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Penticton

Opinions wanted on local election spending

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fresh off the heels of the fall municipal election a special committee is now looking at whether spending limits should be put in place for candidates and third party advertisers. The provincial government committee will speak with stakeholders and the public over the coming weeks to discuss whether a limit should be put...

South Penticton development gets ready to dig into phase two

PENTICTON - More development is on the way for land overlooking Skaha Lake as the company responsible for the development prepares to launch phase two of the 600-home residential resort community. The $250-million Skaha Hills project in the southern area of Penticton is moving along in small increments, with 20 of their 47 phase one...

Penticton athlete nominated to compete in 2015 Toronto Parapan Am Games

PENTICTON - An athlete from Penticton is among 40 nominated to the Canadian swim team competing this summer at the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games. Andrew Cooke of Penticton will compete alongside Vernon swimmers Sarah Mehain and Riley McLean during the games, according to a media release. "It was such an honour to announce the...

Interior Target stores will be closed before Easter

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - By April 2 a total of 62 Target stores will be shut down, including those in Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops. Target Canada opened doors in Western Canada in May 2013. In January 2015 it was announced the company would be shutting down all 133 stores and liquidation sales began immediately. Last week the...

Spring hockey tournament coming to Memorial Arena

PENTICTON - Spring is in the air, but some kids aren't putting away the skates just yet. The Penticton Memorial Arena will play host to the Okanagan Nighthawks Ice Breaker Tournament from March 27 - 29. The spring tournament, won last year by the Okanagan Nighthawks, is geared to players born in 2007. Seven teams...

Four local pharmacies to participate in ground-breaking genomics project

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The concept of tailored medical care based on individual DNA was once the stuff of science fiction novels but now the possibility is ever closer with four pharmacies in the Thompson-Okanagan signed on to take part in a first-of-its-kind genomics project. The 'Genomics for Precision Drug Therapy in the Community Pharmacy' project is...

Ringo Starr to play in Penticton

PENTICTON - If you are on tour celebrating the release of an album named Postcards From Paradise, it only makes sense Penticton would be one of your stops. Former Beatle Ringo Starr is touring with his All-Starr Band and is making Penticton just one of three B.C. stops, and one of only eight Canadian tour...

Wet start to spring in Southern Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Spring has officially sprung and based on the forecast, you should have your umbrella and rain boots handy. Some in the region woke to rain Friday, March 20, and Environment Canada is calling for more over the next few days. A chance of rain begins today throughout the region and Saturday will bring...

Another chance to see northern lights tonight

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you weren’t able to find a clear spot to view the northern lights yesterday, or the day before, tonight might finally be your night. There were major storm intervals in the past 24 hours, according to Natural Resources Canada reports, and the auroras are expected to be active with stormy intervals over...

Auroras flare, northern lights possible tonight

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you can find a break in the clouds tonight you may be able to catch the tail end of a major northern lights storm that started early this morning. Natural Resources Canada reports the auroras were on the verge of a major storm just north of the Thompson-Okanagan earlier this morning and...

Avalanche risk increases on heels of windy, wet weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With spring break officially underway for students and spring-like temperatures throughout the region it may feel like spring in the valleys but this past weekend proved winter is not over just yet. On Saturday a wind storm ripped through the region, leaving thousands without power, and while B.C. Hydro crews raced to fix...

Don’t forget to book your camping sites this weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you decide to sleep in this Sunday you might miss out on the summer you’ve been dreaming of. The online and call centre reservation system for provincial campgrounds officially opens Sunday, March 15 at 9 a.m. Reservable sites tend to book up quickly, especially at the more popular campgrounds and for long...

Kelowna and Penticton derby girls ready to roll

KELOWNA - The junior hockey season may be over soon, but don't dispair, the roller derby season in the Okanagan is just getting started. The Okanagan Roller Derby Association kicks off the season Saturday, March 14 at the Central Sports Club at 1155 Ellis St. with the Kelowna's Bad Apple Betties taking on the Penticton Pisterolas....

How to fight ‘I’m bored’ this spring break

PENTICTON - There is no shortage of things to do with the kids over the two-week spring break in Penticton. Spring break kicks off Monday, March 16 before wrapping up on Friday, March 27 with all kinds of activities and day camps planned by various organizations around town. The best advice is to pre-register for...

Another record day in the Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - This will probably come as little surprise, but it was another record day in the Southern Interior, with a handful of communities setting new records Thursday. At 19.6 Celsius Penticton just surpassed a century-old record Thursday while Summerland hit 19 C, well above the previous high temperature record of 16.7 C also set...

High temperature records continue to fall

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Though the spring equinox is still just over a week away the spring-like weather has resulted in temperatures reaching the mid- to high-teens most days this past week, warm enough for several new records. On Wednesday, March 11, Kamloops hit 19.9 Celsius, shattering previous weather records of 17.8 C last recorded back in...

More high temperature records in Southern Interior

SNOW FORECAST FOR HIGHWAYS THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - One more day of record weather was had this week before temperatures dropped slightly in the Southern Interior. While the entire region hit temperatures in the mid-teens Tuesday, March 10, at 15.6 Celsius, Vernon was one of the lucky ones in setting a new high temperature record for the...

Seasonal flooding unlikely this year

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If the lack of snow, even at alpine levels, is any indication, we could be in for a very dry year. The River Forecast Centre is reporting all but two snow basins are below normal as of March 1. The North and South Thompson basins are near-normal at 96 per cent and 91...

New weather records set in Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With temperatures reaching the high teens this week the spring-like weather we have been experiencing is leaving several new records in its wake. According to Environment Canada temperatures of more than 18 Celsius Monday were enough to set new records in several communities including Kelowna, Summerland and Penticton. With a temperature of 18.1...

Addicted youth suffer from lack of treatment facilities

PENTICTON - The closing of Portage’s youth treatment centre near Keremeos last week eliminated an important treatment facility for addicted Canadian youth, says an addiction specialist and certified interventionist. The Crossing, a residential rehabilitation centre for addicted adolescents between the ages of 14 - 18, closed suddenly last week due to a funding disagreement with...

Near-record temperatures to continue

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Clocks sprung forward and temperatures soared into the mid-teens this weekend and while the spring-like weather did not result in any record-breaking temperatures the warm weather will continue as we get closer to the official start of spring. For the most part temperatures fell a couple degrees shy of records, though a high...

Wildfire risk a concern this weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - People are urged to be cautious with any open burning this weekend as we get set to experience warmer temperatures and a continued early drying trend. With temperatures set to hit the double digits every day over the next week, B.C. Wildfire warns there is an increased 'preventable' wildfire risk heading into the...