Centre of our world

Agincourt Rec Centre fire. 680 News photo.

As soon as I heard about the multi-alarm fire at the Agincourt Recreation Centre, I paid attention for a number of reasons. Like a number of us in this part of Ontario, that particular rec centre is a familiar one. But I also wondered about the loss of a community’s vital organ. I caught the reports as firefighters continued to battle the blaze, and watched some of the residents in the area reacting to the fire. One reporter talked to a young boy.

“All the things we do in there,” the boy told Global News. “Now us kids won’t have that anymore.” (more…)

What public courage deserves

“In order for us as a team to protect our player...” Greg Walsh said, “we said that we weren’t going to play..."
“In order for us as a team to protect our player...” Greg Walsh said, “we said that we weren’t going to play..."

There’s a brave hockey coach in our midst. He’s paying a pretty severe penalty at the moment. You might have heard about him. A few weeks ago, Greg Walsh was coaching his Peterborough-area minor hockey team – a team of 16-year-old boys.

In the heat of a game, an opposing player blurted out a racial slur at one of Walsh’s players. The boy used the N-word. Walsh couldn’t believe his ears. He responded with the most demonstrative action he could think of.

“In order for us as a team to protect our player from that,” Walsh told a Toronto Star reporter, “we said that we weren’t going to play and we went to the dressing room.”

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