See later post

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2N9RnCiLUI

Terrified motorists abandoned their cars, walking and running away from a wildfire that engulfed the main route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas Friday afternoon. The dangerous, fast-moving wildfire spread through the Cajon Pass damaging homes, jumping the 15 Freeway and destroying some 20 vehicles stopped on the pavement. KTLA 

 

Carrie Laureola’s Bamboo Bay Art, Craft and Play School at Millwood and Bayview Ave. was on the sidewalk this warm Saturday. Carrie invited Glen Bratti to participate. Glen, right, is the owner of Brick Door, an instructional firm for Lego lovers and specializing in programs for schools, camps and parties. Glen built and brought with him the Pan Am Games mascot Pachi, made from Lego bricks. The helmet and torch are removable as the happy young man on the left demonstrates.  Brick Door

DOUBTFUL, SHY, HAPPY

Katelyn was there too. She opted for face-painting in the kitten face style. Here she is left to right: Doubtful as the work goes on, Shy about taking a picture but finally Katelyn has lots to smile about. Happy

MOTHER IN CHINA STOPS RESCUERS FROM FREEING CHILD

As one news agency put it, just when you thought you had seen them all, a woman in Yiwu, China has tried to stop rescuers from breaking into a her BMW to free her three-year-old son from the heat. She claimed the car had locked itself. After a few minutes of waiting, the firefighters simply went ahead and smashed the rear window, releasing the boy.  Unbelievably, this woman was motivated by the cost of fixing the car and said the kid could wait. .

A baseball clinic where local kids can learn the game and practice their batting will open this fall over Original’s Ale House at 1660 Bayview Ave north of Manor Road. It is the work of Eric Stickney, the youthful athletic director of the Leaside Baseball Association. Stickney, 29, is especially excited about training potential of the inside baseball cage which will be installed in the clinic. The Leaside native has been instrumental in the revival of baseball in the area. He re-established the Rookieball program in 2011 and shortly after brought the Leaside Leafs name back to prominence. It was a re-invigoration of a tradition dating back to he 1960s which had fallen on hard times. Mr. Stickney is a business graduate Guelph University and seems to eat, sleep and mostly live baseball. “I pretty much just sleep and do baseball,” he said. From April to September it is a 13 and a half hour day of planning, recruiting and coaching, both in practice and during the games.

ENERGY, COMMITTMENT

Stickney’s energy and commitment has driven the growth of the Leaside association into a dynamic part of Ontario’s large baseball network of volunteer coaches. Kids’ baseball throughout the province is administered by the Ontario Baseball Association, a body created by public-spirited parents. It is entirely unofficial and depends on the goodwill and interest of the those who love the game and want see their children learn from it. As well, of course, as create a lot of fun and socializing.

There has been both heartbreak and disgrace in separate disqualifications at the Pan Am Games for very different reasons. Canadian swimmer Emily Overholt was told by judges right after her apparent gold-medal win in the 400-metre individual medley that she had not made contact with the wall with both hands at the same time. This must be very hurtful. It is known as a non-simultaneous wall-touch. Swimming Canada protested to the meet referee and then the jury of appeal, but Overholt’s disqualification was upheld. Emily is the  youngest swimmer on the Canadian team at 17. In a plucky response she said:  “It’s unfortunate, but I still did the swim, so I still know that I have it in me. It’s something to learn from.” Brave girl Emily.

DOPING DISQUALIFICATION

Peruvian swimmer Mauricio Fiol, Pan American Games silver medalist in the 200 meter butterfly, was disqualified after testing positive for the use of the steroid Stanozolol. Fiol announced the decision on Facebook but said he did not know what happened,

“Today is a very difficult day for me, because I just found out that I tested positive in the anti-doping test,” Fiol posted in Spanish on his Facebook page.

“I am very confused because I am always one who promotes the fair play, hard work, and with a lot of effort I get to my goals.

“I do not understand what happened. I apologize to the whole country, to my club, my family, my coaches, my sponsors.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=58&v=D9bPo29RWTI

Olympic swimmer Martha McCabe has added to her distinguished career accomplishments by winning the silver medal in the Pan Am Games women’s 200 metre breaststroke Thursday. She was bested for the gold by another Canadian Kiera Smith, who finished a mere 0.13 seconds ahead of McCabe. Smith’s overall time was 24.38 and both swimmers beat the Pan Am record of 2:25.41 that Smith set during the preliminaries. Martha is well known to local fans as an Olympic competitor and as Leaside’s Athlete of the Year  in 2013. She won a medal at the world championships and finished a solid fifth in the 200 breast at the 2012 London Olympics. Martha is the daughter of Joe and Nancy McCabe of Heathbridge Park in Bennington Heights and an alumnus of Leaside High School. She trained at the University of British Columbia. These days she lives and works in Toronto. Martha is a member of the RBC Olympian program and swims at the University of Toronto Aquatic Centre.

 

Bennington Heights Rachel Honderich has won the silver medal in women’s badminton at the Pan Am Games. She earned it in a hard-fought match with her friend and fellow Canadian Michelle Li who took the gold  Li had been the favorite going into the unusual all-Canadian event. She is 23 compared to Honderich’s 19. The match  late Thursday held enormous interest for South  Bayview residents and the many friends of the Hondercih family in Bennington Heights. Hugh Grant, head of the residents association and his wife Trudy messaged the following.

Rachel, you performed with great distinction at the Pan Am Games, and won Silver in the Badminton Singles Championship.
Your exploits were followed by many of our neighbours, and you should know that Bennington Heights is proud of you.
Thank you for being a fine representative of our community

There seems little doubt that Rachel Honderich is now poised to excel further in her chosen sport. She has leaped from a world ranking of 134 last November to her present 56.  Li, a Hong Kong born Canadian from Markham, is ranked 15 in the world. Curtis Rush of the Toronto Star has written an excellent article on the friendship and rivalry of these fine young women.  

It was well after dark Tuesday, July 14, 2015 when a 72-year-old woman was trying to cross Buckingham Avenue at Dinnick Crescent. It seems she was near but not at the corner. A 48-year-old man was driving a 2007 GMC Yukon, westbound on Buckingham Avenue, approaching Dinnick Crescent. The pedestrian was hit and fell to the pavement striking her head. She suffered life-threatening injuries and subsequently succumbed to her injuries.  As noted, the accident happened after dark. The call came in a 9.37 p.m. an hour after sunset. The woman was crossing from the south to the north side of Buckingham Avenue at Dinnick Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police traffic services at 416-808-1900.