Leaside Life was there first!
Six years ago, our intrepid sports columnist Susan Scandiffio wrote about a high school basketball phenom named…Zach Edey. If we hadn’t heard of him before, we were about to hear a lot more. He was already a multisport athlete who excelled in hockey, baseball and basketball before being drafted by a friend to play basketball for the North Toronto Huskies in October 2017. Despite his initial reluctance and relatively advanced age for starting a serious basketball career, Edey took to the court and, remarkably, was quickly recruited by Team Canada in April of 2018.
As Susan wrote: “If your head is spinning at this moment, let’s do a quick recap. Edey began playing
basketball in October of 2017 and was recruited by Team Canada in April of 2018. As Edey himself says, ‘it’s been quite a ride!’” And it’s a ride Leaside Life has been following since then, as Edey was recruited by Purdue University and was most recently drafted ninth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. Susan has followed his career with more than just a sports columnist’s interest. Zach Edey has been “her” story as she’s watched this phenom go from strength to strength. We’re proud of Leaside’s finest – Zach Edey and Susan Scandiffio, who spotted a story way back and ran with it. n
The great parking-lot protest of 1960
By 1960, Leaside had become a bustling town of more than 16,000 people – double the number of residents who lived there during WWII. As the town grew in population and prosperity, so did two of the key irritants of modern urban life – traffic and parking. The problem was particularly acute along Bayview Avenue and was expected to worsen once the soonto-be-completed Bayview Extension became operational, bringing more cars into the area.
To mitigate the problem, the Traffic and Parking Committee of the Leaside Municipal Council proposed creating two off-street parking lots on the west side of Donegall Drive between Millwood Road and Fleming Crescent. The plan involved expropriating and demolishing between 12 and 20 houses. Upon learning of the proposal, the Donegall homeowners were outraged. They quickly organized to oppose the plan, sending a delegation to the January 1960 meeting of the Leaside Municipal Council.
Ted DeWelles Leaside Heritage Preservation Society
by merchants whose businesses “are here today and gone tomorrow,” the delegation got Council to admit that the whole matter was still being studied and would not be fully considered until April when the final report was tabled.
Over the next few months, the issue intensified as supporters and protesters made their case. One merchant, who was also a Leaside resident, wrote in the Leaside Advertiser (March 17, 1960) that “progress cannot be stopped” and that people need to realize that if “their house is in the way [it] must go.” He further warned that without adequate parking, retail businesses would close, and Bayview Avenue would become a “slum district.”
This enraged the anti-parking lot group, who countered by arguing that the parking lots themselves would create slums – by depressing home values and forcing residents to sell their properties to owners who would be less inclined to maintain them. Especially galling was the
LEASIDE/DAVISVILLE'S REAL ESTATE SPECIALIST
Donegall Dr. residents vote unanimously to fight expropriation of their homes at a strategy meeting.
Jeff Hohner runs with heart
by SUZANNE PARK
After Jeff Hohner, a fit runner of 5Ks, 10Ks and even a full marathon, experienced a cardiac event in his mid-40s while out running, he booked an EKG stress test, like many of his buddies at the urging of their wives. Alarmingly, despite his fitness and healthy lifestyle, Jeff was diagnosed with lifelong heart disease, just like his grandfather.
Jeff, a local businessman and generous community contributor, described his cardiac event. “I’m a level-headed equanimous guy yet I recklessly ignored the signs of an impending heart attack. For the third day in a row, I was feeling fatigued as I ran around Leaside but chalked it up to hunger and dehydration. As I strained to finish my run, now with pain in my arm, trouble breathing, feeling an elephant on my chest, and starting to black out, I knew I had to make it home. Not wanting to cause a scene, I avoided Bayview and took side streets. Finally, I collapsed at home and my kids called the ambulance. The cardiologist put in a few
THE COVER
stents, one in an artery that was 100 per cent blocked. He cautioned me, ‘You survived because you are in such good shape.’ I was lucky and determined to get back to being in the best shape possible.”
The cardiologists weren’t done with Jeff, as it turned out the stents didn’t reach all the damaged heart muscle. Nine months later, in June 2014, he had a triple bypass and got to complete UHN’s world-class cardiac rehab program for a second time.
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Jeff was grateful for a more complete heart repair and the benefits of the rehab experts’ guidance on diet, customized exercise prescriptions, and psycho-social stress management that taught him and his cohort group to cope and thrive.
Jeff is also enthusiastic about a post-program group called Runners With Heart. “It’s the brain-child of the Rehab Centre’s Dr. Paul Oh, and from the start Rob Bertelink (read Leaside Life’s June 2024 article) has been a super-booster. Program graduates Jim Montgomery and Stuart Lee were early adopters and are the group’s leaders. We meet regularly at the Rehab Centre. New graduates might join us as we set off on a walk, run or ride ending with a meal, often at the Leaside Pub.” Asked what they eat, Jeff chuckled, “We’re usually well-behaved in our food choices, especially when any staff join us.” Along with a thousand other volunteers all wearing Apple watches, he is participating in a two-year research project run by senior scientist Dr. Paul Oh. The KITE site reports that “90% of study participants have improved their heart and lung function with daily monitoring and clinician guidance. Monitoring sleep patterns, tracking steps, and heart rates may, in the future, assist doctors in knowing when to intervene and support patients between appointments.”
