Owen Sound Sun Times

There’s a consistency issue in the Western Conference. Most of the Ontario Hockey League teams who ply their trade in the wild west have been great at times and they’ve been awful at times. Sometimes the pendulum swings heavy and full, as is the case for the Guelph Storm right now who are plummeting through […]

Owen Sound’s arbitration victory over the local firefighters’ union, which allows a minimum of four on-duty firefighters instead of five in certain circumstances, will produce “substantial savings” in overtime costs, the city says. The city also said in a news release that arbitration board chair Lorne Slotnick “agreed with the city’s position that the reduction […]

Northern Bruce Peninsula council will hold a special meeting Thursday to discuss how it will recruit a new top town hall staffer. Chief administrative officer Bill Jones has announced he will resign March 11. Council voted at its meeting Monday to accept the resignation. “The mayor and members of council wish to thank Mr. Jones […]

Owen Sound will be refreshing discussion on a potential green bin program for the city. Council supported a motion Monday by Coun. Richard Thomas to request a staff report on the possibility of launching a source separated organics program with a focus on funding it through an increase in bag tag prices. The report will […]

A city councillor wants Owen Sound to hit the pause button on its plan to add a climate change specialist position at city hall. Coun. Marion Koepke notified council Monday that she will present a motion Feb. 10 to delay hiring the climate change adaption and mitigation co-ordinator – which council authorized Jan. 13 – […]

Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips was in Owen Sound Tuesday for pre-budget consultations. Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker’s office said in a news release that municipal, health care, agriculture and other sector leaders offered suggestions and advice. “The government is looking for ideas that will help build Ontario together by putting jobs, skills and workers […]

Owen Sound council members and staff honoured the late former councillor Peter Lemon with a moment of silence before one-by-one snapping open cans of his favourite drink, Coca-Cola. It took place at the start of Monday’s meeting, the first council session since the long-time municipal politician died Jan. 17 at age 76. Mayor Ian Boddy […]

Georgian Bluffs residents are looking at the possibility of a tax decrease in 2020. On Tuesday, the municipal council held its first budget meeting, where staff presented a proposed budget containing a municipal tax rate decrease of 1.72 per cent. For a home in the municipality valued at just under $307,000 that had no change […]

Two local lacrosse standouts were selected in the Major Series Lacrosse Junior Entry Draft Monday night. Goaltender Ethan Woods was taken eighth-overall by the Cobourg Kodiaks while Jake McNabb went 11th overall to the Brampton Excelsiors. Major Series Lacrosse is Ontario’s Senior A box lacrosse league. Most of the players in the league play – […]

With the Wuhan coronavirus now confirmed in Ontario, the Grey Bruce Health Unit says it’s actively monitoring the situation and has issued alerts to local health care providers. “The clear message to the public – to our audience – is the risk remains low. But we are going to continue to assess this risk and […]

Owen Sound homeowners will see their property tax bills rise by about 1.7 per cent this year after council approved the city’s $71-million operating and capital budget Monday night. Corporate services director Kate Allan said the combined hike – which factors in Owen Sound, Grey County and education levies – is the lowest for the […]

City council is requesting a joint meeting with Owen Sound’s police board to discuss its concerns with the department’s rising budget, which is expected to cost property taxpayers about $7.48 million this year. Council directed city staff Monday to set up the meeting “well in advance” of its budget deliberations for 2021. Coun. Travis Dodd, […]

A pair of athletes from Owen Sound’s KT Tae Kwon Do school competed in a field of over 600 in the KPNP Open Taekwondo Championship at the Markham Pan Am Centre on Saturday earning two gold and three silver medals. 1st Dan (degree) black belt instructors Rick Thibodeau and Remington Dosman were coached by 5th […]

Some schools in Grey-Bruce are expected to close next week as a pair of teachers’ unions plan to continue one-day strikes. The Bluewater District School Board has confirmed that schools will close to elementary students on Monday and Thursday of next week if Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario members strike. And all schools with the […]

The Owen Sound Bug Juice North Stars selected former N’Star Jordan Van Damme with the second-overall pick in Sunday’s dispersal draft of the now-defunct Kitchener-Waterloo Velocity roster. Van Damme last suited up for the North Stars in 2017 when he contributed three points in five games. He spent last season with the Velocity and added […]

A North Huron woman has been charged in connection with a crash in December that resulted in the death of a South Bruce Peninsula man and seriously injured another man. The 21-year-old woman has been charged with failure to yield to traffic on a through highway, and is scheduled to appear in provincial offences court […]

