reporting they felt a tremor shortly before 5 p.m. today and Natural Resources Canada has confirmed it was an earthquake. Social media lit up around 4:45 p.m. with concerns about an earthquake, and Natural Resources Canada measured the tremor as a 2.5-magnitude earthquake near Princeton, though it...
South Okanagan cyclists get boost with new tourism initiative
NARAMATA - It was a day of rejoicing for bicycle enthusiasts across the South Okanagan with the announcement of a new cycling tourism strategy for the region. Today’s announcement of the Cycling Tourism and Signage Marketing Program involves a provincial plan to identify the province’s cycling networks and develop a signage program, the initial result...
Hospital laundry workers continue anti-privatization protest as decision looms
KELOWNA - The Hospital Employees Union continued its public pressure campaign against privatization of laundry services this week with a pair of rallies in the largest communities within the Interior Health Authority. Laundry workers sought to bring provincial politicians into the mix by protesting in front of the contituency offices of MLA Terry Lake in...
Luxury condo proposal gets development permit from Penticton city council
PENTICTON - A small, vacant corner lot on Lakeshore Drive, which has not seen any activity since the 1980s, could be the site of a a high-end condominium complex following Penticton city council approval of a development permit. The project envisioned for 88 Lakeshore Drive East, known as The Wedge, consists of a four storey...
Jail n’ Bail puts residents into custody for cancer
PENTICTON - Over $12,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society was collected at the first annual Jail 'n Bail fundraising event in downtown Penticton. The RCMP took part yesterday, June 17, by pretending to arrest high profile members of the communith and holding them until the "perpatrators" raised bail by phoning friends and family for donations. Those...
Fewer rentals available in Thompson-Okanagan as prices rise
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – It's getting harder to find an apartment to rent in most Thompson-Okangan cities, and those that are available cost significantly more than they did one year ago. Kelowna and Kamloops saw minor adjustments in rental availability rates this year compared with the B.C. average. Between April 2014 and April 2015, the provincial average...
Big air and local talent featured in extreme mountain bike movie
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Ever wondered what it’s like to do a 70-foot front flip on a tricked out mountain bike? Now you can get an idea without risking reconstructive surgery or a lengthy hospital stay. An extreme mountain biking movie, unReal, is premiering in Kamloops and Kelowna next week. UnReal is a movie that does for...
Windy weather turns tiny tear into major maintenance
PENTICTON - Last Friday’s windy weather turned a small problem into a major concern at Penticton’s only indoor soccer field. A rip in the roof at Penticton’s Adidas Sportsplex has suddenly became a huge, open tear after a windstorm on Friday, June 12, but Ezra Cremers, head coach and executive director of the Pinnacles Football Club...