The South Bayview Bulldog

An imaginative fundraiser will be held by the parents of Whitney Public School on Saturday, May, 26, 2011. The Whitney Main Event will be held at the Brick Works, 55o Bayview Ave. The event begins at 7 pm. The Main Event will contribute proceeds to educational opportunities for the 300 students of Whitney. It will also assist other less privileged children by contributing a portion of the proceeds to the Brick Works Education Fund. Above, we see spirited Whitney kids heading off on a Terry Fox anniversary run.

Between modest bungalows the work for a new home was going on Tuesday at 75 Vanderhoof Ave. At the top, the ever-inspiring sight of the concrete chute arching over the neighborhood. Lower left, the point man is balancing on the concrete forms directing the cement. Meanwhile, on the street (lower right) a veritable conga line of cement mixers waits to finish the job.

An elaborate April Fool’s joke had many people thinking that Honda was about to produce a convertible version of its Crosstour SUV. The photo-shopped picture above appeared April 1, 2011 on the Autoblog site and was quickly picked up. It was said that Honda had decided to “take on” Nissan for the convertible crossover market, a segment of the population so far entirely unknown to anyone. As is public, Nissan is indeed producing a convertible version of its popular Murano SUV. And a reminder for the gullible, believers and non-believers alike, the Murano story appeared nearly two years ago on the Internet with a photo-shopped picture. Nissan vigorously denied it was going to produce the car. But it will go on sale in the U.S. this month. Truly, hard to know what to believe.

Day Two of the gas main replacement on South Bayview has seen a fairly efficient process of (upper right) digging the trench and (left) connecting the new plastic main before putting it in the trench. Lower left, the main is covered with a type of temporary concrete. This took place on the west side within a distance stretching from Belsize to a spot in front of the Bayview Dental Clinic. The narrowing of traffic led to trouble for a delivery driver (lower right) when he parked on the east sidewalk. There was no ticket. Work was finished by 3 pm. Work will now begin on the rest of Bayview. The main to be replaced runs from Millwood to Parkhurst Blvd. Residents there will wish to be warned that the contractor, Link-Line, is scheduled to replace mains all through Leaside, starting on Parkhurst. Interestingly, the old cast iron main is simply left in the ground. The foreman indicates that his crews will return to the newly-laid main at some point, breaking the temporary concrete and making the necessary connections to take the gas into buildings. He also suggested once again that the priority is such so that the City can lay new sidewalks on South Bayview this year.

The Globe and Mail has done a microscopic analysis of Leaside traffic, particularly on Laird drive. Apparently it’s pretty awful for pedestrians and drivers alike. (Let us know if you recognize the perplexed gentleman shown by the Globe). For those who have been finding their way through the funny little dog’s leg at Wicksteed and Macrae for decades it may all seem overdone. But, the story does contain information about how — someday – the intersection may have a shorter crossover for pedestrians. This will be done by changing the ramp like turn from Macrae south onto Laird. There is a reference in the story to a building in the way, and this would appear to be the old CIBC branch. Actually, it’s time for them to find a new location. Here is the Globe’s story.

Kapyong. We should remember the name. It’s the place where, in April 1951, a handful of Canadian and Australian troops made a stand against an entire Chinese Communist Division and stopped it cold. In the process, the allied troops blunted the Chinese drive south, saved Seoul from falling for a second time, and permitted the successful launch of the American thrust north. Now journalist Dan Bjarneson has written a fine book recounting the harrowing ordeal of these few hundred members of the Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry. Kapyong is said to be a dusty little crossroads of no importance by itself. But history has made it profoundly important. It’s the place where Canada did its small part in saving the fledgling Republic of (South) Korea. That’s the little country that went on to become a thriving and prosperous democracy. South Korea is the place that put the lie every day to the “peoples paradise” of Mao’s China. And if you ever wonder if it was worth it, think about the quality of life and freedom of people in South Korea today. If the world had done nothing, they would be living like the North Koreans. Kapyong is a name Canadians should remember with pride.

Shortly after 2 p.m. on Saturday and the Link-Line gas contractors are finished their first day’s work on replacement of the old gas mains under South Bayview. It was a good sign for merchants as workers took down their no parking signs and let business on the west side return to normal. Cutting and trenching will go down the west side to replace the cast iron mains. We trust there will be steel sheets to cover the trenches and permit parking when work is done each day. This was the routine when new electric conduits were placed two years ago and it seemed to work fairly well. Later, it will be necessary to dig holes on the east side at various locations to connect the new main to buildings. See post below.