Olympic legacy and badminton gun Angela Yu received a massive send-off last week before she flew to Paris to continue a family tradition.
Both her parents, who are the owners of Sky Badminton in Logan Central, have competed in previous Olympic Games.
Her mother, Rosie Tang, won bronze for China at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and bronze for Australia at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Her father, Yu Qi, played badminton for China before moving to Australia to coach the national team.
Dozens of young players and their families wished Angela Yu good luck with cards, gifts and flowers last week.
She was also presented with a cake in the shape of a badminton court.
Angela Yu with her parents.
“I hope seeing me compete in Paris will inspire young kids in Logan to chase their Olympic dreams in 2032,” Ms Yu said
Ms Yu has described her mum as her sporting hero.
“I started playing badminton under the influence of my parents as they once were elite badminton athletes and loved the sport,” she said.
Now she is debuting at her first Olympics, a feat she said was a “lifelong dream”.
Ms Yu and her younger brother Jack competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.
Last year she teamed up with Setyana Mapasa in women’s doubles and won three international tournaments in a row.
The duo is now ranked 11 in world and won gold at the Oceania Championships in Geelong earlier this year.
In Paris, Ms Duo will be joined by Ms Mapasa and Tiffany Ho.
Badminton Australia CEO Tjitte Weistra said he was “immensely proud” of the three athletes who endured a “gruelling” year-long qualifying process.
“The dedication and sacrifices these athletes have made, not only over the past year but throughout their entire careers starting from a young age, is truly remarkable,” he said.
“Earning a ticket to Paris 2024 serves as the ultimate validation of their hard work and commitment.
“Behind these three exceptional women exists an incredible support network comprising of family, friends, coaches and support services.
“Their collective dedication and encouragement have played an integral role in the success of our athletes.
“We can’t wait to see our athletes shine on the world stage – their achievements exemplify the spirit of Australian sport and serve as inspiration to aspiring athletes nationwide.”
The post Smash hit: Yu’s Olympic legacy soars appeared first on MyCity Logan.
Pictured on a giant billboard in the centre of Paris, adjacent to the Eiffel Tower, is former Daisy Hill resident Genevieve Gregson.
The former John Paul College student is about to embark on her fourth Olympics.
At her first three games, Ms Gregson competed in the 3000m steeplechase, becoming the best in Australia’s history.
But after rupturing her achilles tendon, she’s having a crack at the marathon.
“To think of my days as a kid running around Daisy Hill Forest and competing for my school John Paul College, to now just days out from my fourth Olympic Games feels like a surreal experience,” she said.
“You could never have told me life would unfold this way and I’ll be running so determined and strong while I think of my friends and family from home who helped me get here.”
Genevieve Gregson, who is on The Brisbane 2032 billboard adjacent to the Eiffel Tower.
It was in the final of the 3000m steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics – and coincidentally Ms Gregson’s 32nd birthday – that she injured herself.
She ruptured her right achilles tendon jumping over the final water jump of the race and was escorted off the track on a wheelchair.
Ms Gregson told the Australian Olympic Committee that she “struggled to even talk about” what happened for nearly two years.
“At the time I thought my world had ended,” she said.
“But really, it was an opening door to this way more amazing chapter.
“I find that, emotionally more sad because I could have maybe not had that, but I’m so grateful I do.”
After two years of rehabilitation, and after the birth of son Archer, Ms Gregson began racing again.
In 2023, she won the national half marathon, 12km race and cross-country titles.
Then, at her first marathon on the Gold Coast that same year, she recorded the second-fastest time by an Australian woman on debut.
In December, she ran a time of 2.23.08 at the Valencia Marathon – becoming the third best Australian marathon runner of all time.
She said it was “an absolute privilege” to be featured on a billboard in Paris promoting the 2032 Games.
The other athlete on the poster is Gold Coast para-canoeist Curtis McGrath, who was guest speaker at the 2024 City of Logan Volunteer Awards in May.