Jeff likes to share his favourite catch phrase: “After surviving, thrive! Embrace the cardiac rehab program. Take full advantage of all elements of the program, including the annual stress test.” He also urges us to “put a smile on a cardiologist’s face. Stay in shape. Heed warning signs even if you feel it’s just indigestion. Get your heart checked and visit your doctor regularly.” n
SUZANNE
Niloo Saiy PharmD, CDE, RPh Associate-Owner
Anita Kaiser’s lived experience inspires spinal rehab research
by SUZANNE PARK
When’s the last time you checked your tire tread? If you’re like me, never! That was until hearing how low tire tread led to a life altering car crash for Anita Kaiser. Stopping for gas, after smelling rubber, she and her twin sister were reassured by a garage attendant, “Tire pressure is good, tread is low. It’ll get you home but when back, get a full inspection.”
That 400-highway solo car crash, minutes later, resulted in a devastating spinal injury for Anita, a recent bio-chem undergraduate and only 24 years old.
Now this UHN KITE research trainee and University of Toronto Ph.D. candidate will defend her dissertation, “Development and validation of a measurement tool to track participation in activity-based therapy for people living with spinal cord injury or disease,” in September 2024. She shared her medical journey. “I spent four months in hospital getting my breathing and other functions
stabilized, then a year at Lyndhurst, now part of UHN’s Spinal Rehab Centre, surrounded by caring professionals. The program – my rehab boot camp with hours of therapy each day – focused on building strength in muscles that were still innervated and learning adaptive ways of doing things to be as independent as possible.”
When asked, Anita clarified the word ‘innervated.’ “Innervated means my brain and some of the muscles, for example, in my hands were still connecting and communicating so I retained some muscle movement.”
neurorecovery, independence, and quality of life even years after injury.
She continued, “My next research goal, which I am uniquely positioned to investigate, has emerged from my personal experience with a new rehab protocol called Activity Based Therapy aiming for maximum
“An invaluable aspect of the program that enhanced the psychological services was socializing and talking with my peer group.
Facing our individual challenges, we supported each other through setbacks and successes,” she added.
Once she completed the program and moved into her own apartment, she missed the support and had to learn to adjust to a new life in a less accessible world. No more meals delivered on cue. Being alone for hours and facing the reality of things she could not accomplish.
“Even though caring family, friends and rehab supports were in place and deeply appreciated, this was the toughest time…mourning my pre-injury life and facing my reality,” she said. But she did not let her trials deter her. Twelve years after her injury Anita successfully defended her Master’s thesis. “I researched parenting with a spinal cord injury.” She also gave birth to her now teen daughter, thrilling herself and her husband.
She’s also no couch potato. She gives back and is at ease sharing her health journey. “I travelled across Ontario for two years with SmartRisk talking about spinal cord injuries and encouraging high schoolers to be mindful of protecting themselves from injury.”
An avid sportswoman, Anita has certified as a scuba diver, attained her level three sailing rating, swum competitively for three years at the provincial level and enjoyed adaptive water and downhill skiing, horseback riding and biking, remarkably, all since her injury.
Anita offered some sage advice. “We all experience difficulties and may need to realign our priorities. I do have down moments, but when no one’s around to cheer me on, I focus on the positives, being grateful, and then I get going.”
Join Team Leaside Life at UHN’s Sept 8th Rally for Research presented by BMO and meet Anita, an inspiring rehab researcher. n
JOIN Team Leaside Life SEPT 8
It’s just epic for Leaside’s Ken Faier
Steve Hardy Columnist
Ken Faier launched Epic Story
Media six years ago with the goal of creating high-quality entertainment for a young market.
“We create content for kids around the world,” says the 57-year-old Leaside resident, who won a Gemini Award for best animated show, Dragon Booster , on CBC as an executive producer. “I am looking to create magic.”
Epic’s calling card is the wide range of options available to their partners and customers – the flexibility to create content on diverse platforms as well as producing original brands and franchises internationally.
“I call Epic’s army a bit of an ecosystem because we are a 360 company
and we do a lot of the things that anybody who owns a brand is going to want to do,” says Ken, who also shared a Canadian Screen Award in 2018 for another animated series,
Stanley’s White House Meats
Leaside’s Ken Faier is in the business of creating high-quality children’s entertainment.
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.
“We have it all under one roof. We attract the creative community to us to pitch us ideas. For kids’ properties, television shows, the goal is to build them into brands. That’s the core of it.”
Behind everything Epic does is the drive to create options that fit the young market – entertaining and educating along the way. One offering, for instance, centres around a seven-year-old girl learning computer coding.
“I care about kids and I care about what they’re consuming,” says Ken. “We make shows that we sell around the world to broadcasters here in Canada and in the U.S. and Europe. I’m a producer and distributor of television shows.
“We also develop toys and we develop video games as well,” Ken adds. “We’ve got a mobile game studio (in Quebec), we’ve got a studio that develops games for Roblox. I’ve got an operation in Vancouver that does mobile games for kids. And then we’ve got the animation studio in Quebec City with a partner. The goal is what we call 360 properties – a kid loves the show, loves the video game, loves the toys, wants to go to the theme park to experience it.”
An ever-shifting entertainment landscape means Ken and his team must consistently adapt to address
STEVE HARDY
Tour de Thorncliffe. Best. Year. Yet.
by HOLLY REID
The organizers behind the Tour de Thorncliffe were all smiles and high-fives at the grand celebration on July 13th. They had nearly tripled donations from the previous year, hosted five different community events and raffled off almost $3,000 in donated prizes to reward donors and fundraisers. Most importantly, the Thorncliffe Park Autism Support Network (TPASN) secured funding to proceed with offering a summer camp experience, at no cost, to families with children with special needs. The camps began on July 6th and will continue until August 16th.
