Latest news with #JillThompson
BBC News
5 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Minehead: How community responded to fatal school bus crash
People who helped respond to a fatal school coach crash a week ago have praised the community spirit they witnessed Prince, a 10-year-old boy, died when a coach carrying pupils from Minehead Middle School in Somerset left the road near the village of Wheddon Cross and slid down a 20ft (6m) Thompson from Wheddon Cross was part of a team that supported families waiting at a nearby rest centre, providing hot drinks, food and a hub where information could be shared."I have to completely praise the police, the fire service, the ambulance service, the air ambulance - they are just amazing people; Musgrove Park sent nurses out. The whole community came together to help," she said. "It was a terrible day. The poor parents and children who will always remember I think this incident. You couldn't really forget it."People in the community do love those children more than anything in the world".She added: "The impact of this coach crash has pulled the community really together." While Ms Thompson's team gave immediate support to parents and children, a team of paramedics worked alongside them, triaging young with more serious injuries were taken to Musgrove Park Hospital and the Bristol Royal Infirmary, while those with minor injuries were taken to Minehead Community Hospital."Most staff offered to stay to help," said Hannah Coleman, the service lead for community urgent care, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust."There were quite a few patients with head injuries and cuts, some of them quite deep cuts from the rolling down the hill I would imagine."The children were very traumatised, very quiet."She added: It was really not like these children, who we know because we see them all the time when they come off their bikes and when they're poorly." Since the crash a week ago, local groups have raised tens of thousands of pounds, with planned events and crowdfunding appeals, and Somerset Council has given £50,000 to a Somerset Community Foundation Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton & Minehead, Rachel Gilmour, has also written to the government asking for support for the families involved."It is my job to follow this up and see what I can get the government to do to help my community," she said."Somerset Community Foundation is also making sure children can get support over the summer holidays." 'Painstaking' forensics Local ward councillor, Mandy Chilcott (Cons) also says she was working towards getting in-school support for those & Somerset Police said it continued to investigate the site of the crash."The coach was recovered on Saturday 19 July and is now subject to a painstaking forensic examination by experts," read a statement."Our Serious Collision Investigation Team has examined the collision site, and specialist officers searched the area. This was challenging due to the steep slope, woodland and undergrowth.""Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Oliver Price, 10, and a dedicated family liaison officer is available to children and an adult remain in hospital.
ABC News
21-04-2025
- General
- ABC News
South West ratepayers 'disgusted' as FOGO efforts go to waste
Residents in Western Australia's South West are disappointed to learn their efforts to sort food scraps and garden trimmings from general rubbish are going to waste. Bunbury Harvey Regional Council (BHRC) has been turning food and garden organic (FOGO) waste from homes and businesses into sellable compost and mulch for over a decade. Until recently, it processed FOGO for more than half of the region's 12 local governments. Amid ongoing contamination concerns, the state government awarded BHRC more than $80,000 for a FOGO decontamination project in October 2024. City of Bunbury FOGO mascot Freddy celebrates the 10-year anniversary of green bins in 2023. ( ABC South West: Kate Stephens ) However, two months later, BHRC told local governments it would start diverting all FOGO to landfill due to high levels of contamination in kerbside collections. Earlier this month, it stopped accepting FOGO altogether. Vanessa Bennett, who lives in Capel, said she always made an effort to sort her FOGO properly and was "disgusted" to hear it was now going to landfill. "We're paying council rates for that extra bin," she said. Bunbury resident Jill Thompson, who has a large garden, said she filled her green bin to the brim every week. She said the situation was "an absolute disaster". Jill Thompson (left) and Vanessa Bennett are disappointed to hear their FOGO will go to landfill. ( ABC South West: Pip Waller ) The City of Bunbury, which is one of the local governments BHRC processes FOGO for, recently introduced an average waste charge of $50 per property to "help cover kerbside collection of domestic refuse, recyclables and organic waste". It came on top of an average 4.1 per cent increase to existing waste management charges. The ABC has contacted the City of Bunbury and BHRC for comment. Contamination and capacity issues plague tip Collie Shire president Ian Miffling said BHRC enforced a contamination limit of 1 per cent for organic waste, which he believed was unrealistic. "That's ruled out just about everybody's FOGO because nobody can comply with that sort of ruling," he told ABC Radio South West. Collie Shire president Ian Miffling says BHRC's 1 per cent contamination limit for FOGO waste is unachievable for local shires. ( ABC News: Ruby Littler ) Dardanup Shire president Tyrrell Gardiner said contamination was certainly a challenge, with residents sometimes "aspirational" about what they threw in. In 2023, Dardanup Shire According to Waste Authority WA, common contaminants include glass, metal, treated timber, plastics, and non-biodegradable lawn care products. But Mr Gardiner said a 1 per cent contamination rate was not impossible to achieve with the right technology. He said he believed BHRC's decision to pause FOGO processing was about more than contamination, with capacity issues at the facility also at play. Waste Authority WA's guide to what should go in the green FOGO bin. ( Supplied: Waste Authority WA ) The state government said it was investigating alternative solutions for the area and trying to help BHRC improve its FOGO decontamination processes. WA's Local Government Association (WALGA) said a dedicated regional strategy was urgently needed, with the state's waste management strategy largely focused on Perth and Peel. In 2023, the federal and WA governments announced a co-investment of $11.25 million for three organic waste processing infrastructure projects, all based in Perth. Residents stick with three-bin system Despite red and green bin rubbish being destined for the same tip, South West shires have asked residents to continue separating their organic waste. In a statement, the Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup said that, despite seeming unnecessary, "maintaining positive waste habits" was crucial. Green bins in the City of Bunbury and nearby shires are being tipped into general landfill. ( ABC South West: Bridget McArthur ) Several local governments said they were working together to find alternative FOGO processing solutions as soon as possible. "Throwing everything into landfill, it's not sustainable … we've got to get [FOGO] to work," Mr Gardiner said. Dardanup resident Billie Pollock said she was grumpy about the pause on FOGO when she felt there was a clear answer to the high contamination rates. "The red bin should be emptied every week instead of the green one," Ms Pollock said. "I feel like a lot of people I've seen are just putting their red bin rubbish into the green bin … because there's just not enough space." Billie Pollock says people are putting general waste into green bins when their red bins are full. ( ABC South West: Pip Waller ) Ms Thompson said more education would also help reduce contamination, saying many people were still confused about what could and could not go in the green bin. But she said if the green bins were just going to be tipped into landfill, residents should instead be provided with their own compost bins and mulchers.
