Owen Sound Sun Times

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported eight new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. The new cases included two each in Southgate, South Bruce, Huron-Kinloss and Arran-Elderslie. There have now been 1,287 confirmed cases in Grey-Bruce, including 338 that are variants of concern. Of the total cases, 53 remain active, while there are 36 VOC cases […]

As the provincial shutdown extends further into spring, the Georgian Bay Folk Society is determined to hold Summerfolk 46 this summer. What this year’s festival will look like remains up in the air, but organizers are prepared to adjust to whatever the COVID-19 landscape looks like. “The concept we are working on is really, really […]

Police are looking for information about an assault in downtown Owen Sound that left a man lying in the street with significant facial injuries early Saturday morning. Just before 1:30 a.m. Owen Sound police were advised of the man lying on the street in the 900 block of 2nd Avenue East. The caller told police […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit confirmed six new COVID-19 infections and a newly reported death Friday. Two new cases of the pandemic virus were reported in both Southgate and Kincardine while Owen Sound and South Bruce Peninsula recorded a single new case each. The health unit is now following 49 confirmed active cases of COVID-19 […]

Chesley hospital’s emergency room remains closed overnight, due to a shortage of nurses and increased demands on them due to COVID-19, the hospital corporation’s president and CEO said Friday. The department has been closed from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. since September 2019, to ensure patient and staff safety, hospital officials have said. Of the […]

Barricades have now been installed across prime beachside parking spots on Lakeshore Boulevard North in Sauble Beach. A plan to cut back encroaching sand dunes and install a retaining wall along Lakeshore Boulevard North between the Crowd Inn and Kinloss Lane, to increase space for vehicles, was protested by the neighbouring Saugeen Ojibway Nation before […]

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has started drilling test boreholes in South Bruce, an important step to determining if the location is suitable to store used nuclear fuel underground. The first of two boreholes was started northwest of Teeswater in recent weeks and has reached a depth of about 20 metres as the NWMO evaluates […]

Construction of four Habitat for Humanity homes at Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation comes with the usual expectation that homeowners will work on their homes alongside volunteers and skilled tradespeople. The builds will also include up to 10 Indigenous community members aged 18 to 30, from Saugeen and Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation at […]

The Georgian Bay Symphony will be closing out its 49th season Saturday night with a free virtual concert as planning continues to stage a hybrid 50th season in 2021-22 featuring both digital and live concerts. Saturday’s event will be streamed at 7 p.m. on the symphony’s YouTube channel and will include works by Vivaldi, Mozart […]

A five-year plan approved last month by county councils in Grey-Bruce was created to attract and keep newcomers and immigrants to help employers desperate for workers. But Jacinda Rudolph, who is involved in implementing the plan, says its more than an employee recruitment tool. It’s a community response by organizations to help people who may […]

Owen Sound is hoping the third time’s a charm in its quest to find a developer to buy and redevelop its historic former courthouse and jail properties. City hall is accepting proposals until June 11 at 1 p.m. for an “adaptive re-use” of the sites at 1235 and 1259 3rd Avenue East. “Ultimately, the first […]

A large sightseeing and tour boat will be plying the waters around Tobermory this summer. The 90-foot Tobermory Legacy – previously the Miss Midland – has been purchased by Tobermory Cruise Line and will be offering sunset and lunch and dinner cruises that will see the boat sailing around Tobermory, through the islands of the […]

Life in lockdown will remain a reality in Ontario until at least June 2, the provincial government announced Thursday. With more than 700 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units, and provincial case counts still totalling over 2,700 on average this past week, the provincewide stay-at-home order has been extended. The province also announced schools will […]

Bruce County has completed an organizational shuffle to bolster oversight as control of its long-term care homes is transitioned back to the county. As part of the change, former Gateway Haven administrator Megan Garland has been appointed to the newly created role of director of long-term care and senior services reporting to the CAO of […]

Georgian Bluffs has approved its 2021 budget, but not before some on council again expressed concerns about how much the Wiarton-Keppel International Airport continues to cost the municipality. At its council meeting on Wednesday, the bylaw to adopt this year’s operating and capital budget passed in a close 3-2 vote. And it was the close […]

A third piping plover has arrived this season at Sauble Beach and local spotters are hoping this one sticks around long enough for a mate to join her on the sandy shoreline. Caleb Johnstone, outreach co-ordinator for the local Plover Lovers group, said the female shorebird was first reported Wednesday near the south end of […]

Thirteen more Grey-Bruce residents have contracted COVID-19, according to the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report distributed Wednesday afternoon. The newest cases include four in Kincardine, three in South Bruce, two in Arran-Elderslie, and single cases in Georgian Bluffs, Hanover, Saugeen Shores and West Grey. Altogether, the health unit was following 46 confirmed COVID-19 […]

