Most-read stories of the week: Roll Up the Rim, Strep A death, possible CRA strike

Meet the Ontario stats prof who claims he can’t stop beating Roll Up To Win

 For most people who play Roll Up To Win at Tim Hortons, the winning happens once in a while. For Michael Wallace, a statistics professor at the University of Waterloo – it’s a different story.

“This year when I played my rolls at the best time, I won at almost 80 per cent of the time” said Wallace.

For Wallace, Roll Up is the convergence of two passions: statistics and contests. Back in 2020 when Roll Up moved from a cup to online, Wallace saw an opportunity.

“When the contest is on a physical cup, there is not actually a lot you can do. When they moved it to a digital app, that opened up a lot of interesting avenues of thinking about how the contest was designed and how you as a player might be able to take advantage of that,” said Wallace.

Hamilton family raising awareness about Strep A after sudden death of toddler

A plaster cast of his daughter’s hand is the closest Eric Muley will get to holding his child’s hand again.

“This is the hand they made for us at the hospital when she passed,” Eric says, gesturing at the small sculpture that is now mounted on the wall of his Hamilton, Ont., home.

Two-year-old Nevaeh Muley died suddenly of a Strep A bacterial infection earlier this month. Now her parents are looking to raise awareness about the invasive infection as they try to pick up the pieces. Nevaeh was known for being an adventurous and brave toddler who loved to dance.

“Her all-time favourite thing was dancing,” Eric says. “Days prior to her getting sick, she was dancing. We have videos of her dancing in the front room.”

Earlier this month, Nevaeh came down with a fever. Her other siblings had colds around the same time, so her parents weren’t surprised.

Email from University of Waterloo advising what to do if contacted by CSIS causes some confusion on campus

An email sent by the University of Waterloo to its grad students, researchers and faculty is raising some questions. In it, the university lays out what students and faculty should do if they’re approached by an agent from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

The university says in order to safeguard research, it’s working to ensure everyone is prepared for interactions that may jeopardize that – including interactions with CSIS agents, both on and off campus.

“You do not have a legal obligation to talk to a CSIS agent. Furthermore, you do not need to meet them at the time and place with which they contact you. For example, if they appear unannounced at your place of residence, you can ask them to reschedule the meeting in the morning or at your workplace if you prefer,” the memo said.

The university says it’s important for students, faculty and researchers to ask the agent why they want to speak with them, and advises it may be able to provide someone to accompany the person being questioned.

(Dan Lauckner / CTV Kitchener)

Tax return delays possible if CRA workers strike

Thousands of Canada Revenue Agency workers are threatening strike action, and it could cause a delay for Canadians trying to file their 2022 taxes by the May 1 deadline.

In January, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Union of Taxation Employees announced a strike vote. They represent more than 35,000 workers nationwide.

The union’s most recent collective agreement expired on Oct. 31, 2021.

The workers are asking for “a fair compensation package, protections in the context of access to remote work, new protections for union jobs and new scheduling rights, including years of service protections where there is evening and weekend work.”

Tax forms from the Canada Revenue Agency.

'Fairly emotional for everybody': Teen struck by LRT visits emergency crews who rescued him

Several weeks after a teen was stuck under an LRT train in Kitchener, he’s now up and walking.

Around 2:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday March 8, Keelan Zondervan, 16, was struck by an LRT train and became trapped underneath it. It happened near Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute.

Fire crews were on scene within four minutes, using jacks and cribbing to lift the train.

"We initially had somebody under the train, a firefighter. Then once paramedics got there, there was a paramedic underneath the train. They started an IV and did a number of other items. We were in charge of the lifting portion," Tom O’Hara, the Public Education Officer for Kitchener Fire said.

Emergency crews with police, fire, and paramedics all worked together to help get the teen out.

"The emotions get pushed into a very small corner of your mind and your training just takes over," O’Hara said.

Zondervan was airlifted to Hamilton General Hospital, and was on life support. The teen is now recovering at home, using a walker for support.

"Very happy. The outcome was very positive. I would say, probably the best case scenario for that type of accident with an LRT train," O’Hara said.

On Friday, Zondervan visited some of the officials who helped rescue him.

Keelan Zondervan visits emergency crews on Mar. 24, 2023. (Submitted/Chris Davidson)