Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
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
Penticton to host first international triathlon festival in 2017
FIRST IN WORLD TO BE AWARDED MASSIVE 10-DAY FESTIVAL FORMAT PENTICTON - Penticton will host a new format of world series triathlon events in 2017, according to a recent announcement by the International Triathlon Union. The first ever Multisport Triathlon Festival will be staged in Penticton, most likely in late August of 2017, said co-organizer...
Naturists concerned as more signage appears at Three Mile Beach
PENTICTON - Controversy at Penticton’s clothing optional beach continues to heat up with the temperatures in the South Okanagan. Today’s summer-like weather had several naturists basking in the warm sun and calm winds of Three Mile Beach, just days after new signage and what some say is a camera was erected on the property line...
Valley wide business meeting combines trade show with networking opportunities
PENTICTON - A once a year opportunity for valley businesses Salmon Arm to Osoyoos to meet and network takes place in Penticton next week. The Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce will be hosting this year’s Valley Wide Business After Hours at Okanagan Lake Park on May 20 from 4:30 p.m. until 7 p.m....
Independent investigators to probe motorcycle collision with police car
CRUISER DID U-TURN IN MIDDLE OF HIGHWAY PENTICTON - A collision between an RCMP cruiser and a motorcycle in Osoyoos this past weekend is now under investigation by the province’s Independent Investigations Office. Spokesperson Kelly Kilpatrick confirmed today, May 12, two investigators were sent to Osoyoos on Monday to begin an investigation into the crash....
PNE prize home made in Okanagan Falls
PENTICTON - An Okanagan Falls modular home manufacturer will get some serious advertising exposure when the Pacific National Exhibition opens this year in Vancouver. Karoleena has been chosen to build this year’s PNE prize home. The 3,080 square foot, $ 2.1-million modular home was a six month project for the company. It took 30 days...
Penticton RCMP nab prolific Lower Mainland offenders
PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP had a busy but successful night May 6. Police previously responded to a number of break ins of both vehicles and residences in Okanagan Falls and Penticton on May 5, where identification, credit and bank cards, cash, jewellery, garage door remotes, keys and various other items were taken. Investigation revealed a...
Family grieves as timely treatment for mental health issues prove elusive
PENTICTON – As a Penticton family mourns the death of a daughter and sister, they…
Locomotive pulls out of Lakawanna Park
PENTICTON -The Lakawanna Park locomotive has left the station for good. The wooden replica of a train locomotive has been a familiar sight at the small Lakeshore Drive park for years. As part of the children’s playground, it was often used by children for climbing and playing on. City of Penticton spokesperson Simone Blais said...
Woman charged for making up story about Christmas break in: Global Okanagan
PENTICTON - A woman whose story of a lost Christmas captured people’s charity and goodwill last Christmas faces a day in court after being accused of falsely reporting the crime. Global News reported yesterday police received a tip shortly after the Dec. 22, 2014 break-in report that led them to believe Jackie Ann Hooper may have lied about...
Jail time for Osoyoos man convicted in drunken hit and run
PENTICTON - An Osoyoos man with an apparent alcohol problem will have plenty of time behind bars to test his sobriety after he was sentenced to jail for an Osoyoos hit and run accident in 2014. Steven Troy Fields, 28, was sentenced today, May 4, after pleading guilty to one count of failure to stop...
Okanagan Spring Wine Festival is happening now
PENTICTON - The clink of wine glasses will be a common sound up and down the valley for the next nine days as the 21st annual Spring Okanagan Wine Festival is underway. The Best of Varietal Awards and Reception was the first signature event in this year’s festival, kicking things off Thursday with the best...
Oliver man sentenced for sex crimes against youth
PENTICTON – A 24-year-old Oliver man learned today how much jail time he faces for…
Beekeepers on the hunt for swarming bees
PENTICTON - Beekeepers are asking for your help to spot swarming bees so they don't become a nuisance and local beekeepers can use them to create new colonies. Uncaptured swarms can sometimes mean problems for homeowners, according to a media release. If they find small openings in roofs, they can establish themselves, resulting in a...
Fire ants found in Naramata concern Kamloops researcher
PENTICTON – A Thompson Rivers University researcher wants to stop a newly-discovered invasive species from…
Alpine vehicle restrictions take effect
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Hefty fines await users of off-road vehicles who veer off existing roads and trails when operating at high elevation. ATV and off-road vehicle riders who damage an ecosystem on Crown land can now face fines of up to $100,000, one year in jail, or both. The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource...
Busy wildfire season predicted for Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Be prepared for a fire season reminiscent of 2003 — maybe — regional emergency personnel were told at a workshop this week. Comparisons to the year more than 200 homes were destroyed in the Okanagan Mountain Fire and 72 homes lost in the McLure Fire were heard at a spring readiness workshop hosted...
Okanagan College tuition going up
OKANAGAN - Tuition fees are going up two per cent with Okanagan College’s board of governors approval of a $94.95 million operating budget. Okanagan College Board of Governors Chair Tom Styffe says the board initially faced "a seven digit issue, created by a number of pressures,” according to a media release. He says administration and...
Shelf price of liquor changes; little consumer impact expected
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Consumers won’t actually see much difference in costs following the new B.C. liquor laws that took effect today, according to one liquor merchant. Fred Vassilaki, the manager of Last Call Liquor Mart in Penticton, says changes to the province’s liquor laws went into effect on April 1 but they won’t have a huge...
School district provides update on security measures after finding threatening message
PENTICTON - Following the discovery of a note threatening harm to students at Penticton Secondary School on Feb.18, School District Superintendent Wendy Hyer issued a communication Thursday, Feb. 19 explaining the district’s Threat Assessment Protocol. The protocol was developed in order to respond to situations where students may be a threat to themselves or others....
Three-year art project celebrates breastfeeding
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Interior Health is searching for artists and community members to create pieces for an expo aimed at exploring the topic of breastfeeding through art. Interior Health Project Coordinator Karen Graham says the three-year project called the Breastfeeding Art Expo is in its preliminary stages but the call went out to the entire Interior...
Murdered woman’s family hear of death through media
PENTICTON – The family of Roxanne Louie continues to feel shock and pain today after…
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...
Feast on Thompson-Okanagan fare at the Christmas dinner table
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Our region is a food producing mecca, and with Christmas on the way, what better time to take a look at what we can buy locally to put on the table? We took a look at the region and came up with five opportunities to make that big Christmas meal tasty, healthy, and...
Summerland man escapes child porn charge in ‘cautionary tale’
"A FEW SECONDS OF DRUNKEN STUPIDITY AND YOU COULD BE COMMITTING A CRIME WITH MANDATORY MINIMUMS OF ONE YEAR:" CROWN PENTICTON - A Summerland man pled guilty to voyeurism in Penticton Provincial Court Monday for actions Judge Gale Sinclair called “stupid in the extreme.” The 19-year-old man, who can't be identified because of a publication...