Oliver & Osoyoos  

Osoyoos Secondary School hosting annual Pow Wow, welcoming public

Pow Wow takes over school

Photo: Castanet

A Pow Wow is underway at Osoyoos Secondary School featuring a welcoming celebration of Indigenous traditions.

On Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20, the school will host drumming, dancing, food, vendors and more.

The celebration got started just for students Friday morning, but starting at 7 p.m. Friday evening, the public are welcome.

Saturday is also open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 11 p.m. Admission is free.

The event is hosted by School District 53's Indigenous Education Committee. Host drum will be Smokey Valley and High water, emcee will be Gord Cuthbert and the arena director will be Oly Bent.

All are welcome during the public times to enjoy and explore tradition and culture. It will be a smoke and vape-free event.

South Okanagan-Similkameen hosting 'Playing in My Shoes' events promoting disc golf for all abilities

Disc golf for all abilities

Photo: Pixabay

Okanagan-Similkameen disc golf enthusiasts are encouraged to experience recreation with different ability levels as part of the upcoming Accessibility Week.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 26, participants can pull up a chair or blind fold and play disc golf made for all ability levels at two locations in the South Okanagan as part of the "Playing in My Shoes" initiative. The central event will be taking place at the Keremeos Pine Park and Disc Golf course, and another will be in Penticton at the Skaha Lake Disc Golf Course.

The goal is to enhance empathy and understanding for those with different abilities.

“I have a neat sound device, or disc golf track, that you can attach to your disk if you're playing,” said Dion Eden, All-Accessible Disc Golf founder.

“If you have visual problems or you're playing somewhere where there's lots of tall grass, or bush, you can activate that with your phone and it will help you find your disk.”

During the event, four different types of game play will be offered: wheelchair throw, wrong arm throw, blindfold throw, and earplug throw.

Dion founded All-Accessible Disc Golf following a car crash injury, which led him to relearn the game after playing for a decade. He now designs and installs disc golf courses with a focus on inclusion and accessibility.

The disc golf course designer says he wants town planners and everyday people to understand how to make things more accessible for people of all ability levels.

“Somebody in a wheelchair, for example, may not think they can play disc golf because maybe it's too long or too hard to throw from a wheelchair,” Dion said.

“But that's not true at all. You can do anything and that's what this is to do is to empower people to go out and try this sport and realize, ‘Hey, I can do this.’”

Dion is currently working on developing a three-level rating system at disc golf courses to help people know which course to visit. Each of the 30 courses will be rated either wheelchair accessible, cane/limited mobility, or not easily accessible.

The Keremeos Pine Park and Disc Golf course disc golf course is fully accessible and will be the central Playing in My Shoes event location.

For more information about the event click here.

Okanagan influencer hosting Osoyoos wellness retreat for women to embrace being brave

Influencer hosts retreat

Photo: Build Your Brave Retreat

Build Your Brave Retreat 2023.

An Okanagan lifestyle influencer is hoping to help women muster up courage through a wellness retreat, after building her own bravery as a widow.

In the fall of 2002, Susie Helland found herself as a widow at 31. She says the loss has helped her relate to the trauma of others.

“Just the pain that I went through and the struggles that I went through after — knowing the things that I wish I had, or the support that I had […] Just being that person for someone and helping them get back what someone took away from them.”

Helland says that a lot of people have experienced loss over the last few years, and she wants to help women gain connection to others, their passions, and to “reignite that spark.”

The Vernon resident says Osoyoos is her happy place. The Build Your Brave Retreat will be held at Watermark Beach Resort and a private residence from April 19 to 20, featuring a meet-and-greet, meals, and speeches from female entrepreneurs and wellness specialists.

“We just help them essentially build their brave — release things that are no longer serving them,” Helland says.

“I think that sometimes people think brave is jumping out of a plane or doing things that are really, really scary, but sometimes just saying yes, coming to a retreat by yourself with women that you don't know, is brave.

"Sharing your story with other people and being vulnerable is brave. So, I think brave is different for each person.”

Although the Build Your Brave retreat started in the fall of last year, Helland built on her preexisting business and clothing line Build Your Brave Boutique. The boutique’s aim was to make women of all shapes and sizes feel comfortable in their skin.

“Talking to women and listening to women talking about how they didn't feel comfortable in their bodies and tearing themselves apart. I still do that from time to time, but I really worked on myself.

“And realizing that you know, we need to watch the words that we say to resolve and so I wanted to have a safe space for women to come and shop […] and just feel comfortable.”

With an aim of continuing her wellness work, Helland plans to continue hosting retreats.

For more information about the Build Your Brave Retreat and clothing line click here.

Photo: Contributed

Susie Helland

Try your best hand at the Ogopogo Poker Run, a charitable motorcycle ride from Oliver to West Kelowna

Play poker and ride

Photo: Ogopongo Poker Run

Ogopongo Poker Run poster

Poker players and motorcyclists alike can try their best hand at the Ogopogo Poker Run charity ride this weekend.

Starting at Royal Canadian Legion at 11:30 a.m., players can join in on a game and a ride on April 20.

