News
The Herald helping hand community project continues
FRIDAY’S in The Herald office are normally a day where we can take the foot off the gas and start thinking about the next edition of the newspaper.
We normally have a flick through the paper over a coffee and have a chat about things in the pipeline for next week.
Last Friday, October 30, was a bit different though, we weren’t sipping a coffee or taking it easy, we were out and about around Johnston and Milford Haven as part of our community project; Helping Hands.
During the first Lockdown earlier this year, we knew we had to help older and more vulnerable people in our community the only way we could, with food, with milk, with eggs, with whatever we could beg for or borrow off of generous local businesses who, like us, wanted to help but didn’t know how to in a world of social distancing and shielding those with underlying health conditions.
So, we filled up one of our vans, normally used for delivering newspapers, with as many essential things as we could lay our grubby mitts on and we went to areas with sheltered housing, whether it be for the elderly or the vulnerable, we knew we had to help those people first.
This time around though, we could organise, we could plan and we could make sure that the help offered by the amazing people behind Pembrokeshire businesses got to those who needed it the most as soon as possible.
Behind our masks and hand sanitiser, we packed bags full and gave them out to grateful members of our community, we, like those supporting us, want everyone to know that even in the worst of times, we stand together and we help each other out, not for praise or column inches, because it’s the only thing to do when we’re all up against it.
The gratitude we could just about make out behind the masks was enough, and if it wasn’t for our supporters and their super-human selflessness and generosity then we simply couldn’t have been able to help as many people as we have.
We need help to do more, we need supporters so that our Helping Hand can be offered to as many local people as possible. We won’t stop trying to help and we won’t stop being grateful that we can help people during the toughest of times and it’s obvious from the level of support that we’re not alone.
To local businesses: thank you, thank you so very much for giving all you can to help us help others and every week this lockdown continues we will continue giving all we can so that the most vulnerable people never have to feel cut-off or alone, every little action makes a truly profound difference.
A massive thank-you to these local business who gave a helping hand:
VC Gallery
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheVCGallery
Website: https://www.thevcgallery.com/
Marks Autos
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marksautosdiagnostics
Website: http://www.marks-autos.co.uk/
Prendergast Butchers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrendergastButchers
Website: http://prendergastbutchers.co.uk/
Peter Kidney Boiler Maintenance
Telephone: 07968315350
T & S MOTORS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tandsmotors199
Telephone: 01437 890199
Williams Sheds Ltd.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Williams-Sheds-Ltd-2095772077335776
Website: http://www.willsheds.co.uk/
Clever Cloggs
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CleverCloggsHaverfordwest
Website: https://clevercloggs.uk/
S.Craig & Sons Ltd
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SCraig-Sons-Ltd-520185294759029t
Website: https://www.scraigandsonsfloorscreeding.co.uk/
Honeyborough Garage
Telephone: 01646 603 838
Address: Unit 6, Honeyborough Ind Est, Neyland
H.R. Havard & Sons
Telephone: 01437 762 751
Website https://www.hrhavardandson.co.uk/
The First & Last
Telephone: 01646 682687
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themaynardspembrokedock
Brocklis Bitumen Limited
Telephone: 07851 778 236
Address: 49 Harfod Cwnin, Carmarthenshire, SA31 2AT
Mike Howling Car Sales
Telephone: 01437 899 355
Website https://www.mikehowlinmotors.co.uk/car-sales/
Nisa – Hakin
Telephone: 01646 278150
Address: 1 Wellington Road, Hakin
Terry’s Tiles
Telephone: 01646 601121
Website: www.terrystiles.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Terrys-Tiles-387289311351538
Health
Pembrokeshire residents suffer severe health decline ‘due to landfill gases’
A PEMBROKESHIRE couple, Mr Richard and Revd Patricia Rogers of Crud yr Awel, are experiencing severe health issues attributed to emissions from the Withyhedge Landfill, resulting in drastic lifestyle changes and severe symptoms.
Revd Rogers, who has managed asthma since childhood, reported a significant deterioration in her condition following exposure to landfill gases. Despite having controlled her asthma with minimal medication for years, she now requires intensive treatment including increased doses of Symbicort and Salbutamol Sulfate inhalers, alongside courses of steroids and antibiotics. Her symptoms have escalated to include extreme breathlessness, a hacking cough, frequent nosebleeds, continual headaches, and vertigo, culminating in a severe impact on her ability to perform daily tasks and care for her disabled daughter.
The couple’s health is closely monitored through their doctor’s surgery, and they attend the asthma clinic regularly. However, feeling powerless to directly change the situation, they have taken a stand by cancelling their council tax payments, a decision they plan to maintain until the landfill issue is resolved.
Revd Rogers has also prepared a letter to the Coroner, outlining the severity of her health issues as potentially life-threatening due to the landfill’s impact. This dramatic step underlines the gravity of their situation and their desperation for a resolution.
