Top stories of the week: GRT bus hits house, Jeffrey Epstein ties to Waterloo, and remembering Brian Donovan

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GRT bus leaves road and hits porch of Cambridge home

From butcher's block to hospital bed: Brantford man preps to donate part of liver

Wilmot Township residents raise concerns with gravel pit application

Remembering Brian Donovan

Cambridge homeowners react to Grand River Transit bus hitting their house

Homeowners in Cambridge, Ont., say they’re surprised no one was seriously hurt after a bus went off the road and into the porch of their home.

Bob Houghton and Yvonne Aburrow were sitting in their living room around 7:15 p.m. on Feb. 18 when they say they were startled by a sudden noise.

“My first thought was, ‘Oh, more snow slid off the roof,’ but then it was followed almost immediately by a loud shattering of glass,” Houghton told CTV News.

A Grand River Transit bus had left Franklin Boulevard, hitting the home’s front deck and a trellis.

The house is near the bottom of a steep hill that quickly became dangerously icy from the freezing rain.

Waterloo Regional Police say the bus driver lost control and went off the road, crashing into the side of the home. A driver and two passengers were on the bus at the time of the crash.

No one was physically injured in the crash, though Houghton received a small cut on his hand from cleaning up glass afterwards.

Police say no charges will be laid and they will not be investigating the incident any further.

Brantford, Ont., butcher carves out community kindness through anonymous liver donation

A butcher from Brantford, Ont., is carving out community kindness by donating a portion of his liver.

Zac Baker has been in the meat business for around 15 years. He’s been serving customers at the Cambridge Farmers’ Market weekly and is known for his infectious positivity and kind spirit.

In an effort to give back to the community who supports him, Baker decided to donate a part of his liver to a close friend who had been ill for decades.

After a series of medical paperwork, bloodwork, and scans, he was identified as a match and a surgery date has been set for March 2.

Experts say the need for liver donations is greater than ever, with hundreds of Canadians on the waitlist for liver transplantation.

Baker has opted for an anonymous donation, saying the decision was a no-brainer.

In the meantime, customers and businessowners have started raising funds to support Baker’s recovery following the operation.

Physicist puts work with Waterloo, Ont., research centre on pause after Epstein ties revealed

A founding member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ont., has paused his work following revelations of past contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Lee Smolin, who is also a part-time faculty member at the institute, agreed to step back from his role while the organization reviews the matter. The move comes after recently released U.S. court documents showed correspondence between Smolin and Epstein.

The documents, made public as part of ongoing disclosures tied to Epstein’s criminal case, include emails indicating communication between the two men in the years following Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida on sex-related charges. The nature of the exchanges, according to publicly available records, involved professional and social contact.

In a statement, the Perimeter Institute said there is no evidence in the released materials suggesting Smolin engaged in illegal activity. However, the institute noted that it takes the situation seriously and is conducting a review to better understand the circumstances surrounding the association.

Smolin has not publicly commented on the pause in his affiliation.

Gravel pit owners in Wilmot Township submit water-taking proposal that could allow 9.72M litres of water to be drawn per day

A gravel pit operator in Wilmot Township is seeking provincial approval to draw millions of litres of water daily, prompting concern from residents and water advocates about potential impacts on local groundwater.

According to the application from the owners of Esbaugh Sand and Gravel Ltd., an aggregate operation on Witmer Road, the company wants to draw up to 9.72 million litres per day from an on-site pond. It would be used for aggregate washing and dust suppression.

If approved, the permit would be valid for up to 10 years.

The application has been submitted to Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, which oversees large-scale water-taking permits under the Ontario Water Resources Act. In Ontario, any water-taking exceeding 50,000 litres per day requires provincial authorization.

The proposal has raised alarms among some local residents and advocacy groups, who argue that the volume requested is significant — roughly equivalent to thousands of backyard swimming pools per day. Critics say the area’s groundwater system is already under pressure and point to its location near the environmentally sensitive Waterloo Moraine, a key recharge zone that supplies municipal and private wells across the region.

Community members are calling on the Region of Waterloo to formally oppose the permit, citing concerns about long-term water security, potential impacts on private wells, and broader environmental consequences.

The province will review technical studies and public feedback before making a final decision on whether the water-taking permit will be granted.

CTV News reached out to the company for comment but did not receive a response.

Family reflects on Brian Donovan’s life

A Bayfield, Ont., man who died after an assault in Uptown Waterloo is being remembered as a kind, friendly and welcoming person.

On Feb. 8, Brian Donovan celebrated his 62nd birthday and planned to watch the Super Bowl with his friends in Waterloo Region where he grew up.

Brian, better known by his childhood nickname “Bugs,” eventually left the group and went to a restaurant on King Street North. That’s where the incident happened, according to his brother Kevin Donovan.

“It was a single punch to side of the head,” Kevin said. “So he went down, hit his head.”

Emergency responders were called to an establishment in the area of King Street North and Young Street West around 12:45 a.m. Feb. 9.

Brian was found unconscious with a head injury. He was taken to hospital where he died the following day, surrounded by loved ones.

On Feb. 12, Waterloo Regional Police charged a 37-year-old man from Kitchener, Ont., with manslaughter.

Kevin said Brian didn’t know the man who assaulted him.

The family said they will hold a private funeral followed by a larger celebration of life for friends in May.