No. 4 • March 2012
Leaside Life
Having new fun on the __ ice P-13
Watch out – they’re soon back on the streets By ANDREA VILLIERS Who meets friends at 5:40 a.m. to cycle 50 kilometres or more and the dash off to work? Leasiders do! Some days there are more than 80 avid cyclists, mostly from Leaside, gearing up at the crack of dawn to cycle as far as Brimley Rd. in Scarborough and back. On Saturdays and Sundays they gather at 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. and travel as much as 100 kilometers in just three hours. This is the Morning Glory Club. Started in 2008 with two members,
the club now has over 430 with a solid active base of well over 200. Members range from the early 20s to 60s. Fraser Chapman, the founder, who lives on Millwood Rd., started cycling for fun and exercise in 2005. He cycled Tuesdays and Thursdays and realized there were lots of others on the road, even in the early mornings. He literally chased down cyclists to form the cycling group. Chapman says, “Every member is very passionate about cycling and every member was a new rider before.”
French immersion students to be bused By ALISON ROCKWELL Owing to over capacity at Northlea, senior kindergarten students from Bessborough entering the French immersion program in September will now be bused to Davisville, a JK to 6 school near Yonge and Davisville. Bessborough students will be joining others from Leaside and the surrounding area, from Rolph Rd., Bennington and Thorncliffe, who have been routed to Davisville. The Toronto District School Board, previously understood to be considering closing the school due to low enrolment, decided four years ago to
open the immersion program at Davisville, which proved to be propitious. Bessborough, due to its close proximity to Northlea, had continued to send its French stream students to the Rumsey Rd. facility, north of Eglinton. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in numbers to the French immersion program over the last few years,” says Alison Pearce, program co-ordinator, French As a Second Language, for the TDSB. “In particular over the last two years we’ve seen that level rise even more.” Provincial mandates cap class sizes in elementary schools at 20, with FRENCH, Page 10
Now the Morning Glory Club welcomes riders whether experienced or novice. The club has some accomplished cyclists. David Frake won a gold medal in 2010 and a silver medal in 2011 at the World Duathlon Championships. Andrew Imrie came 44th overall at the Kona Ironman World Championships last year and was the top Canadian. But don’t let those super stars put you off joining the club. Fraser BIKES, Page 16
COMMENT FRAN MACLURE, a resident of Leaside, has been an LPOA board member, is chair of the Green Committee at Kilgour Estates and a volunteer with Women's Healthy Environments Network.
We’ll now know about gas leaks On Jan. 31, 2007, an employee doing maintenance work using a blow torch ignited a 5-alarm fire, resulting in a burnt out shell warehouse that contained frozen foods. The company was called Coldstor, located on Wicksteed Ave. COMMENT, Page 15