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.