The Verdun Spy Mystery - rerun

From: kristiangravenor <beaveroncrack@hotmail.com>
Subject: [MediainMontreal] Help with Verdun mystery
To: MediainMontreal@yahoogroups.com
Received: Tuesday, February 1, 2005, 8:33 PM

There's a good discussion forum about Verdun with a few neat stories
that I might use if I ever write another book about Montreal. Here's a
potboiler that maybe somebody knows the answer to ....
----
http://snipurl.com/cgug

Most of us 55 and older will have various memories of the Cold War and
spies.  But I suspect none of us knew just how close the spies were.

I recently bought a non-fiction paperback book in a second-hand book
store and while reading it, discovered the Verdun Cold War Connection.
The book is called "FOR SERVICES RENDERED" by John Sawatsky,
originally published by Doubleday & Company in 1952, and in 1953 a
paperback version was published by Penguin Books.   It is about RCMP
spymaster Leslie James Bennett.

The Verdun Cold War Connection described in this book is all too brief
- no more than a couple of paragraphs - but left me fasinated and
wishing I could remember more about the location mentioned.  In 1952,
a Soviet spy (code named "Gideon" ) set up operation in Verdun.  Here
I will quote directly from the book (remember, this is non-fiction and
the year is 1952):

"Weeks later word arrived (from his controller) to start setting up
shop as a photographer.  Gideon settled on a small shop on Bannantyne
Avenue ... in Verdun, a suburb near downtown Montreal.  The store had
previously been a one-woman beauty salon that succumbed to competition
from two other beauty shops within a block.  Low-income homes ...
mixed with the smattering of mom-and-pop outlets such as the Joe and
Alec Restaurant across the street dotted the neighbourhood... Before
he had finished purchasing photographic equipment he went out and
bought a short wave radio and propped it up in his living quarters..."

In 1953 Gideon contacted the RCMP and became a double-agent working
for the RCMP.  Gideon continued to broadcast to Moscow from his
photography shop on Bannantyne (sending material provided to him by
the RCMP) until he was recalled to Moscow in 1956 for the usual
briefing.  He never returned.

So, how are your memories?  Where on Bannantyne was this Cold War spy
located?  By the way, no other information is given in the book  - and
I no idea.

The only clues (some are quoted above; others from the book) are:


   1. In 1952 a photographers shop opened in a former beauty salon on
Bannantyne Ave.
   2. In 1952 there were two other beauty shops within a block.
   3. The Joe and Alex Restaurant was across the street.
   4.  There was a short wave antenna situated at the back of the
building.
   5. In 1952 he was a short blond man in his late twenties, with an
European look.
   6. While in Canada he used the name David Soboloff.

Can anyone help solve this Verdun Cold War Mystery?

Backpeddling ? 1st Turcot now 'rethink' Bonaventure Project

As with most announcements by Govt's at any level,it's usually bullshit ,it seems now that the fantastic musings of some to rid the city of the unsightly Bonaventure Expressway ,now needs to be 'rethought' (is that a word?) ,In anycase the truth proabably 'lies' somewhere in between...I would bet no 'do -re- me' is available to fund all these knee jerk projects,It seems putting the cart before the horse is again the norm here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MONTREAL - The municipal public consultation agency says Montreal needs to review its plans to overhaul the Bonaventure Expressway as a modified urban boulevard.

Public consultations revealed that reconfigurating the highway, which now plays an important role in cross-shore public transit, is crucial to the future of the city, the Office de consultation publique de Montréal said in a report released Wednesday.

But some aspects of the redevelopment plans, notably the promise of commercial and residential development alongside the new urban boulevard, set off alarm bells.

"Many who spoke pointed out that there is little demand for new downtown-type projects in Montreal," the consultation agency report noted. "There are already too many sites earmarked for development, downtown and in the Quartier international and Cité internationale."

Noise and air pollution levels in the area also raised doubts about the potential for attracting residents to proposed housing developments, the consultation report states.

