Latest news with #Fergus
The Herald Scotland
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Alex Neil: Fergus Ewing will beat the SNP in 2026 election
Son of the late SNP trailblazer, Mr Ewing has served as an SNP MSP in 1999, first representing Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber from 1999 to 2011 and then from 2011 for its successor seat Inverness and Nairn. The long serving MSP today announced he would be standing next year as an independent having previously said he would not be standing as an SNP candidate. READ MORE: SNP's Fergus Ewing to stand as an independent in 2026 Swinney programme failed to mention independence – so why all the talk now? Will the 2026 elections see people voting against parties - rather than for? John Swinney has discussed indyref2 with PM, says senior SNP minister The former rural affairs secretary said his decision was 'not an easy one' but was driven by disillusionment with the direction of his party and the state of the Scottish Parliament. Mr Neil, who served with Mr Ewing in Alex Salmond's government, told The Herald: "I can understand why Fergus has taken that decision. "And in my view if Fergus stands as an independent in that constituency the chances are Fergus will win quite easily." Former SNP minister Alex Neil (Image: Gordon Terris) Pressed why he thought that was the case, Mr Neil replied: "People are fed up with nodding donkeys, people who just do what they're telt instead of actually standing up for their principles and their areas. "I think that is the case for all of the parties. Whether at Westminster or Holyrood there are too many people who do not stand up and speak out on the key issues of the day but just wait for their daily instructions from the whips. "If you really want to be a member of parliament, whether Holyrood or Westminster, you should act accordingly. Very few do and Fergus Ewing is one of the few." Mr Neil added he thought "bookies would make Fergus the favourite" in the contest from "day one". Ms Roddick hit back. "I have always stood up for the Highlands and spoken out on issues that affect all of us who live here, I've never been shy about doing so," she said. "I am SNP because I share our principles and belief in Scotland - that, as an independent country, we can best serve the people I represent and work hard for every day. "That's why I was backed overwhelmingly in the local selection contest for Inverness and Nairn, and I look forward to putting that positive vision across during the campaign." First Minister John Swinney said he is saddened by Mr Ewing's decision "to leave the Scottish National Party". The former rural affairs secretary has been a vocal critic of the Scottish Government on several issues, often providing fiery contributions from the back benches. Slow progress on the dualling of the A9 and A96 roads were key to his decision to run as an independent, he said. He told the Press and Journal: "I cannot stand again for the SNP and defend the indefensible. "I have taken it (the decision) because I love the people of Inverness and Nairn, and the people of Scotland, more than my party which I have been in for more than half a century." He added: "I have seen the Scottish Parliament at its best and its worst. "I fear in recent years it has been at its worst. "The failures of the SNP to deliver on its longstanding pledges to dual the A9 and A96 are a major part of that." He told the BBC the SNP had "lost its way" and Holyrood had become "more fractious and tribal than ever before". Since leaving government, Mr Ewing has criticised SNP ministers on a range of issues, including the decision to bring the Greens into the Scottish Government in the Bute House Agreement, which collapsed last year. Public finance minister Ivan McKee was asked about Mr Ewing's decision as he spoke to the BBC's Good Morning Scotland radio programme on Friday. He disagreed the pro-independence party had "lost its way", saying: "I don't believe we have, I think under John Swinney's leadership, we're taking forward priorities for the people of Scotland. "I'm disappointed in Fergus's decision, I have worked with him on a number of things over the years. "I think he's not correct on this and I think it would be more effective for him to stay in the party and work to deliver the change Scotland needs." SNP leader Mr Swinney said: "It was with real sadness and deep regret that I heard of Fergus Ewing's decision to leave the Scottish National Party. "We have both served the SNP and the cause of independence for many years, and I commend him for all that he achieved while serving in the SNP Government until 2021. "Fergus had the option of standing at the forthcoming election for the SNP, given his status as an approved candidate. He chose not to accept that opportunity and I regret that he has ultimately decided instead to leave the party. "The SNP approaches the 2026 election ahead in the polls, with growing support for independence, and I am looking forward to taking our positive, ambitious vision for Scotland's future to the people." The SNP and Ms Roddick have been approached for comment in response to Mr Neil's remarks.
