Waterloo Region Record
Kitchener council's Davey to be next regional chair
Scott Davey was chosen by the province to be the next regional chair for Waterloo Region. The Kitchener councillor said he will take on the dual role as the Ward 1 representative — he was elected for his fifth term Oct. 26 — as well as regional chair...
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Preserving veterans' stories
At 90, Owen Lackenbauer has written and selfpublished a book of remembrance. He profiles 16 men, no longer alive, who fought for Canada in the Second World War. Lackenbauer knew 11 of them. He interviewed five, and researched all of them. “I pored...
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Are the Ontario Liberals back?
Kathryn McGarry was watching the U.S. midterm elections from a Toronto pub when she began to see something Ontario Liberals have been waiting years for: a plausible path back to power. As Democratic candidates outperformed expectations across the...
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Gala honours local heroes
From stopping an attempted murder in a vehicle at a gas station to a snowplow operator saving a runner's life after being hit by a vehicle, Waterloo Regional Police honoured local heroes at its inaugural Hearts and Heroes gala. More than 650 people...
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Thieves steal $175K bronze statue near Waterloo parkade
Waterloo Regional Police are investigating after a bronze sculpture valued at approximately $175,000 was stolen in Waterloo. Police said they were notified on Oct. 29, after City of Waterloo staff discovered the artwork missing from an area near the...
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MIKE RICHARDS, forever a Ranger
It was a shaky start. In fact, Kitchener Rangers great Mike Richards wanted to leave the team early on in his rookie season in 2001. The Kenora kid was a long way from home and aching for the normalcy of northwestern Ontario. “I called my dad to...
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How Shannon Weber turned a close 2022 election loss into a decisive Waterloo victory
Mayorelect Shannon Weber surged to victory in Waterloo by amplifying her suburban support and eroding downtown support for rival Dorothy McCabe, pollbypoll results show. The election was billed as a rematch after McCabe defeated Weber in 2022. But...
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`On the shoulders of the giants'
More than a century after Private Buckam Singh served in the First World War, his gravesite in Kitchener continues to bring members of the Sikh community together, with people travelling from across Ontario to honour his service and keep his story...
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A passion for precision
Philip Metzger has struggled with reading and numbers. But the 34yearold with special needs has a special knack when it comes to the Kitchener Rangers. For years, the Kitchener native has been keeping track of every time increment of every game...
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Inside making a Halloween beer
Every autumn as pumpkin spice returns to coffee shops and grocery store shelves, Curtis Jeffrey, head brewer at Four Fathers Brewing Co., sees the excitement build up around Spookyboi too. The Cambridge brewery's Halloweenthemed beer has become a...
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Women's voices fade with new election
Whether your favourite candidate won or lost, there were some very strange things happening in Monday's elections that worry me. The loss of women's voices, for a start. The number of women elected as mayors dropped like a rock on Monday. And because...
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`I did everything I could to lose this election'
A candidate for public school board trustee ended her reelection campaign in September, but won anyway. “While I did everything I could to lose this election, the people of Cambridge and North Dumfries spoke loud and clear,” said Waterloo Region...
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Every Waterloo Region mayor but one was rejected by voters. Here's why
The voters have spoken, and they're not happy. That's the only message that can be taken from the results of Monday's municipal election, where only one of Waterloo Region's seven mayors survived. With the exception of the invincible Berry Vrbanovic,...
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Project aims to restore 3 atrisk butterflies
Three atrisk butterfly species are the focus of a Canadawide conservation project being led by organizations in Waterloo Region and Guelph. The University of Guelph, the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory and Natural Resource Solutions Inc. are...
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Campaign against drugfacilitated assault launches
Consent and sexual violence are in the spotlight with the alleged group rape at a Cornell University fraternity house, last year's Hockey Canada trial involving five players and one woman, and 2024's multiple convictions in the rape of Gisèle Pelicot...
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University of Waterloo installs Bill Rosehart as eighth president
As a young PhD student at the University of Waterloo in the late1990s, Bill Rosehart got his first chance to teach. At the end of his first term, after spending months trying to make firstyear electrical circuits “fun,” a student walked to the front...
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Waterloo Region fabrication hammered as tariffs hit home
For 47 years, all Stephen LaPointe had to worry about was making trailers. Now, he has to worry about diversifying his business, increased costs and lower customer demand. LaPointe owns Highland Trailers in Cambridge, a family business that has built...
