Man with ‘brain eating disease’ fined for violent public threats
Crime by Elizabeth Neil
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Subscriber only A 47-year-old Gympie man suffering from a brain disorder could be heard threatening and hurling abuse at a Gympie Regional Council ranger outside a coffee shop in Mary St. Brent Aaron Wickham pleaded guilty in Gympie Magistrates Court on Monday to charges of public nuisance and for threatening to kill a council ranger, after he reacted viciously when approached by two rangers in March 2021. Police prosecutor Barry Stevens said Wickham acted aggressively towards the rangers, on March 3 and March 11. Wickham was approached by two council rangers the first time, after he was seen holding a dog between his legs while sitting at a table outside a coffee shop in Mary St, raising suspicions the dog was unleashed in public.
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A major overhaul of the regionâs pools could be on the cards, with Gympie Regional Council throwing open the doors to possible new management of its $23 million aquatic centre and regional facilities.
The council is inviting tenders to take control of its four community owned pools, which includes the aquatic centre and public pools at Kandanga, Goomeri and Tin Can Bay.
The pools have been managed by Belgravia Leisure for the past five years.
The companyâs run has not been without controversy. The 2016 appointment of the Victorian-based company as managers was met with community backlash and in 2017 it made national headlines over its internal photograph policy after a Gympie grandmother was told staff had to check the photos she took on her phone before she left.
Construction:
Amamoor Creek Road widening - The works involve road pavement and bitumen seal on Amamoor Creek Road, starting at Amamoor Creek Bridge and continuing to Amamoor Dagun Road. The project includes works, minor clearing, extended stormwater pipes, widening road pavement and bitumen seal, rebuilding property accesses and remedial works to roadside scouring. Forecast completion late April 2021.
Groundwater Road widening - The works include widening the existing sealed road to 10m, adding kerb and channel, pavement strengthening, stormwater drainage pits and pipes, concrete pathway, landscaping, signage and line marking. Please keep in mind that during construction hours, Groundwater Road will be closed to through traffic. Traffic to detour via Cox Road and Mary Valley Road. Forecast completion late May 2021.
She is a proud Gympie-ite who grew up here and raised four children in the region, is passionate about her hometown, about being a voice and an advocate for its people, and about exposing, debating and resolving the issues facing the region.
Shelley leads the largest and most talented, multi award winning group of reporters in the Gympie region, providing local news 24/7 and giving comprehensive, professional coverage of the local courts, crime, council, schools, business, real estate and daily triumphs, challenges and tragedies that unfold locally.
“Like many of you, I was devastated by last year‘s closure of our print titles including The Gympie Times, and while there’s still print ink flowing in these veins, we must look to the future,” Shelley said.