Memories of 2017

Former TD Bank

Was Tori and Cate’s

As 2017 began, the ten-year Great Recession had done a job on South Bayview. Things were getting better but to walk the finest part of the business district was often to look into an empty storefront. There is still lot to be done but last year three important addresses were all taken and in the case of Cumbrae’s, 1591 Bayview, with seven figures spent to make it a vital hub of business. The former TD Bank building has been a Trend Shoppe, Sleep Country and pop-up venue. It was the location of the fictitious Jefferson Shelter, a hoax perpetrated by misguided friends of the homeless. But mostly it has been vacant. Across the street, Boo Boo and Lefty has rescued 1588 Bayview, former home of the Elegant Garage Sale and La muse now fills the former home of Tori and Cate’s Cupcakes.

The South Bayview Bulldog achieved record readership in 2017, registering more than three-quarters of a million page views in the 12 months ending December 31st. The Bulldog was first published in 2009 and re-launched in 2012 as a commercial blog dedicated to the residents and merchants of neighbourhoods surrounding the business street of the same name. It has proven itself to be an effective and affordable place for local businesses to gain attention and build name recognition. Editorially, The Bulldog has been the little blog that could. It is widely followed by readers in South Bayview and by other media locally and across the City. Thanks for checking The Bulldog.

Slightly more than a month after the discovery of the body of Tess Richey in the basement stairwell of a vacant building on Church St at Dundonald St., a vigorous campaign continues on social media to find her killer. Although police are calling him only a person of interest, much of the chatter on Twitter has concluded the unidentified man is guilty of the 23-year-old woman’s death. One person says she saw him in recent days outside Crews and Tagos, the Church St. bar where Tess spent her last hours with a friend, Ryley Simard.

https://twitter.com/butilovememore/status/940247453378457600

Bower befriended kids

Agnes Macphail

Little Rocks Bonspiel January 27

Carrie Lester has tweeted this undated photo when her daughter was at Johnny Bower’s goalie camp in Toronto. It was when she was about 11 or 12 years old. There is a gallery of the ceremony at ACC Wednesday below the text. To the right, a reminder that nominations are open until January 25 for the Agnes Macphail Award. Below, a supplemental bulletin board which reminds us of the St. Cuthbert’s Community Potluck Dinner January 20, the Leaside United Church Trivia Night the same evening and the Leaside Curling Club Friends and Family Little Rocks Bonspiel January 27.

Honouring Leaf great

Pennant

48th Highlanders

Josh Matlow (Ward 22) and retired crossing guard Mona Piper

Schematic of kids park at Manor and Forman

Little Rocks Bonspiel January 27

Card Show January 14

Lindy Lives

The new children’s park at Manor Rd. and Forman Ave. is nearing completion. Josh Matlow (Ward 22) has written to constituents asking how they feel about naming it after much-loved and now retired school crossing guard Mona Piper. To the right, the Leaside Curling Club reminds all and any that its Friends and Family Little Rocks Bonspiel takes place Saturday, January 27 at Leaside Arena. Lower left, the Toronto Card Show is back at Amsterdam Brewery, 45 Esandar Drive, Sunday, January 14. And the Lindy Lives at Swing Dance Lessons 374 Dupont St. January 7.

Barrie Sharks Captain Avery Andrew

Leaside Jr. Wildcats have tweeted a message of sympathy Wednesday expressing sorrow at the death of Avery Andrew, a star defense player and Captain of the Barrie Jr. Sharks. Both Leaside and Barrie play in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League. OPP have identified Avery as a victim in a two-vehicle collision on Simcoe County Rd 15 near 5th Sideroad Monday. The crash took place around 9:30 p.m. January 1 when Avery was a passenger in a northbound vehicle. For reasons unknown it  crossed the centre line and struck a southbound vehicle. Police said she was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver, an 18-year-old New Tecumseth male, received non-life threatening injuries.The driver of the other vehicle, a 23-year-old Adjala-Tosorontio man, wasn’t seriously injured. The road conditions are believed to have contributed to the collision. Alcohol and distracted driving have been ruled out as possible causes.

