Doly Begum MPP for Scarborough Southwest
3110 Kingston Rd, Unit #5 416-261-9525 • dolybegum.ca DBegum-CO@ndp.on.ca
Volume 48 No. 10
BEACHMETRO.COM
We are here to help! Drop in or make an appointment.
416-690-1032 • beyrima.ca RBerns-McGown-CO@ndp.on.ca
July 16, 2019
‘We always carry her tucked in our hearts’ Family of Reese Fallon thanks community for support as anniversary of shooting approaches By Alan Shackleton
AS THE one-year anniversary of the Danforth Avenue shooting that took the lives of 18-year-old Reese Fallon and 10-yearold Julianna Kozis approaches, Fallon’s family wanted to publicly say a thank you to all those who have supported them during the past 12 months. Fallon, who had graduated from Malvern Collegiate in the spring of 2018 and was planning to start a nursing course at McMaster University in the fall, and Kozis, a Markham resident, were both killed on the night of Sunday, July 22, after a man started shooting at innocent bystanders along Danforth Avenue in the Greektown area. Along with taking the lives of Fallon and Kozis, the shooter also wounded 13 other people before killing himself. Reese’s parents, Doug Fallon and Claudine de Beaumont, said the past year has been an “extremely dark time” but the support of the community has been of enormous importance to them. In an interview at their Upper Beach home earlier this month, they said they wished to thank all those who have been there for them and helped them over the past year. They said there are too many individuals to name specifically, and did not want to try and mention them all for fear of leaving someone out. However, they did want to publicly thank a number of groups including the Highland Funeral Home in Scarborough; Brown’s Flower Shop on Kingston Road; Loblaws; the Malvern Collegiate community including staff and students; TD Securities (Doug’s employer); the Beaches-East York Liberal Association and MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith; Drink inc. (which organized a fundraiser on Aug. 22 in Reese’s memory); and the first responders who came out on the night of July 22 and particularly the Toronto firefighters from Station 323’s D Shift who stayed with Reese after she was shot. “We want to thank everyone. Our friends, our neighbours and the community itself,” said Claudine. “Eleven-and-a-half months later and we still see the community wrapping us up
PHOTO: SUBMITTED
Reese Fallon was a brave and compassionate teenager who stood up for the rights of others. and supporting us with love.” Doug and Claudine said that friends and neighbours dropped off food and supported them in numerous other ways in the months after the shooting. “Our neighbours and the community prepared food for us for about three months. They fed us during what was an extremely dark time. We were not even able to prepare food,” said Claudine. “At first we resisted this, but with the encour-
agement of some neighbours we came to accept it.” “We’re a very small family and our friends have become our family. They have been integral to our survival this year,” said Doug. “We have seen this huge loss, this enormous suffering,” he said. “From such an evil act, we have seen such beautiful acts of kindness.” He said the family has worked hard to be kind and supportive to each other in the wake of the tragic loss of Reese who was their middle daughter between older sister Riley, 22, and younger sister Quinn, who turned 16 this May. “The four of us have been very kind and loving with each other, and we have tried to live with compassion for others,” said Doug. Nothing, though, will ever lessen their grief. “For us, I can’t form words to do justice to the loss and the sadness we are feeling,” said Claudine. “We will never get over the loss of Reese. We always carry her tucked in our hearts. We live with deep eternal love for Reese.” Doug and Claudine said they are also grateful to Reese’s friends, many of whom were with her having ice cream in Alexander The Great Parkette after celebrating a birthday party on the night of the shooting, for helping to keep her memory alive. “This has been a significant loss for them. They were so close, they were like sisters,” said Claudine. “I’m proud of Reese’s friends. They have worked so hard to keep her legacy and spirit alive everywhere in our hearts.” They are also proud of daughter Quinn’s work with the group triggerchange.ca and a number of other Danforth shooting victims calling for a ban on handguns and assault weapons in Canada. “She is very passionate and it has become an important cause for her to help make this change,” said Doug. Claudine and Doug said Reese’s personality was also to stand up for what was right. “When Reese was here, she tried to be a leader for change Continued on Page 2
Beaches Jazz Fest set for final two weekends of music and fun THE 31ST annual Beaches International Jazz Festival wraps up the final two weekends of July with music and fun. The first weekend of the Main Stage concerts at Woodbine Park will take place from Friday, July 19 to Sunday, July 21. On the Main Stage, reg-
gae and funk are on tap this Friday night. Opening up the entertainment will be Tribute to Studio One: Reggae Got Soul at 7 p.m. The night wraps up with The Funk Frequency at 9 p.m. On July 20, music begins at 1 p.m. with Discovery Through The Arts. Next on stage is Long Range
Hustle at 2:30 p.m; followed by Crack of Dawn at 4 p.m.; Altin Gun at 5:30 p.m.; Stephen Lewis and The Big Band of Fun at 7:30 p.m.; and DA CRUZ at 9:30 p.m. The July 21 lineup features Discovery Through The Arts at 12:30 p.m.; followed by Rob Tardik at 2:30 p.m.; Angelique Francis at
4:30 p.m.; and After Funk at 6:30 p.m. There’s also an A Capella Stage this weekend at Woodbine Park. Performing on July 19 at the A Capella Stage are the Waterfront Singing Ambassadors at 5:30 p.m. and Planting Pearl at 6:30 p.m. On July 20 on the A Ca-
pella Stage will be Dammien Alexander at 1 p.m.; Beatsync at 2 p.m.; The Ault Sisters at 3 p.m.; and Pressgang Mutiny at 4 p.m. On July 21, the A Cappella Stage will see The Watch at 1 p.m.; Countermeasure at 2 p.m; Retrocity at 3 p.m.; and Ro Randall at 4 p.m. Next week, the free
Workshop Series for all ages will present Listen and Learn sessions at the Mennonite New Life Centre, 1774 Queen St. E., from 7 to 9 p.m. Musicians will be interviewed by the jazz festival’s artistic director, Bill King. On July 22, Canadian singer, composer and pianist Laila Baili will be the guest artist. Continued on Page 2
1695 Eglinton Ave E 416.751.3131 donvalleyvolkswagen.ca