The South Bayview Bulldog

A Facebook post on Thursday reports the discovery of six dead possums on the Sherwood Park trail near Blythwood Rd. and also west of Mt. Pleasant. FB

Many women are waiting to learn the freedom of cycling

As many as 50 women in Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Heights have joined their sisters in the Women’s Cycling Network and are waiting to benefit from the freedom of riding their own bike. WCN was founded by Najia Zewari, leader of Women’s Wellness Café, and is assisted by the ever-present Neighourhood Organization (TNO). The current campaign to find unused but functioning bicycles is being supported by Cycle Don Valley Midtown which brought this worthy cause to The Bulldog’s attention. Now you can help these women find freedom, empowerment and health benefits by riding a bike. If you have a bike to give, read about the Women’s Cycling Network #BikeMatch program and complete the form. Your bike will be matched with a woman from our waiting list and a contact-free donation arranged.

The province will extend its COVID-19 emergency orders from June 19 to June 30, Premier Ford has announced. A release Monday says: “Extending these emergency orders gives our frontline health care providers the necessary flexibility to rapidly respond to urgent needs and protect our most vulnerable.” The release refers to declining cases of the infection but also repeats frequently heard concerns that a wider spread of the infection is still possible. As reported Tuesday, Toronto, Peel Region, and Windsor-Essex remain in Stage 1 of the provincial lockdown, meaning that many businesses including restaurant patios, hair salons, barbers and many others cannot yet reopen in those three areas.

A cheap and widely-available steroid drug called dexamethasone has proven to save the lives of critically-ill COVID-19 patients in a British study. It’s estimated many thousands of lives would have been saved around the world if physicians had been aware of the effectiveness of the drug earlier. Test results reported Tuesday from Oxford University in the UK indicated as many as a third of the patients on ventilators improved and survived after receiving dexamethasone. The work was done at a laboratory known as Recovery.

• Steroid dexamethasone reduces deaths among patients with severe COVID-19 – trial shows

An agreement has once again been reached between Canada and the United States to keep the border closed to all non-essential travel for another month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced. The extension on the existing agreement means that the border restrictions will stay in place until July 21, even as both countries continue to reopen their economies. “This is an important decision that will keep people in both of our countries safe,” Trudeau said Tuesday. There is survey information indicating a large majority of Canadians fear an influx of potentially infected arrivals — with CTV

• CBC streaming Tuesday from Ottawa
• Consumer debt loads drop for first time in a decade in Canada

At least 20 Indian soldiers have died after a violent hand-to-hand fight with Chinese troops along the China-India border in the Himalayas Monday, the Indian army says. The incident occurred during a “de-escalation process” underway in the Galwan Valley in the disputed Aksai Chin-Ladakh area, where a large troop build-up has reportedly been taking place for weeks now on both sides of the border. Military commanders began talks earlier this month to try to defuse the confrontation. The Indian army had earlier said three soldiers had died, but added on Tuesday that a further 17 troops “who were critically injured in the line of duty at the standoff location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries,” CNN reported. The deaths are the first military casualties along the two countries’ disputed border for more than 40 years. Earlier the fatal confrontation was described as a vicious fight with rocks and sticks.

Home Depot employees in Richmond Hill test positive for COVID-19 – Frank Matys/Metroland

Daily cases of COVID-19 in Ontario are once again under 200 but the sneaky nature of the infection is revealed as some 14 employees of the Richmond Hill Home Depot store have caught the bug. It would seem the virus has been raging for days inside the store, located 50 Red Maple Drive. The employees are said to be in quarantine and the store remains open. York Region Public Health said Tuesday that the risk of transmission of infection to customers in the past several weeks was “low.” Let’s hope so. York Region.com

World Review: China hit again and Sweden is Europe’s bad boy

Beach Cheer Athletics ladies are in good spirits

Show your pride

Everyone loves a Canadian girl

It has been necessary to cancel the beloved East York Canada Day Parade and festivities but organizers are counting on residents to honour their country at home. For 62 years the hugely popular East York celebration has formed up at Dieppe Park on Cosburn Ave and wound its joyous way to Stan Wadlow Park. But the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of what would have been the 63rd such celebration.

Video challenges

Instead, organizers are asking residents to make and submit celebratory videos and to decorate homes across the former township to show their pride as Canadians. This week’s challenge asks for videos of family or groups belting out O Canada or just dancing and rocking to some Canadian music. Let your creative juices flow and the music be your guide. See the other challenges here.

404 southbound ramp to the DVP can be a confusing place/Highway camera

Those who drive the spaghetti-like intersection of Highways 404 and 401 will know that it can be a tricky place at the best of times. But Monday morning saw a gaggle of geese added to the mix. Police were on the job, trying to see the geese safely removed from the 404-SB express ramp to 401-WB. Later in the morning, more geese marched across the Don Valley Parkway near Wynford Drive.

Fearless geese march across Don Valley near Wynford Drive/Jesse Weeks Twitter