Lacrosse Player Dies in 'Tragic Accident'

Jamieson Kuhlmann was fatally injured during a field lacrosse game in Newmarket late Monday afternoon. His Toronto Beaches team was playing against Newmarket when the incident happened around 5:30 p.m. It was about five minutes into the first quarter of the game. Kuhlmann, a left-hander, had just passed the ball up field when a Newmarket player hit him. The player's shoulder and head connected with Jamieson's shoulder and head. He never regained consciousness from the moment he left the field. Kuhlmann was transferred to a hospital in Newmarket, then to the Hospital for Sick Children. The decision was made to take him off life support wednesday. "It was a tragic accident." "They want the message to be clear that Jamieson died as the result of an accident. The boy that hit him, it wasn't his fault. They really believe it's an accident and there is nothing else than a tragedy."

In my opinion this is a very sad. I have been playing lacrosse for almost my whole life, and i have never come across an accident like this. This tragedy really hits me. It is always sad when a young man dies, especially while playing the game he loved. In the end it was a freak accident and there is no one that should be put to blame on this.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/05/22/lacrosse-death.html

One year after killing of Jordan Manners, C.W. Jefferys has changed

Students and staff at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate will mark the one year anniversary of the killing of Jordan Manners on Friday. It was on May 23, 2007, that the 15-year-old was shot and killed in a hallway inside the school. 2 teens who were both 17 were charged in the killing. When the young boy died it shocked the city, people wondered about the safety of the schools in toronto.
Many students at the school say that the school has changed dramatically, kids feel alot safer and the environment has in general become alot better. Students say that the new principle and vice principle have made a different, other say the new security cameras have helped because students dont want to do anything bad cause it will be caught on video. Techers feel that there is more control in the school, kids are starting to care a little more when it comes to there school. Also the school atmosphere has changed, there are now leadership programs being made, and then school has made several new changes such as, new computers, new fitness centre, hall monitors and child and youth workers.

This is a wonderful article. It is very sad, that the young man died, but at the same time it made people change. This is a sad story on how the student died because of violence in schools. The school brought in a new principle and installed security camera's. This is key. Schools need to learn from this school, violence in schools in increasing and more and more deaths are happening. I feel that what this school did was a good idea. If this school believes that there new method in the school is working, than hopefully other schools in the Toronto area start to do the same.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/05/23/manners-anniversary.html

Toronto board approves first black-focused grade school

Toronto District School Board trustees have given final approval to Toronto's first Africentric school, but not without another meeting filled with acrimony and charges of racism.
The issue is one of the most controversial ever put to the board. The school will open in September 2009, and will occupy unused space at Sheppard Public School, near Sheppard Avenue and Keele Street. It will serve students from junior kindergarten to Grade 5. Some As many as 40 per cent of black students don't graduate from Toronto high schools. Board chair John Campbell tried to smooth over some of the disagreements that were being brought up about racism and sexism, but finally said "enough is enough." In the end, the decision was approved by a vote of 13-8. The board did not approve a black-focused high school for 2010, but did vote to study the idea.

Wasn't racial segregation deemed illegal in Canada? I can understand that urban schools in downtown Toronto aren't working particularly well, but how can this be the solution? I would propose hiring more teachers in the schools that already do exist, to have a lower student/educator ratio, rather than dividing students based on race. To be honest I do not think that this solution will work. Don't spend money on something that is doomed to fail right from the start. I am all for making sure kids get a descent education, but this concept i dont think is what will resolve the problem.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/05/22/afric-school.html

Cyclist killed after bike hits car door

The death of a Toronto cyclist, who was killed yesterday after his bike hit a car door that was being opened, is the type of tragedy that is becoming all too familiar on the city's streets. Toronto police say that the 57-year-old man was heading east on his bicycle on Eglinton Ave. W. just west of Avenue Rd. yesterday afternoon around 1 p.m. when the driver of a parked Volvo started to get out of his car. The cyclist hit the door and flew off his bike before landing on the roadway, where he was struck a car. The man was taken to hospital where he died of his injuries.
Charges will probably not be laid because this was only an accident.

