The South Etobicoke News

Serving Humber * Mimico * Lakeshore Village * Long Branch * Alderwood

AMATEUR SPORTS: Local talent Angus MacDonell has one of his hockey dreams come true

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Etobicoke’s ANGUS MacDonell is well on his way to becoming a top hockey prospect. Courtesy photo.

By CRAIG CHRISTIE

The 2021 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection took place June 4-5, with 299 players selected from 83 different teams across Ontario and parts of the U.S.

For Etobicoke resident Angus MacDonell it was another step toward his ultimate goal of playing professional hockey. MacDonell was selected in the first round, 13th overall by the Sarnia Sting which set off a huge celebration at his home. “We were set up in my backyard with some family. I heard my name called and everyone went crazy,” he said. “Being drafted was one of my goals and something I will never forget.”

“He is a player that we targeted in this draft,” said Sting General Manager Dylan Seca. “A skilled two-way centre that our fans will really enjoy watching on the ice.”

For the past seven years, MacDonell was a member of the Toronto Marlboros organization which had 14 players taken in the draft; three in the first round. “It shows how dominant they have been over the years and how great a program they are to produce so many players. It’s an unreal program with great people but unreal coaches.” In his final year with the Marlboros U15 AAA team he scored 23 goals with 9 assists in 27 games but acknowledges he still has a lot of work to do. “I’d like to work on being able to cut in and out of checks and come out of the boards with ease and continue to work on my shot so that I can be an elite scorer at the next level.”

With the draft out of the way, the 5’10” centre’s focus is on getting bigger, stronger, faster and improving all aspects of his game so that he can make the Sting’s opening night roster. This includes working out every day in the gym, shooting pucks in his backyard, and watching and analyzing NHL games to see what he can incorporate into his game.

An offensive-minded player, MacDonell likes to make plays in the offensive and defensive zone. In fact, he prides himself on his ability to play “a 200 ft. game,” patterned after NHL players he admires such as Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) and Mathew Barzal (New York Islanders).

Along with being an exceptional hockey player, MacDonell has been playing lacrosse in Mimico since he was only three and it has played a significant role in his development as a hockey player. The long lacrosse season gives him the opportunity to be in top cardio shape for the shorter shifts in hockey and he believes the aggressive play and hand-eye coordination from that sport will only work to his advantage on the ice.

As a first-round pick MacDonell is aware of the high expectations and he is excited and looking forward to heading to Sarnia and being a part of the community. The Sting have already started to put things in place to make his transition from Etobicoke seamless. This includes the billeting process of finding a host family he will live with and enrolling him in a local high school.

And what can the fans in Sarnia expect from him? “They can anticipate a player that’s going to come out every night and go 100% and hopefully score some goals, do what the fans want and put on a show.”

 

Members of the Guyanese community rally to help their country now reeling from floods

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MEMBERS OF the Guyanese community rallying to help those hit by floods at home.

Members of the local Guyanese community have banded together to help raise badly-needed cash and emergency goods and food to help thousands in their homeland that has been hit hard by recent floods.

Emergency relief drive-throughs are being held on June 19 in Brampton, at 75 Parkwood Square, and June 20 in North York, at 40 Carl Hall Road.

The drive-through drop-offs will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at both sites.

Badly- needed Items includes non-perishable food, money to purchase items in demand, gloves, cleaning items, garbage bags, baby and children items, mask, sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, hygiene kits, medicine and other cleaning and antiseptic materials.

The widespread flooding washed away roads, homes and farmland throughout the small South American country. More than 6,900 households across the country have been severely affected by the flooding in the past several weeks, according to government estimates.

The Government of Guyana has declared a disaster in response to the flooding that has affected all regions since mid-May.

Weeks of flooding continues in neighbouring Suriname, where over 10,000 people have been affected.

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali declared Guyana a disaster on June 10.

Irfaan said a Tropical Wave embedded with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITGZ) resulted in heavy rainfall during May, which was likely to continue until late June and possibly mid-July.

As many as 25,000 households have now been affected by the flooding in Guyana, according to the country’s Civil Defence Commission (CDC).

CDC has received reports of flooding in more than 300 communities across all regions of Guyana. It is  estimated that between 7,000 and 8,000 homes have been damaged. It is unknown how many people were killed by the flooding.

Irfaan said the flooding is one of the worst disasters the country has ever faced and projected that it will take some time for the country recover once the situation has abated. He appealed for aid from countries abroad.

Federal statistics show that about 70,000 Guyanese live in Toronto and about 200,000 make Canada their home.

For more information email governorp.p@gmail.com or phone 647-994-7443 or 416-993-9266.

Del’s historic, family-owned bakery goes up in flames leaving many workers jobless

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IT TOOK Toronto Firefighters three hours to put down a stubborn blaze that tore through Del’s Bakery, leaving many people unemployed. CityNews photo.

BENNO MATTES co-founded the bakery with wife Edith in 1963.

 

 

More than 100 employees are out of work after a much-loved family-owned bakery burned down in a stubborn fire that burnt for hours in the Kipling Ave. and Bloor St. W. area.

