Top stories of the week: Cambridge mayor interupts speaker at Pride event, residents at RV park left without power, and popular Stratford pizzeria closes

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RV park residents left without power amid dispute over unpaid bills

Popular pizza place closes in Stratford

Mayor interrupts speaker at Cambridge Pride flag raising

Hundreds of fans celebrate Kitchener Rangers' Memorial Cup win

Motorcyclist charged in crash that sent Lamborghini flying onto Highway 403

A motorcyclist from Paris, Ont. has been charged in an incident that sent a Lamborghini flying through the air before it crashed into the centre median of Highway 403 west of Brantford.

The Brant County Ontario Provincial Police were called to the crash on May 31 around 11:30 a.m.

Investigators said a motorcyclist and the driver of the Lamborghini had been racing on nearby Pottruff Road before the crash. However, the motorcyclist stopped while the Lamborghini driver lost control and sailed off the end of the road. The car crashed through a ditch, onto the highway and launched over both westbound lanes before it slammed into the centre median, where it finally came to a stop.

When officers arrived, the Lamborghini was still in the grassy area between the two sides of the highway and debris was scattered across the westbound lanes.

On June 2, police said they had found and charged the motorcyclist. A 26-year-old Paris man has been charged with operation while impaired, dangerous operation and failure to attend court.

The Lamborghini driver has not been charged with any impaired or racing-related charges.

Unpaid bill prompts power cut at RV Park, leaving residents in the dark

People living at the Maple Grove RV Park in Guelph-Eramosa Township say hydro service was disconnected las week, leaving their trailers without lights, air conditioning or any other electrical service.

“This would be the third day,” resident Robert Ryan told CTV News on June 5.

He said the prolonged outage is becoming increasingly difficult as the weather warms up.

“And it’s only getting hotter. People have pets, children. There’s elderly people with medical devices that require power that are not having essential services provided to them.”

While some residents have generators, Ryan said they are being used sparingly due to fuel costs.

“We’ve been trying to just run it a couple hours in the morning to charge up the battery and charge up devices,” he explained.

Ryan said neighbours have also been sharing generator power, where possible, but many residents live on a fixed or limited income and cannot afford gasoline expenses.

Dave Grose, the park’s property manager, confirmed that the electricity was disconnected because of an unpaid account.

“Hydro has been shut off for non-payment of bill,” he said.

Grose explained that the situation is tied to longer-running disputes at the park, including unresolved sewage problems that he says have existed for years. According to Grose, some tenants have withheld paying rent because of those issues.

“There’s eight units in this park that owe over $18,000 in rent. Rental arrears, this is going to be a lowball number, we’re looking at $150,000,” he said.

Grose, who also lives at the Maple Grove RV Park and is affected by the outage, said he has been trying to contact the property owner, who he said resides in England, about paying the outstanding hydro bill.

Roger Visser-Van Der Bilt said the uncertainty is especially troubling. The 80-year-old has lived at the Maple Grove RV Park for 12 years and was there when a Hydro One employee turned the power off.

“I put the lights on in my own camper and then he pulled the switch and my lights went off,” Visser-Van Der Bilt told CTV News.

He does not want to see the park closed or taken over, so he is urging residents to meet their financial obligations.

CTV News contacted the landlord to ask about the unpaid hydro account and whether there were plans to restore service at the park. No response was received by our deadline.

Hydro One shared the following statement: “While we cannot share information about a specific customer account or property due to privacy legislation, we make multiple attempts to contact customers through a variety of channels to help address outstanding account issues.”

It continued: “Disconnection is always a last resort. We encourage any customer having trouble paying their bill to contact us as soon as possible. We offer a variety of financial assistance programs and service options to help customers pay their electricity bill.”

In the meantime, more than 40 tenants remain without regular electricity service and say they are bracing for whatever comes next.

‘This is what I love to do’: Vinni’s Pizza closes after 33 years in Stratford

Vinni’s Pizza in Stratford is shutting down after 33 years in business.

