Owen Sound Sun Times

Retired Master Warrant Officer Steve Lehman says seeing the large crowd — particularly the many young children — at Owen Sound’s Remembrance Day ceremony shows the sacrifices of veterans are not forgotten. “I don’t want to get a lump in the throat or teary-eyed, but it warms the heart,” he said in an interview shortly […]

Grey-Bruce added five new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, while another school has had a cohort dismissed because of a case of the virus, this one at Georgian Bay Community School in Meaford. The new cases reported in the Grey Bruce Health Unit’s Situation Report on Thursday, includes two in Southgate, and one each in […]

Georgian Bluffs is looking at going to a pay-per-use approach for municipal water customers next year, rather than its current lump sum system. Council directed staff on Nov. 3 to prepare a report on a charge-per-usage water billing system. The direction came after the municipality held a public meeting to give residents an opportunity to […]

November 11, 2021

It looks like Owen Sound will not be pursuing a consultant’s recommendation to extend its transit service to the Sunset Strip. City staff is not exploring the proposal further given the feedback received during an operations committee discussion on a final transit route optimization study, prepared and presented by transit planner Dennis Fletcher & Associates, […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported one new COVID-19 case Wednesday, found in a South Bruce resident. The single added case means there are now 32 active infections in the two counties and 176 associated high-risk contacts. Two residents with COVID-19 are hospitalized locally and 23 residents have died with the virus since the start […]

Lion’s Head educator Breanna Heels says she feels like a winner despite not receiving the Varkey Foundation’s $1-million Global Teacher Prize Wednesday. “To be totally honest, I couldn’t even believe I was Top 10. That was incredible to me and I did not expect to win today,” she said in an interview after taking part […]

After more than 20 months of waiting, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will soon finally hit the Roxy stage. Postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Owen Sound Little Theatre production that was originally slated to run in late March 2020 will open on Nov. 17, and the cast and crew couldn’t […]

Police have recovered a number of items that were stolen in a series of thefts in southern Bruce County last week, including all-terrain vehicles, tools, a generator and a skid steer. Between Nov. 4 and 7, the South Bruce OPP received 14 reports of thefts. The items stolen included all-terrain vehicles, assorted tools, a space […]

South Bruce Peninsula has put out a call for proposals to develop the town-owned lands around its planned town hall and community hub at the north end of Wiarton. A request for proposals has been issued for those interested in developing the lands that are part of the 22-acre site at the corner of Berford […]

Home sales slowed in Grey-Bruce last month as the number of new listings on the market also fell off. The Realtors Association of Grey Bruce Owen Sound reported that home sales totaled 301 units in October, which was down 21 per cent from October 2021. There were just 291 new listings last month, which was […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported no new cases of COVID-19 in the region Tuesday. The number of active local cases now sits at 35 and there are also 196 active high-risk contacts. Three Grey-Bruce residents are currently in a local hospital with a confirmed case of the virus. Public health says there have been […]

Owen Sound could soon be embarking on a $9.3-million, multiyear project to reconstruct most of Alpha Street. City staff is recommending in the $15.1-million draft capital budget for 2022, which council is set to discuss Friday, that Owen Sound retain an engineering consultant next year to produce detailed designed drawings for the project and then […]

The province’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating a collision on Sunday afternoon in which a man died after the vehicle he was in was struck by another vehicle that fled police. At approximately 1:25 p.m. Sunday, a West Grey Police Service officer attempted to stop a driver in the area of Priceville, the SIU said […]

Grey Bruce Health Services will soon require visitors to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to enter its hospitals. The policy, which is to go into effect Nov. 15, will not apply to patients or anyone with an approved medical exemption, the hospital corporation says, and exceptions can be granted in some situations. GBHS announced […]

The unemployment rate in the economic region that includes Grey-Bruce dropped to just three per cent in October — the lowest rate so far this year and below the number seen in any other part of Ontario. It is also well below the provincial unemployment rate, which fell to 7.4 per cent last month. “With […]

The Owen Sound Junior Attack squad nearly won it all at their hometown Silver Stick tournament. During a weekend that saw 43 teams compete in 80 games over four age divisions at the International Silver Stick regional tournament, the youngest Junior Attack wouldn’t lose until the championship contest against the Centre Wellington Fusion. Four Jr. […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported three more confirmed cases of COVID-19 Sunday, two in West Grey and one in Southgate. Active cases are listed at 36 and another 180 cases are high-risk contacts, all being followed by health unit staff. Case counts are current to midnight Saturday. Grey-Bruce has recorded 2,448 confirmed COVID infections, […]

