Steve Arstad
I have been looking for news in the South Okanagan - SImilkameen for 20 years, having turned a part time lifelong interest into a full time profession. After five years publishing a local newsletter, several years working as a correspondent / stringer for several local newspapers and seven years as editor of a Similkameen weekly newspaper, I joined iNFOnews.ca in 2014. My goal in the news industry has always been to deliver accurate and interesting articles about local people and places. My interest in the profession is life long - from my earliest memories of grade school, I have enjoyed writing.
As an airborne geophysical surveyor I travelled extensively around the globe, conducting helicopter borne mineral surveys.
I also spent several years at an Okanagan Falls based lumber mill, producing glued-wood laminated products.
As a member of the Kaleden community, I have been involved in the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, and also serve as a trustee on the Kaleden Irrigation District board.
I am currently married to my wife Judy, of 26 years. We are empty-nesters who enjoy living in Kaleden with our Welsh Terrier, Angus, and cat, Tibbs.
Our two daughters, Meagan and Hayley, reside in Richmond and Victoria, respectively.
Steve Arstad's Stories
Drivers beware: Increased enforcement of school zones next week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - RCMP are sending a message to the province’s drivers reminding them September is back to school time. Police are asking drivers to remember their ABCs and if they don’t, they will certainly help teach them a lesson, according to a RCMP media release. The driver’s ABC’s are: A for attention, B to be...
Check those campfire plans if you’re camping in the south Okanagan
PENTICTON - Campers planning a campfire this weekend in the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen may need to rethink those plans. While the campfire ban was lifted earlier this week on lands under jurisdiction of the B.C. Wildfire Service, it will not affect the regional district’s temporary open fire ban, which remains in effect. All...
Judge holds out hope for rehabilitaton of drug dealer
PENTICTON - A man's troubled past and his desire to rehabilitate himself convinced a judge to give a convicted drug dealer a break in Penticton Supreme Court today, September 2. Judge Gordon Weatherill handed down a sentence of three years, less time served, to Grant McEwen, who was convicted Feb. 4, 2015 of unlawfully possessing...
Seasonal tourism business takes a late season hit due to smoke, weather
PENTICTON - Wildfire smoke and a sudden change in the weather has blemished what was a stellar summer in the South Okanagan, according to local tourist operators. The Penticton area was hit hard by smoky skies during the last week of August, conditions which were followed by a sudden change in the weather to cooler...
UPDATE: U.S. wildfire crosses border into Okanagan
UPDATE: 4:49 a.m., Friday, Aug. 14, 2015 The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has now rescinded the evacuation order for residents of Nine Mile Place on Anarchist Mountain due to a reduced threat of wildfire. Nine Mile Place, along with residents of Raven Hill Road and Raven Hill Place, will remain on evacuation alert due to...
UPDATE: Evacuation order expands near Testalinden Creek wildfire
PENTICTON - The evacuation order issued earlier this afternoon for residents near the Testalinden Creek wildfire has been expanded to include recreational areas and Crown land. The recreational areas around Burnell (Sawmill) Lake, Ripley Lake and Madden Lake, to the west of Oliver have been placed within the expanded evacuation order today, Aug. 28. As...
The danger of drones in wildfire zones
PENTICTON - One of the members of the B.C. Wildfire aircrew who spotted the drone flying over the Testalinden Creek fire near Oliver Sunday says it was pure luck they saw the unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV. The errant drone prompted an immediate grounding of eight helicopters and five planes, and as a result, the...
ELECTION 2015: Federal NDP leader to make campaign stops in Thompson-Okanagan
PENTICTON - The leader of the federal New Democratic Party will bring his campaign machine to the Thompson-Okanagan next week. Tom Mulcair will be making campaign stops in Penticton and Kamloops, according to a media release. A political rally will be held at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre at 273 Power Street on Monday,...
Quick response stops South Okanagan wildfire
PENTICTON - A rapid response and lack of wind helped firefighters gain a quick upper hand on a wildfire southwest of Kaleden last night. Kaleden fire chief Darlene Bailey says firefighters were called to a smoke sighting near Partington and White Lake Roads at around 6:30 p.m., August 8. They arrived to find a Rank...
UPDATE: Crews battling two wildfires near Oliver
PENTICTON – The fight continues today to get a handle on the pair of wildfires burning near Oliver, which have forced hundreds out of their homes and destroyed a house. The wildfires broke out yesterday, Aug. 14, and grew quickly thanks to high winds pushing the flames through grass, sage and open timber, forcing the...
Uneasy calm in Oliver after frantic night firefighting and evacuating
PENTICTON - Hundreds of people remain out of their homes as crews continue to battle the two wildfires in the Oliver area today. There is an uneasy calm after the frantic firefighting and evacuations last night. Smoke plumes dot the mountainsides west of the community today, Aug. 15, after the Wilsons Mountain and Testalinden Creek fires...
Controlled burn operations continue on Testalinden Creek fire
PENTICTON - Fire fighters on the Testalinden Creek and Wilsons Mountain fire continued to make progress on the fire front today. B.C. Wildfire spokesperson Noelle Kekula says the Testalinden Creek fire is now estimated to be 1,850 hectares in size, at 40 per cent containment. It is currently being worked by 126 firefighters, 10 helicopters...
Four rescued from Manning Park
PENTICTON - Four missing men are safe due to the combined rescue efforts of the RCMP, B.C. Parks and three search and rescue organizations. Princeton ground search and rescue teams were activated by Princeton RCMP yesterday, September 1, after police received a distress call from four men stranded in the wilderness area straddling the Canada...
Penticton radio personality leaving the city for new opportunity
PENTICTON - A radio personality very familiar to Penticton and residents of the South Okanagan-Similkameen is leaving the city for a new job in the Kootenays. SO Country Internet Radio host Dennis Walker announced yesterday, Aug. 31, he would be taking the morning show host’s position for the new Clear Sky Broadcasting radio station, to...
Earthquake south of the border felt in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - Did you feel the earth move this morning? If so, you’re not alone. Natural Resources Canada’s Earthquakes Canada website is reporting a 4.3 magnitude earthquake, with an approximate epicentre east of Grand Coulee, Washington, struck around 9:40 a.m today, Sept. 1. Natural Resources Canada reports the earthquake was lightly felt in Bridesville, Kelowna and...