Penticton news
Regional board grant will assess public appetite for conservation fund
PENTICTON - The South Okanagan Similkameen conservation program manager approached the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen board of directors Thursday, seeking $65,000 to investigate the development of a conservation fund for the regional district. Bryn White described a regional district conservation fund as “a dedicated source of funding for organizations to work together to conserve in...
Meeting called to calm concerns about threatening letter found at schools
PENTICTON – While investigators try to figure who is behind the bizarre, threatening letter which forced some schools in the South Okanagan to go into lock down last week, RCMP and school district officials will try to calm concerned parents on Sunday. A stack of 30 copies of the letter threatening to harm students was...
Homes evacuated as firefighters tackled Penticton blaze
PENTICTON - Two people required rescue by firefighters when a fire at the corner of Maple Street and Birch Avenue burned through a garage. Penticton RCMP, B.C. Ambulance and Penticton firefighters were called to the townhouse complex at approximately 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. Penticton Fire Chief Wayne Williams said members arrived on scene to...
RCMP considered risks of making school threat letter public
PENTICTON - The threatening letter found on Penticton school property this week is in the hands of RCMP behavioural experts as they try to sort out who is behind the writing and why they did it. A stack of roughly 30 copies of the letter containing what appears to be a threat by a young...
Fatal Penticton house fire
PENTICTON – Fire crews found a body while fighting a house fire in Penticton Friday night. Penticton firefighters were called to the fire on Smythe Drive at about 5:14 p.m., Feb. 20. Crews arrived to find a neighbour using a fire extinguisher to put out a burning SUV in the driveway, fire chief Wayne Williams...
Haynes Provincial Park opens for camping again this April
OSOYOOS - Following the discovery of a burial ground, HaYnes Point Provincial Park has officially been designated an archaelogical site and will be managed by the Okanagan Indian Band, along with Okanagan Falls provincial park, according to a media release from the province. Haynes Point opened to pedestrian traffic following completion of the archaelogical assessment...
Threatening letters found on Penticton school property
PENTICTON - Mounties want to know who made photocopies of a letter containing a threat located on the grounds of Skaha Middle School and Princess Margaret Secondary School in Penticton Wednesday morning. The papers were found at 9:15 a.m. Feb. 18 and police were called, according to an RCMP media release. Though Mounties don't believe...
Man accused in doctor beating granted bail
PENTICTON - A Summerland man accused of the savage beating of a Penticton doctor was released, pending payment of $50,000 bail, Thursday, Feb.19. Gregory Stanley Nield is accused in the Dec. 5, 2014 assault of a Penticton psychologist in the hospital’s psych ward. Nield’s attack left the doctor unconscious resulting in severe facial injuries, including...
School district provides update on security measures after finding threatening message
PENTICTON - Following the discovery of a note threatening harm to students at Penticton Secondary School on Feb.18, School District Superintendent Wendy Hyer issued a communication Thursday, Feb. 19 explaining the district’s Threat Assessment Protocol. The protocol was developed in order to respond to situations where students may be a threat to themselves or others....
Bobbitt not happy with how he was portrayed during trial
KELOWNA – David Wesley Bobbitt, who pleaded guilty to sexually and physically assaulting a 22-year-old Penticton woman in 2011, isn’t feeling well. And he doesn’t like his lawyer either. Final submissions in the Supreme Court case that began last year concluded Friday, with Bobbitt, 39, saying he wasn’t happy with how his lawyer James Pennington...
More Okanagan Correctional Centre hiring sessions planned for March
OLIVER - If you've been thinking of a job in corrections now is the time. Additional hiring sessions have been scheduled for applicants interested in a job at the new Okanagan Correctional Centre that's under construction in Oliver. More than 700 people attended previous sessions, prompting the province to schedule four new information sessions in...
Early morning house fire leaves elderly couple homeless
PENTICTON - Fire crews arrived at a fire in Penticton early Thursday morning to find an elderly man trying to put out his burning house with a garden hose. The man and his wife, who were asleep in their home were awakened by the fire at about 4:30 a.m., Feb. 19 and managed to escape,...
History repeating itself with Main Street revitalization
PENTICTON - The more things change, the more they remain the same. That adage proves to be applicable to the City of Penticton’s most recent efforts at downtown revitalization. The subject is particularly pertinent this week as B.C. celebrates Heritage Week, with the theme "Main Street: At the Heart of the Community". Penticton historian Randy...
Downtown’s Ellis Street could see new life with relocating business
PENTICTON - A Penticton business’s relocation to a downtown side street could provide the impetus for a new look - and new uses for a street that presently sits underdeveloped and underutilized. As Cannery Brewing’s new facility on Ellis Street nears completion, Manager Pat Dyck is excited about the prospect of relocation to the downtown...
Osoyoos man with history of trafficking arrested
OSOYOOS - Osoyoos RCMP brought eight officers when they executed a warrant on the mobile home of a man with a history of drug trafficking Monday, Feb. 16. The warrant was part of an investigation into ongoing drug activity at the residence, located at 9418 97 Street, behind the Suzie Q's Diner, according to a...