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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ashland reports third quarter fiscal 2025 results and narrows full-year outlook range
Sales of $463 million, down 15 percent from the prior-year quarter Previously announced carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), methylcellulose (MC), Nutraceuticals and Avoca portfolio optimization initiatives (collectively, Portfolio Optimization) reduced overall sales by approximately $53 million or 10 percent versus the prior-year quarter. Excluding these initiatives, sales declined five percent Loss from continuing operations of $719 million, or $(15.70) per diluted share, primarily reflecting a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $706 million Adjusted Income from Continuing Operations Excluding Intangibles Amortization Expense of $48 million, or $1.04 per diluted share Net loss of $742 million, or ($16.21) per diluted share Adjusted EBITDA of $113 million, down 19 percent from the prior-year quarter, with Portfolio Optimization contributing to a 9 percent or $13 million decline. Excluding the impact of Portfolio Optimization, Adjusted EBITDA declined 10 percent. Cash flows provided by operating activities of $114 million; Ongoing Free Cash Flow2 of $108 million WILMINGTON, Del., July 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) today announced financial results1 for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30, 2025, and narrows its full-year fiscal 2025 outlook range. Ashland, a global additives and specialty ingredients company, holds leadership positions in high-quality, consumer-focused markets including pharmaceuticals, personal care and architectural coatings. 'Ashland delivered resilient performance in a mixed demand environment, with stable demand trends across most markets, though volumes fell short of expectations as anticipated growth did not materialize,' said Guillermo Novo, chair and chief executive officer of Ashland. 'These conditions underscore the importance of our sustained focus on cost savings and operational discipline, which continue to support strong margins. Despite the headwinds, we delivered Adjusted EBITDA generally in line with expectations, demonstrating the strength of our portfolio and effectiveness of our execution. The Ashland team maintained pricing discipline, taking targeted pricing actions and leveraging our differentiated solutions to strengthen market presence and gain share while improving the cost position of our core technologies." Novo continued, 'While demand was softer than expected, Life Sciences maintained pharma growth momentum in VP&D and cellulosics, positioning the segment for continued progress. The Life Sciences' team advanced our 'globalize' and 'innovate' priorities while sustaining Adjusted EBITDA Margins of 33 percent for consecutive quarters. Personal Care operated in a stable but subdued demand environment, with microbial protection comparing against a particularly strong prior-year period. Performance was also impacted by customer-specific softness in biofunctional actives, which is expected to ease going forward. In light of these dynamics, Personal Care is starting to benefit from recent strategic investments, with early traction in targeted areas supporting growth and contributing to another quarter of strong margins. We are encouraged by sequential growth and building momentum across biofunctionals and microbial protection, paired with the stability of our care ingredients portfolio. Specialty Additives partially mitigated the impact of a soft architectural coatings season and last year's share loss in China with growth in other markets, and our recently announced HEC network consolidation action is a critical self-help lever to deliver operational efficiency and margin improvement. In Intermediates, we continued to navigate a difficult supply-demand landscape while securing funding to enhance cost competitiveness in key markets." Third-quarter sales were $463 million, down 15 percent compared to $544 million in the prior year. This included a reduction of approximately $53 million, or 10 percent due to Portfolio Optimization initiatives, which involved curtailing or divesting certain lower-margin products. Excluding these initiatives, sales declined five percent year-over-year. Organic volumes decreased four percent, driven by lower volumes in Specialty Additives and Personal Care, partially offset by growth in Life Sciences. Pricing declined by two percent, primarily in Life Sciences and Intermediates. Foreign currency movements had a favorable impact of $7 million, or one percent, on sales. Net loss totaled $742 million, a decrease from net income of $6 million in the prior year, primarily reflecting a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $706 million, driven by a prolonged decline in market capitalization compared to carrying value. Loss from continuing operations was $719 million, down from income of $31 million in the prior year, or ($15.70) per diluted share compared to $0.60 in the prior year. Adjusted Income from Continuing Operations Excluding Intangibles Amortization Expense was $48 million, down from $75 million in the prior year, or $1.04 per