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Penticton news
Watch out for rattlesnakes; they’re out early in the Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Sunny weather has gotten many of us out from beneath our rocks looking for some rays, and we’re not the only ones in the animal world. Warm temperatures have brought rattlesnakes out earlier than normal in the Thompson-Okanagan, according to WildSafe B.C. spokesperson Frank Ritcey. “With the warm weather, the snakes will be...
Turn your eyes to the night sky this week
NORTHERN LIGHTS AND METEOR SHOWER COULD LIGHT UP THE NIGHT THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you missed the northern lights last week and if the moon was too bright and the clouds too thick to catch the Quadrantid meteor shower in January, you could get a chance at viewing both this week. The Space Weather Prediction Centre...
Early start to wildfire season in Southern Interior, numbers still below 10-year average
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A series of wildfires were ignited this past weekend as dry weather combined with warming temperatures to create conditions ideal for human-caused fires. B.C. Wildfire crews responded to four fires over the weekend, two in the Kamloops part of the fire centre and two in the southern tip. Information Officer Kayla Pepper says...
New money to fight invasive plants in Thompson-Okanagan
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The province is spending more than $1.7 million to help local governments and other organizations with the battle against unwanted plants damaging local ecosystems. Minster of Lands and Kelowna MLA Steve Thomson announced the grants to fight invasive plant species in a media release this week. “It’s important we get a handle on...
InfoNews houseboat prize winner all smiles
KAMLOOPS - The winner of the InfoNews grand prize is all smiles after claiming her trip last week. “This is an awesome prize,” Debbie Sampson, who is a social development worker with the Adams Lake Indian Band, says about winning the InfoNews houseboat vacation grand prize. Though Sampson is excited her kids might be even...
Two Okanagan wind farms get green light
OKANAGAN – The first wind farms ever built in the Okanagan will be producing electricity by 2016. Agreements between B.C. Hydro and Zero Emission Energy Development have been inked for wind farms west of Summerland and west of Kelowna, according to a media release from the B.C. Liberal caucus. The White Rock-based company will be...
Busy wildfire season predicted for Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Be prepared for a fire season reminiscent of 2003 — maybe — regional emergency personnel were told at a workshop this week. Comparisons to the year more than 200 homes were destroyed in the Okanagan Mountain Fire and 72 homes lost in the McLure Fire were heard at a spring readiness workshop hosted...
Airport names former Kelowna mayor and councillor to advisory committee
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The group that advises Canada’s largest municipally-run airport will soon be joined by a couple of new faces familiar to people in the Central Okanagan. Kelowna’s former mayor Walter Gray and former city councillor Andre Blanleil, along with industry representative Meryle Corbett were all appointed to four-year terms on the Kelowna Internnational Airport...
Forestry crew mopping up wildfire near Okanagan Connector
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A human-caused wildfire sparked south of the Okanagan Connector Saturday afternoon is being mopped up by a Wildfire Management crew today. Fire information officer Kayla Pepper says an initial attack crew of 13 firefighters responded to the blaze which grew to 11-hectares in size near Starshine Way Road, north of Missezula Lake yesterday...
More snow falling on Coq and Hope-Princeton
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – A dump of snow on the Coquihalla and the Hope-Princeton highways overnight is being following with another heavy snowfall today. A vigorous cold front passed through the Southwest Interior overnight dropping 10 to 15 centimetres of snow on the Coquihalla Summit and the Allison Pass, according to a Special Weather Statement from Environment...
Low snowpack could mean a dry Okanagan summer
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Current snowpack levels suggest the Okanagan could be in for a dry year, while the South Thompson should fair better. According to Tobi Gardner with the River Forecast Centre, snowpack is at 76 per cent of normal in the Okanagan — the lowest in five years. “What that translates to is a lower...
