This article is from page 31 of the 2007-05-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 31 JPG
RESIDENTS in Shannon are be- ing asked to get involved in a major clean-up of the town.
The local Tidy Towns committee has just put together a plan for the year and is optimistic that everybody will play a role in keeping the town Ore
Its members are particularly ap- pealing for people to take control of the litter problem, which has cost the town vital points in the national Tidy Towns competition in recent years.
Adjudication for the Tidy Towns competition will take place twice during the summer and hopes are high that Shannon will improve on last year’s success.
Chairperson of the Tidy Towns committee Tess Barry said every person in the town has an important role to play.
“We are asking the residents to clean their own areas. The residents associations are wonderful and they get behind the Tidy Towns. Every- body has a role to play,” she said.
‘However, we have a big litter problem. We are trying to address it at the moment. We are very wor- ried about the cans and bottles being thrown around the park areas. Peo- ple are littering indiscriminately. It is quite bad. If people would just put them into bags and pick them up, we would be delighted with that,” she Cr HTOR
She said that the committee is de-
lighted to hear that additional money has been made available for the up- keep of footpaths, along with the provision of lighting in the town, this year.
The imminent opening of the re- cycling plant – in Smithstown – this summer is also being welcomed.
“The residents are eagerly await- ing this. Hopefully we will have the sculpture at the town centre rounda- bout shortly. It will compliment the area,’ said Ms Barry.
Shannon Town Council has in- creased the resources for cleaning the town. Under a FAS scheme, a cleaner was available for 15 hours last year and this has been doubled to 30 hours this year.
“She is doing a wonderful job,”
said Ms Barry.
Staff at McDonald’s restaurant also helped out with a clean-up last Neto) ©
Owner of McDonald’s, Kieran Mc- Dermott said he takes every opportu- nity to support the local community.
‘When we were approached by the Tidy Towns committee for support, we were delighted to assist and came up with a novel approach of provid- ing staff and expertise, rather than money. We paid our staff members to assist in the weeding and prepara- tion of flower beds around Shannon. The feedback from the Tidy Towns committee has been so positive that we have decided to expand the initia- tive for 2008 and also to make this an annual event,” said Mr McDermott.