Most read stories of the week: Turnout in Dover for Friday the 13th, driver sentenced in double-fatal crash, propane tanks found at Cambridge encampment

Die-hard bikers turn out for snowy Friday the 13th in Dover, but most leave motorcycles at home

Snowy cold conditions appear to have kept the usual crowds away from Port Dover for Friday the 13th.

Bikers normally flock to the lakeside Ontario town whenever the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday. The tradition dates back to 1991 and the event regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors.

But on Friday morning, CTV News spotted only three motorcycles downtown.

There were still dozens of people in the streets and stores had their usual Friday the 13th t-shirts out for sale, but many visitors said they opted for four-wheeled means of transportation to get to town.

Al Lancaric and his brother drove in from Toronto.

“In the summer, yes it was great," Lancaric said. "You couldn’t walk through here, there was so many people, but it’s not the case today."

Regardless of the weather, many visitors said they still wanted to come to town to make sure they got a t-shirt and met up with some of the people they look forward to seeing each year.

‘The nightmare will never be over’: Driver sentenced, family reacts in tragic double-fatal crash

The driver charged in a horrific crash that killed two children in 2021 was sentenced on Tuesday, after emotional victim impact statements were read in court.

The accused, who was a youth at the time he was charged, was sentenced to two years of probation – which includes 200 hours of community service. He also has to pay $6,000 in fines and obey a three-year driving prohibition, concurrent on all counts.

On Jan. 31, 2021, Susan Lodge was driving home with her three children when a crash in North Dumfries took two of their lives.

Evan, 12, died on scene. Amanda, 10, was resuscitated on scene but remained in a coma and died a few days later in hospital.

Alyssa, 9, and the mother, Susan, survived.

Susan was in tears, clutching a photo of her three kids as she read her statement on Tuesday.

“I am not fine. I will never be fine,” she said. ““Will I ever experience pure joy again? At this point, I can’t see it.”

Alyssa, Susan and Greg Lodge stand in front of the Kitchener courthouse with friends and family behind them on Jan. 10, 2023. (CTV News/Krista Sharpe)

‘Like a missile that could explode’: Dozens of propane tanks found in the area of Cambridge encampment fire

The Cambridge fire department says an encampment fire that shut down Highway 401 in Cambridge Wednesday night could have been a lot worse as dozens of propane tanks were later found in the area of the fire.

On Thursday, Captain John Percy, fire prevention officer with the Cambridge Fire Department, said those propane tanks “could be like a missile that could explode.”

“Our primary concern after that, after the people, is the use of propane tanks in the area, and they were probably 60 propane tanks,” Percy said. “Ones that we would use for our barbecue that are being used in this facility. The challenge with propane is that it’s a compressed gas.”

The fire resulted in a section of Highway 401 eastbound in Cambridge being shut down just after 9 p.m. for several hours.

An encampment fire on Jan. 11 which resulted in police closing Highway 401 Eastbound near Cambridge. (Submitted/Tamás Törös)

An emotional farewell to Forwell Super Variety in Kitchener

After more than 60 years in business, staff at a Kitchener staple will have to say a final farewell to their customers.

Forwell Super Variety has been on Lancaster Street since 1961.

“As a family, we've decided that we have to close,” manager Tracy Schneider said.

Schneider said it was a tough decision but one they had to make due to a looming road construction project on Lancaster Street. The work is expected to take a couple of years. Schneider said the store is aging and is in need of repairs and the family worries it won’t be worth it to keep it open.

Schneider said her greatest memory she’ll cherish from the store is the three decades she worked alongside her father.

“My dad said ‘sleep here in the office’ and we slept in the office and we ate snacks and read magazines and apparently we were security at 15 years old,” Schneider said.

Forwell Super Variety in Kitchener Jan. 11, 2023. (CTV News/Spencer Turcotte)

Thieves flip 8 trucks at gravel pit outside Guelph, Ont. To get at catalytic converters

Police are investigating after someone flipped over eight large trucks at a gravel pit outside Aberfoyle, Ont. and stole the vehicles’ catalytic converters.

In a video posted to Twitter Friday, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Const. Joshua Cunningham said the theft happened the night before.

Part of a vehicle’s exhaust system, catalytic converters contain precious metals such as rhodium, platinum and palladium that can be sold on the black market.

“Catalytic converters thefts are nothing new, but what is unusual about the incident is the thieves used a piece of on-site equipment to flip the trucks onto their sides causing much more damage to the vehicle than would be necessary,” Cunningham said.

A spokesperson for Canada Building Materials said the theft happened at a gravel pit just outside Aberfoyle. The estimated cost of the damage hasn't been determined yet, but eight trucks were flipped over, the spokesperson said.

Trucks flipped over during a catalytic converter theft at a gravel pit outside Aberfoyle, Ont. (OPP)