www.NorthCountryBusinessNews.com December 2009 3
Port Sydney parents craft non-toxic toys
By Jason Ferris Health Canada for the manu- ing the look of the items as
In the aftermath of millions facturing of our wooden well as preventing water dam-
of toy recalls in 2007, James toys,” James says. age,” says James. “You never
and Veronica Leonard of Port Aside from constructing know when a child may
Sydney decided to do some- toys with high play value that decide to put a toy into their
thing about it. are built to last generations, mouth or the tub.”
Painted Turtle Wooden the Leonards put a premium The Leonards put extra
Toys, the playful title of the on safety. Many of the toys effort into using as many
Leonards’ new venture, is tak- recalled in 2007 were flagged Canadian materials as possi-
ing the passion of a hobby because of the toxic chemi- ble.
and turning it into a home- cals used to produce them. “The wood is from a local
based business. Specializing The one-of-a-kind pieces sawmill in Orillia and our
in handcrafted wooden toys, crafted by the Leonards are hempseed oil is certified
these ambitious entrepreneurs completely non-toxic. organic from a company
are hoping their dedication to “The primary finish that we called Manitoba Harvest,”
child-friendly materials and use is food-grade hempseed Veronica states.
high manufacturing standards oil which is the same type of For a complete list of toys
will lead to success. thing you might find in a sal- and the products used in the
“This is certainly our ad dressing,” says James. construction of these wooden
intent. There are, of course, Authentic milk paints and marvels, you can visit the
higher standards of manufac- stains, as well as completely Leonard’s website at
turing here in Canada and we natural shellac, are also used www.paintedturtlewoodentoy
have been exceeding the in the manufacturing s.ca. Toys may also be found
industry guidelines and safety process. at Sustain and The Great Vine
PLAYING SAFE: Veronica and James Leonard make non-toxic children’s
requirements laid out by “It does a great job preserv- stores in Huntsville. toys. Their son, Isaac, plays with a rattle.
Bracebridge Animal Hospital building new location
By Jason Dickson neighbours,” McLeod the new location.”
The Bracebridge Animal explains. “It’s easy to build a McLeod is especially excit-
Hospital will soon move from silver box, but I really didn’t ed about his new digital radi-
its location in the Bracebridge want to do that.” ology equipment.
Square Shopping Plaza to the The business has seen a With digital radiology an
corner of Monck Road and steady growth in clients in the X-ray does not use traditional
Balls Drive. past four years. Treatment film, but instead is fully digi-
The site is currently being areas in the current location tal and integrated with the
cleared for construction. have become too small. pet’s medical files.
“We really like that corner,” “We’ve completely out- “Everything is available on
explains Dr. Jason McLeod, grown the space that we’re a computer screen, instanta-
owner of the Bracebridge in,” McLeod says. neously,” says McLeod, “No
Animal Hospital. “It’s draw- Parking is also an issue, as X-ray photo chemicals. No
ing a lot of attention.” traffic in the plaza can be dif- medical waste.”‘
McLeod has worked with ficult to navigate. This new technology
an architect to design a build- He credits the growth in his reflects McLeod’s ecological
ing that will meet the hospi- business to his amazing staff. approach to veterinary medi-
tal’s needs. “They really let us elevate cine. The new building will
“I want to create something our levels of service,” says use eco-friendly construction
that was very visually attrac- McLeod. “People can expect and design materials, from the
tive and Muskokan,” McLeod to have all of the services insulation to the paint.
says. from a large urban hospital in McLeod plans for a late
The new building will pre- smaller space.” April opening.
dominantly feature wood, He continues, “People “I’m very excited for peo-
with a shingled roof and embrace the way we ple to see what the building is
gables. approach veterinary medi- going to look like,” he says. “I
VET CLINIC: An artist’s rendering reveals what the new Bracebridge
“We don’t want to do any- cine. We’re going to be able just want to get rolling with
Animal Hospital will look like once complete.
thing that is offensive to the to offer even more services in things.”
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