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Penticton news
Filmmaker captures awe of Okanagan Valley
OKANAGAN - The essence of what makes the Okanagan Valley breathtaking has been captured by a filmmaker from Summerland in a short video entitled Born To Wonder. Steve Cogbill, 19, says he just finished several months of work on the video and he hopes it will motivate both locals and would-be tourists to take a...
Aboriginal court case could break new ground in Okanagan
PENTICTON - A woman facing sentencing over a litany of conditional sentence and personation breaches and minor thefts may soon make legal history in Penticton. Mae Lynnette Postel’s sentencing led both counsel and Judge Gregory Koturbash to look into the possibility of diverting her case to a form of aboriginal justice known as a 'sentencing...
Rental housing for Penticton seniors gets financing help
PENTICTON - A non-profit group recently purchased a seniors housing complex in Penticton and with a little help from the province rents are set to remain affordable. The provincial government announced about $6.5 million in long-term financing for the Vancouver Resource Society to help cover the purchase price of Charles Manor. The financing will allow...
Protest against Penticton winery liquor license fails
PENTICTON - Local outcry over a Naramata winery’s application for a special events liquor license had the makings of a major protest. When it was all over, there appeared to be little substance to the negative views heard in council chambers earlier this week though. Bench 1775 Manager Val Tait explained the reasons behind her...
Kelowna women rescues dog being pulled behind moving vehicle
"WE ALMOST THREW UP WE WERE SO SCARED." OKANAGAN – Four friends from Kelowna were driving on Road 22 in Oliver last Friday night when they saw something they couldn’t believe: A puppy, less than two months old, being pulled behind a moving vehicle. “It was one of those really small lane roads,” says one...
Career criminal earns another seven years behind bars
PENTICTON - Call it courthouse math: A man who has been sentenced to 21 years in jail in the last 19 years, yet still managed to find time to commit more crimes, has earned another seven years in prison. Jon Russell Lowe appeared by video before Judge Gregory Koturbash in Penticton Provincial Court today, June...
Notorious corner claims another vehicle near Penticton
PENTICTON - The sharp curve on Highway 97 at the northern entrance to Penticton was the scene of yet another crash last night, June 15. Witness Tanya Speirs says the vehicle she was in came upon the scene, at the 90-degree corner at the intersection of West Bench Drive, around midnight, moments after it happened....
Two Osoyoos businesses broken into overnight
OSOYOOS - Early this morning, June 16, two local businesses were broken into and RCMP are now asking for help in identifying a suspect seen in a surveillance photo. Osoyoos RCMP say just before 4 a.m. a suspect smashed the front doors to gain entry to Joe’s Plumbing and Heating on 115th Street and then...
SNELSON TRIAL: Lawyers present final arguments in manslaughter trial
KAMLOOPS - Motive, opportunity and his own lies all point to Neil George Snelson as the person who strangled and beat 19-year-old Jennifer Cusworth to death over 20 years ago in Kelowna, court heard from the Crown during final arguments today, June 15. Cusworth, an Okanagan Community College student was found in a ditch on...
Penalty for shooting someone with an airsoft gun? More than you might think
PENTICTON - A 19-year-old Penticton man with a penchant for shooting people with an airsoft gun discovered today they are no toys in the eyes of the law. Christian Darren Leggatt will spend 96 more days in jail for one incident and another 90 days for a second occurrence, Judge Gregory Koturbash decided in Penticton...
Penticton’s newest millionaire revealed
PENTICTON - Another lottery draw, another Okanagan winner. Irene Vestner of Penticton won $1 million in the guaranteed prize draw of the May 30 Lotto 6/49 draw. She claimed her prize today at the B.C. Lottery Corp. head office in Kamloops. Vestner joins several other recent Okanagan winners, including Brittany Powell of Kelowna, Tanya Williams...
