By RON FANFAIR, TPS

A group of north Etobicoke officers in 23 Division, who rescued a young child by the legs from falling from a three-storey window, were honoured with the Toronto Police Officer(s) of the Year Award on May 25.

They are Sgt. Brian James and Consts. Ramandeep Singh, Kwabena Saffu, Deanna Jovanovich and Nicholas Ditlof.

In June 2020, they responded to a person in crisis call at a residence.

When they arrived, they found a man dangling a crying child – later identified as his six-year-old son – out of the window. The boy’s grandmother had tried to help him before being punched and choked by her son. The boy managed to pull from his dad and hold onto an adjacent window ledge.

Firefighters assembled a safety tarp to catch the child if he dropped.

As the officers entered the room, the man jumped from the window, falling three storeys onto a driveway as his son dangled from a nearby window ledge. The officers ran to the window and were able to grab the boy’s arms and bring him to safety.

With assistance of other responding officers, the man was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for psychiatric treatment. He was later charged.

Since the incident, officers – who have been impacted by the call for help that day – have visited with the child and his family.

James, who is in his 26th year with the Service, credited excellent teamwork for the successful outcome.

“A lot of people did very real things,” said James. “There were three officers upstairs who were able to save the kid from falling out the window. There were other officers, who once the accused had jumped, who were able to arrest him.”

Each month, an officer or a group of officers is selected for Police Officer(s) of the Month, based on bravery, humanitarianism, superior investigative work and outstanding police skills.

The Police Officer(s) of the Year is selected by seasoned journalists, community and business members.

Two Toronto Police court officers were honoured with the Civilian Excellence Award for saving the life of a drug overdose victim.

On November 25, 2020 at around 2 a.m., Paul Hawke and Harrison Marshall were in a Prison Transportation vehicle heading to Traffic Services headquarters at 9 Hannah Ave. when they saw the victim in the middle of the roadway.

“We were going there from Scarborough because our vehicle needed to be out of service as the camera wasn’t working,” said Marshall. “When we got out of our vehicle, it was clear this was a classic sign of opioid overdose.”

Taking the Naloxone kit from his partner, Marshall delivered two doses to the victim and started to perform CPR.

“That seemed to work as he began to come around and that was when we took him to the side of the road so he wouldn’t be run over by an oncoming vehicle,” he noted. “EMS came a few minutes later and was able to provide the man with the proper help he needed.”

Prior to joining Toronto Police, Marshall worked with Correctional Services.

“In that role, I employed numerous amounts of Naloxone,” he added.

Hawke, who joined the Service 30 years ago, called EMS and acted as the lookout to ensure the area was safe while his partner delivered the Naloxone shots.

In 2009, a Business Excellence Award was established to honour exceptional Service members whose valuable contributions enable the organization to work effectively and efficiently.

A panel of business experts select the winner.

 

 

Photos and Story By Christina Murie

A young woman was rushed to an area hospital after her vehicle crashed into a concrete barrier in Mimico.

Witnesses said the vehicle appeared to be speeding as it hit a barrier in front of a TTC pedestrian island for a streetcar shelter.

A 19-year-old woman was rushed by ambulance to hospital. Fortunately, no one else was injured.

Residents and motorists have complained that the corner at Lake Shore Blvd. W., just west of Park Lawn Road, near Fleeceline Road, is too tight and the TTC island dangerous for oncoming vehicles which have to hit the brakes.

They said there have been a number of collisions in and around that bend in the road.

Traffic was snarled in the area during rush hour around 8:30 a.m. on May 26.

LAMP Community Health Centre is rolling out the red carpet for this year’s winners of the 22^nd Annual Awards of Merit: Community Champions.

LAMP officials say they have not been able to host the popular event for two years due to the pandemic.

“LAMP is ready to roll out the red carpet,” according to a release. “They (winners) have gone the extra mile to make a difference and contribute to building a healthy community.”

