Latest news with #McCarville
RTÉ News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ulster final like 'Christmas week' for Clones
More than 30,000 people will be in Clones, Co Monaghan to see Donegal and Armagh face off in both the men's and women's Ulster Senior Football Championship finals tomorrow. St Tiernach's Park will be at its 29,000 capacity, with an additional 6,000 people expected to be elsewhere in the town for the matches. The border town has a population of just 1,885, according to the 2022 Census. "I still don't know how it works, but it's worked for 80 years so we're doing something right," said Patrick McCarville,owner of the Creighton Hotel. The family-run hotel is located at the bottom of Fermanagh Street, a one-way street that on match days is pedestrianised to allow fans safely make their way from the Diamond to the stadium. "There's a natural amphitheatre with the large buildings on both sides of the street and I think that creates the atmosphere. St Tiernach's Park is also like a natural amphitheatre and the atmosphere up there is like no other," he said. "There's nothing like Ulster Final day in Clones. If you could bottle the atmosphere that the town creates." A 2024 study commissioned by the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association found that last year's Ulster Final generated €1.5 million for Clones, with a significant benefit rippling out to surrounding towns and villages in Co Monaghan, as well as other counties that supporters would pass through. "If you take Donegal fans, Fermanagh gets a serious boost. All the towns - Enniskillen, Lisnaskea, Newtownbutler. People know their way to Clones and they know their way out of Clones, they know the stops they'll make," Mr McCarville said. Businesses in the town rely on income generated from the championship matches to invest back into their operations and improve their offerings for the rest of the year. "As someone once said to me, the rates collector came around twice a year. Once after Christmas and once after the Ulster Final," said Bernard McNally, who runs the local SuperValu. The pubs and chip shops were the biggest winners from the increased footfall, he said. Clones GAA club provides the majority of volunteers for the final and other inter-county matches that are held in the town. The preparation for the final started with the first round of the Ulster Championship, said former club chairman Colin McCaughey. "It's a massive weekend for the club," he said. "A lot of people are involved. We've a lot of volunteers. We have the shops, we have the stewards, people making sandwiches and tea for the referees." Club members from underage players to the committee all row behind the effort, he said. Approximately €2.5m has been invested in the stadium in previous two to three years, Mr McCaughey said, with more planned. "We have new seating put in, that's on top of the new seats we put in the Gerry Arthur stand in the last couple of years and also other general upgrades in terms of the control room, ICT and PA systems," he said. "Croke Park and Ulster GAA have invested heavily in the latter years along with Monaghan County Board and we're looking forward to more investment to keep the upgrades and keep Clones in the picture for the Ulster Final." Clones is considered by many in the town and province as the home of Ulster football. Finals had been held in Casement Park in Belfast on occasion up until 1971, while the Athletics Ground in Armagh hosted a behind-closed-doors final in 2020. The Anglo Celt Cup was also presented in Croke Park a number of times, most recently in 2021 because of Covid-19 restrictions on crowd gatherings. There had been speculation that the fixture would return to GAA Headquarters for this year before Clones was confirmed as the host venue. Works to redevelop Casement Park caused concern in Clones that it could lose out as a result. Planning approval was granted 2021 for the works, with Ulster GAA earmarking Casement Park as a future provincial ground, which it said could host finals. However the stadium plan has been stranded amidst rising costs and questions over who will pay for it. The town, county and province would all lose out if Clones was to lose the Ulster Final, said Mr McNally. As a businessman, he welcomes the prospect of competition to retain it. "We'll put our best foot forward. I think Clones has a very good case to keep it here," he said.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Environmental groups file notice to sue Alliant over Ottumwa coal ash landfill discharge
Several environmental groups intend to sue Alliant Energy's Iowa affiliate, claiming it is discharging polluted groundwater into waters upstream of Ottumwa without a permit. The Iowa Environmental Council, Sierra Club, and Environmental Law & Policy Center issued a letter of intent to sue, as mandated under the Clean Water Act, which gives the company 60 days to come into compliance. The threatened lawsuit deals with the Ottumwa Midland Landfill, a coal ash dump that has been used by Interstate Power and Light Co., a subsidiary of Alliant Energy, since 1995. The landfill has a liner that separates coal ash, or waste material from burning coal, from the groundwater. Piping below the landfill removes the groundwater underneath the lining and discharges it at a rate of up to 84,000 gallons per day to a wetland that flows into a tributary of the Des Moines River, according to the letter. This groundwater is not supposed to come into contact with any of the contaminants in the landfill above it, but the environmental groups pointed to IPL monitoring data that shows the discharge contains arsenic, barium, boron, calcium, cobalt, iron, lithium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, and 'other pollutants below reporting limits.' 'Thus, the underdrain water is contaminated and is not an allowed discharge under Stormwater General Permit 1,' the letter said. These are some of the same contaminants noted in a study IEC and the Sierra Club released in February that found coal ash landfills and ponds caused heightened levels of toxic heavy metals and pollutants in nearby groundwater. The study pulled from self-reported data at MidAmerican Energy Co. plants, including the Ottumwa Generating Station which is owned by both MidAmerican and IPL. MidAmerican, however, disputed the findings of the study. The 'underdrain' discharge from the Ottumwa landfill was covered by a stormwater discharge permit with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, but in 2023, the DNR informed the company that the discharge did not meet the definition of 'uncontaminated groundwater' covered by the permit. The letter said IPL did not apply for an additional permit for the discharge and therefore 'has been discharging, and continues to discharge, pollutants into waters of the United States without permit authorization.' Melissa McCarville, a spokesperson for Alliant Energy, said the company has been 'actively communicating' with DNR and is 'systematically working' toward a solution for the groundwater discharge. 