The post Marathon mum olympic revival appeared first on MyCity Logan.
The 2024 Paris Games will be Greenbank swimming star Mollie O’Callaghan’s second Olympics, and possibly her third gold medal.
In her first crack, in Tokyo in 2021, O’Callaghan helped Australia secure two golds in the 100m and 200m women freestyle relay.
Ever since, she’s dominated every pool she has been in.
At the 2023 World Championships in Japan, the now 20-year-old won six medals – five gold – and helped break four world records.
Australia won 13 gold, seven silver and five bronze medals in total, and set five world records.
O’Callaghan won gold in the 100m freestyle with a victory over Australia’s most successful Olympian, Emma McKeon, who she said was her idol.
Only two nights earlier she chased down leading competitor Ariarne Titmus in the final stages of the 200m freestyle, after turning in seventh place at the 50m mark.
This fight led to her breaking the 200m world record.
Ms O’Callaghan also helped break records in the 4x100m freestyle relay and the 4x200m freestyle relay.
She broke a record in the mixed 4x100m relay, where she swam with Shayna Jack, Kyle Chalmers and Jack Cartwright.
The year prior, O’Callaghan was named Swimming World’s Female Performer of the Year.
That same year, 2022, she became the fifth Australian to win the world and Commonwealth 100m freestyle double – joining swimming legends Jodie Henry, Libby Trickett and sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell.
At her most recent competition, in April at the national swimming championships on the Gold Coast, Ms O’Callaghan won gold in the 100m and 200m freestyle, and the 100m backstroke.
At the Olympic trials in Brisbane last month, O’Callaghan broke her own world record in the 200m freestyle by .37 seconds, despite only finishing second.
She also placed second in the 100m backstroke and won the 100m freestyle after pulling off one of her “renowned final 25m surge” to move from fifth at the turn.
The Australian Olympics Committee has predicted O’Callaghan’s world number one ranking time of 52.49sec would boost the country’s chances at claiming a fourth straight 4x100m freestyle relay title in Paris.
She will be joined by fellow Logan swimmer Shayna Jack.
The post O’Callaghan’s making waves appeared first on MyCity Logan.
BMX champion Logan Martin will hold his Logan heritage close to his heart as he prepares to win his second Olympic gold.
“I hope it gives the younger generation in Logan City some inspiration to go out there and work hard towards any dreams they may have,” Martin said.
“Because I too was just a young kid from Logan that wanted to achieve some goals. t
“I’m very excited to experience another Olympic Games.
“Feels amazing to have qualified and to represent the green and gold again.”
Mr Martin, a Crestmead-raised freestyle cyclist, was the first person to ever win Olympic gold in bicycle motocross (BMX) at the sport’s debut in 2021.
Representing the country is something he doesn’t take for granted.
“It’s everything I work so hard for,” he said.
“The past three years since Tokyo, all my energy has been focused towards competing and qualifying for the Olympic games again.”
Mr Martin first tried BMX freestyle at age 12.
His father would find old mattresses to soften his fall when he crashed.
“Dad brought down three mattresses and a wheelbarrow, which he used to move some sand from the nearby sandpit over to the ramp to help soften the landing even more,” Mr Martin told The Australian Olympic Committe.
“The only problem was, a few days later the council would take the mattresses away while we were at school – so Dad would have to do it all again.”
Crestmead-bred BMX champion Logan Martin
Mr Martin honed his skills at parks across the city, including at Crestmead and Beenleigh.
The now 30-year-old won his first international competition in 2012 and dominated competitions both domestically and internationally in the following years.
His X-Games debut was in 2016, where he won silver.
He has won five golds, four silvers, and three bronzes in subsequent X-Games competitions.
Mr Martin made history in Tokyo by winning the first ever men’s Olympic gold medal in freestyle BMX.
And he did so by only performing his “easy tricks”.
Mr Martin secured the gold medal in his first 60-second run, which scored 93.3 out of 99.99.