The award winners, which includes individuals, businesses and organizations were selected based on their ‘goodwill and support to their neighbours during these difficult times.’

Individuals on the honour roll includes: Indigenous artist Philip Cote, sales coordinator Leanne Gonacio, South Etobicoke News publisher Tom Godfrey, travelling artscaper Don Harrison Short,  firm owner Margaret Cecilia McCarthy, activist Sharon Muszynski, fundraiser Fernanda Pontes and realtor Graham Rowlands.

Some of the businesses being honoured are: Chris Beard of 850 Degrees Pizzeria, Mohamad Fakih of Paramount Fine Foods, (pic on main page), Spin Me A Yarn and Timothy’s Pub.

The organizations include: Vera Lyn Perdon, of 6ixSewees; Daily Bread Food Bank; Chef Jagger Gorden, of Feed it Forward; Daniel Lauzon and Catherine Mayled, of Food for Now; Lakeshore Affordable Housing Action and Advocacy Group (LAHAAG); Neighbourhood Love; Sandwich Sisters Pods, Ambassador Team of the South and Central Etobicoke Vaccine Engagement; Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre and Kristen Krowiak, of Trashy Tuesdays.

This year LAMP is launching ‘The Marg Sent Me’ volunteer project, which pays tribute to legacy of Marg Ciupa, a Lakeshore trailblazer who was a founder and Board member of LAMP and the first Chair of the Storefront Humber Home Support Services Board.

Marg was also a member of the Etobicoke Board of Health, a leader in the Cancer Society’s annual canvass, a member of the Among Friends/CAMH Committee on mental health needs in Lakeshore, and an active supporter of Women’s Habitat.

Volunteering, leadership and community service was her calling. Her spirit and love of community will continue through this new initiative.

The Awards of Merit ceremony takes place on June 22 at 5 p.m. on the lawn at LAMP Community Health Centre, at 185 Fifth Street.

 

 

A fourth Heritage Tree has been designated in tree-loving Long Branch by Forests Ontario.

The newest Heritage Tree is a 125-year-old ‘grand lady” called the Applebee Catalpa, according to Long Branch Historian Bill Zufelt.

‘The tree is a ‘real show stopper’ and getting better with age too,” said Zufelt.

He said the 70- foot high Northern Catalpa is located on lands that once belonged to Moses Applebee the first Ward 1 Councillor for the Township of Etobicoke.  The Applebee family immigrated from Yorkshire, England in the early 1800s.

 

“They were one of the first pioneers to make roots along the Ontario Lakeshore in Etobicoke,” Zufelt explained.

In 1851, Applebee was elected as the first Ward 1 Councillor for the Township of Etobicoke. The family became prominent citizens and business owners.

The tree is located at the south west corner of Twenty Third Street and Iris Road. It will be ‘a headliner’ in the upcoming Long Branch Garden Tour on June 25.

He said Long Branch is home of a ‘Fab Four’ of heritage trees, which are dubbed Big Red, Titan, Stop26 and the Applebbee Catalpa Heritages Trees.

Northern Catalpas and their southern cousins have long been revered for their sweet aromatic fragrance and the bountiful trumpeting white with purple and yellow striped floral plumage.

The heartwood from the Northern Catalpa has been used for everything from structural timbers, furniture, millwork to the delicate tone-wood brilliance in guitars.

There are less than 100 heritage trees in Canada and lesser than a dozen in Toronto. A few of the trees go back in history to before Confederation.

 

Many South Etobicoke residents are still picking up branches and litter from a vicious wind storm that shook parts of the community last Friday.

Fences, shingles, trees and branches were blown away from the terrible storm around 1 p.m. when the rain and massive wind storm wreaked havoc.

The skies were black as many as 350,000 area residents had their power shut off, with some only now regaining Hydro after a couple days of being uncomfortable.

The storm wreaked huge damages across the Greater Toronto Area leaving a “trail of wind and rain damage across Toronto and most of Southern Ontario.”

At least three people are reported dead following the thunderstorm that left more than 300,000 without power for hours.

Tragedy struck first in Brampton where police said a woman in her 70s was walking alone in the area of Belmont Drive and Birchbank Road when she was struck by a falling tree.

During the height of the extreme weather, Toronto Fire said it received nearly 150 calls from people looking for help. At the same time, the Toronto Police Service was forced to close its non-emergency due to the influx of calls.

One Toronto firefighter was reportedly injured after he was struck by a falling tree while responding to a 911 call and was transported to hospital in stable condition.

An alert by Environment Canada was dispatched to phones, TV screens, and radio stations across Ontario at approximately 12:45 p.m. warning residents to “take cover” as the threatening weather approached.

At Toronto’s Pearson Airport, winds were gusting at 120 kilometers an hour at around 1 p.m.

Popular Etobicoke pizza maker Dino Ari has donated thousands of his delicious pies to help the hungry, homeless or those down on their luck.

Today he is giving back to the community by running to represent the constituents of Etobicoke’s Ward 3 in the municipal elections in October 24.

“I live here and I have my two stores in Etobicoke,”Ari says. “People have been asking me to run for a long time now I am taking the challenge.”

He believes he can do a better job than incumbent Mark Grimes in fighting crime and helping small businesses and residents of the blue-collar riding.

“I have donated free pizzas to those in need in Toronto and in this community,” Ari vows. “Hunger is a big issue in this community and we have to do something about it.”

He will also be lobbying for more police on the streets and affordable housing for Ward 3 residents.

“My store along with others were broken into by thieves about two weeks ago and they left behind thousands of dollars in damages,” Ari says. “The thieves broke by window and cash register.”

He said a number of small businesses in the Bloor and Kipling Avenue area were damaged or subject to thefts in incidents that took place during the middle of the day. There has been no arrests.

“Where is our councillor when we need help,” Ari asks. “He is nowhere to be found.”

Ari notes that crime in the area is getting out of hand and points to the recent armed auto theft of Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner outside a movie theatre.

“We need more police or cameras in the area,” he explains. “Something has to be done about the crime in the area.”
It has been a long road for the pizza king, who arrived in Canada more than two decades ago from Turkey.

He managed to learn the pizza making trade and worked his way up to owning two stores.

“I want to show newcomers and immigrants that they too can become part of the system and help make things better in their community,” Ari insists. “I want to show them that it can be done.”

Grimes was elected in 2018 with 40.90% of the vote. He has not indicated whether he will seek re-election.

Registered candidates includes Ari and Amber Morley, a community health promoter who ran against Grimes in 2018 and placed second.

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A Toronto Police search is underway for a man who is accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old-girl on a TTC bus.

Officers said they have also arrested a suspect who was sought in another sexual assault, this time involving a 15-year-old girl on a bus in Rexdale.

Officers of 22 Division said they were called on May 15 at 10:51 p.m. to probe a suspicious incident in The West Mall and Burnhamthorpe Road area.

Police said “a 12-year-old girl boarded a TTC bus and was approached by an unknown man.”

He (suspect) “had a conversation with her and during that conversation, he sexually assaulted her,” detectives said in a release.

The suspect got off the bus in The West Mall and Burnhamthore Road area.

The man is described as thin build, curly dark hair, clean shaven, wearing light coloured shorts, black high top shoes with a silver and white tag design on the back and the front of the shoes, grey t-shirt with a light coloured button up shirt on top, and black jacket.

Police are also notifying the public of an arrest in the sexual investigation of the 15-year-old.

Officers were called in November 2021 for an alleged sexual assault that took place in the Kipling Avenue and Westhumber Boulevard area.

Police allege a man boarded a TTC bus and sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl. An arrest was made on May 11.

Carlos Ortiz, 48, of Toronto, is charged with sexual assault and sexual interference.

He is slated to attend a 2201 Finch Avenue W. court on June 24.

Investigators would encourage the public to come forward and report sexual assault occurrences to police. Police will ensure victims have access to support services.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2300, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

Long Branch businessman Jay Francis Llave is in the Philippines this week taking bags of rice and school supplies to hundreds of poor students, whose schools are twinned with ones in Etobicoke.

The gifts are from the Lakeshore Charitable Foundation, which has been operating since 2008, and was at one time twinned two with public schools in that country.

Llave, the owner of Lakeshore Accounting, at 3421 Lake Shore Blvd. W., helps raise funds which are donated by area residents to the schools in the form of supplies, books, equipment and renovations of the classrooms.

He left in late May on his most recent visit to take supplies for volunteers and students.

“This is an important visit since it we haven’t been there in two years due to COVID,” Llave said before flying out. “We have to let them know we are still a sponsor and that we are back.”

The Foundation is in the process of twinning with a larger second school in Mindanao with 2,800 students. They already help 700 students in their first school.

They group also help in obtaining volunteers to help renovate sections of the schools to make it safer for students.

“We have boots on the ground and will continue to help these students,” he says. “Donations of funds or school items are very much in demand.”

The foundation was founded by the late Long Branch accountant Phillip Barker who made dozens of trips to the Philippines taking school supplies for two schools, which was one of his passions.

Barker adopted Bay Bay School in 2005 and donated about $25,000 of his own money and raised about the same amount to make repairs to the school buildings and furnishings and to buy books and supplies.

“It’s incredible,” he once said.  “Last year I found out that some of these children had never had a cookie before in their life.”

Barker for years put together gift bags for the children and handed them out at a festive assembly dressed as Santa.

You can get in touch with Jay at 416-251-3474 if you can help financially or otherwise.

 

The community is invited on Saturday May 21 to 22 Division Toronto Police Station for an Open House and free barbeque from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 3699 Bloor Street W.

You are invited to come out and have fun and the parking is free. Some of the force’s top brass will be there to talk to.

And, on May 25 residents are invited to LAMP Community Health Centre, on Fifth Street, for a meet and greet with local political candidates running for our area.

There will also be another free barbeque as the candidates are grilled in regards to their plans.

  The Lakeshore Village BIA is proud to announce the return of the 5^th annual Grilled Cheese Challenge, proudly sponsored by Furlani. In support of Women’s Habitat, this dearly missed event will commence on Saturday, June 11, 2022, from 11:00am to 9:00pm along Lakeshore Boulevard West from Islington (Seventh St) to Second St.      

“Let the fun begin. Furlani®, a family-friendly brand, is super excited to be the title sponsor of this year’s Grilled Cheese Challenge, a community event that will bring joy to everyone. “We are proud to be partnering with Women’s Habitat of Etobicoke, an amazing multi-service organization that works hard every day for the women and children in our community, impacted by violence and poverty. Please come by Furlani booth to enjoy some entertainment, and by Women’s Habitat booth to try a new Furlani® grilled cheese sandwich creation. All sandwich proceeds will go to funding their vital programs,” says Jackie Brenkel, Head of Marketing at Furlani Foods.

   “The Grilled Cheese Challenge combines a delicious sandwich with the Lakeshore Village community. It’s been such an amazing experience being able to see not only locals, but everyone getting involved,” says Alison Tunley, board member of the Lakeshore Village BIA.

   As Ontario’s most significant celebration of grilled cheese sandwiches, this year’s festival is projected to attract 28,000+ attendees from Toronto and surrounding communities with exceptional food, live entertainment & special feature programming.

   For a unique incentive, the festival challenges local culinary enthusiasts to create one-of-a-kind grilled cheese sandwiches for a chance to win. There are  three prize categories available and each winner will have the opportunity to select a gift card to a business within the Lakeshore Village BIA.

1. Best Local – $700.00 gift-card voucher
2. Best Home-Away – $700.00 gift-card voucher
3. Most Creative – $300.00 gift-card voucher

So, are you up for the challenge?