Owen Sound Sun Times

Hundreds of COVID-19 test results of residents and staff at Brucelea Haven in Walkerton have so far come back negative for the virus after a COVID-19 outbreak was declared there on Monday. Grey-Bruce Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra said Wednesday afternoon that at least 200 negative results have been received from residents and […]

Seeds are now being sown to ensure local community gardens will continue producing healthy food for area residents this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian Mental Health Association Grey Bruce staff has begun preparing the beds at its Fresh Roots Food Forest & Gardens in Owen Sound, while Bruce Botanical Food Gardens volunteers are planning […]

Brockton has cancelled an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Walkerton E. coli water disaster, which killed seven people and sickened more than half the town after they unwittingly drank tainted tap water. Current public health directives against large gatherings during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic left no other choice, said Paulette Peirol, Brockton’s community […]

Eleven fines of $750 each have been issued by James Special Services to people in the Town of South Bruce Peninsula who are failing to comply with provincial orders under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. The majority of those who received fines were using Sauble Beach, which has been closed since early April […]

An Owen Sound man faces numerous charges after he was arrested in the city on Tuesday. Just before 6:30 p.m., members of the Owen Sound police drug enforcement unit and criminal investigations branch concluded a drug trafficking investigation with the arrest of a man in the 1000 block of 2nd Avenue East. Police seized methamphetamine, […]

A man has been arrested in connection with an assault on an employee at the drive-thru window of McDonald’s in Hanover earlier this month. A 44-year-old Hanover man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon and has been charged with assault for striking the employee, Hanover Police Chief Chris Knoll said via Twitter. The suspect was later […]

Nearly $7,000 was sent to a con artist after a Huron-Kinloss resident fell victim to a romance scam. South Bruce OPP are warning people about the romance scam, which typically starts online through social media or an online dating site, South Bruce OPP said in a news release on Tuesday. The conversations quickly become romantic […]

The Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which organizers say is Canada’s most prestigious automotive event, has been cancelled for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Founder and show chair Rob McLeese said the decision was made due to the uncertainty around the novel coronavirus situation and to help protect the health and safety of those who […]

A male youth who was the victim of an alleged assault in Durham on Monday has been released from hospital. Two other male youths have been charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for dangerous purposes, and failure to comply with a youth sentence. At approximately 3 p.m., a male […]

Extensive testing has been carried out at the Bruce County-run Brucelea Haven long-term care home in Walkerton after tests confirmed two staff members there have COVID-19. Grey-Bruce Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra said Tuesday that all 126 of the residents at Brucelea Haven have now been tested, while 120 of the 215 staff […]

Bruce County’s plan to provide child care to health-care and frontline workers has been approved, with plans to start out by piloting the program with the South Bruce Grey Health Centre. The program, which will see childcare provided in the home of the child, was approved by the Ministry of Education on April 21 after […]

The South Bruce Grey Health Centre is reopening its Walkerton hospital for admissions of non-COVID-19 and non-respiratory patients because an anticipated surge in patients due to the pandemic hasn’t materialized so far. The move comes after on April 6 the acute care units at the Kincardine and Walkerton hospitals were dedicated as COVID-19/respiratory units. But […]

Calls for widespread COVID-19 testing are not supported by science and could affect the reliability of the tests and data, Grey-Bruce’s medical officer of health said Monday. A possible false-positive COVID-19 test at Sepoy Manor in Lucknow triggered an outbreak declaration Saturday. The resident who originally tested positive later tested negative alongside all 73 residents […]

The owners of the Heritage Grove shopping complex property in Owen Sound have cleared key hurdles in their plan to fully build-out the site, with proposals to construct a hotel, restaurants and other retail shops near 16th Street East. City council voted Monday night to conditionally approve a site plan for the project and to […]

It’s tough enough for 140 Tenneco workers that manufacturing at their plant will end Friday. Only a handful will remain to close the sprawling, 45-year-old auto parts plant in Owen Sound, where nearly 500 worked when the plant closure was announced in October 2018. Now the opening of a centre to support Tenneco workers has […]

Owen Sound raised a Canadian Labour Congress flag above city hall Tuesday in recognition of the National Day of Mourning, a day to remember those who have lost their lives or suffered injury or illness on the job or due to a work-related tragedy. The flag-raising, which happened this year without a ceremony or gathering […]

