Owen Sound Sun Times

Just a few months after the SS Norisle was towed away from its berth on Manitoulin Island to be scrapped, her sister ship the MS Norgoma appears to be heading for the same fate. On Monday, Sault Ste. Marie council accepted a staff resolution to begin the process of decommissioning the ship, which has been [...]

Taxi fares are set to increase in Owen Sound, while some fees that cab companies pay are to decrease after a chamber of commerce-led initiative to create more transportation options for residents in the city. At its meeting on Wednesday, the Owen Sound Police Services board passed a motion to make some fare and fee [...]

Travis Couch and Lisa Buckton lined up Wednesday morning at the mall to collect their bags of donated children's gifts for Christmas. As many as 270 families did the same over the course of the morning, all beneficiaries of the Owen Sound Professional Fire Fighters' Toy Drive. The line started by the mall food court [...]

The Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority has appointed a senior employee to fill in for general manager Jennifer Stephens while she is on a leave of absence. In an announcement posted to its website last week, the SVCA formally announced that Erik Downing will take over as acting general manager and secretary-treasurer. Downing has managed the [...]

Owen Sound Hunger and Relief Effort is preparing to serve more than 400 Christmas meals to go on Christmas Day. The 10-year-old charitable organization's annual Christmas meals are served in partnership with the Owen Sound Salvation Army. On Christmas Day all who need a meal are welcome, as well as those who are alone on [...]

Brightshores Health System has opened an expanded Crisis Support Program at the Owen Sound hospital. On Tuesday, Brightshores held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the renovated unit, which is designed to provide supports and a safe environment for patients experiencing a mental health crisis. Located adjacent to the Emergency department, the outpatient program operates 24/7, and [...]

Owen Sound council decided not to reconsider its decision to raise garbage bag tag prices. The tags will increase by one dollar, to $3.50, starting in the new year. Each bag of garbage to be collected is required to have a tag. Deputy-mayor Scott Greig's motion Monday night for council to reconsider its decision required [...]

Owen Sound council voted to have a closer look at the multi-year capital budget early next year in light of new projects proposed and rising costs. Coun. Brock Hamley's successful motion was built on concerns raised that staff-proposed changes needed more scrutiny. I think there's a whole bunch of new items that have been added [...]

The Owen Sound North Stars are running out of time and the Major Series Lacrosse league's patience may be wearing thin. Ontario's senior A lacrosse circuit has made it clear they are done with Joe Norton, the Michigan-based businessman and Bug Juice owner who purchased the senior B Owen Sound North Stars and senior A [...]

Rookie Attack goaltender Carter George is headed to the Canadian Hockey League's top prospects game in Moncton next month. On Tuesday the Canadian Hockey League announced the 40 players who will make up the rosters for the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects game set for Jan. 24. After a 10-game audition during the 2022-23 season [...]

Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy reviewed city accomplishments Monday night at council, then he heard complaints about taxes. Members of council, some wearing Christmas sweaters on the last council meeting of the year, listened to the mayor recall city accomplishments. A recording of his remarks and the entire council meeting is found on the city's [...]

TC Energy is still waiting to hear whether the provincial government will approve its massive $4.5 billion pumped storage project proposed for Meaford. Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith was expected to make a final determination on Nov. 30 after reviewing analysis from the province's Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and following a 45-day public consultation [...]

Police in Hanover believe a male who threw a Molotov cocktail at the rear entrance of the Travellers Inn is the cause of a fire that started there on Friday evening. Hanover Police began an investigation into the arson after police and the Hanover Fire Department responded to the blaze at 6:35 p.m. Friday. Police [...]

A 41-year-old from Holland Landing faces charges after the Canada Border Services Agency seized six kilograms of Ketamine with an estimated street value of $243,000 destined for an address in Hepworth. According to a media release, the Grey Bruce OPP's Community Street Crime Unit and members of the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau began an [...]

The Owen Sound Emergency Communications Centre has outgrown its main-floor space in the city police station and will move upstairs into renovated quarters. City council Monday awarded a $644,081 contract for the work to Allen Hastings Inc., which includes a $70,000 contingency allowance, and was the lowest bid received. It was budgeted to cost $732,300, [...]

This year to the end of September, the city's 911 dispatch centre received a 15 per cent more calls over 2022 in the same period. The Owen Sound Emergency Communications Centre takes calls for six police services - Owen Sound, West Grey, Hanover and Saugeen Shores locally, Port Hope and Cobourg police services, and 45 [...]

Georgian Bluffs recently honoured individuals for their outstanding contributions to the community. The 2023 Volunteer of the Year Awards, a recognition program initiated in December 2021, honours volunteers who have made significant impacts in the Georgian Bluffs community. Each recipient is presented with a certificate and asked to choose a community organization that will be [...]