Some 700 citizens and organization representatives attended the municipal public consultation meetings, and the agency received 59 briefs.

For the full public consultation report in French, consult the municipal agency website.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/Bonaventure+overhaul+plans+need+work+consultation+report/2747832/story.html#ixzz0jltLIiLr

    My guess ,would also be not all the payoffs have been decided on, and with the recent allegations of corruption being rampant in Quebec Construction Industry,that the heat may be on, and so a cooling off period will be good.    hahahaha 'till the dough arrives'         It did look like a nice idea,(sort of) pretty artist conceptions and all..............hahahahahha                                                  HF&RV

Terry McCluskey

Please, if anyone knows his whereabouts, contact me.

mumagain@hotmail.com

Four Die in Verdun Fire (NO SMOKE DETECTORS)

Sadly 3 people perish in a Sunday morning fire in a Verdun Triplex........so far they believe No Smoke Detectors were certainly a contributing factor ,perhaps they would have survived,..So take a lesson from this & Check Your Detectors to see if they are operable, and if you don't have any detectors,you may want to rectify that situation right away.
It's now being reported that one victim thought dead originally,is actually in hospital in critical condition..........the sad news ,is that the kids may have inadvertently started the deadly fire,while playing with a lighter
Unfortunately the woman did pass away a few days later

Montreal Pool Room is Moving ??

                 

 I would imagine that many of us have had a hotdog in here over the years    ,all Montreal's recognizable places are slowly disappearing.......HF&RV                                           montreal pool room is moving on wednesday

By ANDY RIGA FRI, MAR 26 2010 COMMENTS(3) METROPOLITAN NEWS

The Montreal Pool Room, a greasy Montreal institution, is moving.

Some feared that city expropriations to make way for a commercial complex that's part of the emerging Quartier des spectacles would force the closure of the hot-dog-and-fries joint. But, as this press release explained three weeks ago, the developer purchased the Montreal Pool Room building and announced the move.

I now have it on good authority – the lady who served me fries and a spruce beer on Friday afternoon – that the restaurant is moving across the street, as of Wednesday.

Work is almost complete on the new location, at 1217 St. Laurent Blvd. (where the Max Coast store used to be) That's on the east side, near Club Soda and closer to Ste. Catherine St., which will presumably generate more traffic once it is no longer a construction zone.

Are they taking any of the run-down furnishings, such as they are? "I can't tell you – that's a surprise," the cashier told me.

Though its current location is on the grimy side, the Montreal Pool Room still attracts tourists (or at least travel writers).

From a 2009 Gazette story about the lower Main:

One of the most popular night spots in the 1960s and '70s was the Montreal Pool Room, at 1200 St. Laurent, where you could score a hot dog steamé and rub shoulders with the likes of a young Leonard Cohen or Michel Tremblay.

"Reeking of patates, steamies and lost innocence, this cheap Red Light institution has hands down the best hot dogs and inhale-the-grease fries," is how one tourist guidebook writer described the Pool Room.

In spite of the date on the door that claims a Bulgarian immigrant, Filipoff Dakov, opened the Montreal Pool Room in 1912, city archives show Dakov obtained his first licence in 1921.

His was one of three billiards rooms on the block.

The Montreal Pool Room lost much of its legendary underground allure after it was gutted by fire in 1989. When it reopened, things weren't quite the same.

           I'm not sure about that. It still has a je-ne-sais-quoi.

"Seedy goodness," is how one colleague describes it.

"It is a slice of our nightlife, where the world – rich or poor – meets," says another.

- Andy Riga

(Photo: 1974 Gazette file photo)

Sunday Morning Fire in Verdun Kills 4

 

MONTREAL – Four people, including a 7-year-old boy, have died after a fire roared through a triplex in the Montreal neighbourhood of Verdun early Sunday morning.

About 125 firefighters battled the five alarm fire, on Verdun St. near Regina St., but it was too late to save the victims, which include a a 37-year-old year-old woman, her 7-year-old son, the boy’s 40-year-old aunt and a man in his 40s, Montreal police Constable Anie Lemieux said.