diluted share, compared to $1.49. Adjusted EBITDA was $113 million, representing a 24 percent Adjusted EBITDA Margin. This reflects a 19 percent decrease from $139 million in the prior year, primarily driven by Portfolio Optimization, lower organic sales, and unfavorable production expenses as cost savings were more than offset by lower volumes. This decline was partially offset by lower selling, administrative, research and development (SARD) expenses as restructuring actions were realized. Excluding the $13 million reduction related to Portfolio Optimization, Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 10 percent year-over-year. Foreign currency movements had a favorable impact of $1 million on Adjusted EBITDA compared to the prior year. Average diluted shares outstanding were 46 million in the third quarter, down from 51 million in the prior-year quarter following the company's share repurchase activities over the past 12 months. Cash flows from operating activities were $114 million, a decrease from $128 million in the prior-year quarter. Ongoing Free Cash Flow2 totaled $108 million compared to $112 million in the prior-year quarter. Reportable Segment PerformanceTo aid in the understanding of Ashland's ongoing business performance, the results of Ashland's reportable segments are described below on an adjusted basis. In addition, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are reconciled to operating income in Table 4. Free Cash Flow, Ongoing Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Operating Income are reconciled in Table 6 and Adjusted Income from Continuing Operations, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share Excluding Intangible Amortization Expense are reconciled in Table 7 of this news release. These adjusted results are considered non-GAAP financial measures. For a full description of the non-GAAP financial measures used, see the 'Use of Non-GAAP Measures' section that further describes these adjustments below. Life SciencesIn the third quarter, sales for the Life Sciences segment totaled $162 million, a decrease of 17 percent compared to $195 million in the prior-year period. The decline was primarily attributable to the company's Portfolio Optimization initiatives, including the divestiture of the Nutraceuticals business and the exit from low-margin nutrition offerings. These actions reduced sales by approximately $32 million, or 16 percent. Excluding the impact of Portfolio Optimization, segment sales declined one percent year-over-year. Growth in pharma applications was more than offset by softer demand in other end markets, particularly nutrition. Organic sales volumes increased one percent, driven by four percent growth in pharma across most regions and technologies. The segment's 'globalize' business lines, tablet coatings and injectables, continued to perform well, collectively delivering double-digit year-over-year sales growth. As anticipated, overall pricing declined in the low-single-digit range, while targeted pricing strategies supported volume expansion. Foreign currency movements had a favorable impact of approximately $2 million on sales compared to the prior year. Adjusted Operating Income for the quarter was $40 million, compared to $43 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $54 million, representing a 33 percent margin and an 8 percent decline versus $59 million last year. The year-over-year decrease primarily reflects a $5 million impact from Portfolio Optimization actions and lower pricing, partially offset by sales volume growth and reduced SARD expenses. Excluding the impact of Portfolio Optimization, Adjusted EBITDA was consistent with the prior year. Personal CareThird-quarter sales for Personal Care totaled $147 million, a decrease of 16 percent compared to $175 million in the prior-year period. Sales continued to improve quarter-over-quarter. The year-over-year decline was primarily driven by Portfolio Optimization, which reduced sales by approximately $18 million, or 10 percent, largely due to the divestiture of the Avoca business line. Excluding this impact, Personal Care sales declined six percent, reflecting customer-specific softness in biofunctional actives, which is expected to begin easing going forward. Microbial protection also faced a tough comparison to a particularly strong prior-year period, while care ingredients remained generally stable. Foreign currency movements had a favorable impact of approximately $3 million, largely offsetting lower year-over-year pricing. The segment remains well-positioned for long-term growth as recent strategic investments gain traction, with early momentum in targeted areas contributing to growth and supporting strong margins. Adjusted Operating Income was $26 million, compared to $32 million in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $41 million, down 20 percent from $51 million in the prior year, and represented a 27.9 percent margin. The decline includes a $7 million impact from Portfolio Optimization. The year-over-year decrease in Adjusted EBITDA primarily reflects the impact of Portfolio Optimization and lower organic sales volumes, partially offset by reduced SARD and production expenses. Excluding the impact of Portfolio