CTV News
09-06-2025
- CTV News
Suspects with expandable baton rob Fergus LCBO
Two suspects are seen in this image released by Wellington County OPP. (Courtesy: Wellington County OPP) Wellington County Ontario Provincial Police are looking for two people who robbed an LCBO in Fergus. Officers were called to the store on Parkside Drive around 5:20 p.m. Thursday. They were told two male suspects walked into the store and stole an undisclosed amount of alcohol. Investigators said one of the suspects wielded an expandable baton. The suspects were last seen getting into a black Nissan Rogue with a stolen licence plate reading CVDM927. The vehicle was last seen travelling northbound on Highway 6. The first suspect was described as a male with a dark complexion, small build, brown eyes, black short hair, black facial hair and a scar on his upper lip. He was wearing a black hat with a yellow Dewalt logo, a pink shirt, green cargo shorts, a green puffer jacket and navy blue running shoes. The other suspect was described as a male with a dark complexion, small build, brown eyes, black hair and a beard. He wore a shirt with vertical grey and white stripes, a black hat with a white Brixton MFG logo, camo cargo shorts and black running shoes. Police believe these suspects may also be responsible for another robbery at the store on May 22, as well as several other similar incidents. No one was hurt during the robbery.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Vermont kids and teens announce their favorite books
BARRE, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Deep-sea anglerfish, a family cookbook, and a bone-chilling serial killer star in the favorite stories of Vermont's young students this year. Over 17,000 Vermont kids and teens voted in the Vermont Youth Book Awards, choosing their favorite books from a shortlist of books printed in 2023. The books are not necessarily by Vermont authors, but the awards 'promote literacy and foster a love of reading and critical thinking skills among Vermont's children and teens', according to the Vermont Department of Libraries. Barre based organization aims to support fathers Kindergarten to fourth-grade students chose 'Who's Afraid of the Light?' by Anna McGregor, a cute illustrated story about a deep-sea creature in a world of darkness. Each time a glowing sea creature appears, the character Fergus manages to disappear before his face is seen, though he says he is 'probably very cute'. Eventually, his true identity is revealed. Fourth to eighth-grade students chose 'Lasagna Means I Love You', by Kate O'Shaughnessy, about a girl, Mo, who ends up in foster care after her uncle refuses to take care of her. She has trouble adjusting to her new family until she finds an old cookbook and decides to fulfill an old wish that she take up a hobby. Ninth to twelfth-grade students chose 'Where He Can't Find You', by Darcy Coates, a chilling horror story and thriller about a town haunted by disappearances and a monster called 'The Stitcher'. Abby keeps her life in order with a strict set of rules, but one day her younger sister is taken. She and her friends try their best to escape and solve the mysteries of the town. Vermont project translates public service videos into 21 languages Vermont has 183 public libraries, according to the Department of Libraries website, and many schools and colleges have their own libraries as well. Library consultant Jonathan Clark said, 'It's wonderful to see young readers engage with quality literature, and to celebrate these award-winning authors.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Review Geek
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Dept. Q – Season 1 Episode 6 Recap & Review
Pressure Episode 6 of Dept. Q starts with Merritt speaking to Sam Haig about her concerns in our past timeline. She believes someone inside the Crown Offices told Finch about the witness and almost had Kirsty killed. This has obviously ruffled some feathers and Sam warns her that she could be watched right now. It's here she admits indirectly to receiving threatening emails and texts. He cuts their chat short and encourages her to pick a better spot than the cemetery she frequents next time they meet up again. The place Merritt picks is the hotel room, under her pseudonym. The pair speak about Stephen Burns and his potential impact here, but only temporarily. Alone, Merritt flirts with him a little and wants to trust him. This comes from stripping right down to make sure neither is wearing a wire, but with them both naked, they naturally end up having sex. Merritt has fond memories of this incident and, well, she isn't exactly subtle about it in her hyperbaric chamber when we cut back to the present. Elsewhere, Carl attempts to talk to Jasper, ringing and suggesting they meet and talk. After, he and Akram show at the church and talk to Fergus, who's there drinking. He actually gave up for a while but after the beatdown he received a day prior, he's back on the hard liquor again. Carl is clearly flying too close to the sun and poor Icarus here has the bruises to prove it. Fergus has been warned off from pursuing this further and talking to Carl, but in a nice little twist, we learn he beat the three guys that surrounded him down in the parking lot after the initial sucker punch he received. Fergus being taken off the case, it seems, was Moira's call to protect him from being beaten down further rather than to stifle the investigation. Akram has also done his homework here and is convinced that Fergus would have solved this had he been left to continue. It's a far cry from what we initially thought regarding his ineptitude and a nice way of subverting expectations. Along with the shooter for the Leith Park murders apparently being caught, Carl shows up at the apartment to try and jog his own memories of the incident, which brings back painful flashes. He's found by his colleagues lying on the floor, apparently doing so to try and jog his own memories of the incident. Remember that press conference from episode 2? Well, it