Five benches which were hand-crafted from wood salvaged off the site of the Leaside Memorial Gardens expansion have now been delivered and are in use at the arena outside the dressing rooms. This refreshing news and until now almost unknown project is mentioned on the arena’s Facebook page this day. The arena thanks Mercer Brown Contracting, the firm that constructed the benches. But it is apparently a story involving a number of skilled people, starting with the contractors who cut the trees, carefully selected on the woodlots beside the original arena. Simon Stevenson is the owner of Leaside Landscaping. He told the South Bayview Bulldog part of the story. The Maple and Linden trees were marked where they stood, cut and turned into logs. Later, they were  milled at a location near Fenelon Falls. The lumber was then stored for a year at a facility of the public-spirited Canada Self-Storage firm while it dried. The wood was then we daresay lovingly fabricated into the benches now located outside the basement dressing rooms at the arena. They were delivered on Monday, January 26, 2015. The management posted a message asking that members and the public “be respectful” as they enjoy the benches so they last for many years. Photo: There is a new warmth outside the dressing rooms at the arena to greet waiting parents. Inset, Laura Spracklin with her daughter Nicole Manneh Thursday evening awaits son seen emerging after a game.  More on how benches were built

It’s fun to see these pictures of the old Macpherson Convenience store and the building that has replaced it. The store had been at this spot since most people can remember. It sits at the west end of Macpherson beside a short leg of Marlborough Place (which then turns and runs along the CP tracks). The main drag of Avenue Rd. is just out of shot to the left. People heading east frequently make the jog off Dupont Street past Avenue onto Macpherson. These pictures were shot by our sister blog Yonge and Roxborough News. 

Police have told CP24’s Cristina Tegnalia that young people were seen on security cameras at Loblaws store in the old Maple Leaf Gardens this evening. They were horsing around and then vanished, say the authorities. The atmosphere in the same aisles was shortly reported to be noxious, causing people to cough. The speculation runs to something like pepper spray said Tenaglia. In fact, one person was taken to hospital from the store at Church and Carlton Sts. after emergency crews responded. Hazmat crews secured the store and the Mattamy Centre above as a precaution. No complaint about the air was made from this area.