Owen Sound Sun Times

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 […]

Traffic-calming devices could be rolled out in other Owen Sound neighbourhoods if a pilot project on 6th Avenue West proves successful at curbing speeding, says the city’s director of public works and engineering. “The residents that we’ve been speaking to are really encouraged by what we’re proposing as well as police services – they think […]

The Owen Sound Downtown Improvement Area board has approved an “ambitious” plan aimed at rebranding, revitalizing and promoting the city’s downtown. The 43-page River District Action Plan, presented to city council Monday night, includes nearly a dozen recommendations – from rebranding the downtown as the River District to boosting the safety, comfort and visual appeal […]

Over $35,000 has been raised in just four days for a grandmother who was seriously injured in a collision involving a transport truck on the Sunset Strip just west of Owen Sound. The amount is more than 10 times the $3,000 goal of the GoFundMe campaign started by the woman’s eldest son. On the morning […]

Olivia Duwyn reached her goals on the weekend, completing a marathon and blowing past her target of raising $10,000 for child and youth mental health. “It went really well and I am happy with it,” Duwyn said Monday. “It was really cool just to finish it and realize I had run that far.” Duwyn, 20, […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported six new cases of COVID-19 Monday. Three of the newest cases were reported in Southgate, two in South Bruce, and a single case in Meaford. There are now 59 active and confirmed cases in the two counties including 37 involving a variant of concern. The health unit’s contact management […]

The scarecows won’t be invading Meaford again this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The executive of the Meaford Scarecrow Invasion and Family Festival announced the event’s cancellation last week, the second year in a row it has not been held due to the pandemic. “The event is volunteer-run,” event chair Donna Earl said in […]

There are still spots available in all age groups as the Owen Sound Minor Soccer Association prepares for a return to the field. Should the Grey-Bruce region be returned to either the green, yellow, or orange zone of the province’s reopening framework following the provincewide shutdown, the soccer season will get underway June 1. OSMSA […]

Owen Sound Attack defenceman Andrew Perrott is part of a player-led group organizing a two-week NHL draft showcase in Erie, PA. Perrott, along with fellow American OHLers Ryan Humphrey (Hamilton), Ryan Beck (Saginaw) and Brendan Hoffmann (Erie), have officially launched the PBHH Junior Showcase set to take place in early June. The idea is to […]

For the first time in the history of the Ontario Hockey League, a lottery will be held to set the 2021 draft order. Nineteen OHL clubs will have an equal chance at landing the best 2005-born player available at the June 4 draft. The Niagara Ice Dogs forfeited their 2021 first-round pick in a penalty […]

The MS Chi-Cheemaun will remain docked in Owen Sound indefinitely amid the provincial shutdown. The ferry service between Tobermory’s Little Tub Harbour and Manitoulin Island’s South Baymouth was scheduled to begin Friday. All reservations affected by the delay have been cancelled, and the Owen Sound Transportation Company is reaching out to customers with reservations between […]

A Saugeen First Nation woman has been charged with arson in relation to a fire that levelled a house on the weekend. Just after 5 p.m. on Saturday, Grey Bruce OPP were dispatched to the fully engulfed house fire on Highway 21 at Saugeen First Nation. The Saugeen First Nation Fire Department extinguished the fire […]

A Grey Highlands woman has been identified as the driver of a vehicle that went over the wall and became submerged in the Owen Sound harbour on Sunday. Catherine Weldrick, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene after being recovered from the vehicle that was removed from about five metres of water, Grey Bruce OPP […]

Grey-Bruce’s COVID case count added just three new cases Sunday, the latest sign that pandemic precautions are paying off. Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra thanked the public in remarks included in the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report Sunday afternoon. “Thank you Grey-Bruce communities; keep up the great work!” he said. “The […]

The garden centre was Karen Loughnan’s “happy place” Saturday. Surrounded by flowers and green leaves, she said the pandemic has been long and lonely. Vanvugt Greenhouses, on Grey Road 1 just north of Owen Sound, was her oasis on the first day the greenhouse has opened this spring. “Finding some happiness. Stress reliever,” she said […]