No other competitors matched the score in either of their two runs.
In the Paris Olympics he’s hoping to place first – this time in front of a real audience.
Due to Covid restrictions at the Tokyo games the competition played out in front of almost empty grandstands.
“Being there with some packed grandstands is going to create a pretty epic environment and I can’t wait to fell that sort of rush that you’re going to get riding at the Olympics in front of a packed crowd,” he said.
He said the support from Australia was “massively important” to him.
The post BMX gold’s next trick appeared first on MyCity Logan.
Jason Day (Golf): The former World No.1 and 13-time PGA Tour winner,
attended Hills International College at Jimboomba.
Genevieve Gregson (Marathon): The Australian 3000m steeplechase record holder and finalist in the event in Tokyo (she ruptured an Achilles tendon and was unable to finish the event) has now switched to the marathon for what is her fourth Olympics. She grew up in Daisy Hill and attended John Paul College.
Shayna Jack (Swimming): The sprint freestyle expert and world record relay swimmer first competed in the Greenbank State School 25-metre pool.
Izaac Kennedy (BMX Racing): The world championship finalist first burst onto the BMX Racing scene as a teenage member of the Logan City BMX
Academy, based at Underwood Park in Priestdale.
Ashley Lau (Golf): The Malaysian professional and 2016 Australian junior championship runner-up and Victorian Open winner attended Hills International College at Jimboomba.
Logan Martin (BMX Freestyle): The reigning Olympic champion grew up in Crestmead and helped design Doug Larsen BMX Park in Beenleigh.
Ash Moloney (Decathlon): The bronze medallist in this event at the Tokyo Olympics is a product of Jimboomba Little Athletics club and was the 2018 Logan Sportsperson of the Year winner.
Camryn Newton-Smith (Heptathlon): Australia’s first Olympics heptathlon competitor in 16 years was born in Logan, joined Jimboomba Little Athletics Club as a five-year-old and attended Park Ridge State High School.
Mollie O’Callaghan (Swimming): The 2023 100m and 200m world champion and dual gold medallist in Tokyo began her swim career in the Greenbank
State School pool.
Samantha Schmidt (Para Discus): The Logan-born thrower holds the Australian Para records in discus, shot and javelin in her F38 class. Her throwing coach Ralph Newton is heptathlete Camryn Newton-Smith’s father and coach.
Natalie Smith (Para Shooting): The Meadowbrook marksman is heading to her fourth Paralympics and will contest various distances in the women’s rifle
events.
Kristy Wallace (Basketball): The former Loganholme resident and John Paul College student now plays in the WNBA for Indiana Fever and is making her
Olympics debut after winning bronze with the Opals at the 2022 World Cup.
Angela Yu (Badminton): Attended John Paul College and trains at Sky Badminton Centre in Logan Central, which is owned and run by her parents Rosy Yang, who is an Olympic bronze medallist for China and Australia, and Ricky Yu who represented China and coached the Australian badminton team at the London 2012 Olympics.
Women’s Basketball: 29 July, 7pm, Australia vs Nigeria; 1 August, 9.30pm, Australia vs Canada; 5 August, 5am, Australia vs France. Quarter finals 7-8 August; Semi finals 10 August; Finals 11 August.
NEW BEDFORD — Why did downtown landlord Rick Miller pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax refunds?
No one will say.
Miller owns some of New Bedford’s most prominent downtown real estate: The former Webster Bank building that towers over Union Street, the former New Bedford Institution For Savings that’s now a coworking space for renewable energy businesses, and the historic Times and Olympia buildings. His portfolio, which he shares with his wife, Rose Miller, includes over two dozen properties.
And over the past four years, New Bedford has given him over $366,000 in refunds on his property taxes, according to records obtained by The Light. The payments stem from legal settlements Miller reached with the city after appealing his tax bill.
Miller received more refunds than any other property owner in the city, but his are just one slice of a larger pie. Since 2020, New Bedford has given back nearly $1 million to resolve tax appeals brought by commercial landlords.