Optimization, Adjusted EBITDA declined $3 million compared to the prior year. Specialty AdditivesSpecialty Additives sales totaled $131 million in the third quarter; a decrease of 13 percent compared to $150 million in the prior year period. Portfolio Optimization reduced sales by approximately $3 million, or two percent, primarily reflecting the exit of low-margin construction business lines. Excluding this impact, sales declined 11 percent year-over-year, primarily driven by coatings sales declines in China, generally in line with expectations, and sustained competitive intensity in export markets including the Middle East, Africa, and India. These factors outweighed continued growth in performance specialties and energy and resources markets. Pricing was stable year-over-year, marking an improvement from the two percent decline reported in the second quarter. Foreign currency movements had a favorable impact of approximately $2 million on sales compared to the prior year. Adjusted Operating Income was $9 million, down from $22 million in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was $26 million, consistent with the prior quarter and down from $38 million in the prior year period. The year-over-year decline primarily reflects lower sales volumes in China, Middle East, Africa, and India, and volume rebalancing across the HEC manufacturing network. The recently announced manufacturing network consolidation is expected to support future margin improvement. IntermediatesIntermediates sales totaled $33 million in the third quarter; a decrease of 8 percent compared to $36 million in the prior-year period. This included $23 million in merchant sales, compared to $24 million in the prior year, and $10 million in captive butanediol (BDO) sales, down $2 million year-over-year. Captive BDO sales are recognized at market-based pricing. The year-over-year sales decline was primarily driven by lower pricing. Foreign currency movements had a negligible impact on sales compared to the prior year. Adjusted Operating Income was $4 million, down from $6 million in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was $7 million, down 22 percent from $9 million in the prior year, primarily reflecting lower pricing and production volumes partially offset by benefits from advanced manufacturing production tax credits. Unallocated & OtherUnallocated and other expense was $49 million compared to $151 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily reflecting a non-cash impairment on the nutraceuticals business in the prior year. Adjusted unallocated and other expense EBITDA was $15 million versus $18 million in the prior-year quarter. Financial Outlook Ashland is updating its full-year fiscal 2025 outlook to reflect a stable but subdued macroeconomic environment and continued caution across customer channels. Demand trends remain mixed: pharma continues to recover and show resilience, Personal Care is stable with early signs of company-specific momentum, while Specialty Additives and Intermediates remain under pressure. Ashland maintains a measured outlook, supported by innovation tracking ahead of plan, early signs of recovery in its 'globalize' platforms, and the execution of high-impact self-help initiatives. These strategic levers are helping to mitigate near-term volume pressure and position the company for improved performance going forward. Tariff-related uncertainty persists, and the company continues to monitor the evolving regulatory landscape. While long-term rules are still being finalized, Ashland does not expect a material direct impact to fiscal year 2025. At the same time, Ashland is benefiting from an FX tailwind, while other input costs and pricing dynamics remain stable. Raw material costs are steady, and year-over-year pricing pressure is easing as the company laps prior actions. These conditions are expected to support margin performance through the fourth quarter. Ashland continues to prioritize controllable levers. The company's $30 million restructuring program is expected to generate approximately $7.5 million in savings in the fourth quarter. Progress continues on the $60 million manufacturing network optimization initiative. These efforts, combined with strong execution, are expected to support continued margin strength. Free Cash Flow generation was strong in the third quarter, and Ashland expects continued healthy conversion in the fourth quarter. Based on these factors, Ashland now expects full-year fiscal 2025 sales of approximately $1.825 billion to $1.850 billion and Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $400 million to $410 million. While the company has narrowed its guidance to reflect muted near-term growth, current assumptions are weighted toward the lower end of the range, reflecting a prudent base-case stance amid ongoing uncertainty, while underscoring the resilience of Ashland's business model. 