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Vol. 43 No. 2
February 2006
Vandalism & Community Safety Markland Wood Country Club Wednesday, February 22nd, 7 - 9:30 p.m. MHA
is hosting this 2nd Community meeting All are welcome to attend “It is our objective, as a community, to deal with these issues now, before they get out of hand. Please do your part and give us a hand to keep Markland Wood the community of choice it has always been. We look forward to seeing you on the 22nd”. In
this issue: President’s Update Vandalism
& Community Safety Update
on the Proposed Natural Gas Power Plant From Tom’s Desk Update from the Environment
Committee MHA Webmaster’s Report Update
from the Positively Promoting Markland (PPM) Committee: School News: Church
News Hats Off People
and Places Anna’s
Recipes: Cod with Fennel and Onion Community
Classified Visit our new website at: www.marklandwood.org Airport Noise complaints: 416-247-7682 President’s Update Greetings!
Those of you who were able to attend the (MHA) Federal Candidates Meeting on January 10th were treated to an interesting evening, as well as a lengthy one. About 400 plus people attended and just about all questions from the floor were able to be answered through the course of the evening. All of the candidates performed very well and I believe it added to the interest of everyone to stay on. Of course, since that time, the election has occurred and the incumbent, Borys Wrzesnewskyj, has won the riding. We congratulate Borys and expect to continue a working relationship with him on the issues that matter most to homeowners in Markland Wood. The following week, the MHA conducted a Special Meeting entitled “Vandalism and Community Safety”. We had about 40 residents, who turned out to listen, discuss and put forth their views. Many of us were not aware of the extent of some of these incidents and because of this, it was suggested that the Marklander begin publicizing these instances, so that the community stays informed. See the report on the meeting below, under Vandalism and Community Safety. The next meeting to discuss and further expand the effort will be held at the Markland Wood Country Club on February 22nd at 7:00 p.m. Please come and join us, especially if you were unable to make it to the first meeting. The proposed gas fired power plant that came to our
attention last June and was discussed in the September/October Marklander
has taken another step forward due to the Ministry of Environment decision not
to insist on an Environmental Assessment. As I write this column, I have just
received word about this decision and will be asking our Provincial
representative, Donna Cansfield, to address the MHA Board, as well as those of
you who may be concerned about this plant.
Given the outcry over its proposed location (next to the Trillium
Health Centre, across from Sherway Mall), including the voice of Mayor Hazel
McCallion of The MHA separately filed this 42-point list of
objections and supports a wider group of concerned citizens in Etobicoke and In spite of all these serious topics above, I hope you are enjoying the mild winter weather thus far. Best regards, Patrick Clifford President, Markland Homes Association 2006-2007 Board
of Directors EXECUTIVE: PRESIDENT: Patrick Clifford VICE-PRESIDENT: Greg Rohn SECRETARY: Anna
Schaefer TREASURER: Gerard Betsch DIRECTORS Richard Boehnke Brian Brennand Paul Cavanagh Bob Cooke Bev Evans Michael Georgopoulos Bo Lawrentiw Graham Maguire Paul Marano Don Matheson Diane McLeod Tom Napier Peter Sgro Romeo Sinopoli Associate Directors Stephen Blimkie, Helen
Boehnke, Paul Cavanagh, Tamara Greene, Mary Lordan, Ian Sillars, Irene Sillars,
Donna Sokic, MP (Pierina) Stokes, Anne-Marie Stoneburgh and Patti Thorne. Vandalism & Community
Safety A meeting on this topic took place on January 17th at the Etobicoke Civic Centre and was attended by about 40 residents. The purpose of the meeting was to inform those in attendance as to events which have occurred in the community during the past year and to solicit ideas as to how best to address these issues. It was felt that many residents were not aware of many of these instances and it was decided that these would be published in the Marklander going forward. MHA President Patrick Clifford gave an overview of the instances as follows: Home Entries: (3-4 since November, looking for keys to steal vehicles. Some successful. No altercation with residents, who were in bed at the time). Assaults:
(14 year-old neighbourhood kids walking south on Mill on a Saturday
night accosted by older kids driving by. 1
or 2 of the neighbourhood kids was hit by these strangers.