At 1:05 p.m., kickstands will be up and motorcyclists will be making three more poker stops from Oliver to West Kelowna.

The cost for single riders is $25, and Two Up is $35. All proceeds will go to the National Blind Fund for Children.

For more information and to register email [email protected].

Hockey player from Osoyoos joins the American Collegiate Athletic Association

Local hockey kid moves up

Photo: Crae Dawson

Crae Dawson played for the Osoyoos Coyotes.

A young hockey player from Osoyoos has made the American Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1.

Crae Dawson, 20, played for the Osoyoos Coyotes and Nelson Leafs, most recently leading the Nelson Leafs with 51 points in 40 regular season games.

Dawson will be playing for the University of Mary in the 2024-2025 season.

According to the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, the player was recently an impact player, which put him in situations where he could succeed and grow.

Coaches also helped Dawson through the recruiting process, which they say helped him gain more exposure.

Alleged Osoyoos Canada Day shooter heading straight to trial

Alleged shooter trial-bound

Photo: RCMP

A South Okanagan prolific offender already serving time for arson and a firearms charge will be heading straight to B.C. Supreme Court for trial.

Steven Marlo Gallagher, 31, appeared in Penticton Provincial Court Tuesday anticipating a decision about a preliminary inquiry.

The inquiry, which would have seen evidence assembled by the Crown presented before the judge to determine whether it was sufficient to proceed with a trial, was cancelled.

Gallagher is facing weapons charges relating to a Canada Day shooting in Osoyoos in July 2022, and was recently sentenced to 45 months in jail for setting an Oliver pharmacy on fire in May 2021 and sentenced to 3.5 years behind bars for the various charges relating to the April 2021 incident.

On Tuesday, court heard that the inquiry was cancelled after a direct indictment was made on April 12, forcing a change in schedule to his legal proceedings.

"This is very troubling news for Mr. Gallagher, having a direct indictment always takes away a certain privileges or rights," his defence lawyer said.

"But from my review of the law, there's nothing I can do at this point. This matter is essentially over in Provincial Court. And whatever concerns Mr. Gallagher and I have will be brought up in a different jurisdiction."

Judge Lynett Jung noted that as mentioned, it was out of her hands and all that was left to be done was schedule Gallagher to the Supreme Court.

Gallagher’s next appearance is scheduled for May 6.

Three day Pig Out Festival to be held at Cellar Door & More and Spirit Ridge

Pig out over three days

Photo: Hawksworth Communications

Hungry visitors are invited out to the South Okanagan to pig out at the celebrated food festival for three days at a new location this May.

With the theme “Fiesta,” local chefs will be creating pork-based culinary options that reflect the South Okanagan from May 3 to 5. Dishes will also be made to complement various wines of the region.

“We are so excited to go the whole hog on the 2024 Pig Out Festival, showcasing our region’s wonderful wineries as well as talented culinary partners from across Western Canada, in a fantastic new location,” said Jennifer Busmann, executive director of Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country, in a press release.

Kicking off the festival is the Pig Out Wine Dinner on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Ticket-holders will be able to attend a reception and dinner service prepared by chef Murray McDonald.

Local wines will be poured from Gold Hill Winery, Nk’Mip Cellars, Nostalgia Wines, River Stone Estate Winery and Road 13 Vineyards.

The main event and Pig Out Festival will take place at Cellar Door & More on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Food options will be available from a collect of star local chefs, including chef Shawn Cheer from Arterra Wines, chef Kenneth Dia and chef Tushar Tondvalkar from Manzil Restaurant, The Paella Guys, Rollands Meats, Nk’Mip Cellars’.

Finally, the Big Porker Breakfast will be held at The Bear, The Fish, the Root & The Berry on Sunday May 5. The breakfast menu will include including sausages, molasses pork baked beans, grilled tomatoes, egg and toast.

Tickets include tokens to food stations, wine sampling, and shuttle service.

For more information and to purchase tickets click here.

Photo: Hawksworth Communication

U.S man to be deported after human smuggling attempt in Osoyoos

U.S. man tied to smuggling

Photo: Contributed

Osoyoos/Oroville border crossing.

A U.S. man, who fled from RCMP in Osoyoos, is being deported after he was found attempting to smuggle a Mexican national family across the border in April of last year.

In a decision published Tuesday, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada ordered Andres Alberto Beckett to be deported for illegally smuggling a Mexican family into the U.S. It also found Beckett carried out the crime for financial benefit and that his actions were criminally coordinated with three or more people involved.

According to IRB hearing documents, the family arrived to B.C. by way of Ontario. Beckett entered Canada on April 4 of last year, met the Mexican family at a motel then travelled to a restaurant near the Osoyoos-Washington border.

The accused was to be paid $1,500 for transporting the family. The family also had an infant with them.

“I reviewed the evidence of how you came into contact with the law enforcement in Osoyoos,” IRB Tribunal Member Kareitha Osborne wrote in her decision. “You were observed to be running by the RCMP and running away in such a manner that law enforcement had to follow your tracks backwards into the snow and that is where they found the family of Mexican nationals.

“[It] does not appear that you were flagging down the police for help when you encountered the RCMP, but you were texting and running away from this family.”