“We are overjoyed by the support we have received this year – from businesses, from community organizations, from members of our community – it makes a tremendous difference knowing we have the means to continue these camps, so vital for the children and for their families, right through the summer,” said Dr. Shakhlo Sharipova, lead organizer and executive director of TPASN.
Najia Zewari, founder of the Women’s Cycling Network, which
CYCLING IN LEASIDE
partners with TPASN on this event, noted, “This grassroots collaboration is in its fourth year and people are seeing that we are a going concern and force of good in our community, bringing people together to enjoy cycling and do something positive for others.”
Where does the money go?
Like all summer day camps, children attending require supervision, activities and nutritious meals and snacks. At this camp, more than half of children attending require one-on-one assistance. “We recruit and train volunteers from the community to assist these children with feeding, toileting, participation in activities and self-regulation. This is not an easy job but it is very rewarding. We couldn’t offer these camps without our volunteers and they each receive an honorarium in recognition of their work,” explained Dr. Sharipova.
Additionally, children receive breakfast and lunch as well as healthy snacks, mostly through a purchase from local caterers and the Park Cafe. Facilities, special needs educators, activities, programming and outings make up the rest of the budget.
How did the community step up?
Local businesses and organizations were invited to be a “community collaborator,” and summer students and organizers approached local retailers for raffle prizes. The organizers were looking for two streams of support – one from businesses and organizations to donate directly as an event collaborator, and one from people who fundraised or made a donation. Leaside Life was among the community collaborators and also donated raffle prizes. The raffle prizes were an incentive for fundraisers and donors as well as a reason to attend the grand celebration. Raffle winners could choose their prize from a wide array of donated goods, including bikes, helmets, housewares, beauty supplies, gift cards and Bike Share annual passes.
Seeing the benefits in the children
The Tour de Thorncliffe provides a reason for the community to get together and participate in cycling activities but the true value of the event is evident in the camps it
MINGSZE HO
Camper Awais and the camp’s Zumba instructor, Lucita, show off their raffle wins at the Tour de Thorncliffe Grand Celebration on July 13th.
Children’s Garden School gives kids a voice
by LORNA KRAWCHUK
Marie Bates was working as a trained teacher at a Montessori school in Toronto, but as she says, “I thought I could do it better – I was in my 20s.” So, in 1986, off she went to comb through Statistics Canada information to look for Toronto neighbourhoods with growing numbers of children and a certain amount of disposable income. One neighbourhood she identified was Leaside, a community not unfamiliar to her as an East Yorker. She and a fellow teacher, and new business partner, went in search of premises in Leaside and found St. Augustine Anglican Church on Bayview. When the school first opened, it had only two students, but as word of a quality new school in the neighbourhood spread, enrolment quickly grew. In fact, it grew sufficiently such that in 1996, when The Junior Academy left Leaside Presbyterian Church for their
Now, Children’s Garden School, or CGS, operates only out of
youth with disabilities. You can make a difference by providing support in program areas such as:
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Grades 3 or 4 for both boys and girls. Marie is officially co-founder and principal, while one of her key fellow administrators, Joan Bowman, director of admission and parent engagement, comes with a Reggio Emilia background in early childhood education.
Marie believes that the enriched education at her school does an excellent job of preparing children to continue in the private school system above the grade levels CGS offers, or to move seamlessly into the public system. “The children are given a lot of opportunities and are confident and ready for success wherever they go.”
Pre-school and Junior Kindergarten can be half or full day. Senior Kindergarten and Grades 1-3 or 4 are full day. In addition to individual grade teachers, CGS features specialists in art, physical education, French, drama and learning strategies. There is even a daily hot lunch program courtesy of a partnership with Real Food For Real Kids. CGS is also home to some students with special needs, who benefit from the school’s programming. The approach the school uses is obviously working. There are now students in the school whose parents were graduates. Marie and her staff believe in “respect and rules,” she says. “You show respect and expect to be given respect. Children are given a voice.” n
DANA KORBA/DANA LEIGH PORTRAITS
Summer is the season for building go-carts
I’ve written in this space before about my adolescent interest in things that fly, including planes, gliders, rockets, and hovercrafts. But part of that interest also touched on speed. I loved to go fast. I remember sitting in the back seat of the family Ford station wagon with the window down, as we drove north to the cottage on Highway 69. The rushing air hitting my face, the telephone poles whizzing by, the cars flashing past us in the opposite direction…. I just loved the feeling of speed. Back in those days, I was never happier than when out riding my bike through Leaside’s quiet streets at breakneck velocity, leaning down low as I zoomed through the corners. And yes, that was long before the idea of bike helmets had ever occurred to the grownups, let alone to us kids. What were we thinking? I realize I’ve been less than honest in the previous paragraph. There were moments when I was happier doing something other than riding my bike –and most of them involved homemade go-carts. For a while, my twin brother Tim and I were kind of obsessed with
Terry Fallis Columnist
go-carts. And to be clear, I don’t mean those motorized versions made from tubular steel and featuring a padded seat, steering-wheel, a centrifugal clutch, and rubber tires. We would have loved a go-cart like that, but they were well beyond our reach at that age. No, I mean the classic wooden chassis, wheels ripped from old red wagons, steering actuated by pulling on ropes, and locomotion achieved by someone else pushing you using a broken hockey stick. You know, go-carts! Oh, and still no one thought about helmets. Again, I ask, “What were we thinking?”