Shane Flowers was at home in Verdun when he got a phone call from the dead boy’s father. “My house is on fire and my son died,” Robert Dewitt told Flowers, a lifelong friend.

Flowers raced down to his friend’s house on Verdun Ave to discover that the blaze had seriously damaged two adjacent triplexes.

“This is just terrible,” said Flowers, as he watched firefighters remove charred debris from the houses. “You wouldn’t wish this on your worst enemy.”

When firefighters responded to the call, most of the people in the unit where the fire began were still asleep, Montreal fire department Chief of Operations Luc Robillard said.

Dewitt managed to flee the blaze with his other son, while firefighters rescued about 15 other residents from the two triplexes building.

Rejean Goyette, who lives on the top floor of one of the triplexes, said firefighters rescued him from his home through a window because both the front and back exits were blocked by flames.

“My wife woke me up because our smoke detector went off,” he said. “They took us through the window to the apartment next door and got us down the ladder.”

Goyette’s sister, Francine Paquette, arrived at the scene Sunday morning and began frantically looking for her brother. “There he is,” she shouted when she spotted him.

Bergeron said police have taken over the investigation because there were deaths but the cause of the fire was not yet known.

Robillard said it was likely that there was no smoke detector at 3606 Verdun Ave. or, if there was one, that it was malfunctioning because there was so much smoke when firefighters were called, the victims likely had little chance and they likely succumbed to smoke inhalation.

“If there was a functioning smoke detector, we wouldn’t be talking about (four) deaths this morning,” he said.

Robillard said about a dozen firefighters who worked to save the victims will be offered counselling and psychological support, as the deaths of three people, and especially of a child, were difficult to see.

Firefighters were also planning to go door to door in Verdun Sunday to remind people of the importance of installing smoke detectors.

More details to come.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

 

Griffintown' s New City Gas Complex

               this weekend, get a sneak peek at griffintown's new city gas complex

 

By ANDY RIGA WED, FEB 24 2010 COMMENTS(2) METROPOLITAN NEWS

 

Filed under: bonaventure, griffintown, new city gas

The New City Gas complex – at the centre of the controversy over a plan to raze the Bonaventure Highway – is opening its doors to the public this weekend.

Griffintown: Developing Culture will include poetry readings, lectures, art exhibits, walking tours, music and a "silent disco." It's part of the Montreal High Lights Festival.

Events run from 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 to 2 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 28. The full schedule is here. There's no admission charge.

The New City Gas Co. complex was built between 1849-1861. The company, seen as a forerunner of Hydro-Québec, distributed gas throughout the city, allowing for the illumination of streets and buildings. Much of the original complex remains intact.

- Andy Riga

(Photos of the New City Gas complex, taken in 2008: Allen McInnis, The Gazette)

                                      HAVE FUN & REMEMBER VERDUN                       

Got Milk ? Lowlife Idiot Moron Scumbags, Hit the Bottle

    you were expecting this: guaranteed milk bottle defaced

 

By Andy Riga Fri, Mar 19 2010 COMMENTS(4) Metropolitan News

 

I suppose it was inevitable.

The crisp white Guaranteed Pure Milk Bottle was attacked by #$@%^ vandals between the night of March 18 and the morning of March 19.

Heritage Montréal's Amélie Renouf tells me that the graffiti will be removed next week.

Click here for previous Metropolitan News items about the milk bottle's history and its recent refurbishment.

- Andy Riga

Dorcester Square

  

restoration of historic dorchester square almost completed, but what about the potholes?

By ANDY RIGA TUE, MAR 23 2010 COMMENTS(0) METROPOLITAN NEWS

Filed under: dorchester square, history, Place du Canada, Dominion Square

Fear not, downtown office workers: you'll have a nice place to munch on your sandwiches this summer.

Dorchester Square has been inaccessible since a major $23-million refurbishment started last year. After a winter break, the work is set to begin in the coming days, city spokesperson Renée Pageau tells Metropolitan News.

