Owen Sound Sun Times

The Owen Sound Fire Department helped paramedics perform a rope and rescue basket operation on a steep and rocky slope opposite the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre Monday night. Fire Chief Doug Barfoot said firefighters responded to a person laying at the base of a 15-foot rock face on the slope at 3rd Avenue East […]

An early-morning car fire at the 500 block of 8th Street West in Owen Sound has been deemed arson according to city police who are seeking information from the public. At 2 a.m Wednesday morning, a vehicle was seen engulfed in flames. The Owen Sound Fire Department was called to the scene and put down […]

An early morning car fire at the 500 block of 8th Street West in Owen Sound has been deemed arson according to city police, who are seeking information from the public. At 2 a.m Wednesday, a vehicle was seen engulfed in flames. The Owen Sound Fire Department was called and put down the fire but […]

Owen Sound’s temporary COVID-19 assessment centre will open at noon Wednesday in a parking lot near the hospital’s emergency department. People are encouraged to call a new Grey Bruce Health Services call centre, at 519-378-1466, which will field calls Wednesday from noon until 4 p.m., then Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. […]

Grey Bruce Health Services is suspending non-essential services and restricting access of most visitors due to the COVID-19 ongoing emergency. “We’re closing our doors to visitors unless under compassionate circumstances,” said Gary Sims, the president and CEO of the hospital corporation. “The vast majority are encouraged not to come to the hospital at this time.” […]

St. Patrick’s Day is always the busiest night of the year at Shorty’s Grill in Owen Sound. For Tuesday’s event, owner Stan Dimakos had booked the party band Strange Potatoes to perform for another year. Staff was urging people last week to make reservations as spots were filling up fast. But the evolving COVID-19 pandemic […]

The Owen Sound Sports Hall of Fame announced Tuesday it has cancelled its May 8 induction ceremony and dinner in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision came the same day the provincial government, under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, was to prohibit all organized public gatherings of 50 people or more, including […]

Owen Sound city hall is closed to the public and all council and committee meetings have been cancelled until further notice, while next month’s Home & Cottage Expo has been axed. Meanwhile, Bruce County has closed all of its office buildings to the public, while Grey County’s administration building will be open to assist those […]

OSHaRE, Safe ‘n Sound and the Owen Sound Salvation Army are making changes to their operations to limit person-to-person contact during the COVID-19 pandemic, while ensuring the people they serve continue to receive food. Colleen Trask Seaman, executive director of Owen Sound Hunger and Relief Effort (OSHaRE), said the organization is closing its dining hall […]

Situations like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affect people living in poverty, says the executive director of the United Way of Bruce Grey. “We have seen this through fires, we saw this with the tornado in Goderich – any time there’s a significant shock to a system, which is how we term these things, it […]

The Ontario Hockey Federation and its seven member partners – including the Ontario Minor Hockey Association – issued a statement Monday announcing that all 2020-21 spring hockey tryouts have been cancelled. The OHF and its members will communicate a plan for tryouts and the upstart of the 2020-21 season when Hockey Canada sanctioned activities are […]

Ontario law court restrictions effective Monday advise anyone with criminal, family or Provincial Offences Act matters not to attend the Ontario Court of Justice unless for an in-custody or urgent criminal or urgent family matter. But even then, people are asked not to attend a courthouse in person if they’ve been advised to self-isolate by […]

The offices of Postmedia newspapers in Grey Bruce – The Sun Times in Owen Sound, The Shoreline Beacon in Port Elgin, The Post in Hanover, The Kincardine News, The Lucknow Sentinel, The Wiarton Echo and Grey Bruce This Week – are temporarily closed to the public as a measure to protect the health and well-being […]

Para-swimmer Meghan Calhoun shaved almost a full two seconds off her personal best time to set a new national record in the women’s 100-metre butterfly at the 2020 Winter Ontario Swimming Championships earlier this month. Calhoun swam a time of 1:09.14 to win the gold medal and set the new Canadian para-swimming record in the […]

A couple in their 50s who likely acquired COVID-19 from contact aboard a cruise ship are Grey-Bruce’s first two confirmed cases of the virus. The Grey Bruce Health Unit announced in a news release early Sunday afternoon that it had received laboratory confirmation of the two cases. The cases are a related couple, a 58-year-old […]

As Canada’s number of COVID-19 cases continued to climb on the weekend, restrictions were tightened at facilities in Grey-Bruce to help prevent a widespread outbreak of the virus. Ontario’s chief medical officer Dr. David Williams deemed that only “essential” visitors be allowed in long-term-care, retirement and supportive housing as part of the province’s efforts to […]

