Rolph parents start campaign to fix tennis court

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Robin Dickie
Parents of Rolph Road Public School are agreed on a plan to go it alone in the renovation of the tennis court that sits on the school property.  The court needs work, maybe as much $16,000 worth, according to an estimate from the Toronto and District School Board (TDSB). There’s very little money at the board so it proposed a private-public arrangement with the Wilmington Tennis Club to build a possible two courts and a club house. Robin Dickie, chair of the school council, took this proposal to the members and found strong opposition. The playground property already accommodates a soccer field and baseball diamond as well as the tennis court. Robin says she felt it was her duty to put the offer on the table.  There was, she said, “passionate” opposition to the Wilmington deal for a number of good reasons. The playground is for the Rolph kids and no one knows just how any new tennis facilities might effect that. The  tennis court just needs fixing, not enlarging, the parents say. Better to find the necessary money and keep the facility a purely Rolph asset. And finally, the prospect of more traffic on quiet Rolph Road is a concern. The path was clear and the council has now struck a committee made up of Robin, Linda Carte and Stan Flemming to raise money by donation. It seems a cause that Leaside could well  get behind. The council is also able to allocate some monies each year to add to the ultimate total. Here’s hoping that businesses and individuals will chip in to help Rolph School reach its goal. Maybe COBs Bread would like to run another matching donations program as they did so successfully for the Cody School Dirt to Turf campaign.   

Police seek Moore and Bayview bicycle thief

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Police are asking for help in finding a break and enter suspect who they fear is violent and dangerous. The man has tried to steal bicycles from homes near Moore Ave. and Bayview Ave.  The incidents occurred in September and are the subject of a 53 Division release today (Thursday, January 8, 2015). In early September 2014, a resident of the area heard activity in a neighbour’s home. He saw a man running from a home and called police. Police in the area spotted a man matching the description (below). The man fled on a bicycle when approached by officers. In mid-September  another resident of the neighborhood returned home from a bicycle ride to find a man stealing a bicycle from his back yard. He and some neighbors chased the man who responded by using pepper spray against them. The suspect escaped.   He is described as white, 5’11”, 150 lbs., 25-30, black backpack, grey jeans, grey T-shirt, orange scarf and a bucket-style hat. Two photographs of the suspect are now released. They are poor quality but the best that investigators currently have. Police believe him to be violent and dangerous. Do not approach. If located, call 9-1-1. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5300, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637), or Leave A Tip on Facebook. Download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes, Google Play or Blackberry App World. For more news, visit TPSnews.ca. Mail news to the South Bayview Bulldog 

Commons hero Vickers will be appointed envoy to Ireland

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House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers will be named Canada’s ambassador to Ireland. It seems a fitting appointment for the 58-year-old soldier and civil servant for his distinguished career spanning nearly 30 years. It was Vickers who put a decisive end to the rampage of terrorist Michael Zehaf-Bibeau on the morning of Oct. 22, 2014.  Mr. Vickers actions that morning were no less than death-defying.

Terror suspect wanted to be a rapper but failed

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The ABC News report contains the information that one of the accused brothers. Cherif Kouachi, aspired to being a rapper. He wasn’t so successful and was persuaded by militant clerics to become a terrorist instead. Such revelations may cause us to pause as we turn ourselves inside out about religion and political ideology. Many psychiatrists will say that the core of a jihadist is the simple human need to be somebody. It may be simple but we see it time and again. What am I to become? How will I make the world pay attention to me?

Leaside Loblaws (Redway) official open Friday

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Loblaws is making a big thing of its renovations at the “Leaside Loblaws” — the place everyone calls the Redway Road Loblaws. Tomorrow (Friday, January 9, 2015) is the day as headlined in a news release when Carlos Tereceros, store manager, invites the public to the grand re-opening of the large store. The event will last the entire weekend and there will be fun for the whole family including, maple syrup taffy pop rolling, musical entertainment such as an opera-singing chef and gourmet food sampling. The first 100 adult customers to visit the store on opening day will receive one $25 President’s Choice Gift Card. This Loblaws location will continue to offer customers the convenience of a full-service grocery store, with a new distinctive food market-style layout that includes quick and easy grab-and-go meals and new premium and chef inspired food offerings. Okay now — maple syrup taffy pop rolling. Do you need to train for that?  

Known terorrists, brothers hunted for massacre

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As daybreak nears in France, police continue to conduct raids across the northeast region in and near the ancient town of Riems for two brothers wanted in the massacre of 12 people at the weekly satirical magazine known as Charlie. They are Cherif Kouachi, 32, and Said Kouachi, 34. One accused, an 18 year-old, has turned himself in to police, reports say. And once again, as in the Boston marathon killings and many other acts of terrorism, the perpetrators are well-known to authorities. In the shock of such atrocities, the anonymity of those responsible seems to make the event even more fearsome, if that were possible. But following history, the brothers Kouachi were on record with security specialists, including in the U.S. One of them has previously been convicted in France and jailed for terrorism. They are both French nationals of Algerian extraction. In the linked Reuters account, it is recorded (as posted here six hours ago) that police in France had an enormous stroke of luck when one of the terrorists left some form of identification behind in an abandoned vehicle. It is feared the brothers may finally go down in gunfire when they are located. Reuters