Del’s Pastry Ltd., at 334 Bering Ave., was co-founded by Benno Mattes, and his wife Edith, in the top floor of their Toronto home back in 1963.

Toronto firefighters rushed to the 60,000 square foot bakery on June 15 to fight a stubborn fire, which is believed to have started in one of their ovens around 9:47 p.m.

Fire crews said the five alarm blaze took about three hours to bring under control.

Firefighters had to retreat away from the walls of the building for fears they might collapse. Video of the scene shows thick flames and heavy smoke pouring from the ceiling of the unit.

Crews spent hours dousing the flames from aerial ladders to try to get the blaze under control, but the flames were being fanned by strong winds, Toronto Fire said.

Power has been cut to the building and the city was asked to boost the water supply to the area as crews work to contain the fire. Traffic was halted on some streets and a nearby train track.

Crews were able to knock down the flames by about 12:25 a.m. Wednesday and a fire investigator is at the scene trying to determine what sparked the blaze.

The company website said Del’s Pastry has been in business for almost 60 years, with a staff of about 150. The bakery generates more than $50 million in sales yearly.

“Our business has grown from a small bakery operated out of the ground floor of a two-story house to an increasingly modern and automated 60,000 square foot facility,” according to the site.

The bakery produced delicious cinnamon buns, danishes, muffins, picnic cakes and strudels.

Mattes was born in Germany in 1933 and immigrated to Canada with Edith in 1961. Together they began the small bakery and “grew it into a thriving business.”

He passed away at the age of 82.

 

 

Suspect on the run from police for brutal stabbing of a man in Long Branch

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CALL POLICE if you see this man. Justin Bellinger is sought for attempt murder. He is considered armed and violent. Police photo.

 

Toronto Police have intensified a manhunt for a suspect who is accused of stabbing a man during an argument in the Long Branch area.

Officers warn that the suspect is considered violent, armed and dangerous and residents are asked to call 911 if they see him.

Officers were called to the Long Branch Avenue and Lake Shore Blvd. W. area on June 14 around 4:47 p.m. to deal with a person with a knife.

“It is alleged a man became involved in an argument with a number of people and made threats towards them,” according to a release from 22 Division. “He stabbed one of them several times causing extensive injuries.”

The suspect then fled the area.

Police have identified the suspect as Justin Bellinger, 32, of Toronto. He faces a charge of attempt murder.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2200, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, online on our Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637). Download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes or Google Play.

Black-owned Smith Ice keeping our drinks cool with ice cubes for two decades

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ICEMAKERS May and Ira Smith supply Etobicoke and GTA with ice for our drinks.

Ira and May Smith have a love for ice and sell their frosty cubes to stores across the city so people can keep their drinks cool this summer.

The couple own Smith Ice, which has been supplying GTA residents with tonnes of cube ice, block ice, shaved ice or large-bagged ice for 20 years.

They have a large ice factory in Scarborough, from which they refill the shelves of hundreds of supermarkets, variety stores, pubs and taverns in Etobicoke and elsewhere.

It is believed that they are the first black family to own an ice factory in Toronto.

Ira grew up in Jamaica, where he helped his grandfather sell ice in the streets to people.

“I used to help him fetch the big blocks of ice from the truck,” he recalls.

“My grandfather instilled the love of ice to me as a kid,” Smith says proudly. “After I came to Canada at the age of 13, I was making ice from trays that I bought at Canadian Tire.”

He graduated from trays and moved to a larger ice maker. Ice making then went from being a hobby in the basement to now owning an ice factory at 120 Barbados Blvd., in Scarborough.

“We were founded in the basement of our old house,” Ira explains. “Smith Ice grew out of the basement into the backyard and eventually into a warehouse manufacturing facility.”

He freezes tonnes of ice at the factory, which is sold mostly in cubes in varying size bags to a network of gas station ice boxes, supermarkets, variety stores and bars.

On this day, the couple are refilling a store on Horner Ave. with their ice.

“We carry a wide spectrum of ice products to meet your chilling need,” he says. “We have been in business for 20-plus years and provide a host of bagged ice products to many companies throughout Toronto and GTA.”

Smith Ice has grown from humble beginnings in a small garage to a full service Ice facility with over 20 tonnes and growing capacity a day.

“Every year we strive to increase this number and offer our clients and customers better quality ice and faster service,” May says.

They provide innovative solutions for their businesses, such as larger ice storage freezers when demand is high and rush service for when they need the product quickly.

“Smith Ice stands by our customers and views each one of our vendors as not only family, but an extension of our own brand,” she says.

Ira adds ‘our team is comprised of people who take pride in what they do and aspire to do the best job possible to make certain that orders get loaded and delivered in a timely, efficient manner with a smile on our face.’

“As we continue to grow in the future, we will not lose sight of where we came from and what got us there: equal portions of hard-work, positivity, a commitment to excellence and a can-do attitude. “

Smith Ice can be reached at 416-750-0655 or email info@smithice.com