A post to Leaside Community tells of an incident Sunday about 12:30 p.m. on Divadale Rd. when a man walking his dog was hailed by a man and woman in a car trying to sell him gold. Yes, it is almost laughable that anyone would fall for such a transparent confidence trick. Of course, the man didn’t  His wife says in her post that the couple asked if they could sell him some gold. They showed the man what appeared to be cheap costume jewellery. When he said he didn’t have any money (polite) they offered to drive him home so that he could get some. He refused again and they drove off. But he took the license (CENT 945) and reported it to police. The two are said to be in their late 20s or early 30s with black hair. Good advice is offered to warn unsuspecting or perhaps elderly friends and relatives.

No winning ticket was sold for the $5 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw. However, the guaranteed $1 million prize was claimed by a ticket holder in British Columbia. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on Nov. 14 will be approximately $7 million.

The public is invited to the outdoor Remembrance Day service at the Sunnybrook cenotaph at the Bayview Ave. medical centre Sunday. A procession of memorial wreaths will begin at approximately 11:15 a.m. outside of K-wing. The ceremony will begin at approximately 11:30 a.m. The ceremony will proceed rain or shine. The sun will dawn on a sea of flags to greet guests and veterans as described in the second half of this report from City News.

Sunday is Remembrance Day 2018, the one hundredth anniversary of the end of WW I. The Canadian Forces Military parade to commemorate this historic day will start at 10:10 a.m. from Maple Leaf Square on York St. It will head north on York to University Avenue. At Dundas Street, the Parade will split into two bodies taking separate routes. One Parade will proceed eastbound on Dundas St. to southbound on Bay St. arriving at Old City Hall for a ceremony at 10:45 a.m. The second Parade will continue northbound on University Avenue to northbound Queens Park Crescent West, arriving at the Queens Park Legislature for a ceremony at 10:45 p.m. Road closures begin in the formation area at 9:30 a.m. and continue along the route from 10:10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The public is being asked not to park within the parade route after 7 a.m.

Parade route:

– start Maple Leaf Square
– westbound on Bremner Boulevard, westbound lanes
– northbound on York Street, northbound lanes
– northbound on University Avenue, northbound lanes
– Parade splits at Dundas Street into 2 routes

One Parade continues:

– northbound on University Avenue, northbound lanes
– northbound on Queens Park Crescent West, southbound lanes
– dispersal at Queens Park Legislative Building, Ceremony site

The second parade route:

– eastbound Dundas Street, eastbound lanes
– southbound Bay Street, southbound lanes
– dispersal at Old City Hall, Ceremony site

Princess Leonor of Spain

Flight attendant Patrisha Organo

Nima and Dawa with mom

Faces in the news begins with (at left) Spain’s Princess Leonor, heir to the throne. Leonor turned 13 last week and as part of her preparation for a life of royal duty (and privilege) she gave her first speech. It was on the 40th anniversary of Spain’s constitution. Very sweet. Speaking of duty, Philippine Airlines flight attendant Patrisha Organo (centre) assumed a rather unusual one by breast-feeding a passenger’s infant. She heard the baby crying soon after takeoff and asked the mother if everything was okay. The woman wept as she said she had run out of milk. Organo, the mother of a toddler, took over and fed the baby. At right, Australian surgeons in Melbourne have successfully separated conjoined twins from Bhutan.  The 15-month-old girls, Nima and Dawa, were doing well after the surgery that lasted almost six hours. It was a delicate operation that divided their shared liver and reconstructed their abdomens. Video

Steals poppy box

Caught in act

How most people mark Remembrance Day

Durham Regional Police are hunting a man who stole a poppy donation box from a convenience store in Pickering this week. It occurred about 8:30 a.m. when the man entered the Circle K store at Kingston and Liverpool Rds. “He lingered for a while, went outside, then came back in and grabbed the poppy donation box on the counter,” police said.

Rev. Gretta Vosper

Right Rev. Richard Bott

Secret agreement

The United Church of Canada and Rev. Gretta Vosper, the notorious “atheist” minister, have agreed on secret terms to settle the issue of her non-conforming beliefs. Vosper was set to face a potentially messy de-frocking trial later this month. The settlement may leave many wondering what they are supposed to believe, even among parishioners of this most liberal of Christian faiths in Canada.  The confidential settlement somehow permits Rev Gretta to minister to her congregation at West Hill United Church notwithstanding her previously outspoken repudiation of a belief in God, Christ and the teaching of the Bible. The Church told Canadian Press “that the formal hearing had been called off in light of the agreement. It said the Right Rev. Richard Bott, who was elected in July to lead the United Church in Canada, expressed pleasure with the resolution. Rev. Bott is said to have acknowledged the controversy that has been swirling around Vosper and the church’s initiative to fire her. “As a Christian church, we continue to expect that ministers in the United Church of Canada will offer their leadership in accordance with our shared and agreed upon statements of faith, Bott said.” Vosper’s lawyer, Julian Falconer, called it an important day for the United Church that his client no longer was at risk of sanction. “Both parties took a long look at the cost-benefit at running a heresy trial and whether it was good for anyone (and) the results speak for themselves,” Falconer said. “They recognized there’s a place for Gretta, and that there is no reason to separate the minister and the congregation.” United Church to defrock atheist minister Gretta Vosper

There was no winning ticket for the $50 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw. There were also six Maxmillions prizes of $1 million each up for grabs, and three of them were won. The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on Nov. 16 will be approximately $55 million, and 12 Maxmillions prizes will be offered.

A two-alarm fire in a residential building at Yonge St. and Orchard View Blvd has been extinguished, fire officials say. One person was treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was reported about 10 a.m. Saturday and produced visible flames and heavy smoke at the interesection.

Saturday morning sees the continuing inconvenience to South Bayview neighborhoods caused by the end of the Service Ontario office here being discussed on Facebook. It closed when the Dawsco Plaza on Brentcliffe was demolished in July to make way for towers. Two SO locations are dealing with the overflow business typically seen at these offices. They are, as noted here in July, 839 Yonge St between Aylmer Ave and Davenport Rd below the Canadian Tire and 1871 O’Connor Drive, near Victoria  Park. It’s in the O’Connor Place plaza on the right-hand side just before Vic Park as you drive east. Those who go to Yonge St. recommend parking at Canadian Tire. Pick up some garbage bags for validation, they suggest.

BARELY COMMITTED TO FACE-TO-FACE SERVICE

It is well known that Service Ontario is barely committed to face-to-face service.  As discussed during the previous Liberal government, bureaucrats would much prefer see the process 100 percent online. Sadly, complex matters and human frailties require personal contact. It may be easy to ask Alexa for a phone number but she is vague about renewing your plates. In July, Service Ontario told The Bulldog it continues to be committed to an outlet in Leaside. But the independent franchisee has to make it work for her too. So far, silence. Don’t hold your breath.

1871 O’Connor

839 Yonge

Got a few minutes?