Latest news with #Wilkin
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Ohio explosives plant leak leads to several evacuations: Reports
(NewsNation) — A chemical leak at a Vinton County, Ohio, explosives manufacturing plant Wednesday led to evacuations in several communities. According to NewsNation local affiliate WOWK, police received a call of a reported leak at the Austin Powder Plant. The chemical that leaked was nitric acid. Residents in the area surrounding the plant were advised to evacuate and urged to leave the area to avoid exposure. EMS officials added that Zaleski, Ohio, officials informed residents to shelter in place as a plume of nitric acid may be heading in that direction. Salmonella outbreak tied to eggs sickens dozens across 7 states 'Public safety is of the utmost importance,' said State Sen. Shane Wilkin. 'I urge those affected to listen to the local sheriff's office and other emergency personnel on what to do and how to proceed during this emergency,' Wilkin said. The Federal Aviation Administration has also issued a temporary flight restriction with a 30 nautical mile radius in the area of the leak. Austin Powder is one of the few plants in the United States that manufacture explosives and employs approximately 250 employees. No one was reported injured from the leak. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Toronto Star
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
This solo play at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre has one of the most memorable scene openings of the season — and also a major problem
Shedding a Skin 3 stars (out of 4) By Amanda Wilkin, directed by Cherissa Richards. Until May 4 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. or 416-975-8555 When we first meet her, Myah (Vanessa Sears), the central character in Amanda Wilkin's solo play 'Shedding a Skin,' is confined to a box. Or rather, she's stuck in a generic office cubicle in London, England, grinding away at a job she doesn't like, surrounded by workers she barely knows and an obnoxious, patronizing boss. All of that is about to change, however. In one of the most memorable openings to a play this season, Myah, who's Black and probably in her early 30s, is pressured by her manager to pose for a company photograph with the two other racialized people in the office. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The company, it turns out, has received some complaints about its lack of diversity, and so the three are meant to provide photographic evidence of 'inclusivity in the workplace.' They are statistics, not people. One of them, the office cleaner, is dressed in a suit and not their work uniform. I won't spoil Myah's explosive reaction to this ridiculous scenario. But I should point out that the maintenance employee is upset that the photograph was ruined. He had worked there for 17 years, unlike Myah's six-week stint, and had never, until then, been acknowledged by the company's higher-ups. Dressing up was his idea. Before the day is over, Myah loses her job, her partner and home. But quicker than you can say '21st-century millennial privilege,' she's answered an ad to rent a room on the 15th floor of a tower block. Her new landlady/roommate is an older Jamaican-English woman named Mildred, someone with a heavy Caribbean accent, strict housekeeping rules and a mysterious past. Vanessa Sears in 'Shedding a Skin.' Jeremy Mimnagh/Nightwood Theatre And Mildred, it soon becomes clear, will be the one to make the lonely, directionless Myah find herself and shed her old skin for a newer, more permanent one. 'The space between where I am and where I want to be is deafening,' says Myah about a third of the way into Wilkin's 90-minute show. It's a memorable quote, but it brings up one of the script's biggest problems. Where does Myah want to be? And for that matter, what does she want? Up until then and, indeed, until the show's thrilling and moving climax, she remains a passive figure and passivity is hard to make interesting onstage. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Wilkin does, however, add another dimension to her script by interspersing Myah's tale with third-person accounts of others struggling to get by in various parts of the world. These brief vignettes, while initially disorienting, soon become a mysterious, and moving, commentary on human connection. To make a show like this work, and Cherissa Richards' production ultimately does, you need a strong, charismatic actor. (Wilkin herself performed the play when it debuted at London's Soho Theatre in 2021.) Sears, who is equally adept at musical theatre ('Kinky Boots,' 'Mary Poppins,' 'New York, New York' recently on Broadway) and straight plays ('Is God Is,' Stratford's 'Romeo and Juliet'), commands our attention throughout. Besides suggesting a woman who's searching for some meaning to her life, she easily transforms into various characters, from the judgmental, tsk-tsking Mildred and the passive aggressive manager to the fearless Gen Z cubicle mate at Myah's new job. Each character not only has a specific way of talking but also a unique way of holding themselves and moving through the world. Sears ensures each character comes through clearly. Vanessa Sears in 'Shedding a Skin.' Jeremy Mimnagh/Nightwood Theatre Richards does a fine job in evoking Myah's world. Jung-Hye Kim's set initially seems like a claustrophobic box, but as the show's protagonist begins opening up to new experiences, the box similarly opens up to give her more room to breathe. All of this is enhanced by Shawn Henry's subtle lighting design. And a half-dozen screens hang from the rafters, on which Laura Warren's projections orient us to where we are in the city or, in the case of those vignettes, the rest of the world. Back in 2020, 'Shedding a Skin' won a prestigious writing award in England, and one of the judges was the acclaimed author and actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Like 'Fleabag,' Waller-Bridge's breakthrough work, this solo play could also be successfully adapted for a Netflix series. That longer format would let Myah come into her own and dramatize, rather than merely recount, her inspiring, universal coming-of-age tale.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Pair who murdered man thrown over cliffs jailed for life
