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Penticton news
Summerland Christmas Express nearly sold out
PENTICTON - For those wishing to take a ride on the Summerland Christmas Express, the last train with any room on board will be leaving the station sooner, rather than later. Kettle Valley Steam Railway marketing manager Tracey Slattery says this year’s Christmas schedule is nearly completely sold out - and that includes an additional...
Cawston man serves jail time for alcohol-induced assaults, threats
PENTICTON - A Cawston man was handed a court order to stop drinking and given time served as part of a sentence handed down in Penticton court today, Nov. 26. Gabriel Julian Labrosse was sentenced to 47 days time served by Judge Gale Sinclair on multiple charges including assault, assault with a weapon and uttering...
Kokanee numbers keep rising in Okanagan
OKANAGAN - Kokanee numbers are up from last year in all of the big valley lakes, the provincial government says. Wood Lake’s kokanee population continues to recover from a disastrous 2011 when poor in-lake conditions lead to a huge increase in fish mortality of all ages, according to a media release. Over 20,000 returned to spawn...
Evidence indicates Penticton dog attacked by deer, not cougar
PENTICTON - A Penticton resident’s pet was subject to an encounter with a wild animal yesterday — but was it a predator? Penticton conservation officer Dave Cox says his fellow officer Jeff Hanratty investigated a report of a dog encountering a cougar on Marina Way at approximately 1:30 p.m., Nov. 25. After meeting with the...
The unusual way some local residents mourn through Facebook
"IT'S NICE TO KNOW THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO LOVED HIM." KELOWNA – Earlier this month Facebook announced a new option designed to help you get over a relationship breakup without blocking or unfriending your ex. But some Okanagan residents are using Facebook to help get over an even greater loss. Three years ago, suddenly and...
Another reprieve for Interior Health laundry workers
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Hospital Employees’ Union is welcoming news that Interior Health is delaying its decision to contract out laundry services. New Interior Health President and CEO Chris Mazurkewich says in a release today, Nov. 25, not to expect a decision before March 2016. He’s been on the job less than a month and wants...
Kip Moore tour coming to the South Okanagan
PENTICTON - Multi-platinum singer-songwriter Kip Moore is bringing his rocking country to Penticton next year. The 2016 Wild Ones tour has been extended to include extra stops in Canada, including the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, according to a press release from the events centre. Moore’s album Wild Ones is a mix of blue-collar country music...
City of Penticton and Gateway reveal their hands in quest to relocate casino
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton and Gateway Casinos and Entertainment have come to an agreement on a new location for the city’s casino. The new Cascades Casino Penticton will be built on South Okanagan Events Centre property next to the Wine Country Visitor Centre at the corner of Highway 97 and Power Street, taking up existing...
Wintery week ahead in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - With a snowfall warning in place and cooler temperatures in the forecast, the Okanagan is in for a wintery start to the last week of November. Yesterday, Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for the South and North Thompson, Shuswap and North Okanagan regions, saying snowfall would begin overnight and continue through today, Nov....
Southern Interior braces for winter storm with blast of Arctic air
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The first Arctic outbreak of the season is going to blow through the Thompson-Okanagan bringing blowing snow, cold temperatures and “crummy travel conditions,” according to Environment Canada. A special weather statement, which covers most of southern B.C., has been issued by Environment Canada warning of a winter storm expected with the worst of...
Curious about the price of marijuana in your city? Check PriceOfWeed website
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It isn’t legal yet in Canada, but that won’t stop people from keeping a close eye on weed market in their city. Akin to the website Gas Buddy, which monitors gas prices to help consumers find the lowest price in town, there’s a website called Price of Weed, in which users report the...
Okanagan hunter fined for shooting deer decoy out of season
KELOWNA – A seasoned hunter who pleaded guilty to shooting at a B.C. Conservation Service deer decoy in West Kelowna days after the season ended one year ago says it was an honest mistake. Joseph Vernon Lange, 60, was driving down the Esperon Forest Service Road in West Kelowna Nov. 15, 2014 when he saw...
