Two tornados rip through Barrhaven and residents call foul over basketball net complaints: Top 5 stories this week

Debris fills the street following a tornado in the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven on Thursday, July 13, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Two tornados damage more than 100 homes in Barrhaven, a basketball net creates a stir and construction on Hwy. 417 causes traffic gridlock.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at the top five stories on our website this week.

Two tornadoes with wind speeds of 155 km/h touched down in Ottawa on Thursday

Two tornadoes ripped through Barrhaven on Thursday, damaging homes and destroying trees, fences and property across the south Ottawa suburb.

Witnesses reported seeing a tornado at approximately 12:45 p.m., as a severe storm with strong winds and heavy rain moved through the area.

"I looked out the window and into my backyard, and it looked almost like it was snowing which I found very bizarre.  I later realized it was actually the insulation from somebody's roof," Tomislav Mitar, Barrhaven resident, told CTV News Channel.

"The next thing I saw was metal patio furniture going at a tremendous amount of speed, flying across and smashing into my neighbour's fence."

The city of Ottawa said approximately 125 homes suffered extensive damage during the storm, while many more homes suffered minor damage.

Byrnn Miraw and Stephanie Rheaume were out for a walk with the dog when they saw a tornado.

"We looked to our left and through the field we saw a tornado; never seen it before in real life," Miraw said. "It looked like the movies; grey and black, things starting flying."

"You could see the tornado forming; it was for sure a spiral cone," Rheaume said. "A piece of shed flew and hit the house. It was that fast."

One person suffered a minor injury during the storm.

On Saturday, Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project confirmed two tornadoes touched down in the area.

The first tornado touched down in the area of Halley Street, near Strandherd Drive, and travelled to the area of Exeter Drive and Chester Crescent, according to the Northern Tornadoes Project. The most extensive damage was in the area of Halley Street and Pepperrall Crescent.

The second tornado touched down in the area of Cambrian Road and Elevation Road and travelled to south of Fallowfield Road, near Greenbank Road. The worst of the damage was in the area of Proxima Terrace and Regulus Ridge.

Ottawa family puts up giant sign in response to bylaw complaints about basketball net

Basketball nets set up in a neighbourhood near the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus are causing a stir after an anonymous person complained about their proximity to the street.

Rosalind Paciga put up a bright pink sign directed at the complainant after she was asked to move her net back from the street.

"Dear Neighbour,

"The kids of Beech, Lynwood, Oakvale and Fern are BEGGING you to cut us some slack with our basketball nets.

"You called by-law regularly because we aren't strong enough to move our nets off the road every time we take a break from playing, and now that our parents have pulled them off the road, you STILL call bylaw because they're not 20 feet in from the road!

"We just want to shoot some hoops with our friends - sometimes spontaneously!

"We would be forever grateful if you could understand how much we love playing basketball and how having our nets accessible allows us to play. Our parents would love to have a chat about how we can find a compromise.

"Will you stop to chat with us next time?"

Bylaw records indicate that the neighbourhood has been dealing with similar complaints regarding basketball nets since January 2021, with a total of nine complaints filed so far; however, Jeff Leiper, the city councillor for the area, says he doesn't consider the nets to be a problem.

Body of missing swimmer recovered at Britannia Beach

A 21-year-old man drowned while swimming in the Ottawa River at Britannia Beach this week.

Ottawa police say the man disappeared in the water while swimming at the west end beach just after 7 p.m. Wednesday.

"After a sonar and water search by the Ottawa Fire, the water rescue was turned over to the OPS Marine, Dive and Trail Unit (MDT) who searched the water until approximately 3 a.m.," police said on Thursday.

The victim's body was recovered from the water late Thursday night.

The swimmer disappeared just days after a teen girl nearly drowned at the same beach. The 17-year-old was under the water for nine minutes before she was rescued and taken to hospital in critical condition. There has been no update on her condition.

What you need to know about the Hwy. 417 closure this weekend

A section of Highway 417 is closed through central Ottawa this weekend for the replacement of the Bronson Avenue bridge, causing traffic disruptions throughout the city.

This is the latest in a series of projects to replace aging bridges along the Queensway in Ottawa.

There were lengthy delays Friday on the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, Carling Avenue, Catherine Street and several east-west roads as they looked for an alternate way through the city.

"It's really bad," one driver said. "I've been sitting in traffic for probably like 45 minutes now to get 10 kilometres, so it's not great."

One driver told CTV News Ottawa it took more than an hour to travel from the west end to the downtown core, before they gave up and went home.

The Queensway is scheduled to reopen on Monday at 6 a.m.

Giant Tiger founder Gordon Reid has died at 89

Gordon Reid, a Canadian businessman and founder of the popular discount retailer Giant Tiger, has died.

A statement from the company said he passed away at his home in Ottawa after a brief illness. He was 89.

Reid worked in the retail industry since he was 13 years old. He opened the first Giant Tiger store in 1961 in Ottawa's ByWard Market. The store remains in operation today.

Giant Tiger now has 265 locations across Canada and employs more than 10,000 people.