Neighbours fear ‘another Boonstock’ if Naramata winery gets special liquor licence
PENTICTON - A Naramata winery operator who faced a gallery full of people against an application for a special events liquor licence, hopes to assuage fears at tonight’s council meeting. The matter first came before council on May 4 and council deferred a decision on the licence for Bench 1775 Winery for 30 days following...
Third time proves unlucky as fire destroys Keremeos restaurant
PENTICTON - The Riverbed Bistro in Keremeos was destroyed by fire early this morning, the third fire at the restaurant in the past four years. Firefighters were called to the blaze at about 3:30 a.m., Monday, June 15, at the restaurant directly across the street from the local firehall. Keremeos Chief Jordy Bosscha says the...
Another warm week for the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - After a week filled with record and near-record temperatures, things are set to cool down in the Okanagan this week, but only slightly. With temperatures reaching the mid-30s, Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton hit records this past week and while Environment Canada is not calling for temperatures quite that hot this week, the mercury...
First annual Jail n’ Bail coming to Penticton
PENTICTON - High profile Pentictonites — and anyone else, for that matter — beware. You could be 'arrested' when the Downtown Penticton Association stages its first annual Penticton Jail n’ Bail on June 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Colleen Wright of the Canadian Cancer Society and Downtown Penticton Association Executive Director Kerri Milton...
Bad Tattoo wins medals for good brew
PENTICTON - A Penticton craft brewery, not even in business for a year, has attracted award winning national attention. Bad Tattoo was awarded two silver medals in the 2015 Canadian Brewing Awards held last week in Niagara Falls, Ontario, according to a media release The brewery won silver for best North American-style amber lager as...
Waterfront walkway project completed
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton officially completed its latest waterfront project yesterday, just in time for the summer season. The Peach Plaza portion of the Okanagan Lake walkway opened, June 12, completing the sidewalk from the SS Sicamous all the way to Rotary Park. The project included construction of a three metre wide concrete...
What the Supreme Court decision on marijuana means to a three-year-old Summerland girl
KELOWNA – Kyla Williams' family is breathing a sigh of relief this week — they…
Heavy intoxication cause of Sawmill Lake drowning: Coroner
PENTICTON - A suspicious drowning death that occurred last year in a lake near Oliver has been deemed accidental following a report by the B.C. Coroners Service. No trauma was found on Grace Marie Capot-Blanc’s body to indicate she was forced into the water. She was, however, heavily intoxicated at the time of her death,...
Impaired driver wreaks path of destruction in Penticton
PENTICTON - An impaired driver operating his vehicle “like he was playing bumper cars” ran amok through Penticton streets. Penticton RCMP Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski says police arrested the driver of a white BMW yesterday afternoon, June 11, for impaired driving on Wilson Street in the city’s south end. Lozinski says no police chase was...
Robbery at a Penticton Scotiabank branch
PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP are on the lookout for a suspect after bank robbery earlier this week. Police were called to the Scotiabank branch at 2062 Main St. at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9 after bank employees reported a robbery. RCMP say a man entered the bank and handed a note to a...
Be prepared for emergency wildfire evacuations
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – With an unusually dry and hot summer forecast for the Thompson-Okanagan this summer, regional districts are urging residents to get prepared in case emergency evacuations become necessary. Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre spokesperson Bruce Smith says the best time to make an emergency plan is long before something happens. He recommends residents understand...
Here’s what a Vernon man said to Christy Clark about invasive mussels
“IS B.C. NOT WORTH IT TO YOU?” THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A frustrated Vernon man has sent an open letter to Premier Christy Clark about invasive mussels, and he didn’t hold back. Brynne Morrice, a filmmaker who recently debuted a short documentary about the imminent threat of zebra and quagga mussels, is calling on the province to...
Murdered Penticton man remembered as a diligent worker
PENTICTON - The man murdered in Penticton last week was a father of four and worked at the Copper Mountain Mine. Frank Armitage worked with Darren Leadbeater, 36, the person police named yesterday as the man murdered at Golden Sands Resort in Penticton, and says he was shocked when he learned of his co-worker's death. “I knew...