Latest news with #Wishart
The Courier
2 days ago
- The Courier
Van driver sentenced for 'distressing' crash at Perth Airport that left victim needing plastic surgery
A van driver who knocked down a pedestrian at Scone Airport, leaving him seriously injured, has been sentenced to unpaid work as a direct alternative to custody. Paul Wishart struck the 61-year-old coffin factory worker as he made his way into work on the morning of October 3 2022. Perth Sheriff Court heard how Wishart, 37, did not realise what had happened until he stopped his Renault Trafic and saw his victim lying on the road. The man, who was described by witnesses as 'flying' through the air, suffered multiple injuries and required plastic surgery to his face. Wishart, from Methven, was found guilty of causing serious injury by careless driving following a two-day trial in April. He was banned from driving for three years when he returned to court for sentencing on Monday. Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC told Wishart: 'You have expressed significant remorse and you appear to appreciate the consequences of your driving on that day.' She said his victim 'suffered serious injuries and will be permanently impaired' but given his lack of criminal record – with one non-analogous traffic conviction – the sheriff said she was satisfied there was an alternative to custody available. Wishart was ordered to carry out 250 hours unpaid work. His solicitor Pauline Cullerton said: 'There had been nothing unusual as he drove to work that morning. 'He remembers hearing a thud and then saw the crack on his windscreen. 'He stopped the car and got out and was shocked to see (the complainer) lying on the road.' Ms Cullerton stressed her client had not been speeding. The court heard there were traffic calming measures including speed bumps on the road. She said Wishart took responsibility for the 'distressing' injuries he had caused. Jurors heard how Wishart had not seen the pedestrian as he crossed Spitfire Avenue, having stepped off a bus on the nearby A94. The victim was 'propelled' through the air and landed on the carriageway. Emergency services were scrambled to the scene just after 7am and the injured man was rushed to Ninewells Hospital. The busy commuter route was closed off for about an hour. Fiscal depute Jennifer Bairner read out a list of the victim's injuries, as recorded in a joint minute of agreed facts. He suffered rib fractures, a cut to the right side of his face and a broken knee. His left middle finger was also dislocated. Ms Bairner said the victim underwent an operation to fix his knee, which involved a plate being inserted by an orthopaedic surgeon. 'The facial laceration was cleaned, sealed and closed by a plastic surgeon,' she said. The man was discharged from hospital five days later. Witnesses told the court of chaotic scenes in the aftermath of the early morning smash, with blood in the middle of the roadway. Ms Bairner said in her closing statement to jurors: 'It is not suggested that Mr Wishart intended to hurt anyone but as a driver, you need to drive safely.' Wishart was originally charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Jurors took less than an hour to convict him of a lesser charge involving driving carelessly.
The National
5 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Glasgow Film Theatre board members quit after Israel boycott decision
On Thursday, The National told how Glasgow Film – the company which runs the GFT – said it would not fully endorse either the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement or the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). Glasgow Film said this was in order to retain "independent decision making" and uphold its "commitment to Cinema For All". READ MORE: 'Do something!': Question Time audience member in fiery row with Labour MP on Israel Now, three members of the GFT board have resigned, raising concerns about the processes leading to the decision. Dr Sarah Wishart, one of the members who quit, claimed the board had not signed off on any letters or statements regarding the decision before they had been sent to staff and the media. On Thursday, Wishart shared a statement on social media, which the three members read out during a board meeting on Tuesday. It reads: "Unfortunately, due to the decision making and processes leading up to this evening, we have no choice but to resign from the board of Glasgow Film Theatre, effective immediately. "This is a decision which we undertook with great thought, care and consideration. "We recognised our responsibility as board members, and wished to see issues related to BDS/PACBI through to their conclusion. "However, we cannot, in good conscience, continue to serve on the board of the GFT. "In addition to our concerns related to governance and decision-making processes, we are also deeply concerned about the attitude the GFT has shown towards our unionised workers. READ MORE: Gaza ceasefire talks continue as Israel issues forced displacement orders "We intend to follow this statement with individual written resignations to formally conclude our time on the board." Earlier this year, front-of-house and cleaning staff at the GFT staged a boycott on handling any goods connected to the BDS movement, which resulted in Coca-Cola products no longer being served. Campaign group Art Workers for Palestine Scotland then published an open letter to the GFT calling for the cinema to adhere to the BDS movement and endorse PACBI. The letter was signed by more than 1400 people and included the likes of Ghassan Abu-Sittah, rector of the University of Glasgow and filmmaker Ken Loach. Glasgow Film has been contacted for comment.