SHARKS STATEMENT

A statement on the Barrie Sharks website called the 18-year-old Andrew “a wonderful friend and teammate.” It goes on: “The Barrie Sharks are saddened to share news of the tragic and sudden passing of Avery Andrew, Captain of our 2017-18 Barrie Jr. Sharks. Avery began playing hockey at the Novice level with the Clearview Girls Hockey Association, and has been a member of the BWHA since 2012. A talented and hardworking player, Avery was a member of our Bantam AA and Midget AA teams before playing with our Intermediate AA Barrie Jr. Sharks for the past two seasons. Avery was named team captain this past September, a responsibility that fit perfectly with her leadership on the ice and in the dressing room. Avery will be remembered by fellow players as not only a talented and determined player, but as a teammate who lifted the spirits of every room she entered. On behalf of all of our Barrie Sharks players and families, we would like to share our deepest sympathies and condolences. Our thoughts are with the Andrew family through this difficult time.”

The OPP have identified the victim of a fatal New Year's Day crash as 18-year-old Avery Andrew of #AdjalaTosorontio, killed in a two vehicle collision on County Rd 15 near 5th Sideroad around 9:45 Monday.

— Barrie 360 Traffic & Weather (@Barrie360Alerts) January 3, 2018

Just when you thought you'd seen it all. This vehicle is wrapped around the overhead sign support beam. Folded in half. pic.twitter.com/B9sOH04LzX

— Tony Smyth (@LateNightCam) January 3, 2018

The photgrapher, Tony Smyth @LateNightCam, saw it at the scene and was left astounded. Two persons died in this terrible wreck when the car somehow collided with the stout steel support for a highway sign on the 401 eastbound at Warden Ave. Smyth says: “Just when you thought you’d seen it all. This vehicle is wrapped around the overhead sign support beam. Folded in half.” Indeed. What dynamic creates such a strange collision. One clue may be the sloped concrete barriers which rise to meet the metal support. If the driver got a wheel on that cement at high speed it might have flipped the vehicle roof-first against the steel with terible force.

Open water in the foreground

Stabbing to test the ice

Closer to shore now

Global News has a “harbour cam” which captured distant shots of two people crossing the Bay using a stick or pole to stab at the ice as a test of its safety. The scene just shouts the question: “What were they thinking.”  Ice like this isn’t so agreeable that it gives a warning about when it will plunge you into icy depths. Global quotes a police marine officer, PC Ricardo Gomez, as follows: “There are times when we’re out on the ice geared up and we’re going through the ice unexpectedly, so I can’t imagine members of the public that are not suited up in dry suits and life jackets without the training to be out there — it’s extremely dangerous,” Gomez told Global News on Tuesday, noting tracks of broken ice are regularly being made to allow boats to pass.

Logan Paul is like countless millenial kids. He has a large following on YouTube — sometimes millions of other kids — while being utterly unknown to everyone over 30. Now he is in a crisis of sorts because he posted video of a body hanging in a Japanese forest where people commit suicide. Some people thought it was a bad thing for other kids to see. He has apologized.

Margaret Killingbeck

With director Don McKellar (The Grand Seduction)

Margaret Killingbeck has died at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre on December 30, 2017. She was 84. An obituary and condolences published at the Humphrey Funeral Home A.W. Miles-Newbigging Chapel website says she will be greatly missed by her family and many friends. Among the condolences are entries by Joan Doiron, Tobi Kaufman and Connie Guccione. Many speak of friendships created at the Act II Studio at Ryerson University. Margaret Killingbeck’s film credits as recorded by the Internet Movie Database are Pixels (2015), The Grand Seduction (2013) and Ham & Cheese (2004). The family will receive friends at Humphrey’s, 1403 Bayview Avenue (south of Davisville Avenue) from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, January 4, 2018. A service will take place on Friday, January 5, 2018 at 1 p.m. There will be a reception at the Rosedale following an interment at Mount Hope Cemetery. If desired, donations to Doctors Without Borders Canada, 551 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 0N8, would be appreciated.

A firebug has struck near O’Connor Drive and St. Clair Ave. E. Friday about 5:15 a.m. This car was parked in the driveway to a home when the man appeared and smashed the window. He doused the car with gasoline and lit it causing a nasty explosion that may have hurt the perpetrator. He is said to have fled in a white 4-door sedan. He is described as wearing a dark jacket, gloves, and black boots. Police are concerned the suspect may have sustained significant injuries.