Latest news with #Nicoll
Press and Journal
29-04-2025
- Press and Journal
Danger driver jailed for head-on collision that left man with crippling injuries
A danger driver has been jailed and banned from the roads after causing a crash that left the other man with 'life-changing' injuries. Kevin Nicoll, 43, ploughed head-on into Mark Abel's car on the A946 Aberdeen to Newmachar road, but has only 'vague' memories of the 2022 crash. Mr Abel spent two agonising hours trapped in the wreckage and 11 more on the operating table, and still struggles with his injuries to this day. Speaking to The Press and Journal, Mr Abel, 37, said: 'My life changed in a split second – the doctors told me later I was lucky to be alive.' Nicoll admitted causing serious injury by driving dangerously on the A946 near to the bend at Rosehall Farm on January 21 2022. The court was told he had been found to be slightly over the limit of alcohol, with 35mcg positive breath test reading at the scene – the legal limit is 22mcg. The court heard the accident happened just after 10pm in dark and damp conditions. Fiscal depute Emma Peterson said Nicoll, of Glenesk Avenue, Montrose, was driving his black Fiat 500 southbound on the wrong side of the road when Mr Abel, driving a silver Ford Focus, saw him heading towards him. The cars hit head-on, the court was told, and Nicoll was found by witnesses sitting on the grass verge complaining of pain in his legs. Ms Petersen said: 'Due to the extensive damage to the complainer's car he was trapped from the legs down. 'He was in pain and drifting in and out of consciousness.' The two men were taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, and Nicoll was later released after being treated for a foot injury. Mr Abel, however, sustained serious injuries including two breaks in his right leg, a broken pelvis, broken arm and bruising to his lung. 'He required multiple surgeries, including having a metal plate fitted in his right forearm, as well as metal pins fitted in his right tibia and femur,' Ms Petersen explained. 'As a result, his right leg is now 2cm shorter and he continued to suffer from pain in his left hip and leg. 'He was unable to work as a lorry driver for a number of months, however returned to work in August 2022, but only to light duties. 'The after effects of his injuries still continue today and impact his abilities to work as well as carry out everyday tasks due to the pain and suffering caused.' Mr Abel said three and a half years on, he was still suffering and underwent an operation as recently as last year on his arm. 'I was only one mile away from home,' he explained. 'I'd just been out to the shops. 'Then my life changed in a split second – the doctors told me later I was lucky to be alive.' People at the scene managed to phone Mr Abel's wife, Alison, who rushed to the crash to be with him. She said: 'I couldn't open the door, so I climbed in through the back and sat next to him – I was trying to keep him awake – he kept losing consciousness. 'It was about two hours before they managed to get him out, and around midnight when he was taken to hospital. 'I followed and waited while he was in the operating theatre, which was from 5am to about 4pm.' Mr Abel said the bones in his right leg were so badly shattered that doctors had to pin them back together. 'They did say they could break it again and lengthen it, but I can't go through all that again,' Mr Abel said. 'It's been a hard few years – both mentally and physically – I still struggle day to day.' Nicoll's defence solicitor Stuart Beveridge said his client's recollection of the event was 'vague' but does accept it was his fault. 'He was on his way to Montrose,' Mr Beveridge said. 'He had been out for a meal and had consumed some alcohol. 'He recalls driving and bright lights in front of him. He thought he was on the correct side of the road, but he accepts he wasn't. 'He very much regrets what happened that night and for the injury caused.' Sheriff Lesley Johnston said Nicoll's manner of driving was 'extremely dangerous', adding: 'You crossed the solid white lines and collided with the complainer's car head-on. 'You caused serious harm and he has suffered serious injuries – and is still suffering to this day. 'This had a long-standing and profound effect on him and his family.' Sheriff Johnston mentioned Nicoll's 'long list' of previous offending, although none related to dangerous driving. 'You have clearly done very little to alter your behaviour,' she continued. 'You have only today expressed remorse and responsibility for the way you acted, but I note that you did not do that when interviewed by the social worker. 'You made the decision to drive your car that day after consuming alcohol. 'I see no alternative but to imprison you for these matters.' Nicoll was sentenced to 16 months in prison and banned him from driving for 62 months. He will also need to sit the extended driving test to get his licence back.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Thunder Power Holdings, Inc. Receives Delisting Notice From Nasdaq
