Latest news with #CentralWest
ABC News
15-07-2025
- ABC News
Mark Stanley jailed over murder during 'shambolic' failed robbery in Wellington
A man has been sentenced to 12 years' jail for his involvement in a fatal shooting during a botched robbery in Central West NSW more than four years ago. Mark Charles Stanley, 22, pleaded guilty to murdering 58-year-old Paul Jacques, who was shot through a closed door at his Wellington home in August 2021. During sentencing in the Orange Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Dina Yehia described the incident as "unsophisticated and shambolic". Justice Yehia said while Stanley did not shoot Mr Jacques, he was still criminally responsible for murder because he knew his accomplice was armed and had gone to his house as part of a planned robbery. Stanley was handed a 12-year prison sentence, with a non-parole period of eight years due to a finding of special circumstances. With time already served, he will be eligible for release in May 2031. The court heard Stanley and two friends, Titan Gilkes and Bradon Madden, planned to rob Mr Jacques's house on Gisborne Street in the early hours of August 2, 2021. The home was known as a place where drugs were sold. The trio's plan went south when Gilkes, armed with a loaded single-barrel shotgun, fired through the closed front door of the home. Mr Jacques, who was standing behind it, was struck in the leg by pellets — something Gilkes nor Stanley were aware of at the time, the court heard. Mr Jacques was treated at the scene but died before arriving at Orange Base Hospital. Stanley and Gilkes were arrested at a correctional centre in 2023 following a two-year investigation under Strike Force Clavert. Gilkes pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced in February to 14 years and three months in jail, with a non-parole period of nine years and six months. The court heard the third man, Mr Madden, is now deceased and was not charged over the incident prior to his death. Stanley faced a sentencing hearing earlier this month, after changing his plea to guilty in May, shortly before his trial was set to start. During the hearing, CCTV footage of the incident was played to the court, where two male voices could be heard shouting "pull it bra", "shoot it and run", "shoot, shoot, shoot". While the prosecution argued Stanley encouraged Gilkes to pull the trigger, Justice Yehia said she was not satisfied he said those words or intended to kill or cause serious harm. Justice Yehia said Stanley knew Gilkes was armed and had intended to rob the house, but she believed his role in the murder was "significantly lower". "Unlike Gilkes, he was not armed, he did not discharge a firearm, did not source it, or devise the plan to rob the deceased," she said. Defence barrister Nicholas Broadbent SC said Stanley, who was 18 at the time of the shooting, had a very unstable upbringing with "significant exposure" to criminality and substance abuse. The court heard Stanley had been in and out of juvenile detention and his mother had spent time in prison when he was 11. Mr Broadbent said drug addiction drove Stanley to commit attempted robbery that day, and in a letter to the court, he expressed remorse for his actions. "I feel so bad about what happened, I never intended for anybody to get hurt," the letter read. Justice Yehia said Stanley had shown "genuine remorse". She found his mental health, intellectual difficulties, and childhood deprivation had all limited his ability to mature, reducing his moral culpability.
ABC News
15-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Grand Western Lodge and Blayney Council's $60,000 footpath battle
The owner of a historic building and a New South Wales council are in a bitter dispute over a footpath, which has already cost ratepayers tens of thousands of dollars, and there is no end in sight. Retired investment banker Ian Gillings has threatened legal action against Blayney Shire Council in the state's Central West over its plan to fix a dilapidated footpath outside his business in Millthorpe, near Orange. Mr Gillings purchased the run-down 1901 Grand Western Lodge on Victoria Street at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and spent more than two years renovating the federation-era property into accommodation for miners. But he is not happy with the state of a bitumen pavement footpath that straddles the state heritage-listed building's wrap-around balcony. Mr Gillings has likened the footpath to a poorly maintained country road, filled with potholes and water damage. "The footpath is in dangerous and is in bad repair," he said. As part of its broader Millthorpe Village Masterplan, the council plans to fix the footpath with asphalt, which Mr Gillings opposes. He alleges the material would worsen water damage in the building, by allowing water to penetrate the cellar, and is not aesthetically appropriate for the heritage. "I don't want my building to fall apart," he said. Instead, he wants to replace it with bluestone, a more porous and durable product that matches the kerbs and guttering in the heritage conservation area. Mr Gillings has even offered to foot the entire estimated $80,000 bill and sign a 99-year guarantee to cover maintenance and costs associated with it. "It doesn't work like that from our risk perspective nor our insurance and liability," Blayney Shire Council's general manager Mark Dicker said. "We need to have a fit-for-purpose product not a Rolls Royce product, particularly when heritage advice doesn't agree with it." Council's heritage advisor and Heritage NSW have given the green light to its existing plans to replace the asphalt path with like-for-like, in line with rest of the village. Its independent engineering advice found the proposed renewal works would not change the conditions that have resulted in rising damp in the lodge. But a report by Calare Civil, hired by Mr Gillings, found the bluestone pavers would be the "best practice approach". "The permeable pavers along with their dark colouring will promote escape of soil moisture through evaporation as opposed to directing water up the building walls," the report said. When council said no to Mr Gillings's offer, he commenced legal proceedings in the NSW Land and Environment Court in April. They have since been discontinued after the council agreed to temporarily pause the planned upgrade. It means the footpath will remain in its poor state for now. "It is the most incomprehensible thing ever," Mr Gillings said. "I have no idea why they'd want to waste money in court rather than just say, 'Fine, we'll take your money.'" The council estimated the legal proceedings could cost up to $150,000 and that money remains set aside if they recommence. "Noone wins going to court; that's a last resort from us," Mr Dicker said. "This has quite frankly wasted over $30,000 of money plus numerous hours of staff time." Mr Gillings also said it had so far cost him $30,000 in legal fees. Mr Gillings said the footpath stoush was the latest hurdle he had faced since purchasing the building, which had a tainted reputation. The lodge gained the unfavourable title "house of horrors" after stories about its previous owner's treatment of discharged psychiatric patients who lived in the hotel-turned-private boarding house emerged in the early 2000s. A class action resulted in a payout of more than $4 million to approximately 50 claimants. In spite of its history, Mr Gillings saw a business opportunity in re-opening the lodge and has no plans of backing down in the stoush with the council. "The moment they give me notice that they're doing it [fixing the path with asphalt] they'll be in the Land and Environment Court."