Brittany Sage, the current owner, said it’s hard to say goodbye to a place she spent half her life. She was 15 years old when she started working at Vinni’s.

“I was just looking for my first job and I applied,” she explained. “I’ve been here ever since.”

Five years after she joined the team, the owner decided to retire. Sage was the one who stepped up and took over the business.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” she said, laughing, of her 20-year-old self. “I just knew I would figure it out along the way and learned all the lessons, good and bad.”

Vinni’s Pizza, like many other businesses, struggled during the pandemic. One major challenge was its location – inside Stratford Mall.

“The problem is still having to pay all my bills and being closed,” Sage said. “There was no point in being open because there was no traffic in the mall, and then basically everything doubled in price.”

Then, in 2022, the Stratford Mall was sold to Central Views and the rent went up. The mall’s current owner said they did their best to make the partnership work.

“When Stratford Mall changed ownership in 2022, Vinni’s Pizza was operating an expired lease. To protect their tenancy, ownership offered them a new long-term lease, to which they declined. Ownership allowed the tenant to continue to operate on a month-to-month basis even though it is not their standard policy,” Omar Kaake of Central Views explained in a statement to CTV News.

“Given both the [mall’s] redevelopment requirements and the circumstances outlined above, Vinni’s Pizza was not offered an opportunity to return to the redeveloped food court,” it continued. “Stratford Mall worked extensively with the tenant over a number of years and made significant efforts to support the business and help it succeed.”

Sage said moving the business to a new location is not an option.

“As much as I would absolutely love to do that, being $100,000 in debt because of Covid, it’s just not financially feasible right now.”

Closing, she explained, was her only choice.

“I tried to make it work despite everything, because my heart is in this,” Sage said. “If it was about the money, I probably would have closed up shop long time ago… but this is what I love to do, and I don’t really know anything else. I’ve been here since I was 15.”

The last day for Vinni’s Pizza is June 20.

‘They silenced me’: Cambridge teen interrupted by mayor during speech at Pride event

The opportunity to address the community during a Pride event in Cambridge was a big deal for Sophie Mills.

“I was really excited to have a platform. I know it’s important, especially right now,” Mills, a 17-year-old non-binary teenager who uses they/them pronouns explained.

Mills said they were invited to the event by the city and was asked to speak about their experiences as a queer youth. However, they said that changed when they brought up City Councillor Adam Cooper during the speech.

“They asked me to share what I would like to be done about the community and then when I said something that they did not want me to say, they silenced me, they censored me and censorship is extremely dangerous,” Mills said.

During their speech on June 1, Mills said, “I have experienced many instances of exclusion and discrimination and bullying from my peers at school and from adults outside school, like when Ward Six Councillor Adam Cooper shared a transphobic meme. He did not apologize, nor was he –“

At that point, Mills was cut off by Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett who approached Mills from behind and grabbed the microphone.

“Sophie, I’m not going to allow you to continue. It’s disrespectful,” Liggett said. “Can you remove that part of the speech? [Cooper has] already gone through what he needs to go through and I don’t think it’s helpful.”

Mills described the experience as scary and humiliating.

“Not only did it hurt my ego because this was my first big public speaking opportunity – it was scary. I did not enjoy that at all,” Mills said.

Cooper made headlines last year when he shared a meme on social media that is widely considered to be transphobic.

An integrity commissioner investigation was launched after Cooper posted an image on his personal Facebook account on Jan. 22. The image featured a person with teal hair along with the text, “He took my pronouns! I have to live in reality now!”

The image was published around the same time that U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating the U.S. government would only recognize a person’s sex as male or female.

The integrity commissioner said they received a large number of complaints about the post. After months of work, the investigation determined the Facebook post demeaned a specific group of people and did not uphold Cambridge’s Code of Conduct requirements.

The integrity commissioner recommended council formally reprimand Cooper and suspend his pay for ten days. Ultimately council voted in favour of the reprimand and a requirement that Cooper complete sensitivity training.

