Owen Sound Sun Times

Tucked in a corner of the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s website are candid stories of life and death, where people triumph in the face of overwhelming pain. These stories were not reported this summer, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing opioid epidemic. News releases warned of lethal street drugs circulating and the latest spate of […]

Drug users know the risks of fentanyl and carfentil, but their addiction is so strong they just don’t care, said Ian Reich, the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s harm reduction manager. Two warnings issued this summer about several fatal overdoses due to lethal street drugs in circulation were not aimed at users, but at the rest […]

No longer is Mount Forest “High-Healthy-Happy.” That town slogan was dropped from all four town entrance signs this week and was replaced with new signs which say “Mount Forest, Simply Explore.” Many used to point, with a nod and a wink, to the “high” part of the tagline, while others felt uncomfortable with any drug-induced […]

Work to repair an area along Presqui’le Road affected by high water and waves is to happen next week. On Wednesday, Georgian Bluffs director of operations Tyler Jahnke reported to council that the permits to do the emergency repair work are in place and, if the weather permits it, Bluewater Landscaping is to begin the […]

There were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Grey Bruce Thursday, according to the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report. There remains one active confirmed case in the region, with 124 recovered cases and five cases referred to other health units. In Grey-Bruce, 130 people have contracted the virus to date. Twenty-eight of […]

Owen Sound will soon launch an online survey and hold two open houses in mid-October to gather feedback on options for the future of the city-owned former jail and courthouse properties. The city has also created a webpage and posted a video presentation with detailed information on four potential demolition options for the boarded-up jail, […]

Georgian Bluffs is revisiting a recent decision to restrict vehicle access to Sutacriti Park after hearing from residents who were against the change. During its meeting on Wednesday, council reconsidered its decision and asked staff to bring back another report on the small shoreline park located along Presqu’ile Road north of Cobble Beach. The move […]

Two children – one eight years old and the other four – were airlifted to a London hospital with life-threatening injuries after a collision Wednesday involving a horse and buggy and a pick-up truck. Police say there were seven people inside the buggy at the time of the crash, which happened at about 5:40 p.m. […]

Grey-Bruce residents are being encouraged to nominate an individual or group for the annually awarded YMCA Peace Medal, YMCA of Grey Bruce Owen Sound announced. Nominations close Friday, Oct. 23. Medals will be presented to winning peacemakers at Y’s across Canada, including in Owen Sound, during YMCA Peace Week, Nov. 14-21. Peace Medals “honour individuals […]

There were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Grey-Bruce Wednesday, according to the health unit’s daily update. The region’s total case count remains at 130 with one active case still on the books. Parents of symptomatic children who wanted the entire family swabbed – symptoms or not – helped lead to increased patient volumes […]

Georgian College students are returning to campus this week for the first time in months. Most of the college’s programming is still being delivered remotely, but 30 per cent of the student body will be on campus intermittently for hands-on learning. Only students with scheduled labs or practical learning requirements, students with reservations to use […]

Grey Bruce OPP said there was no sign by late Wednesday afternoon of a windsurfer or paddle boarder who had been reported in distress in the lake at the north end of Sauble Beach Tuesday night, and they believe the person made it back to shore safely. By mid-afternoon police still had no report of […]

Southbridge Health Care will likely receive a building permit this week to construct its proposed three-storey, 160-bed long-term care home on 16th Avenue East, city officials say. The project has been in the planning stages since 2016 and both the city and representatives of the Cambridge-based company said Wednesday they’re excited to see construction on […]

While the Bluewater District School Board has had its share of challenges as schools have reopened, Director of Education Lori Wilder says they are working through them as students make the important step of returning to a much different school-day routine in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic. “From all accounts things are going really, […]

Grey Bruce OPP is involved in a search for a windsurfer/paddle boarder seen in distress and pulled by waves out into the Lake Huron Tuesday night at Sauble Beach. An OPP West Region tweet just before 10 this morning said the person was wearing a wetsuit and was seen in the area of 6th Street North. […]

Dear Parents, Grandparents, and Guardians of children in Grey Bruce, As a father of one, I sympathize with everyone’s concerns about having children go back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic, and with every parent’s concern about ensuring their unwell child receives the test and care they need. I want to let you know that […]

It seems a bit early but Environment Canada included an overnight frost advisory in its forecast after a sunny day on Monday. Clear skies and a temperature dip can frost the pumpkins. But the venerable Farmers’ Almanac has also issued its annual winter weather prediction, which includes “snowier-than-normal” conditions this winter for our part of […]