In our neighbourhood around Parkhurst and Donegall, Tim and I, and several of our friends all had go-carts. I’m not sure how many we built over the years. They’ve
all blended together in my hazy memory. But I do recall one in particular that was built out of an old door I’d found in our basement. I made four less-than-straight cuts with a handsaw to bring it down to the right size. (No power tools for me!) I’d saved up my babysitting dough and spent it at Canadian Tire buying four brand new wheels – larger ones for the back, and smaller ones for the front – and a couple of axles. Back home in our furnace room workshop, I assembled it as best I could, using both scraps of knowledge I’d gained in my Grade 8 Industrial Arts class. I fashioned a padded seat along with a backrest of sorts and introduced an innovative new steering mechanism using a bicycle sprocket, chain and two elastic shock-cords, and a makeshift rectangular steering wheel fabricated by screwing together several pieces of 1” x 1” pine strapping. I confess, my steering innovation never really caught on, largely because it didn’t work nearly as well as the old and reliable technique of pulling on rope.
But it was fast. I remember convening a go-cart rally in what was then known as the girls’ schoolyard at Bessborough. There were probably four or five neighbourhood go-carts that congregated in the schoolyard that Saturday afternoon. We set up a rudimentary course, following the path charted by newly tarred sections of the schoolyard’s pavement. It was soooo smoooooth. We felt like we were on the Bonneville Salt Flats minus the sonic booms. Of course, most of the go-carts broke down at some point that afternoon. And by break down, I mean a wheel fell off, or an axle broke, or the wood in the chassis split. I think I remember pulling the steering wheel right off my go-cart while at speed. That was not helpful. It was hard enough controlling the thing with the steering wheel.
But more than anything else, I remember the excitement we all felt when building our speed-machines and then testing them to put the “go” in go-carts. It gave us all a strong sense of accomplishment that even lingered after detaching my steering wheel and careening into the brick wall of Bessborough School. I just remember how fun it all was… though I lived in fear that my dad would need that door one day and go looking for it in the basement. n
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Leaside’s own Zach Edey powers into the NBA
by SUSAN SCANDIFFIO
Look out, Memphis Grizzlies! You’ve just signed a Leaside powerhouse. From M4G to 38103, Zach Edey has leaped, jumped, and scored through several postal and zip codes to end up where he is today – in the BIG leagues.
The 22-year-old Leasider began playing house league basketball in Grade 10 at the relatively late age of 16, but within just six months was a member of Canada’s U17 national squad. His rapid climb up the basketball ladder had only just begun.
Recruited to play his final two years of high school basketball at IMG Academy in Florida, Edey soon had multiple offers to play D1 college ball, ultimately choosing to continue his journey with Purdue University in Indiana.
To say that his college basketball career was outstanding would be like saying Leaside never faces traffic issues. Or that Edey is just… tall, at 7’4”. He quickly silenced critics who proclaimed at the outset of his career that his talent lay solely in his height.
Edey’s college basketball accomplishments include leading his team, the Purdue Boilermakers, to the NCAA championship this past spring. Additionally, he was named National College Player of the Year in his last two years of play becoming the first player to win the award in back-toback seasons in over 40 years. Edey was also named the Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year in those seasons, the league’s leading scorer in his last year, and smashed several Purdue and league records along the way. And on June 26th, Edey’s hard work and dominant play led to his being drafted ninth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA – an incredible feat to break into the top 10.
NBA players who have been drafted in the same position over the years include such superstars as DeMar DeRozan, Dirk Nowitzki, Amar’e Stoudemire, Andre Iguodala and Tracy McGrady.
With Edey’s commitment to improving his game, there’s no question that he too will be a household name in no time. Best of all, he’s our hometown hero. n
ENTER TO WIN
ONE OF TWO XL ZACH EDEY MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
OFFICIAL #14 JERSEYS!
One winner will be selected by random ballot to a reader who emails us their name and telephone number to leasidelife@gmail.com and answers this skill-testing question: How tall is Zach Edey?
To win the second jersey, like or follow us on Facebook or Instagram and “like” the contest post by the deadline of 11:59pm, August 30, 2024.
Zach at Rolph Road Public School
Readers can enter both the email and social contests for 2 chances to win. The winners will be drawn and notified on August 31st, 2024. For full contest rules and eligibility visit leasidelife.com/ contests.
ZACH EDEY
Memphis Grizzlies #14, Centre
HT/WT: 7’ 4”, 300 lbs
BIRTH DATE: 3/14/2002 (22)
Toronto, Canada
EDUCATION: Rolph Road PS, Bessborough Middle School, Leaside High, IMG Academy
COLLEGE: Purdue
NBA DRAFT INFO: 2024, Round 1, Pick 9.
AWARDS:
2x AP Player of the Year
2x NABC Player of the Year
2x Wooden Award
2x Naismith Award
1st Team AP All-American
2x 1st Team AP All-American 2x Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award
Ever think of adding a pond to your patch of paradise? I have!
Mother Nature creates the most elegant ecosystems, and perhaps one of her most enchanting is the pond. This is where rock, soil and water join forces to support life in extraordinary ways. A pond is productive, efficient and for some unknown reason, can magically mesmerize one into a state of bliss. Naturally, I’ve always wanted one.
But I’ve also wondered, would I just be creating a summer spa for raccoons and a mini swamp to breed more mosquitoes? I really needed more info on ponds.
