Latest news with #Creasey
Wales Online
7 days ago
- Wales Online
Drug dealer who benefited by £125,000 ordered to pay back just £42,000
Drug dealer who benefited by £125,000 ordered to pay back just £42,000 Christopher Heaney, 48, was a member of an organised crime gang which was brought down by the arrest of Steven Creasey, 67, from Cardiff, who was stopped by police in Scotland Christopher Heaney of Cunzie Street, Anstruther, Fife was convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin. He was sentenced to nine years and five months in prison. (Image: Tarian ) A member of an organised crime gang which was exposed following the arrest of a former police officer has been ordered to pay £42,000 despite benefiting by £125,000. The gang was involved in a £7m heroin conspiracy. Christopher Heaney, 48, was a member of the group which was brought down by the arrest of Steven Creasey, 67, from Cardiff, who was stopped by police in Scotland on May 12, 2022. He had already driven from Cardiff to Liverpool that day before making his way up to Fife. A drugs dog discovered a professionally installed hide under the passenger seat of Creasey's car which was found to contain 5kg of heroin and one kilogram of adulterant. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter. A burner phone in Creasey's possession led to the discovery of other OCG members who were based in Liverpool. Tarian's subsequent investigation, named Operation Solon, found that Creasey was a Cardiff-based professional courier who had been engaged by the heads of an OCG based in Liverpool. Christopher Brannan, 38, and Stephen Hopkins, 59, collected wholesale amounts of heroin. Article continues below This would be distributed for onward supply across the UK by Heaney, Creasey, Kevin Thomson, 45, and Jeffrey Hickson, 61. Brannan would then launder the profits through the bank account of his partner Kirsty Murphy, 36. Raids were carried out at properties in Cardiff, Liverpool, Scotland and Northumberland towards the end of 2022. Significant items were found at the various addresses including expensive jewellery, heroin, cocaine, adulterants, opium, cannabis and metal moulds for pressing powder into blocks. Christopher Heaney, of Cunzie Street, Anstruther, Fife, was convicted on February 6, 2024, for conspiracy to supply heroin. He was sentenced to nine years and five months in prison. Steven Creasey of Allerton Street, Grangetown, Cardiff was convicted on March 17, 2023, for conspiracy to supply heroin. He was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison. A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard Heaney benefited to the tune of £125,876 as a result of his offending, but only has assets worth £42,229. Judge Lucy Crowther ordered the defendant to pay that sum within three months or serve an additional 18 months imprisonment in default. Article continues below
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After teachers union's concerns, Va. education dep't. extends deadline for grading system committees
A cup of pencils sit on top of a classroom desk in Virginia (Photo by Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury) On Thursday, Virginia's largest teachers organization cautioned that the Department of Education could be short of teachers to sit on the agency's committees tasked with adjusting the state's grading system. State education leaders pushed back, asserting that teachers would still be pivotal participants on the committees and extended the period they could apply to participate to May 2. The concerns surfaced after the agency announced the committees' application process on April 17, a day before the Virginia Education Association (VEA) office and some schools closed for Good Friday. The original deadline for teachers to apply to participate was April 24, but the interest the agency received prompted the pushed-back cut off date, according to VDOE Superintendent of Public Instruction Emily Anne Gullickson. Historically in Virginia, teachers have been central to adjusting cut scores to determine whether K-12 students meet proficiency levels, by reviewing assessment questions and determining the minimum score needed to be considered passing. Educators must apply to serve on the committees to demonstrate their understanding of grade-level content and assessments. However, this year's process will include educators, instructional specialists, and community stakeholders such as parents and business leaders. Community members will undergo a selection process led by the board and the governor's office. Committee meetings will begin next month. The VEA, which was also closed Easter Monday, had said the short application period left them scrambling to notify teachers about the opportunity to serve on the committees. 'Why would you let teachers know about something like this with only days to do something about it?' asked Carol Bauer, VEA president. 'We wouldn't do that to our students. The paperwork involved in this process can take an hour or more. It begs the question — does VDOE really want teachers' input on this?' Bauer said teachers' presence on the assessment committees is essential because they work with students every day and they know them better than anyone else in Virginia's school systems. 'They understand their students' needs and how to meet them,' Bauer said. 