He has never publicly apologized for the post.

The incident has caused a major rift between the City of Cambridge and some members of its queer community.

Grand River Pride said it was asked to be part of the Pride event on June 1, but chose to stay away.

Grand River Pride co-founder Bryan Causarano-Bolton said they asked the city for details on steps they have taken to reconcile with the queer community but said the city did not respond.

“We knew that would mean this event was going to be performative, if they are not able to answer those questions about what work they’re doing,” said Causarano-Bolton.

Prior to the incident at Monday’s Pride event, Grand River Pride organized a separate flag raising event.

“Raising the flag at City Hall is false allyship, and a distraction from the lack of accountability from this administration - accountability we have demanded for over a year. Shame on you, Mayor Liggett. Cambridge deserves better,” Grand River Pride wrote in a statement.

Mills attended the Grand River Pride event and was able to deliver their full, unedited, speech.

“It was completely different, I was a lot more comfortable there,” Mills said.

In a lengthy public statement, Liggett defended her actions, claiming she was not trying to silence the speaker but was instead trying to prevent “personal attacks” and maintain “decorum and civility” at the city run event.

Kitchener Rangers win 2026 Memorial Cup

23 years later, the drought is finally over.

The Kitchener Rangers won the 2026 Memorial Cup on May 31, fending off the WHL Champion Everett Silvertips 6-2.

This marks their third Memorial Cup in franchise history, adding onto triumphs in 1982 and 2003.

The Rangers went 20-2 across their dominant playoff run, last losing over a month ago in Game 3 of the OHL Western Conference final against the Windsor Spitfire.

Sam O’Reilly won the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy, awarded to the MVP of the Memorial Cup.

He becomes the fourth player in CHL history to win all three MVP titles in the same season, first achieved by Brad Richards in 2000, Corey Perry in 2005, and Mitch Marner in 2016.

Jack Pridham took home the Ed Chynoweth Trophy, awarded to the player with the most points in the tournament, winning with 9 points.

Pridham’s name stayed in the headlines Monday morning, after being traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2027 third round pick.

Christian Kirsch captured the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy, awarded to the tournament’s best Goaltender.

Everett’s Matias Vanhanen won the George Parsons Trophy, given out to the most sportsmanlike player across the tournament.

Four Rangers made the Memorial Cup all-star team, which is comprised of the following players: (G) Christian Kirsch, (D) Cameron Reid, Everett’s (D) Landon DuPont and (F) Matias Vanhanen, (F) Jack Pridham and (F) Sam O’Reilly.

The Blueshirts struck first with a goal from Luke Ellinas, which was quickly answered by the Silvertips’ Matias Vanhanen. Dylan Edwards scored later on in the period to make it 2-1 going into the first intermission.

Everett tied the game at two apiece to start the second, only for the goal to be disallowed due to a batting motion. Jared Woolley would prove to be the only goalscorer in the second, giving Kitchener a 3-1 lead heading into the final frame.

Jack Pridham kicked off the third with a goal of his own, before Sam O’Reilly added a fifth. Carter Bear clawed one back shortly after to make it 5-2.

Christian Humphreys ended it off with an empty netter to seal the deal at 6-2.

Christian Kirsch had 30 saves in the win.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic extended his congratulations to the team after they captured the championship title.

“This season, and its subsequent play-off rounds, has brought an energy and excitement to our community unlike anything we have seen in recent years,” a statement read in part. “From the Rangers amazing players, their coaches, training personnel and front office team; to the community ownership group, its board of directors and the Rangers Nation sponsors and fans, our community was overtaken in recent weeks by Ranger-fever! Throughout this run, our community has stood squarely behind this team, painting the city in Rangers blue and cheering with unmatched passion. Rarely would a day go by in recent weeks, where folks weren’t talking about the Rangers and the amazing journey the team found themselves on.”

The Rangers received their downtown Kitchener coronation on June 2.