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker’s private member’s resolution recognizing Ontario’s medical isotope industry has received all-party support. His private member’s resolution was introduced and passed Nov. 3. The resolution says the Ontario government should “recognize the supply of medical isotopes used to diagnose and treat cancer and sterilize medical equipment as a key strategic priority […]

An Owen Sound Global Day for Climate Justice organizer on Saturday criticized city council for promising to prepare a report on city greenhouse gas emissions and a plan to reduce them, then failing to deliver. Sonja Ostertag and others spoke to about 60 people at a local rally like those held in cities around the […]

A farm-based micro-brewery that uses old techniques won this year’s Meaford Chamber of Commerce Dragon’s Den competition. The Still Fields Brewery is on 22 acres of a larger parcel along the 3rd Line in Meaford, which Steve Ormsby’s great-grandparents first farmed. The dragons, or judges, each with $1,250 of their own to give, listened to […]

Moments after getting a generous dollop of shaving cream smeared all over his face during a televised post-game interview Colby Barlow took a moment to think about his answer to a trivia question. Who holds the Owen Sound Attack record for most goals by a rookie? “Pretty sure it’s 22. Bobby Ryan,” he answered correctly. […]

Five more confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in Grey-Bruce Saturday. Three were in Arran-Elderslie and two were in Grey Highlands. The Grey Bruce Health Unit is following 38 active cases and another 182 high-risk contacts. The total confirmed cases to date is 2,445 with 2,380 considered resolved. Case numbers are current to midnight Friday. […]

Halloween is over yet Brett Brochu is still the boogeyman this season as far as the Owen Sound Attack are concerned. The Knights earned a 2-1 overtime victory over Owen Sound Friday night in London to improve to a perfect 9-0 on the season. Brochu snatched the win away from the Attack just before the […]

Here’s a history lesson and it’s an easy one to remember. The St. Mary’s Mustangs have won the last six Bluewater Athletic Association football championships. The last four against the Owen Sound District Wolves and the two before that against the West Hill Raiders. Is this the year the Wolves take the next step and […]

Grey-Bruce added five new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Friday and saw the number of high-risk contacts climb by 69. The reason for the increased high-risk contacts was a student who tested positive, who attended four classes at the school, said Dr. Ian Arra, the medical officer of health in Grey-Bruce, in an interview. Those four […]

Once the fall semester ends in December, contractors will move into part of Georgian College’s Owen Sound campus to start creating a nursing and wellness wing where a new four-year standalone nursing degree program will launch in September 2022. “Today, I am so pleased to reveal the renovation plans that will transform this entire wing […]

Second World War veteran Charlie Fisher turned 107 Friday and three students from OSDSS and others sang happy birthday and presented about 250 birthday cards to him at his Owen Sound home. A member of the Royal Canadian Legion was there and so was Emily Jolliffe, director and chief curator of the Billy Bishop Museum, […]

Four age divisions, 43 teams, 80 games on the schedule over three days, four champions crowned. The International Silver Stick hockey tournament is back in Owen Sound this weekend. The action starts Friday with 25 games spread out between the Bayshore Community Centre and Julie McArthur Regional Recreation Centre in Owen Sound. With 43 games […]

“Rouge” – noun – when a single point is scored by the kicking team by booting the ball into, or through, the endzone during a punt or missed field goal with the receiving team failing to advance the ball past the goal line. It’s a charming, unassuming, and typically a non-consequential quirk of Canadian football […]

When you turn your clocks back one hour Sunday, check your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms too. That perennial fire department advice comes also comes with a request for anyone who sleeps with the door closed to also install a fire alarm in that bedroom, city fire prevention officer Greg Nicol said Thursday. So change […]

Grey-Bruce’s COVID-19 case count jumped by 11 Thursday but about half were already known contacts of existing cases and were isolating, Dr. Ian Arra said Thursday. “In general, this is reassuring in that half of them are related to high-risk contacts,” said Arra, Grey-Bruce’s medical officer of health. Of the other half, four were related […]

South Bruce Peninsula plans to continue funding next summer Grey Transit Route’s service to Sauble Beach and undertake nearly 40 capital projects, including reconstructing a section of Spring Creek Road near Hepworth. Those are among the expenses in the town’s proposed 2022 budget, which council approved Tuesday and is set to officially adopt by bylaw […]

Grey County intends to drain a reserve fund and use a government grant to finish a long-running project to resurface its multi-use CP Rail Trail with stone dust. Council approved at a recent committee of the whole session an $836,000 bid from Bluewater Landscaping & Construction to grade, resurface with stone dust and compact the […]

