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
Flu season underway with outbreaks in five Interior Health institutions
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The flu season is upon us and Interior Health is dealing with a number of its facilities in the Okanagan suffering from active outbreaks over the holidays. Dr. Sue Pollock, Medical Health Officer with Interior Health, said what is currently being experienced in the Okanagan is “a fairly typical influenza season" so far. "Normally we...
PHOTOS: Hardy souls bring in the New Year in frigid style
ANNUAL POLAR BEAR DIP SUMMERLAND - About 150 hardy souls brought in the New Year with a dip in the frigid waters of Okanagan Lake near Summerland Thursday. Participants ignored a chilly south wind pushing breakers onto Sunoka Beach to rush headlong into the lake at high noon. Most were out within seconds of contacting...
Judge ponders drug sentence in light of rehabilitation effort
PENTICTON - A Penticton man will spend another 10 months behind bars despite his attempts to rehabilitate himself. Penticton Provincial Court Judge Gale Sinclair pondered the dilemma finding a proper sentence for 27-year-old Dwayne Lee Gabriel upon hearing of his rehabilitation efforts following two drug offences which took place in 2012. Federal Crown Prosecutor Ashleigh...
Quiet Christmas reported by city emergency services
PENTICTON - It was a quiet Christmas for Penticton’s police and fire services. “A handful of stolen vehicles were reported over the past few days,” said Penticton RCMP Watch Commander Constable Chad Jackson, “but other than that things were pretty much average over Christmas." Jackson said six Dodge pickups were stolen from residences in the...
Take the plunge into the New Year
PENTICTON - You can make a New Years resolution to start 2015 with a splash - into Okanagan Lake, that is. The 30th Summerland Kinsmen’s Annual Polar Dip is coming up on January 1 in the frigid waters off Sunoka Beach, Trout Creek. This year’s event promises to be great fun for participant and spectator...
UPDATE: Police investigating fire at Pass Motor Inn
PET BELIEVED DEAD IN FIRE PENTICTON - Penticton firefighters battled a blaze that broke out last night at the Pass Motor Inn, located at 2307 Skaha Lake Road. Firefighters were called to the scene at roughly 8:30 p.m., Dec. 30, according to a media release from RCMP. The building was evacuated while firefighters worked to...
Library, pool and arena busy over holidays
PENTICTON - Penticton’s public institutions saw increased usage over the holidays, with the library alone seeing double the usership it normally does on a Monday. Penticton Public Library’s Systems Librarian, Shelley Murphy, said after being closed for four days usership doubled what was usual for a Monday. “It was amazingly busy yesterday. We had line...
Fuel prices dip below a dollar in the South Okanagan
PENTICTON - Gas prices appear to be following temperature patterns in the South Okanagan this week - trending downwards. The price of a litre of regular gasoline fell below a dollar - 99.9 cents per litre - at the Kaleden Petro Can earlier this week. “I’ve seen an increase in customers since our price dropped...
Anybody seen a stolen dragon’s head?
PENTICTON - Osoyoos RCMP are asking residents in Penticton and the surrounding region to be on the lookout for some items stolen in two separate break and enters in Osoyoos last week. A break and enter to the Wander Home Furniture store in Osoyoos on Dec. 20 netted thieves a small amount of cash in...
Penticton’s Tree of Dreams fundraiser goes above and beyond
PENTICTON - As the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation's ninth annual Tree of Dreams campaign winds down executive director Janice Perrino is hopeful the fundraiser will continue to exceed its goal. “We were concerned that this year’s Tree of Dreams campaign would not be as successful as in past years,” Perrino said, noting this year’s...
Penticton party places for New Years
PENTICTON - If you’re looking for party action in Penticton to celebrate the New Year, there are a number of night spots that are more than willing to help you bring in 2015. The Penticton Lakeside’s New Years Eve Party begins at 6 p.m. when the doors open to the Grand Ballroom. At a cost...
Looking for things to do in Penticton over the Christmas break?
PENTICTON — If you are need to beat the winter blahs, melt away some of those extra Christmas pounds or looking for something for the family, you might find what you need right here — Recreation Penticton will be offering a free Aqua Fit class on Dec.18 as a way to get fitness buffs into...
Facebook group fights graffiti
PENTICTON - Penticton resident Kyle Bachmann is determined to do something about graffiti in the city after last weekend’s spray painting spree. “I’m tired of so many people out there doing graffiti in Penticton. On the weekend, Smart Shopper, Queen’s Park and Parkway Schools, the old Kentucky Fried Chicken building, Theo’s, Murray’s Pizza, Whole Foods...
Keremeos Grist Mill society chair frustrated by RFP process
PENTICTON - Uncertainty over who will be operating the Keremeos Grist Mill next year is frustrating the heritage site’s society chairman. “We’re kind of annoyed and baffled,” Grist Mill Foundation chair Dave Cursons said earlier this week. “It’s a sluggish process - nobody seems willing to move it along.” A Request For Proposal was issued...
Penticton’s official Christmas lights tour
PENTICTON - When you are looking for Christmas lights to see in Penticton, you do what we did: Ask the bus drivers. We did our best to find some of the best areas of the city for Christmas lights and compiled them into this handy map. But the city has to have more than this: Did...