'Not having teachers involved in important decisions that affect their students' futures would be an injustice. It wouldn't make sense.' However, state education board President Grace Creasey, an appointee of Gov. Glenn Youngkin and former educator, said teachers will continue to be key contributors on the committees. 'These committees are generally made up of more teachers than other stakeholders,' Creasey said. 'I have personally participated in them during my 12 years in the classroom and understand the importance of ensuring teacher voice in this process. I'm excited for the standard setting committee work to begin.' Creasey also defended the application process, stating there have been 'several rounds' of internal and external reviews with stakeholders, testing provider Pearson and the agency's Technical Advisory Committee. Gullickson said in a statement to the Mercury that as of Wednesday, the agency received 231 applicants with 71% of those being educators. The Virginia Board of Education will take a final vote on the updated performance standards in July, after staff presents the proposals for review in June. If approved, the overhauled standards will not take effect until spring 2026. Raising academic benchmarks in public education are part of a broader push by Youngkin's administration to 'restore excellence in education,' which includes hiking standards in core subjects, increasing transparency and accountability and overhauling the state's assessment system. The administration's goal is to adjust the cut scores to better align with the rigor of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The administration has often referred to the NAEP data to show the 'honesty gap,' or the disparity between state-level proficiency standards and the more stringent NAEP standards. Between 2017-2022, Virginia's fourth-grade reading and math results showed a stunning 40-percentage-point gap between the state's Standards of Learning assessment tests and NAEP assessments. The governor has asserted that the state's current proficiency standards are the result of the previous Board of Education lowering cut scores and altering school accreditation standards. However, Anne Holton, a former state education secretary and a current Board of Education member appointed by former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, defended the previous board's approach. Holton, the only board member not appointed by Youngkin, has stated that Virginia's pass rates aligned with the NAEP's 'basic' achievement level, which reflects, according to NAEP, 'partial mastery of the knowledge and skills that are fundamental for proficient work at a given grade.' Instead, the Youngkin administration wants Virginia to meet NAEP's 'proficient' standard — defined as a student demonstrating a deeper understanding of complex topics and the ability to apply them in real-world situations. Holton said the process of shifting to the NAEP's higher standard would bring about a dramatic change for the commonwealth. 'There are arguably good reasons to do it, but it's not gonna make any kids smarter,' Holton said. 'No kid can jump higher because the hoop got raised.' Instead, the state's focus should remain on what helps kids learn better, Holton said, such as implementing the Virginia Literacy Act, 'which has been strong and has helped to make kids smarter, but we needed more of that.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Service remembers over 6,000 lost trawlermen
A service to commemorate Hull's lost trawlermen took place in Hull on Sunday. Lost Trawlerman's Day is an annual event marked with a gathering at St John the Baptist Church, known as the fisherman's church. It is estimated that over 6,000 trawlermen have been lost from the port city of Hull. Ruth Creasey, the chairwoman of St Andrew's Dock Fishing Heritage Group (STAND), which organised the service, said it was important to come together and "share those losses". The Lost Trawlermen's Day commemorations are held on the last Sunday in January every year. Ms Creasey said the lost men were "going out to put fish on our plates... they'd go out to work long hours in dreadful conditions." This year's service also marked the 70th anniversary of the loss of the trawlers Lorella and Roderigo. Forty crewmen lost their lives when both boats sank in a snow storm off the coast of Iceland on 26 January 1955. Andrew Hunter's grandfather Ernest died on the Lorella, and attended the service. "I never knew my grandad," Mr Hunter said: "it was "difficult to sing along... because you get choked up. "To have him kept alive like this is wonderful." During the service, children from Chiltern Primary School choir sang I, the Lord of Sea and Sky. Ms Creasey said: "It's important they (children) learn of Hull's history because at one time, Hull was the largest deep sea fishing port in the world. "It's our job to make sure the legacy of the fishing industry and its importance remains alive." Historian and author Dr Brian Lavery added: "You ignore your history at your peril. "This is an integral part of the city. This paid for a lot of what we have in this city today, and for what the city is today, much of it is owed to those men who left this port never to return." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Gaul victims remembered 50 years after sinking Hundreds back statue for Headscarf Revolutionaries