Gas prices steady in the Okanagan while Kamloops prices drop
OKANAGAN - While gas prices were trending downwards earlier this week drivers in the Okanagan didn’t get a break, unless they were up in Kamloops where prices dipped well below a dollar per litre. According to Gas Buddy, an online consumer reporting website, gas prices are currently in the 107.9 to 109.9 cents per litre...
Compassion spared Kelowna man death by cop
“HE WOULD PUT THE REVOLVER TO HIS HEAD AND HE’D JUST SIT THERE WITH IT IN HIS MOUTH.” LANGUAGE ADVISORY KELOWNA – A dangerous situation in downtown Kelowna last summer could have turned tragic if it wasn’t for the actions of a group of strangers and a compassionate response by an arresting police officer. On...
Okanagan growers debate marketing future of Ambrosia apple
OKANAGAN - Producers of the Ambrosia apple are considering whether to extend a levy used to market the new varietal. Ambrosia producers have paid a $.25 per lb. levy since 2001, shortly after the new apple was introduced, used to promote the fruit to consumers and further its research. The levy was renewed in 2006...
Trial date soon to be set for Peachland journalist charged with child porn
KELOWNA – A former journalist from Peachland facing three child porn charges made an appearance in Kelowna court Tuesday, Nov. 17. David Andrew Preston, 52, was arrested in October 2013, four months after members of the B.C. Integrated Child Exploitation Unit executed a search warrant and seized computer equipment. Preston is the creator of online...
Penticton robbery compared to Disney movie
THEY PICKED 'THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME' PENTICTON - A robbery attempt at a Penticton restaurant last summer, which defence counsel said was “more like the Apple Dumpling Gang” nonetheless resulted in jail time for the accused. Clay Robert Oldershaw of Williams Lake was sentenced in Penticton Provincial Court today, Nov. 19 to...
Wildlife festival lands in Kelowna this weekend
KELOWNA - A traveling festival of wild animals from around the world is coming to Kelowna for three days this weekend. Featuring birds of prey, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates, The Wildlife Festival has already made stops in Chilliwack, Hope, Kamloops and Merritt and will be at the Westbank Community Centre in West Kelowna Friday,...
Lake Country couple start multi-million dollar legging company
LAKE COUNTRY - A young Lake Country couple had no idea their idea to start a legging company would grow so fast. Addie and Chris Pafiolis started SweetLegs in their house in Lake Country just one and a half years ago. In that time they have sold more than half a million pairs of the...
Buying local, without leaving home, a popular choice for Okanagan holiday shoppers
OKANAGAN - It’s already well known that online shopping has taken over a large piece of the Christmas retail pie, but that doesn’t mean people are giving up on buying local to fill the stockings this Christmas. You don’t have to go out to a farmer’s market or holiday craft fair to buy local, you...
What you need to know about Highway 3 closures today
PENTICTON - Frustrations are mounting as motorists travelling Highway 3 face delays because of road closures in two locations along the highway today, Nov. 18. Highway 3 is now open to single lane, alternating traffic following a closure west of Keremeos yesterday afternoon, but another closure at the Skagit Bluffs remains in effect. The highway...
Crews begin lifting rails off CN Okanagan corridor
CENTRAL OKANAGAN – Crews have begun lifting the rails from the former CN railway corridor,…
Nine months for Penticton man convicted of robbery at knifepoint
PENTICTON - A Penticton man who held up several youth at knifepoint while on a five-day drinking binge two summers ago will face jail time. Kody Joseph Jack was sentenced in Penticton Provincial Court yesterday, Nov. 16, to nine months jail time on three counts of robbery and one count of uttering threats. The charges...
RCMP investigating Penticton fire sparked by Molotov cocktail
PENTICTON - RCMP are looking into a garage fire started by a Molotov cocktail in Penticton last night. Fire crews were called to a home on Calgary Avenue around 10:20 p.m., Nov. 15, to find the homeowner trying to put out a small fire on the roof of his garage. Deputy fire chief Dave Spalding...