The Election Aftermath
At this stage the local election has been filed away to history. Hot news last week, it is gone from everyone’s lips this week. The only Boyle based candidate – John Cummins topped the pole which was to be expected as he had the field to himself here in the town. Fine Gael’s strategy of not running a Boyle town candidate has been questioned by many as has the logic of putting forward two candidates with the same name – Maura Hopkins and Charlie Hopkins – thus confusing certain voters. Now we have a situation in Boyle town where we once had 11 public representatives living among us (County and Town Councillors) and now we have one. The fact that we had 11 in the first place just goes to show the need there was for local government reform.
No Excuse For A Dirty Car
Boyle will hold not one but two fundraising car washes tomorrow (Saturday). Both are for good causes and it’s a pity that both clash, as once a day is enough to wash any car! A car wash at Boyle Motor Works between 10am and 7pm will raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society while in Stewarts Oil forecourt the local Foroige club will raise funds by car washing between 12noon and 5pm.
CCTV and Boyle’s Policing Future
This blog has said on may occasions that it is only a matter of time before Boyle Garda Station’s 24 hour status is lost. The fact that no one is campaigning to stop this has also been questioned here. When Boyle Garda Station closes at night, the town will be a sitting target for criminals. Even if a patrol car is left in the station, how can it cover the geographical area it is assigned? What happens when there is a burglary in the town and the car is in Strokestown or Arigna? Wait for Castlerea members to arrive? It is not workable. What the people of Boyle need to do now in advance of an announcement, is to undertake a cost analysis of installing a public CCTV system for the town – similar to the one in place in Castlerea. Business owners have the most to lose so perhaps they might get the ball rolling.
Are Lack Of Taxis A Concern?
We asked the above question here last week and again on a poll on Boyletoday.com and it seems there is a mixed view out there on the subject. In the poll the question was asked “Is there a need for an increased taxi/hackney service in Boyle at weekends”. 50% said yes and 50% said no. So it seems there is mixed views on the subject. But you can be certain anyone from outside Boyle who socialises in the town at weekends are among the 50% who said yes.
Shuttle Bus Launch Tomorrow
The eagerly awaited Boyletoday.com shuttle bus between town and Rockingham will launch at 12 noon tomorrow Saturday. The bus will be run on a three month trial basis and it’s operation will be monitored closely and tweaked where necessary. The establishment of the bus is important from a branding perspective as it copper fastens the link between Boyle and our Park. Marketing material is being produced for the tourists when they come to town and offers etc which businesses will make available to the visitors will be displayed on the brochures and here on Boyletoday.com. It was also great to see the “Welcome to Boyle” signs being erected on all approach roads to the town yesterday evening in advance of the launch, although it is sad but not unexpected to see certain disgruntled individuals finding fault all ready with the signs on social media. Please come out in numbers to the Crescent at 12 noon on Saturday to help launch another positive development for the town of Boyle.
And Finally….!
While being interviewed for a job, the personnel manager said to the Maguire brothers:
‘We’re going to give you a written examination. Ten questions. Whoever gets most right we’ll hire.’
Papers were produced and the boys set to work answering the general knowledge questions. When the time was up the personnel manager collected and marked the papers.
‘Well,’ said he, ‘you’ve both got nine out of ten, but I’m giving Mick the job.’
‘Why’s that?’ asked Pat.
‘Well,’ said the manager, ‘you both got the same question wrong but he had
‘I don’t know this’ and you had ‘Neither do I!’.
