Owen Sound Sun Times

Keeping people safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic remains at the forefront, city officials say, as Owen Sound and its partners continue preparations for next month’s Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada festivities, which are to include school visits, on-ice clinics and an alumni game and party. Community services director Pam Coulter said the city has developed […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported 13 new COVID-19 cases in Grey-Bruce on Tuesday. The new cases reported by the health unit included three in Owen Sound, two each in Arran-Elderslie, Huron-Kinloss, Saugeen Shores and South Bruce Peninsula, and single cases in Chatsworth and Grey Highlands. There are now 93 active cases being reported along […]

Hydro One restored power to more than 37,600 customers across Grey-Bruce by Tuesday and at mid-afternoon, sporadic new outages were appearing on the utility’s Stormcentre outage map. Fewer than 20 customers were without power in Meaford and also in Owen Sound, following the weekend windstorm which hit Ontario Tuesday afternoon. A Hydro One spokeswoman said […]

A city councillor tried in vain to include on the next council agenda a resolution to terminate Owen Sound’s conventional transit service in March. Coun. John Tamming presented notice of the proposed motion Monday, but it failed to secure a seconder, which is required under the city’s updated procedural bylaw in order for it to […]

Cliff Keeling was cleaning out a hollow at the base of an old maple tree behind his farmhouse when he noticed an unusual rock in the tree’s roots. The 84-year-old doctor dug it out late this summer and found a 440-million-year old, cantaloupe-sized fossil from a time when much of North America was under a […]

A Kincardine man has been charged in connection with a fatal crash east of Durham last month. Jeremy Hogg, 26, has been charged with criminal negligence causing death, two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, robbery and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. Hogg remains in custody, it said in a news […]

City council gave its stamp of approval Monday to a new 10-year agreement for the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library. Meanwhile, both Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth — the other two municipal partners in the union library agreement — are set to pass bylaws Wednesday to also sign the deal, which sets out […]

Holland Chatsworth Central School was open again on Tuesday after being closed on Monday after staff refused to enter the school over safety concerns around a COVID-19 outbreak there. That outbreak, which began at the school on Nov. 24, was declared over on Monday evening. A Bluewater District School Board spokesperson said Monday evening that […]

The Ministry of Labour was called to Holland Chatsworth Central School after educational workers at that school refused to go to work because they felt unsafe. The school was closed on Monday “due to operational issues.” A board spokesperson said he could not elaborate further on Monday afternoon. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario Local President […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit declared 20 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, continuing a rise in cases locally that included 16 cases on Sunday and 13 on Saturday. Another local person has died from the virus, the health unit confirmed Monday. The new cases on Sunday included six in Owen Sound, four in Saugeen Shores […]

A man who was pinned under a farm tractor that rolled onto him was declared dead at the scene Sunday afternoon. Grey Bruce OPP is investigating the fatal vehicle rollover at about 3:30 p.m. A police news release withheld the name of the driver who died at the scene, pending notification of next of kin. […]

The Owen Sound Attack defeated the Flint Firebirds on Saturday night to sweep back-to-back games in the Michigan city. The win also gave Owen Sound the season series against Flint, going 3-1 overall. On Saturday night, Cedrick Guindon scored the go-ahead goal with three-and-a-half to play and Owen Sound held on for the win. Logan […]

Hydro outages continued in parts of Grey-Bruce as of 11 a.m. Monday after strong winds knocked down trees and broke hydro poles in a wide area of the province over the weekend. In two of the remaining local cases a fallen tree on a power line was given as the cause. An online Hydro One […]

December 13, 2021

The Grey Bruce Health Unit’s investigation into the latest increase in COVID-19 cases in Grey-Bruce indicates the chain of transmission has mainly been started in youth under 18 with connection to organized sports. There were 16 more cases of the virus reported by public health on Sunday after 13 cases were reported on Saturday, along […]

The work of the region’s young entrepreneurs was on full display in Owen Sound over the weekend. The handmade products of more than a dozen students, from elementary to post-secondary, were being featured at the second annual Student Makers Market at Grey County’s Sydenham Campus on Saturday. Everything from hand-crafted jewelry and dog treats, Christmas […]

While the strong winds that blew through Grey-Bruce late Saturday caused havoc to the power grid across the region, they were a blessing for firefighters who were called to a fire at a fuel supply business at Rockford. Inter Township Acting Fire Chief Jeff Gautreau said they were called to a truck fire in the […]