A popular lunchtime spot, the square will reopen to the public around the end of June, Pageau said. No more "threadbare lawns, rutted walkways and clunky picnic tables," as Gazette colleague Jeff Heinrich wrote in a feature about the project last year. The new square will feature new trees, new lighting, new granite walkways, new benches and more flowerbeds. 

And what about the embarrassing Dorchester Square St. (AKA rue du Square Dorchester)?

That's the one between the square and the stately Dominion Square Building, home to The Gazette. It's used by many visitors to the city; tour buses stop there, and it's home to a key tourism-information bureau. The roadbed is a mess of potholes and the cobblestone crosswalk is pockmarked, with many stones missing or askew.

Pageau said the street is a local one so it's up to the Ville Marie borough to repair it.

Jacques-Alain Lavallée, a spokesperson for borough, tells me Ville Marie will patch potholes on the street soon.

As for repaving the street and dealing with the crosswalk, he said it's unclear whether the borough will do the work this year.

So the square will be closed during the mid-June Montreal Grand Prix, the city's biggest tourism draw, and the road may be a mess all summer tourist season.

Oh well. Maybe next year.

Once the Dorchester Square project is completed, work will begin on Place du Canada. That job is to be completed by 2012.

The $23-million price tag covers the restoration and modernization of both squares.

For more on the Dorchester Square and Place du Canada renovations, visit this website devoted to the projects. You'll find the detailed plans (and more historical maps and photos) inthis 38-page pdf.  

More maps and historical photos are on this page on the website of Claude Cormier Landscape Architects, which is working on the projects.

Here's a shot of Dorchester Square, circa 1910:

This shot, from The Gazette's archives, show the street (the Dominion Square building is on the right), from Metcalfe St., in the 1960s:

The two squares - Dorchester Square and Place du Canada - used to be one, known as Dominion Square.

This is from a McCord Museum page about Montreal's public squares:

 

A key location in Montreal's history, Dominion Square is bordered by Peel Street to the west, between De La Gauchetière and St. Catherine streets, although it is no longer known by that name. The southern section, below René Lévesque Boulevard, was renamed Place du Canada in 1966, while the northern section has been called Dorchester Square since 1987. These name changes are fairly recent when compared with the square's history, which goes back to the late 18th century.

In 1795, for public health reasons, municipal officials decided to prohibit burials within the city's fortifications. Shortly thereafter, the Notre Dame de Montréal parish council opened a new cemetery in the St. Antoine district, on the site of what would later become Dominion Square. Montreal was just entering a period of rapid urban expansion, and it wasn't long before the new cemetery was once again engulfed by the city. In 1855, the parish council therefore closed the St. Antoine cemetery and opened Notre Dame des Neiges cemetery on Mount Royal. Plans to use the land of the former Catholic cemetery for real estate development were halted by the Sanitary Association of Montreal, which feared that excavation might trigger a renewed outbreak of cholera: the victims of the 1832 epidemic had been buried in the cemetery. It was therefore decided that there would be no excavation and that the site would be turned into a public space, which was done in 1880.

While monuments commemorating Montreal's links with the British Empire are scattered around the square, French-Canadian influence was ensured when Bishop Bourget had Mary, Queen of the World, Cathedral, a small-scale replica of St. Peter's in Rome, built in the square's southeast corner. Toward the end of the 19th century, Montreal's business district migrated to this new area north of the old city. The celebrated Windsor Hotel, which opened in 1878 on Peel Street, on the west side of the square, attracted many well-known figures, including British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill and French actress Sarah Bernhardt. The ice palaces built opposite the Windsor during the annual winter carnival drew huge crowds. The most impressive one, having a tower over 33 m high, was erected for the 1889 carnival. That same year, Canadian Pacific Railway added a new page to the history of Dominion Square by building Windsor Station on the square's southwest corner and making it its head office. On the north side of the square, the Dominion Square Building, which opened in 1930, was for a long time the largest retail and office complex in Canada. As the buildings surrounding this downtown square began to get taller and taller, the City brought in a by-law prohibiting towers taller than Mount Royal.