But the reasons for the settlements are secret. None of the main players involved in negotiating the settlements would say why the city gave out the refunds.
Miller declined to answer any questions about the settlements when contacted by The Light last month, saying he didn’t even want to be mentioned in the story. None of the other people or companies that received large refunds returned requests for comment.
A lawyer who represented most of the property owners declined to comment on specific cases.
The city’s Board of Assessors only discusses settlements in secret executive sessions.
City assessing staff initially said during an interview that they might be able to provide explanations for the largest abatements, but a city spokesperson later backtracked, saying the negotiations are not public.
“We don’t want to compromise our position on any future potential appeals,” city spokesperson Jonathan Darling wrote in a text message to The Light.
During the interview, assessing staff said Miller might have received so many abatements because he owns so much property, but they said they couldn’t remember the exact reasons.
The city resisted releasing copies of the settlements for five months after The Light requested them in December 2023, even though the settlements are public records and state law normally requires such records to be provided in 10 business days. The city asked The Light to pay a $175 processing fee after nearly two months of negotiation, but the state Supervisor of Records determined that the fee was legally invalid and ordered the city to provide the settlements.
Finally, in April, the city released 13 pages of settlement records. The documents contained basic information like the parcel numbers and revised values, but not the rationale for the agreements.
Another records request by The Light for refund data later revealed that at least 25 settlements have resulted in refunds since 2020, more than the 13 the city released. The city says it has released all the agreements it has on file.
It’s in the city’s best interest to be transparent about tax abatements, said Mary Connaughton, director of government transparency at the Pioneer Institute, a Massachusetts think tank.
“Not cluing in residents about these deals erodes the public trust,” Connaughton said in a written statement. “They are left to feel that abatements are an insiders game.”
But lawyers who litigate these cases at the state’s Appellate Tax Board say the reasons for the settlements should be private. Commercial properties are valued based on their income and expenses, details that landlords generally don’t want to be made public. And the city is barred by law from disclosing those numbers for individual properties.
In total, New Bedford has given back $982,485 in abatements as part of tax settlements since 2020, city abatement data shows. That’s not a high number for a city like New Bedford, according to city assessing staff — it represents a fraction of 1% of the tax revenue the city brought in during those years. Outside experts agreed.
“I can tell you, it’s a very good return,” said Pam Davis, a retired assessor who works as a consultant to the city’s assessing department.
None of the properties that received refunds are owner-occupied homes — they include office buildings, strip malls, storefronts, and manufacturing buildings. In total, 15 property owners received sums ranging from $7,222 to Miller’s $366,000.
A South End strip mall at 1331-1335 Cove Road received abatements totaling $154,746. A representative for the building’s owner, TRT New Bedford LLC, said the property’s tenant is responsible for taxes and would have received the refund. The tenant, a church called New Life South Coast, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Virginia-based Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust received a single abatement of $121,591 for its 950 Kings Highway strip mall. A representative for the company did not respond to a request for comment.
The Washington, D.C.-based lawyer Judith L. Harris received abatements adding up to $83,672 for the former bank building at 174 Union St. — which Miller now owns — and some related parcels. Harris did not respond to a request for comment.
The tenant of a strip mall at 1331 Cove Road received $154,746 in property tax refunds. Credit: Eleonora Bianchi / The New Bedford Light
The Times and Olympia buildings at 880-902 Purchase St. received $119,131 in property tax refunds. Credit: Eleonora Bianchi / The New Bedford Light
The strip mall and Dunkin’ at 950 Kings Highway received $121,591 in property tax refunds. Credit: Eleonora Bianchi / The New Bedford Light
The retail and office building at 628-640 Pleasant St. received $79,107 in property tax refunds. Credit: Eleonora Bianchi / The New Bedford Light
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How settlements are reached
The process starts when a property owner gets their tax bill and decides to dispute it. Most often, the owner argues that their property was overvalued. They can also dispute the property’s classification or whether it was valued equitably compared to similar properties.