The Canadian Mental Health Association Grey Bruce is seeing more people accessing their services for longer as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on. Clark MacFarlane, chief executive officer of CMHA Grey Bruce Mental Health and Addiction Services, said Monday they are certainly seeing an increase in their wait lists as they continue to do intakes and […]

Directors of education with local public and Catholic boards said Monday that distance learning is a lot harder than having teachers and students in the classroom. So extending e-learning in publically funded schools to the end of May will require more focus on how students are progressing outside of the classroom, they said. Education Minister […]

A pair of Brucelea Haven long-term care staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. The Walkerton home is the third long-term care facility to have a reported COVID-19 outbreak in Grey-Bruce. It only takes one confirmed case of the respiratory disease in a long-term care facility for an outbreak to be declared by public health. […]

Two events that put Owen Sound on the map each summer – Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival and the Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular — have been shelved for 2020. But organizers of both events are vowing to come back bigger and better in 2021. “The derby will survive and we will be back stronger,” said […]

Saugeen Shores residents are among eight people charged in a scheme police allege involved delivery of illicit marijuana to customers’ doors in the Grey-Bruce area. Saugeen Shores Police Service announced the drug bust Monday, after they began an investigation in February, Sgt. Andy Evans said in a phone interview. People charged were from Port Elgin, […]

Summerfolk 45 has been cancelled. The Georgian Bay Folk Society has announced that the annual music and craft festival, scheduled for Aug. 21-23, will not go ahead due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, the society said the decision was a difficult, but necessary one, with the health and safety […]

An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at Sepoy Manor Retirement Living in Lucknow. The Grey Bruce Health Unit said the outbreak was declared Saturday at the home, which has capacity for up to 35 residents, according to the facility’s website. Sunday’s daily situation report from public health said three people in Huron-Kinloss, which is […]

The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to deliver a roughly $1-million hit to Owen Sound’s operating budget, mostly due to reduced user fees and other revenue, city council heard Monday night. “I’d like to highlight that that’s a conservative forecast,” Kate Allan, director of corporate services, said during Monday night’s meeting, which was […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported two new lab-confirmed local cases of COVID-19 Saturday, bringing the region’s total so far to 72. It was the fourth straight day that two new cases were reported over a previous 24-hour period. Thirty-five of the 72 local cases have recovered, public health days, and no one with a […]

An Owen Sound business has now given away more than 4,000 “ear savers” to front-line health care providers and is creating new products as a way to show support for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Have1.com has provided ear saver clips – worn at the back of the head to hold medical masks in […]

For the second straight year, Grey County council has opted to reduce the property tax rate for local farmland. Council approved in a weighted 51-39 vote Thursday a motion by Southgate Deputy-mayor Brian Milne to lower the farmland tax ratio from 24 to 21.8 per cent of the residential property tax class. The move comes […]

Grey County is a significant step closer to building a new, expanded Rockwood Terrace long-term care home in Durham. County council passed a bylaw Thursday to formally approve a land swap that will see the county acquire from Durham Stone & Paving Inc. (DSPI) about 32 acres of property in Durham – directly behind the […]

After a dip in referrals early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people accessing the youth mental health services at Keystone Child, Youth and Family Services are back to about normal. And while the pandemic is like nothing experienced before, if past crises are any indication, a significant increase of referrals can be […]

For the third straight day the Grey Bruce Health Unit has reported two new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the region’s cumulative total to 70. There have been 21 reported COVID-19 cases in healthcare workers, and 34 of the 70 cases have recovered. The health unit renewed a call Friday to a widening group of […]

Less than six months after opening K’mon Let’s Play and achieving her dream of becoming an entrepreneur, Kim Keskinen has been forced to shutter her Owen Sound business due to the fallout of the COVID-19 situation. “It’s really hit me hard. I’ve suffered from a lot of anxiety and, to be honest, depression since this […]

The Grey Sauble Conservation Authority is working with its legal counsel to rectify “by whatever means necessary” a title dispute involving a piece of property the organization says is part of its Hibou Conservation Area just north of Owen Sound. GSCA officials say they discovered, after For Sale signs were posted earlier this month, that […]

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Owen Sound police charged a 30-year-old man with mischief after an elevator control panel was urinated on, which caused the elevator to break down, police said in a news release Friday. That was the first of two calls this week involving bizarre behaviour that police said also involved drugs. Police were notified of the elevator […]

