Penticton news
Okanagan feeling the heat
OKANAGAN - Expect temperatures to remain in the mid-30s through much of next week as the Okanagan continues to flirt with record-breaking temperatures. Environment Canada is calling for temperatures of 36 Celsius throughout the Okanagan today, July 3, and 31 C Saturday in Vernon and Kelowna. Penticton is expected to reach 33 C on Saturday....
Smoke in South Okanagan from aggressive wildfire
KEREMEOS - A fire is burning in the remote wilderness of Snowy Creek Protected Area and causing smoke that is visible from Highway 3 and throughout the South Okanagan. B.C. Wildfire is estimating the aggressive fire at 90 hectares and says it is burning the high elevation grassland and timber surrounded by natural barriers. Crews...
Boat inspectors at work in Okanagan
PENTICTON - Inspectors are making sure Penticton beaches remain mussel-free this summer. Inspectors Branden Beck and Graham Wheating say it’s their second time to be stationed at the Kaleden scales, inspecting boats for any sign of invasive zebra and quagga mussels, part of a provincial program that has three crews monitoring highways, beaches and boat launches...
Vernon cop charged with possessing child porn nearing trial date
KELOWNA – The trial of the former Vernon cop charged with possessing child pornography will start the middle of next month after a brief court appearance today. Ryan Hampton, 37, faces counts of possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography, attempting to obstruct justice and half a dozen breaches of court orders. He was arrested...
Willowbrook residents cleaning up after nature’s fury
PENTICTON - Several Willowbrook property owners continue to clean up after a brief, localized storm hit the community on Monday, June 29, around 3:30 p.m. “It must have been a twister," Kurt Klaes says, describing the storm front as 'a white wall.' On July 2, he and wife Ruth are still cleaning up with a...
The weather record breaker that was June
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – If it felt like weather dominated the headlines throughout June, that’s because if it wasn’t dropping a month’s worth of rain in a day, we were shattering high temperature records around the region. Lisa Coldwells, an Environment Canada meteorologist, says despite the heavy rains that bookended the beginning and end of the month,...
Penticton Vees mourning loss of team Chaplain
PENTICTON - The Penticton Vees lost a part of their family with the passing of the team’s chaplain, Jamie Weberg. Weberg passed away Sunday, June 28 after a two-year battle with cancer, said Fraser Rodgers, spokeperson for the team. "He was diagnosed in late 2013 with a type of bone cancer. It was an incurable...
VIDEO: Kenny Vs. Spenny promote upcoming Kelowna show
KELOWNA – The best friends from Toronto who actually kind of hate each other, have put out a video promoting their upcoming show in Kelowna. Both Kenny Hotz and Spencer “Spenny” Rice, stars of the hit TV show Kenny Vs. Spenny, feature in the short video, but it is Spenny who does most of the...
UPDATE: Missing Lumby woman has been found safe
VERNON - Police say a Lumby woman has been found safe. A family member reported Susan Catt, 54, missing about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, to the Lumby RCMP detachment. She was found sometime Tuesday, according to a RCMP release sent around midnight. An original release said Catt left her home in Lumby around...
Okanagan apples almost ready to cross the globe
OKANAGAN – The general manager of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association says they are about a month away from knowing if Okanagan apples will be bound for one of the largest markets in the world. Glen Lucas says he had hoped they would have the answers to whether or not local apples will be a...
Man found dead in Kal Lake identified; second man still missing
VERNON - Police have launched a full scale search for an individual last seen with a man found dead in Kalamalka Lake over the weekend. In a media release issued in this afternoon, June 30, RCMP Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy confirmed what 23-year-old Curtis Wilson’s family announced earlier in the day; that he was last seen...
Police report crime rates at summer levels
PENTICTON - You might say Penticton RCMP were busy as beavers heading into Canada Day. RCMP spokesperson Don Wrigglesworth says call volumes over the weekend were 'consistent with summer activity,'noting the detachment answered 75 calls through Saturday night including, yes, a call about a car hitting a beaver near the Channel Parkway on Wednesday, June...
Campfire bans in effect this weekend for B.C. Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Due to an elevated risk of fire across the Interior of B.C., the Kamloops Fire Centre has banned all open fires, including campfires, as of noon on Friday, July 3. Kelsey Winter of B.C. Wildfire says the step is being taken to prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety around Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon...
Penticton Indian Band steps toward self-governance
PENTICTON -The Penticton Indian Band took a big step forward in its ability to self govern as the band formally announced their participation in the First Nations Land Management Regime today, June 30. The regime will allow the Penticton band opportunity to opt out of 32 land-related sections of the Indian Act in order to...
Gyro Park in Penticton the place to be for Canada Day
PENTICTON - There are lots of things planned in Penticton to ensure people can celebrate Canada’s 148th birthday. Main events for Canada Day on Wednesday, July 1, in Gyro Park include the pancake breakfast at 8 a.m., a Public Market and Food Fair at 9 a.m., along with the opening ceremonies and cake cutting at...