Porcine Practice

At work it was another bad day for pigs:

Grade 9 students Kyra Colbert and Mayuri Gnanendran work on their suturing skills at St. Joseph's Hospital during Take Your Kids to Work Day. The students got to try a variety of hands-on activities, including this surgical practice, during their day on the job. (Nov. 7, 2012)

The Etobicoke Urban Hero Awards portraits are always a good assignment. These people are all actively doing something to make their community a better place, seem to be invariably cheerful and humble, and are surprised anyone wants to take a photo and give them an award. Very nice to shoot. All photos copyright Mary Gaudet/Etobicoke Guardian.


Greenholme Junior Middle School Principal Terry Singh is an Urban Hero for his work building parent engagement and boosting student achievement in the Jamestown school. (May 30, 2012)


Marcella Porretta is an Urban Hero for her work with Monsignor Percy Johnson Catholic School's Me to We program, which has raised thousands of dollars though students' daily volunteer activities. Money goes to charities in Canada and to build schools overseas. (June 5, 2012)



Teacher Andrew Hut is an Urban Hero for his volunteer work as coach of a number of sports teams at St. Dorothy Catholic School, including the popular basketball program. (May 30, 2012)


Kay Mountford is an Urban Hero for her dedication to the community, including fundraising tens of thousands of dollars for cancer research, which recently included shaving her head. (June 5, 2012)


Nancy Allen, yoga and fitness instructor, is an Urban Hero for her volunteer work with school children, bringing healthy activity to kids free of charge. (May 30, 2012)


Anna Schaefer is an Urban Hero for her many contributions to the community, including implementing a volunteer-run Kiss N' Ride at St. Clements Catholic School that has improved student safety and eased congestion. (June 6, 2012)


Greenholme Junior Middle School teacher Nigel Barriffe is an Urban Hero for standing up for the underdog through his work as a social, economic, and educational advocate. (June 12, 2012)


The Etobicoke Humane Society is an Urban Hero for its commitment to pets in need. Treasurer Mike Falagario, back left, public relations officer Jennie Grado, president Pia Lauretti, front left, and shelter and office representative Karen Heaslip take a moment to play with some of the kittens looking for families at the society's new location at 67 Six Point Rd. (June 12, 2012)

Sorry vegetarians, you won't like this one. Part of a series on daily life in Etobicoke, the series was canned and this ended up running as a heavily cropped single.


Mark Ali saws up a berkshire pork in the back of his shop, The Village Butcher, at 132 6th St. on The Lakeshore. Ali, who has been in the neighbourhood for the past 5 years, cuts a 250 pound pig into meal-sized portions every Tuesday. (May 15, 2012) Copyright Mary Gaudet/Etobicoke Guardian

At a memorial for former Seventh Street Junior School student Cody Fuse-Katayama, his mother Izumi Fuse, left, brother Ira Fuse-Katayama, and father Kenji Katayama prepare to release doves on the day he would have graduated with his Grade 5 classmates. The family donated goal posts for the soccer field the boy loved to play on. He died suddenly of a heart condition in 2010. (Mary Gaudet/Toronto Community News. June 26, 2012)

I don't do a lot of sad news, and this one last week was very touching. I interviewed a few of the kids for our reporter, including the little brother here. He said it was cool to hold a dove, but also kind of creepy since he could feel its bones.

24 Hours in Bloor West

The Bloor West Villager did an extra photo pull-out section last week, which was fun to shoot for. The idea was to get photos of life in the neighbourhood around the clock. These are a few of mine. Copyright Mary Gaudet/Metroland-Toronto Community News

Kristianne Monsivais gets ready to board a train at Keele Station, on her way to work at a travel agency downtown.

Students in Grade 1 at Swansea Public School, including from left Tomaz, Trevor, Jack and Sage, figure out what bullying is during a special class dedicated to recognizing and resolving conflicts before they escalate.

Ms. Cher Mark gathers her Grade 1 students, including from left Emilia, Vivian, Saige, and Alexandra, for the start of class at Swansea Public School.

Tony Pereira carries a wild Pacific halibut at Snapper's Seafood, 263 Durie St. Co-owner of Snappers for the past 12 years, Pereira has been selling a wide variety of fish to the people of Bloor West for many more.


Michele Gare, left, watches as Ash Yoon prepares to place another needle to help treat her migraines at the Toronto Acupuncture Studio, 961 Bloor St. Founded by Yoon, the clinic operates on a sliding scale to make acupuncture more accessible to people who need it regardless of income.

Marcel Skura, scaling the wall in Boulderz Climbing Centre at 1444 Dupont, has been climbing indoors and out for three years. The space is open every day, and includes a youth climbing team that has competed nationally and internationally.


Firefighter Bill Hicks slides down the fire pole at the Junction Fire Station #423, late in a 24-hour shift that included fighting flames in an apartment, tackling a brush fire in High Park, and a call to an industrial accident.

Toronto Police Staff Sargent Bruce Morrison scans a screen showing all the prisoners in lock-up for the night at the 11 Division Station on Davenport Road. Police officers working the overnight shift are inspected and receive orders for the night at 11pm, then head out on patrol until 7am. Officers work overnight one week of every five.

Toronto Police Sargent Sal Granata gives officers their instructions for the night, warning them of possible problems.

Toronto Police Constable Yev Kravchenko readies his shotgun for the overnight shift before leaving the 11 Division parking lot on Davenport Road.

Magnetic Resonant Imagining (MRI) technologist Nancy Chmelik gives Jackie Gushue a call button in preparation for a knee scan late on a Friday night at St. Joseph's Hospital. Patients are scheduled 24 hours a day in the MRI, which aligns water molecules in the body with magnets to produce 3D images of organs, vessels, and other soft tissue.