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Penticton news

Arson or accident? Investigators wonder about White Lake wildfires

PENTICTON - An unusual number of wildfires occurring in the rural neighbourhoods of Kaleden and Willowbrook has local and B.C. Wildfire Service officials concerned. Fire information officer Kayla Pepper says they are concerned about the fires which have occurred in the White Lake area. She says they are working with other agencies including the RCMP...

Another break-in at a Tickleberry’s location

PENTICTON – For the second time this month, thieves have targeted one of the Tickleberry’s ice cream shops. This time the family-owned business’s location in Penticton was broken into. RCMP say Tickleberry’s on the Beach, the concession at Skaha Lake was broken into early this morning, Aug. 23. The safe was torn off the wall...

Heavy smoke blankets Okanagan; the rest of southern B.C. gets smoke haze

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Smoke from the huge forest fires burning in Washington State pumped into the southern Interior yesterday evening has been trapped in the valleys by a temperature inversion. The Okanagan is getting the worst of the smoke with visibility down to less to a kilometre in some areas this morning, Aug. 23. Environment Canada,...

City grant helping to reduce fresh fruit and produce waste

PENTICTON - A City of Penticton grant is helping to reduce the amount of food wasted during the abundant summer months. The Okanagan Fruit Tree Project says the $7,000 grant has allowed the hiring of a part time coordinator to increase the amount of overproduced food redistributed to those in need. Coordinator Deb Thorneycroft says...

Dream wedding for a dying father

"HE'S DONE SO MUCH FOR US NOW IT'S OUR TURN TO LOOK AFTER HIM" KELOWNA – Christina Richard was just 11 years old when Eric Lavoie entered her life in 2003 and changed it forever. Her mom, Sophy Zaglis, 49, was raising five kids on her own, working as a registered nurse and volunteer with...

KF Aerospace announces more layoffs in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - Rebranding the company hasn’t helped KF Aerospace avoid the turbulence of the marketplace which has forced the company to cut jobs in both Kelowna and Hamilton. President Tracy Medve was not available for interviews Friday as the Kelowna-headquartered company announced layoffs equivalent to eight per cent of its workforce. However, Medve said in...

Woman killed crossing Penticton street identified

PENTICTON - The B.C. Coroners Service has identified the woman struck and killed at a pedestrian crossing in Penticton last week. Colleen Esther Mary Brennan, 48, died of injuries sustained after she was struck by a pickup truck at approximately 4 p.m., Aug. 18, while crossing Maple Street. The Penticton resident was rushed to Penticton...

Wildfire smokes Rock Creek music festival

PENTICTON - The Rock Creek fire has claimed another victim, this time in the form of an annual music festival. Ponderosa Music and Arts Festival organizers have announced the Rock Creek event will not take place this year. They explain in a media safety concerns have been raised by local government officials due to the...

Penticton city councillor forced to flee Washington State wildfires

"IT WAS VERY, VERY SCARY" PENTICTON - A camping trip turned into a nightmare for a Penticton couple thanks to the wildfires raging in Washington State. Penticton city Coun. Helena Konanz and her husband Adam were forced to cut short the mid-week holiday when wildfires had them beating a hasty retreat from Winthrop yesterday, August...

Kelowna man who died while rafting lived and loved ‘all in’

"DON'T FORGET HOW LUCKY YOU ARE TO LOVE YOUR LOVED ONES SO MUCH IT HURTS" KELOWNA – They were high school sweethearts planning their dream Kelowna wedding when Rene Bourgault’s life was cut short in a tragic rafting accident last weekend. Friends, family and everyone who has been touched by his life are mourning his...

First phase of Trail of the Okanagans nearing completion in Summerland

PENTICTON - Construction is nearing completion on the Trail of the Okanagans connection between Summerland and Trout Creek. Founding Director of the Trail of the Okanagans, Don Gemmell, says the link is nearly finished, as workers perform clean up work on the corridor. The connection, which links Lakeshore Drive in Summerland to Landry Crescent in...

Local man documents entire CN rail corridor for posterity

KELOWNA – An Okanagan man with a passion for local history has begun work on a video he hopes will preserve the significance of the CN Rail corridor for generations to come. Alan Gatzke spent dozens of hours and thousands of dollars from his own pocket to modify his pickup so it could be used...

UFC extends contract with Kelowna fighter

KELOWNA – Local UFC welterweight Matt Dwyer has had his UFC contract extended by four fights. Dwyer, 25, a Kelowna resident since he was two years old, fights out of Toshido MMA in Kelowna. He was signed to a remarkably rare four-fight contract with the UFC in 2014. Although his first appearance resulted in a...

Mussel threat turns real during training session

OKANAGAN - A training session on how to inspect for invasive mussels turned hands-on when a contaminated boat showed up from Ontario. An Ontario couple shipped the boat to the Lower Mainland after it was moored for several months in the mussel-infested Rideau Canal, according to a press release from the Okanagan Basin Water Board....

Credit card skimmers prompt public warning by RCMP

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Police in the Central Okanagan are once again warning about card skimmers after the devices were discovered in Vernon and Kamloops. Spokeswoman Const. Anne Donnelly of the Kelowna RCMP fraud section, said in a press release there are ways to foil the scam, which requires both your debit card number and your personal...

How does a local Penticton company one up an A&W float-thru? One word: Relvis

PENTICTON - Earlier this week, the massive burger chain A&W produced a commercial about a stunt on the Penticton channel. Now a home-grown competitor has one-upped the big guys in style: Elvis style. Ralph "Relvis" Ramsay, owner of Houndogs at the mid-way point on the Penticton channel produced a high-quality commercial celebrating ten years in...

Warm fall, mild winter in long-range forecast

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Look for a hotter, drier fall across the Southern Interior if AccuWeather’s long-range fall forecast holds true. Issued by AccuWeather’s global weather centre, the forecast says a stubborn high pressure system anchored over the West coast and abnormally warm water over the north-eastern Pacific have kept the weather warm and dry. This is...

Turning industrial trash into home furnishing treasures

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There's something quintessentially Canadian about taking an item like a lowly wooden pallet or a fruit packing box and making good use of it. Keith Hamer and his crew take it one step further in an old fruit packing house in Oyama, creating a business to make new furniture out of old wood...

Vernon cadets show bravery in moments after head-on collision

VERNON - A group of staff cadets and instructors celebrating at a recent graduation parade in Vernon didn’t hesitate to drop what they were doing and run to help those involved in a serious car crash. “The flags were just being marched on and we heard a loud bang,” Major Keri Winkelaar says. “We turned...

Oliver wineries confident wildfires won’t affect quality of crop

OKANAGAN - The full effects of Friday’s wildfires on Oliver wineries may not be known for awhile but winery owners are breathing a sigh of relief no wineries have been lost during the blazes. Fire crews continue to make progress in their efforts to quench the Testalinden Creek and Wilsons Mountain fires this week. What still...