Council began its March 12 meeting with discussion on the report from the CAO on questions submitted regarding the decision to close the Providence Bay Arena to a meeting held February 11 at the Providence Bay Community Hall—questioning the amount of time the report took getting to council.
by Michael Erskine
St. Joseph’s Lodge honored its volunteers, naming Gloria Hall (Excellence in Service), Tom Sasvari (Distinguished Service), and Stela Segid (Outstanding New Volunteer) as award winners. The event celebrated their impact on resident life and bid farewell to coordinator Fiona Lee.
Gore Bay recently welcomed three new physicians: Dr. Wendy Davie, Dr. Zeshan Talib, and Dr. Irfan Shahwani. Supported by the Practice Ready Ontario program and the Smith Family Foundation, the new doctors bring decades of experience to Western Manitoulin, doubling the town's medical team.
Avery Sheppard, 23, won $25,000 at a Cornell business competition for her pitch on Gore Bay’s Purvis Fish and Chips. The only solo finalist, she plans to use her US work visa to gain private equity experience before expanding her restaurant and ice cream businesses into a larger chain.
Billings councillor Vince Grogan has resigned. Since it’s too late for a by-election, Mayor Bryan Barker plans to appoint John Foster—who previously lost a seat tie-breaker by a hat draw—to fill the vacancy for the rest of the term. Council aims to resolve this by May.
Manitoulin’s deer survived a snowy winter thanks to an icy crust that let them reach food. Experts report the herd is healthy, with stable numbers and new fawns. To balance hunter success and farm protection, officials are keeping tag quotas steady at 6,100 for WMU 43B and 400 for WMU 43A.
Smile Cookies available at Tim Hortons in Little Current. All proceeds go to charity.
The Bayers and Roccas are concluding a years-long legal battle over farming practices. The board dismissed the Roccas' claims, calling their conduct "frivolous and vexatious." After various appeals and bias claims, a final decision on the merits hearing costs is expected by June 2026.
Environmentalist Dennis Alvey recently returned to Providence Bay after confronting a Norwegian krill fleet in the Antarctic. Aboard the Bandero, Alvey used aggressive tactics—including snagging nets and "gently bumping" a trawler—to protect krill, a keystone species vital to the ocean food chain.