Most-read stories of the week: assault with a weapon charge over water gun, man-made island in the Grand River, and Friday the 13th roars into Port Dover

Ontario woman charged with assault with a weapon after neighbour sprayed with water gun

A Simcoe, Ont. woman has been charged with assault with a weapon after spraying her neighbour with a water gun.

“I’ve cried myself to sleep many nights,” Wendy Washik told CTV News.

The 58-year-old educational assistant said she was playing with some kids at a backyard barbecue on Sept. 1.

“Because I love kids and work with kids, I asked [one] if he had any water guns and he said: ‘Yeah.’”

Washik then chased the child from the back of the house to the front of the home, and accidentally sprayed a neighbour.

“I was trying to figure out how the water gun was working. It’s not like I play with water guns at my age,” she explained on Tuesday. “I was going through the gate and it accidentally hit the neighbour that was maybe three feet away, [who was] cutting his grass.”

Washik said she tried to apologize.

According to Ontario Provincial Police, a Norfolk County officer was called to Woodway Trail after a neighbour dispute resulted “in the victim being physically assaulted.”

Washik was taken into custody.

Because of this incident, the educational assistant has been put on leave by her school board.

“It just blows my mind that this has happened to me,” Washik said. “The mental and financial stress that has been put on my family, my children and my husband, is not right and is not fair.”

Three teens charged for armed robbery at Kitchener jewelry store

Three teens were arrested for an armed robbery at a Kitchener jewelry store after witnesses caught and detained the suspects until officers arrived on scene.

Multiple people reported the robbery at Highland Hills Mall around 5 p.m. Friday.

Waterloo Regional Police said three males went into the jewelry store, used hammers to smash display cases and stole merchandise.

As they were running away, witnesses chased after them and held them in a mall hallway until police could take over.

Video of the moments after the robbery were shared with CTV News.

It shows three people, dressed all in black, running away from MT Jewellers & Goldsmiths with hammers in hand.

A separate photo shows people holding down them down on the floor, corroborating the information shared by police.

Investigators said the three suspects arrived at the mall with a fourth person in a SUV that had been stolen in Peel Region two days earlier.

No injuries were reported during the robbery or arrests.

Police said a 15-year-old, 16-year-old and 18-year-old were charged with robbery with a weapon, disguise with intent, possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.

All three are from Brampton.

Concerns raised over man-made island in the Grand River

An island has appeared in the middle of the Grand River but it’s not a natural formation.

Residents who live along the water in Galt say the man-made structure has been growing for weeks.

They’ve seen at least two people gathering rocks from the banks of the Grand River, wading through the water and stacking them up in a pile.

The mound is big enough that someone has also added a wagon and Canadian flag on top.

One resident told CTV News she first spotted the man-made island about three weeks ago and has seen bonfires there. She also shared video of two people stacking stones.

The woman thinks the island should be disassembled.

She worries that it would set a dangerous precedent.

“Grown men out there, doing something that’s needless, silly and dangerous,” she said. “I don’t want my tax dollars spent saving somebody who’s out there doing a foolish act and then they slip and fall and are taken down the river. If kids see that little island over there, who’s to say they won’t try to get across.”

The woman said she’s already contacted Waterloo Regional Police and was told that they are working with the Grand River Conservation Authority to resolve the situation.

Man-made island in the Grand River in Galt, Ont. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News)

Sisters finally see the Canadian ‘aviation artifact’ built by their father nearly 90 years ago

There were tears of joy Friday as the Airpark hangar garage opened in Guelph, Ont., revealing a family heirloom and piece of aviation history.

Roberta Lau and Evelyn Sue Wong saw, for the first time and in person, the plane their father made nearly 90 years ago.

The Pietenpol Sky Scout was built in 1935 by brothers Robert and Tommy Wong. They were teenagers at the time, and it’s believed they found the instructions in a magazine.

“It was in the early 30s. Everyone wanted to fly,” Wong explained.

With their parents’ blessing, the brothers built the aircraft in their Vancouver, B.C., apartment.

“It was a huge experience for the whole family,” said Lau. “Exciting! Bolts, nails all over the place I’m sure, because that’s what they said. It just filled the room.”

Other family members helped with the final assembly, which was done at a nearby Boeing factory.

Robert, who built the plane even before getting a pilot’s licence, took to the skies for several months to build up his flying hours.

Eventually, he had to sell it when he moved out east.

Robert and Tommy went on to become the founders of Central Airways, a flight school and charter business in Toronto, becoming significant figures in Canada’s aviation history.

Robert’s daughters recall how, prior to his death in the late 1980s, he tried to find out what had happened to the plane he built with Tommy, but it was difficult in a pre-social media era. He did, however, find that there was no record of it being in an accident.

Then, in 2020, a self-described treasure hunter from Stoney Creek, Ont., took it upon himself to track down their home-built airplane.

Don MacVicar had already located one aircraft that was once owned by the Wong brothers and, with extra time on his hands during the pandemic, launched an extensive search.

Joining him on that quest was Cam Harrod, an antique aircraft restorer.

It took two years but the pair eventually tracked it down to the Sky Scout in Saskatoon, Sask., where the owner was storing it in a truck trailer.

Harrod then purchased the aircraft and brought it back to Ontario.

Roberta Lau and Evelyn Sue Wong with their father's Sky Scout plane in Guelph, Ont. on Sept. 13, 2024. (Krista Simpson/CTV News)

Hog Heaven: Friday the 13th takes over Port Dover, Ont.

The streets of Port Dover roared to life on Friday for a tradition that has been going on for decades.

Motorcyclists and their admirers descended on the small Ontario town to celebrate Friday the 13th with a motorcycle rally like no other.

Chrome gleamed under a hot sun as bikes lined almost every street in the community while members of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) made sure the day remained fun and safe for everyone involved.

Dedicated bikers make the pilgrimage to Port Dover every Friday the 13th, no matter what Mother Nature has in store.

While past events were held through stormy skies, wild winds and even frigid winter temperatures, Friday’s showcase took place under sunny skies.

A combination of the beautiful weather and alluring appeal of the event was expected to draw thousands to the community, although an official count is not yet available.

“That’s always the first question to be asked: ‘How many people will be attending the event.’ We’re looking at possibly 100,000 people coming into Port Dover for the day,” OPP Constable Andrew Gamble said. “Last October, around 50,000 people [were here] at its peak, but it really boils down to time of year and the weather.”

Mayor Amy Martin told CTV News it’s a longstanding tradition in Norfolk County.

“It started in 1981 as a grassroots, organic event and I don’t think you could stop it even if you tried. There’s a lot of pride. There are some community members that don’t love the day, it’s not for them, but its one day out of the year. You make your arrangements and your preparations the day before and you’re okay.”

A Harley Davidson motorcycle is parked on the side of the street in Port Dover during Friday the 13th celebration on September 13, 2024. (Shelby Knox/CTV News)