The Prime Minister will be accompanied by three former PMs when he leaves for Johannesburg on Sunday to represent Canada at the ceremonies marking the death of Nelson Mandela. The former first ministers are Jean Chretien, Kim Campbell and Brian Mulroney. They will all attend a public memorial for Mandela on Tuesday in Johannesburg, as well as his lying in state and state funeral in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Dancing guard has agreed to change her act
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The dancing school guard, Kathleen Byers, has taken the direction of her bosses to tone down her lively activities, especially when she is out in the middle of the road. She posted a note on Facebook saying “I want to thank all our wonderful Brockton Triangle (Toronto) neighbours for their unwavering support regarding current circumstances. I will be returning to my guarding duties tomorrow with lower volume music, dancing on the sidewalk, and no dancing on the road. We’ll see how this goes….” Byers has been celebrated (see video from CTV) in the media and much appreciated by those in her area for her music and dancing routine as she directed kids across Dufferin Street at the corner of Gordon Street. But the TPS, which governs school guards, was concerned the dancing might distract both children and drivers from the main purpose — getting across the street without injury.
Ribbon cutting marks opening of Cody turf field
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This happy moment records the official opening Saturday of the long-awaited and newly-finished turf field at Maurice Cody Public School on Belsize Drive. Left to right are Kevin Rachman and Mary Kopman, parents who spearheaded the “dirt to turf” plan, Josh Matlow (Ward 22) holding his daughter Molly and David Percival of the Toronto and District School Board. The event was well attended by parents and kids in brisk weather. So strong was the family pull of this event that Ms. Kopman’s parents came from Burlington to see their daughter’s work accomplished. Mr. Rachman and Ms. Kopman recalled their determined efforts beginning in about 2008 to seek an artificial surface so play could go on in more or less any conditions. There were set backs. An initiative to seek parent support fell short of the goal and the TDSB instead laid a new field of natural grass. “It lasted about six months,” said Mr. Rachman. Soon after that the parents re-grouped and won approval for their fundraising effort. As is known, the councillor, Mr Matlow, obtained city funds to supplement the cost. The story of the retail participation is close to legendary in South Bayview. One business patron who made an early contribution was realtor Patrick Rocca, who also attended today. Other stories from the fund raising include the percentage on sales donations of Tremblett’s Valumart and COB’s Bread. Grilltime, the Laird Drive meat specialty shop owned by Andy Elder, contributed cooking lessons and dinner for eight which fetched a fine price in an auction at the Cody Howl earlier this year. Bulldog Flickr for more pictures.
Watch out for counterfeit paper 20s and 100s
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Toronto police expect to see phony $20 and $100 Canadian bills — the paper kind — hitting stores this season. There has been a rash of such bogus money in London. The new polymer bank notes are safe — they are apparently very difficult to phony up. But even the paper counterfeits now being circulated can be detected if you take a moment. Check the metallic stripe, tilting the note back and forth. The numbers and maple leaves change colour. Feel for the thicker ink on the large number, the shoulders of the portrait and the text Bank of Canada. Hold the bill up to the light and look through it. A small watermark of the portrait appears and dashes on the back of the note become a solid line.
Bob Dylan’s guitar auctioned for $965,000
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Bob Dylan’s sunburst Fender Stratocaster guitar sold today at auction for $965,000 including fees. It was the instrument he played in the mid 1960s and his use of it at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is considered by aficionados to mark musical history. Dylan is 72 today, having been born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 Here we have the auction itself (left) and Dylan at Newport and elsewhere.
Gabby Smyth nets six goals in series down under
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| New Zealand Under 18 team. Gabby Smyth is front row, third from the right. |
It’s been an all all-star performance for both Leaside’s Gabby Smyth and the New Zealand U18 squad in their series with Australia in New Zealand this past week. With 15-year-old Gabby scoring a total of six goals and five assists, the team swept the four-game series. The young Canadian was a clear star and a huge asset to the NZ girls who netted a total of 13 goals against the Aussies. In each of two games Gabby scored two goals. A fifth game was cancelled because of Australian injuries. The Randolph Road family of Andrew and June Smyth, with Gabby’s siblings Rachel 17 and Harley, 13, has been hanging on each bit of mail as they follow Gabby’s adventure. Gabby is no stranger to New Zealand. In fact Canadian-born Gabby, a student at Leaside High, is also a New Zealand citizen thanks to her dad, who came to Canada 20 years ago and subsequently married Gabby’s mom. Rachel and Harley also own the Kiwi passport. What a nice extra for three young Canadians. As it was planned, Gabby temporarily put away her Leaside Wildcats jersey and suited up with the New Zealand U18 team for their face-off with the Australians. Mr Smyth is quoted in a hometown NZ online publication Dannivirke.net.nz as saying: “Three years ago I found out that New Zealand has ice hockey teams and that the Men’s and Women’s National teams ranked 35th and 25th in the world respectively. This really intrigued me, and got me to wondering……..could Gabby one day play for N.Z.”. Dannivirke goes on to report that Gabby and Leaside Wildcat teammate Riley Smith competed earlier this year in the New Zealand Women’s Nationals, which took place in Queenstown. They both played for the Dunedin (NZ) based team Southern Knights, Riley and Gabby, both getting “Player Of Game” Awards. Now its time for Gabby to fly home. But she will have the company on the trip of two lucky NZ pals who will train here with the Wildcats for a while. Facebook
Series Stats:
- NZ 3 wins
- Australia 0 wins
- Game 1: 2-2 tie
- Game 2: 3-1
- Game 3: 3-0
- Game 4: 5-1
- Game 5: Abandoned
Canada creates 21,600 jobs in November
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Canada created a surprisingly buoyant 21,600 jobs in November. It’s true many of the jobs were part-time positions. This may have something to do with the practice of big companies, like Dollarama for example, employing people in a “full-time part-time” fashion. Workers have a steady job work but the employer doesn’t have to pay the benefits stipulated for full-time workers. The unemployment rate however continued to sit at 6.9 per cent for the third straight month. The jump in employment was almost twice the 12,000 positions that economists had expected. They still say the economy is fragile.