At the St. Clement Church: Two different episodes of purse-snatching since November at the 24 hour Chapel of Adoration St. Clement School: Weekly episodes of youths hanging out; broken bottles; glass all over. Newly-planted shrubs/trees were damaged. Bicycle thefts: Numerous episodes, not only from yards and garages, but also taken right off of kids in the neighbourhood in broad daylight. Graffiti: Occurrences have diminished considerably since Silverthorn Collegiate caught the group of students. Egging of houses: Occurs at anytime of the year. Identified as being the work of local kids. There are other instances, but the last two were cited as being the most urgent to deal with, as they involve large numbers of people with a significant number of those being from outside Markland. There needs to be some plans in place by the spring and therefore an amount of ground work that needs to be done. The next meeting is scheduled for February 22nd at 7:00 p.m. and will be held at the Markland Country Club. The MHA will lead and organize this special taskforce, but it needs the participation of you, or one person from your household. Those who were at the first meeting on January 17th are being contacted by email. We will also be using our website (Marklandwood.org) as a way to keep you informed. We expect to have a larger turnout on February 22nd, especially including those of you who were unable to make it to the first meeting. It is our objective, as a community, to deal with these issues now, before they get out of hand. Please do your part and give us a hand to keep Markland Wood the community of choice it has always been. We look forward to seeing you on the 22nd. Update on the Proposed Natural Gas Power
Plant: As mentioned in an earlier
Marklander, members of your board of directors have been actively involved in
a citizens group, Coalition of Homeowners for Intelligent Power (CHIP).
This group, representing over 10,000 households in Those of us in opposition, felt certain that the
collective research and resulting documented objections would result in at the
very least, a bump up to a full environmental assessment. This is the
ABSOLUTE LEAST that we should expect from our elected representatives!!
Yet to our utter shock and dismay, we have just learned that the Ministry of
Environment has rejected all of the requests for an environmental
assessment. This makes no sense at all and smacks of an arrogant,
dismissive attitude on the part of a Government determined to push through its
ill thought out energy plan, with little consideration of the
consequences. And there will be consequences. Fortunately for each
and every household in Markland Wood and surrounding neighborhoods, one of the
consequences is in our hands next time we go to the ballot box. We will
keep you posted on this issue. Best regards, Greg Rohn From Tom’s Desk I would like to thank the Government Relations Committee for their efforts in making the MHA-sponsored Candidates Meeting/Debate such a great success. The Etobicoke Guardian estimated close to 400 in attendance. As moderator, I felt at times the audience wanted a little more than pleasant responses from the candidates. However, I think the event went smoothly and was fair. The event ran from 7:00 to almost 10:00 p.m.. There were 31 questions asked, with 7 from the panel and 26 from the audience. I would like to congratulate each of the candidates and thank them for attending. The NDP candidate, Cynthia Cameron could not attend due to illness. Norm Dundas of the PC party was able to substitute for her. Ironically, Axel Kuhn and Borys Wrzesnewskyj sat next to each other, with Axel sat on Borys’ right. Photographs are on the Markland Wood website. It has been my custom over the years to congratulate the election winner. Borys Wrzesnewskyj, was again elected as our MP. With 52% of the popular vote in our riding, it shows that Etobicoke Centre residents clearly support him. This year’s results were very similar to the June 2004 outcome, with Axel Kuhn, Conservative receiving slightly over 33% and the NDP receiving just less than 10% of the popular vote. The other three candidates received less than 4% of voter support. Congratulations Borys! Thanks, Tom Napier, MHA Director Update
from the Environment Committee: We continue to research the idea of a tree audit for
Markland Wood, as mentioned in last month’s Marklander. We intend to
do a cost / benefit analysis to determine the feasibility and appeal to
residents. Another idea we have been looking into is a
community hazardous waste pick-up day. The idea was to get a truck to
follow the “caravan route” on a specific day in the summer. Many
people do not have any idea what to do with paint, motor oil, used batteries
etc., and, unfortunately, much of this waste ends up in the garbage. I
spoke at length to a City of We also came up with the idea of presenting
Marklanders with alternatives to the normal lawn and garden. Again, due
to the clay soil, and large number of trees, many of our residents have
trouble growing a nice lawn etc. We want to research natural alternatives, and
develop recommendations as to the types of plants, along with garden care tips
incorporating pesticide-free, low maintenance practices. We have
contacted, and intend to work with the City to help develop this program in
Markland Wood, including the possibility of a neighborhood seminar.