Owen Sound will be using a nearly $29,000 Digital Main Street Ontario grant to help its small downtown businesses improve their online presence as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. The city and its Downtown Improvement Area board have received $28,750 in FedDev Ontario funding to launch a new Digital Service Squad, council heard […]

There were no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Grey Bruce Tuesday, according to the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report. There remains one active confirmed case in the region, with 124 recovered cases and five cases referred to other health units. In Grey-Bruce, 130 people have contracted the virus in total. Twenty-eight of […]

It’s crunch time now for giant vegetable growers. Port Elgin’s Pumpkinfest (Oct. 3-4) has moved online amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the annual weigh-off will go ahead and reports from the field indicate 2020 may be a record year for the festival’s namesake. “There is a lot of hope that, finally, Canada may have a […]

Owen Sound will spend about $8,500 over the next six weeks to beef up security and provide proactive, after-hours bylaw enforcement in response to safety, noise, trespassing and other concerns in a neighbourhood council declared Monday as a hotspot. “In relation to this particular location – some of us have heard repeatedly from neighbours over […]

The Grey Bruce Medical Officer of Health is attempting to calm anxious parents as officials see a surge in local people looking to get COVID-19 tests. Dr. Ian Arra issued an open letter on Tuesday to parents, grandparents and guardians of children in Grey-Bruce asking that they refrain from taking their children to be tested […]

Nine new doctors have moved to Grey-Bruce in the past year and are now treating patients throughout the region. A virtual celebration was held for the new physicians last Friday to recognize their work in the area. The new group of physicians includes specialists in obstetrics and gynecology, pathology, medical imaging, adult psychiatry, respirology and […]

An Owen Sound resident is asking council to name the new 10th Street bridge in honour and in recognition of the city’s Indigenous history. Susan Staves Schank, a member of the Chippewas of Nawash at Neyaashiinigmiing, requested that, in the spirit of reconciliation, Owen Sound dedicate the bridge as “Gitche Namewikwedong,” which was the name […]

The body of a man who went missing at Sauble Beach on Sunday has been located. West Region OPP said in a tweet at about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday that the body of the missing swimmer had been located. “The body was observed in the water at the beginning of the day,” the tweet said. […]

The Grey Bruce OPP Marine Unit and the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit were back searching the waters off Sauble Beach on Tuesday for a swimmer who went missing on Sunday. Police said in a Tweet just before 9 a.m. on Tuesday that they were searching Lake Huron out from Saugeen First Nation for […]

There were no new cases of COVID-19 reported by the Grey Bruce Health Unit Monday. The region’s total case count remained at 130 after a single positive test result was reported Sunday in the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, according to the health unit’s data. That case is the only remaining confirmed active case in […]

The show will go on for the SweetWater Music Festival, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it will be in a more intimate outdoor setting. Dubbed SweetWater Surreal, it is being called a multifaceted, multi-platform musical experience, including the Surreal Live series of 11 mini concerts in the Owen Sound and Meaford areas running Thursday […]

Every dollar from a Tim Hortons Smile Cookie sold in Owen Sound between Sept. 14 and Sept. 20 will support the Owen Sound Regional Hospital Foundation as part of the annual Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign. This year, The Women and Child Care Unit at the Grey Bruce Health Centre will benefit from sales of […]

Saugeen Shores police laid a pair of impaired driving charges on the weekend in Southampton and Port Elgin. On Friday around 9:30 p.m., police responded to reports of a vehicle being operated erratically on Highway 21 in Port Elgin. An officer located the vehicle leaving a fast food restaurant and stopped it on Goderich Street. […]

The search continued Monday for a swimmer who went missing at Sauble Beach late Sunday afternoon. An update provided by Grey Bruce OPP at 3:45 p.m. Monday said the search was ongoing and updates would be provided when available. Police were dispatched just after 4 p.m. on Sunday to the area of Second Avenue South, […]

There was a single new case of COVID-19 in Grey-Bruce this weekend, the public health unit reported. Dr. Ian Arra, the local medical officer of health at the Grey Bruce Health Unit, announced the new case Sunday in his daily update as of 3:30 p.m. There are now 130 reported cases of the pandemic virus […]

Grey Bruce OPP officers laid 205 stunt driving charges cumulatively this year along Highway 6 on the Bruce Peninsula by the end of the Labour Day holiday weekend, exceeding the 190 total for 2019. The officers laid nine stunt driving charges, for driving 50 kilometres or more over the posted limit, over the holiday weekend, […]

Work advanced Saturday to replace an Owen Sound duplex destroyed by arson five years ago with a Habitat for Humanity home. A crew mainly of volunteers worked to install insulation and vinyl siding, soffit and facia to the semi-detached, raised bungalow taking shape at 1302 and 1322 4th Ave. E., a former vacant lot that […]

