Owen Sound Sun Times

Owen Sound’s downtown has come alive again with shoppers after the COVID-19 pandemic brought it to a standstill – devastating some local businesses – in early spring. “There’s a feeling of returning to normal, but there’s also a cautious feeling, which is good,” said Deb Haswell, co-owner of The Rocking Horse toy store. “Because we […]

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery is preparing to welcome the public back through its doors for the first time in months. And when the doors do open in late July there will be three new exhibitions on display. The gallery will officially open to its members on July 22, and then to the general public […]

City Coun. John Tamming is planning to ask council Monday night to postpone until July 13 a vote on his motion to partially “defund” the Owen Sound Police Service. The city intends to hold on that date its first in-person council meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the closure of city hall and a province-wide […]

Waleed Aslam says the show of support he’s received since his Facebook post about joining Owen Sound’s downtown improvement board garnered a few xenophobic comments has made him only more determined to continue volunteering for the community. “I feel loved. I feel moved. And I’ve told people – if anything, this has redoubled my resolve […]

Local restaurant operators are hoping for warm weather and lots of sunshine this summer as they welcome patrons back to their patios. After the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut down the region in mid-March, restaurants were forced to either close for business completely or refocus on takeout and delivery. That all changed when the province announced […]

One new COVID-19 case was reported in Grey Bruce Thursday, according to the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report. It marks the fourth straight day with at least one reported case in the region and brings the local case count to 112. None of the 11 active cases are currently in the hospital, and […]

Grey-Bruce’s medical officer of health says he has not and would not recommend a lengthy or indefinite closure of Sauble Beach at this point in the COVID-19 pandemic, with local case numbers still low and the province reopening. Dr. Ian Arra said it might be warranted for a municipal council to “modify access” to or […]

A pair of new COVID-19 cases were reported in Grey Bruce Wednesday, according to the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report. There have been five new cases in the past three days and 18 so far in June. The region’s total case count now stands at 111 with 10 active reported cases. Ninety-six cases […]

The Owen Sound Farmers’ Market will reopen its doors to customers on Saturday, but it will be a much different experience from the one market visitors have experienced in the past. The bustling, crowded market atmosphere where people gather to browse the local wares and chat with familiar faces is being replaced with vendors physically […]

The family of two men arrested by West Grey police in early June are alleging police brutality and are planning a protest outside the police station in Durham on Thursday evening. Legal action has also been initiated against the West Grey Police Services Board and two police constables. The incident is currently being investigated by […]

The Bruce County Paramedic Services opened a new paramedic post at the Sauble Beach Fire Hall on Sunday. One ambulance will be housed at the post using the smaller bay in a three-bay garage. The other bays are the home to two Sauble fire trucks, said Steve Schaus, director of paramedic services. The paramedic services […]

A fight over feeding seagulls has resulted in an assault charge for one Wiarton man. Grey Bruce OPP were dispatched to a Frank Street residence in Wiarton on Monday where two neighbours were said to be fighting about feeding the local seagull population. After an argument, the accused spit in the victim’s face and stepped […]

While opinions vary on South Bruce Peninsula’s decision to close Sauble Beach, business owners in the tourist town seem to agree that it could have a significant impact on the community’s shops and restaurants. “It’s a no-win situation for businesses at the beach,” said Bev Buckton, owner of Sauble Beach Dairy Queen. “Obviously, none of […]

There was a single new case of COVID-19 reported in Grey-Bruce Tuesday, according to the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report. The new case is the 109th in the region. Ninety-six of those cases have recovered, and five have been referred to other health units leaving eight active COVID-19 cases. No deaths have been […]

Day-trippers who “flagrantly disregarded” pandemic-related restrictions at Sauble Beach forced South Bruce Peninsula council to make the controversial decision to indefinitely close the popular beach ahead of Canada Day. “It just seemed that they were defying every possible rule that we had put in place to safeguard our community and it was very sad and […]

UPDATE: the missing man has been located. Saugeen Shores police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating an elderly male from Port Elgin who went missing Tuesday. Maurice Dalton, 79, was last seen in the area of Andrew Street around 12:14 p.m. Dalton is described as six feet tall, thin build, short white hair, […]

A two-day test drive has resulted in a theft over $5,000 charge for a 31-year-old Arran-Elderslie woman. Grey Bruce OPP attended a residence off Highway 6 in the Township of Georgian Bluffs early Friday morning after a private car seller let an acquaintance take their SUV for a test drive. The vehicle was supposed to […]