While COVID-19 was clearly on people’s minds in Owen Sound Saturday, they were finding a silver lining at local gas stations. The price of fuel dropped to under 84 cents a litre at some stations in Owen Sound, and motorists were taking advantage of the lowest prices for fuel in recent memory. Lance Hill of […]

A member of the Beaver Valley Ski Club has tested positive for COVID-19. The club, located in the Municipality of Grey Highlands, posted a statement on its website, announcing that it was made aware a member had tested positive for the coronavirus. The club was closed effective immediately, it said Saturday. The club prepared a […]

Owen Sound Attack general manager Dale DeGray said Friday that most of the team’s players are home or headed there while the league awaits word of a possible return. Except for the team’s import and international players who have been asked to stick around the Scenic City. “They’re asked to stay because they might fly […]

As the number of local closures, cancellations and other impacts of COVID-19 preparation efforts continue to rise, officials at local agencies say they’re worried about how the evolving situation could impact vulnerable residents, including those living in poverty. “I’m concerned about the people that the charitable sector and the not-for-profit sector serve in our community,” […]

Kids may enjoy an extended March Break due to provincial COVID-19 precautionary closures but what are schools doing to ensure students don’t fall behind? And what will working parents do with their younger kids for March Break and two weeks after that, now that schools and any attached childcare centres are officially closed until April […]

While there were still no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Grey-Bruce reported Friday, measures continued to be implemented across the two counties in an effort to prevent a widespread outbreak. The Grey Bruce Health Unit confirmed Friday afternoon that no cases of the coronavirus had been detected in the two counties. As of Friday at […]

Another hockey season has ended abruptly. No player will raise the Schmalz Cup overhead in celebration this year. The Provincial Junior Hockey League announced Friday that it has cancelled the remainder of the 2019-20 season in accordance with Hockey Canada and the Ontario Hockey Federation and in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Sixteen teams […]

The revitalization of the Bruce Power site is hitting a major milestone in 2020 with the beginning of its Major Component Replacement project. The MCR, which will see six of the site’s eight units upgraded between now and 2033, begins with Unit 6. That unit has been taken offline, four years after the start of […]

The Ontario Parole Board denied the early release request of Wyatt Sturgeon, the man who used an axe to mortally wound a dog last May 1 in Owen Sound. On March 5, Candace Dean urged parole board members to deny early release to Sturgeon, who is serving an 18-month sentence, to be followed by three […]

Hockey Canada and the Ontario Minor Hockey Association have suspended all hockey activities in a decision made with public health officials and in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both organizations released statements Wednesday night saying all sanctioned hockey activities have been suspended indefinitely. “The Ontario Minor Hockey Association’s foremost priority is the health and safety […]

Bruce Power has announced it has temporarily closed its visitor’s centre and its programming effective immediately. The closure affects its March Break program that was planned for next week, when up to 1,500 visitors, including some from outside of the region, were expected. “At Bruce Power, we are taking every precaution to try and make […]

As the world grappled with the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, Grey-Bruce had yet to have a confirmed case Thursday, but the fallout was still being felt locally. The Ontario government announced all publicly funded schools would be closed for two weeks following next week’s March break and the Ontario Hockey League season was postponed, impacting the […]

Everyone who arrives at a local long-term care home – from returning residents, staff and family members to contractors – will now be stopped at the door and proactively screened for COVID-19. Officials with both Grey and Bruce counties as well as several private operators told The Sun Times Thursday that the enhanced infection control […]

A robbery with a stun gun and baseball on March 6 in Wellington North has led to charges against a 44-year-old West Grey man. Wellington OPP responded to a call that day about 7 a.m. at a Main Street address in the township, a police news release said Wednesday. It was reported an unwanted person […]

An Owen Sound District Secondary School trip to Europe was cancelled at the last minute with students at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday evening. The group of students and their chaperones were slated to leave for Europe with stops in London, Dublin and Paris, but the trip was called off as they waited […]

The Canadian Hockey League announced it would “pause” its regular season Thursday among concerns over the health and safety of its members with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pause was implemented immediately. All scheduled games set to take place Thursday night were been cancelled. The CHL’s statement on Thursday read: The Canadian Hockey League […]

A 72-year-old driver died at the scene of a two-vehicle crash in southern Grey County Wednesday afternoon. The OPP said in a news release Thursday that officers responded at 2:16 p.m. to a report of a fatal head-on crash on Southgate Sideroad 49, north of Sideroad 24 in Southgate Township. Police found the 72-year-old driver […]