Through our web site and also the well- established home delivery system that
we use to deliver our monthly Marklander newsletter, we should be able to
effectively promote these concepts to each and every home in our neighborhood. Best regards, Greg Rohn MHA Webmaster’s Report I have had a few requests to activate the “Classified” page in the Community section of the www.marklandwood.org website. I really think this is a great idea. Every month the page could be updated with new information. There could even be a special button on the side that would take visitors to the website to that page. The only issue I have is, who is going to edit the page? If someone from the Markland Wood community would like to volunteer to help keep this page current, then I will place the content of the “Classified” page on our website upon receiving it. Please send me an email to volunteer your services. One of the most rewarding things I like to do is to
“Show Off” the Markland Wood website to visitors with the accomplishments
of Marklanders and the Markland Homes Association. The front page now displays
the two awards that Markland Wood received in 2005. The City of Cheers, MHA Webmaster Update from the Positively Promoting
Markland (PPM) Committee: The PPM committee continues to meet and work on
various projects that we hope will both appeal to Markland Wood residents, and
help to define and improve our neighborhood. The most noticeable result
of our work last year was the “Welcome To Markland Wood” sign on Amongst many other ideas that we are “tossing
around”, two have come to the fore. In conjunction with the annual
community garage sale in May, we are looking at setting up a MHA table where
we would sell donated goods to raise funds. As you may or may not know,
at last year’s garage sale, we arranged to have any unsold items dropped off
at Millwood school to be picked up by charities. Unfortunately, due to a
number of circumstances this resulted in several problems. This year we
intend to carry on with this idea. We will have several directors
supervising the drop-off, so that no one drops off furniture or unusable
items. We realize that many people do not have the time or inclination
to host a garage sale, and would love to be able to clear out some household
items, especially if they are going to a charity. We would like to carry
this one step further. We are planning to arrange it so that residents
can drop off items a couple of days before the garage sale at a location to be
determined. MHA directors will offer these items for sale at the garage
sale, with proceeds going to the Association. Any remaining items at the
end of the sale, as well as any dropped off at that time, will be picked up by
a charity. Further details to come in next month’s Marklander. The second project that we have initiated is a
Markland Wood Family Fun Day, proposed for a date in July, at We welcome any feedback and / or ideas. Best regards, Greg Rohn School News Our Millwood "Read for Hope" campaign concluded on December 23rd, and by all measurements, was a resounding success. We adopted the "Out of the Cold" shelter, housed at St. Matthew's Anglican Church. It is entirely run by volunteers and is a joint effort with Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church. Our school pledged to read 4000 books in the two weeks prior to the Winter holiday. The children met the goal and proceeded to shatter it. We read 5059 books altogether! We reached out to you, our community, asking you to support us by contributing to the needs of the shelter, and the response was strong, and heartfelt. Our educators' wish is that the desire to read will continue throughout the lives of our students. We are grateful to all of our sponsors for their support, Tre Marie Bakery, Belvedere International, Dominion's, Bruno's, Loblaw's, Blockbuster Video, McDonald's, TDSB's Special education- Hearing department, the Canadiana restaurant, and especially, Mr. I. Stewart at Six Points Mall Shopper's Drug Mart, and Ms. M. McCaw at Markland's TD Bank, as they each contributed $500 to the cause. The Etobicoke Teachers’ Credit Union gave $250, and the school raised just over $1000 from its students. All monies raised were sent to the shelter. None of