ABC News
10-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Farmer works to create crossbred sheep to cut down labour and increase profit
Producers are working to breed "low-maintenance" sheep as farmers and workers continue to walk away from the agricultural sector. Leo Tompkins said finding shearers and labourers was getting harder, even in the sheep country of Central West New South Wales, so he has been developing his own "super breed". "What we're trying to do is create a sheep that's a low-input sheep, or a low-maintenance sheep, that is going to be as productive or more productive and more profitable than other competing breeds at the moment," he said. Mr Tompkins started with the meat-producing Wiltshire horn breed, which has a shedding coat and does not need to be shorn. "What we're finding is that many shedding breeds, because they are in their infancy in the industry, they haven't really achieved those production goals to compete with other wool sheep at the moment … like your Poll Dorsets or your white Suffolks," he said. "There are a lot of other producers doing really great work … we just want to work in conjunction and collaboration with those breeders and producers and to produce and to create something that will complement what's already there." Mr Tompkins also introduced the Persian, Damara, East Friesian and Finnsheep breeds, which are known for high fertility rates and do not have tails, which eliminates the need for mulesing. The number of farmers across the country has decreased by more than 22 per cent since 2006, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Rising input costs, heavy workloads and tough seasonal conditions are making life difficult in the agricultural sector, according to the NSW Farmers Association. Mr Tompkins said he hoped the new sheep breeds would make living on the land a little easier. "We found more people wanting self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and producers out west wanting just a lower-input sheep because they couldn't find the labour to shear them, to do other contracting roles that they needed to do," he said. Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) sheep genetics operations manager Peta Bradley said the organisation had observed an increase in general composite breeding. "We are certainly seeing a lot of interest in new traits, like shedding, starting to do some preliminary work to develop breeding values around tail length as well, so breeding sheep with shorter tails," she said. "Those really easy care traits are becoming more important in … breeding programs and as a result we're working with the scientists to try and develop breeding values. "For the first time, all our industry indexes now include an emphasis on … shrinkles [skin wrinkles] … breeding to alleviate the need for surgical procedures like mulesing," Ms Bradley said. According to Sheep Producers Australia data, the proportion of merino breeding ewes that were joined to merino rams fell to less than 50 per cent for the first time in 2022. Sheep Producers Australia chief executive Bonnie Skinner said shedding varieties such as Aussie whites and ultra whites were becoming more popular. "The discussions that we have with producers are around, 'What is the best fit-for-purpose animal for my area and my personal circumstances that is going to help me have a profitable business?'" she said.