Application Process is Currently Underway to List on OTCQB WILMINGTON, Del., April 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Thunder Power Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AIEV) ("Thunder Power" or the "Company"), a technology innovator and developer of premium passenger Electric Vehicles ("EVs") whose acquisition strategy is focused on addressing strategic gaps in the EV sector with a diversified approach across the clean energy value chain, today announced that the Company received a notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC ("Nasdaq") that after a hearing on April 15, 2025, it has determined to delist the Company's ordinary shares on Nasdaq Capital Market for its failure to comply with Nasdaq continued listing standards. As a result, Thunder Power's common shares are expected to begin trading under the symbol AIEV on the OTC Pink Open Market operated by the OTC Markets Group, Inc. ("OTC"), commencing on April 21, 2025. The Company is in the process of applying to OTC for listing on the OTCQB® Venture Market (the "OTCQB") and, if the application is approved, will uplist from OTC-Pink to the OTCQB. The transition of the Company's listing to the OTC Pink or OTCQB is not expected to affect the Company's business operations or its reporting requirements under the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Christopher Nicoll, Chief Executive Officer of Thunder Power, commented, "We previously announced the transfer of our listing from the Nasdaq Global Market to the Nasdaq Capital Market, effective on March 28, 2025. However, after a hearing with a Nasdaq listing committee last week, we were unexpectedly notified of our delisting. Once we have executed on our M&A activities and are qualified, we will reapply to once again be listed on Nasdaq. "In the near term, we are looking forward to receiving shareholder and regulatory approvals on our previously disclosed share exchange with Electric Power Technology Limited ("EPTL") (TWSE:4529)," added Nicoll. "We expect to begin generating an initial stream of revenue in 2025, which will further diversify Thunder Power as a green energy solution provider. We are excited to launch this partnership with EPTL to deliver innovative power solutions to a variety of end markets. This alliance is a deliberate next step to expand our capabilities and enter adjacent environmentally-sustainable fields as we work to bring our EV's to market. Once the EPTL transaction is completed, we will continue to pursue additional strategic M&A targets in the attractive green energy landscape throughout 2025 and beyond." About Thunder Power Holdings, Inc. Thunder Power is a technology innovator and a developer of innovative electric vehicles ("EVs"). The Company has developed several proprietary technologies, which are the building blocks of the Thunder Power family of EVs. The Company is focused on design and development of high-performance EVs, targeting markets initially in Asia & Europe. Thunder Power's acquisition strategy is focused on addressing strategic gaps in the EV sector combined with a diversified approach across the clean energy value chain. For more information, please visit: Contact: AIEV Investor RelationsAIEV@ Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminologies such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results or outcomes could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including but not limited to, (i) operational risks, such as the Company's ability to successfully execute on its business plan, its ability to complete the acquisition of Electric Power Technology Limited; its ability to receive stockholder approval to issue its common stock in relation to the Share Exchange Agreement; its ability to successfully acquire assets on terms that are favorable to the Company; its ability to integrate acquired assets effectively; and its ability to adapt operations in response to accidents, extreme weather events, natural disasters, and related economic effects; (ii) regulatory and compliance risks, such as the impact of new or amended governmental laws and regulations, including tariffs, clean energy policies, and environmental standards; changes in tax laws or tax-related matters; its ability to receive a successful audit outcome under Generally Accepted Accounting Standards; and its ability to maintain its listing on the Nasdaq Global Market or successfully transfer its listing to the Nasdaq Capital Market; (iii) financial risks, such as the Company's liquidity position and ability to obtain additional financing, if necessary; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; interest rate volatility; the Company's current pre-revenue status and uncertainties surrounding its ability to generate revenue in the future, including potential delays in product development, market acceptance, or achieving profitability; (iv) market and industry risks, such as fluctuations in consumer