U14 Jr. ATTACK BUSY OVER WEEKEND The Owen Sound Harold Sutherland Construction Junior Attack under-14 squad has a busy weekend. On Sunday, the squad was shut out 2-0 by the Milton Winterhawks at the Bayshore. Jr. Attack goaltender Paul McKenna stood tall facing 48 shots from the fourth-ranked team in the province. On Saturday, Ben [...]

A faulty extension cord is being blamed as the cause of a house fire Friday in Owen Sound. City firefighters responded to a call just after 10 a.m. The call described billowing smoke coming out of the third floor attic of a house at 6th Avenue and 7th Street A East. Fire Chief Phil Eagleson [...]

Grey-Bruce home sales last month were up 16 per cent from where they were a year ago, but still remain well below the average for the time of year. A total of 152 units were sold in November through the MLS System of the Realtors Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound. But even with the [...]

Credit to official Brendan Kane and a flair for the dramatic. With Windsor and Owen Sound in overtime, deadlocked in a 3-3 tie, Oliver Peer hauled down Sam Sedley on a breakaway. Peer said after the game he thought Sedley went down a little too easy. Sedley argued he was trying to get the puck [...]

The leadership class at Owen Sound District Secondary School has made a donation of $1,700 to the Owen Sound Firefighters Toy Drive. The class raised the funds through a puck toss during high school hockey games that were part of the Owen Sound Hockeyfest festivities on Nov. 17 and 18. The class organized and facilitated [...]

The streets were alive in the little village of Chatsworth on Saturday as Santa Claus came to town. Hundreds of people lined both sides of Garafraxa Street as the 48th annual Santa Claus Parade made its way through the downtown. This year, dozens of entries took part in the festivities, including floats, horse-drawn wagons, bands, [...]

The older guys have suddenly super-sized the London Knights offence. Jacob Julien capped his fifth multi-point game in six outings with his first OHL hat trick. Over-ager Max McCue, with two more goals, has scored in six straight games. Russian Ruslan Gazizov racked up a season-high five points in an 8-2 demolition of Owen Sound [...]

A Port Elgin man is facing impaired driving charges and multiple firearms offences after a traffic stop in Southampton on Friday afternoon resulted in the seizure of nine firearms. Saugeen Shores Police received a report just after 2 p.m. of a suspected impaired driver in the area of North Rankin Street and Turner Street. Police [...]

The average Grey County homeowner is facing a hike of just over $69 to the county portion of their taxes next year. At its final budget meeting on Friday, county council approved cuts to reduce its net levy increase to 6.3 per cent. For the average home assessed at $289,000, that will mean a $69.28 [...]

Grey County is planning to scale back its Grey Transit Route intercommunity bus service, but how that service will look in the future remains to be seen. At a budget session on Friday, county council directed staff to remove $438,000 from its community transportation budget in 2024, which is the amount the county would have [...]

The members of Glassworks Village Co-operative in Owen Sound have put their money where their dreams are and raised more than $630,000 in investments with their backs against the wall to stop the sale of a 46-acre property in Owen Sound's industrial park. The group purchased the land three years ago for $475,000 and proposed [...]

The Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library will be host to a talk about how parents can help children struggling to read. Daniella Green from the International Dyslexia Association of Ontario will be in the auditorium at the library on Monday at 7 p.m. During the Smart Kids, Struggling Readers session, Green will [...]

As Grey County prepares to embark on major road and infrastructure work at the base of Blue Mountain, it will continue to meet with municipal and provincial partners about evolving traffic pressures in the area. On Thursday county council passed a motion brought forward by The Blue Mountains Mayor Andrea Matrosovs to work with her [...]

Meaford council is a step closer to regulating short-term accommodations. Council on Monday unanimously accepted staff's recommendations and directed them to bring back a licensing bylaw and licensing and enforcement plans. They're likely to get the report by the end of February or March, said Robert Voigt, the development services director, by email later. The [...]

PUFFER HOCKEY LEAGUE RESULTS Gary Byers Sound and Lighting beat Hometown Sports, 3-1. Brent Brohman, Rocky Neelands and Sean Savage scored for Sound and Lighting. Luke Hillyer notched the goal for Hometown. Smith-Tel shut out M&M Food Market 5-0. Robert Cline with two goals including the game-winner. Meanwhile, Hobart and Thom Construction played to a [...]

Proposed battery storage projects in the region have Grey County councillors concerned. On Thursday, council requested a report from staff with more information about battery energy storage systems (BESS), for which there have been at least four proposals in or near the county. Among the concerns raised at the municipal level are incomplete information, a [...]

Beginning next summer, a first-of-its-kind wave, rip current and rough surf warning system may help better protect Station Beach users in Kincardine. A three-year pilot project spearheaded by the Municipal Innovation Council, an association of eight Bruce County municipalities, aims to develop a real-time beach warning system using an integrated sensor network and machine-learning models [...]