'While the macro environment remains stable, growth remains muted and consumer sentiment cautious. We're seeing resilience in pharma, stability in Personal Care, and early signs of recovery in Ashland-specific areas. Our completed restructuring and continued focus on operational execution are supporting strong margins and healthy cash generation. We remain committed to driving self-help initiatives, improving our cost position, and enhancing operating consistency and efficiency across the company. These actions are helping us navigate the current macro environment and position the company to finish the year with discipline and build toward improved performance in fiscal year 2026. I look forward to sharing more insight during our earnings call tomorrow morning,' Guillermo Novo concluded. Conference Call WebcastThe company's live webcast with securities analysts will include an executive summary and detailed remarks. The live webcast will take place at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Simultaneously, the company will post a slide presentation in the Investor Relations section of its website at To access the call by phone, please go to this registration link and you will be provided with dial in details. To avoid delays, we encourage participants to dial into the conference call fifteen minutes ahead of the scheduled start time. Following the live event, an archived version of the webcast and supporting materials will be available for 12 months on Use of Non-GAAP MeasuresAshland believes that by removing the impact of depreciation and amortization and excluding certain non-cash charges, amounts spent on interest and taxes, and certain other charges that are highly variable from year to year, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EBITDA Margin provide Ashland's investors with performance measures that reflect the impact to operations from trends in changes in sales, margin and operating expenses, providing a perspective not immediately apparent from net income, operating income, net income margin, and operating income margin. The adjustments Ashland makes to derive the non-GAAP measures of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EBITDA Margin exclude items which may cause short-term fluctuations in net income and operating income and which Ashland does not consider to be the fundamental attributes or primary drivers of its business. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA Margin, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin provide disclosure on the same basis as that used by Ashland's management to evaluate financial performance on a consolidated and reportable segment basis and provide consistency in our financial reporting, facilitate internal and external comparisons of Ashland's historical operating performance and its business units, and provide continuity to investors for comparability purposes. EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are defined as EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA divided by sales for the corresponding period. Key items, which are set forth on Table 7 of this release, are defined as financial effects from significant transactions that, either by their nature or amount, have caused short-term fluctuations in net income and/or operating income which Ashland does not consider to reflect Ashland's underlying business performance and trends most accurately. Further, Ashland believes that providing supplemental information that excludes the financial effects of these items in the financial results will enhance the investor's ability to compare financial performance between reporting periods. Tax-specific key items, which are set forth on Table 7 of this release, are defined as financial transactions, tax law changes or other matters that fall within the definition of key items as described above. These items relate solely to tax matters and would only be recorded within the income tax caption of the Statement of Consolidated Income. As with all key items, due to their nature, Ashland does not consider the financial effects of these tax-specific key items on net income to be the most accurate reflection of Ashland's underlying business performance and trends. The Free Cash Flow metrics enable Ashland to provide a better indication of the ongoing cash being generated that is ultimately available for both debt and equity holders as well as other investment opportunities. Unlike cash flow provided by operating activities, Free Cash Flow and Ongoing Free Cash Flow include the impact of capital expenditures from continuing operations and other significant items impacting Free Cash Flow, providing a more complete picture of current and future cash generation. Free Cash Flow, Ongoing Free Cash Flow, and Ongoing Free Cash Flow Conversion are non-GAAP liquidity measures that Ashland believes provide useful information to management and investors about Ashland's ability to convert Adjusted EBITDA to ongoing Free Cash Flow. These liquidity measures are used regularly by Ashland's stakeholders and industry peers to measure the efficiency at providing cash from regular business activity. Free Cash Flow, Ongoing Free Cash Flow, and Free Cash Flow Conversion have certain limitations, including that they do not reflect adjustments for certain non-discretionary cash flows such as mandatory debt repayments. The amount of mandatory versus discretionary expenditures can vary significantly between periods. Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share is a performance measure used by Ashland and is defined by Ashland as earnings (loss) from continuing operations, adjusted for identified key items and divided by the number of outstanding diluted shares of common stock. Ashland believes this measure provides investors additional insights into operational performance by providing earnings and diluted earnings per share metrics that exclude the effect of the identified key items and tax specific key items. The Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share Excluding Intangibles Amortization Expense metric enables Ashland to demonstrate the impact of non-cash intangibles amortization expense on earnings per share, in addition to key items previously mentioned. Ashland's management believes this presentation is helpful to illustrate how previous acquisitions impact applicable period results. Ashland does not quantitatively reconcile our guidance ranges for our non-GAAP measures to their most comparable GAAP measures in the Financial Outlook section of this news release. The guidance ranges for GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures reflect Ashland's assessment of potential sources of variability in financial results and are informed by evaluation of multiple scenarios, many of which have interactive effects across several financial statement line items. Providing guidance for individual reconciling items between our non-GAAP financial measures and the comparable GAAP measures would imply a degree of precision and certainty in those reconciling items that is not a consistent reflection of our scenario-based process to prepare our guidance ranges. To the extent that a material change affecting the individual reconciling items between the company's forward-looking non-GAAP and comparable GAAP financial measures is anticipated, the company has provided qualitative commentary in the Financial Outlook section of this news release for your consideration. However, as the impact of such factors cannot be predicted with a reasonable degree of certainty or precision, a quantitative reconciliation is not available without unreasonable effort. About Ashland Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) is a global additives and specialty ingredients company with a conscious and proactive mindset for environmental, social and governance (ESG). The company serves customers in a wide range of consumer and industrial markets, including architectural coatings, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care and pharmaceutical. Approximately 2,960 passionate, tenacious solvers – from renowned scientists and research chemists to talented engineers and plant operators – thrive on developing practical, innovative and elegant solutions to complex problems for customers in more than 100 countries. Visit and to learn more. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Ashland has identified some of these forward-looking statements with words such as 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'expects,' 'estimates,' 'is likely,' 'predicts,' 'projects,' 'forecasts,' 'objectives,' 'may,' 'will,' 'should,' 'plans' and 'intends' and the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. Ashland may from time to time make forward-looking statements in its annual reports, quarterly reports and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC'), news releases and other written and oral communications. These forward-looking statements are based on Ashland's expectations and assumptions, as of the date such statements are made, regarding Ashland's future operating performance, financial, operating cash flow and liquidity, as well as the economy and other future events or circumstances. These statements include but may not be limited to statements with respect to Ashland's anticipations and expectations regarding the financial impact of its cost reduction and manufacturing optimization initiatives; the future pricing environment; favorable absorption; the cost of raw materials; its ability to drive sustainable growth and create long-term value; its portfolio optimization initiatives and accelerated cost savings programs; its exposure to current and future tariff and global trade policies; and management's expectations and beliefs regarding Ashland's adjusted fiscal-year 2025 outlook. Ashland's expectations and assumptions include, without limitation, internal forecasts and analyses of current and future market conditions and trends, management plans and strategies, operating efficiencies and economic conditions (such as prices, supply and demand, cost of raw materials, and the ability to recover raw-material cost increases through price increases), and risks and uncertainties associated with the following: the impact of acquisitions and/or divestitures Ashland has made or may make (including the possibility that Ashland may not realize the anticipated benefits from such transactions); Ashland's substantial indebtedness (including the possibility that such indebtedness and related restrictive covenants may adversely affect Ashland's future cash flows, results of operations, financial condition and its ability to repay debt); severe weather, natural disasters, public health crises, cyber events and legal proceedings and claims (including product recalls, and