In defence, the accused said he was helping the family of Mexican nationals get into the U.S., admitting that he knew it was illegal. The tribunal member also said that Beckett was knowledgeable about the Osoyoos and Washington area because he previously hunted and captured wild horses in the region.

The IRB did not find the accused's defence persuasive.

Beckett will not be able to return to Canada unless approved by an immigration official.

Used flip phone program gives seniors a lifeline during emergency season

Flip phones connect seniors

Photo: Castanet file photo

A local support program is taking used flip phones and offering them up to seniors so they can be prepared for emergency season.

Desert Sun Counselling & Resource Centre is assisting older adults in Oliver, Osoyoos, and Okanagan Falls to maintain contact and stay informed through a technology-based emergency preparedness program.

“Seniors really struggle to navigate an emergency," said Marieze Tarr, executive director with the Desert Sun Counselling & Resource Centre. "Most of the information about the emergency is found online and a lot of seniors don't know how to navigate the Internet.”

Staff at Desert Sun have refined their support program by observing past evacuations.

“We also realized that we had a lot of contact information for seniors, but they were landlines. And so, when the emergency happened, some seniors found the way to evacuate themselves but we had no way of connecting with them during the emergency.”

The United Way funded program started in 2022 and now has around 75 seniors enrolled in the program.

When emergency strikes, Desert Sun hands out preparedness kits, including the flip phones, a list of items that need to be packed, and other essentials. The centre also provides transportation to evacuation centres and gives updates to seniors’ family members who live outside of the Okanagan.

This emergency season, the centre is also hoping to connect seniors to programs offered by the centre so they can have access to meals and emotional support when they are away from home.

“Just having you somebody check in with them and talking to them on a daily basis in a calm voice — we found that really helped,” Tarr said.

“That's also the feedback that we received from a lot of our seniors was that, you know, that was great that there was somebody who checked in with them every day.”

For more information and resources click here.

Hand-painted ties stolen in Osoyoos recovered on the Sunshine Coast

Hand-painted ties recovered

Photo: Bronwyn Beairsto

Artist Gabriele Beyer with more than 100 stolen ties recovered from a thrift shop on the Sunshine Coast.

When artist Gabriele Beyer’s Osoyoos home was burglarized in November 2021, much of her livelihood was stolen: about 1,000 hand-painted neckties and bowties – she estimates $140,000 worth of merchandise – as well as dozens of her paintings.

More than two years later, some of those works are showing up on the Sunshine Coast.

“I was devastated because they got 20 years worth of my work,” said Beyer. “They got all my design samples and all my inventory.”

For weeks following the theft, Beyer worked on getting the story out – on social media, in the news and on telephone poles as she made up posters with the missing paintings. “Nobody could make any sense of it.

“And then I had to say, ‘Okay, that’s all I can do and I have to start the grieving process.’”

It was more than two years later when Beyer got an email from a Gibsons thrift shop: 127 of her bow ties and 27 of her neckties had been donated to the Sunshine Coast Community Services Thrift Store. Noting the label on each tie, a staff member had gone online to see how to price them, saw that they’d been stolen and contacted the artist.

Beyer immediately came to the Coast to retrieve her ties and ended up staying nearly two weeks. “I found a wonderful community of people listening to my story and wanting to help me find my stolen art,” she said.

Beyer visited every thrift store on the Coast. Up in Egmont, the store manager told Beyer that she’d seen more than 15 of the ties in a ziplock bag about a year ago. At the Sechelt Salvation Army thrift store, the woman working at the front desk recognized one of Beyer’s more unusual paintings as one that had passed through that store.

So now, Beyer has put up posters from Egmont to Gibsons, hoping someone will recognize paintings or ties and possibly return them.

The 46 paintings stolen had not been for sale. “[They’re] like my journal of life of 20 years,” said Beyer. “I started to paint after my husband died and a lot of that work is very personal.”

As well, after the neckties were stolen, Beyer was essentially out of business – a fact made all the worse that the business, Murphyties, was her late husband, Michael Murphy’s, endeavour. “Basically 20 years of my designs and then even more of my late husband’s designs, we did that together,” she said. “All the designs were gone, basically the intellectual property of the company.”

The ties are also very time consuming to paint. “They were a labour of love,” said Beyer.

In the intervening years, Beyer says she’s made a name for herself painting murals in Alaska. “I have moved on, but it means so much to me that [the ties] are coming back to me.”

This isn’t the first time some of her stolen work has been recovered. Last year, six paintings and six neckties were recovered in Surrey and three months later three big paintings were found in a trailer in Osoyoos. Ten neckties were recovered after having been listed on eBay in Philadelphia. However, the find on the Sunshine Coast is the biggest yet.

One can see Beyer’s paintings at facebook.com/murphyties and anyone who thinks they may have seen any of the works is asked to get in touch with Beyer at [email protected].

Beyer also notes the generosity she has found on the Coast. “In between hanging posters, going to thrift stores, talking to galleries from Gibsons to Egmont, I hiked the many trails, two times meeting with the Pender Harbor Hiker group,” said Beyer. “I made so many new friends. My heart is really touched by this experience.”