would appear that there's definite weight to the fact this victim found inside the apartment, Archie Allen, was a police informant. However, P.C. Anderson never said the victim's name, all he said was he was here for a routine wellness check. Archie may have been bait for a bigger fish and while Hardy and Carl were not the intended targets, the journalist could be onto something. Anderson may have been using the bumbling officer persona to play up his own ineptitude to avoid scrutiny. In fact, they're not even sure if Archie Allen, the deceased, had a daughter. While they get on this to investigate further, we circle back to the Merritt case. Rose leads the questioning with Liam again, bringing him bac in and asking specifically about his ties to Merritt – and how that could pertain to Kirsty. They know that Merritt visited her during week one of the trial but also that Liam's pride was hurt after the affair ended. Liam admits that he was angry and frustrated but then he woke up and wound up embarrassed about the whole ordeal. The reason the guys are going down this route though is to try and understand if Liam swayed Merritt's opinion into not using Kirsty as a witness given her background. The one above Liam is Stephen Burns so they seem to nail the fact that Burns was responsible for the hit against Kirsty, but we don't know why he did this just yet (if he even is involved). Meanwhile, Jasper is visited by a nasty man who threatens to ruin him. He wants Jasper to pass on these threats to Carl but when he shows at the diner, he follows the man out and immediately beats the guy to a pulp. He almost slams his head into the pavement after having blood spat at him, but Jasper stops his dad before everything gets out of control. Rose shows up to see Hardy and brings up someone called Ned Finkle. He was released from hospital 2 weeks after being run over by Julia Montgomery. He lost both his legs as a result but according to Julia's statement, she was run off the road by another vehicle that came up alongside her. Seeing how she smacked him from behind and there's no witnesses, it's her word against his. Now, this might sound like a pointless story to pad out this recap but it's important. Why? Well Julia's maiden name was Burns. Julia Burns is the daughter of Stephen Burns, so it seems like someone may have orchestrated this to send a message. That person could be Graham Finch, which in turn would have worked to make Stephen do his bidding. Carl shows back up at therapy but he's taken aback when Dr Sonnenberg is back and Rachel is nowhere to be found. He's not happy at the perceived feel of being given the run-around and he eventually decides to leave. Akram and Rose track down Edmund, the guy responsible for setting up Carl in the middle of the street with that charade involving Jasper. Carl isn't here of course, given he's being chewed out by Moira back at the station while all the other officers hilariously listen it. Moira rips into him for the very public display and how he now looks like a lunatic, given this is twice in a week that he's done this (the first was with the journalist, Dennis, at the Scottish Telegraph) Moira refuses to fire him though and just as Akram and Rose show up, Moira chews them out too, just for being in the line of fire. She calls them 'Team Doolally', and find out that the man who initially threatened Jasper and Carl was employed as a chauffeur for Ballantyne Transfer & Security. Which in itself is owned by Finch Overseas Shipping. That company's owner? Graham Finch. The gang bring up all of the connections they've uncovered between Stephen Burns and Graham Finch, but right now it's not the main concern, as Carl is called in to try and point out the killer from a line-up at the Leith Park shooting. However, it doesn't look like any of the men are the ones. As the episode closes out, we cut back to Merritt one more time where trouble is brewing. The airlock appears to be broken because moving a can of drink into her hyperbaric container causes the whole thing to explode, which is a pretty gnarly bit of foreshadowing for what could happen to Merritt. Time is of the essence. The Episode Review The connections are starting to slot into place now and it would appear that Stephen Burns is responsible for what happened to Kirsty, possibly just to turn the other cheek and keep quiet while Finch works his magic to be let off the hook. It still doesn't explain everything but it does go some way to give context over exactly how he plays into this and why the Crown Offices were aware of her as a witness. Fergus is clearly a good officer too and Moira, for all of her flaws, was working to protect him from potential harm. It's unclear whether she's in on this but I have a sneaky suspicion that Dr Rachel might be. She knows a lot, and for someone who apparently knows about Carl's past, and then suddenly disappeared, she could be part of this whole endeavour. Maybe this is a thread, maybe not; it's definitely something worth considering though. As we're gearing up for the business end of this season, everything here is left wide open for where this may go next. Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
CTV News
28-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
New elementary school will officially be named ‘Grand River Public School' in Fergus, Ont.
The Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) approved a name for a new elementary school opening north of Guelph, in time for the next school year. The school, set to open in Fergus, Ont. in September, will officially be called Grand River Public School. The UGDSB had a committee formed and created an online survey for name suggestions as part of the process. They said they received more than 500 submissions for name ideas from the public. Community members were then invited to a virtual town hall to rank their favourites from the list, where the name Grand River Public School came out on top. The new school will open on Kirvan Street and Elliott Avenue East in the Storybrook Subdivision.
