Latest news with #GrandValley
CTV News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Grand Valley commemorates deadly tornado 40 years later
Damage from the tornado in Grand Valley, Ont., on Fri., May 31, 1985. The community in Grand Valley, Ont. is holding an afternoon of commemoration on Saturday for the 40th anniversary of the 1985 Grand Valley Tornado. On May 31st of that year, a series of tornadoes ripped through the farmlands that surround the Greater Toronto Area, including in the counties of Bruce, Dufferin, and Simcoe. Grand Valley was among the communities that encountered an EF4-level tornado. At around 4:15 p.m., nearly 400 kilometre-an-hour winds ravaged through the town, resulting in two local deaths and widespread damage. On Saturday, the town scheduled a full afternoon of formalities to commemorate the events of that tragic day, including a processional along Main Street, guest speakers, emergency management displays, and the sharing of historical footage. The two Grand Valley deaths were among the 12 lives in total that were lost that day. Eight of the deaths were in Barrie, which included four children, and the two other deaths were in Tottenham. More than 150 were injured in total. The structural destruction in Grand Valley totalled 65 homes, five barns, three churches and two commercial buildings, as well as the town's library and town hall. Environment Canada later confirmed that the series of tornadoes amounted to 14, making it one of the worst tornado disasters in Canadian history. With files from CTV's Kim Phillips.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Jared Polis signs new bills on the Western Slope
GRAND VALLEY, Colo. (KREX) – Governor Jared Polis made an appearance here on the Western Slope, signing nine bills, four of which were signed here in the Grand Valley. Polis explains, 'We think about the quality of that experience, the importance to our economy of the work they do, the sales in our stores. But also a big reason people live in Western Colorado because of the access to the outdoors.' Brian Isakson, a salesperson with Over the Edge Sports Fruita Ltd., states, 'We support the outdoors as well and we're happy to have the new bill.' Starting in Fruita, Polis signed SB25-174, which would support the outdoor recreation economy with Representative Matt Soper in attendance. Rep. Matt Soper from House District 54 states, 'We want to make sure that they come back or if they're Coloradans engaging in these activities as well, that they also have a safe and wonderful time as well.' The governor made his way through Grand Junction and stopped at Bonsai to sign HB25-1215, which is the redistribution of lottery funds to. Adrian Varney, the proceeds manager for the Colorado lottery, states, 'What's exciting about this bill is the reallocation of some funding the outdoor equity grant program, which up to this point in time, has been 100% funded, with lottery funding is increasing their allocation. And HB25-1021, which is for tax incentives for employee-owned businesses, both bills were sponsored by Rick Taggart. Representative Rick Taggart of House District 55 states, 'This bill is intended to help that transition on both sides of the transaction, both for the seller, the entrepreneur as well as the employees.' And the last stop in the Grand Valley was at Community Hospital with the signing of SB25-071, which will prohibit restrictions on 340B drugs. 'Expanding the prescription drug savings is huge and that work continues, saving money on health care,' Polis explains. Chris Thomas, president and CEO of Community Hospital, states, 'This bill is going to save us approximately two and a half to $3 million a year and so with those dollars. We'll continue to do endocrinology, we'll continue to be able to do rheumatology, and all the great things we're trying to do for the community.' Polis tells WesternSlopeNow there's a new bill in the works aiming to reduce payroll tax, allowing everyone to keep a small bit of their paycheck each month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
JUCO brings positive growth to businesses during the 2025 World Series
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) – Candace Carnahan, president and CEO of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce, states, 'We're seeing record ticket sales, record fans in the community and that's such a great thing to just sustain this amazing tournament that continues to add to the character of the community.' It's the best time of the year for the Grand Valley, The Juco World Series. Now as the tournament is wrapping up, WesternSlopeNow was able to talk with some of the local businesses here in the valley. Even for the ones who just opened their doors just recently. Erika, the co-owner of Colorado cool apparel, states, 'It's been really fun to see everyone liking the products. And our revenue, obviously, has increased this week. It's been great all over, all across the board.' Carnahan explains, 'The beauty of this tournament is it impacts the entire