Penticton news

Early spring, California drought has Okanagan grocery stores picking local
KELOWNA – The severe drought in California coupled with an unusually warm and early spring in B.C. has local grocery stores stocking their shelves with fruits and vegetables grown right here at home instead of importing from the south. Chris Holmes is the owner of Quality Greens on Spall Road. With stores in Kelowna, West...

Penticton interim CAO responds to the call of the north
PENTICTON - The city’s present interim CAO appears to be following closely in the footsteps of the city manager he replaced. Departing City of Penticton Interim Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Loewen is leaving the warm, sunny beaches of Penticton for the Regional Recreation Corporation of Wood Buffalo in northern Alberta, where he will take on...
Residents rally to aid puppy struck by a car
PENTICTON - Donations continue to pour into the BC SPCA in Penticton as area residents rally to help cover the medical bills for a 10 month old Labrador pup. Jodi was struck by a car in Penticton on June 2, breaking her leg. Her owners couldn’t afford the vet bill so she was surrendered to...

Bridge construction restricts Green Avenue access from Highway 97
PENTICTON - Road work around the Satik Bridge crossing at the west end of Green Avenue in Penticton has reached new stage. Stage Two of the Penticton Indian Band Development Corporation’s traffic management will be implemented today, June 8. Traffic flow will now switch to the west side of the highway, which means there will...

Coroner identifies Penticton girl hit by motorhome in Oliver
PENTICTON – The B.C. Coroners Service has identified the Oliver girl who was hit and killed by a motorhome in Oliver last week. Mya Daylene Goddard, 16, of Penticton was crossing the highway in Oliver on June 4, when she was hit by a southbound recreational vehicle, according to a media release. The driver of...

Salmonella outbreak proof that monitoring system works: Buckerfield’s CEO
KELOWNA - The recent spike of salmonella cases connected to live poultry sales is a good news story, proof the system works rather than an indictment of its failings, according to a local business. “Fourteen cases is a very small number and it was detected and caught and the public was actually protected from what...

Record hot weather on the way for Okanagan
OKANAGAN - It was a hot weekend in the Okanagan and the hot weather is forecast to continue through this week. Environment Canada recorded temperatures reaching as high as 33.8 Celsius in Penticton on Sunday, a bit shy of the 35 C record set nearly 70 years ago. In Kelowna temperatures climbed to 33 C,...

Penticton Search and Rescue evacuate injured hiker at the bluffs
PENTICTON - Penticton Search and Rescue responded to a call for help at Skaha Bluffs earlier today, June 7. Fifteen search and rescue volunteers responded to a call from B.C. Ambulance Service just after 2:15 p.m. Sunday to assist with an injured climber. The man, who was reportedly seriously injured, was in the an area...

Penticton Vees name Jost captain, Fabbro assistant
PENTICTON - The Penticton Vees Jr. ‘A’ Hockey Club is pleased to announce forward Tyson Jost (98) has been named the team’s Captain and defenseman Dante Fabbro (98) has been named an Assistant Captain for the 2015-16 season. President, General Manager and Head Coach Fred Harbinson says it was an easy decision picking the leadership...

Penticton heart attack victim thanks life savers
PENTICTON - A Penticton man is effusive in his gratitude to the people who saved his life after he suffered a heart attack while playing pickle ball at the community centre gym. Gary Gierlich, 58, says his last memory before collapsing on April 16 was a feeling of dizziness. The next thing he remembers is waking up...
The beetle is gone, now the hard work begins
WILDFIRES, JOB LOSSES, JEOPARDIZED WATERSHEDS THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - For the most part the small, yet devastating, mountain pine beetle has disappeared from the landscape of the Southern Interior, but the aftermath of its work will be felt for many years to come. The mountain pine beetle epidemic that crawled into B.C. in 2000 is recognized as...

Keremeos RCMP on hunt for man who flashed young girl
KEREMEOS – Police are hoping the public can help them find the man who allegedly exposed himself to an adolescent girl in Keremeos almost two months. It happened at about 5:40 pm., April 16, according to a RCMP media release issued Friday, June 5. The suspected flasher is described as a man his 20s with...

Fire truck pull adds some heat to a hot day in Penticton
PENTICTON - With a forecast calling for temperatures to climb above 30 Celsius for the weekend, many Penticton residents were heading for the beach for the first time this season or just relaxing in the backyard today. Others headed downtown this morning to pull a fire engine down Main Street. The first annual Muscular Dystrophy Canada...

Filmmakers invited to show their stuff at Peach Fest
PENTICTON - There is going to be a new form of entertainment at the Penticton Peach Festival this year with the addition of Reel Peach Fest, a new venue for both professional and budding filmmakers to show their stuff. Each night, after 9 p.m., between August 5 and 9 as stagehands prepare for each evening’s round...

Mom trying to give parents of stillborn babies a few extra days together
WEST KELOWNA – Kristin Esmail and her husband didn’t find out until she was in labour their son, Richard James, was stillborn. After 39 weeks in utero, finding out that they would not be able to take him home was almost too much pain to bear. “It was such a shock,” the West Kelowna resident...