IBAL
The third and final IBAL inspection of Longford and other towns took place at the end of October. IBAL have indicated that the overall results and award winners for 2003 will be announced on Monday 15 December. The results were originally due to be announced on Monday 8th but the announcement has been postponed.

The main focus to date in the media has been on the worst performers. Arising from this, it seems IBAL plan to make an advance separate announcement on Friday 12 December of the towns who have attained litter free status ( to facilitate greater recognition of those towns) - with overall awards announced a few days later.

AGM
We had a good crowd at our AGM which reflected on the numerous achievements during 2002/03. There was consensus that the visual appearance of Longford town had improved a lot over the last year and everyone involved was thanked for their contribution.

The new committee and sub committee members for 2003/04 include Andy O'Dowd (chairman), Michael Keenan (vice chairman & PRO), Matt O'Brien (joint treasurer), Dan Rooney (joint treasurer), Paul Grealy (assistant secretary), Akin A Iyiolaa, Paddy Devlin, Abidemi Durojaite, Jane Meade, Pauline Sheil, Mary Logan Sweeney and Christy Deely. Jacinta Maguire (outgoing secretary) and Fran McNulty (outgoing PRO) were thanked for their work during the last year.

County Council
We made a presentation to the recent County Council meeting and thanks Mayor Gerry Brady for the opportunity. We summarised the issues from National Tidy Town reports with a particular focus on the necessity to keep the County parts of Longford town (approach roads etc) tidy and free of litter. We were heartened with the support expressed and we highlighted that litter removal from our approach roads (particularly the bypass) will have to be part of the Council's schedules for 2004 as the level of volunteer work is not sustainable. We highlighted the importance of maintaining signs, sign poles and grass verges. We also emphasised the importance of developing the grass verges with appropriate tree planting being essential, particularly on the Athlone approach road and the Strokestown Road.

Tidy Towns Competition 2004
We are meeting the adjudicator for 2003 with a view to identifying our focus for 2004 and to highlight improvements over the last year.

Tidy Ups Last Week
We tidied up the Bypass road from the Dublin road roundabout to the Ballinalee road roundabout, the Dublin Road from the Black bridge towards Shroid, the Sligo Road and the Strokestown Road.

Tidy Up This Weekend
We will tidy up one of the approach roads on Saturday next (3.00pm to 4.30pm, meet at AIBP car park). There will not be a tidy up on Sundays for the next few weeks.