Most read stories of the week: Hit and run trial, encampment cleared, changes for CTV Kitchener

Driver in fatal hit and run confessed to daughter in conversation taped by police

A driver convicted of killing an Ont. teen then fleeing the scene told his daughter he “would have done the exact same thing” even if he had been sober.

The new details form part of the cases’ agreed statement of facts, which was read in court Tuesday as David Halliburton and Anastasia Halliburton were sentenced in the death of Lucas Shortreed.

The pair were arrested last year, 14 years after the fatal crash. The vehicle involved in the fatal hit and run was found hidden behind a false wall inside a trailer on their property.

David Halliburton, the driver, received a two and half year sentence. Anastasia Halliburton, who helped cover up the crime, was given a six-month conditional sentence, including four months of house arrest and two months of curfew.

Encampment cleared at Soper Park in Cambridge

Crews with heavy machinery moved in early Thursday morning to remove the remaining property and debris at an encampment at Cambridge’s Soper Park.

Encampment residents who spoke to CTV News said while the clearing was peacefully and orderly, it wasn’t voluntary.

Residents received trespass notices from the City of Cambridge last Friday, saying they could face charges of fines if they didn’t leave by Wednesday.

The land belongs to both to the city and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited railroad company.

Shooting at McDonald's parking lot now being investigated as homicide

Waterloo regional police say a fatal shooting in Kitchener on Wednesday is now being investigated as a homicide.

Officers were called to the parking lot of a McDonald’s on Ottawa Street near River Road around 2 a.m. When they arrived, they found an injured man in his 20s. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police initially held off on labelling the incident a homicide, calling it only a “sudden death.”

On Thursday, police confirmed the shooting is now being investigated as a homicide and investigators believe the shooting was targeted.

Police investigate a fatal shooting in the parking lots of a McDonald's in Kitchener on Sept. 27, 2023. (Stefanie Davis/CTV Kitchener)

Video of rats running on wall prompts closure of Waterloo Tim Hortons

A Tim Hortons on University of Waterloo campus has been closed after a video of rats scurrying down one of the restaurant’s walls surfaced online.

The video, uploaded to TikTok by an account called Rats@Waterloo on Wednesday, appears to shows three rodents emerging from the ceiling and running down a wall at the back of the restaurant.

Text superimposed onto the video reads “rat family living nice at SLC [Student Life Centre] tim hortons.”

In an email, University of Waterloo spokesperson Rebecca Elming said when its food services department and Tim Hortons became aware of the video, they immediately closed the location and called pest control.

A still from a video posted to TikTok shows a rat scurring down a wall at a Tim Hortons location at University of Waterloo. (TikTok/Rats@Waterloo)

End of an era: CTV Kitchener leaves its longtime home

CTV News Kitchener will soon celebrate 70 years on your television screens, with a rich history of local programming and reporting about our growing community.

While times have certainly changed since CKCO-TV hit the airwaves in 1954, one thing has always stayed the same -- our studios at 864 King St. W.

After 69 years, however, we’re ready to say goodbye to our longtime home and move to a brand new location in Kitchener.

We're excited for CTV Kitchener’s next chapter, and to, for the first time, work alongside our colleagues at Bounce Radio 99.5 and Virgin Radio 105.3 in the same office.

The CTV News Kitchener building at 864 King Street West on June 3, 2022. (Terry Kelly/CTV Kitchener)

Tony Grace says goodbye to CTV Kitchener

As CTV Kitchener says goodbye to our longtime home, Tony Grace will be saying goodbye to CTV Kitchener after four years as he takes is talents to CTV National News.

On his last week at CTV Kitchener before embarking on a new adventure, he sat down with CTV’s Leighanne Evans to look back at some of his memories in Waterloo Region.

Tony has been in the industry for 26 years and said there’s always been something extra special about telling local news stories.

“The family environment in the newsrooms, in the communities where you live, you see people who watch on a regular basis. You meet them at the grocery store and at the gas station – just living out in the community. And there’s something that’s always been so fulfilling about that,” Tony said.

Tony Grace in the CTV Kitchener studio on Sept. 26, 2023. (Leighanne Evans/CTV News)