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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
Downtown business owners affected by Penticton blaze call fire suspicious
PENTICTON - Several Penticton businesses and services have lost their livelihood, at least temporarily, due to a downtown fire this morning and some of them are calling the blaze suspicious. Crews responded to a fire in the 200 block of Main Street around 5:40 a.m. today, Sept. 30, where they found smoke coming from Fibonacci...
Penticton’s Skaha Park controversy is heading for the courts
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton is headed for a legal battle over its agreement with Trio Marine regarding redevelopment of a portion of the Skaha Park property. The City of Penticton has been served with “filings with the Supreme Court,” according to a comment made by Mayor Andrew Jakubeit at the Monday, Sept. 28...
Why you’ll want to centre your wine collection around this year’s Okanagan vintage
PENTICTON - Okanagan Valley winemakers and growers are raising a glass to the growing conditions of 2015 as one of the earliest harvests on record comes to an end. Pènèlope Roche is co-owner of Roche Wines along with her husband Dylan on Penticton’s Upper Bench Road. She is also an instructor at Okanagan College’s Wine...
Penticton waterslide protesters create human chain around Skaha parkland
PENTICTON - The turnout at a protest to bring attention to trees in Skaha Park which might be lost to development exceeded organizers’ expectations Sunday afternoon, Sept. 28. Save Skaha Park society spokesperson Lisa Martin says the event, which was the fourth protest organized by the group to bring attention to the City of Penticton's...
Why a Penticton Supreme court case is considered precedent setting
PENTICTON - What is a fair sentence for a double homicide since the Conservative’s introduction of Bill C-48? That was the central question in arguments made by Crown Prosecutor Frank Dubenski and defence lawyer Don Skogstad as the two sides continued their submissions to Madam Justice Miriam Maisonville in the sentencing of John Ike Koopmans...
A Princeton murderer might get one of the longest prison sentences ever in the Okanagan
PENTICTON - Crown and defence lawyers in a sentencing hearing for a man accused of murdering two Princeton residents and wounding a third are recommending sentences almost fifteen years apart. In Penticton Supreme Court today, Sept. 25, Crown Prosecutor Frank Dubenski sought a prison term that would see convicted murderer John Ike Koopmans, 52, behind...
Unprovoked assault by career criminal gets federal time
PENTICTON - A Penticton man will do some serious jail time for a vicious, unprovoked attack that left his victim scarred for life. John Marshall Szanto, who appeared in Penticton Provincial Court today, Sept. 24, will serve three years for the assault, which took place on March 14 this year. Crown Prosecutor John Swanson recounted...
Koopmans mistrial application denied
PENTICTON - The original charges laid by a jury last April in the murder trial of John Ike Koopmans will stand. Defence lawyer Don Skogstad’s application for a mistrial on the count of attempted murder in the John Koopmans murder trial was denied in court this morning. Skogstad based his application on reasoning the jury was...
Mount Baldy’s future opening in doubt as sale of resort remains in limbo
PENTICTON - A local ski area’s future opening date remains in doubt with winter just around the corner. In an information release issued earlier this month, Baldy Capital Corporation Executive Fred Johnston reported little progress over the past several months regarding the completion of the purchase of the ski resort on terms agreed to by...
Penticton adventure park’s last day of operation dedicated to James McIntosh
PENTICTON - A Penticton adventure park will dedicate its final day of operation for the season to celebrate the life of James Christian McIntosh. On Sunday, Sept. 27, LocoLanding will be donating 100 per cent of the proceeds of their final day of the season to the McIntosh family. “When something as tragic as the...
Three bears feasting on garbage shot in Penticton
PENTICTON - Household garbage led to the ultimate demise of a bear sow and its two cubs after the trio became habituated to the easy food source. The female bear and her two cubs were reported on Friday morning in a small wooded area just west of Cherry Lane Mall, east of Parkway Elementary School...
