Latest news with #Mackay
ABC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Book about cane farming creates joy in Queensland and war-torn Ukraine
An artist living in war-torn Ukraine has helped bring to life a new Australian children's book about sugar cane farming in north Queensland. Stay-at-home mum Nikki Townley has written about how her family grows and harvests sugar cane on their farm in Mackay, about 1,000 kilometres north of Brisbane, in her book No Drama Cane Farmer. She said the response since the book's April release had been overwhelming, with families and schools from Australia and overseas ordering about 100 copies per week. "Everyone is just so impressed with how informative it is. "It is 100 per cent based off our life." The book is the product of an unlikely partnership with Ukrainian illustrator Victoria Mikki, who helped create the images from 14,000km away. Townley asked her agency to reach out to Mikki after falling in love with her illustrations. "I chose her because I loved her illustrations," Townley said. "She's obviously a part of something really traumatic and difficult at the moment, and she only had electricity for a certain amount of hours a day [to work on the book]. "She was so efficient and incredible under the circumstances." For Mikki, the project also became a way to feel connected to the outside world, as deadly attacks continued on her home country. "It was a hard period, but I tried to be focused on my work," she said, from her home in Rokyni, western Ukraine. "It's my way to escape, like mentally escape. The illustrator said the experience helped her better understand a place she once considered a mysterious, foreign land. "I was surprised that you have a part of the continent that's really warm, but you can plant cane," she said. "I imagined it like a desert with koalas and crocodiles walking on your porch." Mikki said she did not know much about sugar cane before working on the book, but drew on childhood memories of helping harvest sugar beets. "I remember when I was a child, like 10 to 12 years old, people used to have fields and they grew potatoes and of course sugar beets," she said. "We were on a field and I remember our teachers and parents would give us huge knives. "We chopped the top of the green part of the beet and put it on piles and then helped our parents to throw it to a machine." Townley said for her, watching how her sons learnt helped inspire the story. "So I wanted to write a book that my boys could relate to and that they were interested in." Townley said despite being from different countries and cultures, she and Mikki had connected over the project. "I obviously put my heart and soul into writing the book," Townley said. "It's really special to know that she's put her heart and soul into the illustrations, and it's been an escape for her from what her reality is. "It would have been very different for her to illustrate a book with components in it that are so foreign to her." Mikki said she was now curious to compare the taste of sugar produced from Ukrainian sugar beets to sugar made from Australian sugar cane. "I want to try to find it in our local shops and to see if it [tastes] the same or if there is some difference," she said. Townley said she hoped her new Ukrainian collaborator would eventually be able to taste Queensland-grown cane sugar fresh from the source.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Aspiring footy star Riley Mansfield is forced to retire due to the savage effects of head knocks - and he's only 15
A promising teenage rugby league player from Queensland has been forced into early retirement due to repeated concussions, prompting renewed calls to delay tackling in junior sport. Riley Mansfield, 15, was competing in Queensland's elite Dolphins Cup competition when he sustained a series of head injuries that left him unable to attend school for weeks. Riley, who had dreams of playing for the North Queensland Cowboys like his idol Johnathan Thurston, said watching football now is bittersweet. 'I wish I could play every time I watch the footy on TV. I want to be back out there,' he told ABC Sport. His mother, Kristy, described the severity of her son's symptoms following his final concussion in April. 'He was suffering significant symptoms - very light sensitive, noise sensitive, severe headaches - and he's got a pretty strong pain threshold,' she said. 'It took us about six weeks to gradually introduce him back into normal activities. That meant he wasn't able to do school for a period of time.' After consultations with neurologists in Brisbane, Riley was advised not to return to contact sport for at least five years. For the Mansfield family, it's a painful case of déjà vu. Riley's father, Andrew, suffered a broken neck on the same football field in Mackay when he was 15. 'That was my last game of footy,' Andrew Mansfield said. 'I was the width of a piece of hair from never walking again.' The Mansfield family's story has reignited debate around tackling in youth sport, particularly in light of growing research into the long-term impact of repeated head trauma. Griffith University lecturer Dr Joel Garrett has warned that children should not be involved in tackling until at least age 12. 'One of the big reasons is they have a larger head and weaker neck muscles, which puts them at greater risk of some of those rotational forces,' he said. Dr Garrett explained that children between the ages of eight and 12 are at a critical stage in cognitive and motor development. 'An eight-year-old may struggle with the rapid judgements required to execute a safe tackle. 'By 12, they may have developed the ability to make those last-second adjustments. 'We're not saying 'no tackling,' but there needs to be a structured plan leading into it.' In response to growing concerns, the NRL implemented its Player Development Framework in 2024 to improve safety in junior competitions. Under the changes, children aged six and under play League Tag, a non-contact version of rugby league. For under-sevens, the season is split into two halves - beginning with League Tag and transitioning into tackle later in the year. At senior levels, the NRL has strengthened its concussion protocols. Stand-down periods, independent medical assessments, and increased penalties for breaches are now standard. In 2023, the league launched a brain health initiative to fund research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. CTE has been diagnosed in several former players, including Paul Green, Quentin Pongia and Steve Folkes, who were found to have the condition after their deaths. Mario Fenech, another former NRL star, has publicly detailed his struggle with cognitive decline believed to be the result of repeated concussions during his playing career. The disease, which can only be diagnosed posthumously, causes symptoms including memory loss, aggression, and confusion.
