http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/index.php Stratford and Area News from CJCS Radio en http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11241 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:28:05 GMT Ontario Provincial Police have now charged Fred Preston with first-degree murder in the death of Huron County Constable Vu Pham. Pham was killed in a shootout just north of Seaforth Monday morning. The 70-year old Preston was then shot several times during a shootout with two other officers. He remains in critical condition in London's Victoria Hospital. In a startling coincidence, residents of the small northern Ontario town of Sundridge say Preston and Pham had attended the same church. Pham spent his teenage years in Sundridge. Sources say Preston had been living apart from his wife Barb for about a year and a half and that she lives with their daughter, Anne. Funeral services for Pham will be held Friday afternoon in Wingham. http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11248 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:32:07 GMT Premier Dalton McGuinty will be in Listowel tomorrow. He'll be joined by Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell and Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson. The Premier will make an announcement at 11:00am at Erie Meats Cold Storage Facility, 1400 Mitchell Road South. http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11246 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:39 GMT Thanks to overwhelming early demand, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival has added five performances of 'Do Not Go Gentle.' The one-man show features Geraint Wyn Davies. It paints an intimate portrait of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, an artist known for his ribaldry and wry wit, as well as his depth of passion. Wyn Davies presented three evening performances of 'Do Not Go Gentle' at the Studio Theatre in 2002. The additional performances have been scheduled for: August 18, 8 p.m. August 24, 8 p.m. September 3, 2 p.m. September 8, 8 p.m. September 11, 8 p.m. Stratford Shakespeare Festival members can order tickets now with sales to the general public begin March 16. http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11247 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:32 GMT Three London residents are among 35 residents across the province arrested Tuesday on child porn charges. The London Police Cyber Crime Unit executed three search warrants for child pornography offences at three separate residences as part of a province wide series of raids. Two 25-year olds face charges of possession of child porn, accessing child porn, making available child porn. One also faces charges of possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of break and enter tools. A young offender male has also been charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of accessing child pornography. http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11245 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:27:35 GMT Police from across the country will gather in Wingham Friday for the second police funeral in Ontario this week. Services for OPP Constable Vu Pham will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at the North Huron Wescast Community Complex. The 37-year-old married father of three was shot and killed Monday morning while on duty north of Seaforth. Visitation will be held tomorrow from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the McBurney Funeral Home in Wingham. The suspect in the shooting, 70-year-old Fred Preston of Sundridge, remains in a London hospital in critical condition. http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11244 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:30:11 GMT Close to 300 Perth County residents have taken up the Driven to Quit Challenge for 2010. The 295 local entries top last year by 100. They are among nearly 23,000 people province-wide who have taken up the challenge to quit smoking. Participants must remain tobacco-free for the entire month of March to be eligible for a prize draw. The grand prize is a 2010 Ford Escape hybrid. http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11243 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:54:33 GMT Police in Woodstock are looking for the thieves responsible for a theft earlier this week. Officers were alerted Monday morning that the theft had occured sometime later Sunday night or early Monday morning at an Ingersoll road business. Police say thieves removed four catalytic converters from vehicles parked at K&H Auto Sales. Value of property stolen is approximately $600. A suspect vehicle involved may be a white service style van. http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11242 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:37:19 GMT City residents will be able to get an update later today on the progress of getting the Stratford Institute up and running. Ken Coates is the Dean of Arts for the University of Waterloo. He says things are moving along quite well. Coates and Stratford Institute Executive Director Ian Wilson will provide an update on the Institute at a public meeting today at 5:30 at the Stratford City Hall Auditorium. http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11233 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:34:35 GMT The province's Special Investigations Unit has released the name of the suspect in yesteray's fatal shooting of Huron County OPP Constable Vu Pham. Seventy-year old Fred Preston of Burk's Falls remains in critical condition in a London hospital. He was shot eight times during an exchange of gunfire with police north of Seaforth after police pulled his pick-up truck over. The SIU says two other officers were on the scene with Pham at the time of the shooting. After Pham was shot, the suspect and officers were involved in a shootout. Witnesses say as many as 20 shots were fired during the exchange of gunfire. Sargent Dave Rektor says the force has lost a good friend, a great colleague and a very good officer. A full police funeral for OPP Constable Vu Pham will be held in Wingham Friday afternoon on the arena floor of the North Huron Wescast Community Complex at 1pm. http://www.cjcsradio.com/news/newsitem.php?id=11235 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:45:33 GMT Today marks the official launch of artsVest. It's a matching grant initiative for area arts organizations, created and administered by Business for the Arts. The city Stratford, the town of St. Marys and Perth County are taking part in the event. Speeches kick off today's activity at Factory 163 on King Street in Stratford followed by an interactive roundtable discussion. Tomorrow a series workshops will be held with a variety of local arts organizations. Stratford-Perth is one of five Ontario communities to be awarded the artsVest matching grant opportunity in 2010.