'Alliant Energy is dedicated to serving our customers and communities throughout the state,' McCarville said in a statement. 'Driven by our mission and core values, we are steadfast in our commitment to environmental compliance including abiding by all regulated and required groundwater monitoring processes.' Michael Schmidt, an attorney for Iowa Environmental Council, said it has been 'more than a year and half' since DNR informed the company of the permitting issue. 'It's that ongoing delay that we are concerned about,' Schmidt said. 'We have these discharges of arsenic and other metals going into the water on a continuous basis without really any oversight from DNR, because there is no permit coverage.' McCarville said there is 'no reason to believe' the discharge interacted with the contents of the landfill. 'As designed and originally permitted, the system does not come into contact with the landfill's content,' McCarville said. In late 2024, the company announced a plan to reroute the discharge to the Des Moines River, to which IEC objected. McCarville said depending on reviews and approvals, construction on a new design for the discharge could begin this spring. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a slew of plans Wednesday to roll back certain regulations on energy production and to change the definition of Waters of the United States, which are waters protected under the Clean Water Act. Schmidt said that would not affect the intent to sue because the discharge is occurring in waters that are 'clearly' waters of the United States. 'The notice letter is about a foundational element of the Clean Water Act, requiring a permit for any discharge of pollutants,' Schmidt said. 'It's another example of why the process that we have of burning coal to put pollutants into the air, and create the solid waste and have these water discharges, is a continuing problem. The more we do it, the more problems like this we create.' Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@ This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Suit threatened over coal ash landfill discharge to Des Moines River
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Krista McCarville's road to hometown Scotties Tournament of Hearts intense
Her face plastered on billboards in her hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont., turned up the heat on Krista McCarville's curling team this winter. Marketing aside, she and her teammates still had to win Northern Ontario to gain entry to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts starting Friday in Thunder Bay's Fort William Gardens. McCarville stared down near-elimination twice on the final weekend of playdowns, also in her hometown at the Port Arthur Curling Club, to wear Northern Ontario's colours again at the Canadian curling championship. "It was quite intense," McCarville said. "We had some very scary moments." McCarville scored four in the 10th end of a 9-8 win over Lauren Mann just to make playoffs. Her team battled back from a 4-2 deficit after five ends in the final against Emma Artichuk for McCarville to make a draw to the four-foot rings for a 6-5 victory. "I'll be honest. We felt a ton of pressure this year," the skip said. "Here in Thunder Bay, my face has been all over for the past couple months. It's pressure we love too." McCarville, who will make her 12th career Hearts appearance, reached the 2022 final in Thunder Bay where her team fell 9-6 to Kerri Einarson. That championship game was played in front of fewer than 500 people who were allowed into the Gardens on the tournament's final weekend when COVID-19 restrictions eased slightly. The chance to really feel like a hometown favourite in 2025 was one McCarville would have been devastated to miss. "It's super-exciting to have a do-over," McCarville said. "It's probably an experience that not too many people get to experience and I'm one of the lucky ones that gets to." McCarville, third Andrea Kelly and a front-end rotation of Ashley Sippala, Kendra Lilly and Sarah Potts open Friday against Saskatchewan's Nancy Martin. Reigning world champion Rachel Homan's team starts its defence of its national crown against Prince Edward Island's Jane DiCarlo on Friday, when Alberta's Selena Sturmay and Kayla Skrlik are up against B.C.'s Corryn Brown and New Brunswick's Melissa Adams, respectively. The 18 teams divided into two pools play eight games apiece with the top three in each pool advancing. Those half-dozen get whittled down to the four Page playoff teams on the final weekend. The winner in the Feb. 23 final represents Canada at the world championship March 15-23 in Uijeongbu, South Korea. The victors also claim $100,000 in prize money, and a berth in November's Olympic curling trials in Halifax, as long as that team finishes in the top six at the world championship. Homan and Einarson already have trials berths, so should either prevail in Thunder Bay, the trials spot goes to the top-ranked women's team in Canada at the end of the season. Four-time champion Einarson's lineup was a revolving door this season because of second Shannon Birchard's knee injury and the absence of lead Briane Harris while her doping case was reviewed. Harris was eventually found to be not at fault, but not in time for a return to Einarson's Thunder Bay roster. The disbandment of Chelsea Carey's team in January coincided with Einarson recruiting former Carey teammates Karlee Burgess and Lauren Lenentine at second and alternate respectively. The Carey team's dissolution also had a domino effect of Einarson taking over its trials spot, and Sturmay bypassing Alberta's provincials to gain a Thunder Bay berth alongside Einarson and Kaitlyn Lawes as the top-ranked teams last season behind Homan. Meanwhile, McCarville's is a team that doesn't travel the bonspiel circuit as much as Homan or Einarson. Kelly, who skipped New Brunswick to a bronze medal in Thunder Bay in 2022, is in her second season as McCarville's vice. "The big thing is we all have the same view of curling. We love curling, it's our passion, but we have jobs, we have families, we have a lot of other things going on in our lives that are important as well," McCarville said. "Just jelling as a team is pretty easy for us. "We've had a good year. We don't travel a ton, but the spiels we've been in we've qualified (for playoffs) or won. We've had training weekends where we're getting together as well. We have been together quite a bit even though it might not look like it on the circuit." Another opportunity to win her first career Scotties Tournament of Hearts, and in her hometown, is precious to the 42-year-old teacher. "I remember at a young age thinking I wanted to just go to the Scotties," McCarville said. "Then I went to the Scotties and now I dream of winning the Scotties. I've been close a couple times. "Winning the Scotties in my hometown would be the most amazing thing anyone would ever dream of." — With files from Gregory Strong. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2025. Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
