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By Tim Kelly Markham Economist & Sun Jeremy Grimaldi Thu., Oct. 11, 2018 A 70-year-old Markham crossing guard was detained by an off-duty Toronto police officer and arrested on allegations of mischief by York Region police after a dispute turned ugly Tuesday morning. Police were called to the scene of “two men fighting” on the roadway outside the school at 281 Williamson Rd. in Markham at about 8:10 a.m. Tuesday,York Region police Const. Laura Nicolle said. Crossing guard Mohamed Hameed was working near Mount Joy Public School when his daughter Fathima Najamudeen said a nearby witness noticed a vehicle “doing a rolling stop.” “The vehicle started moving, while children were going across on the other side of the street,” Najamudeen said, speaking for her father Wednesday morning, since he was recovering at his home after suffering a medical emergency the day before. She said her father banged on the vehicle with his … [Read more...] about Markham crossing guard, 70, arrested after dispute with off-duty cop
Crossing guard
Oakville crossing guard named Canada’s Favourite Crossing Guard in national contest
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By Saira Peesker Oakville Beaver Thu., June 14, 2018 Every day before Darnley Lewis, 82, takes his post at the crosswalk outside St. Mary Catholic Elementary School in Oakville, he offers up a prayer. “I took one look at what was going on and offered a prayer of thanksgiving for the safety of the students and everyone crossing,” said Lewis, who in early June, was one of three people to earn the title of Canada’s Favourite Crossing Guard in a national contest. “There are good drivers out there, and not-so-good. Some drivers are courteous to the extreme and some are the opposite.” Lewis, a resident of Burlington, has been firmly but kindly patrolling the Colonel William Parkway crosswalk since 2014. He was one of 676 people to be nominated, a process that saw dozens of students, school staff and community members draw pictures, write letters and even make a video in support of his candidacy. The entire school population, along with local … [Read more...] about Oakville crossing guard named Canada’s Favourite Crossing Guard in national contest
After ‘Trump Effect,’ illegal Mexico border crossings rebound
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump's shock order to send National Guard troops to the frontier with Mexico Wednesday came after data showed that illegal immigration has sharply rebounded following a plunge in his first year in office. Data on border apprehension for March released late Wednesday indicates undocumented immigrants are pouring into the country at the highest level in four years. Trump's warning of a crackdown when he entered the White House in January 2017 drove the number of apprehensions of illegal border crossers -- an indicator of total crossing numbers -- to four-decade lows. For example, apprehensions in February 2017 were 23,555, down from more than 38,000 a year earlier. And they hit a monthly low of 15,766 in April 2017, less than one-third of the previous year's number. At the time anti-immigration groups celebrated that as the "Trump Effect" and Trump held it up as his great success. "Jobs are returning, illegal immigration is plummeting, law, order … [Read more...] about After ‘Trump Effect,’ illegal Mexico border crossings rebound
‘Meh, Canada,’ we stand on guard for thee
By Mandy Pipher Opinion Mon., April 2, 2018 “Welcome to America!” my friend texted when my delayed flight finally landed at LaGuardia. I saw her message while trying to find a place to wait for the bus into Manhattan where someone wasn’t smoking, often directly under a “no smoking” sign. Inside the terminal, the floors were dirty, the construction was chaotic, and people behind various corporate desks were tossing out genial haphazard comments and offers to one another and to passing travellers. “Hey thanks!” I wrote back as the airport employee standing beside me in the no-smoking area lit up a cigarette. “The decline in civility and the increase in vivacity is instantly apparent.” And I meant it. Just over an hour in the air and the calm, orderly sterility of Toronto Pearson seemed half a world away. America. Of all the things to say about the place, especially these days, you have to admit that there’s … [Read more...] about ‘Meh, Canada,’ we stand on guard for thee
Mona Piper, Toronto’s longest-serving crossing guard, dies aged 88
Mona Piper was Toronto’s longest-serving crossing guard, and loyally protected kids crossing near the corner of Millwood Rd. and Cleveland St. in Leaside for 43 years. Piper died Wednesday aged 88, spending more than 40 years of her life helping children cross the road on their way to Maurice Cody Junior Public School. She was born Oct. 9, 1929 on Guernsey Island, in the English Channel. Piper’s daughter Ann told the Star that working as a crossing guard was her mother’s “raison d’être.” “When I asked her why she didn’t retire long ago, she told me that the children keep her young and give her a reason to get out of bed in the morning,” Ann said. Josh Matlow (Ward 22, St. Paul’s), posted on Facebook Wednesday about Piper’s death. “On behalf of our community, we are so deeply grateful to Mona and will continue to celebrate her legacy together,” Matlow wrote. … [Read more...] about Mona Piper, Toronto’s longest-serving crossing guard, dies aged 88