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Penticton news

Two Okanagan communities will host upcoming B.C. 55+ Games

OKANAGAN – Vernon and Kelowna have been selection to host upcoming B.C. 55+ Games. The 2017 games will be held in Vernon, supported by the Armstrong and Spallumcheen, and the 2019 games will be in Kelowna. Cranbrook and Kimberley in the East Kootenays will host the games in 2018. Vernon hosted the inaugural games in...

Kamloops jail has highest number in the province for in-custody deaths

KAMLOOPS - Since August 2014 there have been four in-custody death’s at six regional provincial jails, three of which were in Kamloops according to data from the Ministry of Justice.  The number went from three to four on Monday, Sept. 21 with the latest death in Kamloops but details of the case, including the inmate’s...

Hundreds of North Okanagan deer heads still needed for disease study

“WE HAVE A THREE YEAR LIMIT ON THE PROJECT AND WE STILL NEED OVER 200 SAMPLES” CHERRYVILLE - They might be off-putting to some, but to a group of government researchers, deer heads from the Cherryville area are the key to stopping a potential disease outbreak in its tracks. Analyzing the lymph nodes found in...

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...

First fall weekend warm and sunny in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - The first weekend of autumn will be a typical one in the Okanagan, with warm days and cool nights. Environment Canada is calling for temperatures to be just above the seasonal normal high of 17 Celsius throughout the Okanagan, though overnight we can expect things to cool off a bit more than normal....

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...

Rare super moon lunar eclipse over the Okanagan this weekend

OKANAGAN - Not only will the last total lunar eclipse until January 2019 take place Sunday evening, it will also be a harvest, or super, moon, meaning it will appear to be a very large red moon for part of the evening. The moon will completely pass through the Earth’s shadow Sunday evening, Sept. 27,...

Money spent on refugees a hot topic at upcoming Kelowna immigration symposium

KELOWNA – The effects of immigration on the Okanagan will be a topic of discussion at an upcoming two-day symposium at Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan this weekend. The Immigration Symposium is a series of in-depth discussions about the impacts various Canadian policies have on immigrants, refugees and temporary foreign workers. It takes place Friday...

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...

Look back and laugh: A Vernon comedian retells all his humiliating tales

WHEN YOU'RE THE WORST HOCKEY PLAYER ON THE WORST HOCKEY TEAM YOU TURN TO COMEDY VERNON - Sam Mullins is wrapping up his North American comedy tour not only in his hometown, but on the stage where he saw his very first play — the Powerhouse Theatre in Vernon. “I must’ve been like seven or...

UPDATE: Inmate dies at Kamloops jail; third in less than a year

KAMLOOPS - Another inmate has died at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, making it the third to occur in a year.  Details surrounding the case are still being confirmed, but Dean Purdy, chair of corrections and sheriffs services component of the B.C. Government and Service Employee’s Union, confirmed the death occurred Monday night, Sept. 21....

Harlem Globetrotters hitting the court in Penticton

PENTICTON - The world famous Globetrotters will show off their basketball skills in Penticton as part of their 90th world tour celebration next year. The team will return to the South Okanagan Events Centre on Feb. 29, 2016, for a 7 p.m. show. The Penticton stop is one of 320 games that will be played...

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...

Watch flyboarders set a new record on Kalamalka Lake this week

'A LOT OF PEOPLE COMPARE IT TO SUPERHEROES LIKE IRON MAN, AND THAT’S HONESTLY WHAT IT’S LIKE. YOU FEEL ON TOP OF THE WORLD' VERNON - It’s a cutting edge water sport straight out of the Jetsons, and some of Canada’s top athletes are bringing their futuristic stunts to Kalamalka Lake this week. Team CanFly,...

Stolen vehicle driven ‘very erratically’ recovered near Westwold

WESTWOLD - A joyriding couple in a stolen pickup truck were stopped in their tracks by RCMP yesterday afternoon. Police received a report around12:30 p.m. yesterday, Sept. 21, of a white Ford S350 truck, believed to have been stolen from Summerland, being driven near Falkland.   A police helicopter out on a separate investigation spotted 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...

Convicted Kelowna killer back in court

KELOWNA - A notorious criminal who served more than eight years in jail for helping to kill a drug dealer in 2005 is back behind bars. Daniel Mader, 31, was convicted in March 2010 of shooting Jody Elliott, who ripped off Mader and three friends. At the time Justice Allison Beames said she accepted that...

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 search and rescue help find lost hikers and a missing person

PENTICTON - The volunteers with Penticton Search and Rescue were called out twice last night to find lost hikers, and then to find a missing person. Two young women from Quebec were hiking near Brent Mountain yesterday afternoon, Sept. 20, when they became disoriented and lost, according to a media release from Penticton Search and...