Daily Mail
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Edwina Bartholomew's husband makes shocking admission about plan at the centre of their unique living arrangement: 'We were fools'
Renovations of the country New South Wales pub at the centre of Edwina Bartholomew and husband Neil Varcoe's unique living arrangement have hit a snag. Neil is based in Carcoar (pop. 271), in the NSW Central West region, overseeing the remodelling of the dilapidated former guest house they bought for just over $1 million in May 2023, while Edwina lives in Sydney for her job at Seven. Earlier this year, the popular Sunrise star and her husband, who share two children, Molly, five and Tom, three, finally received approval to move ahead with their dream to convert the building into a luxury getaway dubbed 'Saltash Farm'. Writing in his bi-monthly column for Galah magazine, Neil revealed the protracted renovation is still not complete. 'We expected to be open by now. We were fools,' he wrote. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'Everyone is a fool at the start. You pluck a timeline out of the air, then tell yourself that you're in front or behind. Mostly behind. How strange.' Neil added that he has stopped putting an end-date on the project, as its aesthetic will take a while to 'pull together'. 'Saltash Farm is a big, beautiful, complex creature. It's a heritage build in a village protected by the National Trust,' he wrote. 'Saltash needs to both fit in and stand out. It has to feel old, familiar, but look new and fresh. It's a wild contradiction, and that takes some putting together. 'I no longer talk about when it will open. I say only that it will take as long as it takes to do it well.' The popular Sunrise presenter and her husband bought the 177-year-old property in May 2023, but the project has suffered extensive delays in the heritage-protected town. Speaking to in 2024, Edwina said the couple were determined to finish the project despite recently being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia. 'We are forging ahead with this incredible project despite this health setback,' Edwina said. 'I adore being in the country. It will be lovely to have a bit more time with family to enjoy life at a slower pace.' She added that working on the home would help keep her busy and take her mind off her cancer diagnosis. 'This is a condition I will manage and live with. Our renovation has been a beautiful distraction and will continue to be in the months to come,' Edwina continued. Edwina also revealed that she only sees her husband of seven years on weekends and public holidays. Neil's chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis prompted him to leave Sydney and relocate to regional New South Wales – a move she claims 'genuinely healed him'. 'That was a decision we had to make for ourselves a few years ago because what we were doing clearly wasn't working,' she told Australian Women's Weekly. 'He lives three hours away from us, and we see him on weekends and holidays and back and forth, but it's been the best thing, and probably the only way we would have survived as a family.' Edwina confirmed to Daily Mail Australia earlier this year that her family does indeed plan to leave Sydney for good one day - but that is still quite a way off. 'We are very keen to eventually settle in the country,' she said. 'But we are in no hurry. 'We have the best of both worlds and will continue to juggle the back and forth for the foreseeable future.' 'Our family schedule and WhatsApp chat of who is where and what is happening is absolutely nuts,' she added. 'There are plenty of times where we have thought "what we have done" but we are determined to build a beautiful business in what we think is the most beautiful town in New South Wales.' Meanwhile, Edwina shared an emotional cancer update at Marie Claire's International Women's Day luncheon in March. The TV star got candid at the event about how CML – a type of blood and bone marrow cancer – had impacted her life. 'I was fortunate that I had a month where I knew about it before I told everyone. I had this experience without having to go through the trauma of chemotherapy,' Edwina began. '[The cancer] was a gift, because it put things into perspective... I didn't have to go through a really intense experience of being "in" cancer and absorbed by it.' Edwina's diagnosis is a 'mild' form of leukaemia and can often be managed without having to undergo chemotherapy.
ABC News
12-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
Cabonne Shire Council trials hours without lifeguards at rural pools to cut costs
Cheryn Johnson can swim at her town pool in the early hours of the morning — even though there is no lifeguard on duty. "You can watch the sun come up, and the birds at this time of day are absolutely amazing," she said. Like many local governments, the Cabonne Shire Council is struggling to afford the rising cost of maintaining pools throughout the NSW Central West. So in late 2024, at the beginning of the summer swimming season, it trialled opening its seven pools for periods without staff. "The pools are never going to turn a profit, or even break even — a long way from breaking even," deputy general manager Matthew Christensen said. The council changed how it measured the financial success of the pools, from sheer profit to a cost-per-swim ratio. "Which is as it sounds — how much it costs us to run the pools, versus how many people we have going through the gate," he said. Thanks to the unsupervised swimming program, the council sold triple the number of season passes it normally would. "We've seen most of the pools achieve at least a halving of the cost per swim that was found in 2023/24," said Mr Christensen. Multi-pass holders can swim unsupervised at the district's seven pools between 6am and 7pm every day, while lifeguards are rostered on for certain periods within those hours, which varies by location. The council introduced safety protocols to reduce the risk of swimming without staff around. Residents have to have a companion with them, even if that person watches from the pool deck. Children under the age of 18 can be a swim buddy, but they have to be with an adult, and have the ability to contact emergency services. All swimmers have gone through an induction process, which included safety training, equipment use, and crisis procedures. The council also set up CCTV at all sites and posted emergency contact details at the facilities. "I was initially a little bit worried because sometimes you have people who will test the boundaries, and a pool can be quite a dangerous place," Ms Johnson said. "But it's quite amazing that our people who have been coming are actually abiding by the rules. The need to swim with a companion also fostered new relationships in the small rural town of Molong. Fellow swimmer Janelle Bowler said a WhatsApp group of more than 40 people formed to facilitate visits to the pool. "We call each other swim buddies because that's how we feel about each other," Ms Bowler said. "Even if you hadn't known them very long, people would be willing to say, 'Oh, I'll come at that time too', so that that helps you out, just looking after each other." Royal Life Saving Australia's general manager of drowning prevention, Craig Roberts, said keeping council pools open was an "emerging" issue across the country. At least two other councils across Australia have implemented unsupervised hours at some of their pools. Mr Roberts said it was safer having a lifeguard on deck, but it was up to councils to determine their own risk strategies. "It's a challenging issue of how we maintain these facilities, [and keep them] both open and as safe as possible," he said. "But also make sure there is a controlled environment where people can learn to swim rather than going down to some of those more dangerous areas like the local creek or the local river." The council considered the program so successful, it will run it again during its next swimming season at the end of the year. Molong local Cheryn Johnson said she felt excited for the initiative to continue. "It brings me such joy to see people using the pool that haven't been here for years, and I think that will continue growing, and that will just support the cost of the pool, and keep it open for us," she said. But Ms Bowler also hoped it could extend beyond the swimming season.