St. Mary’s High School in Owen Sound has closed and moved to virtual learning due to a COVID-19 outbreak that so far involves five cases. The Grey Bruce Health Unit is working with the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board and the high school to address the outbreak. A total of 11 cohorts and one bus […]

Grey County is moving forward with plans to do more to promote local Black history. Grey Roots Manager Jill Paterson told county council on Thursday that Grey Roots staff have worked closely with community members to discuss potential collaborations and ways to promote the area’s Black history, including education programs, promotional material, film screenings, a […]

Grey County has been presented with a proposed 2022 budget by staff that includes a net levy increase of 3.75 per cent. While there is still some unknowns and work to be done prior to the draft budget being presented and discussed at council in late January, the proposal presented during council’s committee of the […]

Teams quit in sports all the time. Some will likely never admit it, but the basketball team down 30 in the fourth quarter or the football team stuck 21 with two minutes left on the clock are just going through the motions and trying not to get hurt. In some sports, like curling, you can […]

The Salvation Army in Owen Sound received a special delivery of close to 9,000 pounds of food on Friday thanks to an initiative between Grey County Paramedic Services and Transportation Services and the humanitarian aid organization GlobalMedic. The boxes upon boxes of kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, pearled barley, rice and other dry goods were unloaded […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit does not recommend asymptomatic COVID-19 testing due to low case counts in Grey-Bruce, Dr. Ian Arra, the local medical officer of health, announced in a news release Friday. That guidance comes in the wake of the province’s offer to give take-home rapid antigen screening tests to all public school children […]

By connecting them with one of the artists it is currently featuring, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery has given some local students the opportunity to have their voices heard through their unique works of art. The art gallery recently launched its initiative Emerging Artists Unmasked, which features more than 20 creations of senior art students […]

With the Omicron COVID-19 variant threatening to completely replace Delta by the beginning of January, new COVID-19 measures were announced Friday at Queen’s Park. The provincial chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore said Friday in a news briefing that Omicron could represent all new cases of the pandemic virus in Ontario “by the […]

Now curling, now basketball, now hockey. On badminton, on volleyball, on nordic skiing – – you get the idea. Winter sports are back on the high school circuit and some are already in full swing around the courts and rinks in the region as the Bluewater Athletic Association’s schedule gets some games in before the […]

Municipalities received confirmation this week that provincial grants will generally double for infrastructure expenses next year. The money was mentioned in the government’s fall economic statement several weeks ago. But municipalities have been wrestling with whether to include it in budgets plans without a letter confirming it, Meaford CAO Rob Armstrong said. Those letters came […]

Bruce County has reached an out-of-court agreement with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation over the First Nations’ long-standing legal action in relation to the Bruce Peninsula. The settlement was announced on Thursday, and includes the transfer of approximately 306 acres of county forest within the Lindsay Tract and Amabel Tract, according to a joint news release […]

A Big Brothers Big Sisters of Grey Bruce fundraiser aims to crown the best Home for the Holidays-themed edible house or cookie bakers in Grey-Bruce. The deadline to enter in under 16, over 16, and professional baker categories was just extended to Dec. 11 at 11 p.m. By then you must have paid the $25 […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit announced Thursday a local COVID-19 case may soon be the first confirmed Omicron infection in the region. The health unit said in a news release it is managing a case under investigation for Omicron and is “conducting an enhanced management of the case and high-risk contacts, while we await the […]

Blue Mountain Resort will invite skiers and riders back to the slopes Friday at 9 a.m. The ski resort announced in a media release Thursday it is set to “take back winter” with a return to the slopes “snow-lovers have been waiting for” after the provincial shutdowns of last season. The slopes will officially open […]

Owen Sound-based Hydrogen Optimized announced its patent-pending alkaline water electrolyser technology can operate at variable power levels, making it a candidate to help stabilize electrical grids by receiving surplus power. And by adapting quickly to power fluctuations characteristic of wind and solar power, it has also demonstrated its technology can maximize the use of available […]

Home sales remain hot and supply remains tight in Grey-Bruce as sales tied the record for the month of November, while listings were the lowest they have been in more than 30 years. A total of 258 units were sold through the MLS System of the Realtors Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound last month, […]

Georgian Bluffs will move to permanently close the Kemble Mountain Trail to off-road vehicles, while planning to create a working group to explore other possible routes in the municipality. At it committee of the whole meeting on Wednesday, council directed staff to prepare an amendment to the township’s off-road vehicle bylaw to close the trail […]

