Latest news with #BruceCounty
CTV News
13-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Backpack Program applications now open in Grey-Bruce
New backpacks seen on Sept. 6, 2022. (File photo) The United Way of Bruce Grey is now accepting applications for their annual Backpack Program. Backpacks are filled with grade-appropriate school essentials. To apply, you can call or text '211' to speak to someone who will guide you through the process. This program is available for low-income families across Grey and Bruce Counties. In 2024, the Backpack Program helped 2,686 students between Kindergarten and Grade 12. Since the program began in 2005, 37,964 backpacks have been distributed. For more details on how to register, or if you'd like to donate, you can visit their website.
CTV News
18-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Bruce County siblings to share cut of $98,000 lottery prize
A group of four from Bruce County won a LOTTO 6/49 second prize worth $98,226.40 in the April 12, 2025 LOTTO 6/49 draw. (Source: OLG) After 30 years of playing the lottery together, four Bruce County siblings finally had the winning ticket. 'I took our ticket to the store and scanned it using the ticket checker,' said Ron Mahon of Southampton. 'When I saw that it was a big winner, I had to double check. I may have let out a little scream too.' Bursting with excitement, Ron said he called his siblings one by one to share the incredible news. 'I thought he was messing with me and had trouble believing him at first,' said James Mahon of Port Elgin. 'I still can't fully process it!' 'We're all so fortunate and blessed to have won this prize,' added Marie Jones of Southampton. 'All these years of playing really paid off. I feel overjoyed!' Each sibling said they have unique plans for their share of the windfall from the April 12 draw. James will take his time deciding how to use the money. Marie looks forward to purchasing a new washing machine and refreshing her home with some new furniture. Ron plans to deposit his winnings in the bank, while Joyce will buy a new mattress for a better night's sleep. The winning ticket was purchased at Rexall on Albert Street South in Southampton.
CBC
15-06-2025
- General
- CBC
Grad party at long-term care home gives new meaning to 'senior prom'
It was a prom to remember, and some in attendance had their memories jogged to a much different time. A group of teenagers from Bruce County, Ont., held a seniors' prom in a long-term care home in Southampton, Ont., taking senior residents as their dates. There were no promposals, only dancing, swapping stories and celebrating graduation with a classic 1950s hot dog lunch and ice cream floats. "It was such a positive experience. I think we all enjoyed talking to the seniors so much," said Ava Cameron, a Grade 12 student at Saugeen District Senior School in Port Elgin, Ont. "We got to hear so many stories and just really see how much of an impact it had on them. They look forward to this day all year, so it was cool to be a part of," Cameron said. When the "senior prom" first launched at the care home in 2016, there were 10 students. This time, 17 teens came out. "It's good for both sides because the young people get to learn what's happened in the past and the seniors get to experience some of the new things that are happening," Eileen Wolfe, a chaplain at Southampton Care Centre said. They brought back that spirit of youth again." - Joan Irving, resident at Southampton Care Centre For Cameron, hearing stories from the senior she was paired up with was inspiring. "It just really made me want to live my life to the fullest and have all these memories for when I'm older to pass down to my family and to the younger people that I get to talk to," she said. Joan Irving has been living at the Southampton Care Centre for two years, and now serves as president of the residents' council. "I can't speak enough about these students," Irving said. "When you're quite young, your time is precious. You've got so many things to attend to, but when they came here and mixed with us, and we felt young again, they brought back that spirit of youth again." Many of the residents have grandchildren of their own that they don't always get to see, especially in a social activity like this, she said. "The world needs more people like them," Irving said. It was a prom Grade 12 student Blake Lemont also enjoyed, noting that he hasn't spent a lot of time in a care homes. "Our school has been putting this on for a long time now, so it's cool to just get a piece of history in that way, he said. "I actually came across a relative of mine, and it was pretty nice to catch up with her there and hear some stories." Wolfe said she is still hearing residents talking about how this year may have been the best senior prom yet. "They were just so thrilled to be accepted and recognized for who they are," she said. "I think sometimes you don't realize how vibrant their lives were, and this gives the students an opportunity to find that out."
