Latest news with #Tonge
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Plenty more to come from Tonge, insists skipper Lord
Tonge have started the new season with a bang - but captain Connor Lord believes there is more to come from his side as they challenge towards the top of the Premiership table in the Anthony Axford North West Cricket League. Tonge won a local derby away at Eagley last Saturday by 68 runs, their third win from four so far. Sri Lankan professional Hashan Dumindu stood out with 88 not out in 205-8 before he took the new ball and claimed three wickets with his off-spin in Eagley's 137-9. All-rounder Alex Rodzoch, who returned to the club over the winter from Farnworth, struck four times against an Eagley side who are bottom of the table with one win in four so far in 2025. Lord's Tonge (30 points) now sit fourth in the top-flight table, 14 points adrift of leaders Read. 'It was a very good win,' said seamer Lord. 'I think we make it hard for ourselves sometimes away at Eagley. We've had a couple of wins here and there, but last year I think it was second to last game and we couldn't chase 70 or 80-odd against them. 'So it was a big win for us against a local rival, but on the other hand there's also parts of our game as a team and individually that we need to improve on even though we're picking up wins.' One of those areas Lord pinpointed was their fielding, while you look at Saturday and see that from 101-2 in the 27th over, they only posted 205-8. And that came after they were 146-8. However, they are winning matches, which is the most important thing. 'If you're struggling in certain areas and losing, you end up scratching around,' continued the skipper, who claimed one wicket on Saturday. 'But if you're picking up wins and you still know where you need to improve as a team, then it's something you can jobs" target="_blank">work on from a position of strength.' Lord described the return of Rodzoch to Castle Hill as 'massive', and it's good to see the club thriving again after a difficult period approximately a decade ago when they were struggling at the foot of the Bolton League. 'Obviously, on the pitch and off the pitch, with his experience, he's brilliant for us,' said the skipper. 'We want Alex to get us runs at the top order, which he has done in a few of the games, and he's very handy with the ball as well. 'Over the last eight-10 years, we've strengthened the club back up, and we've sort of built on it each year as well. 'Keeping Hashan with us has been a big thing. It's his fourth season with us. Getting Justin (Gilliland, South African overseas amateur) back this year, too. They're two really, really good lads as well as very good cricketers. 'But all of the lads want to play for this club. 'Anyone who's doing well gets interest from other clubs, but they 100 per cent want to play for Tonge.' So what about aims for 2025? Is a top-four position where Lord and Tonge expected to be at this stage before a ball was bowled back in mid-April? 'Last year, we finished sixth and fell off a bit towards the end,' added Lord. 'So I think the next step for us would be to push for that top four, which would guarantee us a spot in the Lancs Knockout. 'But we're just going to take it a game at a time and try and improve on the things that we didn't do great each week and hopefully keep picking up enough wins to get us there.' Today's fixtures: Premiership - Blackrod v Atherton, Farnworth v Eagley, Little Lever v Farnworth Social Circle, Lostock v Padiham, Read v Kearsley, Tonge v Salesbury; Championship - Baxenden v Astley Bridge, Brinscall v Earby, Cherry Tree v Oswaldtwistle Immanuel, Ribblesdale Wanderers v Barnoldswick, Walkden v Whalley.
Winnipeg Free Press
20-05-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ground squirrel cull in city parks put on hold
The City of Winnipeg campaign to kill ground squirrels, which was scheduled to begin on Tuesday and continue until fall in eight parks and community centre fields, has been put on hold. 'The program is slightly delayed,' public works spokeswoman Julie Horbal Dooley said on Friday, adding she couldn't say why it was postponed. Horbal Dooley said the program had not been scuttled and would begin at some point. TIM SMITH / THE BRANDON SUN FILES The city has said it explored using other methods, including live traps, but found it would be impractical because it estimated the number of animals was in the thousands. Danae Tonge of the Manitoba Animal Save said she hopes city councillors can be convinced to stop the practice. 'It's spring and the squirrels are with their young,' Tonge said. 'One of our members has seen (Giant Destroyer) used before. 'The squirrels would crawl out of their burrows. They are dying and they are suffering. It's a horrible way to go and it could take up to an hour before they die.' The city used sulphur gas more than a decade ago, but discontinued the practice after public pressure. Last year, the squirrel management program was put on hold after concerns were raised that the carbon monoxide machines being used were unsafe for employees. The city will continue researching other methods, including carbon dioxide, but will use sulfur gas in the meantime. The parks to be targeted are: Charleswood Place, Theodore Niitzhotay Fontaine Park, Fairgrove Bay Park, Shaughnessy Park, Weston Memorial Community Centre, St. James Memorial Sports Park, Beryl Watts Park, and Vince Leah Community Centre. City crews will revisit each park monthly to repeat the program. Horbal Dooley said the city doesn't know which order the parks will be treated. 'We will post signs 24 hours in advance to advise the public of planned treatment,' she said. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'We may be required to close a park to facilitate a safe and effective treatment, but this will be site-dependent. That said, the gas will primarily remain below ground. Any that escapes will quickly dissipate and not cause a detectable odour in the vicinity.' Horbal Dooley said not all holes will be treated — because the tunnels are connected — and multiple staff will be on site to treat multiple holes at a time. The city has said it explored using other methods, including live traps, but found it would be impractical because it estimated the number of animals was in the thousands. Tonge said she doesn't understand why the city isn't using more humane options including live trapping and relocation or drugs to prevent them from reproducing. 'It just feels we are going to use the cheapest, quickest, cruelest option,' she said. 'We shouldn't be letting them be born only to kill them. This is cruel and inhumane.' Kevin RollasonReporter Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press's city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin. Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Reconsidering Manitoba's war on ‘pests'
Opinion As Danae Tonge made her way to Warren, Man. last month, to peacefully protest a wildlife hunting contest taking place the next day, it quickly became apparent that her plans would need to change. Tonge, along with other members of activist group Manitoba Animal Save, were greeted by a group of hostile hunters, blocking the road with a sign draped by animal skin and antlers, reading 'No tree huggers.' Tonge says she felt unsafe, so she told her group to go home. The plan had been to protest, and to bear witness to the crows and magpies due to be hunted down the following day as part of a contest held by Woodlands and District Wildlife Federation. 'Teams of two will compete to harvest the most birds,' the flier reads, 'with cash prizes awarded to the top scoring teams.' The birds are considered by some to be 'pests,' potentially harmful to young livestock (who of course will eventually be killed, too). In Manitoba, ravens are protected under the provincial Wildlife Act, but crows and magpies are not, and shooting them for fun appears to be a common springtime activity in some Manitoba communities. Minnedosa will be holding a similar contest this weekend, but this one will also include gophers. Killing a gopher will get you one point. Magpies are worth three. Manitoba Animal Save won't be protesting the Minnedosa event. Instead, they, along with other advocacy groups, Animal Justice and The Winnipeg Humane Society, are calling on the provincial government to amend the Wildlife Act to include crows and magpies, or even better — to ban these contests altogether. 'The Winnipeg Humane Society strongly opposes the killing of crows, magpies, gophers and all other species for sport,' says director of animal advocacy, Krista Boryskavich. The organization is also advocating for 'legislative amendments to require an independent, third-party scientific report prior to undertaking population management measures, which would ensure that population management is only carried out if … necessary,' and 'in the most humane manner possible.' Concerns about population control also extend to the issue of ground squirrels — another small animal deemed by some as 'pests.' Later this month the City of Winnipeg plans to gas ground squirrels to death in their burrows across eight city parks, due to their holes supposedly being a danger to people and pets. The lethal pesticide is called 'Giant Destroyer,' and Kaitlyn Mitchell, a Winnipeg lawyer with Animal Justice, says it can take up to an hour or more to actually kill the squirrel. She calls the method cruel and says there are better options. 'A more effective approach would be to hire experienced biologists or other experts' she writes in a statement, 'to live-trap animals if absolutely necessary in March, before young are born.' Waiting until May means baby squirrels will also be gassed. Ultimately, it's the labelling of certain wild animals as 'pests' that allows for this type of treatment to take place. But this branding is both misguided and dangerous. Such language shapes perception — and policy — toward eradication rather than co-existence. Across Manitoba and beyond, these animals are treated as nuisances simply for surviving among us. But who's encroaching upon whom? These wild animals are simply adapting to the spaces we've created in their habitats. They aren't invaders; they're survivors. And unfairly categorizing them as 'pests' allows for the casual use of terrifying killing methods like trapping, poisoning, hunting and culling. 'We need solutions rooted in ecology, not extermination,' says Lesley Fox, executive director of wildlife advocacy group, The Fur Bearers. The term 'pest' inaccurately implies worthlessness, but all species play important roles in our shared ecosystems. Ground squirrels, says Fox, are a species whose burrows help aerate our soil. They also help disperse seeds and support biodiversity. 'Labelling these and other animals as 'pests' oversimplifies complex ecosystems,' she says, adding that 'co-existence isn't just possible, it's necessary.' As for this weekend's hunting contest in Minnedosa, Tonge is encouraging Manitoba animal lovers to contact provincial Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie to add pressure to the campaign to amend the Manitoba Wildlife Act. And for those wanting to speak up for Winnipeg ground squirrels, Mitchell says to reach out to your city councillor. 'It's not too late,' she says, for the city to take a second look at this 'cruel plan.' Thinking of certain animals as mere pests ignores our responsibility in the natural imbalances we've created — and the respect owed to fellow beings who are simply trying to live. Other solutions exist, we just need to be a society that insists on them. Jessica Scott-Reid is a Winnipeg journalist and independent animal advocate. She is also the disinformation correspondent for Sentient, and a former member of the Winnipeg Humane Society board of directors.