City council is set to discuss, in closed session Monday, the financial aspects of two presentations that included proposals aimed at boosting revenue and the use of the Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport. City manager Tim Simmonds said staff is reviewing information both Stephanie Price and Melanie Middlebro presented at Tuesday’s operations committee meeting […]

Ontario’s new plan to stop wild pigs from becoming established in the province has a part for you to play. There have been a few sightings of wild pigs in Grey-Bruce over the past few years and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry would like people to keep reporting them. The Ontario Invasive Species […]

A newly installed pedestrian crossing in a “high-profile” area of the city’s downtown – just a stone’s throw away from the Sydenham River – is an ideal location for Owen Sound’s first rainbow crosswalk, says Mayor Ian Boddy. “This is something we’ve been talking about casually or informally for quite a while, but had never […]

A Southgate man has died in a crash west of Dundalk. Mitchell Benoit, 32, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred just before 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Grey Bruce OPP along with Grey County Paramedic Services and the Dundalk Fire Department attended the collision on Southgate Road 22 near Southgate Sideroad […]

The Hockey Hub model developed in Grey-Bruce is expanding to Peel Region to help one of the province’s hardest-hit areas vaccinate more of their residents. The mass-vaccination model developed by Grey Bruce Health Unit Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra and supported by Bruce Power reportedly set a national record in April when 3,500 […]

Grey-Bruce is ready to return to Green-zone restrictions if Ontario’s stay-at-home order makes way for the previous colour-coded approach for reopenings, the local medical officer of health said Tuesday. Dr. Ian Arra said in an interview he has already told provincial officials and local directors of education that schools would be ready to reopen for […]

A shotgun and ammunition has been seized and an Owen Sound man faces charges after a police investigation involving death threats on the weekend. On Friday, police learned that the suspect was unlawfully in possession of a shotgun, Owen Sound police said in a news release. The 55-year-old man was arrested on Saturday for uttering […]

For the second day in a row, four new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Grey-Bruce Sunday. Single cases were reported in Owen Sound, Meaford, Southgate and West Grey, bringing the total number of confirmed local cases to date to 1,242, according to public health’s daily situation report. There are now 42 known active cases […]

The young piping plover spotted at Sauble Beach last week hasn’t been seen along the sandy shoreline in days. Andrea Gress, Birds Canada’s Ontario piping plover program co-ordinator, said the endangered shorebird – believed, based on his leg bands, to be a first-year male from Michigan – was first reported at Sauble May 4, but […]

The owners of The Dam Pub in Thornbury are proposing to open a sister restaurant at the Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport. But the plan, which is to be presented to the city’s operations committee Tuesday, comes with a proviso. The city must eliminate the new $35 landing fee for small, private aircraft and […]

Four new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the Grey Bruce Health Unit Saturday, marking the 10th straight day that the local new daily case count has been in the single digits. Single new cases were from Owen Sound, Meaford, Kincardine and West Grey, according to public health’s daily situation report for Saturday. There are […]

After graduating from high school in the early ’90s, Owen Sound’s Jen McGuire worked as a nanny for a year in Switzerland. “I really loved it,” the freelance writer and author said Saturday. “I just really liked being over there and felt like myself there in a way that you’re not defined by all the […]

It will be four years this summer since Steve and Joanne Atchison’s only son Traves was killed in a head-on collision on Highway 6 just south of Tobermory. Described as a friend to everyone, 22-year-old Traves and his girlfriend and passenger Jana Watson died Aug. 26, 2017, when a southbound Dodge Charger that was being […]

Owen Sound could soon be getting a rainbow crosswalk to signify its support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Staff is recommending the city create the six-coloured crosswalk at the newly installed pedestrian crossing on 8th Street East near the 8th Street bridge and Owen Sound Farmer’s Market. A recommendation report is to […]

COVID-19 played a role in the death of a Grey-Bruce resident who was being treated at a local hospital for another medical condition, the health unit reported Friday. It’s the fourth person confirmed to have died with the pandemic virus locally. Six deaths in total are now listed in the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily […]

A GoFundMe has been established for the family of a seasonal farm worker from Mexico who died while in isolation in Saugeen Shores last month. And in less than three days, the fundraiser for Jose Antonio Coronado’s family back in Mexico had raised more than double its original goal of $10,000. Elaine MacNeil, one of […]

The jury trial of David Douglas Beattie, charged in the death of a 20-year-old Southampton man more than three years ago, will begin Sept. 27 in Owen Sound. Beattie, now 25, is charged with second-murder in the death of Nolan Panchyshyn on Dec. 14, 2017, in Chatsworth Township, and offering an indignity to human remains […]