A Meaford woman is facing assault with a weapon charges after using a weed whacker in a neighbourly dispute. Grey Bruce OPP responded to a fight on Victoria Street in Meaford Friday evening where they located a man with minor injuries to his abdomen, a result of being contacted with the grass trimmer. A 31-year-old […]

Sauble Beach will be closed again to public access. With Canada Day just over a week away, South Bruce Peninsula council voted Monday to close all of the town’s beaches, including the popular tourist draw on Lake Huron. The decision was a “very difficult” one to make, Mayor Janice Jackson posted on her Facebook page […]

Two new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Grey-Bruce Monday according to the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report. The pair of new cases raised the region’s total case count to 108 with nine active cases and 94 recovered cases. Five cases have been referred to other health units. Two people are currently hospitalized […]

The Bluewater District School Board has passed its budget despite some uncertainty remaining about how much funding it will receive from the province. The board passed a budget for the 2020-21 school year at its meeting on June 16 without receiving its Grants for Student Needs funding allocation from the Ministry of Education, which has […]

Grey Bruce OPP said they charged 15 drivers with stunt driving on the Bruce Peninsula over the weekend. A stunt driving charge is handed down when drivers are recorded going 50 kilometres per hour or more over the posted speed limit. Police observed motorists driving at speeds between 138 kilometres per hour and 169 kilometres […]

A largely rural part of Ontario that includes Grey-Bruce is now a “major step” closer to having homes and businesses connected to high-speed broadband internet as part of the Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology network. Provincial officials have announced that request-for-proposals for up to $36.8 million in broadband infrastructure have now been issued in Bruce, Grey […]

A pair of Owen Sound residents were charged with several offences after Saugeen Shores Police responded to an anonymous complaint of a couple drinking booze inside a vehicle at the Port Elgin Beach. Officers arrived at the scene to find a man and woman seated in the front of the vehicle with a young child […]

Sunday saw no new cases of COVID-19, one false positive was removed from of total case list, but there was a second hospital admission due to the respiratory virus. The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported the latest figures, as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The total cases was 106 — up four cases from Monday a […]

It didn’t take long to find someone who said he was homeless Sunday morning in a downtown Owen Sound park. Where the hill rises towards the base of the stairs in St. George’s Park, near an encampment hidden just off the path, walked a 32-year-old man with a backpack who when asked about the encampment, […]

Joan Beecroft’s new book documents the LGBTQ+ lives of older people in Grey-Bruce, a follow-up to young people’s stories told nine years ago. She’s been a public LGBTQ+ champion and a friend to many in her community. She’s a co-founder of Grey-Bruce Pride. And despite all that, Beecroft doesn’t feel comfortable walking hand-in-hand with her […]

Three more cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Grey-Bruce Saturday – two in Owen Sound and one in South Bruce Peninsula – as of 3:30 p.m. That brings the total case count in Grey-Bruce to 107, including one presumptive case pending confirmation. There are eight active cases, 94 people have recovered, while five cases were […]

A young man was injured at Eugenia Falls Conservation Area this week, this time after falling an estimated 15 metres or more into the gorge Friday afternoon. The 19-year-old was airlifted to hospital Friday afternoon after firefighters and paramedics came to his aid. His name was not available. The area has been closed since Tuesday […]

Grey-Bruce recorded no new cases of COVID-19 Friday but an outbreak was declared Thursday at Elgin Abbey Continuing Care Residence for Seniors in Chesley, a nursing home, the Grey Bruce Health Unit announced Friday. It was not immediately reported online by the health unit because residents, their families and staff were notified first. It appeared […]

West Grey announced Friday afternoon that it closed until further notice a bridge to vehicles and pedestrians on Concession 4 NDR, about two concessions south of Crawford. A routine inspection detected damage and the municipality will be considering options for the bridge, located between Mulock Road and 30thSideroad, municipal spokesman Jonathan Zettel said. Municipal staff […]

Owen Sound’s minor soccer and minor baseball associations have decided to cancel their 2020 seasons due to the COVID-19 situation. But both organizations say they’re hoping to offer some form of play or training later in the summer or fall if pandemic restrictions, including limits on social gatherings, lift enough by then to allow for […]

The province is accepting public comments until June 25 on a permit application by South Bruce Peninsula to mechanically rake Sauble Beach, as part of a proposal the province says will impact the endangered piping plover and its habitat. Gary Wheeler, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, said the town’s proposal […]

