Mayor's Monteith's Final Week in Office

This week, Mayor Councillor Barry Monteith saw his duties as first citizen come to an end after a very hectic year!

On Monday, the Mayor's Showcase brought colour and talent to Market Square Dungannon. Special guests were the Bavarian Brass Band from Germany, led by local man Paddy Kelly, who are in the area on a whistle stop tour. The group called into the Council offices to a reception hosted by the Mayor on Thursday as their trip to Dungannon came to an end. Additional talent on show was by Footlights Drama Group, Dungannon; CRAIC Theatre, Coalisland and Bardic Theatre, Donaghmore as well as Beyond Skin.

On Tuesday, clients from the Beacon Centre visited the Council chamber, then on Wednesday we hosted an Anti Poverty Awareness Day whereby a range of representatives from the community and voluntary sector met to discuss the ongoing threat of poverty in modern day living.

Other recent initiatives include a Learning at Work day to encourage reading and the launch of an Anti Racism DVD which highlights how to report racist crimes

Tomorrow (Friday) a brand new heritage trail which takes you round the various historical monuments and buildings of Donaghmore and Castlecaulfield will be launched - a downloadable version is now available in the News section of the Council website.

Next week: A new Mayor will be elected at Monday night's AGM, A Plantation of Ulster conference will be held at the Bank House Hotel (4-6 June - tel 028 8772 8613 to register) and if you are interested in educating your child through the medium of the Irish language, an information evening will be held at Council offices on Thursday 5th June at 7.30pm. Contact Ursula on 028 8772 8611 for further information.

COUNCIL TO HOST PLANTATION CONFERENCE AT BANK HOUSE HOTEL
Natives and Newcomers
The Plantation in Ulster.
Bank House Hotel, Dungannon
4-6 June 2008

There are few, if any, events or episodes in Irish history which can claim to have reshaped the landscape, traditions, population and language of Ireland in the manner in which the Plantation has.
The 17th Century gave birth to many of our towns, markets, courts and customs and witnessed the beginning of a process which some would argue is still unfolding today. The Plantation in, rather than of, Ulster was not an overnight occurrence nor was it the wholesale replacement of the Gaelic Irish with ‘Planters’ from England and Scotland.
The language used to describe this era has led to confusion and misconception and this has been compounded by a lack of serious re-evaluation of the early stages of that process by most scholars. The Plantation was never a certainty nor was its success.
Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council's Natives and Newcomers conference seeks to explore in more detail the texture and meaning of this crucial period of our shared historical experience. With Dungannon History Forum, the Council has brought together many of the leading authorities on this period to not only commemorate the central importance of the Plantation to Dungannon and Ulster in general , but also to reassess the role of the Plantation in building the society that we share in the twenty-first century.
To book your place at the Natives and Newcomers conference (admission free with small fee for lunch), contact Orla Hughes at Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council on 028 8772 8613

Park Lake Angling Notes

There has been a lot going on at Park Lake over the past week, we have held our May Bank holiday weekend promotion and our Over 50’s League final, both with great success. It’s been a week of great weather and truly pleasant surroundings as the Park is in all its new summer colours, making life more comfortable for our anglers. Fish have been responding to the rise in temperature also, rising for flies and making themselves very visible, lures are still working, “Orange”, “Pink” and “Green” lures seem to be the most productive.
The highly anticipated “Over 50’s” league final was held on Wednesday with a good turnout and great weather, the winner of the competition on the day was Robert Allen from Portadown with 5 fish for a total weight of 10 ½ lb. The final league positions were as follows; in 3rd equal place were Hal Dawson from Armagh and Nelson Baillie from Castlecaufeild with 11pts each. First and second place were very close, in fact one point separated the two anglers and in second place was Michael McMullan from Poyntspass with 21pts and in first place was Lurgan angler, Bob Pinkerton with 22pts in total. I would like to thank all the anglers who took part in the league and let them know we will be running another league in the not too distant future.
Our May Bank Holiday promotion went well with a good number of anglers participating, but in the end young angler Thomas Armstrong from Newry bagged 3 fish for an outstanding weight of 12 ½ lb, and will deservedly receive an angling voucher to the value of £100.
Up and coming events include our fully supervised “Junior Angling Competition” which will be held on Saturday 24th May from 10am-2pm, all equipment is supplied free and kids from 11-18yrs can take part. Cost is £10 for entry and 1st prize is a £75 angling voucher from a retailer of your choice, 3 bag limit and heaviest bag rule applies.

