Latest news with #Templeton
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Poll: Templeton slammed for attending local government conference
Christchurch mayoral candidate Sara Templeton has defended attending the Local Government New Zealand conference and missing a vote on overnight parking for hospital staff. Whether Templeton and community board members should have attended the LGNZ SuperLocal conference last week using public funds has also been questioned, when the city council pulled out of LGNZ in June last year. Templeton and seven community board members attended the conference at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, costing $14,800. Attendance was $2000 a person for two days, but some only went for a day at $1000. The city council spent $22,500 last year sending Halswell and Riccarton wards city councillors Andrei Moore and Tyla Harrison-Hunt, and eight community board members, to the conference in Wellington. The trips are paid for by the city council through professional development funds, which are allocated for city councillors and community board members. Waimairi Ward city councillor Sam MacDonald, a vocal critic of Templeton's bid for mayoralty and an ally of Mayor Phil Mauger, told The Star Templeton should have been present for a council vote on investigating overnight parking for hospital staff at Parakiore Recreation and Sports Centre. Looking into a safe parking location became a priority after hospital staff raised concerns about leaving work on foot at night. A student midwife was assaulted in May while walking back to her vehicle after a shift, while another hospital worker was hit in the back by two people on an electric scooter while walking to work about two weeks later. MacDonald said Templeton should have taken part in the vote issue she had drawn attention to before other city councillors in April. 'I just don't accept that she couldn't take a few minutes to drop what she was doing and take part in this important motion.' MacDonald said she should have travelled the short distance back to the council chambers or appeared on video link for the vote. 'It's pretty hypocritical for her to not join the rest of us when we're voting on an important issue when it's something she's talked about.' Templeton said there was no risk of the car park motion, introduced by Mauger, failing. It passed unanimously. 'I booked the conference many months ago and of course wasn't aware there would be that motion when I booked it,' she said. Templeton said there was no need to take part in the debate on the issue as she had already made her support for the overnight parking clear and felt no need to 'grandstand' on the issue she had first raised. Mauger said each city councillor can use their professional development fund how they see fit. 'That's up to them,' he said. MacDonald said 'at the end of the day' elected members can choose how to use their professional development fund, but he questioned Templeton's choice to use it for the LGNZ conference. 'She went to this conference where people were arguing against capping rates. I think it just shows Sara is not interested in lower rates.' Templeton said MacDonald was 'misinformed' about the conference. 'For me it was about hearing different views about the future structure of local government and hearing from Government ministers.' An LGNZ spokesperson acknowledged most councils cover the cost of elected members attending SuperLocal. 'SuperLocal provides valuable opportunities for members to come up to speed on central government reforms, professional development, networking, and learning about best practices in local government.' The spokesperson defended the ticket prices, saying the fees were comparable to other similar professional conferences on a national scale. Hornby Ward city councillor Mark Peters voted against sending two Waipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board members, Helen Broughton and Luke Chandler, to the meeting. He said it was a 'little bit hypocritical' for the city council to send elected members to attend the conference with public funds when it has left LGNZ. 'We're saying on one hand we don't want to be a member of this group, but then also have a hand in the ratepayers' pocket and sending members along.' City councillors voted 9-8 to not renew membership with LGNZ last year, with many critical of the $163,000 annual fee for the organisation. Some also believed leaving would help the city council advocate more directly to Government rather than through an intermediary. Templeton voted against leaving LGNZ and would discuss rejoining with city councillors if elected mayor, believing it would facilitate better cooperation with other councils. Peters also questioned the price of the conference tickets. 'It certainly is on the expensive side and it goes back to why some councils have left LGNZ as the membership was quite a lot,' he said. Templeton was unsure whether ticket prices were too expensive, considering they are often paid for through public funds. 'We have our own professional developments set aside and I saw value in using it for this conference,' she said. Broughton, who is Waipuna community board deputy chair, defended her decision to attend the conference. 'Even though the city council pulled out, I think it's a little bit separate for community board members and there's still some value in the conference itself.' Even though it is an election year and some attendees might not win re-election, Templeton said there was still value in members attending. 'It's about representing Christchurch and showing members of council are present on a national stage.'
