Google Canada today revealed more than 130 Canadian cities to be viewed in the 3D environment of Google street view mode. Among those cities are Bolton, Orangeville and surprisingly many parts of Caledon, Ontario. Even the smaller the towns of Caledon Village, Caledon East, Alton & Mono Mills are mapped as well as many of the main roads through all of Caledon. Mapping by the famous google camera car was done this past summer, I actually saw it in person in Orangeville one weekend.

Street View is a free feature in Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Maps for mobile. It was first launched in 2007 and it now includes imagery from 18 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. To start exploring, simply visit maps.google.ca and zoom in to the lowest level or drag the orange “Pegman” icon from the left side of the map onto a blue-lined street.

Google Street View has also become a great tool for real estate, it provides people an easy way to show what is around the house that is for sale in the neighbourhood, gives people a better idea of a property and area instead of just blindly showing up. However on the other side of things Google has come under fire for privacy concerns surrounding the service and has addressed those issues by blurring out the faces of people in the photos, as well as licence plates on vehicles.

If you see anything of interest in the Caledon area on Google Maps Street View please leave a comment here.

Tragedy has struck a family in Mono Township just north of Orangeville. A mother of two teens apparently wanted to cut ties with her estranged husband and move on with her life but her plans ended when he instead went to her rented home in Orangeville and shot her. As she fought for her life in hospital, the man 42-year-old Hugh Ferguson faced off against police before turning a gun on himself.

Just before midnight Saturday police were called to a domestic disturbance at an Orangeville house. Police later were called back to the house and found that a woman had been shot. She died after being airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, says a statement issued by the SIU (Special Investigations Unit).

The 39-year-old woman, identified by friends and neighbours as Heidi Ferguson, ran to her neighbour’s home on Westdale Ave. to get help after being shot late Friday. Her ex-husband, identified by neighbours as Hugh, 42, then fled to his home in Mono Twp. north of the town where he barricaded himself in the house for several hours in a tense standoff with the OPP tactical team before killing himself.

Hugh Ferguson a hunter had about 10 firearms in his home and ended up shooting out the tires of an OPP van during the standoff , neighbours said. The standoff ended just before 6 a.m. when police confirmed Hugh was dead.

Friends and neighbours said the couple had been separated since about last fall, but maintained an amicable relationship.

Neighbours of the couple’s Mono home on Madill Dr., which is up for private sale, say the couple hosted a party two weeks ago for the lacrosse team their high school son, 13-year-old Connor, plays on. The couple also have another teen, daughter Courtney, now at university.

“It’s kind of hard to believe,” said a friend who didn’t want to be named. “There were no signs.” He said he last saw Hugh Thursday night, and “he seemed a little bit cooler, which is unlike him,” adding the man was usually upbeat emotionally.

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New Articles about the story:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/09/13/10867271-sun.html
http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090912/Orangeville_Deaths_090912/
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/694880