Local electronics retailer expands as big box stores close shop
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If Andre Blanleil gets any satisfaction from the demise of his retail competitor, electronics giant Future Shop, he doesn’t show it. “They were good competitors. They did a good job for the market they were going after,” the president of Andres Group of companies says. The regional chain operates 21 locations under the...
UPDATE: Costco, IGA chicken salad recall; possible Listeria contamination
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Salads made with pre-cooked chicken have been pulled out of the coolers at Costco and IGA stores in B.C. in a recall triggered by an inspection by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Originally the recall covered in Kirkland Signature brand roasted chicken salads at Costco in Kelowna, Kamloops and the company’s stores across the country. It...
Okanagan College tuition going up
OKANAGAN - Tuition fees are going up two per cent with Okanagan College’s board of governors approval of a $94.95 million operating budget. Okanagan College Board of Governors Chair Tom Styffe says the board initially faced "a seven digit issue, created by a number of pressures,” according to a media release. He says administration and...
Pedestrian struck, killed by semi north of Penticton
PENTICTON – A pedestrian is dead after being struck by a semi on Highway 97 north Penticton. Global Okanagan reports the 47-year-old male was struck when he tried to run across the highway just after 4:30 a.m. He died at the scene. The mans identity has not been released and an investigation is underway. According...
Shelf price of liquor changes; little consumer impact expected
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Consumers won’t actually see much difference in costs following the new B.C. liquor laws that took effect today, according to one liquor merchant. Fred Vassilaki, the manager of Last Call Liquor Mart in Penticton, says changes to the province’s liquor laws went into effect on April 1 but they won’t have a huge...
Pac-Man takes on the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if Pac-Man took over the streets of the Okanagan, wonder no more. Google Maps is now offering a local version of Pac-Man. Only available in some browsers, you will see a Pac-Man box in the bottom left of the screen. You simply need to...
Shaking goose eggs controlling Okanagan population
OKANAGAN – There are approximately 2,500 geese living in the Okanagan year round, but without the efforts of the Okanagan Valley Goose Management Program that number would be much higher. “What many people fail to understand, and a large part of the message that we want to provide, is that the geese we are targeting...
If your dog is suddenly paralyzed this could be why
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Mary Verigin knew something was wrong with her dog as soon as she opened her crate last Monday morning. “She could get up on her front feet but there was no strength behind her shoulders,” she says. “I didn’t know what to do. Of course I was crying.” Verigen phoned her vet, Dr....
Spring snow at Okanagan resorts leaves ski bums less bummed
OKANAGAN - It may have been a rainy week in the valley, but it was dumping snow at local ski hills. Silver Star Mountain in Vernon got close to 60 cm of new snow in the last week, blanketing alpine runs with a 209 centimetre base. As of Friday morning, all chair lifts except the...
Boonstock will not return to Penticton
PENTICTON – The controversial Boonstock music festival will not be back in the South Okanagan this summer. In a posting on its Facebook page, Boonstock Productions has announced it will not be returning to Penticton in 2015. Macklemore headlined the first and only Penticton Boonstock music festival on the August long weekend last summer. There...
Top Gear episode airs featuring Okanagan highways
OKANAGAN – Residents of the Okanagan will see some familiar scenery in a recently aired episode of the hit BBC television series "Top Gear." In a rare review of two North America’s truck companies, stars James May and Jeremy Clarkson race each other across B.C. in a Ford F150 VelociRaptor and a Chevy Silverado 2500HD....
Rain, snow increase avalanche risk in Interior
OKANAGAN - With less than a week left in March spring is well under way in the valleys, but that doesn’t mean winter conditions are not present on mountain highways or in the backcountry. Avalanche Canada is warning of a moderate to high risk of avalanches in many of the alpine and treeline elevations throughout...
Opinions wanted on local election spending
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fresh off the heels of the fall municipal election a special committee is now looking at whether spending limits should be put in place for candidates and third party advertisers. The provincial government committee will speak with stakeholders and the public over the coming weeks to discuss whether a limit should be put...