it was for the school. Furthermore, we would like to acknowledge the efforts of Ms. K. Werbus, one of our parents, whose tireless work behind the scenes allowed us to gain media exposure on CTV's Noon News and from Tom Brown, their weatherman! He told me we would reach 1.2 million viewers and that our students were among the best behaved that he had ever met in his travels. He was very impressed with their maturity and composure. The teacher team who put all of it together consisted of Mrs. Kribs, Mrs. Glinos, Mme. Dobson, Mrs. Murphy, Mlle. Belcourt, Mme. Doiu, Mme. Donaghey and Mrs. Wawrow. Guest Reader Day, when we had visitors read to different classes, was another sparkling success, and students and classes are in the process of sending thank you notes and letters. Guest authors who visited us were L.M. Falcone, Eric Walters and our own Ms. Gorman! Jerry Howarth, the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays, was another supporter of our students' efforts as a Guest Reader. For an inaugural year, the children have been
wonderfully enthusiastic, and our adopted shelter, St. Matthew's Out of the
Cold, on We are immensely proud of our students and the way they have responded, collectively raising this torch of hope, empathy, moral purpose and academic success. Theresa
Caravetta, School Principal Church
News BLOORDALE UNITED CHURCH Morning
services at 10:30 a.m. Rev. Stephen Iverson 621-1710 Call Sylvia Szot 626-2424 for BUC Juniors Club information Check out our NEW website: www.bloordale.ca BUC Juniors Club Saturday: 4:45 p.m. Sunday: 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m. Confession Saturday: 9:30-10:00 a.m., 3:30-4:30 p.m. We want to express our sadness at the passing of our Deacon St. Clair McEvenue on January 2, 2006. Deacon Sinc and his family were among the original parishioners of St. Clement Parish. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1987 and throughout his years of service, he baptized many of our children and countless others, visited the sick, taught catechism, and wrote two books on spirituality. We will always remember his joyful, hopeful and faithful love of God and the people he served. We will miss him deeply. UPCOMING
EVENTS Wednesday, Feb. 15 - 6:00 p.m. St. Clement Social Committee is hosting an ‘Evening of Fellowship and Reflection’ . This evening will begin with the celebration of the Eucharist at 6:00 pm followed by dinner in the Parish Hall. Our guest speaker, Fr. Nicanor Lalog, will then do a reflection on the upcoming Season of Lent. We will conclude by 8:30 pm with dessert and coffee. Admission price will be $5.00. Call the Parish Office for tickets. Friday, Feb. 24 - 9:30 a.m. School Mass Saturday, Feb. 25. Our Annual “Sharelife” Dance. Silent Auction, Raffle Prizes and Door Prizes. Call the Parish Office at 621-4060 for tickets. Tuesday, February 28: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper – Call the Parish Office to Reserve Wednesday, March 1: Ash Wednesday – Masses as follows 8:15 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 7:00 p.m. Renforth Baptist Church PASTOR - Rev. Godfrey Green
St.
James United Church Just east of Hwy 427 at The East Mall. Sunday service:
10:30 a.m. with inspirational music by award-winning choirs. Challenging sermons, children's stories and hymns. Nursery care available. The Church of Christ the King Just
West of Hwy. 427 Regular
service times: Sunday: 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. Wednesday: 10:30 a.m. February 15:
A.C.W Valentine. Dessert & Card Party At 7:00 p.m. Tickets $8 each (Please bring your own cards). Raffle & Door Prizes EVERYONE WELCOME February 28:
Shrove Tuesday. Pancake Supper 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. $12 per family or $6 per person March 5:
The Gathering West. An afternoon of Christian Hymns, songs, solos & duets At 4:00 p.m. Sunday Also
CHECK US OUT ON OUR WEB SITE http://netcomsolutions-ont.com/Christ_King Rehoboth Fellowship Christian Reformed Church Etobicoke
622-9647 Reverend
John Tenyenhuis St. Matthew’s Anglican Church 3962 Bloor St. W. Etobicoke St. Philip’s www.stphilipslutherantoronto.com 416-622-5577 Worship Service:
10:00 a.m. Sundays Sunday School 11:00a.m. Age 2 – Grade 7 Rev.
