Latest news with #Underdown
West Australian
6 days ago
- Health
- West Australian
Withers Library helps raise funds for cancer research with community morning tea
The Withers community came together last month to raise funds for cancer research and treatment, by hosting a morning tea at the Withers Community Library. The library was one of 20,000 community centres around the country that organised their own events for Australia's Biggest Morning Tea — an annual fundraiser where people are encouraged to support those impacted by cancer. According to Cancer Council, almost one in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 85, and it is the leading cause of death in the country. More than $9 million has been raised so far this year, which adds to the $250 million accumulated by the event over the last 32 years. Withers community member Julie Underdown said it was 'a very enjoyable event'. She said local residents attended and volunteered, making the day 'a success in raising much needed funds for cancer research and treatments'. Ms Underdown thanked the 15 sponsors who helped organise the morning tea. 'The Withers Progress Association sincerely thanks the following businesses, organisations and people for their donations,' she said. 'Your generosity has helped raise much needed funds for the Cancer Council's important work.
Sky News
07-03-2025
- Sky News
Thousands of dead fish dumped on seabed after getting caught in trawl nets
Scottish environmentalists are calling for urgent action to protect marine life after a video shared with Sky News showed the alleged illegal dump of wasteful bycatch. Warning: This article contains images of dead fish The film shows the seabed littered with thousands of dead fish, shellfish, and critically endangered flapper skate. Environmentalists say it is an insight into the true environmental cost of bottom-trawling for scampi. Large volumes of fish and other marine life are routinely caught in bottom-trawl nets used to sweep the seabed. Charities say the unintended bycatch is a particular problem in prawn trawl fishery due to the small mesh size of the nets. The fisherman, who took the video and asked not to be named, said it did not look like a one-off. "It appears to be multiple dumps because the fish are in varying stages of decomposition." "I felt a deep sadness especially when I saw the dead flapper skate, when I saw the rope on the base of its tail. The sadness quickly turned to anger for the wastefulness involved and mistreatment of this beautiful creature." Skippers are required by law to release flapper skate caught accidentally. Although bycatch is not a crime, the law does require all skates and rays to be released immediately. "This clearly did not happen here, as the flapper skate had a rope tied around its tail," explains Nick Underdown from the charity Open Seas. "This shows the wasteful bycatch of other species caught in the trawl nets, which is often discarded at sea, hidden from public view." Open Seas called on the Scottish government and supermarkets to do more. "The scampi industry and the supermarkets have made a lot of profit selling consumers a product that is often branded "responsibly sourced" while failing to do anything to actually resolve this issue," said Mr Underdown. "As a priority, the Scottish government must reinstate sensible spatial limits on this type of fishing in our coastal seas." The charity also called for restricting trawling in sensitive sea lochs and coastal areas and bringing in better vessel monitoring to identify hotspots of harm.
BBC News
30-01-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Kershopefoot villagers' joy as power restored after seven days
Residents of a tiny hamlet left without power for seven days after Storm Éowyn said they were "delighted" to have electricity restored. Kershopefoot, between Cumbria and Scotland, had been in blackout since Friday morning when high winds saw trees on the edge of the village cut power Roland Underdown said engineers had "worked hard" and villagers were "overjoyed" to no longer be firing up camping stoves to eat beans on Power Energy Networks apologised to residents of the 29-property hamlet for the delay and said engineers had worked "tirelessly" to restore power. The power company had said electricity would be restored by Wednesday, but it did not return until 17:00 GMT on Thursday. Mr Underdown said: "The village is very happy, we had a flurry of engineers everywhere and I have to say they worked really hard."They managed to fire a generator up so we got on the temporary power supply just before lunch time, although we had a bit of a wobble when it ran out of diesel."We are now reconnected to the main grid and we felt deep joy." 'Lot of takeaways' The power company said it had sent a food van on Thursday so villagers could have a hot meal and its engineers had worked "tirelessly" to repair extensive damage to power lines. Mr Underwood said his wood burner had been a "lifeline" but that some villagers only had electric storage heaters. He said: "There's been a lot of takeaways and beans and toast eaten and people have been using camping stoves and that gets a bit boring after a while."Getting up early, stumbling over the dog, trying to find a candle and then firing up a camping stove for a hot drink is not something I want to repeat every day."
BBC News
28-01-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Kershopefoot residents feel 'forgotten' after Storm Éowyn
People living on the border between Cumbria and Scotland say they feel "cut off and forgotten" following Storm É tiny hamlet of Kershopefoot is preparing for its sixth day without power after high winds caused trees on the edge of the village to cut power lines on whose electricity is supplied by Scottish Power say the most optimistic deadline to be reconnected was Energy Networks said engineers were working to repair the damage and that a food van had been deployed to the 29-property hamlet. Resident Roland Underdown said he had expected an "emergency plan" to deal with the fallout of the storm."We've had no-one here at all," he said."We just feel cut off and forgotten from the rest of the country."A statement from the energy firm added: "Engineers are there right now working to repair extensive damage to the lines around Kershopefoot and are working tirelessly to restore power as quickly as they can."Mr Underdown said there were people with serious illnesses in the village and that only a few residents had log burners to heat their said: "We've been without power since 11:00 GMT on Friday and there's a lot of people solely reliant on electricity for their heating and cooking."It's a tight knit village and people have been helping each other out where they can."
