ARKLOW’S RENOWNED COMPETITION IN 41ST YEAR

The second largest competitive music festival in the country kicks off in Arklow this week and runs until March 14 with some 6,500 contestants rehearsing their acts.

Prime sponsors for this year’s festival are new company Inver Bathrooms represented by Managing Director John Byrne who presented funds to committee members Jimmy Russell and Peter Kearns ahead of the launch event on March 7.

Arklow Music Festival is now in its 41st year and still holds the title of second largest competitive musical event in the country after the Feis Cheoil na hÉireann.

Opening night at the Arklow Bay Hotel on Sunday March 7 is set to be a top notch event with sponsor and local Councillor John Byrne to open the festival and the Garda band to perform for the public.

Conductor Michael McCafferty of the Arklow Shipping Silver Band is a Garda Band member and assisted in getting the group to come to Arklow. For further information please call the Festival Office at 0402 32732.

ARKLOW TRAIN STATION is in the running to pick up a prestigious award during Iarnród Éireann’s Best Station Award tomorrow (Thursday).

Arklow has been nominated in the Best Leinster Station category, along with Connolly Station and Kilkenny Railway Station.

The award winners will be announced at a ceremony in Iarnród Éireann’s Inchicore Works tomorrow along with the announcement of the Overall National Best Station prize. Station Manager John Redmond of Arklow Station will lead the team attending the ceremony in the hope of picking up the top awards.

This year, victory will be all the more sweet for the winner as the decision was made by their customers through a text and email poll. Almost 2,000 people voted as part of the competition. Customers were asked to rate their station under the following criteria: Customer information staff appearance. The votes were cast in a text and on line poll during November last.

The Iarnród Éireann Best Station Awards excellence in customer facilities in the country’s 140 railways stations. A spokesperson from Iarnród Éireann said "to even have been short listed for this award shows a very high standard from the staff at all of the stations concerned. Our awards are a celebration of the best standards on our network, and the competition encourages station staff of every station to match these standards".

A DECISION HAS BEEN taken to defer the decentralisation of National Safety Authority of Ireland to Arklow to 2011, pending a government review.

Arklow was selected as one of a number of towns which will not see civil servants redeployed due to budgetary constraints.

Making the announcement Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan added that the number of staff to be employed at some location is to be reduced due to Government’s policy on Public service numbers.

In recent years the NSAI took out a long-term lease on its Dublin office building which put the notion of a more even further away from Arklow.

Speaking to The Wicklow People this week, Cllr. Nicky Kelly said that he believes the move will never happen.

"We have been promised this move in 2004 and now we learn that it is only to be revised in 2011. It will never happen given the employment situation in South Wicklow at present it is critical that we get some sort of job activity. Once again we have been scuttled by the Government," he said.

APPEAL TO LANDLORDS TO BE CAREFUL WHEN RENTING PREMISES

HEAD SHOPS are to stand little chance of making their way into Arklow if the local community has its way according to Mayor of Arklow Peter Dempsey.

Cllr. Dempsey renewed his appeal to landlords not to rent any premises to such retailers for the good of the community as a whole.

"What we need is to send a very clear message out that these head shops are not welcome in Arklow. We must protect the youth of our town and ensure that they do not set up shop as they have in other areas. I would hope that estate agents will be vigilant in ensuring they do not secure any shop premises," he said.

Local businessman Paul Lennon of Bench Ads. Ltd told The Wicklow People that he recently declined to deal with a representative of a head shop who wanted to advertise on benches around the country.

"I received a call from someone who claimed to be a representative interested in advertising on both bins and benches. They didn’t say what line of business they were in at first but when they told me I told them I was unable to do business with them. "There are so many people out there with drug problems and I believe that these shops are not helping the situation. As long as I am MD of the Company they will never advertise on my products," he said.

At a meeting this week with Minister John Curran at Leinster House, Arklow Area County Councillors Pat Fitzgerald, Nicky Kelly and Sylvester Bourke were informed that steps are to be taken within weeks to have to have a number of substances on sale in head shops banned.

The local members said that the meeting was a productive one with the Minister assuring them action would be taken as quickly as possible.

ELECTRICITY FOR 8,400 HOMES

FIVE local farmers are to build a windfarm that will provide enough power for 8,400 houses.

The windfarm which will lead to the creation of 20 jobs, will be built at Ballycumber North and South, and is the brainchild of five landowners who have worked on the project since 2005.

John Byrne of KBM Wind Farm Ltd said that they are delighted they have been granted permission for the six-turbine farm, saying it will be a great boost to south Wicklow.

The windfarm which is expected to be up and running in 2012 will supply electricity to the Arklow grid and will have enough energy for 8,400 homes.

The farm will be about three acres in size and John said that the company hopes to keep control of it themselves so that they can retain as many local benefits as possible.

Permission was granted subject to 26 conditions.