This is just another accident that could have most likely been prevented if people were paying attention. You have to be aware that there are bikes on the road. You must look before you open your door onto the roadway. Also it is the cyclist responsability to pay attention. Be aware of the road users around you and act accordingly, it alot more diificult to pay attention when you're on a bike.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/429336

Train torn from tracks by tornado

A large tornado skipped through several northern Colorado towns yesterday, destroying dozens of homes, flipping tractor-trailers and an entire train of freight cars, and killing at least one person. The National Weather Service said the tornado touched down just before noon near Platteville, about 80 kilometres north of Denver. Over the next hour, it moved northward past several towns along a 56-kilometre track toward Wyoming. Nine people were hospitalized with various injuries at the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland. A frightened camper who tried to outrun the storm in an RV was killed. Many people have lost everything, there animals, campers and there homes.
"It passed right over us like a big, white monster," said Thomas Coupe, 87.
The tornado overturned 15 railroad cars and destroyed a lumber car on the Great Western Railway of Colorado. In Southern California, area residents flooded TV stations with pictures and video of funnel clouds and at least one tornado on the ground. The storm unleashed mudslides in wildfire-scarred canyons and dusted mountains and even low-lying communities with snow and hail.

This is just a Natural Accident due to most likely the weather conditions in Colorado. I cant really make an opinion on this, but I want to say whenever there is a tornado make sure you try and hide somewhere low to the ground in a ditch or something. Do not do what the one man did who went to hide in his RV, that was just stupid and now look what happened hes dead. So just make sure you know what to do in these types of situations.

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/429293

Solar roof planned for Markham Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Canada announced plans this morning to build the country's largest rooftop solar-energy system atop a new Supercentre planned for Markham later this year. Ontario's Ministry of Research and Innovation is contributing a $3-million forgivable loan to support the demonstration system, which will supply emission-free electricity and heat to the Wal-Mart store. Menova has created a "concentrated" solar-energy system that magnifies the sunlight by 1,000 times onto tiny solar cells, resulting in a dramatic reduction in costs and highly efficient electricity production. The heat from this intense focusing of sunlight is also captured, creating another source of emission-free energy that can replace fossil fuels typically used for space and hot-water heating. Menova is also capable of capturing the sunlight in fibre-optic cables and redirecting it inside a building. By bringing outside sunlight indoor, buildings can reduce their reliance during the day on conventional lighting and the electricity it requires.

This is what Canada has to see more of; using solar power to generate elctricity. It really helps out the environment and reduces Green House Gases that are being released into the air. I really think that other major businesses need to take note of this, people always want to live in a healthy and clean environment. This is just the first step to reaching there goal. Solar Heating has already been around, but now that we have Wal Mart who is a very well known coorpiration other people/businesses are going to catch on to this.

http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/428983

Peel officer approached girls

A Peel police officer who drove around asking young girls for directions for "no legitimate purpose" has been found guilty of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act. Adult male strangers repeatedly driving through residential areas and approaching young females is potentially very serious. Charged more than two years ago, Yeo admitted he talked with "pretty" young girls, but said his actions were harmless. The 38-year-old officer, who has been suspended with pay since the charges were laid, and he said that he never stalked students and never asked them to get into his car. Boychuk found that while Yeo was off duty he watched and followed more than a dozen young girls, many Grade 7 students, between June and October 2005, near recreation centres, schools and shopping malls. He never thought that he was scaring the girls. In the first known incident, Yeo called out to three Grade 7 students from his vehicle in a church parking lot near St. Elizabeth Seaton Public School and asked directions to Erin Mills Town Centre. He asked the girls to "come closer" but they refused. In another incident, he followed a girl walking alone down a dead-end street near Inlake Court. An undercover officer who followed Yeo over a five-month period in 2005 testified that he saw the officer watching several young girls.

This is just creepy, first of all the cop is 38 years old, and he is stalked and watching young girls occasionally when they are at school. Just a little creepy. Secondly the man is a cop and it is his duty is to serve and protect. I don’t think your protecting anyone when your constantly stalked young girls and frequently asking them questions for no particular reason.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/428497