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Waterloo Regional Police procurement will switch aim to `Buy Canada'
Waterloo Regional Police will focus capital and operational procurement in Canada during upcoming budget considerations. During Tuesday's police service board online budget input session, which garnered just one delegate who failed to show, police...
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Spring surge of planting expected
In the wake of a tornado that tore through Wellesley in early September and damaged countless trees in its path, residents are considering their options for replanting after the major cleanup. Murray Bremner, a Wellesley resident of 40 years, lost two...
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Where is Eli Wood?
A year ago, police were called to the scene of a house fire on Major Street in Kitchener; the rear of the home was fully engulfed in flames and the occupant was nowhere to be found. Eli Wood is still missing. Few details are available about the...
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Regional chair wants to serve again
An asterisk beside the role of chair on the region's election page indicates there will be a new leader appointed by the province following the Oct. 26 municipal election. “I think that the future of Waterloo Region is really bright,” said Chair Karen...
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Oktoberfest on tap
Downtown Kitchener transformed into a Bavarian village Friday morning as large crowds clad in traditional gear swarmed the Willkommen Platz stage at Carl Zehr Square for the keg tapping ceremony, launching the 58th annual KitchenerWaterloo...
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Mural will honour late councillor
The Stanley Park Community Association will be installing a mural to honour Kari Williams, who was a passionate advocate for programs to combat food insecurity in the neighbourhood. Williams, as well as being a longtime association board member,...
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`Let's not wait to do the right thing'
A routine trip out of his Hespeler apartment has become a nerveracking experience for 79yearold Rick Campbell. Campbell is calling for trafficcalming measures on Guelph Avenue, saying a blind turn, downhill traffic and increased development have...
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Ein prosit!
The KitchenerWaterloo Oktoberfest is underway until Oct. 17 with many events planned during the fall celebration of local German heritage. The main event is the keg tapping on Friday in front of Kitchener City Hall. The fanfare begins at 11:30 a.m.,...
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TICKET TO THE STARS UW part of effort to build Canadian rocket fleet
Local talent will help a Canadian company become the world's ticket to the stars. The Canada Rocket Company (CRC) has announced a $30million testing facility in London, Ont., and multiple partnerships with Canadian universities, including the...
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Serving their communities
Food insecurity has spiked dramatically across Ontario, with more than one million residents using food banks between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025. Residents and food relief organizations in Waterloo Region and Wellington County are no exception,...
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Community grapples with `senseless' death of 16yearold Nash Dunlop in Puslinch
Flowers and a pair of Adidas basketball shoes sit near the spot where 16yearold Nash Dunlop was killed. The community is still coming to terms with the death of the Puslinch teen on Sept. 19, even as two 17yearolds from Guelph have been charged...
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UNDERSTUDY NO MORE
After two seasons in a backup role, goaltender Jason Schaubel is the main man in net this year for the Kitchener Rangers.
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Cambridge, developer settle on 22storey plan for Grand Avenue tower
The City of Cambridge and the developer have reached a settlement regarding the proposed development at 32, 36 and 38 Grand Ave., which the Ontario Land Tribunal will consider on Oct. 27. The settlement lowers the proposed height from 28 storeys to 22...
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Sex trafficking a sorrowful outcome of our shared history
Today, we remember the 150,000 children who once attended Canada's Indian Residential Schools — those who survived, and those who didn't. We think, too, about the intergenerational impacts of the schools on Indigenous families — impacts that carry on...
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`Truly wonderful young man'
Family and friends are remembering Nash Dunlop as a “truly wonderful young man” after the Puslinch teen died Sept. 19 when struck by a minivan in Centre Wellington. The 16yearold's death has led to seconddegree murder charges against two...
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Bagpipe ambitions
A teenager in Waterloo aspires to play bagpipes professionally. He'll have to pause that ambition until surgeons straighten his spine. “It kind of sucks,” said Luke Baltrusaitis, 17. He's not scared about the surgery that looms, because he's thought...
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INSIDE THE POTTING SHED
Karin Clemens, head gardener at Rockway Botanical Garden, pots up forest lillies and agapanthus in the potting shed on the garden grounds in Kitchener earlier this week. As the temperatures begin to drop, Clemens and her staff will move some plants...