Eastern Townships Mt. Orford for sale

I would imagine many of us have done the school field trip thing to various places ,How about Ski Trips,...Well for One ($1.) Dollar, you can own your own Ski Hill & Golf Course,at Mount Orford,.now is your chance................here's the Gazette story:

If you're in the market for a ski hill and golf course, Mount Orford's are up for sale for $1.

Environment Minister Line Beauchamp announced yesterday she tabled a bill in the National Assembly calling for a submission of bids to purchase the Eastern Townships facilities, presently owned and operated at a hefty loss by the Quebec government.

The symbolic sale price of $1 will cover all buildings, chairlifts and other equipment needed to run the operations, but potential buyers must run the ski hill and golf course for at least five years, and put down a $4-million deposit to back up their guarantee.

Beauchamp also announced the 459 hectares of land encompassing the ski centre and golf course will be formally integrated into Mount Orford provincial park and remain the property of the Quebec government.

The move has been demanded by environmental groups like SOS Parc Orford ever since the Liberals proposed selling off 263 hectares of parkland to private developers to build 950 condominiums on an 85-hectare section at the base of the mountain. The idea was conceived by regional groups seeking a way to make the ski hill and golf course profitable. The facilities employ about 400 people in full and part-time jobs directly, and support 3,700 jobs in the region, Beauchamp has said. The proposal was met with widespread opposition, and the Charest government finally backed down in 2007.

Since then, the government has run the facilities at a loss of $2 million a year. The government was hamstrung because it couldn't use taxpayers' money to promote its operations at the expense of private ski hill and golf course owners, and thus did the minimum to keep the facilities running, Beauchamp said.

"We maintained the mountain, maintained the clientele (at the request of regional groups), but we were not aggressive," she said. "In the meantime, local promoters have been coming up with new business models, and I'm confident there will be good bid proposals submitted." The deadline for submissions of bids is May 28.

If the sale does not go through, the government will close the ski centre and golf course and dismantle the equipment and buildings.

SOS Parc Orford did not return calls last night. They're holding a news conference today.

rbruemmer@thegazette.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

More Google Views Soon

Google is going to add 150 more Canadian cities to their list of photo documented towns...

  We've been aware of the Google 'street view' option since almost the first day of it being available to us,& so I thought I would alert you all to this update as well. It does work well &(fairly well) I think it's a bit too slow moving the map,however it still is a neat tool..So if you see one of these cars in your town,then your being added to the list.. Also if you google Woodland Restaurant in Verdun, look very closely in the window & you can see a reflection of the Google Car with rooftop camera's doing the shot.

Turcot update

Today's Gazette has a story about a large hole at Turcot Yards ,not being part of the redelopment of the yards.

Another Photo of the LaSAlle Power Dam

Here is another Aerial view of the old LaSalle Power wich is from the book by Denis Gravel: LaSalle Then & Now. We can clearly see The Bronx on top, the dam in the middle and the Lachine Rapids on the Bottom. I have added this photo to my collection on the power dam in Album no. 38.

Guy

Springtime Finally .first day today (ceptin for Oz)

                        After a fairly harsh winter for a lot of you, i'm sure you are happy to have spring finally here.It looks like there is nice weather from Coast to Coast...now get those lawn mowers out, & yardwork to do, etc etc......   ( Diane ,it's still hot in Australia,I see, but it's the first day of Fall for you )      Ok everyone enjoy your end of winter, & start getting ready for Summer,coming sooner than you think..........

Racoons Breathe Sigh of Relief Worldover

.........Fess Parker checks out at 85,.....   Davey Crockett & Daniel Boone ,just expired today in the old character actor Fess Parker.

 I'm sure many of us watched the adventures of both Davey Crockett & Daniel Boone,while we were growing up in Verdun.

