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Penticton
Snow basins still high, flood threat low
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Recent snow basin numbers show there is a lot more snow than normal in much of our region even though rivers have begun receding throughout the rest of the province. The North Thompson snow basin now sits at a near normal 101 per cent though the South Thompson sits at 126 per cent....
Dangerous offender hearing postponed due to judge’s illness
PENTICTON - The dangerous offender hearing for an imprisoned Penticton man has been postponed to an unknown date. Justice Geoff Barrow fell ill unexpectedly and is unable to oversee the Supreme Court trial, said Crown Counsel. David Wesley Bobbitt is in custody at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre after pleading guilty last year to charges of...
Charges laid in bomb scare
PENTICTON - RCMP are laying criminal charges against a Penticton man who was creating bombs at his home. Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski could not disclose the name of the suspect, a 30-year-old man, who has been released from custody on conditions. The man does not have a criminal history, however the Vancouver-based RCMP bomb squad...
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...
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...
Teachers set for third week of rotating strikes
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — Teachers in B.C. are preparing for a third week of rotating strikes and they will also decide early next week whether they launch a full strike before the end of the school year. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation announced Thursday afternoon rotating strikes will take place Tuesday through Friday next week. In school districts...
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UPDATE: The wind warning has been rescinded.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...
Boonstock lines up board of directors
PENTICTON — A community-based board of directors was announced this weekend for the Boonstock Entertainment and Arts Society, a group created to support and promote local arts, music and culture in the Okanagan Valley. “This board is independent with its own mandate but will work in tandem with the Boonstock Productions executive team to ensure...
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...
Chamber of Commerce endorses Boonstock Music Festival
PENTICTON - The Penticton Chamber of Commerce announced its endorsement of the Boonstock Music Festival, coming to Penticton in August. The announcement was made Wednesday at the Commerce’s Board of Directors meeting. The endorsement acknowledges the work organizers have put, and are putting safety and success into the planning of the event. “I am extremely...
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...
Teacher strikes to continue next week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN — If you have kids, be prepared to find alternate plans next week because the teachers’ union has announced a second week of rotating strikes, set to take place next week. Students in the Central and North Okanagan School Districts (SD23 and SD83) will be home Monday, June 2. On Tuesday, the strikes rotate...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
New meteor shower to put on a show tonight
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A new meteor shower is set to light up the sky around midnight on Friday and predictions are it could be quite the show. NASA says the shower could rival the well-known Perseids meteor shower that happens in August, even though no one has ever seen the Camelopardalids before. The Camelopardalids are caused...
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...
Found amongst the damage; beaver poached at Headwaters bush party
"WE USUALLY FIND SOME GARBAGE BUT THIS SITE WAS PRETTY DISTURBING." SUMMERLAND – A weekend party at Headwaters in Summerland caused thousands of dollars in damage and may result in poaching charges if the culprits are caught. South Okanagan Conservation officer Sgt. Jim Beck says he received several complaints of gunfire and damage over the...
Home invasion suspects arrested after standoff with RCMP
KELOWNA - A pair of suspects accused of an armed home invasion were arrested Monday following several hours of negotiation outside a home on Bernard Ave. The men are accused of breaking into a home on Findlay Road and robbing at gun point a 41-year-old Kelowna man who was sleeping in his home early Monday...