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`UNNECESSARY CRUNCH'
The clock is ticking for the Region of Waterloo and the union representing about 850 fulltime office and clerical workers to come to an agreement and avoid a strike. CUPE 1883 and the region are in negotiations, with the union in a position to go on...
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`It's not a memorial'
Cambridge's three Royal Canadian Legion branches are asking the city not to proceed with a proposed veterans commemorative crosswalk, saying they want to see other forms of recognition instead. The Preston, Hespeler and Galt branches made the...
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Food banks get $4.5M boost
Food banks in Waterloo Region and Wellington County are receiving a $4.5million boost from the Balsillie Family Foundation. The funds will be distributed to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Cambridge Food Bank, Guelph Food Bank and Centre Wellington...
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TOWERING ABOVE IT ALL
Andy Lapener perches Monday on a communications tower his team is building on Glasgow Street South near Conestogo. The 60metre tower is pieced together over three weeks. Shayne Paulini, who is part of the construction team, describes how he deals with...
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Woolwich councillors question rehabilitation of former gravel pit
Woolwich Township councillors want to learn more about the condition of a former gravel pit where an industrial park is proposed north of Bridge Street West. “The pit opened in 2008 and it does require a rehab plan,” said Coun. Bonnie Bryant. “Was...
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School boards ban ebikes and escooters from school property
Students will no longer be able to ride ebikes and escooters to elementary schools across the region. In an email from a Catholic elementary school in Cambridge to parents, they said that going forward, escooters and ebikes will not be permitted...
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Tech Week showcases innovations with battlefield applications
The region's defence sector, quietly growing under the radar, has stepped into the spotlight during Waterloo Tech Week. Packed into Catalyst 137 in Kitchener, dozens of emerging and established companies are showing off the latest aerospace...
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Canada's Polka King is retiring
Canada's Polka King is retiring. Walter Ostanek will make his final Oktoberfest appearance at this year's KitchenerWaterloo Oktoberfest next month in downtown Kitchener. Ostanek has been a featured performer and cultural ambassador for...
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Waterloo appoints first female fire chief
Before she was named fire chief for Waterloo, Sandy van Solm developed an algorithm that helped earn her a PhD. Her idea was to apply it to electronic health records to identify the frailest seniors who are most at risk in an emergency. Responders...
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`They can't wait for the new school'
Neighbours are pleased to see a public elementary school under construction in a fastgrowing Breslau suburb, because it will make their subdivision feel even more like home. “I know a lot of neighbours, they can't wait for the new school to be...
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Developers appeal to allow 40storey tower
Developers are appealing to the Ontario Land Tribunal to allow a controversial 40storey tower near Riverside Park in the Preston area of Cambridge. ABS Space Investments Corp. sent a blanket appeal to the OLT over two versions of the tower at 210,...
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Mount Trashmore is sinking
One of Kitchener's iconic parks is sinking. Formerly a Kitchener dump, McLennan Park, popularly known as Mount Trashmore, is alive just beneath the surface. The park officially opened in August 2011, with a playground, splash pad, bike park and skate...
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GRIEF OF 9/11 STILL FELT TODAY
New York is my city. It welcomed my grandmother and mother as refugees from Nazi Germany. It welcomed my father's parents as poor Italian immigrants. I was born there. I trained to be a journalist there, before moving to Canada. I visited family...
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Trump's Bombardier threat looms over region
U.S. President Donald Trump has taken aim at another Canadian company — Bombardier, whose production line flies through Waterloo Region. In recent online threats, Trump said Bombardier would no longer be able to sell planes inside the United...
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TAKING A MOMENT WITH KING
A statue of former prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King next to Castle Kilbride in Baden gets a look Tuesday. A new statue on Prime Ministers Path will be unveiled Saturday.
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Kitchener's newest high school opens
Waterloo Region's first new English high school in two decades opens Tuesday at a cost of $91 million. Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School is opening up to three years later than initially anticipated, and at twice the cost of an earlier...
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Cleaning up after `likely' tornado
A tornado “likely” occurred in Wellesley Township. Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project stated on its social media that a tornado likely occurred in Bamberg Wednesday during the earlier evening storm that ripped through the...