Daily Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Telegraph
Payne Cup live stream: Kirwan State High v St Patrick's College, Mackay
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby League Live Stream. Followed categories will be added to My News. The Aaron Payne Cup will kick off with a bang on Thursday with a rematch of the 2024 decider between the Kirwan Bears and St Patrick's, Mackay. The grand final replay is the headline act from three enticing games of rugby league at Kirwan State High School as the Queensland Schoolgirls Cup and Cowboys Challenge both begin. The Payne Cup clash will be free to watch live, but a full digital subscription will be needed to access the live streams of the Cowboys Challenge and Schoolgirls Cup. Every match of the elite Queensland schools rugby league competitions will be exclusively streamed on KommunityTV in 2025. Kirwan State High will kick off its Payne Cup title defence in style in a grand final rematch with St Patrick's College. Picture: Michaela Harlow Kirwan Bears head coach Todd Wilson said their season opener was about more than just the all-important two competition points. 'We haven't played a game yet, so (the players) have a lot to prove,' Wilson said. 'We've certainly got some high hopes for a number of players, but we'll just see what happens when we play St Pat's. We're expecting them to be a real quality opposition. 'We're expecting a tough game. That Capricornia side at the state champs had a lot of St Pat's kids and they pushed the best of those southern sides – they've done well through the Mal Meninga and Cyril Connell so we're certainly expecting a tough game.' The Bears have every reason to be cautious about Thursday's blockbuster season-opener. A number of St Patrick's stars – including dynamic five-eighth Adam McSherry, Mark Morrow and Ryan John – return for another season of Aaron Payne Cup after being among the competition's standout performers last year. St Patrick's playmaker Adam McSherry will lead the school's charge toward the Aaron Payne Cup in 2025. Picture: Michaela Harlow The terrific trio have only gotten bigger and better in the past 12 months and St Pat's coach Shane Mau said the team would enter the competition with a focus on defence. Mau said his players would need to be switched on from the get-go to stop the Bears running rampant. 'They're always very tough. They're usually a very big side and very mobile,' Mau said. 'So we'll be concentrating on defence – that's probably going to be our main focus for this, and probably for our first couple of games: really big defensive efforts. 'We've probably got the strike power with our attack, but defence is going to win this one.' The Cowboys Challenge fixture kicks off the day's action at 10.20am, followed by the schoolgirls at 11.20am and Aaron Payne Cup at 12.20pm. REPLAYS Kirwan SHS v St Patrick's College - 2025 Cowboys Challenge Round 1 Kirwan State High School survived a late flurry of tries to claim a thrilling 12-10 victory over St Patrick's, Mackay, to kick off the Cowboys Challenge season with a win. St Patrick's scored back-to-back tries late in the contest to come within two points of the Cubs, but they were unable to land the killer blow. Both teams were able to string together some good sets after a number of early errors in slippery conditions, and it took a moment of individual brilliance to open the scoring. The deadlock broke midway through the first half when Kirwan winger Jacob Peachey caught the ball on the full at speed and raced 80m before he was brought down. The Cubs spun the ball to the right and opened space for centre Jeffrey Tugai to step his way over the line and slam the ball down to give his side the 6-0 it would carry into the break. Kirwan co-captain Malakai Martin broke the line to give the Cubs some great field position early in the second half and a dominant tackle from the rangy lock and Sonny Meti forced an error from the visitors. It didn't take long for Jarrad Skiba to crash over with a strong run close to the line and Kirwan took a 12-0 lead following Travel Ngatuakana's conversion. St Patrick's hit the scoreboard when hooker Mason Muscat poked a perfectly weighted grubber into the in-goal and five-eighth Harper Shields won the race to the ball. Another quickfire try – this time from left backrower and co-captain Tom Mulherin – gave goalkicking prop Lucas Haack the chance to level the scores from the sideline, but his conversion sailed across the face of goal. A desperate trysaving tackle from marker by Kirwan prop Eti Tepulolo secured the win, dragging Muscat down after he looked to have broken the line on the final play of the game. KIRWAN: 12 (Jeffrey Tugai, Jarrad Skiba tries; Travel Ngatuakana (2) goals) ST PATRICK'S: 10 (Harper Shields, Tom Mulherin tries; Lucas Haack goal) Originally published as 2025 Aaron Payne Cup live stream: Kirwan State High v St Patrick's College, Mackay