The family of a man who was thrown over iconic Irish cliffs have described his "evil" murder as "callous and unnecessary". Alan Vile and Nikita Burns, were convicted of murder by majorities of 10 to two at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Thursday. The pair were sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday. Vial, 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal and Burns, 23, from An Charraig, County Donegal, both denied the murder. Famous beauty spot, brutal murder: The body at the foot of the cliffs Mr Wilkin's body was found in the sea at the bottom of the Slieve League Cliffs along Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way eight days after he was murdered by two short-term friends. During the sentencing hearing, a statement on behalf of Robin Wilkin's family described the time since his murder as "an agonising journey filled with grief, denial and undoubtedly anger". The statement, read to the court by Mr Wilkin's sister, Irene McAleer, on behalf of herself and her brother David and sister Marie, stated that "the brutal nature of his death is something that none of us will ever come to terms with". Commenting on her daily attendance at the trial at Dublin's Central Criminal Court, Mrs McAleer said "nothing or no one could have prepared me for the evil and harrowing details". Her statement added: "To sit in the same room with those two cold, calculating individuals has been so difficult". "The fact neither of these individuals have shown a grain of remorse has been very overwhelming at times," Mrs McAleer said. Her family also paid tribute to the Garda investigation into the murder of their brother and thanked key witnesses "for their bravery in coming forward and appearing in court". Irene McAleer also added: "I'd like to take this opportunity to declare that contrary to reports that Robin was estranged from his family, he was in fact just travelling his own path and had lost regular contact with us, as many siblings do. "Robin's callous and unnecessary murder has deprived us all the chance to reconnect now that our own lives are slowing down," she said. The statement concluded: "As a family, this isn't the end for us. Our grieving will begin now in whichever way we can navigate through it". Robin Wilkin and his two killers had only known each other for a number of weeks. They had spent an evening drinking together in local pubs in the hours before his murder. After leaving a pub in the village of Dunkineely they were driving back to Vile's home, where all three had lived together at times, when a row broke out and Mr Wilkin was beaten on the head with a rock. He was then driven about 14 miles along the coastline to the renowned Slieve League Cliffs. During the murder trial, Vile explained what happened when he admitted that he drove to Slieve League "to get rid of the body" in the early hours of the morning. "We got him up onto the fence and then we dropped him to the other side, and he rolled from there off the edge of the cliff," he said. Famous beauty spot, brutal murder: The body at the foot of the cliffs Pair found guilty of murdering man thrown over cliffs The killer, who was described by his barrister during the trial as "a petty criminal and an alcoholic", also said they returned to the scene twice to see if the body was visible or "if anyone had noticed anything". The court heard that Burns had "a difficult upbringing". The search for Robin Wilkin's body led to a complex and challenging week-long air, sea and land search and recovery operation before his body could eventually be recovered from the treacherous Atlantic waters along the Slieve League cliffs. The recovery of his body ensured that his two killers failed in their attempt to get away with murder.
BBC News
07-03-2025
- BBC News
Slieve League: Pair who murdered man jailed for life
The family of a man who was thrown over iconic Irish cliffs have described his murder as "evil".Alan Vile and Nikita Burns, were convicted of murder by majorities of 10 to two at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on pair were sentenced to life imprisonment on 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal and Burns, 23, from An Charraig, County Donegal, both denied the murder. Mr Wilkin's body was found in the sea at the bottom of the Slieve League Cliffs along Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way eight days after he was murdered by two short-term the sentencing hearing, a statement on behalf of Robin Wilkin's family described the time since his murder as "an agonising journey filled with grief, denial and undoubtedly anger".The statement, read to the court by Mr Wilkin's sister, Irene McAleer, on behalf of herself and her brother David and sister Marie, stated that "the brutal nature of his death is something that none of us will ever come to terms with".