acceptance and demand for electric vehicles; competition within the EV sector; the Company's ability to integrate solar power technology into its products as part of clean energy innovation initiatives; fluctuations in the availability and cost of raw materials critical for EV production; and advancements in battery technology or alternative energy solutions that may impact market dynamics, and (v) such known factors as are detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, each as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in other reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time and available on the SEC's website ( All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors and those reported in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other than as required under the applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws, regulations or rules. View original content: SOURCE Thunder Power Holdings, Inc. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SNP MSP to stand down at Holyrood election
The SNP MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Audrey Nicoll, has announced she will not stand in next year's Holyrood election. The party leader at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, repesents the area of Aberdeen South and announced his intention to challenge Ms Nicoll for the Holyrood seat in November. His plan to hold a seat in both parliaments led to a political row, and he ultimately conceded that he had made a mistake and said he would not seek to be both an MSP and an MP. However, he did not explicitly say whether he still intended to stand for Holyrood, or if he would quit Westminster should he win a Holyrood seat. Flynn will not seek dual mandate to become MSP SNP yet to make decision on two-job MPs - Swinney Flynn aims to stand for SNP at Holyrood election Government backs bid to bar dual mandates for MSPs He told the Press and Journal newspaper last year that he intended to make his decision "after Christmas". BBC Scotland News has asked the SNP for an update on Flynn's plans. On Sunday, Nicoll said she had advised local branch members of her intention to stand down at the next Holyrood elections. She added: "I look forward to a robust contest to select a strong candidate who will bring life experience, compassion, and respect to the role and give the interests of the constituency their full focus." The MSP added that she would continue to work for her constituents until the election. A spokesman for Nicoll said her decision to stand down was unrelated to Stephen Flynn's interest in her seat. Flynn has been tipped as a future SNP leader, but he predicted there would not be a contest to replace John Swinney for "long, long time", adding that he had full confidence in the first minister. He told BBC Scotland News: "I just want to be part of his team." Speaking about Nicoll's decision to stand down, the first minister said: "I am very sorry to hear that Audrey Nicoll has decided to step down at the next election. She has made a superb contribution at the Scottish Parliament."
BBC News
09-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll to stand down at Holyrood 2026 election
The SNP MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Audrey Nicoll, has announced she will not stand in next year's Holyrood election. The party leader at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, repesents the area of Aberdeen South and announced his intention to challenge Ms Nicoll for the Holyrood seat in plan to hold a seat in both parliaments led to a political row, and he ultimately conceded that he had made a mistake and said he would not seek to be both an MSP and an MP. However, he did not explicitly say whether he still intended to stand for Holyrood, or if he would quit Westminster should he win a Holyrood seat. He told the Press and Journal newspaper last year that he intended to make his decision "after Christmas". BBC Scotland News has asked the SNP for an update on Flynn's plans. On Sunday, Nicoll said she had advised local branch members of her intention to stand down at the next Holyrood elections. She added: "I look forward to a robust contest to select a strong candidate who will bring life experience, compassion, and respect to the role and give the interests of the constituency their full focus."The MSP added that she would continue to work for her constituents until the election. A spokesman for Nicoll said her decision to stand down was unrelated to Stephen Flynn's interest in her seat. Flynn has been tipped as a future SNP leader, but he predicted there would not be a contest to replace John Swinney for "long, long time", adding that he had full confidence in the first told BBC Scotland News: "I just want to be part of his team."Speaking about Nicoll's decision to stand down, the first minister said: "I am very sorry to hear that Audrey Nicoll has decided to step down at the next election. She has made a superb contribution at the Scottish Parliament."