A hold and secure was put in place at Peninsula Shores District School in Wiarton on Monday after a caller reported noises that sounded like they were from a firearm near the school. Police confirmdc that the noises heard by the caller were firecrackers, Grey Bruce OPP said in a news release. Police were called […]

Four athletes, two builders, three teams and a special merit inductee will enter the Owen Sound Sports Hall of Fame this year as the Class of 2020. The class of inductees includes athletes Bryan Kazarian, Mark Cochrane, Steve Irving, and Bayleigh Hooper. In the builder category, Terry King and Jack Milne get the nod while […]

Elementary schools in the Bluewater District School Board will likely be closed for two more days next week due to the ongoing labour dispute between the province and its teachers’ unions. And as the dispute drags on, the Bluewater board has announced that term one elementary report cards will not be completed. The Elementary Teachers’ […]

The Owen Sound Attack failed to improve their record in Erie after splitting a two-game weekend set against the Otters, but the Bears did manage to climb the Western Conference standings thanks to the freefalling Guelph Storm. The Scenic City squad started the week in seventh place. They fell to eighth after Friday night’s loss […]

Smith reaches the podium Julian Smith participated in a US Super Tour event this weekend at Craftsbury, Vt., with the best skiers in North America in attendance. On Friday, the men lined up for the 1.5-kilometre classic sprint qualifier. Smith finished sixth in a time of 3:21.34. Only the Top-30 qualified for the quarterfinals where […]

With word that South Bruce is a step closer to being host to a $23-billion deep underground storage vault for Canada’s high-level nuclear waste, Mayor Bob Buckle sees potential benefits for decades to come. His rural municipality, with a population of less than 6,000, is one of two areas of Ontario still in the running […]

Owen Sound police charged a 35-year-old Owen Sound man with offences related to a stabbing in downtown Owen Sound Jan. 4. Police in a news release thanked the public for its help to conclude the investigation Saturday with an arrest. Police charged the suspect with assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, and possession […]

Saugeen Shores Police Service announced charges against a 38-year-old Hanover man suspected to have been peering into two Port Elgin residences Nov. 26. Analysis of a DNA sample found at one of the two locations identified him, police said in a news release Sunday. Before identifying him, police analyzed video and released a screen capture […]

Maybe you think all you need is a match to start a fire. Tell that to the Scouts who tried and tried again to build self-sustaining fires using only matches, a small wooden plank and a knife Saturday. Down in Harrison Park at the 57thannual Scout campout, 104 Scouts and leaders took part in fun […]

A weekend in Erie has never been so crucial. It’s likely the Owen Sound Attack and Erie Otters are going to battle down the stretch in a meaningful playoff race. The Otters landed the first punch Friday with a 5-3 win inside the Erie Insurance Arena. These two teams will play four more times down […]

The Ontario Series Lacrosse league announced this week the Kitchener-Waterloo Velocity will cease operations effective immediately. The OSL will operate as a five-team league playing a balanced 16-game schedule for the 2020 campaign. Each team will play two games (home-and-away) against the other four teams. At the end of the regular season, one team will […]

OSAC to host regional swim meet The Owen Sound Aquatic Club will host the Huronia Regional Swim Meet at the Julie McArthur Regional Recreation Centre Jan. 31 – Feb. 2. The Huronia Regionals are the largest home swim meet of the year for the club. The event is a qualifying meet where the best of […]

January 25, 2020

Saugeen Ojibway Nation officials say so many permits are being sought for emergency shoreline repairs, caused by record-high water levels, that a meeting is needed to consider natural, long-term solutions in SON traditional territory. From Collingwood up to Tobermory and down to Grand Bend, SON’s Environment Office receives a notification from the Ontario Ministry of […]

MPP Bill Walker says Ontario’s major teachers’ unions are not being reasonable in contract negotiations with the province even as his government has presented concessions at the bargaining table. “The reality is the union hasn’t offered anything from their perspective. And we continue to say one per cent is a fair and reasonable amount in […]

For the second time this week, multiple schools in Grey-Bruce were closed to students Friday due to a one-day teacher strike. Three days after English Catholic teachers held a province-wide walkout, local public elementary teachers set up picket lines in front of eight Bluewater District School Board schools, the board’s Chesley education centre and two […]