Back in June, on a perfect sunny Saturday, the Leaside Garden Society showcased nine beautiful gardens. And that’s where I saw two spectacular garden ponds.
This was my chance to get the real scoop on ponds, because these beauties were in the gardens of two prominent LGS members.
The Barry Schneider pond Barry has been a dedicated and extremely active member of the
The Leaside Gardener
Debora Kuchme Columnist
LGS for a very long time. This year he received a well-deserved volunteer award from the Ontario Horticultural Society.
In the late 1990s, Barry decided to make better use of his backyard, and hired a well-known Leaside landscape company to create a patio surrounded by an enlarged garden that included a pond and waterfall.
But soon, Barry’s dream became a nightmare when the raccoons ate the fish, destroyed the plants, and the waterfall deteriorated.
So, with all of his gardening knowhow, Barry decided to do the work himself. He turned the waterfall into a raised garden, then dug out the pond, and installed a moulded one that included a sprinkler. Now, there is always moving water and because there are no plants or fish, raccoons are no longer a problem.
“The sound of water is so relaxing,” Barry says, and “I enjoy the splatters of rain on the surface and the glistening of the fountain when the sun shines on it.”
His pond requires draining in the fall and after the snow melts in the spring, along with a weekly cleaning (using a scoop net) to remove fallen leaves and other debris.
Sounds like a lot of work to me, but not for Barry, who says, “It’s really not much work for the five to six-month season when I get to enjoy it.”
The Joanna Blanchard pond
Joanna, who has been co-president of the Leaside Garden Society for many years, knows a lot about horticulture. Both her parents were botanists and she grew up learning the Latin names of plants.
Around 20 years ago, Joanna had her pond installed, and says, “I envisioned sitting on the patio sipping coffee and hearing the gentle sound of running water.”
But over the years, surrounding trees grew to block the sun, and so her pond can no longer support the water-lilies it once did. Now she stocks it with water hyacinths every year. “I know they are considered an invasive species in some U.S. states, but they are not frost-hardy, and end up in the compost in the fall and rot down nicely,” she adds.
Her pond is deep enough to accommodate goldfish, and some have managed to survive for the last three years. And if they don’t, Joanna simply buys more at the pet store. “I know it sounds mean, but in a way, I consider them to be like annuals.”
Her pond is covered most of the time, to keep raccoons and herons out, and only uncovered when entertaining special ‘human’ guests.
According to Joanna, the biggest challenges now are finding pond supplies. “We used to be able to get water hyacinths at several plant nurseries and even big-box stores, but over the years this has ceased to be the case.”
Do I still want a garden pond? The answer is more complicated than I had thought.
Yes, I will always be drawn to the beauty and serenity of a pond. And I will always be fascinated by the intricate harmonies of life energies that nature blends so perfectly. But unless I can make one like Mother Nature, I think I’ll just enjoy my simple water fountain for now. n
Barry’s pond
Joanna’s pond
Stellar students. LHS’s top graduates of 2024
by JANIS FERTUCK
Congratulations to Leaside High School’s graduating class of 2024, who began high school “during an extraordinarily challenging time,” says Jonathan LeFresne, guidance counsellor and organizer of the scholarship committee as well as assistant curriculum leader of English and literacy.
The students “were masked, had to pivot between in-person and online school with no sports and few activities,” he adds. But as things slowly returned to normal, the students “jumped into all the possibilities – excelling at sports and joining a record number of clubs, putting on performances, winning competitions and contributing to their communities in countless ways.”
They deserve a great deal of credit as they head off to exciting post-secondary endeavours. Let’s meet five of these outstanding students:
Hanna Ekrami
With a final average of 97%, Hanna Ekrami will be studying health sci-
ences at Queen’s University. She hopes to go to medical school after that to become a psychiatrist dedicated to helping reduce the stigma around mental health.
Hanna has earned various awards in mathematics and STEM. She also received a gold medal in the 2023 Toronto Science Fair as well as the Grade 12 chemistry award.
In addition, Hanna was a leader on the mental health and wellness committee, serving as the events coordinator and vice-president, planning school initiatives and organizing events. She also did peer tutoring in math.
Outside school, Hanna dedicated her past two summers to volunteering at St. Michael’s Hospital in the neurosurgery and hemodialysis units. Other activities include health sciences competitions and work with Reena, an organization supporting people with developmental disabilities. Thanks
to these experiences, Hanna won the J. W. Kerr Citizenship Award for selfless contributions to her community.
Since moving to Leaside from Iran as a child, Hanna has appreciated the support she received here, which has enabled her to grow.
Nevin Katkic
Nevin Katkic will be taking mechanical engineering at Western University next year. His final average of 91%, his earlier subject awards in business and engineering and his passion for robotics have all played a role in his choice of university program.
For the past two years, Nevin has been the captain of the robotics team, managing various aspects of their program as well as overseeing different groups and teams and liaising with the staff. He enjoyed working with a group focused on innovation and problem-solving, and, as a result of their achievements, the team received the King Charles III Excellence in Community Service Award for outstanding contributions.
Nevin has also been a robotics volunteer at Holland Bloorview where he worked on building and programming Lego robots for children with special needs. Other science-related activities include participating in the Beaver Computing Challenge and winning a bronze medal in the Toronto Science Fair.
Taekwondo is another of Nevin’s passions. He earned his black belt at Synergy Martial Arts Academy where he also teaches classes, acts as a camp counsellor and creates robotics programming for summer camp students.