How you can help the family of Penticton boy struck and killed by car
PENTICTON - A fundraising webpage has been set up for the Penticton family of the young boy killed by a car earlier this month. James Christian McIntosh, 5, died after he was struck by a car driven by an off-duty RCMP officer while he was crossing Highway 97 at Fairview Road on Sept. 15. Friends of...
Manager of Summerland pizza shop looking at jail for relationship with teen employee
PENTICTON - A 35-year-old Summerland man who conducted a secret relationship with a 16-year-old girl could face three months or more in jail. Josh Roberts is expected to find out his fate today, Sept. 21 after entering a guilty plea in Penticton Provincial Court for sexual exploitation for his part in the relationship. Judge Gregory...
Penticton protesters call for justice in Roxanne Louie murder case
PENTICTON – Okanagan Nation members, some on horseback, gathered outside the Penticton courthouse today to…
Cougar kills domestic goat in Grand Oro area
PENTICTON - Penticton conservation officers are on the lookout for a cougar that killed domestic livestock in the Grand Oro Road area earlier this week. Conservation officer Jim Beck says the cougar is suspected of killing a goat just south of Twin Lakes, reported Sept. 15. Conservation officers visited the site and determined it was...
Celebration of life service planned for five-year-old killed in crash
PENTICTON - A celebration of life will be held this weekend for five-year-old James Christian McIntosh, who was killed after being struck by a truck earlier this week. The service will be held at St. Anne Church at 2 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 20. The public is welcome to attend. The Holy Cross School Grade 1...
Why independent investigators are probing a traffic fatality in Penticton
PENTICTON - An investigation into Tuesday evening’s fatal collision continues as a roadside memorial to five-year-old James Christian McIntosh grows at the intersection of Fairview Avenue and Highway 97. James was killed Tuesday evening, Sept. 15 at approximately 5 p.m. while crossing the road at the crosswalk with his father and brother when he struck...
Improperly stored firearm proves costly for Penticton man
PENTICTON - An avid hunter will have his firearm returned to him after his rifle was found improperly stored in his vehicle during a roadside check. Kimberly Brad Christensen appeared in Penticton Provincial Court yesterday, Sept. 16, to enter a guilty plea on a charge of careless use or storage of a firearm. Christensen ran...
Canucks Young Stars tournament in Penticton coming of age
PENTICTON - The Canucks Young Stars tournament is coming of age and providing some serious economic returns to the City of Penticton. Mayor Andrew Jakubeit can take a lot of credit for the four day event, which began six years ago following a pitch he made when he was a city councillor to Vancouver Canucks...
Kaleden business target of multiple break-ins
PENTICTON - Kaleden Petro Canada owner Jas (J.B.) Bansoota has discovered the best and the worst of social media, at least when it comes to the security of his business. The service station owner has been frustrated by a couple of recent break-ins where social media provided some leads to the perpetrators, but also may...
Investigative team saying little as Penticton grieves tragic death of child
PENTICTON - The city is grieving today as an investigative team looks into the details of a traffic fatality yesterday. The Internal Investigations Office of B.C. is saying little today, Sept. 16, after the tragic death of a five-year-old boy who was struck by an off-duty RCMP officer at the intersection of Fairview Road, Green...
Penticton kidnapping incident results in five arrests
PENTICTON - A May 2015 kidnappping of a Penticton man has resulted in five arrests by Penticton RCMP. On May 21, a Penticton man was found in the ditch on Shingle Creek Road west of Penticton suffering from a broken leg and in hand restraints after having been kidnapped and beaten. The police have always...
Commemorative shirts to remember 2015 wildfire season in South Okanagan
PENTICTON – A new fundraising effort will help remember the 2015 wildfire season in the…
UPDATE: Owner reunited with artificial leg found on Penticton street
UPDATE: 3:20 P.M., SEPT. 15, 2015 The owner of the prosthetic leg found on Lakeshore Drive over the weekend has been found, Penticton RCMP report. Penticton City bylaw officers called the detachment to say they knew the owner of the leg, Penticton RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says in a press release. The woman had...