The Bulldog

Halloween decorating contest under way in South Bayview

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Karen Fraser writes taunting anyone — anyone —  to enter the Halloween Decorating Contest if he dares It’s easy. The “gory details” are at www.halloweencontest.org . Fill out the form to enter your creation or send an email at karenfraser3@gmail.com to nominate a neighbor or friend. The contest is open to residents of Bennington Heights, Davisville Village, Governor’s Bridge, Leaside, Moore Park and Rosedale. This year’s sponsors are Bruce McArthur Design, McDowell’s Valumart on Bayview Ave., Patrick Rocca Bosley Real Estate and Sleuth of Baker Street. The contest is a community project of Leaside resident Karen Fraser. Judgement Day is October 31 with a deadline is 12 noon. The prize for Spooky/traditional is a gift certificate from Sleuth of Baker Street. The prize for Elegant/modern is a Holiday arrangement created by Bruce McArthur Design with seasonal greenery from McDowell’s. Karen has an inducement you can’t refuse. She points out that if you don’t enter you won’t have a ghost of a chance of winning. You  will feel ghoulish on Halloween.

Two sent to hospital after SUV crunches bus shelter

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A woman and a girl are said to have serious injuries after this scary looking crash of an  SUV into a bus shelter at Lawrence and Pharmacy Aves. Sunday afternoon. The streets were closed into the evening, police said. These graphic photos were tweeted by Tom Podolec.

 

Large turnout for 53 Division indoor cricket tournament

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Police, referees and team captains are seen witnessing a coin toss for batting order at the 53 Division First Annual Indoor Cricket Tournament Sunday (October 25 , 2015) in Thorncliffe Park. The event grows out of the continuing interaction by police and community to keep kids engaged and positive. Sunday saw 80 young men and women playing or participating in support roles such as scoring at the Jenner Jean-Marie Community Centre.  As many as 17 teams participated for a championship trophy, said PC Narinder Grewal, a principal organizer of the event. The game had to be adapted, probably not for the first time, to be played indoors where the gymnasium at Jenner Jean-Marie is large and modern.

COPS & KIDS

The entire project is made possible by the Proaction charity which is allied with Toronto Police and has its offices in the headquarters building on College Street. All the players wore jerseys bearing Proaction’s Cops & Kids logo.  Proaction was conceived by businessman John L. Bitove Sr. in 1991 and has functioned as a source of financial support for such good work since then. Photo shows l to r Nasser Khan (chief referee) PC Arnulfo Lisanin, team captain, PC Alex Li with coin, team captain and assistant and PC Narinder Grewal. (The South Bayview Bulldog)

Dogs do Halloween too at New York’s Tompkins Square

This is actually last year’s parade because the 2015 version is still about to take place. If you have three or four minutes of nothing to do and love your pooches dressed up funny, have a look.  Monster Mash tribute to Boris Karloff is sung by Bobby “Boris” Pickett. It’s quite amusing too.

Maureen O’Hara a woman of strength and distinction

She was the woman who John Wayne called “a heck of a guy.” The red-haired leading lady of memorable roles in such films as The Miracle on 34th Street and The Quiet Man was a woman and among women, and man’s woman all at once. She has died quietly at home in Idaho at the age of 95. All leads

Indoor Cricket Tourney in Thorncliffe tomorrow (Sunday)

The First Annual 53 Division Indoor Cricket Tournament at the Jenner Jean-Marie Community Centre, 48 Thorncliffe Park Drive, kicks off Sunday, October 25, 2015 at 9 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m. PC Narinder Grewal along with 53 Division community officers with the assistance of the Thorncliffe neighbourhood will help jumpstart this great community engagement initiative.

POLICE THANK CTC, LOBLAWS

On the 53 Division website the officers are also thanking companies like Canadian Tire and Loblaws for donating equipment and food to sustain this event. The South Bayview Bulldog chimes in with its thanks too.

Mother of dying boy speaks of her restored faith

The mother of a St. George, Ontaro boy dying of inoperaable brain tumour speaks of a renewed faith because of the kindness of the people of the small town. CBC 

Leaside United hosts rally that gives hope to Honduran kids

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Leaside United Church hosted a Rally of Hope Saturday which saw many members of the community join in a “four-wheeled scavenger hunt” to raise money in support of El Hogar Project Canada’s homes and education programs for poor and abandoned children in Honduras. El Hogar, which means The Home, has four homes in Honduras  The featured speaker was Eduardo Bennett, an  El Hogar graduate who went on to become a celebrated soccer player in Honduras, Argentina and Chile. He spoke with passion and humour about his upbringing and the opportunities he gained when his mother enrolled him at El Hogar.

FEARED A LIFE OF ALCOHOLISM

She feared he faced a life of alcoholism. Bennett spoke of a broken home with four children in which he said he was “a freedom kid” who could do whatever he wanted. With is father gone and his mother working to keep the family alive, he had little opportunity for a relationship with his mother. He went to the streets and refused to attend school. His life was fighting and football, he said. His older brother George was drinking heavily. It seemed like Eduardo might follow the same path. His mother wanted him to go to El Hogar. “I didn’t believe my mother, that she would send me to El Hogar,” he said. “I am the special guy, she’s not going to let the diamond leave home,” he recalled to laughter.

LEARNED TRADES

But his mother was serious and despite his tears, Bennett found that he began to care about the El Hogar people who cared about him. At the technical institute he learned to love his new home. He was taught welding, plumbing and carpentry, skills he  enjoys and is proud of even though his place in life was secured by his skill as a soccer player. The large church gymnasium was the scene of a fine dinner catered by Andy Elder of Grilltime. The gym was filled to capacity. Some well-known Leaside residents there were Tim Morawetz and his wife Sue MacGowan and Tim Magwood who was MC for the evening. Below is a video outline of El Hogar’s program by the organization’s chair Margo Mingay.

Two kids hurt but okay after DVP rollover accident

Four people were taken to hospital following an accident on the Don Valley Parkway in which a vehicle rolled over and hit another car today (Saturday, October 24, 2015). It happened in the southbound lanes of the parkway near Don Mills Road shortly before 3 p.m. Two children were treated for various injuries but later released from hospital.

117 Hudson Drive in Moore Park sold for $3,101,000

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The much admired home on the ravine at 117 Hudson Drive in Moore Park has sold for $3,101,000 some $206,000 over the list price of $2,895,000. The transaction occurred in September. It has a large bungalow appearance but was sold as two-storey. The 1960s structure has large principal rooms and master bedroom with much useful landscaped table-land at the rear before the lot descends to its full length of 263 feet in the ravine. Taxes this year on the 70-foot frontage were $18,439. The listing shows 8 plus 2 rooms and four baths.

FBI tracking beauty queen wife of Mexican drug lord

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Joaquin “El Chapo” (or Shorty) Guzman has been on the loose for four months since his outrageous Mexican prison break. There is speculation he is in the U.S. and that his beauty queen wife Emma Coronel is helping him avoid capture. She is a U.S. citizen. Another glamorized episode of Shorty’s criminal career.

Cricket Tourney Sunday at Jenner Jean-Marie Centre

The 53 Division Thorncliffe Indoor Cricket Tournament will be held tomorrow (Sunday October 25th, 2015) at Jenner Jean-Marie Community Centre (48 Thorncliffe Park Drive).