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Penticton news

Move over wine, there’s a new Okanagan drink and it’s more popular than ever

OKANAGAN - There’s more for the thirsty soul in the Okanagan Valley than just wine, and locally-made cider is here to prove it. A number of cideries have blossomed in the Okanagan over the last few years, including the family-run BX Press in Vernon. Owners Dave and Melissa Dobernigg opened their craft cider house last...

Penticton RCMP nab prolific Lower Mainland offenders

PENTICTON - Penticton RCMP had a busy but successful night  May 6. Police previously responded to a number of break ins of both vehicles and residences in Okanagan Falls and Penticton on May 5, where identification, credit and bank cards, cash, jewellery, garage door remotes, keys and various other items were taken. Investigation revealed a...

New pet registry promotes microchip implants

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The SPCA is promoting a new province-wide pet identification registry where animals with microchip implants can have their information stored in a centralized database. "We’ve created a first for British Columbia — a centralized database for pets who receive permanent identification at any B.C. SPCA shelter, veterinarian or microchip clinic across the province,”...

Valley mayors push for early start to water conservation

OKANAGAN - Mindful of the dry winter the Okanagan has just experienced, valley mayors and councillors joined the Okanagan Basin Water Board for an early launch of the Make Water Work conservation campaign today. Mayor Doug Findlater, who chairs the water board, used his own community of West Kelowna as an example of why the...

Fintry Queen still waiting for forever home

KELOWNA - She looks a little lonely out there, anchored in Sutherland Bay, waiting for something to happen but the man tasked with selling the iconic Fintry Queen says interest has been steady since it was put up for sale two months ago. “We’re still marketing it, still waiting for the right buyer but we’ve...

Union takes fight for hospital laundry services to the street

KELOWNA - Hospital Employees Union members took to the streets outside Kelowna General Hospital today to push for the Interior Health Authority to reconsider a plan to privatize laundry services. “These are workers that perform a very important health care service, they ensure that operating rooms are stocked with clean linens. Here at KGH 17,000...

Locomotive pulls out of Lakawanna Park

PENTICTON -The Lakawanna Park locomotive has left the station for good. The wooden replica of a train locomotive has been a familiar sight at the small Lakeshore Drive park for years. As part of the children’s playground, it was often used by children for climbing and playing on. City of Penticton spokesperson Simone Blais said...

What’s good for the master is good for the pets: Natural remedies at a vet clinic near you

"PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO RECOGNIZE THAT MAYBE CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS" KELOWNA – When you walk into Pandosy Village Veterinary Hospital, it feels like a combination of old fashioned apothecary, modern day pet store and coffee shop. As a licenced veterinarian, Dr. Jason Rowan does all the procedures that a normal...

Woman charged for making up story about Christmas break in: Global Okanagan

PENTICTON - A woman whose story of a lost Christmas captured people’s charity and goodwill last Christmas faces a day in court after being accused of falsely reporting the crime. Global News reported yesterday police received a tip shortly after the Dec. 22, 2014 break-in report that led them to believe Jackie Ann Hooper may have lied about...

Special occasion liquor licences now available online

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A program by the provincial government to make it easier to get a special occasion liquor licence has been opened up to the Southern Interior. The licences are now available online in the Thompson-Okanagan. The B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch began a pilot program in the Lower Mainland in early February and has now opened...

Gyrocopter tours coming to Kelowna

OKANAGAN – The next big thing to hit the skies over the Okanagan is part of a growing trend around the world. The gyrocopter, sometimes called an autogyro, looks like a helicopter but instead of getting its thrust from the top rotor, the engine sends power to a propeller mounted at the rear. Gyrocopters are...

Meteors to shower the Southern Interior sky this week

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A nearly full moon may play havoc with the Aquarids Meteor Shower as it peaks this week but there is still a chance to see some of the brightest meteors if you can find a patch of clear sky and are patient. The product of dust particles left behind by Halley’s Comet, the...

Jail time for Osoyoos man convicted in drunken hit and run

PENTICTON - An Osoyoos man with an apparent alcohol problem will have plenty of time behind bars to test his sobriety after he was sentenced to jail for an Osoyoos hit and run accident in 2014. Steven Troy Fields, 28, was sentenced today, May 4, after pleading guilty to one count of failure to stop...

Highflying rescuers stage exercise on Okanagan Lake

PENTICTON – Penticton Search and Rescue teamed up with RCAF 442 Squadron for a joint exercise above Okanagan Lake Saturday morning. Two local Search and Rescue swift water technicians were dropped into the lake off Three Mile Point from a hovering helicopter in a simulation of an overturned boat with survivors. “The RCAF Cormorant approached...

Okanagan Spring Wine Festival is happening now

PENTICTON - The clink of wine glasses will be a common sound up and down the valley for the next nine days as the 21st annual Spring Okanagan Wine Festival is underway. The Best of Varietal Awards and Reception was the first signature event in this year’s festival, kicking things off Thursday with the best...

Beekeepers on the hunt for swarming bees

PENTICTON - Beekeepers are asking for your help to spot swarming bees so they don't become a nuisance and local beekeepers can use them to create new colonies. Uncaptured swarms can sometimes mean problems for homeowners, according to a media release. If they find small openings in roofs, they can establish themselves, resulting in a...

How to help the victims of the earthquake in Nepal

Over a thousand people are dead and tens of thousands of people are homeless after a powerful earthquake struck in Nepal on Saturday and officials warn the death toll will rise as more reports come in. The magnitude 7.8 quake originated outside the capital of Kathmandu. Within hours of the earthquake, emergency relief organizations sprung...

Kelowna’s newest attraction will test your nerves and your teamwork

KELOWNA – The door locks behind you and the clock starts counting down. You are trapped in a dimly lit room and an eery soundtrack begins to play in the background. For the next 45 minutes you and your team search frantically for clues as you try to escape Kelowna's newest and perhaps most thrilling...

Happy 10th birthday YouTube; local viral videos

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The very first YouTube video was uploaded ten years ago today so InfoNews has put together some of our regions most watched clips of the last decade. The first Okanagan classic is about a focused skater singing the national anthem at a Penticton Vees game in October 2014. It has more than 3-million...

Mussels with wings; the new front in the battle against invasive species

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The defensive war on invasive mussels hitching a ride into British Columbia’s lakes and rivers via recreational boats has just begun but there’s already talk of opening up a new front — float planes. While recreational boats and commercial boat haulers are the primary target of the recently-launched Don’t Move A Mussel educational program,...

Public consultation process goes to consultation

HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A lot of people have recently expressed concerns over how the environmental assessment process works and now the provincial government is asking for input on how to improve the public consultation portion of the process. The B.C. Government's Environmental Assessment Office is asking the public...