There were reports of armed police in military-style garb at the Bayfield Landing subdivision in Owen Sound Sunday morning. Facebook pictures showed men in helmets and drab olive garb carrying what one person at the housing complex who saw them thought were assault rifles. One resident showed a phone video of police like that at […]

Grey Bruce OPP said one person was found dead in a submerged vehicle which was driven over the east harbour wall early Sunday morning in Owen Sound. Acting Staff-Sgt. Nigel Heels also confirmed Sunday afternoon that next-of-kin have been notified and police will be releasing the name of the deceased Monday in a formal news […]

Grey-Bruce added six new cases of COVID-19 Friday. The Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report Saturday, with figures current up to midnight Friday, said there were three new cases in Georgian Bluffs, two in West Grey and one in Chatsworth. There are 28 active cases involving variants of concern, and 58 active COVID cases […]

The last time big and little brothers and sisters gathered as a group was about a week before Ontario’s first pandemic state of emergency was declared. It was March 7, 2020 at The Bowling Alley for the annual Bowl for Kids’ Sake event. This was before public health orders, isolation, masks, remote learning, and other daily […]

Grey-Bruce has wrestled the surging COVID-19 third wave to manageable levels, the local medical officer of health said Friday. “It is a success to see that Grey-Bruce, all of us — the public, the partners, municipalities, businesses, the health unit — they really wrestled this surge down to the ground,” Dr. Ian Arra said in […]

An Owen Sound committee is not recommending council lower the speed limit on all residential streets to 40 kilometres an hour after a staff review concluded speeding is not a “chronic issue” city-wide. Instead, the operations committee is endorsing a staff-recommended three-part plan – which is to come to council Monday – to address problem […]

A “delusional” man who set fire to a house while people were inside pleaded guilty Thursday to arson and separately to making a death threat and was sentenced to 22 months in custody, possibly served in a secure treatment facility. Benjamin Paul Komisar, 36, of Grand Valley, Ont. admitted in the Ontario Court of Justice […]

A city project to create a new, adequately sized backup 911 dispatch centre in Owen Sound should be finished by the end of May, says police Chief Craig Ambrose. He said the current facility – a backup site for the department’s dispatch centre, which handles all 911 calls in Grey-Bruce and dispatch duties for seven […]

Local politicians and advocates for increasing the safety of Highway 6 on the Bruce Peninsula are applauding the province’s proposal to introduce tougher penalties for stunt driving. The Moving Ontarians More Safely (MOMS) Act, introduced this week at Queen’s Park, would increase both the automatic vehicle impoundment and driver’s licence suspension periods for motorists caught […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported nine new cases of COVID-19 Thursday. Owen Sound and West Grey each reported two new cases while single cases were found in Chatsworth, Georgian Bluffs, Grey Highlands, Kincardine, and Southgate. There are now 85 active cases in the two counties including 26 involving variants of concern. The health unit’s […]

A husband-and-wife duo who moved from Toronto to Williamsford in late 2019 has launched a new brand aimed at celebrating Grey County while supporting local initiatives. Marketing expert Sarah Saso and landscape painter Lonny Doherty started GREYT Stuff – a play on the word Grey in Grey County – as a clothing brand, but say […]

The last leg of the COVID-19 pandemic has been referred to as a race between variants and vaccines, and the variants have jumped out to a large lead. In Grey-Bruce, a little over 20 per cent of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic now involve a variant of concern. Variants first emerged […]

Markdale native Jesse McCracken says his documentary Grey Roads is, at its core, a film about dealing with change. The 74-minute feature-length movie, which will make its world premiere at this year’s virtual Hot Docs festival, examines changes in McCracken’s hometown, within his own family and himself and how to navigate those transitions. “I’m hoping […]

