2010 – The Year in Review - section 3

MAY ILLEGAL dumping, that bane of the lives of civic-minded citizens and local authorities, came to the fore again in June when Galway County Council announced tough measures to deal with fly-tippers and people who despoil the countryside with their and others' rubbish. 'Prove where your waste goes or be prosecuted' was the message. It was Leaving Cert time and the sun was shining when Ray Ryan went to photograph two friends in their last few days at Dunmore Community School. Neither Emma Gleeson nor Fiona Comer had missed a single day at school since they started in playschool. The simmering row over hours at Tuam Swimming Pool was resolved at a meeting brokered by the County Council between the pool operators and the local action group. Teenage vandals caused trouble in Tuam when they spray-painted houses, windows and even washing hung out to dry with slogans including 'PMP Hoodrats'. Two youths were subsequently arrested by gardai. Labour party leader Eamon Gilmore came to Tuam to support the work of Cllr Colm Keaveney, who hopes to be this constituency's first Labour TD after the next general election. The Big Dig had started, and traffic on the N17 was disrupted because work which originally was to be carried out at night only had to continue through the day because manholes could not be completed in a single shift. Plans to open a gaming arcade in the town were shelved when the Town Council voted against any change in the by-laws which at present forbid gaming in the town. A picket outside the Town Hall lobbied members as they entered the meeting. A new oncology assessment unit at University Hospital Galway would reduce the trauma for cancer patients, who up to this had to enter the hospital via the A&E unit. It was a happy event in Castleblakeny when the new mobile library was launched by Deputy Michael Kitt. The home venue was chosen because of the effort he had put into securing funds for the new unit, which marked the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the service by Galway County Libraries. The effects of the flooding crisis of late 2009 were still being felt in many areas, with boil water notices regularly being issued or renewed by the County Council. A council spokesman said they were upgrading 27 local schemes and asked the public to continue their co-operation. The three main primary schools in Tuam, St Patrick's and the Mercy and Presentation convents, began preliminary talks with a view to amalgamating the schools at some future date. County Mayor Tom McHugh handed over the chain of office to his successor, Cllr Jimmy McClearn, and Cllr Sally Ann Flanagan took over as Mayor of Tuam from Cllr Tom Reilly. In her second term, Cllr Flanagan (26) is still one of the youngest mayors in the country. All this was against the backdrop of the continuing recession, and Cllr Colm Keaveney announced a meeting to start a campaign of protest against expected and threatened cuts in health services. Claregalway could have a new second level school, housed in vacant commercial units, by 2011, a meeting of Co Galway VEC was told. The schools in Athenry and Oranmore are full, and parents in the Claregalway area are finding it difficult to place their children. By the end of the month the Big Dig was well under way in High Street, and traders there said they were coping, and the contractors were being very accommodating. July to December next week.[/private]