Most-read stories of the week: layoffs, a push for a rare cancer drug, and a python in a park

Home Hardware lays off staff in response to 'economic landscape'

Some Home Hardware employees are out of a job after the company announced layoffs on Tuesday.

Kevin Macnab, Home Hardware’s president and CEO, confirmed employees were let go but would not say how many.

In a statement emailed to CTV News on Wednesday, he said: “Yesterday was a difficult day at Home Hardware Stores Limited as we implemented a necessary reduction in our workforce to ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of our business in response to the constraints of the current economic landscape. As a privately held company, we are not disclosing the number of positions affected, however Home Hardware Stores Limited conducted a careful, thoughtful, and comprehensive review to minimize the impact on our valued team members and dealers.”

The company’s headquarters are in St. Jacobs

Ontario woman with incurable cancer pushing province to cover rare cancer drug

A Kitchener, Ont. woman and her family are pushing the provincial government to fund a rare cancer treatment.

Noor Ayesha, 25, is a new mother but she’s facing a greater challenge than motherhood.

She has been diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of cancer that originates in the bile ducts of the liver.

Dr. Andrea Molckovsky, Ayesha’s medical oncologist at Grand River Regional Cancer Centre in Kitchener, said current efforts to prolong her life aren’t working as well as they’d hoped.

“Noor is running out of time because she’s already on the second line chemotherapy,” Molckovsky explained.

There is a new Health Canada-approved oral drug called Pemigatinib, which could help Ayesha live longer.

But there’s a catch.

The drug, which is sold under the brand name Pemazyre, is not covered in Ontario.

Dog found starved, covered in human waste, at Guelph Lake

A dog, starving and covered in human waste, was found abandoned Sunday in the public washroom of a Guelph, Ont. conservation area.

The Chihuahua, now known as Cleo, was trapped in an in ground holding tank – something her rescuers say wasn’t an accident.

“We all felt some disbelief and shock when she was found in those conditions,” Lisa Veit, the executive director of the Guelph Humane Society, said Tuesday. “She was scared, nervous. The only way that she could have wound up in a tank was for her to have been put in there.”

Cleo was discovered around 10 a.m. by an officer at the Guelph Lake Conservation Area, just north of the city.

The washroom is set back near the woods and, in order to access the single-room structure, someone would have had to force open the wooden door. Inside, a hollow cylinder rises more than a foot out of the floor and connects to the waste holding tank.

Cleo was found at the bottom, covered in human urine and feces.

Cleo the Chihuahua and the Guelph Lake washroom where she was found abandoned. (Source: Guelph Humane Society and Shelby Knox/CTV Kitchener)

St. Mary's High School closes due to 'threat of violence against school'

A Kitchener high school was shut down Wednesday due to a “threat of violence.”

Waterloo regional police now say it will also remain closed on Thursday.

An unknown person called police around 2:40 a.m. and “threatened to carry out acts of violence at St. Mary’s High School” on Block Line Road.

In an email to students and their families, the school’s principal said: “We understand that this news may be concerning, and we want to assure you that every possible measure is being taken to ensure everyone’s safety.”

Waterloo regional police announced Wednesday afternoon that the school will also be closed on Thursday as “investigators work to determine the validity of the threats.”

No details have been released about the nature of the threat or who may have called it in.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board, in a follow up message posted to their website, added: “The decision to close the school was made out of an abundance of caution, reflecting our unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety of our staff and students.”

St. Mary's High School seen on May 17, 2023. (CTV News/Terry Kelly)

Python found in Waterloo park

A large snake is hoping for a happy ending after it was found in a Waterloo park over the weekend.

Victoria Baby, Chief Executive Officer for The Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo & Stratford Perth, told CTV News two people brought a ball python to the Humane Society after they found it in Moses Springer Park on Sunday.

Baby said they believe the snake is about three months old.

It’s not clear how the python ended up in the park.

A ball python, now known as Louis, was turned over The Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo & Stratford Perth after it was found in a Waterloo park. (Dave Pettitt/CTV News)