The South Bayview Bulldog

Very active scene continuing on Highway 407 west of Dufferin St for tanker truck that rolled over & caught fire; other cars also involved. OPP report multiple fatalities. Several departments are assisting @VaughanFire. All lanes closed both east and westbound. #Vaughan pic.twitter.com/Yj1GYOTy1I

— Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyCohnTV) October 31, 2018

The drivers of a tanker truck and another vehicle both died in a collision and the fire that followed on Hwy 407 between Dufferin and Bathurst St. in Vaughan Wednesday afternoon. York Region Police said the victims, a man 41 from Brampton, and a man 49 from Mississauga, were pronounced dead at the scene. The inferno was caused when a vehicle crossed over from the westbound to eastbound lanes and collided with vehicles heading eastbound,” according to police. Flames are estimated to have risen 2,000 feet.

Highway 407

In the US, thousands of people have signed a petition started by a business organization to move Halloween from October 31 to the last Saturday in October. The 31st is All Hallow’s Eve, the Christian ritual of remembering the dead. But the chance to ease the stress for families by moving Halloween to a Saturday has found favour. The Halloween & Costume Association has a business interest. They think a weekend Halloween would create more business.

Let me think about it

The enormous number of Indian citizens working in the CRA phone scam racket is revealed in this CBC report. Indian police have made raids in recent days but all sources agree that there are dozens of such criminal businesses still toiling away to rob Canadians of their money with threats and fabricated stories. The video shows crowds of young men rounded up from just a couple of such call centres. The actual number of people working in the racket seems beyond guessing.

Crowds of young men arrested in just two raids speak about the huge business this racket represents in India

A long thread of some 60 posts has formed at Leaside Community Wednesday morning about an instance of apparent bullying of a lower class boy from Leaside High School by what is called a group  of “5-7 Grade 12 male students.” One mother adds that there is “a bully (who) has bothered my son for years in grade 12 there.” It is said the police have been contacted.

Toronto firefighters are on the scene of a major house fire in the Brown’s Line and Evans Ave area. A witness tells NEWSTALK 1010 it was a home under construction. No injuries reported. Video credit: Michael Sannuto pic.twitter.com/S3KCzVGWvJ

— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) October 31, 2018

This inferno gutted a south Etobicoke home (Evans Ave. and Brown’s Line) and City News says the homeowner confirms it was hit by a less serious fire last week. Careless or criminal? Stay tuned. The blaze was at 226 Beta St.

Heather Bambrick sings at Northlea United

Moore Ave self-checkout challenge

32 Rumsey

Is it autumn yet?

Meridian’s Porky Pumpkin

Heather Bambrick will sing jazz tunes with an ensemble at North United Church on Sunday, November 18 at 4.30 p.m. Refreshments will be served at 4 p.m. Incorrect information was published earlier. The event is very much worth a visit. Upper right, over at Loblaws at 301 Moore Ave customers are calling it the self-checkout challenge. Mostly it goes smoothly. But sometimes the robot cashier seizes up like your old desk top. From there on, you’re in human hands just like before. Below that is the demolition at 32 Rumsey Road. Lauren Homes is getting in on the Leaside action. Lower left, is it autumn yet? This spectacular maple is on Airdrie Rd. Finally, Meridian Credit Union on Mt. Pleasant is into the BIA Halloween contest with an entry that looks a lot like Porky Pumpkin.

Laird Wicksteed Exchange

Building has a pointed shape with east end supported by pillars at first level

Colliers International is planning to build a nearly 77,000 square foot office and commercial complex at 154 Wicksteed Ave. at the northeast corner of Clark St where Wicksteed jogs south on its way to Beth Nealson Drive. The company has organized a preview of the planned development at Amsterdam Barrel House at 87 Laird Drive on Thursday, November 15, from 11.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. In a release Tuesday, Colliers described the six-storey Laird Wicksteed Exchange as a place of “modern and green amenities, outdoor spaces, a ground-level café, sustainable and efficient electrical grids, state-of-the-art soundproofing, and much more.” Looks good.

A man in Simcoe, south of Brantford, was so upset with the barking of his neighbour’s barking dogs that he planted himself on the lawn in the middle of the night and began howling like the canines. OPP were called about 8 a.m. Saturday. The man, 41, went to his neighbor’s home between 2 and 2:30 a.m. where he barked and howled. Cops spoke with all parties to mediate a resolution. Everyone was warned about contravening the Norfolk County noise bylaw.

Former BSS Head Judith Carlisle

In happier times (l-r) Head of School Deryn Lavell, Judith Carlisle and Board of Governors Chair Cindy Tripp ’82

The thorough account in the National Post of events leading to the dismissal of Judith Carlisle, the head of Bishop Srachan School, has produced a growing body of comments. Many express outrage about political correctness and “overly-sensitive parents.”  But there are thoughtful questions posed as well. At issue is the version of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice by the Box Clever Theatre of the UK presented to classes of BSS students as a satire on anti-Jewish sentiment. There are some news accounts suggesting that racial abuse language had been exaggerated in the revised play for heightened effect. One comment asked a fair question. “The original play is pretty anti-Semitic as it is. Why emphasize it?” Such changes were not made by Carlisle herself but should she have known and opted for a more cautious approach? In that spirit another comment reads: “Ok big mistake on her part, but these were not little children! She should have been told to apologize and got a warning. A total over reaction to fire her.” The decision to dismiss may have been carefully considered or done in a moment of anger. Only those present know what passed between the BSS board and Ms Carlisle before it was announced that they had parted ways.

The single-lane conditions at Eglinton Ave. and Brentcliffe Rd. have inspired a series of posts at Leaside Community. One driver urges the use of the “zipper merge” for drivers south and northbound on Brentcliffe as they turn east onto Eglinton. It is not unreasonable in the circumstances but sadly it isn’t what the Highway Traffic Act requires. Right turning drivers have the right of way over left turning drivers. Of course, the authors of the HTA did not conceive of the five-year, once-in-a-lifetime punishment sentence handed down on Toronto called the construction of the Crosstown LRT.

From City News, a TTC Wheel Trans Supervisor’s car is swallowed by a sinkhole that formed on Commissioners Street after a watermain break.

MOORE AVE. DEPRESSION STILL NOT FIXED

The sinking pavement on Moore Ave at the Belt Line crossing just east of Welland Ave remains unrepaired. Local drivers notice it seems to be getting deeper. The Bulldog raised this on October 5. We’re hoping it will be rebuilt before further slippage sends a driver sliding off the road and into Mud Creek.