Often its donations from the friends and loved ones of people who have died in residential hospice that make hospice care available free of charge in Grey-Bruce. Events like Grey-Bruce Hike for Hospice, which raised $200,000 in 2019, but was cancelled due to the pandemic last year, pay more than half of hospice operating costs, […]

With seniors’ centres closed and social gatherings banned, a new program has launched to help people feel less isolated and disconnected during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bruce Grey Seniors’ Centre Without Walls, an initiative of the United Way of Bruce Grey and its partners, is a telephone-conferencing program that offers free group activities, presentations and […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported two new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, both in Southgate. It’s the fourth day in a row reported cases were in the single digits and the lowest daily total this month. There are now 77 active cases in the region including 25 involving a variant of concern. The health unit’s […]

A Clarksburg resident has won $1 million after playing Encore “as a mistake.” Venecia Bautista Taveras won the money after matching all seven Encore numbers in the April 16 Lotto Max draw. She also won $5 on another one of her Encore selections. “I purchased Encore as a mistake then ended up winning,” Bautista Taveras […]

A third COVID-19 shutdown in Ontario has stalled but not bested the volunteer organizers in charge of scheduling summer sports in Owen Sound. Delays and uncertainty remain, but organizers and executives are so far steadfast in their resolve to get young athletes back out for a summer season. “Hopefully this comes to fruition,” said Owen […]

COVID -19 lineups difficult for disabled As a woman with MS, I have what is considered a hidden disability. I appear to be normal, but when it comes to COVID-19 lines, I cannot stand for more than a minute or two. I know that I am not the only local disabled person affected by long […]

Long-time Grey County treasurer Kevin Weppler is closing the county’s budget binder for the final time. After 30 years with the county, Weppler said farewell to county councillors last Thursday and will officially retire at the end of April. He said Tuesday that it was emotional saying goodbye to the council, staff and everyone he […]

Building activity in Owen Sound continues to outpace 2020’s banner year. City hall issued three dozen building permits last month, elevating the total construction value of permits issued in the first quarter of 2021 to $9.4 million – nearly triple the value recorded during the same period in 2020. And the increased value comes as […]

Owen Sound will not be staging its usual Canada Day festivities at Kelso Beach Park again this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s still planning to light up the night sky to mark the nation’s 154th birthday. The city intends to hold a virtual Canada Day celebration, with live-streamed performances and interviews, and […]

The Grey County Kiwanis Festival of Music broke new ground this year with a virtual festival, and organizers are very happy with how it went, with hundreds of students again having the opportunity to put their musical talents to the test. “We were really pleased with the response to having a virtual festival,” festival chair […]

The building business is booming in Meaford. Construction crews and heavy machinery are dotted along the town’s thoroughfares and side streets these days. The former Meaford Community School at 186 Cook St. is in the process of being demolished to make way for a new 128-bed long-term care home. Meaford’s long-awaited “super school”, currently under […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported five new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the third day in a row in which reported cases were in single digits. The new cases, which were reported in the 24-hour period prior to midnight on Sunday, included two each in Owen Sound and South Bruce Peninsula, and one in […]

There is now a free app available to make it easier for Grey-Bruce residents to navigate the vaccination landscape in the two counties. The Grey Bruce Health Unit has partnered with Bruce Power and NPX Innovation to launch the Grey Bruce COVID-19 Vaccine App, which includes a number of features including links to help people […]

The driver of a tractor trailer involved in a serious collision on the Sunset Strip just west of Owen Sound on Friday has been charged with impaired driving, according to the OPP. Michael Taylor, 60, of Markham has been charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, failure or refusal to […]

Owen Sound police charged four young adults and a teenager for failing to comply with the province’s stay-at-home order over the weekend. Police responded just after midnight Saturday after receiving a complaint of a disturbance in the parking lot of the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. According to a police news release, police located a […]

Grey-Bruce continues to see its COVID-19 case numbers level off and fall following a spike about a week-and-a-half ago. And with local case numbers seemingly stable and even declining, the opportunity to assist other hard-hit regions of the province continues, with local intensive care units caring for patients from outside the region. “There are principles […]