With all of these experiences, Nevin plans to continue his efforts to create positive change in his community.
Rhea Katyal
Rhea Katyal is Leaside’s recipient of the University of Toronto National Book Award, which recognizes students who excel in academic pursuits and intellectual exploration and are strongly involved
in their schools and communities. With an average of 95%, she also received a Western University Entrance Scholarship of Distinction and will be taking political science there before pursuing a joint business and law degree.
Rhea’s interest in business was fueled by her role as the co-founder and co-leader of the Women in Business Club, which led to her summer internship at Canaccord Genuity, an investment bank and financial services company. Other school activities included the French, Spanish and newspaper clubs.
Another of Rhea’s passions is politics and government. She was selected as the sole high school representative from Don Valley West to the Ontario Legislative Assembly’s Model Parliament program in November 2023. Before that, she was selected as a legislative page. It is not surprising that she received the Member of Parliament Citizenship Award for her leadership and community involvement.
Rhea also volunteered at Sunnybrook Hospital and Holland Bloorview and played hockey and baseball locally, again demon strating her commitment to her community.
Sarah Sakac
While Sarah Sakac has a wide array of interests, she has settled on engineering at Queen’s University. Throughout her time at Leaside High, she won a number of awards for excellence in mathematics and STEM and plans to pursue further education in business or law, but with her many talents and 94% average, is open to other career paths.
Excellence in Performance.
Sarah praises her school for its extensive variety of courses and activities that enabled her to pursue both her “science-centric passion” and her love of the arts, creating an “unforgettable” experience and helping her to become a ”wellrounded person.”
Arnav Shah
With an average of 98%, Arnav Shah will be taking computer science at the University of Toronto next year. He is already an AI researcher after working for the past two years with mentors at OpenAI, a leading AI research company responsible for the creation of the website ChatGPT.
Other outstanding accomplishments include Arnav’s work as the youngest software engineering intern at IBM Canada, and as the head of AI research at clinical stage biotech startup HelixNano where he has been building vaccines against cancer for the past year.
Sarah also won awards for excellence in law, English and drama. This dedicated member of the drama club has a particular affinity for theatre and performance and was the leading performer in three different Leaside productions. She also attended musical theatre intensive camps hosted by the Stratford Festival. She was in the choir and served as a peer tutor where she discovered that she loves teaching others new skills. With all of these experiences to her name, it’s no surprise she was the recipient of the Jim Tuck Award for Creativity as well as the Drama Award for
One of his first projects was the Crosswalk Company where he and two friends from Northlea initiated the use of orange flags at Leaside intersections to increase pedestrian visibility after the Georgia Walsh tragedy.
Arnav explains that he was inspired to contribute to biotechnology by his own experience with a rare form of leukemia which is now being treated successfully with a new breakthrough medicine. He is determined to conquer cancer so that other children will not have to suffer. Arnav was the recipient of the Hartley Family Scholarship for students facing special challenges and the Grade 12 mathematics award.
These exceptional students agree that LHS provided them with a close-knit community and an excellent learning environment. They are grateful for the care and concern of the dedicated staff helping them to achieve their best, and for the variety of courses and extracurricular activities allowing them to explore and develop new interests. We applaud their accomplishments and wish them every success in the future. n
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PARKING From Page 3
view that expropriation was an inevitable result of progress. Donegall Drive resident Frank Comper angrily responded: “Private Interests … have no right to even suggest that they may forcibly divest homeowners of their properties.”
By the end of March, the parking lot protest had gathered such momentum that when its leaders called for a strategy session at the Leaside municipal building on McRae, more than 150 people attended. There, the protesters resolved to take the following steps to fight the plan: hire a lawyer to launch legal proceedings if necessary; stage mass demonstrations at all municipal council meetings; vote against any town councillor who supported the proposal; boycott Leaside businesses which supported the plan; run ads against the plan and demand a referendum.
Armed with these resolutions, over 500 people ( Globe & Mail , April 13, 1960) arrived at Leaside High School auditorium on April 12 to hear the final planning board report and challenge the expropriations. The meeting exploded when it was reported that each homeowner would receive $15,000 in compensation. “You can’t buy a rat hole in Leaside for $15,000,” yelled one angry spectator. More than a dozen homeowners spoke against expropriation – one of whom threatened dire consequences for any elected official in Leaside who supported the plan. “The road is littered with the political corpses of those who got out of touch with what the people want” (Toronto Star, April 13, 1960).
This warning had an impact on Leaside Mayor Charles Hiscott and the other town councillors at the meeting. The following week, they unanimously voted to prohibit expropriation of homes for parking lots. The people had spoken. n
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by MITCH BUBULJ
In praise of older semis
It all began with the semi. Lest we forget from whence we came, Leaside was first and foremost a factory town. And just one year into its incorporated young life, Leaside got its first housing – factory housing – and these domiciles were simple and they were semis. During the housing boom of the ’30s and ’40s, more semis were built from Randolph to Glenvale using higher end materials with touches of Tudor and Georgian styling, but still offering sensible affordable alternatives. In fact, Leaside in its early days had a range of housing options – bungalows, semi-bungalows, detached two-storey houses, walk-up apartments and flats above the shops on Millwood, Eglinton and Bayview –that allowed for a diverse socio-economic population.
