Local News Friday 26th February

Friday, 26 February 2021 07:30

Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh has criticised the government for asking children to wear facemasks in school. Yeovil Town’s season in the National League could end early unless agreement is reached over a loan with Sport England. A Yeovil GP surgery that had been at risk of closure has been put under new management and more ....

Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh has criticised the government for asking children to wear facemasks in school. Commenting on Twitter, Mr Fysh described the guidance as ‘appalling’ and said it shouldn’t be supported.

Meanwhile, the Head of Preston School in Yeovil, Greg Morrison, has welcomed the decision that teachers will decide grades for this year's GCSEs, A-levels and written vocational qualifications in England after the exams were cancelled because of the pandemic. The government has confirmed that unlike last year, no algorithms will be used to calculate pupils' grades and that exam boards will check random samples, and students will receive their results earlier than usual, to allow extra time for any appeals. Mr Morrison said given the circumstances of the pandemic, the government was doing the right thing.

Yeovil Town’s season in the National League could end early unless agreement is reached over a loan with Sport England. In a statement, Chairman, Scott Priestnall says Yeovil Town are heading for a 1-mllion pound loss this season due to supporters not being allowed into stadiums. The Chairman says an emergency government loan has been offered and that the Club are giving it consideration, but if the loan is found to be unaffordable, then players and staff will be furloughed and the club will not complete the season.

A Yeovil GP surgery that had been at risk of closure has been put under new management. Following a damning inspection, the Care Quality Commission described Ryalls Park Medical Centre on Marsh Lane as ‘inadequate’ and ‘requiring urgent improvement’. Ryalls Park will now be run by Symphony Healthcare Services, who operate 14 GP practices in Somerset, including Oaklands Surgery here in Yeovil.

A Somerset bride-to-be says she’s unhappy over the government’s plans to re-admit guests at weddings. Weddings can take place with 15 guests from mid-April and 30 from mid-May. But, Justine Clayton, who postponed her wedding last year and now plans to get married at the end of May says the limit on guests should be lifted sooner.

A crowd funding appeal to re-open a village pub in South Somerset has received donations of just under £90,000. The Green Dragon in Combe St Nicholas closed its doors permanently last September. Organisers are seeking to raise £400,000 to buy the building and run the pub as a social enterprise.

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Friday 17th May

A new website has been launched to support people in Somerset with mental health issues. One of Yeovil’s oldest pubs has been sold. Artwork on the theme of aviation produced by students at Yeovil College has gone on display at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil.A pupil at Tatworth Primary School near Chard has won a prize in a national competition for writing a book review...and more
Thursday 16th May

Work laying a gas main on the A37 Dorchester Road near the Quicksilver Mail roundabout in Yeovil is to continue for a further two months. Somerset Council says the public toilets in Yeovil bus station will close at the end of the month but the waiting room will stay open temporarily. Former Yeovil Town Captain, Josh Staunton, has set up in business as a professional gardener...and more.
Wednesday 15th May

Somerset Council seeking to save £40 million by cutting one thousand jobs says 201 employees have so far applied to leave the authority based on voluntary redundancy. East Somerset Railway near Shepton Mallet has been used for filming the TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel Rivals. An old-style red phone box in Castle Cary is being turned into Somerset's smallest museum...and more
Tuesday 14th May

Somerset's Chief Medical Officer says GP surgeries using healthcare professionals alongside doctors to provide treatments has freed up GP appointments. A farmer has been fined £15,000 for polluting a household water supply. Avon and Somerset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner has officially started work in the role. Chard Post Office is closed today for the handover of the business to new owners...and more.
Monday 13th May

Health inspectors have criticised Somerset's maternity services, including those at Yeovil Hospital. Somerset Council says re-opening Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre in its original form could cost up to £200,000 if a multi-million-pound upgrade of the building falls through. A film made by a Yeovil man on a budget of just five thousand pounds was screened at the prestigious British Independent Film Festival...and more.
Friday 10th May

The Ferne Animal Sanctuary near Chard says it needs an immediate injection of £100,000 to keep going. Yeovil’s Marlie Packer has returned to Yeovil Rugby Club where she began her rugby career 20 years ago. Twenty-five Town criers from across the South will be in Ilminster tomorrow competing in the annual Ilminster Town Criers' Competition...and more.
Thursday 9th May

Train services through Somerset are again being disrupted today due to continued strike action by the train driver’s union ALSEF. A campaign has been launched in Somerset aimed at stopping people overdosing on opioids. A Somerset business is raising a smile with its name.‘Top Of The Clops’, a tack shop near Taunton has won a place in the top ten of the UK’s funniest business names...and more.
Wednesday 8th May

A woman driver has been told she faces a prison term for causing the deaths of two people in a crash on the A303. The AA says there are more potholes than ever on Somerset’s motorway network, leading to an increase in damage to vehicles. The new cancer treatment unit at Yeovil Hospital should be open before the end of the year...and more.