Oktoberfest Society Comes to Penticton Search and Rescue's Aid

A donation by Penticton’s Oktoberfest Society will help the Penticton Search and Rescue get a regional communications system set up.

This past January, Penticton and District Search and Rescue (PENSAR) President Dale Jorgensen was questioning why the group's regional communications tower on Apex Mountain was not working. A quick investigation revealed that a large winter storm had collapsed the radio mast and communications had gone down. The communication repeater is a critical piece of equipment that allows SAR teams to operate in remote locations such as Manning Park, Cathedral Lakes, and areas north of Kelowna.

Photo Credit: Penticton Search and Rescue

The cost to repair the damaged communications repeater became a top priority and with the cost estimated at $5000, finding the funds became a challenge. But PENSAR’s call for help was answered last Thursday, when Bill Kolter, President of the Penticton’s Oktoberfest Society, contacted the group. The organization had raised $4,000 for PENSAR and presented the group with a cheque at the SS Sicamous.

Kolter said the Oktoberfest Society recognizes the work of PENSAR in the community and just wanted to help out.

“$3,500 of these funds will be put towards the communication tower and the other 500 dollars will be allocated to assist in the purchase of an AED (automatic external defibrillator) device for one of the rescue trucks,” said Jorgensen. “PENSAR has been around since 1973 and we have always been supported by the local community for which we are thankful.”

PENSAR has 20 members of the team that are trained First Responders who have training to utilize the AED devices while on tasks. A person’s survival rate increases dramatically the sooner an AED is used together with CPR.