The Owen Sound Attack dropped the first game of a long roadie, 4-1, in Windsor Wednesday night. It’s the clubs first long road trip of the season. They’ll play two more games in Flint Friday and Saturday night before heading home to take on the Kitchener Rangers on Dec. 15 at the Bayshore. The Attack […]

Both the Bluewater District School Board and Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board plan to return to a four-course per day schedule for their high school students. The timing of the change will coincide with the beginning of the second semester of the 2021-22 school year on Feb. 4, 2022. At the Bluewater board’s initial meeting […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported three new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. Meaford, Saugeen Shores and South Bruce each added a new COVID-19 case to the regional totals. There are now 47 confirmed active COVID-19 cases in the two counties as well as 206 associated high-risk contacts. Holland Chatsworth Central School, where one cohort and one […]

A developer’s plan to build a $6.5-million four-storey luxury hotel with 21 rooms and ground-floor restaurant on Sauble Beach’s Lakeshore Boulevard cleared a significant hurdle Tuesday. South Bruce Peninsula council voted to direct staff to include on an upcoming agenda a bylaw to approve a zoning change that will allow Maison Canada Design & Build […]

There’s hope the Sydenham Condominium will have all 34 of its residential units completed and occupied by the end of 2022, a news release from the condo board says. “After years of construction delays, Sydenham Condominium Corporation is now seeing a completion date in sight,” the condo board announced Tuesday night. “If all goes according […]

South Bruce Peninsula has opted to let sleeping dogs lie when it comes to its Sauble Beach bylaw. After gathering public input via the town’s online “open mic,” council approved a staff recommendation Tuesday to not alter a section of the bylaw that prohibits dogs on the beach from June 1 to Labour Day. “The […]

Police have named the person who died in a crash at Copper Kettle in Georgian Bluffs last week. Brandon Joseph, 27, of Georgian Bluffs was pronounced dead at hospital following the crash that happened at about 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 30. Joseph was the driver of a passenger vehicle that was involved in a crash […]

A biotechnology firm, headed by Owen Sound native John Lewis, has received the go-ahead to begin Phase 2 clinical trials of its made-in-Canada, single-dose COVID-19 DNA vaccine candidate. Edmonton-based Entos Pharmaceuticals is planning to begin the trial of Covigenix VAX-001 in the new year, involving 11 sites in South Africa and up to 500 participants. […]

Georgian College is looking for rental housing in the Owen Sound area as the need for places for students to live is expected to rise in both the short-term and further into the future. Dave Shorey, executive director of Georgian College’s Owen Sound campus, said Tuesday that the college is looking to make people aware […]

Ontario’s science advisory table projects the number of ICU patients could rise to between 250 and 400 in January, not counting the effects of Omicron, the latest pandemic variant of concern. As of Monday there were 340 people in hospital with COVID-19, 165 in an intensive care unit. COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions are stable […]

Selwyn Hicks is returning as Grey County warden for his third term in four years, with a call for the county to have a renewed focus on mental health and addictions. The Hanover deputy-mayor was elected warden for 2022 at the county’s inaugural meeting on Tuesday after defeating his lone challenger, West Grey Mayor Christine […]

Owen Sound will be in the running for two provincial economic development awards in February, including one for its marketing and recruitment campaign that featured a pyjama giveaway. The city’s Work from Home Capital of Canada initiative has been named a finalist for an Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) Award of Excellence in the […]

People who marked the deaths of 14 women slain in the Montreal Massacre 32 years ago, and stood against violence against all women, were asked whether there’d have been a vigil at all if the victims had been Indigenous or trans women. Karen Houle made the observation from the steps of Owen Sound city hall […]

A total of 34 staff at Grey Bruce Health Services are no longer working with the organization after they chose not to be vaccinated. The corporation, which operates hospitals in Owen Sound, Lion’s Head, Southampton, Wiarton, Markdale and Meaford, said Monday that the 34 staff impacted worked across their sites in various clinical and administrative […]

The region’s unemployment rate dropped below three per cent in November, something that has happened only three other times in the past two decades. The Four County Labour Market Planning Board says last month’s 2.8 per cent jobless rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region, which includes Grey-Bruce, was the lowest local rate since December […]

The Beckett Family’s performance during Sunday’s virtual CFOS-Sun Times Christmas Fund Broadcast came just days after two of its members — Tyler and Linsey — were up for the same national music award. The two fiddling siblings, who grew up near Kemble, were nominated separately for a third straight year for Fiddle Player of the […]