Penticton

Sunscreen and shades kind of weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — Mother Nature has a treat for us this weekend—soaring temperatures and lots of sun. Highs of 24-25 C will be highlighted by sun for much of the day today and by Sunday the entire region will be seeing highs of 28 C with more sun. We can expect to see some cloud cover...

UPDATE: Bomb squad arrives to investigate pipe bomb explosion

PENTICTON - Residents came out of their homes Friday afternoon to watch the Vancouver RCMP Explosive Disposal Unit blow up explosives materials found at the home where another bomb went off unexpectedly June 5. Police speculate the pipe bomb was left outside yesterday and heat from the sun set it off. After hearing a loud...

WIND WARNING ENDED: Squall was expected to bring strong winds

UPDATE: The wind warning has been rescinded. THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Much of the Southern Interior will be under a wind warning later today with expected wind gusts of up to 90 km/h for Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton and 80 km/h for Kamloops as a squall line crosses into the region. Environment Canada issued a special weather...

Wildfire season expected to heat up

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With just 13 wildfires reported in May it was a ‘pretty average’ spring month for B.C. Wildfire but the amount of rain that falls over the next month will play a big part in whether predictions of a heavy fire year are correct. Melissa Klassen with the Kamloops Fire Centre says of the...

Penticton teen arrested for carrying butcher’s cleaver, bat and hammer

VERNON - A Penticton teen was arrested Monday morning for the possession of weapons, including a butcher’s cleaver and a bat wrapped in electrical tape. A police officer noticed the teen and a second person walking around downtown Vernon near Safeway shortly after midnight while conducting a routine patrol of the area. The teen was...

Heat coming your way this weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — Get your sunscreen ready: the cool, wet week has a reprieve in store for us with higher temperatures for a water park or beach this weekend. Today highs will reach near normals of 21 C to 23 C across the region with a 30-40 per cent chance of thundershowers or storms this afternoon...

Martial Arts community kicks back at “offensive” remarks by Vernon council

VERNON - The mixed martial arts community is in an uproar over what they feel were offensive and uneducated comments made about their sport earlier this week by Vernon councillors. The City of Vernon wants to ban mixed martial arts (MMA) events because, as Coun. Bob Spiers put it, “the association with the type of...

UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch ended for Okanagan

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A severe thunderstorm warning for the Central and North Okanagan including Vernon and Kelowna has ended this evening though a chance of heavy rain remains for the entire region. Environment Canada says 10-20 mm of rain is expected by Thursday morning but there is a chance of localized thunderstorms that could bring at...

Snow on Coquihalla

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Winter has returned to the Coquihalla Highway and the rest of the region can expect heavy rain today. Drive B.C. is reporting slushy sections from the Great Bear Snowshed to the Coquihalla Lakes exit, water pooling north of that section and fog in the section of the Coquihalla Highway between Merritt and Kamloops....

Pulled over outside of the RCMP detachment, arrested on the spot

KAMLOOPS – A man disobeying his bail conditions found himself in Kamloops Supreme Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty and received a three and a half year prison sentence. Daniel Robert Sigmund, 20, was arrested and charged in connection with dial-a-dope type drug deals in Penticton after police set up a sting in 2013. When...

Road safety highlighted during Bike to Work Week

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - This week is Bike to Work Week, a celebration that kicks off a season of more cyclists on the roads, and both cyclists and motorists are being reminded to do their part to help keep everyone safe. ICBC notes an average of nearly 1,000 cyclists are injured during the warmer months of May...

City of Penticton no longer leasing Airport Beach

PROPERTY OWNERS PROMISE NO CHANGE TO PUBLIC ACCESS PENTICTON – The Kruger family has leased Airport Beach to the city of Penticton for so long no one seems to remember when the arrangement was first put into place. The long-term public access is meaningful to the family and the reason they have no plans to...

Armed robber gets away with cash and drugs

PENTICTON – A man wearing a disguise and armed with a gun held up the pharmacist and the pharmacist technician at the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy Thursday morning. The man walked into the pharmacy at 2210 Main St. just before 9:30 a.m. He demanded drugs and cash from the two women. They weren’t hurt and no...

Bond to serve jail sentence in community for grow op

PENTICTON — A Princeton man will serve a conditional jail sentence for a 'highly-sophisticated' marijuana grow operation he ran on his property for three years. James Bond, 48, pleaded guilty to charges of producing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.In Penticton Provincial court today, Judge Meg Shaw ordered Bond to serve an 18-month conditional jail...

Sewage connection system with Skaha Hills costs City

PENTICTON - The City faces new costs for sewage connection lines to Skaha Hills, an agreement being made between the City and the Penticton Indian Band. The Skaha Hills project is being developed by the Penticton Indian Band on the Southwest end of Penticton. The development consists of a vineyard and winery, a golf course...