“There’s a million reasons why an assessment would be off and an abatement would be granted because of that,” said Kathleen Costello, the former Mattapoisett assessor and executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers.
Sometimes assessors made a mistake or didn’t have the right information, leading to a wrong assessment. Other times, the property owner just wants a lower tax bill and is “throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks,” Costello said.
In New Bedford, some property owners file appeals for every property they own, Davis said.
The property owner submits an application to the city assessor for an abatement. The assessor decides whether or not to grant it. If the city denies them, the property owner can appeal to the state’s Appellate Tax Board.
This is when settlement negotiations begin.
“Part of the negotiations involve what each side is ready and able to prove, and how much effort it will take,” said Richard Jones, a tax lawyer.
The board operates much like a court. It holds hearings, evaluates evidence, and rules on cases when parties can’t agree. But few cases ever go to trial.
Instead, in most cases, the property owner and city settle by coming to an agreement on what the property is worth. Market data can help get them close to a number, but even then, it depends on what data they use and how they interpret it.
“The value of a property — it’s an art, not a science,” said David Saliba, a property tax lawyer.
And that’s why, when a commercial landlord gets their tax bill, they may see room for negotiation.
Valuing a commercial property is much more complicated than valuing a single-family home, experts said. For a home, it’s easy to find similar properties in the same neighborhood that recently sold and use those sales prices to get a sense of the market.
But commercial properties tend to be more unique. How many eight-story office towers with harbor views in the heart of downtown can one city have? Oftentimes, there just aren’t any recent, comparable sales.
The income-generating nature of commercial real estate adds a whole new dimension. Property assessments represent what a willing buyer would pay for it on the open market. How much a buyer is willing to pay depends on how much income the property can generate.
It comes down to income minus expenses. The income of a property depends on how much the owner can ask for in rent. Data on a property owner’s leases and other leases in the area can help assessors come up with that number. Expenses include the cost of upkeep on the building. Other outside factors, like interest rates, also impact the value.
Aspects of a property like its vacancy rate and the state of the building are part of the discussion, experts said. But value is really about how much potential income a property could generate, not how much income it’s actually generating. Just because one property is more or less profitable than the rest of the market doesn’t mean it gets a higher or lower assessment.
“The market is really what’s key,” Saliba said.
Assessors try to get a sense of the market by sending out forms that ask property owners for their income and expenses. The owners are required to complete the form every year, or face a fine of up to $250.
But in New Bedford, only about one in every five of those forms is sent back, assessing staff said. Other communities across the state face the same problem, they said.
Davis said some property owners might fear that returning the form could directly impact their assessment, but the forms aren’t used to value each specific property. Instead, the city aggregates the data into categories like warehouses and shopping malls, then uses that data to estimate the “norm” within each category.
Property owners might also fear that the information in the forms could become public, Davis said, but the city is required by law to keep the information private.
When New Bedford’s assessing staff can’t get enough income and expense data from within the city, they have to look for data from other communities, which is less accurate. And that can lead to more abatements and settlements, experts say.
“It’s like tying a hand behind your back,” Davis said.
After a property owner files an Appellate Tax Board appeal, the next step is to exchange information with the assessor to show why the assessment may have been wrong. But when New Bedford’s assessing staff ask property owners for more information at this stage, they usually don’t get everything they ask for, Davis said. If they ask for documentation of all income and expenses, the property owner’s lawyer might send them back a copy of the lease.
Despite the city’s information deficit, Davis says she feels “fairly confident” about the final values reached in the city’s settlements.
“We’re not doing it blind,” she said. “Do we feel like we’re giving away the store? No.”
Why cases settle
The vast majority of Appellate Tax Board cases settle, and the board encourages it.
“No one has the capacity to try all these cases,” Saiba said. “It’s expensive, it’s time-consuming, and sometimes they realize that they’re not all right or not all wrong.”
