Penticton

UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch ended for South Okanagan

PENTICTON – A severe thunderstorm watch for the South Okanagan, including the city of Penticton, has been end by Environment Canada. Conditions are no longer favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms. The watch continues further to the east in the Boundary, Arrow Lakes, Slocan Lake, West Kootenay, Kootenay Lake, East Kootenay and Elk Valley...

VIDEO: Spring car cruise attracts automotive fans from across B.C.

OKANAGAN – An annual car cruise which started a few years ago as a way for friends and car enthusiasts to show off their rides, has grown to include hundreds of 'tuners' from across the province. Tyson Noel organized the first Kelowna Spring Cruise and has seen it go from fewer than 50 cars to...

Those red light cameras? Apparently they work pretty well

THOMSON-OKANAGAN - There’s no question drivers run red lights on the highways and byways of the Southern Interior but compared to the Lower Mainland, they’re amateurs. A story this week in the Vancouver Sun shows the worst 25 intersections for red-light running out of the 140 intersections where ICBC operates red-light cameras account for more...

Southern Interior water beat by Chilliwack in tap water taste test

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Waterworks staff in the Okanagan and Kamloops will be drowning their sorrows tonight after losing out to Chilliwack in a tap water taste test which wouldn’t have looked out of place at a winery. “It’s a clear winner,” joked Tanja McQueen, CEO of the B.C.Water and Waste Association, who hosted the tasting and...

Nine salmonella victims in B.C. Interior contracted from live chicks

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Interior Health Authority is bearing the brunt of a B.C. salmonellosis outbreak connected to live poultry distributed from a hatchery in Alberta. The health authority has dealt with nine of 13 confirmed cases within the province and one of the two that required hospitalization, according to Althea Hayden, a public health physician....

Laundry privatization decision expected this summer

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Hospital Employee Union members who filled the Interior Health Authority board meeting yesterday to show their concern about laundry service privatization got a polite but firm message from chairman Erwin Malzer. “Thank you very much for bringing your concerns to us but no decision will be made until we receive the request for...

Aboriginal health strategy hopes to improve care outcomes

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Tailoring healthcare for the 54,000 First Nations living within the Interior Health Authority will improve the quality of life and health outcomes and ultimately save money by reducing the need for services amongst a population that is overrepresented within the system. That’s the message behind the aboriginal health and wellness strategy adopted yesterday...

B.C. firefighters heading to Alberta

KAMLOOPS - Fire risk in B.C. has lowered over the last several days and as a result B.C. Wildfire is sending crews to Alberta, where the province is under a province-wide fire ban as several large wildfires burn out of control. The Wildfire Management Branch said today, May 27, it would be sending 80 sustained...

Campapalooza campacacancelled

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A first-of-its kind event that gives parents a chance to get a taste of all the different summer camp options in one place has been cancelled. Campapalooza was to be held at Okanagan College May 30, but according to their website has been 'postponed until April 2016.' The event would have brought together...

More rain, thunderstorms in forecast for Kamloops

KAMLOOPS - Above normal temperatures are back, but they come with a chance of rain and thunderstorms over the next few days. After several days of off and on rain, and even a few thunderstorms, Environment Canada is still calling for a chance of rain through the end of the week. There is a chance...

More rain, thunderstorms in forecast for Okanagan

OKANAGAN - Above normal temperatures are back, but they come with a chance of rain and thunderstorms over the next few days. After several days of off and on rain, and even a few thunderstorms, Environment Canada is still calling for a chance of rain through the end of the week. There is a chance...

Health authority continues to monitor possible Ebola cases

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If the ongoing Ebola epidemic has a human face within the Interior Health Authority, it’s that of Patrice Gordon, a nurse practioner who returned from West Africa last December and promptly began displaying the early signs of of the disease. Gordon tested negative for the virus, but since then the health authority has...

Enderby woman wins $1M with free play

ENDERBY - An Enderby woman is celebrating her birthday with the ultimate present — a $1 million Maxmillion prize. Tanya Williams, who celebrates her birthday this week, won a free play and $1 on a previous Lotto Max draw and used that to get another ticket. She found out she was a winner when she...

Severe thunderstorm watch underway in much of Southern Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After a wet and wild weekend in the Interior another round of thunderstorms could hit the region. Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the Nicola, South Thompson and Okanagan Valley regions for Monday, May 25. The weather office notes conditions are favourable for storms that could produce hail, strong wind...

UPDATE: Southern Interior severe thunderstorm watch expanded

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Environment Canada has expanded its severe thunderstorm watch to include the South Thompson, North Thompson and Nicola regions, including the city of Kamloops. The original watch issued early this morning, May 24, covered the Okanagan, Shuswap and Boundary regions, including Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Salmon Arm. Forecasters say conditions are favourable for the...

Okanagan diners reap the rewards of an early spring

OKANAGN – The early spring across the Okanagan this year is not only good for your tan but for local restaurants and family kitchens as well. Across the valley, farmers are busy harvesting crops which normally wouldn't be ready for weeks. Fruits, berries, veggies and field crops all got a jump start this year, which...

Hot dog calls on rise as weather heats up in Southern Interior

THOMSON-OKANAGAN - Though summer isn’t even officially here, the unseasonably warm weather in the Interior is already prompting concerned calls about dogs left unattended in cars. “We’ve had three or four already this morning (May 22) and yesterday we had half a dozen before lunch,” Cam Buksa, spokesman for the Central Okanagan branch of the...

Bumper crop of itchy, scratchy poison ivy in South Okanagan

PENTICTON - There’s a good reason for outdoor enthusiasts to stay on the trail when hiking in the South Okanagan this spring. Cyclists and pedestrians using the Kettle Valley Railway trail are noticing an abundance of poison ivy this year, particularly on the trail between Penticton and Kaleden. Regional District Okanagan Similkameen parks coordinator Justin...

Penticton man found badly beaten on side of road

PENTICTON – A man is in police custody after what police are calling “a serious assault” that left a Penticton man badly injured on the side of the road Thursday morning. According to a release, Penticton RCMP were called to the 3 km mark on Shingle Creek Road off Green Mountain Road shortly after 8:30...

Early spring both good and bad for local farmers

OKANAGAN – The early heat felt across the Okanagan this year has local farmers springing into action. Producers of vegetables, fruit, hay and alfalfa crops say the warm weather came at least two weeks early this year, meaning they can plant earlier, expect higher yields and very likely harvest earlier as well. At the Kelowna...

Canucks to host Young Stars Classic in Penticton

PENTICTON – For the fifth year in a row, Penticton will play host to the Vancouver Canucks Young Stars Classic. The four teams taking part in the tournament at the South Okanagan Events Centre in September are made up of prospects from the Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets. “We have great fans...

Hot Okanagan temperatures not quite record-breaking

OKANAGAN - Temperatures soared into the high 20s Wednesday, and will get even hotter Thursday and Friday, but it wasn’t quite enough for a record. According to Environment Canada, temperatures reached upwards of 28 Celsius in the Okanagan and 29.4 Celsius in Kamloops on Wednesday, May 20, but those numbers fell shy of records ranging...