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Penticton news
Okanagan-Skaha school board can’t keep budget cuts from impacting students
PENTICTON - The Okanagan-Skaha school district is no different than any other in the province when it comes to budgeting — there isn't enough money coming from the province to keep spending cuts out of the classroom. The province announced how much funding the school districts would be getting just before spring break and it...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Accused is a ‘teddy bear’ trying to help shooting victim: Witness
PENTICTON – The man accused of shooting three people and killing two of them in…
Boonstock will not return to Penticton
PENTICTON – The controversial Boonstock music festival will not be back in the South Okanagan this summer. In a posting on its Facebook page, Boonstock Productions has announced it will not be returning to Penticton in 2015. Macklemore headlined the first and only Penticton Boonstock music festival on the August long weekend last summer. There...
Top Gear episode airs featuring Okanagan highways
OKANAGAN – Residents of the Okanagan will see some familiar scenery in a recently aired episode of the hit BBC television series "Top Gear." In a rare review of two North America’s truck companies, stars James May and Jeremy Clarkson race each other across B.C. in a Ford F150 VelociRaptor and a Chevy Silverado 2500HD....
Hospital foundation fund continues to grow
PENTICTON - The South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s fund raising campaign for the Penticton Regional Hospital Patient Care Tower continues to gain momentum as $400,000 more is pledged to the fund. The Penticton Hospital Auxiliary and the gift shop at PRH have combined to make the pledge over a five year period. The auxiliary will provide...
Take a time lapse view of Penticton
PENTICTON - If you've ever wondered what Penticton looked like from the sky 10, 20 or even 30 years ago you can take take a visual history tour of the area using Google Earth Engine. You will see development spread into the surrounding hills as the population increased to about 33,000 from 23,000 and in...
Rain, snow increase avalanche risk in Interior
OKANAGAN - With less than a week left in March spring is well under way in the valleys, but that doesn’t mean winter conditions are not present on mountain highways or in the backcountry. Avalanche Canada is warning of a moderate to high risk of avalanches in many of the alpine and treeline elevations throughout...
Opinions wanted on local election spending
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fresh off the heels of the fall municipal election a special committee is now looking at whether spending limits should be put in place for candidates and third party advertisers. The provincial government committee will speak with stakeholders and the public over the coming weeks to discuss whether a limit should be put...
Proposed legislation will strip presumption of innocence: Defence lawyer
KAMLOOPS – New legislation proposed by the B.C. Liberals this week throws out the presumption of innocence and instead presumes people accused of impaired driving are guilty until they prove otherwise, says a Vancouver defence lawyer specializing in impaired driving. Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act strengthen the government’s controversial Immediate Roadside Prohibition, which avoids...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Police waited nearly three hours to inspect crime scene amid chaos
PENTICTON - Police arriving on scene following a report of a double homicide in Princeton found themselves overwhelmed by a chaotic scene, court was told Wednesday. A police officer who acted as primary investigator for the homicides said he found the suspected murder weapon and produced for the jury today, March 25, photographic evidence that...
South Penticton development gets ready to dig into phase two
PENTICTON - More development is on the way for land overlooking Skaha Lake as the company responsible for the development prepares to launch phase two of the 600-home residential resort community. The $250-million Skaha Hills project in the southern area of Penticton is moving along in small increments, with 20 of their 47 phase one...
Long wait for police report in Roxanne Louie murder
PENTICTON – Family and friends of Roxanne Louie aren't the only ones complaining about how…
Penticton athlete nominated to compete in 2015 Toronto Parapan Am Games
PENTICTON - An athlete from Penticton is among 40 nominated to the Canadian swim team competing this summer at the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games. Andrew Cooke of Penticton will compete alongside Vernon swimmers Sarah Mehain and Riley McLean during the games, according to a media release. "It was such an honour to announce the...
Interior Target stores will be closed before Easter
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - By April 2 a total of 62 Target stores will be shut down, including those in Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops. Target Canada opened doors in Western Canada in May 2013. In January 2015 it was announced the company would be shutting down all 133 stores and liquidation sales began immediately. Last week the...
Spring hockey tournament coming to Memorial Arena
PENTICTON - Spring is in the air, but some kids aren't putting away the skates just yet. The Penticton Memorial Arena will play host to the Okanagan Nighthawks Ice Breaker Tournament from March 27 - 29. The spring tournament, won last year by the Okanagan Nighthawks, is geared to players born in 2007. Seven teams...
Council tightens purse strings around electrical disconnect-reconnect fees
PENTICTON - Penticton city council said “humbug” to fee reductions after looking at electrical disconnect and reconnect fees at the March 16 council meeting. Council looked at a report from staff outlining options to the present fee structure for disconnect and reconnects at the March 2 council meeting. Following that review, council asked staff to...
KOOPMANS TRIAL: Accused was ‘grumpy’ before Wharton, Fox were killed: Ex-girlfriend
PENTICTON - John Ike Koopmans was intoxicated and in a foul mood the night Keith Wharton and Rose Fox were killed and Bradley Martin shot, according to his former girlfriend. Elaine Hoiland told the jury in the double-murder trial in Penticton Law Courts today, March 24, Koopmans walked out of her house at 340 Tulameen...
Small fire could be a big problem
PENTICTON - A small fire that caused minimal damage still has the concern of Penticton firefighters and police. Penticton firefighters were called to quench a small fire that broke out in the washroom building at Lackawanna Park on Lakeshore Drive at 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Penticton Fire Department Fire Inspector Mike Richards said the fire...
Four local pharmacies to participate in ground-breaking genomics project
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The concept of tailored medical care based on individual DNA was once the stuff of science fiction novels but now the possibility is ever closer with four pharmacies in the Thompson-Okanagan signed on to take part in a first-of-its-kind genomics project. The 'Genomics for Precision Drug Therapy in the Community Pharmacy' project is...
Oliver continues to remember a beloved educator
PENTICTON - It’s been two months to the day since Oliver lost one of the town’s - and School District 53’s - most respected educators, but residents aren’t about to forget the man anytime soon. The community and school district were shocked to hear of the sudden death of David Barton Tumlinson on January 23, 2015....
Summerland man enters guilty plea
PENTICTON - A Summerland man has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge stemming from an inappropriate relationship with a minor. Joshua J. Roberts entered the plea to sexual exploitation from a relationship with a 17-year-old girl that lasted for almost a year. Roberts originally faced five counts from what was described as a consensual relationship...
Ringo Starr to play in Penticton
PENTICTON - If you are on tour celebrating the release of an album named Postcards From Paradise, it only makes sense Penticton would be one of your stops. Former Beatle Ringo Starr is touring with his All-Starr Band and is making Penticton just one of three B.C. stops, and one of only eight Canadian tour...
No solutions on the horizon to urban deer management issues
PENTICTON - Municipalities looking for a solution to excessive deer in their neighbourhoods shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for workable legislation from the B.C. government. The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen met with the province and a handful of other municipalities for a two day workshop to discuss urban deer issues. Regional district Chief Administrative...
Brit Floyd brings Pink Floyd experience to Penticton
PENTICTON - The act billed as the world’s greatest Pink Floyd show is making its way to Penticton. Brit Floyd has launched its Space & Time world tour with over 100 concerts planned through the U.S. and Canada between March and August of 2015. The tour will stop at the South Okanagan Events Centre on...