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
David Templeton reflects on Rangers regrets and darkest point as he enjoys career twilight in ninth tier
Former Hearts and Rangers winger reckons he lost seven years' worth of his career to injuries. Just a few miles separate Ibrox Stadium from the lesser-known Greenfield Park in Shettleston. But in footballing terms the distance between Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow United might as well be the length of the country. To be precise there are NINE tiers of the Scottish football ladder between the two clubs. For David Templeton though, running out for the latter in the West of Scotland Third Division doesn't signify a career low point. Not by a long way. Not when he's back on the grass playing regularly and purely for the love of the game. And certainly not when he looks back at 14 years as a full-time professional and concedes half of them were wasted on the sidelines. Templeton knows his career should have been so much better. Every time the flying winger felt he was hitting his groove he would be brought crashing back down to earth by injury. Two games into his Rangers career for instance after he took the plunge to leave Hearts just a day after scoring the biggest goal of his career for the Jambos in a Europa League draw with Liverpool at Anfield. Ankle ligament damage in that draw at Annan was the start of an injury-ravaged spell after he joined the Gers' journey back to the top while they were at the very bottom. But never did those lows hit harder than nine years ago when, having missed almost the entirety of the last of those four seasons at Ibrox due to a knee injury, he found himself club-less and sinking into a depressing daily routine of alcohol, junk food and box sets on the TV. That difficult memory means Templeton - who recovered to pick up his career at Burton Albion and Hamilton before eventually giving in to injury aged 32 - will never take any 90 minutes playing the beautiful game for granted. After a two-year spell at Drumchapel United that followed his 'retirement', he's now playing with former Scotland striker David Goodwillie in a Glasgow United side looking to ascend the pyramid while spending his Sundays working as a scout for the Hearts academy under the eye of his old Tynecastle team mate Andy Webster. Templeton is still only 36. But when he looks back at his pro career one word sums it up better than any other. 'Frustrating,' he told MailSport. 'I did well but I feel like if I didn't have the injuries, I probably could have had a better career. 'Maybe I went to Rangers at the wrong time as well. Dropping down the leagues when I should have been wanting to stay in the top league. But I was getting forced out at Hearts because they were needing money. 'I was hoping Rangers were going to win three titles in a row and then my last season we would have been in the Premier and I'd get a new deal. But obviously that never panned out. 'The main frustration is the injuries. I only played 300-odd games my full career which is horrendous considering I made my debut at Hearts at 20. 'Only playing 300-odd games when there's maybe about 50 games in a season. You're talking about seven seasons' worth of games missed. I've probably had about seven years' worth of injuries, which is crazy. 'Looking back maybe I should have done more at Rangers in terms of more gym work and looked after myself better. 'But it's not until you're older that you have these regrets. The worst part is the mental part in terms of the rehab.' Just 86 of his 349 professional appearances came in that four year spell at Ibrox. Templeton picked up back-to-back league titles as Ally McCoist 's side eased from the bottom tier back into the Championship. But the lowest point of the winger's career arrived just as Mark Warburton put the pieces in place for the final step back into the top flight in 2015-16. Templeton said: 'Warburton had come in and everything was going well. But I done my medial ligament in the first league game against St Mirren. It was the deep part of the ligament but the scans weren't showing that up. 'I spent from August to the end of May when my contract was up not knowing actually what was up. 'They thought it was nerve damage, I tried tablets for my nerves, I got an operation in January which didn't work. 'It was horrendous. I was going in doing the same rehab stuff but I constantly had the same pain. 'I was ready to chuck it. I was just 27 and ended up in a bad place. 'A bit depressed. I was just going home, drinking beers, watching box sets with the curtains down. 'I never realised how bad I got until later in life when I think back to what my daily scenario was. I was just wanting to be by myself. 'My missus was working so it wouldn't be until she came home that the curtains would open again and it would be normal. 'Now I'd always encourage anyone going through similar to speak to people. The worst thing you can do is be isolated and try to deal with it yourself. You need people to help you. Never give up because it can always get better. 'It wasn't until I left Rangers that summer that Stevie Walker, the physio, found a report from Andy Williams, a consultant knee surgeon in London. 'It was about a deep medial ligament issue. I went to see Andy and it turned out that's what it was. I had an anchor put in to replace the deep part of the ligament to the bone again. 'I got the operation in the August - exactly a year on from when the injury occurred. Then I was without a club until the next March when I signed with Hamilton.' It's another 'what if' moment in Templeton's career. What if the problem had been diagnosed straight away and he'd been fit to help Warburton's side over the line to promotion and earned himself a new deal. Time never allowed for that and, after rebuilding his career at Hamilton, he won a move to Nigel Clough's Burton Albion where he helped The Brewers on a sensational run to the League Cup semi final against Manchester City in 2019 before returning to Accies after two seasons. The injuries mounted again though. Groin and hamstring issues eventually saw Temps call it a day at 32. Now he's enjoying football back at grassroots at Greenfield Park. But he said: 'People might wonder why but I just enjoy playing football. It's no different when I'm out there with Glasgow United in front of a hundred or so fans. I want to win. I still get annoyed when we lose, I still go home raging. 