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GAMING
Pokémon GO craze sweeps across York Region i
BY TERESA LATCHFORD
Y
tlatchford@yrmg.com
ork Region has the “gotta catch ’em all” fever. It has been the scene on street corners, public trails and parks across the region: gaggles of people congregated in one area staring at their cellphones. Just like Newmarket’s Justine Stevens and Kyle Cane, they are hunting Pokémon, which they will then train for battle. “I have loved Pokémon since I was born,” Stevens said, showing three tattoos of Pokémon characters on her chest. “When it popped up on my Facebook page, I thought, ‘This is way too cool to be true.’” Pokémon GO, a free app that allows players to search the cartoon creatures in real-world locations, capture them in Poké Balls and train them for battle, launched in Canada Sunday, though people had been playing versions obtained through unofficial channels since its launch in the United States earlier this month. All weekend, there were crowds of trainers gathered at Main Street and Park Avenue in Newmarket stocking up on Poké Balls, collecting Pokémon and increasing their experience levels. “It was crazy seeing that many people out at those hours all chatting and playing,” Stevens said. “My mom might not like my data bill, but it definitely gets me
For a Pokémon glossary, visit bit.ly/29MMHwh For a list of Pokémon sightings, visit bit.ly/29YzSmv
Pokémon GO player Justine Stevens makes friends with a wild Pidgey on Main Street Newmarket.
out and about more.” However, the app uses less data than one might expect, according to the Wall Street Journal, which found it took about five to 10 megabytes of data per hour of play, compared to 350 megabytes for an hour of high-definition video. “I think our generation is nostalgic,” Cane said, noting game manufacturer Niantic has capitalized on that. “They targeted the right audience and the technology is available, so it has all come together to become a craze.” Colton Duvall, who was also collecting the cartoon critters on Main Street, said he has done a 10-kilometre hike already in search of Pokémon and said the app will make him do more cardio outdoors, rather than in the gym. “There is a social aspect to it, too,” he said, introducing two people he had just met. “It really has turned having a phone into something social.” People are flocking to the corner of Main and Park because it is a hot spot. Players are laying lures, a digital marker that attracts more Pokémon to the area, that last for 30 minutes. People are collecting and gaining experience points at the lures.
Staff Photo/Teresa Latchford
See page A3.
2016 CENSUS
WHAT’S ONLINE
Census may have missed hundreds of buildings
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Number of multi-unit dwellings possibly misidentified BY LISA QUEEN
W
lqueen@yrmg.com
hen commercials began running weeks ago prompting Canadians to fill out their census forms by May 10, Newmarket senior Barbara Storey looked forward to doing her civic duty. “I was looking forward to it because when (the mandatory long-form census) was cancelled by the previous government, I thought it was a big mistake. This is how you predict the future for schools, hospitals, where your population is going to live. I think it’s
really, really important and I wanted to be part of it,” she said. “You think back to biblical times, that’s why Jesus was born (in Bethlehem), because they went to be counted. It’s been going on for a long time.” But Storey and the other residents of her condo building at 155 Main St. N. didn’t receive their forms. And, according to Marc Hamel, director general of the census program, they weren’t the only ones. Like Storey’s condo building, possibly hundreds of buildings across See page A7.
❐ PARENTS CHARGED: Police rescue baby left in car at Markham Costco parking lot: bit.ly/2agi6w3 ❐ HEAT ALERT: Warning issued for York Region: bit.ly/29L4JRq ❐ SERIOUS COLLISION: Multi-vehicle crash in Richmond Hill sends 3 people to hospital: bit.ly/2abV4DP Staff Photo/Susie Kockerscheidt
Newmarket’s Barbara Storey reads a census notice. None of the residents in her condominium building received their census forms. She has been trying to get the issue sorted for several weeks, but progress has been slow.
CRIME
CRIME
Imposters posing as Newmarket utility staff BY CHRIS SIMON
I
csimon@yrmg.com
f someone approaches your home, claiming to be a representative of the Town of Newmarket and tries to sell you something, close the door and walk away. Newmarket staff are warning residents about aggressive doorto-door salespeople going around town right now. The salespeople are posing as town utility department employees and may ask to enter homes to test water or check other services, like heat, File image energy and gas. The salespeople may provide identification, advise Newmarket officials warn residents to beware of salespeople imperthe water in the community is sonating municipal staff. contaminated with high levels of copper and suggest government ing town staff. rebate programs that require the Door-to-door sales represeninstallation of water filters. tatives became a topic of converNewmarket does not conduct ❑ Comments about this issue? sation for several local municipal door-to-door sales. Any municipal Email newsroom@yrmg.com councils in recent months. employee who visits a residence Markham Councillor Colin will provide proper identification Campbell called on the province recent inquiries from residents and likely drive a town vehicle. to ban door-to-door sales in the about aggressive water heater, This is the second time the home services sector, Mississauenergy and gas distributor town has issued a notice about salespeople showing up at their door-to-door sales in recent homes. In some cases, it appeared months. In late April, town staff See page A2. the salespeople were impersonatreport they had received several
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More charges against PSW accused of sexual assault BY CHRIS SIMON
A
csimon@yrmg.com
nother charge has been laid against a Newmarket man already accused of sexually assaulting elderly residents in Richmond Hill and Aurora. On June 8, York Regional Police investigators received information from an elderly man, who reported he was sexually assaulted by a man accused of similar crimes elsewhere. The incident allegedly occurred in the victim’s Newmarket home sometime between Dec. 31, 2015 and Jan. 30. The accused worked for We Care Home Health Services at the time. Between May and October 2015, the accused was employed at Mackenzie Health hospital in Rich-
mond Hill and was providing care for seniors at the facility. He was first arrested Jan. 31 and charged with sexually assaulting an elderly woman sometime between August and October 2015. Then, between December 2015 and January 2016, the accused was employed as a personal support worker with Community and Home Assistance to Seniors (CHATS) as well as other agencies and at various facilities and seniors’ apartment complexes. A total of five female victims and one male have come forward or were identified by police so far. The investigation is ongoing and any additional victims are urged to
See page A2.
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