High school diploma equivalency testing will be discontinued across Canada next spring, which concerns local Adult Learning Centre staff. Getting a GED or General Education Development high school equivalency certification demonstrates students have the knowledge they would have learned in high school. It covers social studies, science, writing, reading and math.It's for people who didn't [...]

It has taken longer than expected, but Owen Sound native Evan Rissi is finally seeing his first feature film being distributed for audiences nationwide. The film Going In, which Rissi wrote, directed and starred in, has been picked up by distributor Vortex Media and will be available on Amazon, Apple TV, Tubi and other streaming [...]

A rather light crowd at the Bayshore Wednesday night enjoyed another nailbiter between Highway 6 rivals Guelph and Owen Sound featuring two of the best young goaltenders in the league. Less than a week after Carter George made 34 saves in a 3-2 overtime win at the Sleeman Centre, Brayden Gillespie answered back with a [...]

Wednesday was the final day of business for Wiarton's last remaining gas station. The Petro-Canada gas station at 490 Berford St. was slated to close its doors on Wednesday, meaning residents would need to drive to Hepworth or Ferndale to fuel their vehicles. When reached on Wednesday morning, an employee at the station said they [...]

The Ontario Hockey League has barred former Owen Sound Attack head coach Greg Walters from participating in the league until next season following an investigation into what league officials called an inappropriate verbal altercation in his last game behind the team's bench. On Tuesday, OHL Commissioner David Branch announced Walters has been suspended from coaching [...]

The Bruce Trail Conservancy has added three nature reserves in northern Grey County. The land trust that preserves the ribbon of wilderness" along the Niagara Escarpment recently secured the Mossy Gorge Nature Reserve southwest of Walters Falls, Woodford Karst Nature Reserve at Woodford and Cattail Marsh Nature Reserve south of the Bayview Escarpment Nature Reserve. [...]

Northern Bruce Peninsula council is looking at expanding areas where short-term accommodations are allowed, while not driving housing prices beyond the reach of local people, which at least some on council think could happen. Currently, properties in rural and commercial areas are generally excluded from offering vacation rentals under the municipality's short-term accommodation licensing bylaw, [...]

Seven-year-old Coen Rier was handed a dollar as part of a class project in which students were instructed to use it to make someone's day. What has transpired over the past week-and-a-half has left the Arran-Tara Elementary School Grade 2 student feeling nauseous," but in a good way. Coen chose to use that loonie to [...]

Police updated a charge of attempted murder to first-degree murder against a Grey Highlands woman after a 10-month-old child succumbed to her injuries. Grey Bruce OPP announced the updated charge against Nancy Brubacher Tuesday. She remained in custody awaiting a bail hearing. Police began the investigation on Dec. 7, after members of the Grey Bruce [...]

Owen Sound has joined the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association to spearhead clean energy initiatives. The strategic partnership is part of Owen Sound's broader initiative to champion clean energy technologies and practices, the city announced in a news release. This collaboration is expected to open new avenues for economic development, job creation, and enhanced [...]

A 100-megawatt battery storage project is proposed for the southern doorstep of Owen Sound, one of three battery storage projects proposed in the area which all could be operational in 2027. All three projects are to be submitted to the Independent Electricity System Operator by tomorrow's deadline, Dec. 12, Shift Solar director Bogdon Dinu said [...]

Grey Bruce Farmers' Week will mark its 58th year with another jam-packed lineup of presenters and panels covering the various agricultural commodities. For the second year in a row, the annual conference and tradeshow will be held both in-person and livestreamed from the Elmwood Community Centre between Jan. 3 and 9. We are very pleased. [...]

Just as the Kemble and District Lions Club members turned out of the arena parking lot and onto Kemble Rock Road the sun punched through rain clouds and cleared up a steady drizzle, making way for the club's annual non-motorized Christmas parade. For over two decades now the townsfolk of the picturesque hamlet near the [...]

Sometimes you have to be good. Sometimes you have to be lucky. And sometimes you just have to hold on for dear life. The Owen Sound Attack almost watched a 5-1 lead evaporate in the final 20 minutes and change of Saturday's contest against the Sarnia Sting, but thanks in large part to another stellar [...]

A fundraiser put on by the Owen Sound District Secondary School's leadership class will help provide community members with more than 2,200 meals. OSHaRE executive director Colleen Trask Seaman said the OSDSS leadership class and OSDSS food program came together in November with local potters and businesses to hold the fundraiser. Guests who purchased tickets [...]

When Tara Shannon sketched a drawing of a rabbit and a bear and wrote about being afraid and needing comfort she was just trying to cope. She was thinking about the death of her parents. She was reckoning with cancer treatments, the loss of her job, and feeling emotions of anxiety, depression, and grief. She [...]