When cases go to trial, both sides have to hire an appraiser, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Legal representation can add even more costs.
“That’s why settling is not necessarily a bad thing,” said Bill Mitchell, the assessor for North Andover and the president of the Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers. “Sometimes it can be in the best interest of the town.”
Cities set aside money every year for abatements in what’s called an “overlay” account, Mitchell said. If there’s enough money in the account to cover a settlement, that might be a more attractive option than the costs and risk of a trial.
The main risk: uncertainty. There’s no way to predict how the board will rule. Settlements are attractive because both sides know exactly what they’re getting, experts said.
Municipalities also have to pay 8% annual interest on any tax refund ordered by the board — another reason why it can be better for the city to settle, Davis said.
How The Light reported this story
To better understand how the tax appeals process works, The Light interviewed six lawyers with experience in tax matters and two assessors with leadership positions in the Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers, the trade organization for assessors.
The Light requested comment from the eight entities that received at least $30,000 in settlement-related tax abatements over the last four years, though none responded.
Over the past several months, The Light obtained settlement agreement records, data that documents refunds to property owners with whom the city had reached agreements, and executive session minutes for the Board of Assessors. We matched refund records with property and corporation records to identify the locations and owners of the properties.
Whether municipalities decide to settle or take cases to trial, taxpayers will have to pay the costs, said Costello, the former Mattapoisett assessor.
“You have to look at whether or not this is expedient [to settle], or if this is something you should be drawing a line in the sand on,” she said.
Costello said she would take cases to trial if she thought her assessment was right. But she said it’s best to settle cases right away if there was a misunderstanding or a mistake on the municipality’s part.
The fact that New Bedford has only settled cases over the last few years, never going to trial, suggests that there were inaccuracies in the assessments, she said.
“It’s data that gives you good numbers,” Costello said. “Doesn’t matter how good an assessor you are if your data is off.”
As assessors struggle to gather information on property owners’ income and expenses, a growing “army” of tax consultants gathers private-sector data to file abatements on behalf of their business clients, Mitchell said. When they present this data during the appeals process, assessors usually decide to settle, he said.
“That’s gotten worse and it’s only gonna get worse,” he said. “We are certainly at a disadvantage.”
Why the reasons for settlements are secret
Both tax lawyers and assessors say the reasons for the settlements should stay secret.
The city is legally required to keep the contents of income and expense forms confidential. But the city’s incentives go beyond that, experts said.
“The assessors don’t want to advertise that they may have gotten something wrong on a certain property, because it may attract attention from other taxpayers,” said Saliba, the property tax lawyer.
Indeed, during an interview with The Light, Davis went off the record to discuss one category of property in the city that is particularly difficult to assess. She asked that her comments on that category not be printed because it might cause every property owner in that category to apply for an abatement.
Municipalities should protect private tax information, Mitchell said.
Mark Murphy, a tax lawyer who has represented clients in New Bedford, said property owners would suffer if the reasons for their tax settlements were made public.
“If all the rents you’re getting are available to any prospective tenant, then [the tenant is] going to gain a huge advantage in any negotiation in what they’re going to pay in rent,” Murphy said.
Another challenge for assessors
New Bedford has lacked a permanent assessor for two years. The city has received some applications, but none of the candidates were experienced enough to accurately assess the wide range of properties in New Bedford, Davis said.
Judy Serdahl is currently the city’s acting chief assessor. Davis, who retired from the assessor position last year, is helping as a consultant. Davis is highly respected among her colleagues, who say her level of expertise will be hard to replace.
The office is understaffed, city officials said, and there’s a statewide shortage of assessors.
“Nobody says, ‘I want to grow up and be an assessor,’” Serdahl said.
Costello called it the “graying out” of the profession. There aren’t enough young workers going into assessing to replace the seasoned assessors who are now retiring, leaving some assessing offices across the state understaffed and overworked.
“You’re drinking from a fire hose; you’re going to make mistakes,” she said.
