Friday, November 29, 2019 3 Brooklin Town Crier Brooklin's own Kaden May, age 13, has won a prestigious Joey Award, which are handed out to young Canadian performers. He was nominated for two but won in the category for Best Male Host or demonstrator for his role as Jack in the Jack and Brody Show. The awards, named after a joey which is a baby kangaroo, were presented at a gala red carpet event in Vancouver earlier this month. Kaden began his young career as an extra in the movie Suicide Squad when it was filming in Toronto in 2015. Although his scene ended up on the cutting room floor, he persevered to do more background work, including spending the March break of 2018 filming Shazam. Joined agency After seeing a posting from an agent, he submitted a tape to demonstrate his abilities and the agent liked what she saw. He thus signed with his current agent, Tammy Godefroy of Soho Management, in 2018. He has also taken acting courses and works with a coach for his auditions. Since being with his agent, Kaden has been in three short films (Lagoon, The Difficult Kids and Paperboy), a movie review crew (Kidz Review Crew), an online campaign for a shoelace company (Xpand Laces), a web series for Spin Master for a new toy called Dragamonz, a popular TVO kids program and, most recently, a popular sci-fi TV series. He has recently become a full member of ACTRA. He was also nominated at the Joeys for Best Actor in a Student or Youth Made Short Film, Age 10-12 in addition to the category for which he won. Kids from all over Canada flew to Vancouver to take part in the ceremony. Thrilling experience "As parents, we thought the awards were really well done and a great platform for the kids," said his mother, Kelly May. "They were able to meet peers from all over Canada and bond with those who are interested in the same thing. "Kaden loved being at the awards," she added, "including being interviewed and walking the red carpet. He also loved being up on the stage to accept his award and thanking those who had helped on his journey. He's hoping he will be nominated again next year so he can participate again." More episodes of his show The Jack and Brody Show will be released shortly. His ultimate goal is to work in film or tv and he would love to play a character in the Marvel Universe. Brooklin Student Wins National Performance Award Week One DRPS completed its first week of the Festive R.I.D.E program with two days of checks, stopping more than 1800 vehicles and charging eight drivers with drinking and driving offences. Durham Regional Police officers conducted R.I.D.E. checks in Ajax, Pickering, Whitby and Oshawa, with the following totals (the numbers in brackets reflect 2018 first week totals for comparison): 1882 (873) Vehicles stopped by R.I.D.E. 60 (41) People given Roadside Breath Tests 10 (5) People received "3/7/30 Day Suspensions" for registering a "WARN" 0 (1) Novice Driver received a 3-Day Licence Suspension 8 (6) People were charged with Impaired/ Exceed/Refuse 1 (7) Person was charged with other Criminal Code offences 43 (25) Charged with various Highway Traffic Act offences After the first week, the Festive RIDE team charged eight motorists for drinking and driving offences. Last year at the same time, six had been charged. Another 10 motorists have registered a WARN on a roadside screening device and had their driver's licences suspended for 3 or 7 or 30 days. Last year, five drivers had their licences suspended for registering a WARN. Police would like to remind motorists about the cannabis laws while transporting it in your motor vehicle. A driver cannot have cannabis in a motor vehicle when the seal of its original packaging is open and is within reach of the driver, similar to alcohol rules. Note: Under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, anyone charged with an impaired driving criminal offence will have his or her driver's licence suspended for 90 days and the vehicle impounded automatically for seven days. Week Two After Week Two, DRPS had stopped more than 2,900 vehicles, charging 16 drivers with drinking and driving offences. Officers conducted R.I.D.E. checks in Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa, Clarington, Scugog and Brock Township with the following totals (the numbers in brackets reflect 2018 second week totals for comparison): 2,978 (6,754) Vehicles stopped by R.I.D.E. 135 (100) People given Roadside Breath Tests 21 (12) People received "3/7/30 Day Suspensions" for registering a "WARN" 123 (N/A) Mandatory Roadside Breath Tests (1st time done on RIDE Line) 3 (N/A) People received "3/7/30 Day Suspensions" as a result of Mandatory Tests 1 (N/A) People given "Approved Drug Screening Device" Tests 1 (1) Novice Driver received a "Three Day Licence Suspension" 16 (15) People charged with Drinking and Driving Offences 13 (19) Criminal Code Offences Other 69 (47) Charged with various Highway Traffic Act Offences 4 (0) Drug Offences 1 (7) Cannabis Act offences After the second week, the R.I.D.E. team has charged 24 motorists for drinking and driving offences. Last year at the same time, 23 had been charged. Another 24 have registered a WARN on a roadside screening device and had their driver's licence suspended for three-days. Last year at the same time, 26 drivers had their licence suspended for registering a WARN. Legislation that came into effect in December 2018 gives police the power to demand a breath sample from any driver who is lawfully stopped. This week, for the first time on the R.I.D.E. line, the R.I.D.E. team conducted mandatory road- side breath tests, meaning every driver entering the R.I.D.E. line was given a breath test for a prescribed period of time. The results are listed above. An "Approved Drug Screening Device" was also used by the R.I.D.E. team for the first time resulting in a novice driver given a three-day suspension. During a R.I.D.E. traffic stop, R.I.D.E. officers seized approximately 240 grams of cannabis and charged an individual with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking along with executing three outstanding warrants on the same person. A total of 13 charges were laid. R.I.D.E. officers were also instrumental in assisting with a fatal hit-and-run collision involving a female cyclist in Oshawa. R.I.D.E. members were among the first officers to respond and secure the scene. A complete list of those charged with Impaired/Exceed/Refuse will be posted on our website later this week at www.drps.ca under Hot Topics. Festive R.I.D.E. Results: Weeks One & Two Another Sleepless Night - Outdoors! For the second straight year, armed with a sleeping bag and a piece of cardboard, Brooklin resident Jim Smillie slept outside on the street so that the youth at Covenant House Toronto could ignite their potential and reclaim their lives. "Every child deserves a safe place," says Smillie who on Nov. 21 participated in the 'Sleep Out' movement to raise awareness of youth homelessness and raise funds for Toronto's Covenant House. "As a parent and a grandparent, it breaks my heart to see the growing number of homeless youth on the streets. No kid should have to sleep on the street!" On any given night in Canada, there may be 6000 homeless youth on the streets. As Canada's largest agency serving youth who are homeless, trafficked or at risk, Covenant House Toronto offers the widest range of 24/7 services to about 350 young people each day. Across Canada, vulnerable young people find themselves with no place to call home. Due to a wide range of reasons, they are forced to be on the streets in brutal and unsafe conditions with no support and no basic nutrition. While young people may think running to the street is a means of escape, they soon find it can lead them on a dangerous path. It is estimated that 60% of homeless youth are victims of a violent crime with Ontario being a major hub of human trafficking, having 65% of police-reported cases in Canada. To support Jim's personal fundraising page: https://covenanthousetoronto.akaraisin.com/pledge/Participant/Home.aspx?seid=20187&mid=9&pid=4370668 Covenant House Executive Sleep Out Toronto: https://covenanthousetoronto.akaraisin.com/Common/Event/Home.aspx?seid=20187&mid=8