An innovative program for kids with a delightful name gets underway in October at Manor Road United Church. Thanks to Susan Russell for letting us know about Messy Church, billed as a fun-packed evening which will explore “big questions” like crafts, drama, activities, preparing a meal , storytelling, songs and prayer. The first event is Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at the church. The group will meet October through June (except January). Join up at http://www.manorroadunitedchurch.com/
Fire destroys CTC Garden Centre at Laird and Eglinton
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Photos Evan Ross
Fire has destroyed the Garden Centre at Canadian Tire at Laird Drive and Eglinton Ave E. The blaze broke out during rush hour Monday creating an almost impassable traffic jam along Eglinton and on Laird Drive. Evan Ross, a Canadian Tire employee, said he had just sat down for lunch when a colleague from the Garden Centre came running into the main building to say there was a fire. Then the alarm went off and the sprinkler system began to spray water on millions of dollars of inventory. Ross ran outside and snapped the above picture just as the fire was getting started. Later, lower right, he sent The South Bayview Bulldog a shot of the aftermath. Video was taken a short distance away from outside Pier One showing the plume of black smoke that rose above the neighborhood. There were no injuries. Ross said he and his friends think the fire originated near a cardboard box inside the centre and they guess the cause is careless smoking. Firefighters are fortunate that propane tanks shown in this picture survived the fire. Ross said he and others had just loaded many bags of charcoal and other flammable inventory into the centre for the night. YouTube video
Life and Times of Sam The Record Man
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Toronto Star The legendary seller of recorded music and exemplary citizen is dead at 92.
Boy hit on Thorncliffe Park “barely injured”
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The 9–year-old boy who was hit by a car and briefly trapped under the vehicle is said to be barely injured. The accident occurred when the boy realized he had boarded the wrong bus and dashed across Thorncliffe Park Drive to catch the right bus and was struck by the passing car. Previous post.
600,000 of us still don’t buckle the seat belt
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According to Toronto Police, there is still a seven or eight percent minority of drivers who operate their vehicles without doing up the safety belt. Today marks the beginning of an annual drive to enforce the law. That percentage totals some 600,000 people who are unbuckled. .
Sam “the Record Man” Sniderman dead at 92
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Flashback to railway lands on August 31, 2010
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Two years ago flocks of Canada Geese ruled the land which is now the Leaside Village shopping centre. These pictures were taken August 31, 2010 and show the familiar but now gone hoardings that hid the property for so long. Behind the fences and posters hundreds of Canada Geese found a nice hiding place from the busy City. On the west side of Laird Drive not much has changed. Olde Yorke Fish and Chips is still there, sitting pretty in a commercially improved spot
Canada, U-K to open joint missions abroad
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The CBC says it has learned that Canada and the United Kingdom will open joint U.K.-Canadian diplomatic missions abroad. The countries have agreed that the cost effectiveness of such outposts, presumably in fairly low-level places, will help broaden the reach of each country’s foreign activities, save money on the cost of real estate and make security planning easier.
Citizens lift, push car off boy on Thorncliffe
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Citizens lifted and then pushed a car away from a 9-year-old boy who was trapped under the vehicle on Thorncliffe Park Drive this afternoon. The lad apparently ran out from in front of a parked bus and was struck by the car, which was driven by an elderly women. The images above are taken from a video recorded from a balcony and given to the CBC. A witness told the CBC “‘They put it on neutral, they lifted it up and they pushed it backwards. He was bleeding from his back. He was like crumpled up. His condition was really bad.” The boy was taken to the Hospital for Sick Children where he is in serious condition. The images show, upper left, young men straining to lift the car. Upper right, they roll it back off the boy. Lower left, helpers gather around the boy, now out from under the car. And lower right, two police arrive.
60 Bennington Heights slated for demolition
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Tuscan Homes is busy again at 60 Bennington Heights Drive where a nice storey and a half home will be demolished to make way for a new two-storey dwelling. Any lot in Bennington Heights is worth a look but this one seems huge. It extends from a corner in the street on the east, westward to the next property. You can see from the picture that the garden is very large. This Google image shows the home to a better advantage than its present state, with shrubs and grass growing wild. It sold this year for $1,315,000. All quiet on local teacher/extra-curricular front
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If there’s trouble bubbling under the surface at the local public schools over extra-curricular activities, it has yet to make its way to the surface. All over Ontario both high school teachers and elementary teachers have been vowing to take a pass on participating in extra-curriculars. Yesterday, however, teachers at Riverdale High School said they will “return to normal” around such unpaid work because their union isn’t asking them to take such a “pause.” This decision may be temporary as the Secondary Teacher’s Federation prepares for a strike vote later this Fall which may take the teachers out altogether. At the elementary level, with young kids, it’s even more complicated. The Elementary Teachers want members to refrain from extra work. It’s causing a lot of heartache across Ontario as parents try to fill the void. They are running up against teacher ill-will and legal rigmarole around insurance needed to supervise kids while on school property. A group of parents in the Beach has gone off school property to conduct running activities along the boardwalk, Locally, there’s little evidence of difficulty. At Maurice Cody Junior Public School, new principal Andrew Howard issued a welcome back letter which makes no mention of any disruptions whatsoever.
Air Canada will hire 900 for new line by 2013
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Air Canada says it will hire more than 900 new employees over the next 12 months, partly in preparation for the launch of its low cost carrier that is expected to begin operations in 2013. In addition to 160 new customer service call-center agents hired this year, Air Canada said it is also hiring an additional 60 agents in the coming months for its call centers in Montreal and Toronto. The country’s largest carrier also said it is hiring roughly 400 flight attendants for its main airline, along with another with another 150 flight attendants and 50 pilots for its new low cost airline.