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Landmarks: Potential church closure could put Park Forest history at risk
They had to move everything — the old photographs and books, collections of dolls and games, including one celebrating the television show 'Leave it to Beaver,' the furniture, and yes, even the kitchen sink. In fact, the last time the Park Forest 1950s House Museum moved, in 2015, the entire kitchen went along. 'They let us take the kitchen because they wanted it out,' said Jane Nicoll, the museum's director since it was established 26 years ago as part of the village's 50th anniversary. Situated in two of Park Forest's signature rental townhomes just north of the old Park Forest Plaza, the property would soon change hands and the owners 'didn't want to have to get someone to grandfather us in,' Nicoll said. The kitchen, looking much the same as when the rental units were erected in the late 1940s with the exception of a '70s-era countertop, was loaded onto a platform, affixed to a freestanding wall and delivered to an unused classroom at the former St. Mary Catholic School at the southern outskirts of the village. Amid the move, a paint chip flaked off a door. 'We have it on display in a bowl, just to show how they kept painting over,' Nicoll said. 'It's a lot of layers — mostly thick, white layers.' Along with the museum's five decades worth of artifacts came the Park Forest Historical Society's archives. The trove of photographs, documents, papers and oral histories relating to the development and growth of what boosters call America's 'first fully-planned, post-World War II suburb' are housed in a separate room at St. Mary. But that time might be coming to an end and the future of the archive, and especially the museum, is in doubt. The Catholic Church of St. Mary was established along Monee Road as the population of Park Forest surged in the decade following its founding, even though St. Liborius Church was less than five miles east in Steger. Not long after it was built, St. Mary's school expanded along a sprawling hallway. The future was bright. In the decades that followed, the fortunes of Park Forest ebbed and flowed. The celebrated Park Forest Plaza — one of the first suburban shopping malls in America, which had siphoned commerce from former shopping meccas such as downtown Chicago Heights — was one-upped in turn by Matteson's indoor Lincoln Mall. Stores moved away and Park Forest's signature clock tower was demolished. Officials moved forward with a plan to redevelop the plaza into a more traditional downtown business district. St. Mary closed its school in 2011, working instead with St. Liborius to support Mother Teresa Academy in Crete. The partnership between the two churches also includes a shared Mass schedule, among other combined services. Not long after the school closed, the Park Forest Historical Society moved in, renting a former classroom initially for the archive, and later the 1950s Park Forest House Museum after it was booted from its townhome. The new home was more forest than Park Forest, not far from Thorn Creek Nature Preserve and somewhat off the more well-traveled roads. But the classrooms offered room to spread out a bit, as well as an opportunity to recreate scenes not just of the village's early living spaces, but the educational ones as well. One of the museum's signature displays is its annual look back at an elementary school Valentine's Day, complete with vintage decorations and valentine cards straight from the 1950s. It's up now through March 8 at the museum, 227 Monee Road. 'We've had people go through who went to Forest Boulevard School and get a tremendous kick out of it,' Nicoll said. The kitchen, where visitors can rifle through drawers and cabinets filled with Tupperware, aluminum serving dishes and other modern doodads available to postwar home cooks, is a year-round attraction. 'People are fascinated by the kitchen,' she said. 'Older women go through and say, 'I still have that' — they're amazed that it would be in a museum!' It's not just the kitchen gadgets. 'I remember this from my mother's house. I remember this from my grandmother's house. That happens in every room,' Nicoll said. 'It just depends on what catches people's fancy.' The museum dates back 26 years to the villagewide celebration of Park Forest's 50th anniversary, but the historical society's archive goes back even further, to some random historical papers that were at the Park Forest Public Library. Nicoll was still relatively fresh out of library school and had moved to Park Forest in the late 1970s for her first job when she and another librarian decided to organize the library's historical collection into an accessible archive. As time went by, space at the library began to fill up and 'the archive went partly into storage,' she said. 