The Courier
07-05-2025
- The Courier
Lochgelly creep used Snapchat to send 'penis cage' pictures
An 'obsessed' Lochgelly man who sent unwanted Snapchat videos of his penis to a woman from an alias account later gave away his true identity. A trial heard Craig Wishart repeatedly told his victim he wanted to 'worship' her and said she loved the fact he had a 'c*** cage on'. He was found guilty of coercing a woman to look at a sexual image and communicating indecently with her on January 15 last year at his home in Sir James Black Gait. He previously pled guilty to assaulting a police officer by punching him in the face on the same date. Wishart returned to Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing on Tuesday, his 27th birthday. Sheriff Paul Ralph gave him 50 hours of unpaid work and one year of offender supervision and a conduct requirement, as part of a community payback order. Wishart, who works at a fast food company, will also be placed on the sex offenders register for five years. Sick Snapchats An earlier trial heard multiple Snapchat videos and photos were sent to a woman on January 15 last year from what she described as a 'random add of an account'. The woman, in her 40s, told the trial: 'They were 'snaps' or photos of a penis in a cage'. She said a message alongside one read: 'You don't know who I am, I am obsessed with you.' The court, while closed to the public, was shown videos which were sent to her of someone touching their penis. The woman said she had received similar messages previously and kept asking who the person was until he revealed a combination of clues which made it clear to her. Creepy Wishart tried to hide in bushes after leaving court. She said she stopped communicating but he kept trying to phone and video call her on Snapchat. She did not answer but could see Wishart on the screen. He then contacted her on another social media platform shortly afterwards that day. Asked by prosecutor Brogan Moffat how she felt when receiving the messages, the woman said: 'Uneasy, because I did not know who it was. 'It had been going on for a year. I kept on blocking them, then another account got set up. 'I was suspicious of everyone – people coming into work. It made me feel really uneasy'. Parts of the Snapchat messages were read out during the trial. One message said he wanted to 'worship' the woman and 'I know you love this' and 'you love the fact I have a c*** cage on'. He said she was double his age but he 'cannot help' being so attracted to her. It then said if she wanted to know who he is, he would meet her somewhere and would 'take the key to my cage'. The court heard of several more sexually explicit messages directed to the woman. Cocaine and booze habit Regarding the police assault, fiscal depute Christine Allan said police received a report of a disturbance and found Wishart in his bedroom, woke him, and explained why they were there. He got out of bed and stepped in front of an officer, who advised him to step back, but Wishart responded by punching him to his face which caused a cut lip. Defence lawyer Gino Gambale said his client has no previous analogous convictions and is 'not a prolific offender'. He said Wishart had previously consumed alcohol and cocaine to excess, changing his behaviour. The court heard a condition of Wishart's sentencing is a ban on Snapchat or other social media without prior approval from his supervising officer. Following his sentencing, Wishart tried to evade being photographed as he left court by hiding among bushes.. For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.