Many Americans can’t find Canada on a map
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It’s sometimes said that the media hates its readers, and that it wants readers to hate themselves too. Who knows, but the poll by a company called Pollara showing that Rob Ford is better known in the U.S. than David Cameron, prime minister of the United Kingdom, seems a little too easy. It just another way of saying all hope is lost. Those who take it as evidence of the end of Canada’s reputation abroad should remember that Jay Leno can’t find anyone outside his studio most nights who knows that you travel north to Canada, not south. Other programs have found that ordinary Americans can’t name the vice president. Why would anyone think that a poll like this means anything?
Markham dumps arena promoter Roustan
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There was just no confidence at Markham city council yesterday that arena promoter Graeme Roustan, a man with a checkered background, can deliver on a fail-safe plan to build and operate an NHL style arena without public debt, and without an NHL team. Globe and Mail
Harper, Wynne discuss Ontario’s Ring of Fire
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Leaside’s own Premier, Kathleen Wynne, was in Ottawa Thursday where she had a “productive meeting” with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The agenda appears to have been mainly about a remote mining district of Northern Ontario known as the Ring of Fire. Why Ring of Fire? Because Richard Nemis, a Sudbury lawyer who has promoted the area through its discovery period is a huge fan of Johnny Cash. The Ring of Fire’s enormous riches were revealed during airborne helicopter magnetic and electromagnetic surveys in the early years of the 21st century. That’s merely seven or eight years ago. It is said a proposed mining project could yield $60 billion in revenues. Others predict the coming together of Manitoba Hydro resources, which are very close to this part of Ontario, with chrome, nickel and iron ores could create the largest source of stainless steel in the world. There are also huge deposits of copper. You get the idea. So the Premier was talking to Mr. Harper about how to develop this area, and just how to pay for it. One little understood aspect of this valuable public asset is that there is no road or railway to the area. There will be a bit of money required to set the Ring of Fire aflame. Despite it’s name, the pattern of magnetic discoveries looks more like a crescent than a ring. But then, who knows what patterns might emerge when we get on the ground? The feds are on a stringent program to balance the budget.
Builder is busy at home and on the job site
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| Vince Le Donne |
Vince Le Donne wants to build homes in Leaside. And building them he is. The young father of two lives on Leacrest Road with his wife and kids while he builds a new home for his family on Airdrie Road near Hanna Rd. Even here, Vince is making friends with neighbors and potential customers who may some day need his services. “It’s so important for me to learn about the community and meet people here,” Vince says of his adopted community. With his company, Ivy Glen Homes, building two more homes on Sutherland Drive, Vince acknowledges that his preferred business is to contract with residents. They may wish to bump up or enlarge a present Leaside home, or perhaps replace it altogether. But like all businessmen, Vince is ready to do the job that needs doing. One of his Sutherland projects, 472, is being built for a client, but over at 302, he will sell the finished product himself. There’s no other place like Leaside for this booming activity, and Vince knows just what a good place he has picked. Vince Le Donne is a home-grown builder, learning his trade at Humber College and then earning a degree is architectural technology at Ryerson. He spent five years working for another Leaside building firm making drawings of projects in the office, before striking out on his own a couple of years ago. All of this plus the blessing and responsibility of a 4-year daughter and a one year old son. It keeps Vince Le Donne busy at home and on the job site.
Thieves return statue to College St. church
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Thieves have had a change of heart after stealing a statue from outside of the Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields (Anglican) on College Street. The status, known as “Whatsoever You Do”, by the artist Timothy Schmalz, was taken off of a plinth outside the church sometime around November 30, 2013. On Wednesday, December 4, 2013, it was discovered that the statue had been returned by unknown persons to the church premises. The statue was accompanied by as note: “I’m sorry, it seemed like a good idea at the time, ” the scribbled message said. The sculpture is one of the most popular and commonly displayed pieces of art in churches. It embodies the lesson of Matthew (25.40): “Whatsoever you do for one of my least brothers or sisters, you do for me.”