The Rogers’ story is not just a personal tragedy but a stark example of the broader environmental and health challenges faced by the community surrounding the Withyhedge Landfill.
They are calling for punitive measures against those responsible, including compensation for the financial impacts of their ordeal.
Their story has surfaced on the same day we reported that Natural Resources Wales is taking further enforcement action against the firm running the site.
NRW has issued site operators Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with a further Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice which requires the operator to deliver a series of actions by specified deadlines to address ongoing smells from the landfill.
You can read more about the Enforcement Notice on the NRW website.
Outgoing Council Leader, Cllr David Simpson, said in a statement this week: “The smell from Withyhedge is having a major impact on residents and visitors. This situation has gone on too long and it is unacceptable.
“We now need to see RML act on the demands of the Notice and within the deadlines.
“The Council fully backs NRW’s stance that nothing is off the table in terms of further enforcement, including suspending the site’s environmental permit if appropriate, and we remain committed to working with NRW to ensure a long term solution to these issues.”
Entertainment
Fishguard Festival of Music launches at the Senedd in Cardiff
- Paul Davies MS for Preseli Pembrokeshire hosts event to promote major programme of summer concerts.
THIS year’s Fishguard Festival of Music/Gwyl Gerdd Abergwaun was officially launched at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay this week (Wednesday) in an event hosted by Paul Davies MS Preseli Pembrokeshire. Guests attending heard from the festival’s artistic director Gillian Green MBE about the 18 events extending over three weeks that will be staged at venues across Pembrokeshire from 18 to 31 July, including a concert by the Welsh National Opera Orchestra at St David’s Cathedral.
Paul Davies MS, said: “I’m truly honoured once again to sponsor the launch of the Fishguard Festival of Music. Over the summer, Fishguard will host world-famous musicians like harpist Catrin Finch and fiddle player Aoife Ní Bhriain, and the festival also includes performances from the National Youth Orchestra of Wales, the National Youth Choir of Wales and the Welsh National Opera Orchestra – so there really is something for everyone! Tickets to these performances sell out quickly and so make sure to head over to the Festival’s website and secure your tickets before it’s too late.”
Gillian Green MBE, Artistic Director of the Fishguard Festival of Music, added: “The Fishguard Festival plays a significant role on the cultural map of Wales and our mission to bring world-class music to Pembrokeshire is as strong as ever. This year we will have a real feast of music awaiting audiences in West Wales. The local community’s work in producing this fantastic festival is nothing short of a small miracle.”
Artists performing at this year’s festival include Peter Donohoe, Catrin Finch and the Marmen String Quartet. The full programme is available to view on the festival’s website www.fishguardmusicfestival.com
Climate
NRW to reduce mowing in May to help pollinators
NATURAL Resources Wales (NRW) will reduce mowing as much as possible on the land in its care during May to help tackle the nature emergency and in support of Plantlife’s ‘No Mow May’ campaign.
The scale and rate of biodiversity loss across Wales is accelerating. Every third mouthful of food we eat has been created by pollination, and without pollinators our food supply would collapse.
Half of the UK’s 27 bumblebee species are in decline, and of the 43 species of butterfly seen in Wales, 10 are in severe decline and 17 are declining.
There are several reasons for the decline in pollinators, such as climate change, pollution and pesticides, and change in how land is managed.
Throughout the growing season, NRW cuts grass and vegetation in areas such as forests, nature reserves, river banks, flood defences and reservoir embankments.
Reducing mowing in May will help biodiversity by allowing spring plants to set seed and grow to provide nectar and pollen for pollinators, such as bees and butterflies.
NRW will reduce its mowing activities in May as much as possible, but essential grass cutting will continue in some areas across Wales.
There are several reasons for this, for example:
- to manage access to forests and nature reserves to make sure people are safe when they visit.
- to easily inspect flood defences and repair them if needed, helping to reduce flood risk to communities.
- for nature conservation, for example to manage an invasive species or to benefit species in a certain area by cutting the vegetation.
David Letellier, NRW’s Head of Operations South Wales Central, said: “We’re committed to tackling the climate and nature emergencies and helping nature and people thrive together.
“We will reduce our mowing activities in May as much as possible to support pollinators, but we want people to understand that we may carry out essential grass cutting to benefit certain communities or species.
“For example, we may continue mowing flood defences to make sure they are in good working order, or if mowing some sites in May would leave wildflowers to recover and bloom throughout the late summer to benefit certain pollinators.
“We need to act now to protect our pollinators. This is why we manage all of our sites to make them as pollinator friendly as possible and to provide food and shelter for other species.
“There are things we can all do to make it easier for pollinators to survive. These can be relatively simple, such as managing grass verges in a more sensitive way, or leaving wild areas around our offices, homes and public buildings.
“We can all help by making our gardens pollinator-friendly by not using pesticides, not mowing the lawn as often, and growing pollinator-friendly plants.”
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