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Penticton news

Roots and Blues Festival takes over Salmon Arm this weekend

SALMON ARM - The Shuswap will be filled with the sounds of brass and bluegrass as the 'summer destination spot for fans and lovers of music' takes over Salmon Arm this weekend. Now in its 23rd year, the Roots and Blues Festival features an eclectic mix of music from Blues to Bluegrass, Celtic to Cuban...

Close call for Penticton cat caught in leg hold trap

PENTICTON - 'Look at what the cat dragged in' is rarely used to describe something pleasant and for one Penticton couple that was certainly true this weekend. Terri Lynn Stroomer and Chris Whalen’s cat came home Saturday evening, Aug. 8, dragging a leg hold trap. The feline had been caught in the old trap, which...

Feast of Fields has new location for farm to table festival

KELOWNA – The 7th annual festival celebrating locally grown food is happening in Kelowna this weekend. Okanagan Feast of Fields is one of three chapters started by FarmFolk CityFolk, a Vancouver organization dedicated to celebrating sustainable, local foods. Feast of Fields, which also takes place in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island, is a four-hour wandering gourmet...

Premier meteor shower to light up the sky this week

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - One of the best meteor showers of the year is set to peak this week, sending up to 60 shooting stars through the sky every hour. The Perseids meteor shower is visible from July 17 to Aug. 24 every year and is set to peak overnight Wednesday, Aug. 12 this year. Environment Canada...

South Okanagan woman’s dog saves her during bear attack

PENTICTON - A South Okanagan woman is recovering from a harrowing bear attack in the Willowbrook area last week. The woman was walking her dog when the bear attacked on Aug. 5. She suffered a badly broken arm, which required surgery, claw scratches to her back, and a cut to her face. Conservation Officer Jim Beck...

Okanagan set to break record temperatures this week

OKANAGAN - Grab your sunscreen, hat and a cool drink, we have a hot, sunny and likely record-breaking week ahead of us in the Okanagan. Temperatures soared above the 30 Celsius mark over the weekend, well above the 27 C seasonal normal high for this time of year, but we can expect things to get...

Quick response stops South Okanagan wildfire

PENTICTON - A rapid response and lack of wind helped firefighters gain a quick upper hand on a wildfire southwest of Kaleden last night. Kaleden fire chief Darlene Bailey says firefighters were called to a smoke sighting near Partington and White Lake Roads at around 6:30 p.m., August 8. They arrived to find a Rank...

Keremeos wildfire leaves two homeless

PENTICTON - A human-caused wildfire west of Keremeos has left two people homeless. The grass fire broke out at about 8:30 a.m. this morning, Aug. 8, along Highway 3 about eight kilometres west of Keremeos, according to Keremeos fire chief Jordy Bosscha. Bosscha says a mobile home, a number of outbuildings and numerous farm implements...

Grass fire near Keremeos under control

KEREMEOS – Two hours after it was spotted this morning, a grass fire near Keremeos is under control. Firefighters with the Keremeos Fire Department and a three-person initial attack crew from B.C. Wildfire are on the scene mopping up the fire about 8 kilometres west of the village along Highway 3, according to fire information...

Skaha Bluffs to see increased RCMP and volunteer patrols

PENTICTON - It’s going to be a lot tougher for thieves to vandalize vacationer's vehicles thanks to local RCMP and volunteer initiatives at Skaha Bluffs. Penticton RCMP and Community Policing volunteers were up at the Skaha Bluffs parking lot today, August 7, conducting a patrol and placing auto crime prevention notices on vehicles in the...

Flagging violent inmates viewed as interim solution

KAMLOOPS - An order to flag violent inmates at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre may help prevent workplace violence, but it might not do much to curb the underlying issues. The WorkSafe B.C. order to readily identify inmates with a history of violence is a soft approach to the daily safety issues officers face in...

Concerns raised about high pressure door-to-door sales pitch

PENTICTON - RCMP have some advice for people concerned about a door-to-door sales pitch making the rounds in Penticton. There has been social media chatter about salespeople trying to get into people’s homes to inspect their furnace and hot water heater to see if they were “outdated and illegal.” Kathy Giguere posted a warning on...

Big fires down but not out in Kamloops Fire Centre

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The only two wildfires of note in the Kamloops Fire Centre have been downgraded to patrol status. Shelter Cove fire off Westside Road near Kelowna and Bolean Lake fire near Falkland were downgraded August 5 and will now be monitored by crews of five firefighters. “Patrol status means they are done active fire...

Warm, sunny weekend on tap for the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - After a break from the heat we will need to again dig out the sunscreen for a hot and sunny weekend. While temperatures were in the low- to mid-20s the last two days, just below seasonal normal highs of 27 Celsius, and were accompanied by up to eight millimetres of rain, we can...

Whooping cough on the rise across Interior Health region

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An increase in cases of whooping cough across the Interior Health Authority, but primarily in the Central Okanagan, has prompted a warning from public health officials. Medical health officer Dr. Kamran Golmohammadi says in 2015 there has already been 58 confirmed cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, with 36 of them...

Credit card skimmer discovered at Vernon gas station

DEVICE IS DIFFICULT TO DETECT VERNON - A device used to skim credit card information from unsuspecting victims might have been used at a Vernon gas station. Staff at the Esso Gas Station at 3400 32 St. in Vernon discovered the device Friday, July 31, and reported it to the RCMP.  “The device was on...

Kitten rescued from rat trap needs a new home

KELOWNA – A young kitten is in need of a good home after a caring West Kelowna man rescued her from a rat trap last weekend. The kitten, which Dr. Moshe Oz of Rose Valley Veterinary Clinic says is around 10 weeks old, was found in a glue trap, which uses an adhesive substance to...

VIDEO: One-girl act entertains Main Street Penticton

PENTICTON - You never know how you’ll be entertained on Main Street during a Penticton summer. Forget about Willy and the Poor Boys, down on the corner — this young lady can do it all. This one-girl band was spotted recently near Knight’s Pharmacy in the downtown core, providing some entertaining free music for passers-by....

Charges possible after children found locked in hot vehicle in Penticton

PENTICTON - For some people, the message just doesn’t seem to be getting through when it comes to leaving kids or pets in locked vehicles. RCMP were called to the Walmart parking lot last Thursday evening, July 30, after bystanders noticed kids left in a car, according to Penticton RCMP media spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth....

Drought levels worsen in Okanagan and North Thompson

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Drought conditions are worsening in the region, enough according to the government to increase the drought rating for both the Okanagan and North Thompson regions by one level. The Okanagan Region is now enduring level four drought conditions while the North Thompson is facing level three, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources....