Robberies stun area café owners By Lara O’Keefe
Volume 46 No. 20
January 10, 2017
A NUMBER of East End café owners have spent the last several weeks picking up the pieces following a series of break-ins. The spate of robberies began late in 2016, first hitting Lazy Daisy Café on Gerrard Street East where thieves removed the cash box and stole nearly $3,000 in cash. Further west, favourites Grinder, Te Aro and Ashdale Brunch and Espresso were also robbed. Recently, the incidents have moved east, with a thief smashing the glass door at the Scarborough Road Savoury Grounds location overnight January 2. Days later, residents were shocked to discover yet another
break-in at the Beaches Bake Shop on Kingston Road. While the major crime office of the Toronto Police are currently investigating the incidents, media relations officer, Caroline de Kloet said late last week that “there are no leads at this time.” In the meantime, area cafés are on the alert and remaining vigilant with some such as Grinder on Main, posting new signs in their front windows to inform customers, as well as potential offenders, that there is no cash kept on premises. Owner James Feistner said their hope is that without any cash on premises “the worst that happens is our door gets smashed and we have some glass to clean up ... I don’t know if there’s anything we can do aside from keeping cameras and signs up.”
PHOTO: PHIL LAMEIRA
Chasing the puck for charity Neil McNeil’s Mike Workinton chases Malvern’s Morgan Williams during a charity hockey match on December 22 at Ted Reeve Arena. The event raised over $800 for Community Centre 55’s Share A Christmas program. For more on the match, see Page 23.
SickKids campaign brings Elina back to the Beach - virtually By Lara O’Keefe
LIFE CAN change in a split second and for Elina Anker, it did. Less than two months ago, Elina went from being a happy-go-lucky Grade 8 student at St. John Catholic School to spending her days being treated for stage three diffuse large B cell lymphoma at SickKids hospital. Elina’s symptoms first appeared as stomach cramps but after a visit to the hospital, it quickly became clear the situation was more dire than anyone had anticipated. She’s been receiving treatment since. But it seems the new year has brought with it some positive news for the Anker’s. According to Elina’s mom, Dina, they recently learned “there are no signs of visible tumour left.” While this is good news, Elina’s not quite at the finish line. “She has one more round of chemo to complete,” she said. “The
tumour is gone but the B cells are throughout her entire body so, you know it’s [in] her blood. It just takes one broke cell for it to reoccur, so even though it’s gone they still have to continue to treat her and monitor her.” According to Dina, the last round will be about 28 days because the
body has to first naturally recover its white blood cells and neutrophils – a type of white blood cell that aids the immune system by fighting off infection. Once the healing has occurred, they can tackle the last round of chemotherapy. In the meantime, Dina said the two have been over-
PHOTO: SICKKIDS
Elina Anker laughs as she removes the Samsung Gear Virtual Reality headset after viewing her life back home in 3D.
whelmed by the support they’ve received. “You don’t know you’re gonna be in this situation until you’re in it,” she said. “That’s the thing people should know – the Beaches community and Upper Beaches community and the area itself is very supportive when they realize people need help and support. That’s the part I learned and [Elina] realized as well.” Parents and students in the area have been there for the pair throughout the whole ordeal, offering clothing items, bringing the family meals, coming by for visits and even bringing art supplies to help take Elina’s mind off of her fight. And St. John school didn’t stop their support after a fundraiser for Elina they held back in November. They set up a visitation schedule so that Elina could spend plenty of time with her friends over the holidays.
“Throughout Christmas she’s had a really great chance to have a lot of those friends spend time with her. Since it’s just my daughter and I, it’s nice that those friends have come over and entertained her. I mean, her and I have been together for...you know, this long a time and I think she needs a break from me at some point,” Dina chuckled as she continued, saying “she also needs that continued kid time.” Dina also explained that SickKids Hospital has been pivotal in not only providing Elina with the best possible treatment during her illness, but some pretty amazing experiences as well. She’s been able to meet celebrities including Busy Phillips, cast members from Dirty Little Liars and The Vampire Diaries, and over the holidays, “they kept saying they had some surprise for her,” said Dina. Continued on Page 4