'The library got rid of things, and said 'do you want this? Otherwise we're throwing it out.'' Most often they did want it. Meanwhile, the aging founders and early residents of Park Forest continued to donate documents, artifacts, entire photo collections. There were boxes of VHS tapes and master reels of most of the historical society programs going back decades, and boxes of Park Forest Reporter newspapers chronicling the village's early growth. The collection was split between storage pods controlled by the library and the society, the museum and even Hope Lutheran Church, where Nicoll would have to 'make an appointment to go to the attic to get newspaper articles people wanted.' The space at St. Mary allowed the collection to be reconsolidated and made more available to researchers. That includes materials — oral histories and written documents — about the planned integration of Park Forest in 1959. 'The circumstances surrounding the first integration is one of the most remarkable things about Park Forest — the role that private individuals played in trying to break the color line,' Nicoll said. 'That's one of the most researched things currently. It was a remarkable story of that time, and you hear different facets of that.' Nicoll, who has spent decades cataloging, preserving and showcasing the history of Park Forest, had a chance to gain firsthand insight into that story not too long ago through her work at the museum. 'During COVID a woman called and wanted to bring her uncle in to see the museum because he'd lived in Park Forest in the early days. He was going to be 100,' she said. 'When she brought him in, he said 'Let me tell you how we did the first integration.' He was part of the committee, and I'd never heard his name before.' The chair of the Park Forest Commission on Human Relations in the 1950s, H. Thurber Stowell had worked to peacefully integrate the newish village at a time when racial redlining and ugly confrontations were rampant. And when pioneering Black residents Dr. Charles Z. Wilson and his family moved in on Dec. 24, 1959, Stowell was there to greet them. 'He helped them move in, and he helped them find a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve,' Nicoll said. 'I'm so glad we got to meet him and find out his story. We put him in the Hall of Fame.' The encounter illustrates one of the elements that makes her work, mostly done on a volunteer basis, worthwhile. 'Park Forest has a very special history, and it was recent enough that you can find it. You could be the one who was documenting it,' Nicoll said. 'I was working with the pioneers of the town.' In a video message posted in December updating the Catholic Diocese of Joliet's restructuring plan, Bishop Ron Hicks cited declining Mass attendance, smaller Sunday collections and a shortage of active parish priests in forcing tough decisions. He said the diocese plans to announce decisions in March about the future of 19 parishes in Will, DuPage and Grundy counties, St. Mary and St. Liborius among them. It's the last phase of a wider effort that in late 2023 reduced another set of parishes in the diocese in number from 16 to 7. Nicoll said she was hopeful at the outset of the process, because St. Mary is contained to one floor and is ADA compliant, but based on 'scuttlebutt' she believes 'the church is probably closing.' If that happens, it will be time for some more tough decisions, for Nicoll and her colleagues with the Park Forest Historical Society. 'The archive is the thing we will definitely have to find a place for,' she said. 'We're not as sure we can carry on with the museum if we have to move it.' Even before news of St. Mary's potential closing reached her, Nicoll was having trouble keeping the museum going with dwindling help from aging volunteers and a shoestring budget. 'So what's our future?' she said. 'Do we find a place or don't we? What are we going to do with it if we don't? 'If we have to choose, we have to save the archive. If we can't find a place for it, we have to find if another archive would take it, like a university, but I would rather have some more years of getting it organized before I hand it over.' Nicoll isn't giving up hope for a better outcome. Perhaps St. Mary won't close. Or maybe a move could be a good thing, if they are able to secure a low-cost home in one of the empty downtown storefronts of the former Park Forest Plaza. 'We might help attract more business by being there, even if we couldn't afford to pay the kind of rent that they have asked us in the past to pay when we did look downtown,' she said. 'Something as respected as the historical society being housed in the historic village's downtown is certainly better than an empty storefront.' It's important, Nicoll said, to keep Park Forest's origin stories available to the village's residents. 'Part of the mission is to give people pride in place, let them know how special this place is,' she said. 'They don't get to hear that enough. A lot of people have no idea how special this place is — architecturally and socially, there are books written on it.' And on a personal level, she's put a lot of heart and effort into the museum and archive over the last few decades. 'It breaks your heart,' Nicoll said. It's come in over the years, and it will be hard to let go of. 'It's been quite a journey trying to save the history of Park Forest.' Landmarks is a column by Paul Eisenberg exploring the people, places and things that have left an indelible mark on the Southland. He can be reached at peisenberg@
