'It's just nice to have a place': Convenience store in Chatham, Ont. offers safe space for young cyclists
A convenience store in Chatham is opening its doors to lost or troubled cyclists as the weather warms and biking season begins.
The owner of Mighty Jim’s Variety on Grand Avenue East, Joannie Wonnacott said there’s been an open door policy for years, and is reminding customers to let their kids know they can use the store’s phone if needed, for whatever reason.
“It just gives them a place they can come,” Wonnacott said. “They are out riding their bike, their chain slipped or their back wheel broke or something like that and they need to get a hold of somebody, it's just nice to have a place.”
Wonnacott said staff urge young customers or any cyclists to bring their bikes inside the store, as thieves can strike in seconds.
“Bring your bike in. We have the room, turn it upside down if you have to if you don't have a stand, do whatever you want. Spend the time in the store you need. Get what you need, even if it's just coming in so that they can use the phone, bring your bike in!” she said.
In a Facebook post that’s been shared more than 500 times, Wonnacott urged parents to teach children their phone numbers along with a grandparent’s.
Joannie Wonnacott, owner of Mighty Jim’s Variety on Grand Avenue East in Chatham, Ont., says their doors are open to lost or troubled cyclists as the biking season begins. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor) “The kids get out there and they're playing and then they forget their cell phone or they've lost power,” Wonnacott said. “They're riding their bike and they get maybe too far away, they forget where they are and they don't know how to get home and they don't know how to call anybody because all of their numbers are in their phone.”
“We don't want to see a kid coming in panic because they don't know a number and they don't know who to contact,” she added. “The kids need to memorize a number.”
Wonnacott explained they have no issue letting people use the store phone considering a lack of public pay phones these days, and hopes more businesses in Chatham will do the same.
“People talk about giving a coffee or buying a coffee for somebody, well, it's just like, OK, you're giving them a 10 minute phone call or a five minute phone call. Sometimes it's somebody that just needs to contact somebody to talk. We've had a few of those,” she said.
She continued, “We just want to be part of the neighbourhood. We want to be part of the solution instead of part of the reason.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Feds 'not interested' in investing in LNG facilities: energy minister
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is 'not interested' in subsidizing future liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including the electrification of projects currently in the works.
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
Aerial photos show wide devastation left by tornado in China's Guangzhou
Aerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed the wide devastation of a part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging over a hundred buildings.
Global measles cases nearly doubled in one year, researchers say
The number of measles cases around the world nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023, researchers say, presenting a challenge to efforts to achieve and maintain elimination status in many countries.
Fair share: the right office solution can take finding the right partner
The rise of remote and hybrid work has made it harder to justify a full office, so more are leaning on co-working spaces that they share with many others for convenience and cost savings. The choice, however, comes at the expense of privacy and control.
A top Qatari official urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a ceasefire deal
A senior Qatari official has urged both Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds on both sides to move toward a deal that would set Israeli hostages free and bring potential respite in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
What Trudeau's podcast appearances say about the Liberals' next ballot box question
Trudeau recently appeared on four podcasts as he travels the country talking up the Liberals' latest budget, which he's pitching as a plan to inject more economic fairness into society for those under 40 — a cohort that has kept Trudeau in power since 2015 but is increasingly turning to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Russian drones set a hotel ablaze in a Ukrainian Black Sea city
Russian drones early Sunday struck the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv, setting a hotel ablaze and damaging energy infrastructure, the local Ukrainian governor reported, while ammunition shortages continued to hobble Kyiv's troops in the more than two-year-old war.
A munitions explosion at a Cambodian army base kills 20 soldiers, but its cause is unclear
Security was tight around a military base in southwestern Cambodia on Sunday, a day after a huge explosion there killed 20 soldiers, wounded others and damaged nearby houses.