Otago Daily Times
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Three seek title of Country Music Queen
With the hardest part of getting humble Southlanders to enter, the leadup to this year's Country Music Queen competition is already in full swing. While the Gore contest is decidedly not a beauty pageant, convener and 2019 winner Melissa Wishart said, the winner crowned on May 25 must present well to be an ambassador for the town internationally. She said the hardest part of the competition each year was getting Southlanders to throw their proverbial cowboy hats into the ring. "We're a bit humble and modest, aren't we?" she said. But the event is past that initial struggle and the contestants for this year are local property manager Jasmyn Pollock, Heriot's Maea Brandon and local retail worker Samara Halford. In the leadup to the final night, the competition hopes to build their confidence, connecting them with public speaking educator Toastmasters to improve their oration, she said. They also expose the entrants to a lot of community events while they wear their bright yellow sashes, so locals can learn who they are before the big day. The three women will also be educated on the knowledge and history of the area in preparation for the event, where there will be a question and answer category. The contestants will be judged on their public speaking, presentation and knowledge of Gore. They will also each deliver a speech on the night. Gore Health chief executive Karl Metzler, country musician Jenny Haraway and dance studio co-owner Amanda Swain will be returning as this year's judges. "They're seasoned judges and they love it," Ms Wishart said. The judges will meet for a dinner with the three potential queens the week before, as a way for them to get to know the candidates and ascertain who is best to represent the town. As a prize, the winner will represent the town for the year at important local events as well as internationally at Gore's sister-city, Tamworth, in Australia. The New South Wales town hosts the biggest annual country music party in Oceania, the Tamworth Country Music Festival, which the Queen winner will attend, representing Gore. The competition is organised by the Gore Country Music Club and held as part of the Tussock Country music festival in May. The big night will be held at the Gore RSA, with about 13 tables adorned with cheese platters and drinks at the bar. There will be live entertainment with the ever-popular Annie Nelson hosting, while the judges deliberate. "It's quite fun seeing on the night who's going to win," Ms Wishart said. Tickets are available on iTicket.
The National
28-04-2025
- Business
- The National
Family-run 150-year-old Scottish islands newspaper up for sale
Staff at the 153-year-old title were told last week that The Shetland Times Ltd, a company which also operates a publishing arm, a bookshop and a printing company, was being put up for sale by owner Robert Wishart. Wishart, whose family has been involved in The Shetland Times since 1894, said that the future of the paper was "far from certain" and new owners had to be found within four weeks. 'If new owners cannot be found for the newspaper there is a risk that Shetland will lose its only weekly newspaper,' he said. 'I think this would be catastrophic for the community and, of course, for all the employees of the company.' READ MORE: Police Scotland issue update on abortion buffer zones in major intervention The Shetland Times employs around 35 staff, with several leaving the paper in recent months. The newspaper is printed in Lerwick, and there are fears that without the ability to print a paper in the isles, the community could go without papers on a weekly basis amid bad weather and ferry or flight delays. The paper was the first weekly newspaper in Scotland to go online in 1996. In an editorial piece on Friday, the paper stated: "Despite shifting trends, not everyone prefers to read their news on a mobile phone; some still enjoy taking the time to sit down and read a paper from cover to cover. "That could all be lost. Recent years have been tough on newspapers everywhere. "The rise of social media and a presumption that news should be provided for free online, has seen sales of paid-for print publications plummet. "Few things sum up the challenges facing print media better than this morning's online report from our BBC-subsidised competitors Shetland News, which based its story on material from today's newspaper, shared it online for free and used a photograph taken from The Shetland Times Bookshop's Facebook page to illustrate it. "Despite the challenges, The Shetland Times has fared better than many newspapers. "We have managed to survive where others have not – and that is thanks to the support from readers like you. "But despite weathering the pandemic, inflation and changing trends, paper sales and advertising are not what they once were and it has become increasingly difficult to balance the books. "The fact is unless people buy the paper and take out adverts, the costs of printing it cannot be justified. "So our appeal to you, our readers, is that you keep supporting the paper. 'Use it or lose it' is the message we've reported when highlighting the plight of country shops and other struggling businesses. Now, that message applies to The Shetland Times as well."
