Owen Sound Sun Times

It’s almost time. With a last lift of asphalt expected to be laid Monday, the 14-month 10th Street bridge replacement project is in its final stretch and the new five-lane structure is poised to reopen to traffic soon. Dennis Kefalas, Owen Sound’s public works and engineering director, said while the city is still planning to […]

The Kiwanis Club of Owen Sound is seeing unprecedented early demand for its Christmas trees this year – a situation that’s been playing out at tree lots and farms across Ontario and beyond. “We’ve sold approximately 500 trees so far of our 850 that we have to sell. We have sold out every year for […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported five new cases of COVID-19 Friday. The newest cases were found in Grey Highlands (2), Huron-Kinloss, Meaford and The Blue Mountains. There are now 31 active confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region with eight probable cases and 191 high-risk contacts. One indeterminate case was also included in Friday’s data […]

More voices have come forward in an effort to stop the Town of South Bruce Peninsula from cutting back the dunes at Sauble Beach and installing a concrete-block retaining wall. The Town of South Bruce Peninsula is planning to improve parking by excavating sand and vegetation from the back of encroaching dunes and installing a […]

Fatal drug overdoses this year will “easily” exceed the 16 coroner-confirmed deaths of last year, if anecdotal reports prove true, a public health manager said Friday. Ian Reich issued an overdose alert late Thursday to report there had been two deaths suspected due to opioids. These were among “at least” five reported opioid overdoses in […]

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has begun to prepare two sites along Concession Road 8 north of Teeswater where they plan to drill boreholes next year as part of their deep geological repository (DGR) site evaluation. The NWMO has now secured more than 1,500 acres of land in the South Bruce area where they are […]

With calls for service and crime on the upswing, Owen Sound’s police service is proposing to hire two more full-time officers next year to ensure “adequate and effective policing.” Chief Craig Ambrose said the city has gone from having 40 full-time and three part-time officers in 2011 to 37 full-time and five part-time officers in […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported nine new cases of COVID-19 Thursday. The newest cases were found in Southgate (4), Grey Highlands (2), Arran-Elderslie (2), and The Blue Mountains. There are now 36 confirmed active cases in the region with seven probable cases and 204 high-risk close contacts. A case is listed as probable by […]

There’s one day left to buy raffle tickets to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Grey Bruce. Held every two months, the Big Brothers Big Sisters Ontario Bigger Together 50/50 Raffle shares half of raffle proceeds with the winner. This is the second provincial draw. The winning ticket in the first draw was worth $178,000, […]

Bruce County council elected South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Janice Jackson warden for the 2021 term at its meeting Thursday. Jackson will take over the seat from Huron-Kinloss Mayor Mitch Twolan. Jackson won on the first ballot over Twolan. “It is truly an honour to have my council colleagues instill me with the responsibilities of warden […]

Shoppers still have time to book a time slot at the Holiday Student Makers Market Saturday in the former Sydenham Community School, 1130 8thSt. E. in Owen Sound. Wares of the successful applicants to the Student Maker Market Micro Grant Program will be displayed for sale. These include woodworking, art, baking mixes and apparel which […]

Just before fireworks mark Owen Sound’s 100th anniversary of city incorporation Saturday night, Rogers TV will broadcast an hour-long stroll down memory lane, with local history and five city mayors’ favourite municipal memories. The COVID-19-modified community celebration, designed to keep us distanced but still connected to this historical milestone, begins at 6 p.m. with a […]

Grey-Bruce added six new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, including someone at Gospel Light Christian School in Ceylon. So far no outbreak has been declared in the school of 20 students and five staff but that could change, Dr. Ian Arra, medical officer of health for Grey-Bruce, said Wednesday in an interview. He declined to say […]

The city is planning to introduce in January landing fees at the Owen Sound Billy Bishop Regional Airport to help reduce the amount of property tax dollars required to operate and maintain the facility. Council supported a recommendation from city manager Tim Simmonds Monday directing staff to both provide notice of the city’s intent and […]

A new app that charts food assistance data shows there was a four-fold increase in demand for free, prepared meals over the course of the pandemic in Grey-Bruce. Food Bruce Grey contains five public “dashboards” that present information about the growth of local programs offering free meals, donations of fresh produce, food bank use, food […]

City council has approved a plan in principle to demolish the dilapidated governor’s residence and outbuildings on the city’s former courthouse and jail properties in 2022 in hopes of boosting the chances of finding someone to purchase the sites and repurpose the historic courthouse. In the meantime, council has directed staff to once again kick-start […]

