Safety
RCMP vow to keep Penticton safe during Boonstock
PENTICTON - RCMP continue to work with Boonstock organizers to ensure concertgoers and the general public will stay safe during the August long weekend. Boonstock organizers shared an updated version of their security plan with RCMP after a new security company was hired to run the event. RCMP are not required to approve the plan,...
Penticton Indian Band reinstates support for Boonstock
PENTICTON - The Penticton Indian Band has retracted a statement that was accidentally released earlier today withdrawing their support for Boonstock Music and Arts Festival this weekend. Chief Jonathan Kruger said organizers have now met all the band's requirements and they will continue to support the festival. Organizers had not yet provided the $200,000 bill...
RCMP: Pressure for emergency services reaches unprecedented level over long weekend
PENTICTON - RCMP said the pressure Boonstock put on emergency services over the long weekend was taken to unprecedented levels. In a statement released Wednesday, Const. Kris Clark said the large number of overdoses and the death of a 24-year-old Alberta woman caused “alarm for the overwhelmed emergency and security operations”. RCMP provided additional resources...
A Penticton proposal getting support from unexpected places
PENTICTON - Penticton council has an unexpected supporter for its push to put oversight for large-scale events under the provincial umbrella—the Boonstock Music and Arts festival. All but one member of Penticton's councillors and mayor used the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention this week to lobby provincial government ministers hard to take on the regulatory...
What the police expense report for Boonstock looks like
PENTICTON - The police expense report from the Boonstock festival weekend in August has been made public and reveals hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime, car cleaning services and general supplies. The police report, released by the provincial government Monday, outlines the $252,715 in policing costs—both anticipated and unexpected—for the August long weekend when over...
Stay vigilant in dark, wet weather
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - B.C. drivers and pedestrians are reminded to remain vigilant during the wet, dark weather as statistics show an average of 269 pedestrians are injured and seven pedestrians are killed every year in December. 75 per cent of crashes involving pedestrians happen at intersections. Drivers are reminded to keep eyes on the road and...
Fire on Fairview contained and under investigation
PENTICTON - Flames poured through the windows of an apartment building on Fairview Road Thursday in the early evening. The fire was on the fourth floor of the Kirkland apartment building at 803 Fairview Road, according to Global News. One person was taken to hospital by ambulance before fire crews arrived. Their current condition is not known....
North Okanagan voters prepare to make multi-million dollar decision
NORTH OKANAGAN REGIONAL DISTRICT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IT WILL DO IF RESIDENTS VOTE NO VERNON - If North Okanagan voters say yes to borrowing millions of dollars for improvements to the water system in an upcoming referendum, the answer is easy: the upgrades get done. But if they say no, things get complicated. Right now,...
City is giving you a heads up
VERNON – Now that we are back on standard time, and it’s dark for the commute home from work or school, the City of Vernon is asking drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to keep their heads up. The Heads Up campaign is an effort to raise awareness about the increased risk of crashes. “Pedestrians and cyclists...
Fire in southwest hills almost out
PENTICTON - A large slash pile fire that started on Wednesday night on the Southwest hills of Penticton is nearly out after if was left to burn out naturally. The Penticton Indian Band fire crew stood by the fire that was approximately 100 square feet and 20 feet high but because of the size of...
Southwest hills ablaze in possible logging fire
PENTICTON - A fire that began burning on Penticton Indian Band land Wednesday night is being controlled by the Band Fire Department, however it will take a few days to burn out since it is too large a fire to put out. Dispatch received calls about the fire on the Southwest hills just before 7...
Penticton gets two more fire fighters and home-base training
PENTICTON - The city is expanding its firefighting resources by adding three personnel, including a training officer, to the team. Two firefighters and a training officer will be hired to start January 1, 2015. Discussions with the Penticton Indian Band led the city to expand its coverage area and allow the band’s volunteer firefighters to...
Machinery running on graveyard shift the night teen worker died was an anomaly
VERNON - A Tolko employee knew two days in advance machines would be running during the ordinarily quiet graveyard clean-up shift to accommodate extra production, a coroner’s inquiry into the death of a Lumby teen heard Thursday. Bradley Haslam, 18, became entangled in a conveyer belt at Tolko’s Lavington mill in June 2013 and died....
Son fundraises for parents who lost home in fire
PENTICTON - The children of Penticton house fire victims are fundraising money to help get their parents back on their feet. Last Thursday, the house at 313 Norton Street went up in flames, taking down the roof and leaving much of the building destroyed. The couple living in the home were renters, and have been...
House fire takes down roof, everyone safe
PENTICTON - The roof of a Penticton home came crashing down in flames last night after flames originated in the home’s kitchen. Penticton Fire Department was called at 8:40 p.m. Thursday night to attend a possible kitchen fire at 313 Norton Street. Two engines and six fire fighters attended the scene, and two additional alarms...