In 1913 Canada Wire and Cable intended to build 100 worker homes; in the end 68 were built, all still standing. With the exception of four detached homes, they were double dwellings built of red brick – 239/241
LAYERS OF LEASIDE
Airdrie in the same bright red brick used to build the factory on Wicksteed – with front covered porches and little in the way of embellishment. They were good solid proletarian homes made available to the workers for $12 a month to rent, $2,500 to buy. At the time workers earned $18 a week. The scheme fitted nicely with the Garden
City movement which inspired the man who laid out Leaside: Frederick Gage Todd. Factories would co-exist with homes, shops and parkland. A nice altruistic company move, maybe, but it was also great for productivity since workers were rarely late for work. Hundreds of semis were built in South and North Leaside. Hugh Walker built both two-storey and bungalow semis in the late ’30s on Randolph, Sutherland, Airdrie, Rumsey, Parkhurst and Baird (now Crofton). His two-storey properties are distinctive; the bathroom windows are octagonal and leaded. I call them stop sign windows. I was born and raised in one of his semis on Airdrie; incidentally my best friend Richard lived at 256 Airdrie, a Canada Wire and Cable house. I remember in 1972 his dad pulling down the large covered front porch and painting the brick brown (now white). We found a 1913 penny (as large as a toonie) among the debris. Walker became so successful he purchased land on Yonge Street in the Rosedale/Moore Park area and built Aeneas Court Apartments in 1941, incorporating the distinctive “stop sign” bathroom window into the three-storey complex.
Another prolific builder of semis was Arthur Slightham. His homes were slightly larger than the rest and featured six large principal rooms and panelled dining areas; brand new they sold for $4,750. They still stand proudly on Randolph, Sutherland, Broadway, Divadale and Donlea.
It was reported in a Toronto Star article from 1935 about semis being built in Leaside that “the dividing walls will be soundproof.” For the most part I recall that was true, but every now and then we heard some rousing shouting matches. Our neighbours were far too polite to comment on my two brothers and my practising on our musical instruments when in the Bessborough band – we had all chosen the trumpet.
The popularity of the Leaside semi has endured; new owners have enlarged and modified them in creative ways but they remain in situ. They are good news from a built heritage perspective since they are hard to tear down; you’d need to own both sides. Environmentally they make a lot of sense since you share heating costs with your neighbour on the other side of the adjoining wall. And they compel folks to be good neighbours. n
Mitch on the left with his dad and brother.
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Bargaining in bad faith, abuse of process and ...
Just say no! This was the message from Leaside to the North York Committee of Adjustment in each of 71 written submissions (yes, I counted them) in opposition to –and none in support of – the application for “minor variances” at 1837-1845 Bayview Ave., on the southeast quadrant at Bayview and Broadway, to be heard on July 18th. Sadly, they fell on deaf ears as the minor variances were granted. Just a sample of the comments:
• I oppose this obscene development in the strongest way possible. The proposed building is far too high, entirely out of scale and inappropriate for this neighbourhood. It will completely destroy any sense of character and community….;
• The entire approval and appeals process that this development has gone through is a mockery of decency, fairness and proper civic process;
• The agreement reached in July 2023 should be honoured and no further adjustments to the building height approved;
• The process for granting a minor
Geoff Kettel Saving old Leaside
variance should consider the collective voice of the community. Many residents, including myself, feel that this variance is not minor and warrants a more thorough review and community consultation;
• The variances requested will have significant negative impacts on our neighbourhood…increased travel times, reduced pedestrian safety, increased waste production, greater strain on local utilities and the educational system and a general decline in the quality of life for residents.
A quick review of how we got here
• July 2019. The Province approved OPA 405 (the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan) permitting 20-35
storeys in the Bayview Focus Area . This new height range overruled the City-adopted plan which permitted eight storeys, but came with some legacy conditions from the City-adopted plan.
• 2021. Developer Gupta Group made an application for a 25-storey mixed use building and subsequently appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).
• July 2023. A mediated settlement was reached between the applicant, the City of Toronto, and Bayview Broadway Better Planning Inc. (BBBPI) residents’ group and approved by the OLT. A key provision of the OLT settlement was to reduce the height of the building to 22 storeys from the originally proposed 25 storeys.
• On April 29, 2024, the developer submitted a Committee of Adjustment application for a “minor variance” – for an additional 5 storeys (to 27 storeys) above the OLT- and Cityapproved mediated settlement.
• On June 24, 2024, the application
written submissions to the Committee of Adjustment make essentially similar points of objection:
•
• 25-storey height for the subject proposal would run counter to the approved Official Plan policies. If 20-35 storeys are accepted as of right anywhere within the Focus Area
sive density, plus situations where tall buildings immediately abut low density development with minimal transition.
this really “minor”? The amended application for 25 storeys rep resents an additional 33 units over the number approved by the OLT and the City of Toronto. For comparison’s sake, this unit increase above permitted is similar to the number of units expected from a six-storey building on a major street, as recently approved by City Council! But where are the studies of the traffic, school, and community services impacts? And how peremptory is a hearing by the committee having to deal with 30 other applications (most of which by comparison are truly minor) that day? Which brings us back to the basic question of process – why is this application here?
This application has obviously hit a chord in Leaside – for the second time – as the first time led to the formation of BBBPI residents’ group. This type of application has been springing up elsewhere in Toronto, and it’s high time the City took action – since the Province is evidently not willing to do so. n
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Ruth & Harry Goldhar Journalism Award recipient named
Congratulations to Maya Guida, recipient of the third annual Ruth & Harry Goldhar Journalism Award, presented at the Leaside High School commencement ceremonies in June. Sponsored by Leaside Life this year’s $1,000 schol arship fittingly goes to a writer with the school paper, who has entered short story contests, and plans on a career in journalism and/or law after pursuing an undergraduate degree in arts at Dalhousie, where she has received an entrance scholarship. Maya will also be getting an Honours Certificate of Extended French and a Certificate of Completion of three Spanish courses (the most Leaside High offers).
her time in this class and throughout her high school career, she has shown herself to be a creative, conscientious, critical-thinking, and exceptionally driven student.