Grand Valley.' Carnahan tells WesternSlopeNow for JUCO, The Grand Junction Sports Commission successfully impacted last year's tournament with over 84,000 tickets sold. Generating nearly $3.5 million in direct spending and potentially $4.5 million in one week, despite not yet having totals for this year. James Ferguson, the co-owner of Colorado Craft Coffee and Beer House, states, 'We're busier this year than we were last year. I think a lot of that's just exposure, but we'll take it. We'll take any bit of exposure we can get and so it's a good thing. We've definitely seen an uptick this year over last year. Last weekend especially, was definitely higher.' Cooper Hall from The Hog and The Hen explains the best feeling as a business owner is to see people from out of town who will put the business on their radar for future visits. Hall states, 'My favorite part is when we get repeat visitors from prior years. When people are like, we've been thinking about this for the whole year. We tried a sandwich last year and we're back for more like, that's really cool.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Board of elections approves 26 provisional ballots, rejects six
JEFFERSON — The Ashtabula County Board of Elections approved 26 provisional ballots at a meeting Monday. Board of elections Director John Mead said the counted provisional votes will not affect the results of anything on the ballot. The board also accepted a provisional ballot, pending review by the Ohio Secretary of State's Office. Board of elections Deputy Director Charlie Frye said the voter had a religious objection to using a photo ID. Typically Amish voters object to the use of a photo ID for religious reasons, he said. Frye said the Secretary of State's Office is checking if the voter has a photo ID. 'We anticipate that this is going to be a good voter, however, the secretary of state's office said the earliest they're going to get back with [us] is tomorrow,' he said. The vote will not be counted if the secretary of state's office determines the person has a photo ID, Frye said. Frye said there were 10 absentee ballots from the election that arrived by the Saturday deadline. The board of elections will vote on certifying official election results at its next meeting 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. The board voted to reject six provisional ballots. Three were rejected because voters failed to provide a photo ID. Two provisional ballots were rejected because the voters already voted. 'There were two voters that came into our office to vote, and decided to go vote on election day as well,' Frye said. Frye said the two voters were older and likely misremembered voting. 'That's why we train for it,' he said. 'Obviously, if was something nefarious, we would suggest an alternate route.' One was rejected because the voter was not registered in the state. 'This was a voter that came in to vote, who had lived in [Pennsylvania],' Frye said. 'They had moved here, but they didn't have an ID. They just weren't registered here.' Frye said the overall election went well and the poll workers did a good job. 'We had an electric blurb in the southwestern part of the county for about seven [to] eight minutes,' he said. 'The way they explained to me, a transformer breaker that went out had to be reset, and basically it knocked the power out for about 10 minutes.' The board of elections is preparing to host a mock election for county high schoolers at the end of August. Frye said the event will work on recruiting future poll workers and engage students with voting. 'Those aren't long-term solutions, but it's a start,' he said. Five schools are participating in the mock election. The five schools are: Grand Valley, Geneva, Edgewood and Saint John high schools and A-Tech. Mead said GV was a recent addition. 'We're happy to have the one down south, because the rest of them are way up north,' he said. Conneaut, Jefferson and Pymatuning Valley high schools could not participate, Mead said. The board did not hear back from Lakeside High School.
CTV News
07-05-2025
- CTV News
Driver faces weapons-related charge after stopping at police R.I.D.E. checkpoint
Police pullover drivers at a R.I.D.E. program in this undated image. Provincial police conducting an impaired driving spot check Tuesday night in Grand Valley ended up laying a weapons-related charge. Dufferin OPP officers set up the Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (R.I.D.E.) check at the corner of Water and William Streets when the vehicle entered just before midnight. Police allege the officers noticed the driver had cannabis and an open bottle of booze in the vehicle, which prompted an impaired driving investigation. While it's unclear where the weapons were located, police say they confiscated two firearms during the investigation. The 30-year-old man from Erin faces charges of careless storage of a firearm, weapon, prohibited device or ammunition, plus driving with cannabis readily available and driving with an open container of alcohol.