I'll bet you know all the words to the song too....:

LOS ANGELES - Fess Parker, the actor best known for playing American folk heroes Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, has died at the age of 85, a family spokeswoman said Thursday.

Parker, who became a successful winery owner and real estate developer after retiring from Hollywood in the 1970s, died at his home outside Santa Barbara, California, of natural causes, the spokeswoman said.

"He passed away this morning," the spokeswoman, Sao Anash, told Reuters. "He was 85 and it was old age, actually. His body just sort of shut down. He had been at home under hospice care for the past few months.

Anash said Parker's son, Eli, and daughter, Ashley, were at his side.

Parker was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in San Angelo, Texas. He served in the U.S. Navy and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin before entering show business.

He was a contract player for Warner Brothers, appearing in mostly small roles before landing the part of Crockett, the "King of the Wild Frontier" who famously died defending the Alamo in 1836. The show aired in the mid-1950s.

During the 1960s, Parker played Boone, another historic American frontiersman, in the NBC television series of the same name.

Parker retired from acting to concentrate on his business ventures, ultimately opening a luxury hotel on the Santa Barbara waterfront and a winery bearing his name.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Peter Cooney)

© Copyright (c) Reuters

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Davy+Crockett+star+Fess+Parker+dies/2698701/story.html#ixzz0iZNbilwl

Breaking News

MONTREAL – Police are at the scene of a shooting that took place at a clothing store Thursday afternoon on St. Jacques St. in downtown Montreal.

One person has been injured, according to preliminary media reports.

More details to follow.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/injured+Montreal+shooting/2698067/story.html#ixzz0iYKpA619

The Last Irishman

Les,

Reading your post on the Griffintown Horse Palace, reminded me of this article by Kristian Gravenor wich appeared in the 17th of November 2004  Montreal Mirror and wich I translated for our (SHGV) magazine in the automn of 2008. Unfortunately, I am missing the second page but if I can find it, I will post it as it shows at the end of the article the Lament of Griffintown. As we well know, it is difficult to translate poetry and have the same meaning but odly enough, it didn't turn out too bad. Just another nostalgic event from Montreal.

I may have posted this article previously.

Guy

1934 Ads

These 2 pages are from a 1934 brochure published for the Verdun Police & Fireemen 7th Annual Tournement Sat. August 11th 1934 held at the Brown Stadium wich was situated at the corner of Hickson and Bannantyne. I recal that stadium as we used to play in that area. I found a Guardian Oct. 11thh 1940 photo below from that stadium and I am still looking for a better photo to add to our archives.

Guy

 Les, do you remember the Black Horse beer or is this before your time ? I think it was still around in the 50s and maybe even the 60s.

ARCHIVES SHGV

Nun's Island

Les,

Remember this photo ? I said it was a photo of the old convent foundation on Nun's Island but you said it was the foundations of the the Champlain bridge under construction. I found this photo yesterday in our archives wich says the following (translation):

In september 1969, the archealogical diggings were suspended. Here are the foundations of the Jacques Le Ber farm updated.

This is a page of a book wich gives the history of the island up to the date that the Nun's left in the late 50s. The experts made extensive archealogical research wich are explained in the book with several photos of the artifacts they found. A very interesting book for those interested in the subject.

Guy

 

Save the Griffintown Horse Palace

                              View Current Signatures   -   Sign the Petition

---

To:  City of Montreal

SAVE THE GRIFFINTOWN HORSE PALACE!

Petition
Calling on the Administration of the City of Montreal
to recommend that the Griffintown Horse Palace be cited as a historical monument according to la Loi sur les biens culturels (Cultural Property Act).