BBC News
06-03-2025
- BBC News
Slieve League: The beauty spot now linked to Robert Wilkin's murder
Slieve League is billed as Ireland's ultimate sea cliff experience and a signature point on the Wild Atlantic attracts about 200,000 visitors from around the world each this beauty spot in County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland became a scene of horror in the summer of Wilkin, from County Tyrone, was attacked by a man and a woman who hit him with a rock and threw him off the cliffs, Dublin's Central Criminal Court was the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Thursday, Alan Vial, 39, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, County Donegal, and Nikita Burns, 23, from the nearby village of Carrick, were convicted of murdering Mr Wilkin on 25 June 2023. Alan Vial and Nikita Burns had both denied the murder of Mr Wilkin, who was also known as Robin, on 25 June it was the prosecution's case that they had engaged in a joint enterprise and that each subsequently claimed that the other "did it".In a normally quiet part of the country, people were shocked at the killing and its gruesome nature. "I've worked in Donegal for 34 years and I've never heard of anything as gruesome as what began to emerge that week," said journalist Stephen Maguire of the Donegal Daily."To be associated with such a macabre murder just shocked people locally. People just couldn't get over it that something like this would happen in Donegal, a lovely scenic area. "You rarely, if ever, hear of a murder in Donegal."That a person would have his head bashed in with a rock and then that that body would be placed by in a car and driven to such a lovely scenic area and dumped over the side. It just shocked people." It is understood Mr Wilkin was a transient the time of his death he seemed to have moved in with Vial in also spent time at the 24 June 2023 the three went out drinking in two pubs in Killybegs and Dunkineely and then drove off in the early hours of the following prosecution said that sometime between 02:00 and 02:15 the car stopped between Killybegs and Ardara and Mr Wilkin was violently was hit on the head before he was driven to the top of Slieve League and his body thrown off. It was recovered from the water below a week Maguire said when gardaí (Irish police officers) found the body, journalists from Dublin, the UK and the United States called him for information."People couldn't believe it – they thought it was something they would have seen in a Hollywood movie," he said. 'Devastating for the community' The chairperson of Donegal County Council, Niamh Kennedy, is from Killybegs and said the local community was still in shock."This place is of outstanding natural beauty," she said."It's devastating for the community but it's also devastating for the families involved with the perpetrator and that of the victim. "Our thoughts are with everyone at this time because it has been really tough but what we will say is we need to just move on." The area around Slieve League is rural and has a close-knit community, according to businessman Donal Sweeney who runs an arts and crafts shop in Killybegs."People don't really understand how it happened or what happened there, the whole background of it. It's very sad for all the families concerned," said Mr Sweeney."It's a very close community here in south west Donegal and everyone knows each other as well so it's tough on the families."Mr Wilkin had been due to stand trial following the discovery of cocaine and heroin with an estimated street value of £5.7m. The court proceedings were discontinued after his had been living in Tilbury in Essex at the time of his arrest and was questioned by officers from the National Crime Agency after his lorry was stopped at the Coquelles Channel Tunnel terminal in 2021. His truck was carrying Belgian chocolates and documents showed he was due to deliver them to a location in Maidstone in inside two pallets of the chocolates were tape-wrapped packages containing 63 kilos of heroin and 32 kilos of cocaine. 'Friendly, warm people' At Slieve League, locals were saddened by Mr Wilkin's death but also hopeful that the tourist industry - which is extremely important to the economy - would not be affected by the and Simon Michael, who travelled to Ireland from Melbourne in Australia, said they did not think people would be put off visiting."I think unfortunate things like that happen everywhere in the world and you'd be hard pressed to visit anywhere if you were put off by a violent act," Mrs Michael said."Our impression of the locals has been – Donegal in particular – unbelievably warm, welcoming and friendly."Her husband Simon agreed."It's such a beautiful place, it's here for eternity. That's a small piece of history. It doesn't play any part in my thoughts," he said."It's a beautiful place with such friendly people."