Hiring an assessor in 2024 is a cutthroat game. Costello described the experience of one colleague who was poached from his job by another town that gave him “an offer he couldn’t refuse.” New Bedford is already behind in the hiring game because it has a residency requirement for department heads, she said.
Despite short staffing and a persistent deficit of information, city officials say the assessing department does a good job. They say the employees work long hours to complete all their duties, and there is a healthy reserve of money to cover settlements and abatements.
“Our assessing team here is amazing,” said Darling, the city spokesperson, during The Light’s interview with assessing staff. “It’s something that the mayor is proud of, and the residents in the city …”
“Kinda!” Davis interjected, laughing. “We don’t have people coming in, saying ‘Gee, thank you, we’re so grateful.’”
A second person has been charged over the alleged murder of a 23-year-old Daisy Hill mum, who was killed in an allegedly “deliberate” hit and run.
A 27-year-old Acacia Ridge man was on Monday arrested following “extensive investigations”, police say.
He has been charged with murder.
Police say he was known to the victim.
The day before, on Sunday, a 24-year-old Goodna woman was also charged with murder.
Police allege she was the driver of the car involved in the “hit and run” last Friday (19 July).
“It will be alleged a 23-year-old Daisy Hill woman was deliberately struck by a silver Toyota Prado just before 9am on a footpath along Allamanda Drive,” a police statement said.
“She was transported to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition where she died on Friday night as a result of her injuries.”
The 27-year-old Acacia Ridge man is expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court today.
It is alleged the man was known to the victim.
The 24-year-old Goodna woman has been remanded in custody, and is expected to reappear in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on 31 July.
Police are continuing to appeal for information, including anyone with dashcam vision, who were travelling in the Daisy Hill area near Allamanda Drive between 5am and 10am on Friday.
More to come.
The post Second person charged over alleged hit and run murder of Daisy Hill mum appeared first on MyCity Logan.
Daisy Hill mum Tiesha Thompson, aged 23, was allegedly murdered by her ex-partner and his new girlfriend, according to police.
Ms Thompson died on Friday night just hours after she was hit by a car on Allamanda Drive after dropping her three-year-old daughter to daycare.
Police have since charged two people with murder over the alleged hit and run.
On Sunday, a 24-year-old Goodna woman was charged, with police alleging she was the driver of the car that hit Ms Thompson.
On late Monday night, a 27-year-old Acacia Ridge man was arrested and also charged with murder.
Police do not believe he was in the car at the time of the alleged murder, but do allege he was a “participant in the planning and preparation of that offence”.
Logan Detective Inspector Chris Knight said the alleged offenders were in a relationship.
He said the 27-year-old man is the former partner of Ms Thompson, who she shared a child with.
“In Queensland, anybody who participates in the planning or preparation of committing an indictable offence are deemed to be principal offenders,” Mr Knight said.
“The person we charged last night, we will allege has involvement in the offence other than driving the vehicle.
“We certainly will be alleging he was a participant in that murder… [and] equally involved.”
Logan Detective Inspector Chris Knight.
When asked if the alleged offenders’ motives related to “that prior relationship and custody of that child”, Mr Knight said: “We will be making allegations to that effect.”
“I’ve been an investigator for more than 30 years,” Mr Knight said.
“I’ve spent a very large portion of my career doing homicide and death investigations, and I can honestly say that there are features that we’ve identified in this investigation that will stay with me.
“It is a horrendous crime.”
Police allege Ms Thompson was “deliberately struck” by a silver Toyota Prado just before 9am on a footpath along Allamanda Drive.
“She was transported to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in a critical condition where she died on Friday night as a result of her injuries, ” a police statement said.
Ms Thompson’s family released a statement on Monday afternoon.
They said the pain of losing her “could not be put into words”.
“Despite the immediate and heroic efforts of the first responders, we sadly lost Kiesha later that day,” Ms Thompson’s aunt Amanda Matthias said.
“We are deeply grateful for those who worked tirelessly to save her.