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Historian rych mills left us a lasting gift
You might walk along a street lined with neat townhouses in Kitchener, and hardly think about it. Only a few people would be able to tell you that a candy factory used to stand there decades ago, the Smiles'n Chuckles plant at Weber and Cameron...
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From Hong Kong to the Aud
Tommy Kut carries the weight of a nation on his back. The sixfootthree, 210pound defenceman is believed to be the first player from Hong Kong drafted into the Canadian Hockey League after the Kitchener Rangers chose him in the third round in last...
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West Montrose bridge hoisted onto temporary structure
Rehabilitation of the historic West Montrose covered bridge reached a significant milestone this week as the landmark was hoisted onto a temporary support structure installed earlier this summer. Crews used hydraulic jacks on Monday and Tuesday to...
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Market vendors carry on after losses due to July fire
Kitchener Market vendors are finding their footing after a July fire shut down the indoor building for more than a month, forcing businesses to operate outdoors at a reduced capacity. Kitchener Fire's deputy chief Dave Heuchert confirmed Monday the...
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Exodus at the school board
Eight of 11 trustees at the Waterloo Region District School Board are not seeking reelection after a term marked by infighting, a legal battle over free speech and the costly, premature departure of the director of education. Experts connect the...
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Wilmot road still closed after massive fuel spill
Sherrylee and Don Gole said a recent diesel spill on their property, at the Wilmot border, can be added to the long list of problems motorists have caused at their corner farm. Located at a three-way stop at the intersection of Oxford-Waterloo Road...
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Market repair timeline a concern
Councillors are speaking out against “misconceptions” the city isn't committed to quickly getting the Kitchener Market back on its feet following a July fire. The building isn't expected to reopen for several months following the July 12 fire, as...
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Retooling Rangers find defenceman on pro circuit
From pros to Joes. Well, the Ontario Hockey League is hardly a Joe outfit, as it is one of the best places for youngsters to develop in the world. Still, you don't often see players returning from the pro ranks to play junior again. Such is the case...
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`IT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY'
Kitchener team was undefeated winning the Memorial Cup this past May Jack Davidson is feeling the effects of age. At 95 years old, names and places are fleeting. Memories are fading, too. But there is a twinkle in his eye when you bring up the...
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Region spends $55M buying farmland for mega industrial site in Wilmot
The Region of Waterloo has acquired nearly all the land it needs to assemble a massive shovelready industrial site in Wilmot. Property records show the region has spent more than $55 million since 2024, securing over 80 per cent of the land for the...
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Dragonflyers say `yes to life' as breast cancer survivors prepare to race
Tanya Olsen was sitting in a business meeting in Mississauga when she received the news that would change the course of her life. She had already suspected something was wrong, but when Olsen was told she had breast cancer, she said “all of the air...
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Cambridge's Smith ranks among the world's best in high jump
Kaelen Smith has spent much of his life around the high jump, growing up watching his father coach athletes and eventually developing an interest in the event himself. Now, the 14yearold Cambridge athlete is being recognized among the best high...
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Kitchener soccer teen gets call from famed Spanish club
Samuel Matos is a soccer globetrotter. His passion for the beautiful game started in his birth country of Brazil, where he lived until he was seven years old. It grew in Kitchener, where he played minor soccer growing up after his family, who now...
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Concerns raised over proposed Greenfield Mill redevelopment
A proposal to revive the Greenfield Mill property in Ayr got a hesitant reception at North Dumfries council. Caroline Baker of Baker Planning Group presented applications for a zoning bylaw and official plan amendments to township council on Aug. 10...
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Stage set for resurrection of Prime Ministers Path
Slabs of concrete are curing in a parkette off Wagler Avenue in Baden, where a plan for bronze statues depicting Canadian prime ministers will be resurrected next month. The artwork was always intended to educate, said Don Bourgeois, president of...
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Brought back to life, one stone at a time
A 173yearold building that once stood as a factory and later spent about 20 years as a roofless ruin will open its doors to guests on Oct. 9 as part of the Elora Mill. The restored Walser Building will add nine hotel rooms, a restaurant and a...
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Quiet country drives have hidden dangers
What seems like an easy, quiet country drive can turn deadly in seconds — and on Waterloo Region's township roads, it does with troubling frequency. Waterloo Regional Police say 58 per cent of the region's fatal collisions in 2025 occurred not on busy...
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