More homes sold at Cobble Beach in the last three months than all last year. Call it the COVID bump. “We did get a COVID bump. But everybody around southern Georgian Bay is getting a COVID bump,” said one of Cobble Beach’s founders, Rob McLeese, when he stopped by the golf resort’s real estate centre […]

Having qualified for the 124th Boston Marathon, which was cancelled due to COVID-19, Jacinda Riley and Ann Elford ran the virtual alternative Saturday morning anyway. The Owen Sound women crossed the finish line holding hands, their arms raised in victory as supporters cheered. They ran a full 42-kilometre, four-hour marathon, along the rail trail from […]

There were no new COVID-19 cases reported in Grey-Bruce on Friday. And the lone outbreak in a long-term care or retirement home in the two counties will be declared over on Saturday if no new case are reported there. An outbreak was declared at Seasons Retirement Home on Aug. 31 after a resident there was […]

City police charged a 40-year-old woman with aggravated assault after her partner was stabbed after a dispute. Owen Sound police said in a news release that early Friday morning police responded to a dispute which escalated into a “serious stabbing” in which a 52-year-old man was stabbed multiple times, including in the head and neck. […]

Grey County officials have taken another step toward developing a bylaw to regulate vehicle-for-hire providers – such as Uber and Lyft – in the county. At Thursday’s committee of the whole meeting, county council directed staff to present the bylaw for its consideration at a “future” meeting. Chief administrative officer Kim Wingrove said Friday that […]

REACH Centre Grey Bruce became homeless as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it continues to support its special-needs clients and their families. Clients with developmental and intellectual disabilities learn life skills, participate in the community, socialize and live fuller lives with the help of the charitable organization started by parents of clients who […]

A Dundalk man has won $2 million playing an OLG scratch ticket. Cody Kane, 31, won the top prize on an Instant 200X Multiplier ticket, the OLG announced on Wednesday. The married father of two children – who has a third child on the way – said in a news release from the OLG that […]

The reconstruction of a section of Inglis Falls Road is nearing completion and remains on time and on budget. Georgian Bluffs Mayor Dwight Burley said Thursday that the project is on schedule to be completed by the end of October, which was the original plan when the road closed to begin work earlier this year. […]

For the sixth straight day, no new local cases of COVID-19 were reported to the Grey Bruce Health Unit Thursday. The last positive case in Grey-Bruce was confirmed Sept. 4. There are currently two known active cases of the novel coronavirus in the twin counties, according to the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s daily situation report […]

Georgian Bluffs council has picked a contractor to do tree removal and clearing work for the planned widening of Francis Drive. At its committee-of-the-whole meeting on Wednesday, the municipality awarded the tender for the work to Canadian Woodland Contractors Inc. at a price of $37,840 plus HST. The bid was the lowest of seven received […]

BWXT Canada will be training and deploying over the next six months about 300 tradespeople to perform fuel channel maintenance on Bruce Power’s Unit 3 nuclear reactor as part of a $55-million contract announced this week by the two companies. John MacQuarrie, president of Cambridge-based BWXT Canada Ltd., said the workers will be highly skilled […]

A number of residents have spoken out against a proposal to rename some streets near Oxenden in Georgian Bluffs. On Wednesday, Georgian Bluffs council held a meeting to receive public input on the renaming of the streets, which are located in the northern portion of the municipality along Colpoy’s Bay. The proposal recommends renaming Wilson […]

The Special Investigations Unit is investigating after a man was shot and killed in Collingwood Wednesday, the police oversight agency announced. The SIU said in a news release that according to preliminary information OPP officers attended a Third Street residence at 12:30 p.m. for a report of a barricaded man. “As officers were setting up […]

Police have charged an 18-year-old Owen Sound man with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and arson following a fire that left a 17-year-old girl dead at Sauble Beach. Taran Hibma was arrested Wednesday and held for an appearance in bail court today in Owen Sound, Grey Bruce OPP said in a news release. He was […]

A second Bruce County community along Lake Huron’s shoreline has installed a rainbow crosswalk on one of its streets. The new, brightly coloured Pride flag design – a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride and inclusiveness – was painted across Harbour Street in downtown Kincardine over the Labour Day long weekend. “Kincardine really broke the mold for […]

Grey-Bruce Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra has renewed his indoor mask order for another four weeks. The order, instructing commercial establishments in the two counties to make their best verbal effort to restrict people from entering if they are not wearing a face covering, has been extended 28 calendar days from Sept. 11, […]