Category: Sports

Weston Lions Arena donates $10,000 to food bank

I’m told the  Weston Lions Arena has the best french fries in Toronto—and I’m embarrassed to say I have never tried them. They must be good though, because the volunteer-run snack bar just donated $10,000 in proceeds to Weston Area Emergency Support, the local food bank, despite having the season cut short.
The gracious organizers have a ton of class, too. They wish
to  thank Weston Minor Hockey League and GTA hockey families and teams for their support throughout our 70th season.  All of our Snack Bar workers are Lions club or student volunteers.  All sale proceeds from our coffee, pop and Famous Arena Fries are directed back into the community.

Lions Park Litter Bins Redux

Faithful readers may remember that the garbage and recycling bins in Lions Park have been an issue since the soccer pitch was installed many years ago. The problem is that the people who use the soccer field remove the bins from their stakes and use them as goal posts.

Some liberated bins after use as goalposts.
More litter is a by-product of the bins’ new function.

Toronto’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation department and Toronto’s Solid Waste Management people can’t get their act together to solve this fairly simple problem.

With no bins, more litter is created.

Why not lock the bins to the stakes you ask? This was done as a response to my complaints in 2013. Unfortunately, when the Solid Waste people ‘forget’ to lock bins up after emptying, they go missing. This considerably simplifies their job next time.

This post by the stairs has lost both bins and is a safety hazard for players running past the goal line.
The lock is still there but the recycling bin is gone. The person who placed it there won’t need to bother with the key next time.

Despite my many attempts to get this problem addressed permanently, it seems that no one at either the Parks or Solid Waste divisions cares enough to create a fix and follow up with some long-term supervision.

I’ll be phoning 311 and will follow up with a post-script on this article. Incidentally, if more of us phone 311 when there is a problem in our neck of the woods, we will get more action.

Post Script: A very pleasant gentleman knew the location well (Weston Collegiate Alum) took the details and will be contacting the appropriate people. He told me it will be taken care of within a month.

Pelmo Park Public School gets Jays Grant

Pelmo Park Junior Public school  recieved a grant this week to refurbish the baseball diamond from the Toronto Blue Jays’ charitable arm

The Jays Care Foundation has a “Field of Dreams program [that] provides funding to design, refurbish and build safe spaces for children and youth to play baseball, develop life skills and learn from positive role models.”

The grants are for up to $150,000 and are given nationwide.

 

Johnny Bower day

January 3 was named “Johnny Bower Day” in the city of Toronto, and a celebration was held at the ACC in honour of the Westonian who played 11 seasons with the Maple Leafs.

Bower died on December 26 at the age of 93.

Johnny Bower
From Wikipedia

Johnny Bower dies

Johnny Bower, the four-time Stanley Cup-champion goaltender and former Weston resident, died on December 26 of pneumonia. He was 93.

Bower was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He served in World War 2 as a gunner, and joined the Leafs in 1958.

Bower lived for many years at 16 Patika Avenue, in Weston, and Patika was ceremonially renamed for him in 2014.

Dave Bennett awarded volunteer of excellence award

I can still remember Dave Bennett holding up the cage of my hockey helmet as I ate a hotdog from the snack bar of Weston Arena during an intermission of a Weston Dodgers game. Stories like this one aren’t unique to me as a hockey-playing kid from Weston; I’m sure hundreds of other kids have similar stories about Dave’s compassion and patience at the arena.

From as long as I can remember, Dave has been a tireless volunteer both in the arena and out in the broader community.

Last week Dave was awarded the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education’s Parent Volunteer of Excellence Award for his dedication and advocacy efforts in getting a new school for the students of St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Weston. When I heard about this, I couldn’t think of a better person to receive the award.

Securing the new school has been a successful, but ongoing, fight for Dave and other members of the community for years. Dave had been involved in the advocacy work every step of the way—long before the construction crews broke ground in 2014. I often get Dave to give me updates on the project, and he can tell me every single detail from the nitty-gritty of the floor plan to what’s going on with the construction process. This is just another example of his attentiveness to the “little things” that are often overlooked in community advocacy work.

His patience, dedication, and service to the community is inspiring for Weston. Thanks for all that you do, Dave! Congratulations!