Cory Church made a brief appearance in bail court Thursday after police charged him in relation to a bank robbery in downtown Owen Sound the day before. The 34-year-old Chatsworth man was held in custody and is to return to bail court by video Monday morning in Owen Sound, when he is to set a […]

Blue Mountains Mayor Alar Soever is recovering from a “mild” heart attack Saturday, a setback which came as council is about to decide how to fill the recently vacated deputy mayor’s seat. A town online news release said Soever “is resting and recovering after suffering a mild heart attack this weekend.” He admitted himself to […]

A motion for summary judgment, which seeks to quickly end a 30-year court case over the future ownership of much of the north side of Sauble Beach, likely won’t be heard in 2020, South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Janice Jackson said. “No date has been set for the summary judgment motion. It is unlikely to be […]

January 22, 2020

Georgian Bluffs has passed a new zoning bylaw. At its council meeting on Wednesday, council passed the bylaw, which replaces one from 2003. The old bylaw is outdated, includes hundreds of amendments and has mapping that is illegible in some areas of the municipality. The bylaw was the second attempt by the township. it passed […]

Georgian Bluffs will consider bringing back a scheduled flight service to the Wiarton Keppel International Airport, despite it costing the municipality just over $54,000 in 2019. At its meeting on Wednesday, council received a report from airport manager Gaurav Sharma regarding the scheduled service and passed a motion to further discuss it at budget time, […]

It’s almost time to wake up Willie. With Wiarton’s weather-prognosticating groundhog set to make his annual early morning prediction Feb. 2, South Bruce Peninsula officials will soon begin turning up the heat to rouse the snoozing pug-nosed albino marmot. “We wake him up a few days prior to prediction morning and we do that by […]

The Owen Sound Attack went to work Wednesday in a 5-0 shut out over the basement-dwelling Sarnia Sting at the Bayshore. It’s a game the Attack needed to win heading into a two-game weekend set with the Erie Otters. A weekend with serious standings implications as the Otters and Attack continue to battle near the […]

A Chatsworth man has been arrested and charged after a robbery at a downtown Owen Sound bank on Wednesday morning. Just before 11:30, a man entered the bank with his face concealed by a bandana, glasses and a hood. He displayed a knife to the teller in a threatening manner and directed her to quickly […]

Bayshore race returns August 30 The 11th annual Owen Sound Subaru Bayshore Race in support of the Owen Sound Hospital Foundation will be held August 30, 2020. “We’re looking forward to another incredible year of running and walking for a great cause,” said Greg Nicol, race co-director. “This race offers a 1km Kids Fun Run, […]

The OPP will continue policing South Bruce Peninsula for at least the next three years. Council has decided to renew the town’s contract with the provincial force instead of going with a proposal from the Saugeen Shores Police Service. Mayor Janice Jackson, who is also chair of South Bruce Peninsula’s police services board, said the […]

Northern Bruce Peninsula has heard an “outpouring of concern” about its Lion’s Head lighthouse since the structure was destroyed by a winter storm early last week. Community services manager Ryan Deska said many people have expressed how important the landmark is to them and their desire to assist with building a replacement, which the municipality […]

Grey County will be host for two job fairs in February and is recruiting employers for them now. The annual Owen Sound job fair draws more than 1,000 job seekers every year, according to the county. It will return to the city Thursday, Feb. 20 at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre, between 2 and […]

About 400 local Catholic elementary and secondary teachers picketed in front of closed schools in Grey-Bruce Tuesday during their union’s first province-wide strike in more than two decades. Members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) Bruce-Grey units walked picket lines in front of St. Mary’s High School in Owen Sound, St. Teresa of […]

January 21, 2020

Big risk. Big reward. When Oshawa Generals general manager Roger Hunt traded nine draft picks and the rights to David Gucciardi to the Niagara IceDogs he was banking on nights like Monday in Owen Sound. The lone prize he coveted in that deadline move, Philip Tomasino, had two goals and two assists as the Generals […]

With its attempt to sell off the historic former courthouse and jail property at a standstill, Owen Sound is investigating the idea of demolishing some or all of the old jail buildings in hopes of boosting the site’s marketability. At a recent community services committee meeting, a consulting firm retained by the city presented four […]

Mark O’Leary stepped into his dream job earlier this month. The Owen Sound native was promoted to head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors after serving for eight seasons as an assistant, and more recently associate coach, behind the Warriors’ bench. “When I was younger I never even thought of coaching pro or anything, I […]