Owen Sound police arrested two knife-wielding men who appeared to threaten a third male in downtown Owen Sound Tuesday afternoon. Police said in a news release that two men approached another male “and threatened the victim by each brandishing a large knife and making threatening gestures.” This happened outside a small eatery about 12:45 p.m. […]

Grey County’s newly minted 2021 Warden Selwyn Hicks says increasing affordable housing is his top priority as he embarks on a second term at the helm of county council. “As a member of the Hanover-Owen Sound task force as well as the affordable housing task force, I have been moved deeply by the data that […]

Demolition at the 13-acre site of the dilapidated former Sauble Beach amusement park began Monday. The site was once the home of Sauble Beach Fun World and Sauble Beach Amusements at 701 Main St., which is near the eastern entrance of the popular beach town. It’s now being cleared to make way for the development […]

Non-residents will likely start paying for parking at the parks operated by the Municipality of Meaford beginning in 2021. During its committee of the whole meeting on Monday, Meaford council voted during its draft budget discussions to implement a paid parking program at nine municipally-owned parks. Residents of the municipality would be issued a window […]

Meaford council has deferred for a year a decision on a proposal to dissolve the Inter Township Fire Department partnership with Georgian Bluffs. Council voted during its committee of the whole meeting on Monday to hold off on making a decision on a recommendation that would have seen Georgian Bluffs take over sole ownership of […]

What a start to December! Winter’s first major storm arrived in Grey-Bruce Monday night and it was expected to remain until early Wednesday morning. About 30 centimetres of snow had already fallen in OWen Sound by noon Tuesday and 13 more were forecast to fall by 7 a.m. Wednesday, the storm’s forecast end, city public […]

Two development proposals – both with plans to build multi-unit apartment buildings in Owen Sound – took significant steps forward Monday at city hall. Council conditionally approved a site plan agreement for a two-phase project by Hedera Residential Development, which is planning to build 36 townhouse units in nine buildings along with a four-storey, 60-unit […]

The electronic edition of today’s Sun Times has been made available to all due to weather-related distribution problems. It can be accessed at eedition.owensoundsuntimes.com/

Grey-Bruce’s medical officer of health has proposed to the province that this area is a strong candidate to be among the first to distribute COVID-19 vaccine. By raising his hand early and often Dr. Ian Arra hopes to show the Ontario government Grey-Bruce will be ready in January, should a vaccine be ready to distribute […]

A probable case of COVID-19 associated with Macphail Memorial Elementary School in Flesherton appears not to involve transmission at school, on a bus or in a daycare centre, the Grey Bruce Health unit announced in a news release Monday. Probable cases are those experiencing symptoms,with a direct link to a positive COVID-19 case, but has […]

While COVID-19 has snuffed out Wiarton’s annual celebration of weed and curling this winter, organizers are still planning to again celebrate the harvest with their Fall Fair Grower’s Competition. The annual Wiarton Bongspiel — Canada’s first event to combine curling and cannabis after the drug was legalized for recreational use in October 2018 — had […]

After just one case of COVID-19 was in Grey-Bruce on Saturday, eight more cases of the virus were confirmed in the region on Sunday. Of the new cases on Sunday, three were in Grey Highlands and two were in Huron-Kinloss, with single cases in Southgate, Arran-Elderslie and West Grey. Saturday’s lone case was in Southgate. […]

As the Bluewater Quilters’ Guild and its members have continued to help people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have also been reminded of how local quilters helped others overseas more than 75 years ago. In late October, the guild received an e-mail out of the blue from an avid quilter in Scotland, with […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported one new case of COVID-19 in the region on Saturday. The case in Southgate brings the total number of cases in the two counties since the pandemic began to 319. The lone case comes after the health unit reported double-digit case counts over the previous three days – 12 […]

Bruce County is holding a free virtual event aimed at helping businesses face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The county is holding its Bridges to Better Business event on Wednesday, featuring Terry O’Reilly of CBC’s Under the Influence as the keynote speaker. During the event, called Jump the Fence: The Power of Counterintuitive Thinking, […]

A Christian school in Tara has closed temporarily while its board works with the Grey Bruce Health Unit on its COVID-19 protocols and procedures. The health unit put out a news release on Friday afternoon that said the board of Glad Tidings Christian School in Tara had decided to close the school effective immediately out […]

The Saugeen Ojibway Nation Environment Office has asked South Bruce Peninsula to halt its parking improvement work along Lakeshore Boulevard in Sauble Beach until the municipality receives consent from Saugeen First Nation. South Bruce Peninsula is preparing to cut back encroaching sand dunes and install a concrete-block retaining wall along Lakeshore Boulevard from the Crowd […]

