Shannon Quesnel

Shannon Quesnel

Changing street names, considering new taxation topics at city council meeting

PENTICTON - What's in a name is at the heart of two people's opinions on renaming a street. Some want to change Robinson Street to Backstreet Boulevard and some do not. Penticton's leadership will decide on the matter at Tuesday's council meeting. Jason MacAndrew suggested renaming both portions of the road currently named Westminster Avenue...

Blistering heat caps off long weekend

PENTICTON - The Canada Day weekend brought thousands of visitors to Penticton's famed beaches and Gyro Park. Sunday and Monday also had temperatures over the 30 C mark. Lakeshore Drive was amass with people wearing brightly coloured swim trunks and bikinis. Over at Gyro Park there were dozens of tents selling things cold to eat...

July’s heat banishes June’s chill

PENTICTON - July brought the heat with a high of 32.5 C on Canada Day while June struggled to keep its summer obligation. June's monthly average was only 24.2 C. On June 30 the thermometer crawled up to 30.9 C. June 20 had the lowest temperature at 5.2 C and the month's minimum average temperature...

Canada Day at Gyro Park

PENTICTON - Canada looks pretty spry for being 146 years old. The country's birthday will be celebrated at Penticton's Gyro Park all day and into most of the night. Free cake and balloons will be available until they run out and there'll be silly stuff for children to do until 3 p.m. A community market...

Tips from observant citizen lead to arrest of suspected car, store thief

PENTICTON - A Surrey man was arrested when someone identified the vehicle he was driving as stolen. A motorist called the Penticton RCMP on Wednesday and said he was following his friend's stolen 2013 Subaru on Channel Parkway where it turned onto Highway 97. The vehicle was reported stolen on June 19 from a Penticton...

Homeowners mop up after Wednesday’s brief flood

PENTICTON - Poppy Degeorgio had some of her deceased husband's items destroyed in Wednesday's flooding of Arnott Place. Her spouse died in a car accident seven years ago. Degeorgio decided to hang on to some of his things. "I had a lot of his stuff I wanted to give to my children." A few irreplaceable...

Did you feel that?

SMALL EARTHQUAKE FELT IN PENTICTON PENTICTON - If you felt all shook up on Friday, it wasn't the Penticton Elvis Festival in town this weekend, it was a small earthquake. Alison Bird, a seismologist with Earthquakes Canada, says residents felt the tremors caused by a 2.0 magnitude quake occurring at 9:41 a.m. 17 kilometres west of...

Killer should serve more time: victim’s family

PENTICTON - Michael Richard Beauchamp needs more jail time than the seven years he'll serve for his role in the 2009 beating death of Terrence Dale Wooley, family and friends say. Beauchamp, 43, was sentenced today for his part in an assault against Wooley, 51, in the spring of 2009 at Slack Alice's Show Pub....

UPDATE: Sewer, storm system not built for Wednesday’s storm

UPDATE: 12:23 p.m. June 27, 2013 PENTICTON - Penticton's storm sewer system wasn't built to handle the short burst of heavy rain that flooded parts of Wilson Street and Arnott Place on Wednesday. Only eight millimetres of rain fell, according to Environment Canada, but it all seemed to come at once. Public works manager Len Robson...

Construction proposal requests sent out for patient care tower

Area medical society keeps on with own strategy PENTICTON - Area doctors are not sitting on their heels while the province progresses with a business case for the patient care tower project. Health minister Terry Lake said on Wednesday requests for proposals have gone out to architectural, engineering and mechanical consulting services in the development...

Canada Day brings the heat to Penticton

PENTICTON - Overcast days have been hiding the summer sun but it's expected to change by the end of the week with 30 C+ temperatures for the Canada Day long weekend. The temperatures pass the 25 C mark on Thursday with a high of 26 C followed by Friday's high of 30 C. Saturday and...

Hospital needs $600K more for new X-ray machines

PENTICTON - Penticton Regional Hospital is already $850,000 closer to its goal of $1.5 million which will buy modern X-ray equipment with an operation cost on par with the old stuff. The South Okanagan-Similkameen Medical Foundation needs $650,000 more to purchase three X-ray suites. The foundation launched a campaign last week to find the rest...

Osoyoos Indian Band improves golf course, adds homes

PENTICTON - The Osoyoos Indian Band and its partners will build 16 more homes at its NK'MIP Canyon Desert Golf Course. Chief Clarence Louie said on Monday the 16 homes along with the 17 already built will attract even more tourists and golf-enthusiasts. This will pave the way for a community centre, parks and a...

B.C. health ministry to patch holes in medical record security

B.C.'s health ministry was ordered by the province's information commissioner to improve its privacy controls following three huge data breaches involving the personal records of millions of British Columbians. B.C. Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham reported on Wednesday the health ministry was given 11 security recommendations to better safeguard medical data. This was the result of...

Penticton man to be sentenced for manslaughter

PENTICTON - Michael Beauchamp pled guilty to manslaughter in connection to the 2009 beating death of Terrence Dale Wooley. The crime took place only a few dozen yards from the Penticton courthouse where Beauchamp was in custody on Monday. Justice Jeanne Watchuk and Crown counsel John Swanson listened to Beauchamp plead guilty to manslaughter and...