environmental and asbestos matters); the effects of announced or future tariff increases; the effects of the ongoing Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Hamas conflicts on the geographies in which we operate, the end markets we serve and on our supply chain and customers; and, without limitation, risks and uncertainties affecting Ashland that are described in Ashland's most recent Annual Report of Form 10-K (including Item 1A Risk Factors) filed with the SEC, which is available on Ashland's website at or on the SEC's website at Various risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, projected or implied by any forward-looking statements. Ashland believes its expectations and assumptions are reasonable, but there can be no assurance that the expectations reflected herein will be achieved. Unless legally required, Ashland undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 1Financial results are preliminary until Ashland's Form 10-Q is filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2The Ongoing Free Cash Flow metric excludes the impact of inflows and outflows from U.S. and Foreign Accounts Receivable Sales Program and payments related to restructuring and environmental and litigation-related matters in both the current-year and prior-year periods. ™ Trademark, Ashland or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Investor Relations: Media Relations: William C. Whitaker Carolmarie C. Brown +1 (614) 790-2095 +1 (302) 995-3158 wcwhitaker@ ccbrown@ Ashland_Q3_ 2025_Earnings_ Release_FNL_20250729 Earnings Release Tables Q3 FY25 FNL 20250729 Ashland_Q3_ 2025_Earnings_ Release_With_Financial_Tables_FNL_20250729Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Irish Independent
23-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Avoca to craft new range with rare Irish wool
All 4.5 tonnes of yarn from Galway Wool Co-Op's 2025 harvest will be sold exclusively to Avoca and woven into clothing and homewares for a 100pc native Irish wool collection, debuting as part of the brand's autumn-winter collection. Known for its colourful weaves and dedication to supporting Irish producers, for Avoca this partnership is an exclusive collaboration, also supporting a full farm-to-textile journey, championing homegrown materials and traditional Irish craftsmanship in a contemporary way. The announcement comes as Galway Wool Co-Op prepares for the 2025 Meitheal, where wool will be harvested from a rare-breed sheep before being transformed into yarn. The Galway Wool Co-Op was founded five years ago with a mission to restore and celebrate native Irish wool from a rare breed of sheep called 'The Galway'. The strong, white fleeces from this sheep are affectionately known in Irish as 'báinín'. Thanks to the tireless work of The Galway Breeders Sheep Association, with support from the Department of Agriculture, the Galway sheep has been saved from the brink of extinction. Since its establishment, the Co-Op has been committed to achieving a fair and consistent price for the wool that reflects the hard work put in by each grower. Avoca's support through the business partnership ensures that this fair pricing is maintained and offers increased commercial opportunities for wool growers across Ireland, preserving this wonderful native breed. Speaking ahead of the harvest, Avoca managing director Brian Handley said that they are so proud to work with The Galway Wool Co-Op as their first ever commercial partner. 'As one of Ireland's oldest mills, we are keenly aware of the challenges faced by local wool growers, so we are delighted to be able to support the Co-Op in a meaningful way while bringing this beautiful, sustainable product to our customers,' Mr Handley said.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Regional Water lifts boil advisory for one city, others remain under restrictions
AVOCA, Iowa — Weeks after issuing the initial boil advisory, the Regional Water Rural Water District has announced the drinking water boil advisory is lifted for one southwest town, while the rest remain under restriction pending further testing. The initial advisory went into effect on May 14th and covered several cities throughout southwest Iowa. On June 1st, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced that the advisory was lifted for Avoca. The lift only applies to Avoca; the rest of the cities remain under advisory pending results from recent samples. Regional Waters says those samples are estimated to be completed on June 3rd. Two water samples must test negative for bacteria to lift a boil advisory. Regional Water says almost 80 sampling points have been required to be collected and tested due to the systemwide pressure loss. Last day of Des Moines Con kicks off at Iowa Events Center Regional Water's water tower system maintained pressure throughout the weekend and says that the community's water conservation practices have proven helpful in filling the towers. Regional Waters asks the community to continue their efforts to conserve water even as advisories and restrictions could lift in the coming weeks. They say due to drought conditions in southwest Iowa, water availability will remain a concern until a temporary booster station is in place. 