For the second straight day, the Grey Bruce Health Unit reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The health unit reported two new cases in each of Kincardine, Grey Highlands, Arran-Elderslie and West Grey. Owen Sound and Southgate each had one new case. With the new cases there have been 318 cases confirmed in […]

Meaford’s dragon slayers will once again try to court the town’s business big-wigs in the hopes of injecting cash into their start-ups and expansion plans. This year’s Meaford Chamber of Commerce Meaford Dragons production is going virtual on Dec. 2 via Vimeo on Demand. Modelled after the popular CBC television show Dragon’s Den, the Meaford […]

Brockton is working with the Ontario Fire College to bring firefighter training closer to home. The partners are planning to establish a regional fire training centre at the Walkerton Fire Hall to allow for in-house training for the Walkerton and Elmwood Fire Departments, and serve other departments across Bruce County and the surrounding area. Brockton’s […]

The puck has dropped on the Owen Sound Attack’s Attack Hunger campaign presented by IG Wealth Management and in support of the Salvation Army Food Bank in Owen Sound. And while this year the campaign has adapted its operation around the COVID-19 pandemic and the postponement of the OHL season, donations of food and money […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday and a COVID-19 outbreak at Golden Dawn Senior Citizen Home in Lion’s Head. A staff member has tested positive for COVID-19 at the long-term care facility. Dr. Ian Arra, Grey-Bruce’s medical officer of health, said so far no other staff or residents at […]

While it is still very early in the budget process, Grey County is starting out with a proposed net levy increase of 2.18 per cent in 2021. On Thursday, Grey County’s director of corporate services, Kevin Weppler, provided county council with an overview of the 2021 budget that staff has been developing. Council is scheduled […]

Most Bruce County tourism-sector businesses earned significantly less revenue in the second quarter of this year over that of last year, amid the first lockdowns due to COVID-19, a county survey conducted in October says. “These businesses were the first to feel the impact and will likely take the longest to recover,” said a Bruce […]

Hanover police displayed a stun gun but didn’t fire it when a suspect refused to submit to arrest. Police were called to the 500-block of 10thAvenue to investigate reports of a “disturbance” late at night Nov. 21. Witnesses identified a suspect, whom police approached, a police news release issued Thursday said. There was a brief […]

While COVID-19 is forcing ski resorts and outdoor sports clubs in Grey-Bruce to adjust their operations for the first full winter of the pandemic, retailers are seeing a surge in demand for skis, snowboards and outerwear. Mark Anderson, a partner at Squire John’s in The Blue Mountains, said this has been the best November on […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. The new cases were reported in Arran-Elderslie (7), Kincardine (2), Hanover, Owen Sound and Southgate. A previous preliminary positive case has now been confirmed as a false positive and removed from the report. That leaves one preliminary positive and one indeterminate case to […]

A Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities sports relief fund grant has been used to purchase 53 pairs of snowshoes for elementary and secondary students at Saugeen District Senior School. The $8 million fund announced by Jumpstart Charities in September was created to help sport and recreation organizations continue to deliver programs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and […]

A 58-year-old man originally charged with murder in the deaths of two men in Collingwood nearly two years ago was committed to trial on manslaughter charges instead Wednesday. In an audio appearance in the Ontario Court of Justice in Barrie, Cameron Gardiner was committed to trial in the Superior Court of Justice. A judicial pretrial […]

Infighting, political involvement, legal threats, and a social media barrage have filled the past week since the planned move of the Brampton Excelsiors to Owen Sound leaked online and was later confirmed by all parties involved. And despite the noise, it seems clear now that the move will go ahead after it receives the final […]

COVID-19 is with us and will be with us for the foreseeable future. It has brought about dramatic and drastic change. We only need look at the Kiwanis Santa Claus Parade in Owen Sound to see that. What was going to be a celebrator 75th year for the parade, became a “drive by” parade to […]

Farmers can expect improvements to Canada’s business risk management (BRM) programs for agriculture if the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food has its way. On Nov. 17, the 12-member committee headed by Liberal Pat Finnigan, a life-long greenhouse grower in the Miramichi region of New Brunswick, adopted a short, succinct report and […]

Georgian Bluffs is ready to go to Grey and Bruce counties to plead its case for the Wiarton-Keppel International Airport to become a regional facility. On Tuesday, the lower-tier municipality held an online public meeting about the facility and its future within the municipality. During the meeting, which included participation from dozens of members of […]