Douglas Kramer, Pastor Hats Off
People and Places Bloordale Baseball
will be holding registration for the 2006 season at Cloverdale Mall on
Wednesday February 15th from 6:30-9:30, and on Saturday February 18th from
10:00-3:00. Bloordale offers programs for boys and girls from t-ball to
Rep. Baseball. There is also a great ladies slow pitch
league. Come out and register for what is sure to be a great summer of
ball. Visit our website at www.bloordalebaseball.org PARENT
EDUCATION NETWORK The Parent
Education Network is a non-profit, registered charitable
organization. Our parent facilitators have developed a full range of
parenting programs that are held at a variety of accessible locations. TOP TEN STRESS SURVIVAL TIPS FOR PARENTS How can parents find the balance, be resilient and thrive under stress? We’ll do a stress-assessment quiz and identify 10 surprisingly simple things that we can start doing right now to lower our stress levels. Bring your friends! Tuesday, February 7: 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. $20 for PEN Members and $25 for Non-Members
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE FOR KIDS Everyone is born with a unique temperament. How do we help our kids make the best of what they’ve got? Can parents increase their own emotional intelligence or is it too late for us? Join us for a fascinating discussion. Wed, February 8: 7 - 8:30 p.m. $20 for PEN Members and $25 for Non-Members YOU CAN’T MAKE ME Minimize confrontations and attention-seeking behavior to prevent bedtime, morning and mealtime power struggles. Weds, begins February 15 for four weeks: 7- 9 p.m. Wellness Institute, $70 per person or $105 per couple
TOP TEN STRESS SURVIVAL TIPS FOR PARENTS How can parents find the balance, be resilient and thrive under stress? We’ll do a stress-assessment quiz and identify 10 surprisingly simple things we can start doing right now to lower our stress levels. Bring your friends!
Thurs, March 2: 7:30 - 9 p.m. $20 for PEN Members and $25 for Non-Members To Register for any of these courses, call 416 255-8969. VISA is welcomed for phone registrations. Judy Cieslik, Executive Director PARENT EDUCATION NETWORK (416) 255-8969. FAX: (416) 255-4162 The Etobicoke Newcomers’ Club
for Women Are you new to the area? Interested in making new
friendships? Join us on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Parenting and Family Literacy
Centre The Parenting and
Family Literacy Centre at Parent and Tot Coffee Time continues on alternate Tuesday mornings at 9:30-11:15 a.m. in Room 13, The January 24 to February 12 T.G.I.F. Paintings of members of Steve Rose’s Friday Morning
Class Portraits and Self Portraits An exhibition of the creative challenges of portraits by
the members of the Etobicoke Art Group February 14 to
March 5 Etobicoke Art Group Members’ Choice Exhibition Recent artworks in a variety of media by members of the
Group An exhibit of oils, watercolours and acrylics by Pam Pols and Laurel Macleod Reception: Sunday, February 19 from 1 to 4 pm Information: 622-5294 Open: Mon-Sat, 9-3
p.m. Tuesday, 7-9 p.m. Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Wheelchair accessible.
Free admission and parking. www.neilsonparkcreativecentre.com Email: info@neilsonparkcreativecentre.com MARKLANDER STAFF President: Patrick Clifford Editor: Graham Maguire Advertising: Brian Brennand Photographer: Tom Napier Distribution: Richard Boehnke Setup:
Spalding Creative 255-9033 Printing:
Stu McNair Anna’s
Recipes If you decide to stay home for Valentine’s Day, here is a great “bistro” dish that your better-half will enjoy! Cod with Fennel
and Onion 1 large fennel, trim off tops 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, skinned and sliced thinly Salt and Pepper 1 cup white wine 1 large russet potato, peeled and very thinly sliced 1 cup chicken stock 1 ½ pounds cod, cut into 4 portions, 6-8 ounces each ¼ cup chopped parsley Heat oil in large, deep skillet over medium high heat and preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cut off tops of the fennel bulb. Quarter the bulb, then cut into each quarter on an angle to remove the core. Thinly slice the fennel. |