Cookstown angler, Matthew Drum had a great days fishing, opting for the catch and release option he caught 9 fish in total, all good weights up to 6 ½ lb. Trevor Wylie of Markethill did well to land 3 good fish for a total weight of 9 ½ lb. Park Lake regular, Tommy McVeigh from Portadown caught and released 3 fish in total. Lisbellow angler, Jack Pincombe had a great day catching and releasing 14 fish in total. Lisburn angler, Dennis Chambers caught one fish for 2 ½ lb. Bangor angler, Scott Armstrong caught 2 cracking fish weighing a rod bending weight of 6lb 8oz and 6lb 9oz, best fish of the week. Visiting angler from England, Desmond Brown had a great weekend catching 3 fish for a total weight of 9lb.

The Park Lake Fishery continues to be stocked on a weekly basis. For further information and bookings please contact staff on 028 87 728690 or e-mail us at dpreception@dungannon.gov.uk

Phew what a scorcher! Here in sunny Dungannon, we have had a hectic week of activity.....

On Monday 12th Council hosted a breastfeeding awareness day here in Council offices - local charity Uplift facilitated a very informative session on all the healthy reasons why breastfeeding is best.

On Wednesday our tourism representatives from Flavour of TYrone visited the Balmoral Show where they managed to convince TV chef Jenny Bristow to try her hand at cutting some Tyrone Crystal glass (see picture). Jenny also tasted some of the fine food taken from receipes in the latest edition of the Little Black Recipe Book. Entitled 'Tops and Tails', the book features a range of mouthwatering starters and desserts from Good Food Circle restaurants in Tyrone and Donegal.

Wednesday also saw a Council meeting with a difference, when St Patrick's Primary School Dungannon took over the Council chamber and told us just exactly how they would run local government. Led by their 'Mayor' Peter Dolan, the Primary 7 class certainly knew what they wanted and weren't afraid to air their views - most definitely the leaders of the future!

It was off to Dungannon Park on Thursday when country favourites Robert Mizzell, John McNicholl and Justin McGurk helped the Mayor launch a Guinness Book of Records attempt at the world's largest line dancing display. The challenge will take place when the UTV Countryfest comes to Dungannon on 2nd and 3rd August - tickets are now available locally at Dungannon Leisure Centre and all Ticketmaster outlets. Hospitality providers in town are taking calls from all Europe, so dont miss out on a great family day out this summer and remember, children under 12 go free.

Local Féis winners joined our Irish Language Development Officer and Mayor Barry Monteith on Thursday when they were honoured at a Council reception.

And on Friday, our Marketing team attended the Tri County Soccer 7s tournament in Cookstown where they promoted the large range of children's events arranged by Council this summer.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Getting Geared up for Summer...

So the good weather has come and gone just in time for the weekend, but that won't stop us at Council getting ready for summer...

We've packaged all our events together and are delighted to offer our residents and visitors a packed schedule to suit all tastes. See your copy of Update magazine which will be delivered to your door week beginning 19th May.

The Mayor's Pageant is somewhat different this year - instead of the usual parade, Mayor Barry Monteith will host a staged event in Market Square on Bank Holiday Monday 26th May. THe fun includes performances from all our local theatre groups in a showcase of Dungannon and South Tyrone's finest talent. Watch this space for further details...

This Monday 12th May, Council will host a Breastfeeding Awareness Day from 12noon to 2.30pm. Last year, Council declared all its buildings and venues as breastfeeding friendly zones and we hope to further enforce this message.

We'll also be promoting life after smoke free legislation - remember drivers, you cannot smoke behind the wheel if your vehicle is used for business purposes!

We'll have our local launch for UTV Countryfest at Dungannon Park on Thursday from 11.30am where local line dancers will strut their stuff for the tv cameras to promote Ireland's biggest country and western festival which comes to town on 2nd and 3rd August. Tickets are now available locally at Dungannon Leisure Centre (Tel 028 8772 0370) or from any ticketmaster outlet. Visit http://www.jwpromos.com/ for a full line up for this fab event!

Its blue bin week from Monday 12th May -more news next Friday!