Owen Sound firefighters put out a fire behind Mellish Appliance Service which destroyed a service van, shed and lean-to but didn’t damage the shop itself. Fire Capt. Jeff Finch said 12 firefighters responded, including those called in on a second alarm, after a report at 9:10 p.m. of a fire and explosion. That was likely […]

Grey-Bruce added three new cases of COVID-19 Thursday as of 3:30 p.m., including a presumptive case involving a person admitted to hospital. “She is in her 80s, an older person with co-morbidities, which by definition has many symptoms,” said Dr. Ian Arra, the medical officer of health in Grey-Bruce. One test was positive, a second […]

For the first time in its 45-year history, the sounds of excited children, rotating rides and the beloved train’s bell will not be emanating from behind the castle entrance at Story Book Park this summer. The management team at the family-owned business south of Owen Sound announced this week that they have made the “heartbreaking […]

A one-take concert recording by Macphail Memorial Elementary School students has been parlayed into $2,500 in donations so far, which has helped patients at Markdale hospital have virtual meetings with people amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2016 concert was recorded by Mudtown Records of Owen Sound but never released. It was performed by more than […]

Grey Bruce OPP charged a 38-year-old Georgian Bluffs man with drug possession and insurance and licensing violations after a traffic stop at 1:35 a.m. Thursday. Police stopped the vehicle on Highway 6 near the Springmount industrial park, police said in a news release. They laid charges of possession of methamphetamine, driving without insurance and driving […]

Police charged a 29-year-old Port Elgin woman with dangerous driving and refusing to provide a breath sample after a rear-end collision in Port Elgin at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Her northbound car travelling at a high rate of speed rear-ended another northbound vehicle on Goderich Street, at Tomlinson Drive, the Saugeen Shores Police Service said in […]

When the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown hit Ontario three months ago, life quickly became more isolated for students too. Eventually there were online school assignments but missing were the noisy hallways, chaotic recess schoolyards and just the familiarity of living a shared classroom life with fellow students and teachers. So Macphail Memorial Elementary music teacher Charlie […]

Another new presumptive positive case in a healthcare worker was recorded in Grey Bruce Wednesday, according to the Grey Bruce Health Unit. The new case brings the region’s total COVID-19 case count to 102, including two presumptive cases. A recent initiative to test all staff working at long-term care homes has yielded a false-positive test […]

With the region now in Stage 2 of the province’s COVID-19 reopening plan, Owen Sound and the city’s Downtown Improvement Area board are again welcoming people to shop in the core. “The whole focus is on – things are opening up and we’re encouraging people to shop locally, to get downtown and see some of […]

A pair of temporary foreign workers tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month in Grey-Bruce, according to Dr. Ian Arra, the region’s medical officer of health. Arra said six other migrant workers at the farm were exposed to the virus, but the infected workers were immediately quarantined and the other six workers isolated for 14 […]

Police chased then charged a 40-year-old man with offences after a report of trespassing in Bruce Peninsula National Park June 15. The park is closed due to COVID-19 emergency orders and park wardens notified Grey Bruce OPP about a trespassing incident. Police spotted the suspect vehicle in line to board the Chi-Cheeman ferry in Tobermory. […]

Ontario’s Special Investigation Unit is looking into an interaction involving South Bruce OPP and a missing man who was injured when a fire started in the car he was in while police were trying to talk with him. About 5:15 p.m. on, the OPP received a call about a 36-year-old man in distress, according to […]

A Eugenia boy about 12 years old appeared to break both of his legs when he fell down a treacherous route to the bottom of Eugenia Falls Tuesday afternoon. The boy apparently slipped about halfway along an unauthorized yet well-used route and tumbled about nine metres to the bottom, Grey Highlands Fire Chief Marty Wellwood […]

Highlighting this years 2020 Grade 8 and 12 Graduates!

Newly hatched piping plover chicks would normally be scurrying around the sand at Sauble Beach around this time of year under the careful watch of their protective parents. But this year, plover watchers discovered a much different scene after the South Bruce Peninsula beach reopened for restricted use last week following a few months of […]

There were no new cases of COVID-19 reported by the Grey Bruce Health Unit Tuesday, and a previously listed case has been declared a false-positive result. The false positive, reported in The Blue Mountains, has now been removed from the region’s data, leaving a total regional case count of 101. Twenty-five healthcare workers have contracted […]

Owen Sound is streamlining the process for restaurants, cafes and other establishments to seek and receive city approval to open up sidewalk patios. Instead of requiring those businesses to receive council’s blessing for the patios, council voted Monday to delegate to the city manager the authority to approve the design, layout and placement of the […]