'The completion of a temporary booster pump between the region and Council Bluffs was delayed last week due to wet weather. However, in the last few days the area was dry enough to continue pipeline construction and testing; barring any unforeseen circumstances, Regional Water hopes the connection between Council Bluffs and Regional Water's system will be completed around June 11,' the Iowa DNR said in release. Residents are reminded that if water use exceeds capacity and the towers lose pressure, a boil advisory will go into effect again. Regional Waters asks residents to continue limiting water use. Limit or avoid watering or irrigation of lawns. Limit or avoid washing vehicles, except at commercial establishments that provide that service as their only means of income. In these cases, hours of use will be restricted to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. No water shall be used to fill private swimming pools, children's wading pools, or similar articles. No water shall be used to clean streets, driveways, sidewalks, etc. Large-volume water users, including industries, motels, hotels, eating establishments, and livestock confinements are requested to scale back services and/or production. Schools are strongly urged to cancel physical education activities and inter-scholastic competitions that require showers or attract crowds, and take other actions to reduce water consumption. For those still under a boil advisory, bottled water is still available at the Regional Waters Rural Water District Avoca Office. Regional Waters and the Iowa DNR say they are continuing efforts to ensure safe drinking water and thank customers for their patience. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BreakingNews.ie
29-05-2025
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Dentist given lifetime ban on owning animals in 'appalling case of animal neglect'
A dentist has been given a suspended prison sentence of four and a half years and a lifetime ban on owning animals after what a judge described as 'one of the most appalling cases of animal neglect' he had ever come across. Karen Saunderson (68), who comes originally from Liverpool with an address in England, pleaded guilty to 10 offences contrary to the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, over the condition in which a large number of animals were discovered at the rental property where she lived at Templelusk, Avoca, Co Wicklow, on November 19th, 2016. Advertisement The charges related to causing unnecessary suffering, feeding, neglect and a failure to safeguard the health and welfare of animals. Photo: Collins Lawyers for Ms Saunderson – who is also known as Sanderson – claimed her property was used 'as a drop-off point for certain unwanted animals.' A sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday heard an animal welfare inspector and gardaí who visited the living area of the property complained that their eyes were burning from the smell of ammonia from the urine of the animals. A total of 43 dogs, five horses, a pig and a wild boar were found on the property when it was visited by the chief inspector of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Conor Dowling. Advertisement The inspector gave evidence that an overweight pig, which was found squealing and lying on its side in a filthy stable, had to be put down later that day to prevent it from further suffering. Mr Dowling said the animal was unable to get to its feet, had overgrown hooves and no water. He described a terrible stench from other stables where he found 12 dogs living in muck and faeces with no water with some of the animals obviously 'stressed.' Photo: Collins One Mastiff who had a withered leg had to be euthanised a week later. Advertisement Mr Dowling said a German Shepherd, who was discovered to be pregnant, gave birth to a litter of nine pups the following week. Some were deformed, and none survived. However, most of the other dogs and all the horses were successfully rehomed. Mr Dowling told counsel for the DPP, James Kelly BL, that he sought assistance from gardaí because of the scale of what he encountered. He outlined how dogs spilled out of the living area of a loft building when the door was opened. Advertisement The court heard a total of 31 dogs, ranging from small puppies to giant breeds, were found in the loft with dog faeces everywhere. 'It was a stressful and chaotic environment,' said Mr Dowling, who believed that a large pool of liquid on the floor was urine from the dogs. 'I could not breathe and it made my eyes burn,' he recalled. A video recording of the scene showed the accused trying to claim the dogs had only urinated when inspectors had knocked on the door. Advertisement Mr Dowling said the accused claimed she walked 30 dogs every day, but he said the evidence indicated otherwise, as many of the animals had overgrown claws. He said one Mastiff had chronic arthritis and could not even make its own way downstairs, while a spaniel could not walk as it had not properly recovered from an old injury. Another dog had to have a toe amputated as it had been gnawing at an exposed bone. Mr Dowling said he did not believe Ms Saunderson was keeping animals commercially, but he found it hard to explain the situation. The inspector said all the horses were underweight and suffering from rain scald and mud fever. He told Judge Patrick Quinn that a decision was taken to remove most of the animals, although the accused was allowed to keep some dogs, to whom she was particularly attached. The judge questioned how the situation was allowed to develop, that both the defendant and her animals were living in such appalling conditions and squalor, without it being reported to the authorities. 