Fire fighter, 19, charged with train trestle fire in Alberta

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fire feat

Lawson Schalm

A 19-year-old volunteer fireman in northern Alberta has been charged by RCMP with setting 18 fires, including the spectacular blaze that destroyed the wooden CN railway trestle at Mayerthorpe last Tuesday. Mayerthorpe Mounties said Lawson Schalm is in jail pending his court appearance Wednesday in Stoney Plain court. His father, Albert Schalm, a former mayor of the community, said his family is shocked by the development. Officials have been suspicious in recent weeks about possible arson in local fires. The destruction of the bridge will temporarily paralyse lumber and oil industry in the area.

OMA chief Virginia Walley sets condition for negotiation

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walley

Dr. Virginia M. Walley

Virginia M. Walley, the new head of the Ontario Medical Assolcajton, says 34,000 Ontario doctors and medical students will not return to negotiations with the Ontario government until binding arbitration has been put in place. Dr. Walley was named president of the Ontario Medical Association on Sunday. She is Discipline Head of Cytology & Histology and Ontario Medical Director at LifeLabs Inc. She trained at the University of Western Ontario and has held positions in cardiac pathology at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute administratively at the Ottawa Civic Hospital where she spent 15 years.

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Bobby Baun obliges by signing boot at Toronto Card Show

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bobby

Defensive legend Bobby Baun was at the Toronto Sports Card Show held Sunday at the Amsterdam Brewers on Esandar Drive in Leaside. Here he signs one of the many off beat items put before him by fans. Baun played 11 seasons with the Leafs and contributed to victories in four Stanley Cups. (Those were certainly the days). Baun was supposed to have Johnny Bower with him at the card show but the elder statesman of Leaf veterans phoned in with a sore back. He has promised to attend on another date.

WINNING GOAL WITH FRACTURED ANKLE

Baun is remembered as one of the hardest and cleanest hitters of his time. As Wikipedia records it, Baun was not considered an offensive threat as a defenceman but did perform heroically in 1963–64 NHL season Stanley Cup finals against the Detroit Red Wings. On April 23, 1964, having fractured his ankle earlier in the game, he returned in overtime and scored the game-winning goal. The Leafs won the next game 4–0 to win the best of seven series and secure their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

Runners bad luck as rain falls on GoodLife Marathon

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The GoodLife Marathon and Walk is underway in Toronto and it is a decidedly damp occasion for the thousands participating. Rain is forecast all day. There are many road closures. Yonge is closed between Finch and Davenport, a decision with effectively cuts the City in half for those using cars. There will also be lane restrictions in a perimeter but perhaps not solely including Bayview Avenue, South Kingsway, Lake Shore Boulevard and Finch Avenue. Road closures from Hell 

Street robberies occurring in west central downtown

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Five street robberies have occurred on streets in west central downtown in the past two weeks and police want to put a stop to it. They say two men, at least one armed with a firearm, robbed victims in the area bounded by Harbord Street to the north, Spadina Avenue to the east, Queen Street West to the south, and Markham Street to the west  Personal items of various types and cash were taken.  The robberies occurred between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m.  The men are black and the first is of light complexion, 20-25 years of age, 5’11”, with a thin build, and wearing dark clothing. The second is 20-25 years of age, 5’8”, wearing dark clothing.

New banner shouts of anchor tenants at 1860 Bayview

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1860 banner

A new banner sign on the east wall of the commercial and retail development at 1860 Bayview Ave. states clearly that Whole Foods, Shoppers Drug Mart and the TD Bank will be “coming soon” to the location. There is no date or season given. The sign was put up Monday after the removal of a sign that mentioned only Whole Foods and Shoppers. The new banner also shows the logo of RioCan, the huge REIT which owns Sunnybrook Plaza and has its headquarters in the Yonge Eglinton Centre. RioCan is in the process of buying 1860 Bayview from developer Trinity. The South Bayview Bulldog reported in March that the Whole Foods store and Shoppers Drug Mart had been delayed to at least the fall. This information was offered by the developer’s leasing office in response to our inquiry.

TRINITY

The developer, Trinity Development Group, has said throughout the construction of 1860 Bayview that it would open in “Spring 2016.”  In a technical sense, this is correct because the largely empty site has the doors unlocked and it is possible to drive through the upper level of the garage. A workman posting signs Saturday said he did not think the lower level of public parking was open. But none of the anchor tenants is open or even visible. No work on these large spaces is evident. The banner which hung on the east wall of the site saying that Whole Foods and Shoppers would open soon was noticed by residents who watch the site.

QUESTIONS

The apparent delay in the arrival of anchor tenants and the absence of activity has generated questions. Some people have claimed they have heard that Whole Foods had re-thought its decision to open here. But none of this has a source or authority to it. Still, the delay, as seen by residents, is unexplained. It is useful to note that the Whole Foods site in the U.S. shows a “Canada” heading under which stores in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario —Toronto (Bayview) — are mentioned in a single line of type. RioCan on track to acquire 1860 Bayview

Maple Leafs win 1st overall-pick in NHL lottery draft

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Excitement runs high among fans as the name Austin Matthews flies across the nation. Such giddiness might be hard to reckon coming out of low-key announcements like sports drafts. But hope spring eternal for a winning season and as the linked CBC story recalls, this is the first time the Leafs have drawn first since the 1985 selection of Wendell Clark. Really. CBC