Georgian College’s Owen Sound campus now can boast it has Canada’s only Kongsberg marine simulator, a leading-edge technology for the marine industry, the college announced Thursday. Visitors at the announcement stood behind the ship’s wheel in the simulation room and looked out onto screens which presented a panoramic, digitized view of the bow of the […]

March 2020

Ugly. Embarrassing. Frustrating. Jekyll and Hyde. A yo-yo team. These are not the descriptors you want directed at a hockey club from its head coach and over-age winger with two weeks left in the regular season. Well, yo-yos are pretty cool, but not in this context: “We’re the team that’s up-and-down like a yo-yo,” said […]

The Walkerton District Riverhawks didn’t come away from the OFSAA single-A girls volleyball championship with a medal, but hosted an intense three-day tournament and helped make lasting memories for hundreds of high-school athletes. Twenty high school volleyball teams were represented, including the Bluewater Athletic Association and CWOSSA champion Riverhawks. The action got underway Monday morning […]

Stand-up comedian Jarrett Campbell – who’s in the running for a Juno Award this weekend – says he owes a lot of his success to growing up in small-town Grey County. “Having a nice humble beginning was really good for me. Growing up out there, you kind of have to make your own fun and […]

Labour unrest and coronavirus fears have Bluewater Regional Science and Technology Fair organizers changing plans, but the events are still slated to go ahead in early April. Numbers at the events are expected to be down this year due to teacher job action, while some of the event judges are regular travellers and may have […]

Two Polar Plunge for Special Olympics challenges are coming up soon, one in Durham and the other in Owen Sound. West Grey’s plunge will take place Friday about noon at St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s Separate School in Durham, which may have its biggest turnout yet, West Grey police Const. Mitch Roulston said. The recent […]

Georgian Bluffs has closed Zion Church Road near the community of Oxenden due to flooding. Zion Church Road was closed effective Wednesday between Concession 21 and Concession 24 due to flooding on the roadway. Municipal staff anticipate the road will be closed for approximately two weeks with updates to be provided as conditions change or […]

Northern Bruce Peninsula Mayor Milt McIver says he believes a happy medium can be found for regulating short-term rentals in the municipality. “I think from the feedback we got, people want some kind of regulation, but not over-regulation. And I think that can be accomplished,” he said. “The feeling I get from council is that […]

Crusaders lose in CWOSSA final The Sacred Heart Crusaders fell to Norwell 5-3 in the CWOSSA A/AA boys hockey championship Tuesday in Waterford. The Crusaders beat Holy Trinity 3-2 in overtime to earn a berth into the gold-medal game and went 3-0 in pool-play to finish first in Pool A. Norwell were the Pool B […]

The Ontario Hockey League distributed a statement with some new protocols to follow around the rink Tuesday in reaction to the spread of COVID-19. The league is trying to minimize contact and has advised all of its members and officials to start avoiding direct contact with fans, including high-fives, handshakes, and the autographing of items. […]

The Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board has cancelled two upcoming international field trips due to concerns over COVID-19. But the Bluewater District School Board has so far decided to go ahead with all of its planned overseas field trips, including one by Owen Sound District Secondary School students slated to leave on Wednesday that will […]

While the World Health Organization sounds the alarm about a global shortage of personal protective equipment for front-line health workers because of COVID-19, local fire service officials say they’re concerned their departments could run out of medical masks if the outbreak reaches Grey-Bruce. Hanover Fire Chief Jeff Dentinger said he believes it’s only a matter […]

Owen Sound’s new transit service linking the city to Guelph will launch on April 1. Guelph Owen Sound Transportation (GOST), a seven-day-a-week bus service operated by Voyago, will offer riders two roundtrips daily between the cities, with stops in Chatsworth, Williamsford, Durham, Mount Forest, Arthur, Fergus and Elora. Cassandra Cesco, Owen Sound’s supervisor of environmental […]

School support staff often overlooked It has been my observation that the media frequently neglects to mention support staff in coverage of the current education labour dispute, and I would like to rectify this ongoing omission for you and your readers. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation represents the entire education team. Provincially, OSSTF represents […]

Rule of law, yes – but whose? Battle lines are drawn, again, between First Nations and Canadians. On one side the police; on the other First Nations’ protesters. On one side politicians and outraged editorials in the papers; on the other, First Nations’ leaders trying to explain to reporters that ‘we have a different understanding.’ […]

Answers to TC Energy project questions On behalf of TC Energy and the proposed Pumped Storage Project, I’m writing in response to Mr. Den Tandt’s letter to the editor published on Jan. 30, 2020. First, I want to thank Mr. Den Tandt for his interest in the proposed project and for attending one of our […]