VAUGHAN: 2014 year of activism, heroism and magic on the court

YorkRegion.com
Dec. 31, 2014
Adam Martin-Robbins

Change, the only genuine constant in our lives, was certainly evident in Vaughan.

The year began with Vaughan residents cleaning up following a major ice storm and ended with Vaughan accessibility champion Randy McNeil being nominated for a prestigious award.

The months between saw a major arts festival event at Kleinburg’s McMichael gallery, a spate of targeted killings, two elections, a local athlete being selected first overall in the NBA draft and a massive mosasaur skull put up for sale by a Vaughan fossil dealer. 

Below is a roundup of some of the year’s top stories published by The Vaughan Citizen:   

January

The massive ice storm that struck southern Ontario just before Christmas 2013 had an impact that was felt well into the new year with the clean-up of downed trees and branches lasting until spring.

The city’s initial projection for the clean-up cost was pegged at $21 million, but was later lowered to $18.1 million.

The city has until Dec. 31 to file a claim with the province’s $190-million Ice Storm Assistance Program to try to recoup some of that. The city is expected to seek $10 million to $11 million in relief.

April

Organizers of Toronto’s renowned 10-day arts extravaganza, Luminato Festival, announced April 9 it was branching outside the city for the first time in its seven-year history with a solo show by internationally acclaimed artist Terence Koh at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg.

The exhibition featured a performance art piece called Tomorrow’s Snow and an installation — an eight-foot pine tree with a haiku at its base — honouring iconic Canadian Painter Emily Carr set up in the McMichael’s artists’ cemetery.

Meanwhile, Carmine Verduci, an alleged mobster, was gunned down outside the Regina Sports Café in a brazen April 24 daytime shooting.

The killing of the 57-year-old came less than a year after two other suspected mobsters were shot to death outside a banquet hall. There were two more targeted killings in the weeks following Verduci’s death, prompting speculation there might be a turf war brewing between different mafia factions.

June

Thousands of people, including local councillors, federal politicians and Premier Kathleen Wynne, visited Tahir Hall in Maple June 4 to pay their respects to the family of Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar.

The 51-year-old Canadian cardiologist was gunned down in Pakistan in front of his wife and the youngest of their three children, reportedly because he was an Ahmadi Muslim.

Qamar was in Pakistan to provide volunteer medical care at the Tahir Heart Institute.

His death led Canadian politicians to call for greater pressure to be brought on the Pakistan government to adopt laws protecting religious freedom and promoting tolerance.

Liberal MPP Steven Del Duca was re-elected June 12, winning a resounding victory over runner-up PC candidate Peter Meffe.

His party surprised many pundits by capturing a majority of seats to continue extending the Grits 11-year long reign in Ontario.

And Del Duca, first elected to office in a 2012 by-election, is considered a rising star in Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government.

A few weeks after the election, he landed a plum cabinet appointment as minister of transportation. 

Thornhill basketball phenom Andrew Wiggins was selected first overall in the NBA’s 2014 draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 26.

The city officially declared the day Andrew Wiggins Day in his honour.

Two months later, he was traded — along with fellow Canadian and 2013 No.1 draft pick Anthony Bennett — to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love.

The Cavs wanted to secure a proven wingman for superstar LeBron James, who returned to his former team weeks after the draft. Wiggins is having a decent rookie year, averaging 12.8 points a game.

He was named the Western Conference’s rookie of the month in early December after scoring a career high 29 points against the Sacramento Kings Nov. 22.

July

A former City of Vaughan employee from the Water, Wastewater and Drainage Department and four others were charged with defrauding the municipality of $2.4 million. 

Police allege that over a 13-year period a 57-year-old department supervisor created thousands of fake field purchase orders for work done by fictitious companies.

The companies were paid in excess of $2 million for services that were never rendered. The case is winding its way through the courts, but the city says it recouped about $2.2 million through its insurance.

September

Leo Gallo, 10, was bestowed with a heroism award by Vaughan Fire Chief Larry Bentley Sept. 22 after The Citizen published an account of how he came to the aid of a 72-year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer.

Leo was heading home after playing with some friends at the park when he crossed paths with Concetta Valela.

She was lost and dehydrated after wandering around the area north of her Woodbridge neighbourhood for hours.

He recognized her as she lived a few doors down from his grandparents’ house and helped her get back home as the police were preparing to launch a search for her.

Fossil Realm — a local, family firm that sells rare fossils and minerals — put a massive mosasaur skull up for sale for $120,000.

The 4.75-foot, 200-pound skull was uncovered in Morocco. It belonged to a gigantic predatory marine lizard known as a prognathodon that terrorized the world’s oceans 70 million years ago.

At last check, the skull was still available for a discounted price of $95,000.

October

Vaughan voters restored all of the incumbents except one-term regional councillor Deb Schulte — who was replaced by former longtime council member Mario Ferri — in the Oct. 27 municipal election. 

Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, unsurprisingly, won another landslide victory against a field of long-shot contenders, while former mayor Michael Di Biase vaulted past veteran Regional Councillor Gino Rosati and Ferri into the deputy mayors’ chair by garnering the most votes of all the regional councillor candidates.

December

Vaughan activist Randy McNeil was nominated for the first-ever David C. Onley Award for Leadership in the Role Model Category.

The MS Society of York Region nominated the 52-year-old who has been wheelchair-bound for nearly a decade due to multiple sclerosis.

McNeil has spent the past 18 months or so “ass-kicking” politicians and government officials about failing to address the needs of those with accessibility challenges.