Shannon Quesnel

Shannon Quesnel

Safe, warm places to sleep this winter

PENTICTON - There's been a lot of sleepless nights for Salvation Army supervisor Reg Petrie whenever the weather turns cold. "Sometimes I stare at the ceiling, worrying about so-and-so and so-and-so," Petrie said. He looks after two shelters, Cheers the Church and Compass House that also serve as cold weather emergency locations for people trying...

Cannabis petition edges closer to goal

PENTICTON - Flu clinics and shopping malls might not be the first places a person thinks of when imagining where marijuana supporters like to hang but these spots helped a cannabis legalization petition reach 3,500 signatures. And seniors have been the biggest supporters of legalization out of the thousands who have signed, Sensible B.C.'s Amanda...

Famous country music tenor, Kenny Rogers, plays SOEC

PENTICTON - Poker enthusiasts in Penticton will get a lesson in knowing when to fold 'em when the Gambler's Through The Years World Tour rolls into the South Okanagan Convention Centre, Feb. 27. Kenny Rogers, 75, will bring his famous tenor voice and a new 11-track album, You Can't Make Old Friends which has country...

Bobbitt might face justice elsewhere

PENTICTON - David Wesley Bobbitt may not appear in a Penticton court, depending on the resources available to guard him there. Bobbitt is facing a dangerous offender and sentencing date sometime in the near future for violent crimes he committed in Penticton but the case might be moved to Kelowna Law Courts or another facility....

RCMP score hat-trick with 3 drug busts

PENTICTON - Martin Street was hot with police action on Thursday with several arrests made for heroin and cocaine possession. Two Penticton men, Wesley James Yungen, 41 and Bradley Scott Thompson, 40, were arrested and charged with trafficking and possession of heroin. An unidentified woman, 62, was arrested and released. She might face a charge...

A warm heart, a warm hand, an avian rescue

MAN SAVES BIRD AFTER STORE WINDOW COLLISION PENTICTON - Rescuing a small bird knocked senseless after a collision with a window put a smile on Lloyd Nendick's face. The Penticton man was sitting on a bench near city hall on Main Street Saturday with a cigarette in one hand and a small bird and a...

PHOTOS: Penticton remembers veterans’ service, sacrifice

PENTICTON - It was nearly standing room only for the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. The three halls were open to allow hundreds of visitors inside to sit and stand before the stage. Those who could not find a seat stood outside within ear shot of the speeches, the reading...

Councillors frustrated with fight for marketing dollars

CITY COUNCIL, PENTICTON HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION AT ODDS OVER MARKETING MONEY PENTICTON - Two big groups who are supposed to be marketing Penticton are instead arguing on how to do it which has caused no small frustration for city council. Chief financial officer Colin Fisher confirmed the city has so far spent about $21,000 in legal...

Long-time runners awarded top Challenge Penticton jobs

PENTICTON - Challenge Penticton 2014 gives top spots to two familiar faces, Steve Brown and Kelly Hopkins. Brown returns in 2014 as race operations director which builds on his previous work in 2013. He is the owner of Peach City Athletics, has a background in financial management and has been responsible for organizing races in...

Regional district concerned about corporate cannabis

PENTICTON - Interested pot growers looking to go corporate have been knocking on the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen's door for available sites and zoning rules including the ones on agricultural land reserves. On April 1 the only legal sources to obtain medical marijuana will be through producers approved by Health Canada which will shut...

Touch of Christmas this weekend

PENTICTON - The calendar of things-to-do is a little sparse this weekend but there will be plenty of nuts over at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre to enjoy. The festive weekend will be followed by the more sombre Remembrance Day on Monday. Rancho Vignola will hold its Harvest Event, a two-day free-to-attend show, showcasing...

Penticton woman’s uncle shot down the Red Baron

PENTICTON - Snoopy and Capt. Roy Brown have two things in common. They both flew Sopwith Camels and both shot down the Red Baron although everyone's favourite beagle did it in a song. Brown did it for real in the skies above France. Pentictonite Julia (Daphne) Trefry, 72, said she never met her uncle, Capt....

Province ponies up $11M for new school buses

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - New school buses will roll out of the garage to take kids to class and students to sporting events. The Kamloops/Thompson School District 73 gets the lion's share with nine school buses for nearly a million dollars. Vernon School District 22 will have five to divvy up between its various routes. Central Okanagan...

School board, union give thumbs up to whistleblower policy

PENTICTON - The Okanagan Skaha School District will fill in policy gaps by drafting whistleblower and trustee code-of-conduct and trustee conflict-of-interest rules. The gaps were noted by B.C.'s auditor general when during a provincial school board review auditor staff noticed many boards do not have such rules and guidelines. School District 67 secretary-treasurer Bonnie Roller...

Pipeline project to be main course at chamber luncheon

PENTICTON - The proposed and controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project will make for interesting dinner conversation at a Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Nov. 18. The pipeline is a joint-venture between private entities, the federal government, B.C. and Alberta. Once built the pipes are to send oil product from the...