Most-read stories of the week: Food truck break-ins, no-show reservations, dead deer births fawn

Woodstock food truck operator says he’s in danger of closing down if break-ins continue

At this time of year, Todd Ellerby would typically be busy serving up fresh-cut fries and hot dogs from his food truck in the parking lot of Woodstock’s Home Hardware. This would be Ellerby’s 20th year in operation, but after two recent break-ins that caused thousands of dollars in damages, the doors of Todd’s Dogs remain closed.

“[I’m] still waiting for the insurance company to figure out what the damage is, [and] when they’re going to get it fixed. I hope it’s soon,” Ellerby said.

Ellerby said on April 26, just before he opened for the year, someone broke in through the back door, stole food and caused about $1,500 worth of damage.

He installed a few more security features and opened for business on May 6. Just days later, someone ripped the exhaust vent off the top of the truck, breaking in once again. This time, they stole and damaged much more.

Kitchener restaurant asking for deposits to reserve a table after rising number of no-shows

There is growing frustration from restaurants in Kitchener-Waterloo when it comes to customers not showing up for their reservations. Now, some places are starting to charge guests a fee to save a seat.

Elixir Bistro in Kitchener's Belmont Village has seen reservation no-shows climb in recent months. Earlier this year, the restaurant implemented a deposit-based model for booking.

"Then I realized people were not reserving. And when we removed it, everybody started reserving," said Elixir's chef and owner Pirooz Jafari.

But Mother's Day weekend reignited those frustrations. With the biggest cost for a restaurant often being an empty seat, the bistro saw many of them go unfilled on Sunday.

"Twenty people [booked]. And then two of them showed up," said Jafari. "No-show. No-show. No-show. Cancelled," he said, scanning Sunday's bookings.

How one man helped a dead deer birth a fawn

Jurgen Mannhardt makes the drive between Millbank and Kincardine often, but this time took an unexpected turn. When Mannhardt hit the road Monday, his trek was suddenly stopped. He saw a pregnant deer and one of its babies dead on the side of the road.

"I knew something got hit. And I thought it was something big," said Mannhardt. "As I drove by, I looked over and I had seen some movement."

Mannhardt couldn't believe what happened next. As he approached, the mother deer laid there lifeless. Then, there was a sign of life. She was pregnant.

"A little head was poking out of the rest of it in a hole in a sac. And it was trying to get out and trying to get out and it just wouldn't get free," Mannhardt said.

Without thinking, he ripped open the amniotic sac the baby deer was still in.

A photo of the fawn. (Submitted/Guelph Humane Society)

Coalition of Muslim Women K-W calls for change following assault at Kitchener, Ont. DriveTest centre

Members of the Coalition of Muslim Women of Kitchener-Waterloo (CMW) and the National Council of Canadian Muslims spoke Thursday following what police describe as a hate-motivated incident at a DriveTest centre in Kitchener, Ont.

The interaction was captured on video by CMW staff member Mifrah Abid and was posted to Twitter on Wednesday. The video shows Abid confronting a person whom she accuses of saying a racist comment.

“I just said don't be rude. I didn't say anything else. We're all waiting in this line. Everybody heard you here making a racist comment about brown people,” Abid says in the video.

Abid was recording the interaction from her phone when the person she was speaking to lunged towards her and grabbed the phone out of her hand before throwing it back at her.

CMW staff member Mifrah Abid says she is shaken after an assault at a DriveTest centre in Kitchener, Ont. (Heather Senoran/CTV News)

Driver killed in crash near Rockwood, Ont.

The driver of a car has died after being taken to hospital following a two-vehicle crash on Highway 7 near Rockwood, Ont.

The Wellington County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said officers received a report of a collision on Highway 7 on Tuesday around 4:40 p.m.

“Initial reports indicated that a blue passenger vehicle and a white SUV were travelling along Highway 7 when they collided. Guelph Wellington Paramedic Services, Guelph Eramosa Fire and the Wellington County OPP attended the scene,” OPP said in a news release.

Officials said the driver of the SUV was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the car, a 67-year-old from Acton, was later pronounced dead.