'Somebody must have known,' he observed. Mr Dowling replied that he had visited the property on the basis of a 'quite vague' report that gave no sense of the scale of what he subsequently discovered. He pointed out that a vet who called to the property had never been beyond the yard. Photo: Collins However, he remarked that someone passing on the quiet road beside the property could have seen the horses in the field and realised there might be an animal welfare issue. Mr Dowling said the costs in the case were calculated at €12,229 but he believed the true figure was a multiple of that figure. Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Eanna Mulloy SC, the inspector said he was unaware of Ms Saunderson's claim that she was not the owner of all the animals or that she had issues with her landlord about sewage problems on the property. Mr Dowling said he was also unfamiliar that she was meant to be minding animals for a member of the Traveller community. The court heard Ms Saunderson had moved to Ireland in financially strained circumstances for a number of years on a 'career break', while she was the subject of a long-running regulatory matter with the General Dental Council in the UK. Mr Kelly noted that her guilty pleas were only entered in January 2025 to offences committed over eight years ago after she had submitted reports over the intervening years that she was unfit to go on trial. Mr Mulloy said Ms Saunderson had a difficult family background and was someone who was 'easily exploited.' He said the kernel of the problem was that his client was a woman who had a soft spot for animals, who could not cope with the number she had accumulated, but there was a low risk of her re-offending. Sentencing Ms Saunderson to four and a half years in prison and ordering her to pay costs of €15,000, Judge Quinn said it was obvious both she and her animals were neglected and living in 'absolute squalor.' The judge observed he had come across a few other similar cases where someone with a love of animals became overwhelmed by the number of animals they acquired over time. He claimed it was irrelevant that she might have been exploited by others. The judge accepted that her neglect was not intentional but due to her own declining mental state. Ms Saunderson sobbed audibly as she heard the sentence would be fully suspended. Addressing the judge, she remarked: 'Thank you very much. I really am so very sorry.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Regional Water issues mandatory water rationing, water sources below capacity
AVOCA, Iowa — Regional Water issued a Level Red water restriction advisory just days after issuing a boil advisory across several southwest Iowa counties. Regional Water, based in Avoca, Iowa, issued the boil advisory on May 10. Regional Water has service connections across Shelby, and portions of Pottawattamie, Harrison, Audubon, and Cass Counties. This does not include the Urban Bluffs area. The advisory was placed due to depressurization in their water towers, causing a risk of bacteria. Residents were encouraged to use boiled water or bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, and food preparation. ISU President Wintersteen retires after 40 years with the school On Wednesday, Pottawattamie County notified residents that the Regional Water Rural Water Association (RWRWA) had issued a Level Red advisory for those served by the Avoca Treatment Plant. This is an escalation, as a yellow alert was placed by RWRWA on April 18, 2025. Pottawattamie County says more than half of Avoca residents were without water service on Wednesday and says additional outages are likely. The advisory was put in place due to continued drought conditions and below-average rainfall. Water sources are operating at less than 60% capacity according to Pottawattamie County. Effective immediately, the following restrictions are in place: No outdoor watering of lawns, gardens, or landscapes. No washing of vehicles, driveways, sidewalks, or buildings. No filling or refilling of swimming pools, hot tubs, or ornamental fountains. Restaurants may only serve water upon request. Lodging facilities must offer guests the option to reuse linens and towels. All leaks must be repaired within 48 hours of detection. Water use for construction purposes is restricted to essential activities only. Residents in the area are also encouraged to take shorter showers, turn off taps while brushing teeth and only run the dishwasher and washing machines with full loads. Neither the boil advisory nor the mandatory water rationing has an expected end date. To learn more about the boil advisory, water restriction, or ongoing outages, contact the RWRWA office at 712-343-2413. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