'I just love football, whether it's a job or not. I'm doing a bit of scouting for Hearts Academy on a Sunday. Webby (academy manager, Andy Webster) got me in. It's a brilliant academy and the facilities are superb. 'But I want to get back into coaching. I had two years coaching at Accies and I have my B Licence. Next year I hope to get my A Licence. 'My playing career was frustrating. But I love the game and want to stay involved.' Meanwhile, Templeton is convinced Russell Martin will get Rangers motoring again - five years after he was left running on fumes against his MK Dons side. The winger was in the final throws of his Burton Albion career when he came up against Martin in the new Ibrox boss' 10th game as a manager. Burton had thumped the Dons 3-0 in Milton Keynes earlier in the season. But Templeton was blown away by the transformation under Martin just three months later. He said: 'I played against Russell Martin when I was at Hamilton and he was playing at Rangers in that crazy 5-3 game in 2018. But I played against his MK Dons team in one of my last games for Burton a couple of seasons later. 'We'd played them earlier in the season before he was manager and beat them 3-0 at their place and they were terrible. 'But he took over before they came to us. We beat them 1-0 but they absolutely popped us! They were really good. They totally dominated the ball and we were absolutely exhausted by the end. 'It looked like a different team altogether, good movement, high pressing, good on the ball. From the first game to second game the difference was incredible.' Rangers are entering a fresh era under new ownership and with a new management team and sporting director in place. Supporters are hoping the US consortium led by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises can bring much-needed stability to Ibrox - something that was badly lacking in Templeton's time at the club. And Templeton said: 'It seems to be going well. I really think Russell Martin will do well with hIs style of football. 'He will definitely work on how to break teams down, those teams who sit in at Ibrox. He speaks well and having watched his teams before, they play good football. Hopefully he can take Rangers back to where they should be.' SCORE a Euro goal at Anfield on the Thursday night then sign for Rangers on the Friday. David Templeton won't ever forget the craziest 24 hours of his career that saw him stun Steven Gerrard and co in their back yard and have Hearts fans in Europa League dreamland for a few minutes before sealing a switch to Ibrox and facing Elgin City three days later. The winger's 25 yard hit which perplexed Pepe Reina to hand the Jambos a late 1-0 lead against Liverpool on August 30 2012 still pops up on his social media regularly. Luis Suarez levelled shortly afterwards to break Hearts and send them tumbling out. But less than 24 hours later the winger was getting a call on the team bus heading back north that would change the direction of his career. He said: 'Any time anybody speaks about me at Hearts it's always about the goal at Anfield. Even though it wasn't a great goal! 'I see it all the time on social media and the feeling was unreal, even now when you watch the video of the fans. 'It looks unbelievable. It was definitely one of the best moment of my career. 'But so was the next day, signing for Rangers. 'I played for Hearts at Anfield on the Thursday night and then I signed for Rangers on the Friday. 'We trained down in Liverpool on the Friday morning and then we travelled straight back up. 'I was on the bus when my agent phoned saying that Hearts had accepted a bid and basically I was to go and speak to Rangers. 'I had to go straight to the Hilton in Glasgow to meet my agent and we went from there to Auchenhowie. 'It was late on when I signed. Ally McCoist gave me the tour. And I was there til about one in the morning getting paperwork completed. 'We trained on the Saturday and then I played against Elgin on the Sunday. 'I knew some boys there like Ian Black and Lee Wallace which helped. 'But it was a bit of a whirlwind. Pretty crazy when you think back. Even though it didn't go as well as I would have wanted at Rangers, it was still an incredible feeling.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
TEMPLETON EMERGING MARKETS TRUST: Teamwork helps master emerging markets
TEMIT, the country's oldest emerging markets investment trust, is in fine form. Although its manager says there are 'negatives' out there on the horizon, he sees no reason why the asset class can't deliver long-term annual returns in the high single-digits. Acronym TEMIT stands for Templeton Emerging Markets Trust, a fund launched in 1979 with Mark Mobius (aka 'Mr Emerging Markets') at the helm. Today, the £1.9 billion UK-listed fund is run by Chetan Sehgal out of Singapore and Andrew Ness, from Edinburgh. 'We're a team,' says Sehgal, in London for the trust's annual general meeting. 