CTV News
12-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Volunteers plant nearly 400,000 trees to protect local river over past 25 years
The Pine River Watershed Initiative Network marks 25 years of protecting the Pine River in Bruce County, seen near Ripley on June 11, 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) Murray Yungblut and Don Farrell are pretty proud of the work they and fellow volunteers have done to protect the small, but important, Pine River over the past 25 years. 'The Pine River Watershed Initiative Network is a group of concerned citizens who started maybe a little over 25 years ago with concern about the quality of water coming from the Pine River and entering Lake Huron with the algae and E. coli. So, we got together and decided we had to take some action,' said Yungblut, a long-time volunteer and director with the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network. After seeing the degradation of their river, running from Ripley to Lake Huron, citizens joined forces and stopped pointing fingers, and came together to try and rehabilitate their waterway. With the approval and assistance of local farmers and landowners, Pine River Watershed volunteers have planted 365,000 trees, installed 21 berms to control field run-off, and helped install 24 kilometres of fencing to keep livestock out of the Pine River. Pine River Watershed Pine River Watershed Initiative Network Directors Don Farrell and Murray Yungblut walk through one of the 50 projects completed by the volunteer conservation organization near Ripley on June 11, 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) 'It was really a situation where they got the right people at the right time doing the right thing. And, at the end today, we benefit from it,' said Pine River Watershed Initiative Network Director and long-time volunteer Don Farrell. 'We try to work with the farmers to make it beneficial for both of us. And so farmers have been very big in the support of our group, which is important because this is a heavily agricultural area,' said Yungblut. The Pine River Initiative isn't taking farmland out of production and isn't buying up land to build forests, they've simply identified areas of the river that could be protected, and gotten permission to go in and do the conservation work on marginal land that really couldn't be farmed, anyways. 'We're trying to slow down the access of the water to the river that lets the silt to settle out before it gets into the river, and then ultimately into the lake,' said Yungblut. Pine River Watershed Pine River Watershed. (Source: Pine River Watershed Initiative Network) 'After the trees are planted, we have no jurisdiction, they're your trees. But, as a rule, I'd say 99.9 per cent of the landowners look after the trees we planted 25 years ago. They're still there today,' said Farrell. The non-profit organization is funded by private donations, corporate sponsorship, and government funding. Some of that government funding has dried up in recent years, but the work from the Pine River volunteers isn't slowing down, because the threats to their river aren't going anywhere either. 'The Pine River itself is not a major river. It's a very minor river. But the watershed takes up most of our township, and our township is very agricultural, and but there are many field margins and many river margins where we could have success,' said Yungblut. The Pine River Network has turned one of their approximately 50 projects into an Environmental Study Area to allow the next generation of conservationists to see what's possible when like-minded people work together for the betterment of their local community. 'I can bring your grandchildren out here and show them grandpa planted that tree. You know, those are some of the things that count,' said Farrell. You can learn more about the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network online.
CTV News
09-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Bird watching goes ‘digital'
Kaelyn Bumelis and Mike Burrell are looking for birds in Bruce County. But this isn't an idle hobby, they're leading a cross-Ontario bird data collection project. 'The Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas project is a community science project where a bunch of volunteer birders and Atlas staff all go out and try to document Ontario's breeding birds. And essentially, we're trying to figure out their distribution and their abundance across the province, which is a huge province as you find out when you're trying to cover it all,' said Bumelis, who is the project manager for Ontario's Bird Atlas, with Birds Canada. Collecting data for Ontario's Breeding Bird Atlas happens every 20 years and takes five years to complete. This is year four of data collection for this Bird Atlas, where the province is broken up into 10 by 10-kilometre sections, for over 2,000 volunteers and Atlas organizers to find and document as many birds as possible. BIRD (St. John Alexander, CTV News Vancouver) This year's Bird Atlas will have the benefit of the digital age, specifically the Nature Counts app, which eliminates paper and pen documentation in favour of a new app developed in partnership with Birds Canada. 'You don't need to even know where you are. Your phone has a built in GPS, so it records exactly where you are, and knows what time it is, what day it is. So, it gets all that information for you, and it just makes collecting the data so simple. It really makes us not only be able to get better data, but a lot more information as well,' said Burrell, who is the Bird Atlas co-ordinator with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. 'It knows where you are. Obviously, you know, it records the time, date, and exact location. Then, you can just get to surveying without having to enter all that data later, which is honestly super helpful,' said Bumelis. This is the third Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, which means there is bird data dating back to 1981. Burrell said bird health and abundance is usually a good indicator of how Ontario's entire ecosystem is functioning – or not functioning. Mike Burrell and Kaelyn Bumelis Mike Burrell and Kaelyn Bumelis documenting birds for Ontario's Breeding Bird Atlas on May 30, 2025, near Chesley, Ont. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) 'Species like Canada geese and wild turkeys and red bellied woodpeckers are doing great. Their numbers are just so much higher than they than they were 40 years ago. But other birds, like some of the grassland birds like swallows that feed on insects in the air, the aerial insectivores, as we call them, some of those are not doing so well,' said Burrell. 'Red bellied woodpeckers in Ontario, they're definitely increasing. They're moving up further north into Ontario. 20 years ago, they were really in deep southwestern Ontario, but they're moving northeast. Whereas, you know, other bird species tend to be declining. We're seeing fewer Blooming Teal and other bird species,' said Bumelis. Bumelis said data collection should wrap up next year for Ontario's third Bird Atlas, and the final results will be released by 2027. The information is vital, she said, for all Ontario stakeholders. 'It could be for governments to make decisions. It could be for bird conservation organizations to plan conservation strategies. It could be for land trusts to decide, 'Oh, that's an area that has a lot of rare or declining species, and a place we need to protect.' It can be used by industries, and folks like that to make the most effective business decisions as well, when they need to consider those things,' said Burrell. You can learn more at Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas.