Considering that the complex which makes up the celebrated Griffintown Horse Palace at 1220-1226 Ottawa Street, which includes a house and stables, a barn, an old inn, and other buildings, all grouped around a courtyard, dates from 1862 and is a uniquely intact vestige of the industrial and commercial use of the horse in the 19th and 20th century;

Considering that this unique and historic site boasts one of the last, or perhaps even the only, functioning stables of its architectural type in North America;

Considering that the complex still houses ponies, horses, and carriages used for transporting tourists in Old Montreal, and that these horses must be able to maintain a shelter near Old Montreal;

Considering that this complex, which once served as a shelter to passengers and their horses and to working horses used by the industries along the Lachine Canal, is a site of great cultural and historical heritage for Montreal and Canada;

Considering that Patri-Arch, the consulting firm in architecture and heritage, recently recommended that the City of Montreal consider the relevance of mentioning the Griffintown Horse Palace as a historical monument in accordance with la Loi sur les biens culturels , and that the Heritage Council (Conseil du patrimoine) reiterated this recommendation;

We, the undersigned, call upon the city of Montreal to recommend that the Griffintown Horse Palace be cited as a historical monument according to the la Loi sur les biens culturels (Cultural Property Act), and we demand that the entire ensemble of buildings, including the house, the inn, stables, other buildings and the court should be preserved as a functional enterprise with horses and carriages, as it has been for 150 years.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

View Current Signatures

Drive By on the Main or POP POP POPPIN ON HEAVENS DOOR

Well it's been a decidely unlucky weekend in Montreal for a few people anyway.MONTREAL – Three men between ages 30 and 40 were wounded about 4 a.m. Sunday in a drive-by shooting outside Heaven, a bar on St. Laurent Blvd. near Port Royal St. in Ahuntsic.

Three of the victims were shot in the legs, and a fourth broke his leg while trying to run away from the shooting, Montreal police Constable Daniel Lacoursière said.

The victims were later listed in stable condition in a hospital. Very little is known about the shooter or the motive. The shooter was in a pale-coloured SUV that sped north on St. Laurent right after the shots were fired.

Police said anyone with relevant information about the case should call, in confidence, the 24-hour Montreal police tip line at 514-393-1133.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/hurt+drive+shooting+Main/2681854/story.html#ixzz0iBO9Y9dg

                                                                                  HF&RV

St Patrick Parade Halted due to accident

A tragic accident has halted todays Saint patricks day parade.

MONTREAL – A fatal accident caused police to halt the St. Patrick’s parade Sunday afternoon in downtown Montreal.

An ambulance and police officers crowded around the corner of Ste. Catherine and Metcalfe Sts., where the accident occurred, about 2:15 p.m.

A yellow sheet covered what appeared to be a body lying on the street corner, and an ambulance was parked at the corner.

A flatbed truck that was carrying the Marianopolis College float and appeared to have been involved in the accident was also parked at the corner. According to witnesses at the scene, two youths sitting on the hitch linking the cab to the trailer were involved in the accident.

People from the Marianopolis float were taken off with a ladder, still clearly shaken from the incident.

A security perimeter was established around the corner, forcing paradegoers to walk around the scene.

Police have confimed that there was a collision and that a person was killed.

In 2002, a Concordia University student was injured in the parade when his legs were crushed under the wheels of a truck carrying one of the floats.

More details to come.                        

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Fatal+accident+halts+Patrick+parade/2682053/story.html#ixzz0iBCPEIkQ

The Party's Over 2010 (now the bill comes in)

However,the good news is,that Team Canada prevailed & Won Hockey Gold ( for this year at least)


I do have to admit, that although being a fan of North American Hockey ,it was very entertaining to see a Non -Fight filled competitive hockey game that required skill on the ice & not pugilistic skill... Don't get me wrong ,until someone wipes your face along the glass,or slams your skull twice for good measure along the boards, then you will never understand the need for a punch in the face,( retaliatory of course)
but highly skilled Skating , Passing, Shooting ,coupled with stellar goaltending were the staples of the Great Teams of the Past ( ala Montreal Canadiens) however they had to have their tough guys to fend off the likes of the broad street bully's of the day (Flyers, Bruins etc etc ) but in the end skill was best,even Montreal's tough guys,could score unlike today's brand of no minds who flagrantly hit people without fear of a come uppance...... perhaps we are headed for a day when Hockey will prevail.
In anycase enjoy the Team Canada song.....................