The province has removed gathering limits for Remembrance Day ceremonies but Grey-Bruce legions are still taking a cautious approach amid the 20-month-long pandemic. Owen Sound will have singing, with COVID-19 masks on, and a small parade but no elderly veterans and vulnerable legion members are invited to the cenotaph. In Durham, a much reduced service […]

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is turning to the courts as it seeks to compel an Owen Sound physician to co-operate with its investigation into medical exemptions it says she issued for COVID-19 vaccination requirements. The college has filed applications with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice seeking to compel four Ontario […]

Ontario is allowing more people to get COVID-19 booster shots and online local bookings start Nov. 6. The Grey Bruce Health Unit announced details of the expansion of eligibility for third shots and its plans to deliver them. People are eligible the year they turn 70 or older, as are all hospital and acute-care staff, […]

Owen Sound is looking to spend up to $7,500 to install an interpretive plaque at the 15-foot grandmother sturgeon metal sculpture at the Gitche Namewikwedong Reconciliation Garden. Council approved a motion Monday from Deputy-mayor Brian O’Leary that directs staff to contact the garden committee regarding an interpretive plaque or “other educational device” and then report […]

After being on ice for more than a decade, snowmobile racing is returning to Grey-Bruce. The Canadian Snowcross Racing Association is planning to bring its season opener weekend to Sauble Speedway on Jan. 7-9, 2022. Speedway general manager Joe Chisholm said Wednesday that he is excited at the prospect of bringing a different kind of […]

The Tom Thomson Art Gallery and adjacent Rice House properties could accommodate a new 37,000-square-foot gallery, says a consultant’s report, which concludes that’s how much floor space the city-owned facility would require to meet its current and future needs. Grant Diemert of G.M. Diemert Architect Inc. presented those findings to the city’s facility expansion ad […]

A project to help find people who wander off so they can be returned home as quickly as possible is expanding in Grey-Bruce. Kim Wideman, client services co-ordinator with Victim Services Bruce Grey Perth, explained Wednesday that the Project Lifesaver service has been available in the South Bruce OPP coverage area since last year. It […]

A 29-year-old West Grey man has been charged with several drug trafficking offences following a month-long investigation by the West Grey Police Service’s Criminal Investigations Unit. The investigation led to a search warrant being issued and executed. In the process, police seized a large quantity of fentanyl, crystal methamphetamine and cannabis. According to a West […]

David Beattie faces more time in jail for his manslaughter and indignity to a body convictions when he’s sentenced on Nov. 19. The 25-year-old has spent the equivalent of about 5 1/2 years in presentence custody, a figure which includes enhanced credit for serving time before sentencing, as is commonly granted. But both Crown or […]

Rural residents with reservations about the COVID-19 vaccines are being invited to connect with their vaccinated peers to ask questions and engage in constructive dialogue. Dan Stuckless, a University of Waterloo pharmacy student working on the project with Dr. Feng Chang and the Gateway Centre of Excellence for Rural Health in Goderich, said Tuesday the […]

Grey and Bruce county officials are welcoming planned provincial legislative changes aimed at strengthening the province’s long-term care system. Among the changes in the legislation are increased fines for homes that break the rules, steps that make it easier to take over homes that don’t comply, rules around ensuring residents receive sufficient direct care and […]

The Grey Bruce Health Unit reported three new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday. Two of the newest cases were found in Arran-Elderslie while a single new case has been reported in Kincardine. As of just before midnight Monday, there were 33 active COVID-19 cases in the two counties along with 139 associated high-risk contacts. Three residents […]

Saugeen Shores’ long-time fire chief will soon become Owen Sound’s top firefighter. City council approved a staff recommendation and bylaw Monday night to appoint Phil Eagleson as the new chief of Owen Sound Fire & Emergency Services, effective Nov. 22. “On behalf of members of council, I would like to welcome Chief Eagleson to Owen […]

Two brothers who have put in thousands of hours at OSHaRE during the COVID-19 pandemic and a well-known, long-time community volunteer are being honoured by the city. Owen Sound Mayor Ian Boddy named Thom and Pat McDonough as co-winners of the city’s 2021 volunteer of the year award and Jan Chamberlain as senior of the […]

The impending sale of Owen Sound’s Billy Bishop Regional Airport to a “life-long aviation enthusiast” with a history of restoring properties is good news for property taxpayers, facility users and the soon-to-be new owner, city officials say. Council unanimously passed a resolution and bylaw Monday to sell the 28-year-old, city-owned facility in rural Meaford for […]