“We are struggling to understand why anyone would commit such a cruel act.”
Kiesha Thompson’s family.
Ms Thompson’s brother, Koby Torto, said Ms Thompson tried to create the best life for her daughter.
“She had nothing short of a difficult life, but in the past couple of years she worked tirelessly to create the best life for not only her, but her child, who was the absolute light of her life,” he said.
“Her life, up to the end, was exactly what she wanted, but… she was taken from us in a cowardly act.”
The 27-year-old Acacia Ridge man appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court today.
The 24-year-old Goodna woman has been remanded in custody, and is expected to reappear in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on 31 July.
Police are continuing to appeal for information, including anyone with dashcam vision, who were travelling in the Daisy Hill area near Allamanda Drive between 5am and 10am on Friday.
Ms Thompson’s family have started a Gofundme to raise money for her daughter.
It can be accessed here: gofund.me/fc00e20c.
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THIS was before the time caravan parks had movie nights by the swimming pool.
The cords were so precarious, the whole pool would have blown up.
And there were no lights anyway, so we would have been frying our marshmallows in the dark.
Aunty Ethel would have been worried about stepping on a poor old tree frog, in the days when tree frogs outnumbered the cane toads.
Forgive my reminisce, but there’s a point to all this.
I’m not one for chanting the “good old days” phrase because there are plenty of things that are better now.
But these were days when a community truly bonded.
Every evening in a community-type hall, families took blankets and sat around a bowl of lollies.
We’d all play “hoy”, a game similar to bingo but played with a deck of cards.
Shuffle your deck, lay out a number in front of you, and wait for the caller to sing out a number.
First to turn all their cards over won a modest prize. I recall taking home a block of chocolate one night.
Other nights, even as kids, we’d be allowed to participate in a cent sale.
We’d be worried now about the influence it was having on children, and the nurturing of gambling behaviour.
I personally came away not as a gambler, but as someone who cares about the important role “a good time” can have when fundraising for a good cause.
The van park would gather a bunch of prizes from local businesses and spread them out over a few nights during the school holidays.
They’d choose a local organisation they thought needed help, and Bob as they say, was our collective uncle.
With some interest, I read about Logan City Council’s well-intended efforts to start a charity fund in 2017.
Someone must have been enthused by the thought that the community might be able to do a better job than public servants when it came to filling the coffers of not-for-profit organisations.
A noble cause, and a noble thought.
Call in the volunteers, they said. They’ll do our jobs better than us. And they’ll care.
They probably had a point.
It would seem however, that the message got a little lost in translation.
According to the mayor, the fundraising group’s job was to raise money. Council would add money to the kitty, and local charities would benefit.
The problem is, local charities need tens of thousands of dollars to do their work.
When you think that a gala ball might raise $10,000 after months of preparation by volunteers, you see the velocity of the mission.
Hundreds of volunteer hours for a small return.
Council’s concern is that bureaucrats aren’t very good at making money. But they’re pretty good at handing it out, so why delegate that duty to a committee?
Or should I be so bold as to ask, why delegate the kudos?
Hoy night was all about equal opportunity for anyone who put their hand up for help.
Local charities took turns, and when their name rose to the top of the list, they’d get a visit from the van park owner who’d give them a cheque for $50.
I know that for a fact because they had one of those big cheques done up with a chalk board nailed to the bit where they’d put the name of the recipient.
Sure, the van park owner never missed an opportunity for publicity. But they earned it.
Charities have always relied heavily on governments to fund their survival. But there will always be groups in our communities who see fit to do good.
They’ll continue to do it, without asking for thanks. Without the big cheques. They’ll do it from the goodness of their heart, and they’re the ones who’ll truly earn our respect.
As for charities, they too deserve kudos. For what they do to help their own communities, but for overcoming the mountain of paperwork they need in order to gain government support.
Hey Wanda, there’s a thing called “grocery bingo” in the public notice section. Sounds like fun. Fancy popping along?
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