'Every investment idea for the trust is discussed.' The pair are supported by analysts across the globe – from China and India in Asia to Dubai in the Middle East and Argentina in South America. The performance numbers are good. When measured against similar trusts investing in emerging markets across the world, it is best in class over the past one and three years. So over the past year a 19 per cent return compares to the respective 15 and 9.9 per cent gains registered by Fidelity Emerging Markets and JPMorgan Emerging Markets. Over three years, the respective gains are 41.8, 35.4 and 14.5 per cent. Over the past five years, its 36.4 per cent return is beaten by both Utilico Emerging Markets and Mobius Investment Trust (also set up by Mark Mobius). Sehgal says the emerging markets investment story remains powerful, fuelled by the 'sustainable earnings power' of many leading companies. He also believes the improvement in corporate governance has been a positive. The trust's portfolio, comprising 87 stocks, has some corporate names among its biggest positions. They include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), its largest holding at just under 13 per cent. Also, Indian banks ICICI and HDFC. Sehgal describes TSMC as having 'tremendous' earnings growth potential while he says banking (in countries such as India and also Brazil) is a powerful 'penetration story' on the back of growing urbanisation and the need for consumers to have a bank account. Another key holding, thriving on the back of India's expanding urbanisation, is food delivery company Eternal, owner of the popular app Zomato. 'India doesn't have a convenience store network,' says Sehgal. 'So Eternal has done really well in the big cities where everyone wants something in a jiffy – whether it's flowers delivered to a loved one, a gold coin gift on a festival day or just a need for some essential groceries.' Tariffs on exports to the US remain an issue for emerging markets – as do geopolitical issues, especially between Taiwan and China. 'It's a big headwind,' says Sehgal of the ongoing tension between neighbours separated by the Taiwan Strait. 'But there is no guarantee that it will end in military conflict – the current status quo is a possible solution.' He says many Taiwanese companies, including TSMC, are also responding by setting up manufacturing operations elsewhere in the world. Although the trust invests in Chinese companies – top-ten holdings include tech giants Alibaba and Tencent – Sehgal says that it will remain underweight for the time being. The fund's stock market code is BKPG0S0 and ticker TEM. Total annual charges are reasonable at 0.96 per cent and the trust pays a dividend equivalent to an annual yield of 2.7 per cent.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Remaining Templeton Feed & Grain tower crumbles to the ground
The moment has come for Templeton residents. The gutted northern tower of the historic Templeton Feed and Grain has collapsed after days of demolition control following a massive fire that sparked late on the Fourth of July. Now, all that remains is the original white concrete portion of the granary built in 1912, beside a massive pile of rubble. With the help of the ABI Engineering Grading and Paving Underground demolition team, the tower was brought down in a similar manner to the southern tower on Monday. The demolition team wrapped wires around the building to pull it down, erasing the 105-foot landmark from the town's skyline. The granary has been working out of Nature's Touch Nursery and Harvest property on South Main Street since Monday. Melanie Blankenship, owner of the nursery, said they opened the area for the family business to continue selling their products after they had been initially asked by fire crew to move from Fourth and Main Street. 'Templeton Feed & Grain is our identity,' Blankenship said. It is unclear how long the cleanup for the demolition will take. Templeton Feed & Grain fire, demolition closed part of downtown. What's open? Half of burned-out Templeton Feed & Grain building collapses Rick Jermin, Templeton Feed & Grain co-owner, told The Tribune he would need to hire another demolition company to help clear all the debris from the site. Jermin also wants to keep the business at the original location. 'It could be short term, you know, and short term meaning about a year or two,' Jermin said. Jermin has partnered with Penny Newman Co. to help continue manufacturing the company's special feed products. He said they are also continuing to work to find a new space to sell from for the meantime.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Sheriff asks for help in Templeton fire investigation. Do you know these people?
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office asked the public to help identify several persons of interest captured on nearby surveillance cameras as part of its investigation into the Fourth of July fire that devastated the Templeton Feed & Grain granary. The fire sparked late on Friday night and set the 80-foot tall historic building ablaze for hours. The southern portion of the building collapsed Monday as demolition crews worked to bring down the gutted structure. Rick Jermin, Templeton Feed & Grain co-owner and vice president, told The Tribune on Sunday that he believed the fire was arson because he had seen surveillance video that showed someone throwing a mortar at the side of the warehouse building, followed by sparks burning inside. While neither Cal Fire nor the Sheriff's Office have confirmed whether the fire was arson, the Sheriff's Office sent a news release Monday asking the public to help with its investigation. Sheriff's detectives ask anyone who was in the area between South Main Street and Templeton Park between 10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on July 4, or who may have surveillance footage from that time frame, to contact the Sheriff's Office. The agency also shared three surveillance photos that show multiple individuals seen in the area who it has identified as persons of interest. Detectives are working to identify the four to six individuals, who were all wearing dark clothing. One person also carried a backpack, photos show. Those in the photos may have also spoken with individuals 'associated with' a nearby vehicle, the agency said, adding that detectives hope to speak to the occupants of the vehicle. Anyone with information that could help with the fire investigation is asked to contact the Sheriff's Detective Division at 805-781-4500. Anonymous tips can be shared through Crime Stoppers at 805-549-7867 or online at