Press and Journal
4 days ago
- Sport
- Press and Journal
Brora Rangers boss Steven Mackay reacts to Premier Sports Cup draw
Brora Rangers boss Steven Mackay says their Premier Sports Cup draw brings back some great memories. The Breedon Highland League champions have been drawn in Group H alongside Premiership outfits Kilmarnock and Livingston and League One sides Kelty Hearts and East Fife. Brora have played all of those clubs before. In season 2017-18 they defeated East Fife 1-0 in the Scottish Cup at New Bayview to set up a last-16 tie against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, which they lost 4-0. In 2021 the Cattachs took on Kelty in the pyramid play-offs (losing 6-1 on aggregate) and last November they impressed in a 2-0 Scottish Cup third round defeat to Livingston. The League Cup fixture schedule has still to be finalised but matches will be played between July 12 and 27. Reacting to the draw, manager Mackay said: 'This draw brings back a lot of memories, some good and some not so good. 'The Scottish Cup run we had where we beat East Fife and then played Kilmarnock in the last 16 was a great experience. 'We played Kelty in the pyramid play-off, which wasn't such a good experience and then last year we played Livingston and put on a really good show I thought. 'It can be nice to face teams you haven't faced before, but equally it's also good to play teams we've got a bit of history with and we've got history will all these clubs. 'We're looking forward to it and looking forward to challenging ourselves against some top opposition. 'Kilmarnock and Livingston are both Premiership clubs and either of them coming to Dudgeon Park would be a great occasion for the club and the area. 'All these games are an opportunity for us to showcase what we can do. 'It's something for the players to look forward to and it will be good preparation for us for the start of the Highland League season.' The other Highland League side in the League Cup, Brechin City, have been drawn in Group A alongside Falkirk (Premiership), Queen's Park (Championship), Cove Rangers (League One) and Spartans (League Two).
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Visions Federal Credit Union partners with Emily Mackay
ENDWELL, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Visions Federal Credit Union is collaborating with a local Olympic athlete to promote financial wellness. Visions announced that it has partnered with professional runner and Endicott-native Emily Mackay. The partnership aims to teach financial wellness to community members of all ages through social media posts and other resources. It will also promote charitable causes in communities served by the credit union. 'To say we are excited to work with Emily is an understatement,' says Tim Strong, Visions' Director of Branding and Public Relations. 'As a community, we cheered her on as she competed locally in high school, collegiately at Binghamton University, and finally on the world's biggest stage with Team USA at the Paris Olympics. This is a unique partnership that we think will resonate with community members of all ages, as together we promote our shared values of community giveback and financial wellness.' Mackay is a professional runner for New Balance. A graduate of Union-Endicott High School and Binghamton University, both of which have Visions offices on site, Mackay ran the 1,500-meter semifinals for Team USA at the Paris Olympics in 2024. She is also recognized as having the third fastest time of any American woman in U.S. history in the 1,500-meter dash with a personal best of 03:55:90. Mackay was recently added to the Greater Binghamton Sports Hall of Fame. 'I'm thrilled to officially partner with Visions,' says Mackay. 'This partnership means a lot to me because we share a deep commitment to community, connection, and creating opportunities for others. I'm excited to not only represent Visions but to be an active part of their mission. The community can expect me to show up, get involved, and help amplify the great work that Visions is already doing. I can't wait to get started!' Posts featuring Mackay will be posted to Visions' social media feeds on Facebook and Instagram. You can see content on Mackay's Instagram page as well. Content will include practical financial wellness resources and more. Visions Federal Credit Union partners with Emily Mackay TAKE 5 prize winning ticket worth $16k sold in Kirkwood Corner Drug Store closing after 87 years Binghamton police arrest suspect in assault, robbery case Clouds build in today before the wet pattern returns tomorrow Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