Two new lab-test confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus turned up in Grey-Bruce in the past 24 hours bringing the total number of cases in the region to 68. The Grey Bruce Health Unit is rolling out a recently developed plan to test all residents and staff in long-term care facilities. It’s expected the plan […]

Water levels in Lake Huron have been setting record monthly highs so far this spring, and could be heading towards an all-time record in the near future under the right conditions. “From now until it hits its peak in July sometime typically, we usually see a rise of about 20 to 30 centimetres from this […]

Traffic slowed at the Wiarton-Keppel International Airport in March and it is believed the COVID-19 pandemic is to blame. “As we all know COVID-19 is affecting the airport,” airport manager Zachery Premate said during Georgian Bluffs’ online council meeting on Wednesday. “We have seen movement numbers drop and also fuel sales drop during this time.” […]

All Maple View long-term care residents with COVID-19 are recovering well, executive director Tracee Givens said Thursday. She spoke with relief, enthusiasm and pride in her staff and credited what a resident called their “esprit de corps” for facing the pandemic virus threat and rising to the occasion. “The good news is every single resident […]

A female youth in Owen Sound has been arrested and charged with two counts of arson causing damage to property as the result of an investigation into two fires at a west-side apartment building in the past year. The Owen Sound Police Service investigated a pair of suspicious fires that occurred on Aug. 15, 2019, […]

Owen Sound named a new city manager Thursday. Tim Simmonds will replace Wayne Ritchie, who is retiring after more than 30 years in public service. Ritchie held the city manager role for the past five years. Simmonds brings more than two decades of municipal experience. He most recently served as the City of Vaughn’s interim […]

Grey-Bruce Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra is echoing health officials across Canada in advising the public that non-medical face masks may be worn as an added measure to physical distancing to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Arra said Wednesday that the public needs to weigh wearing a face covering and the benefits […]

Two new lab-test confirmed cases of COVID-19 from the previous 24 hours were reported in Grey-Bruce Wednesday afternoon, bringing the region’s total to 66 cases. There are now 22 recovered cases, according to the public health unit’s daily situation report posted Wednesday afternoon. Of the total cases for the area, 21 are in health-care workers, […]

Every health-related service and organization in Grey-Bruce should have a roughly three-month stock of personal protective equipment within the next few weeks thanks to local efforts to secure PPE, according to the region’s medical officer of health. “I believe our area will be in a very enviable position compared to other areas in the province,” […]

The Sydenham condominium was placed into receivership last month. A Superior Court judge granted Meridian Credit Union Limited’s motion to place Sydenham Properties Inc. into receivership on March 10. Insolvency trustee msi Spergel Inc. is the receiver and manager. The unfinished project is subject to two orders from city building officials, dated March 11. Work […]

When he heard some health-care workers had resorted to wearing garbage bags to protect themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic, Abraflex CEO John Bradley knew “immediate action” was needed to address a shortage of protective gowns, he said. His Paisley-based company, which manufactures sophisticated protective suits for the nuclear industry, immediately answered early this month Bruce […]

A driver whose foot slipped off the brake and onto the gas pedal while parking caused “considerable damage” to an Owen Sound building in the 1000 block of 2nd Avenue East Tuesday morning. Just before 8 a.m., the botched braking caused the car to drive over a low curb and into the building, according to […]

Two Owen Sound residents have been charged as the result of the Owen Sound Police and Grey-Bruce OPP collaborating in a property crime investigation. Search warrants were executed at two west-side apartments in the city. Police recovered a stolen motor vehicle, licence plates, BMW tires, keys for multiple pieces of heavy equipment and a mitre […]

Bruce Power will provide 1.2 million pieces of personal protective equipment to over 100 front-line organizations by the end of the month to support health-care workers fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement made Wednesday morning more than doubles the nuclear power operator’s previous commitment of 600,000 pieces of PPE, and is the largest announced […]

An application has been made to bring a cannabis retail store to Southampton. The application for the store, called Cannabis Grey Bruce, at 17 Albert St. is currently in the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s 15-day public notice phase, which runs until May 5. The application is one of three in Grey-Bruce currently before […]

Only one new lab-confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported to the Grey Bruce Health Unit Tuesday, according to public health’s daily situation report. The lone positive test result comes after a full day that saw no new cases in the region. So far, there have been a total of 64 confirmed cases of the novel […]