Owen Sound Minor Lacrosse is planning for a return to action in a new home for 2021. Minor box lacrosse will shift to the Shallow Lake Community Centre this year as the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre and Julie McArthur Regional Recreation Centre in Owen Sound are currently being utilized as a field hospital and […]

Despite educational campaigns, targeted enforcement and other efforts to curb stunt driving on the Bruce Peninsula, the problem continues to get worse, says the Grey Bruce OPP’s detachment commander. Acting Insp. Debra Anderson said the stretch of Highway 6 between Wiarton and Tobermory is of “great concern” to the OPP. “Obviously, it’s not safe,” she […]

Dr. Ian Arra said he doesn’t want to encourage “vaccine shopping” by saying which clinics use which vaccine. Some shopping has been propelled by concerns about extremely rare vaccine-induced blood clotting after receiving the AstraZeneca shot, a condition doctors can treat. It occurs about every one in 250,000 doses. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization […]

More COVID-19 vaccination appointments have opened up at the P & H Centre in Hanover Saturday. That clinic initially was set up to catch up with anyone in the education and daycare sectors who still wanted a first COVID-19 shot and about 600 people stepped forward, said Dr. Ian Arra, the medical officer of health […]

A longtime area resident has asked Georgian Bluffs council to consider constructing a new community hall instead of upgrading the former arena in Kemble. Keith Davidson appeared before the Georgian Bluffs committee of the whole meeting on Wednesday, where he suggested that recently announced federal, provincial and municipal funding would be better spent on a […]

Georgian Bluffs council continues to gather feedback on whether to continue to allow water access for motorized vehicles at Sutacriti Park. On Wednesday, the municipality held a public meeting to gather feedback on the use of the access point located along Presqu’ile Road north of Cobble Beach. Of the nine participants registered, those who spoke […]

Some residents with safety concerns about the speed and volume of traffic along Grey Road 17B have received support from Georgian Bluffs council. Russ Pierson and Kevin Lind spoke to council on Wednesday about their concerns, with hopes of having the speed limit lowered on the road between Somers Street and Highway 6 to 50 […]

Georgian Bluffs has added a few new parks projects to its plans for 2021, but thanks to additional funding from the province it won’t mean an increase to its 2021 budget. On Wednesday during its committee of the whole meeting, Georgian Bluffs council received an update on its 2021 operating and capital budget with a […]

The Ontario Hockey League’s first-ever draft lottery went pretty well for the Owen Sound Attack. A random computer-generated draw selected the Attack to pick eighth-overall in the upcoming OHL Priority Selection, the first three rounds of which will take place June 4, with Rounds 4 to 15 following the next day. As an added sweetener, […]

Ron Zinger says he’s pretty much seen it all in his 35-year career behind the steering wheel of transports and delivery trucks. But the 55-year-old Northern Bruce Peninsula man says one of the most dangerous roads he’s travelled is in his own backyard – the stretch of Highway 6 between Wiarton and Tobermory. “It’s right […]

A Brampton man pleaded guilty Wednesday in the Ontario Court of Justice to attempted murder for his part in an effort to kill a co-worker and dispose of his body more than two years ago. Punit Gandhi, 32, pleaded guilty to attempted murder Dec. 5, 2018 in Grey Highlands and admitted the facts presented by […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported six new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. The newest cases were found in Arran-Elderslie, Brockton, Grey Highlands, Hanover, Saugeen Shores and Southgate. There are now 54 active COVID-19 cases confirmed by the health unit in the two counties including 37 involving a variant of concern. Two people with COVID-19 currently […]

A plan to pump water from Georgian Bay at night, then release it through power-generating turbines by day when demand for electricity is higher, continues to progress. TC Energy says its $4 billion pumped-storage project, which is proposed to be built at Land Force Central Area Training Centre Meaford, would have a capacity 1,000 megawatts […]

While Grey-Bruce has seen its COVID-19 case numbers level off then fall in recent weeks, “external pressures” continue to weigh on local hospitals as they take on more patients with very complicated and severe ailments. “It is deceiving because from outside the hospital it probably looks like there is hardly anyone in the parking lot […]

Although it’s still early in the year, city officials are anticipating Owen Sound will end 2021 with a “nominal” $10,000 surplus as a result of pressures and funding related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Corporate services director Kate Allan said the city has received $310,000 in Safe Restart Funding for 2021 so far, along with funding […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported one new case of COVID-19 Tuesday, in Brockton. There were 51 active confirmed cases in the two counties as of just before midnight Monday, including 36 involving a variant of concern. Four COVID-19 patients being followed by the health unit are hospitalized locally, according to the report. The health […]