Top stories of the week: St. Jacobs Antiques Mall opens, a pricey WRDSB investigation and charges laid in tractor trailer load thefts

Need to catch up on what’s been going on around Waterloo Region?

Below were the five most popular stories on CTV News Kitchener this week.

Antiques mall opens in St. Jacobs in same location as former antiques market

One month after the doors closed at the St. Jacobs Antiques Market, a new store, known as the St. Jacobs Antiques Mall, has reopened in its place.

The mall offers a similar experience to what customers were used to at the market, but it’s a brand new company operated by a different owner.

“It feels really good to be open,” Bert Flaming, owner of the St. Jacobs Antiques Mall, told CTV News during the grand opening on April 1.

“It’s all fixed up. Brand new,” Sal Volpini, a customer enthused.

“It looks really good. Really good vendors,” Gail Gates, another patron, said.

WRDSB billed $116K for review or investigation into former director of education

The former director of education for the Waterloo Region District School Board was paid $276,999,98 in 2025, a year he did not even work there.

According to Ontario’s Sunshine List, which tracks public sector salaries in excess of $100,000, jeewan chanicka was the second-highest paid person at the board last year, behind the current director of education. chanicka, it should be noted, does not capitalize his first or last name.

CTV News has been attempting to learn more about chanicka’s departure for more than a year, including the cost to taxpayers, through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

When asked about chanicka’s pay, including any severance, the school board’s FOI, Privacy and Records office indicated that “salary continuance is often part of a director’s personal service agreement.”

CTV News has also learned the Waterloo Region District School Board was billed more than $116,000 related to a third-party review or investigation into chanicka prior to his departure.

Six people facing 61 charges in tractor trailer and load thefts investigation

Six men from Brampton, Mississauga and Paris, Ont. are facing a combined 61 charges as part of an ongoing investigation into tractor trailer and load thefts.

Throughout the course of the investigation, officers have seized a stolen tractor trailer, devices used to steal commercial motor vehicles, a GPS locating device, a device that jams electronic signals, tracking devices, suspected heroin and suspected methamphetamine.

On March 23, the Waterloo Regional Police Service said officers searched multiple locations in Kitchener and Hamilton, leading to six arrests.

The charges include possession of stolen property over $5,000, motor vehicle theft, extortion, possession of automobile master key, possession of break and enter tools, dangerous driving, assault with a weapon, conspiracy to commit and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Driver arrested for impaired driving with three young children in the vehicle

The Wellington County Ontario Provincial Police say they stopped an allegedly impaired driver who was travelling with three young children in their vehicle.

Officers received multiple calls about a concerning driver on April 2 around 8:30 p.m. Police said the driver almost hit an oncoming tractor trailer, hit a curb and was blocking a live lane of traffic.

When officers pulled the driver over, they discovered there were also three children inside the vehicle.

The driver was arrested for driving while impaired, their licence has been seized for 90 days and their vehicle has been impounded for seven days.

Three charged after climbing tower crane at Kitchener construction site

Three people are facing charges after climbing a tower crane at a construction site in Kitchener, police say.

According to Waterloo Regional Police, officers were called to a site on King Street East at about 3:10 p.m. on March 29 after receiving reports that three individuals had climbed onto the top beam of a crane.

“Officers arrived within minutes and observed the individuals on the crane,” police said in a media release. “The males then entered the 32-storey building through an opening on an upper floor. After conducting a search of the high‑rise under construction, officers located the three males at approximately 4:40 p.m., hiding inside a portable toilet on the 22nd floor."

A 20-year-old from St. Catharines, a 20-year-old from Waterdown and a 16-year-old from Hamilton have each been charged with trespassing under the Trespass to Property Act.