Latest news with #McDuff
South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- Automotive
- South Wales Argus
Deaf Pontypool teenager secures podium finish in Snetterton
Caleb McDuff, 17, from Pontypool, is the UK's only male deaf racing driver. He competes with Team BRIT, the world's only all-disabled competitive racing team. He recently claimed a second-place finish in his McLaren 570S GT4 at Snetterton. Mr McDuff said: "It was a challenging weekend, since we had technical issues in quali, meaning we had to start at the back of the grid for race one. "Thankfully, the mechanics got the issue fixed in no time, and we could show what we can do in this car. "It was a really nice ending to our race weekend and we have a trophy to come back home with – to show our family and everyone who supports us, what we're working so hard for." Mr McDuff shares driving duties with teammate Noah Cosby, who is paraplegic following a motocross accident. Both races at Snetterton were affected by technical difficulties that forced them to start from the back of the grid. Despite this, Mr Cosby made up nine places in the first race before handing over to Mr McDuff, who finished fourth in class. In the second race, after being spun out following contact with another car, Mr Cosby fought back before Mr McDuff took the wheel, helping the team finish fourth overall and second in class. Mr McDuff was diagnosed as deaf at the age of two following severe ear infections as a baby. He now has moderate hearing thanks to cochlear implants. Team BRIT has developed a technical solution that enables him to use his implants and communicate with the pit crew while wearing his racing helmet. His rise through motorsport has been rapid since joining the team last year. He began in a BMW 1 Series and finished the 2024 season with an overall championship class win. He also claimed a class victory in a BMW M240i in his second race. Mr McDuff was named Young Deaf Sports Personality of the Year at the national Deaf Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Liability woes leave snow contractors on slippery ground
BOSTON (SHNS) – Joe Szczechowicz has spent 11 years calling on state lawmakers to address liability issues that snow and ice removal service providers face across Massachusetts. Szczechowicz, the president of SLS Outdoor Living, recalls first contacting Sen. Bruce Tarr and former Rep. Lenny Mirra in 2014 about the issue, and seeing an initial bill filed in the Senate the following year. Snow removal service providers like Szczechowicz, who have been held liable for incidents they say are out of their control, are backing a longtime Tarr bill (S 1370) that would further regulate contracts for snow and ice removal services between providers and their customers. In 2021, when Doug McDuff's company Landscape America had its first 'slip and fall' in 19 years, the issue hit with full force. Several days after McDuff's company finished plowing operations and multiple corresponding property checks, an individual pulled into the property's parking lot with snow still on the roof of their car. 'The sun hit the snow, it melted down the tailgate, formed a puddle behind the vehicle. The individual was moving into this complex, and so at the end of the day, they came out of the apartment, they slipped on the ice that had formed, and fell and then sued our company,' McDuff told lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday. His insurance company settled the claim two years later for $365,000 and subsequently dropped McDuff's business, he said. Even if a company is contracted to begin plowing when there's two inches of snow on the ground, companies are taking a risk by not proactively treating because they're liable for any slip and fall, Brian Paige, owner of Paige Landscape Company, said Tuesday. If they proactively plow the property when there's one inch of snow on the ground to create a safer environment for whoever's there, they might not be paid for that precautionary service, Paige explained. 'We're forced to assume liability while being restricted from plowing or treating services in certain conditions,' Paige said. A representative of the Massachusetts Association of Landscape Professionals and the Snow and Ice Management Association, McDuff said liability factors are causing insurance rates to skyrocket and decreasing the willingness of insurance companies to insure companies like his. 'If a janitor were to come outside and throw a bucket of water with no snow prep present — if it froze and someone slipped, we're going to be held responsible for the issue,' McDuff said. 'What we're looking for is just fair terms in regards to liability and to avoid absorbent insurance costs.' Whenever McDuff would cross out or amend terms based on his attorney's recommendations — like indemnification clauses and hold harmless agreements — contracts were often rescinded and given to another contractor who he said 'was either ignorant to what they were signing, and/or didn't have the correct insurance needs that required contracts.' Those decisions make it difficult for snow and ice removal companies to grow their businesses, especially when they already struggle to retain a workforce, he said. The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development reported the Tarr-sponsored bill out favorably in 2022 and 2024. It stalled in Senate Ways and Means both sessions. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Yahoo
Street sign toppers unveiled to honor first Black Dallas police officer killed in line of duty
The Brief The city of Dallas unveiled its latest street sign toppers on Wednesday as part of its ongoing effort to honor all first responders killed in the line of duty. The latest toppers were added in Uptown Dallas, where DPD Officer William McDuff was murdered by two teenagers in 1896. McDuff was not only the first Black officer killed; he was the department's first Black officer. The police and fire departments will continue honoring fallen officers with street toppers in chronological order. DALLAS - The Dallas Police Department honored the first Black police officer killed in the line of duty with the department back in 1896. It's part of the city's effort to install street sign toppers for all first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice. What Happened Today The area at Woodall Rodgers Freeway and Boll Street in Uptown Dallas has been transformed over the years. Back in 1896, it was where Dallas Police Officer William McDuff lived and was killed in a targeted shooting on Christmas Day. Now, it's the location of new street toppers that were recently installed to commemorate his life. To help ensure fallen officers are remembered, the city of Dallas is installing street sign toppers at locations where police officers and firefighters were killed in the line of duty. On Wednesday, the city unveiled a sign to honor Officer William McDuff. "Officer McDuff will be forever remembered on this corner," said Sgt. Sheldon Smith, president of the National Black Police Association – Dallas chapter. "This was the area where he had to actually serve. African Americans couldn't go all over the city and police. They had special areas." McDuff was not only the first Black officer killed; he was the department's first Black officer. "He couldn't go anywhere in the city, and he had to police in this neighborhood, a colored neighborhood. He couldn't arrest white people. He was serving his community when it happened," said Smith. "He didn't get the training I got. It was, 'Here you go. Put this on. Go out and be police.'" The backstory McDuff was killed by two teenagers. He had arrested the teens the week before at a church where he was a deacon. They went out to McDuff's home on Christmas Day where what's now Woodall Rodgers and Boll Street and started knocking on the door. "He came out," said Interim Dallas Police Chief Michael Igo. "And that is when he was tragically killed." McDuff was 63 years old. He has only been with the Dallas Police Department for two months. What they're saying "His service was not just about duty," said Smith. "It was about setting the path going forward for other people of color and ethnicities to come to the Dallas Police Department and around the country." Smith thinks McDuff would be proud of the progress he helped create. "He would be humbled at the fact he could go anywhere in the city and police, regardless of what his race was," he said. What's next The two teens were sentenced to 10 and 25 years in prison. The police and fire departments will continue honoring fallen officers with street toppers in chronological order. The Source Information from this article comes from Wednesday's unveiling ceremony and interviews with organizers.