As LHS Music/English teacher Lauren Simmons wrote in support of Maya Guida: “I taught Maya in Grade 12 Writer’s Craft class at Leaside High School. Throughout
“Maya has consistently achieved high marks in her studies. In Grade 12 Writer’s Craft, she analyzed texts with considerable skill and wrote at a very high level. Her short fiction showed great command of the narrative craft, her poetry showed creativity in a variety of forms, and her non-fiction writing balanced personal reflection and bigger-picture perspectives artfully. She was an active participant in class discussions and gave rich feedback to her peers. In all areas, Maya achieves high marks due to her consistent effort and constant desire to improve, an approach that will certainly serve her well in her post-secondary education.” n
evolving consumer habits. The company’s mobile games exceed 100 million downloads.
“Technology has changed since the iPhone and YouTube came out and changed the kids’ business,” says Ken. “Kids primarily are spending time on YouTube and Roblox, so those are two areas that we’re active in. Roblox is interesting. It’s multiplayer and there are almost 80 million people a day playing on it and there are millions of games. So, you can go with your friends –digital versions of yourselves – jump into a game together and just hang out, talk or text or communicate.”
The challenges are many when conceptualizing, financing and creating content for a digital-savvy generation of kids to whom network television is increasingly archaic.
“This generation grew up without TV,” says Ken. “They picked their own content. They curated themselves.”
Epic Story Media’s YouTube channels, including the main channel, Epic Story Jr., have more than 100 million pageviews and over 200,000 subscribers.
Although much of his work concerns the business side, Ken relishes the chance to dive into the creative space.
“We’re a creator-driven company,” he says. “That’s the part I love the most, is being a partner to creators. I call them wild stallions.” n
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Comments, Letters to the Editor, Advertising Enquiries: Contact: 416-504-8047 ext. 120 leasidelifepublishing@gmail.com • leasidelife@gmail.com Published monthly in Leaside, Toronto, ON. Circulation 10,000 to every home and business in Leaside & Bennington Heights
The Leaside Residents Association hopes you are enjoying a relaxing and tranquil summer. But beware! Our summer is likely to get busier any minute now. Soon we will approach Don Valley West’s November 4th byelection for city councillor to replace the late Jaye Robinson. Nominations have already begun. If you are thinking of running, you have until September 19 to put your name forward.
The LRA is discussing holding an all candidates debate between that date and election day, either in conjunction with several other Ward 15 residents’ groups or on our own. It could be in-person, virtual, or hybrid. Stay tuned for further details as the time nears, and watch this column.
TTC update
I received a lot of reader feedback to my recent Leaside Life column on the breakdown of communications from the TTC during the lengthy Moore Avenue sinkhole repair process.
Notification of Moore Avenue’s closure did not appear on the TTC’s website for weeks. Street signage only arrived after the roadwork had
Summer updates
Carol Burtin Fripp Co-president, LRA
begun. The Route 88 South Leaside bus was diverted in a variety of ways, but posted signage was unclear, and TTC route apps were not updated with any information.
Leasiders didn’t know where to go to catch the bus, and reported that temporary bus stop signs were appearing in odd places. Several related standing at one of the signs only to discover that the bus sometimes didn’t stop there, but was instead running on a parallel street.
One Leasider told me that some buses appeared to be driving around the neighbourhood like taxis looking for a fare.
In short, much confusion, many delays and inconveniences, and traffic congestion. Also disappointing, as timely and clearer communication with riders and the public would have significantly improved
the situation.
I report this as a strong supporter of public transit and the TTC, both as a transit user and, in my LRA role, as a participant in several TTC service review committees. TTC staff and the LRA worked well together to test and implement the then new 28 South Bayview bus to serve Leasiders. I urge the TTC to use this experience as a lesson to develop better ways of improving their public communication process.
Sad news
I regret to inform you that Karl Jaffary has died. Karl was the LRA’s (then LPOA’s) lawyer during our twoyear long fight to preserve the heritage-designated Talbot Apartments on Bayview Avenue just north of Sutherland Drive. Demolition of the Talbot buildings would have been a tragic loss to Leaside’s housing, architecture and history, and a dangerous precedent for Leaside’s residential stability. We were successful at the Ontario Municipal Board and then at divisional court in 2010. The OMB decision has been hailed as an important landmark decision by the conservation community. Karl was key to that victory. He was great to work with, an impressive lawyer and very nice man.
The LRA board of directors meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, at the Trace Manes building on Rumsey, just south of Leaside Library. You are welcome to join us there. Our next meeting is on Aug. 7th. For more details and updates between now and then, or to become an LRA member, visit leasideresidents.ca and press the Contact Us button, or see leasideresidents.ca/contact-us. n
TOUR From Page 10
funds. These camps are a lifeline for local families with children with special needs. As one parent explained, “We are newcomers, and discovering accessible summer camp for kids with disability was a big surprise for us, and we completely melted when we found out that it is a community effort which makes it also affordable.”
There’s still time to contribute to this great cause. Donations can be made up to August 15th at tourdethorncliffe.ca. n
