Latest plsn for Georgia Walsh Playground

Work has begun on the new Georgia Walsh Playground Project in Trace Manes Park. The old equipment was removed from the long-time play area in recent days. It is a much-loved place for neighborhood children and was among the most favorite spots of the late Gilliam Walsh. Her heart-breaking death on July 16, 2014, when she was struck by a car on her way home from the playground, touched a nation. Georgia was seven. Her mother Jillian has spearheaded fundraising for the modern project now underway. The fall and winter will see foundations installed for the equipment and splash pad. It’s hoped that kids will be able to use the playground by mid-summer 2020 with a ribbon-cutting soon after. Here are the particulars of the playground.

1. Fully fenced in
2. Rubberized surface to be wheelchair accessible
3. Shaded area and tables for eating
4. Seating options throughout playground
5. Equipment that caters to ages from toddler to tween
6. Splash Pad
7. Special needs accessible equipment
8. Stroller Parking and Bike racks
9. Sandbox

Old playground equipment is removed from Trace Manes Park/Jillian Walsh

Old wading pool will become a splash pad/Bulldog

Modern play equipment will fill this space/Bulldog

Monday afternoon at Eglinton Ave and Rumsey Rd./Barrig Hayward-Hagopian Facebook

A nasty car-truck-bus collision at Eglinton Ave. and Rumsey rd. was caught by passersby Monday afternoon. Note what appears to be sidewalk first-aid being administered on the southeast corner. Facebook

Red Jeep pickup looking north/Steve Nsstos Facebook

Toronto Real Estate Board

Newsco RE

The Toronto Real Estate Board says home sales rose 14 percent in October compared with a year earlier even as prices rose. The board says there were 8,491 sales in the Greater Toronto Area in the month, up from 7,448 sales in October 2018. The composite benchmark price rose by 5.8 percent in the month for the strongest annual growth rate since December 2017, while the average selling price was up 5.5 percent to $852,142. News release

Deputy Premier Elliott was in Uxbridge Monday as her office issued a news release saying the government intends to permit dogs to enter patios where so-called low-risk foods are served. It’s an interesting idea. News release

Elizabeth May will continue to serve in Commons/BC Local News

Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has stepped down as party leader. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa Monday, May said that she is leaving the post she has held since 2006, effective today. The BC MP said she felt comfortable stepping aside from the role now because the party is in a good position after a solid performance in the recent election campaign. May said she will continue to sit as a member of Parliament and will be the party’s parliamentary caucus leader. She said she promised her daughter that the 2019 election would be her last at the party’s helm. CPAC video

Aged bricks find takers in Leaside

An offer of aged bricks left over from a renovation is getting lots of interest at Leaside Community Facebook page. The man who posted the offer says they were “a near-perfect match for repairing our porch, filling in windows and closing exterior gaps. They were removed and cleaned by our contractors.”

The union representing Ontario’s education workers says its members have voted to adopt a new contract that was drawn up last month. The 55,000 workers narrowly avoided a strike in early October when the CUPE bargaining team reached an eleventh-hour tentative deal with the province. The union says 79 percent of the members voted in favour of the new deal but adds it was not passed unanimously. Under the deal, the workers would get a one percent wage increase.

Teachers have voted to strike

Elementary teachers and education workers have voted 98 percent in favour of a strike, though the union wouldn’t lay out a timeline for when it could happen. Unions representing secondary and Catholic teachers are also holding strike votes.

Cellphone ban in classroom kicks in

Monday marks the end of casual cellphone presence in Ontario classrooms. The Progressive Conservative government announced back in August that they would be implementing a ban on personal mobile devices inside classrooms or during “instructional time.” Exceptions to the ban will be made if the devices are required for health and medical purposes, to support special education needs or if an educator says it is necessary for the lesson

Leaside Jr. Wildcats earned a 3-0 win at home Sunday against the Brampton Canadettes. Goals by Erin Terry, Jordan Lloyd and Ekaterina Pelowich in the first, second and third periods went unanswered by Brampton, which sits at 15 in the 20-team Provincial Women’s Hockey League. Leaside resides at 19 in the PWHL. Acadia Carlson was on the job in net for the Leaside shutout stopping 19 shots. Boxscore

Red Mazda CX

Supected getaway SUV

Police are circulating a picture (right) of what they believe is a red Mazda CX SUV used in the attempted abduction of an 8-year-old girl near Blaydon Public School in the west end last Friday. Apparently the child told her parents about the incident on Friday night5 some hours after she had been grabbed by the man. He covered her mouth with his hand and dragged her 60 metres to an SUV. But the child struggled and escaped. The suspect was white, 40-50, 5’8″, skinny build with short grey hair. He was wearing a blue and pink t-shirt, grey sweat pants, and black dress shoes. He drove away in what is believed to be a red Mazda CX-5 with tinted windows.

Winter sunset/CBC

The sun will set at 5.06 p.m. Sunday with the arrival overnight of Standard Time. Days will now grow shorter until the winter solstice on December 21, when daylight will again creep back as we head into the New Year. Go carefully behind the wheel and crossing streets.

No winning ticket was sold for the $11.5-million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw. However, the guaranteed $1-million prize went to a ticket holder in the Prairies. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on Nov. 6 will be approximately $14 million.