The red squirrel returns Or did it ever leave?

Readers may remember that in October 2007, a report by the National Council for Forest Research and Development (COFORD) concluded that the red squirrel was extinct in Westmeath.The 2007 Irish Squirrel Survey - a 52 page report compiled between January and May of that year - concluded that based on a nationwide decline in sightings of Sciurus vulgaris.It had been outbred by its dominant cousin, the grey squirrel, and faced extinction in Ireland.The report found that in Westmeath, and a number of other Leinster counties, the unmistakable red squirrel may have already shuffled off this mortal coil.But just a week later, we received reports from a gardener in Castletown-Geoghegan that rumours of the red squirrels demise in Westmeath may have been greatly exaggerated.Liam O"Connor, a gardener at Jamestown House in Castletown-Geoghegan, couldn"t provide proof of his sightings, saying that it was difficult to get a photograph of the squirrels, as if disturbed, they usually retreat from the deciduous wood of chestnut, beech and hazel trees into a larger coniferous forest further away from the Jamestown House estate.However, just under a year and a half later, it appears that Mr. O"Connor was completely correct, judging by photographs sent to us by a reader in Ballinagore.The photograph clearly shows a red squirrel scurrying away from the attention of the photographer, confirming the existence of at least some red squirrels in Westmeath.The alert photographer, Ballinagore man James Hennessy, said that he is aware of at least two pairs of squirrels in the area, and has informed the Irish Wildlife Trust about the sightings.Given Ballinagore"s proximity to Castletown-Geoghegan, it"s not certain whether red squirrel sightings are restricted to this area of Westmeath, so if you"ve clapped eyes on any more red squirrels in your area, contact Backchat.The UFO saga continuesIn a follow-up to our recent story run on UFOs sighted over Clonlost, Killucan, the Westmeath Examiner has received an email from astronomy fan Tom Keegan, who claims to have seen a strange light in the sky mostly after dark, but sometimes in the early morning before sunrise.'It was too distant and too small to photograph,' said Tom, but he did supply us with the above series of photographs, taken by a friend of his.'A friend who lives near Kilbeggan took them on his camera phone about October 10 last year,' says Tom.'The "object" or whatever it was moved off in a westerly direction, he just had time to take three photos of it,' he continued.'Have you any idea what it is? I certainly can"t identify it,' he said.If you have any theory on what might have caused the light pictured in the above photos, please contact the Westmeath Examiner "Backchat Desk."Belvedere House in Leinster top 5Belvedere House and Gardens was listed as a top 5 family attraction to go see in the Leinster region by readers of 4kids magazine.In a reader questionnaire, 4kids asked parents what their favourite family attraction was. The results included Belvdere House, the Irish National Stud (including Irish National Stud, Japanese Gardens, Saint Fiachra"s Garden), Donadea Forest Park in County Kildare, Newgrange in Donore, County Meath and Powerscourt in Enniskerry, County Wicklow.Fun run a huge successRSM Noel O"Callaghan has extended thanks and praise to all those who put their running shoes on and took part in last Saturday"s fun run/walk from Columb Barracks to Belvedere House.Great craic was had by all those who made the 8km trek, either walking or running to the finish line. Participants were even treated to a gun salute which marked the get, set, go from the army barracks.The fun run attracted participants and supporters from all arts and parts and RSM O"Callaghan would like to give a special thanks to all those who travelled from as far away as Galway, Kildare and Athlone.'The day was a huge success, and of course it was the people who turned out that made it the success that it was,' he said.'The real objectives were to create awareness and raise funds for Mullingar Hospital stroke unit, while promoting local tourism.'And we achieved everything we looked for, and had great craic while we did it.'So well done to all concerned, it was a great turn out for the first time. We intend to review the organisation of the event and make it better for next year, with a view to at least doubling the turnout of entrants.'Anyone who still has there sponsor card or money is asked to contact the barracks by Friday (March 6).Special thanks is also offered to Mullingar Hospital, Bernard Flynn from Mullingar Crystal, The Gardaí, Civil defence forces and Westmeath County Council.Back to the kitchen sinkWe"re not quite sure if one of the most read articles on the Irish Times website- "Working women almost certainly caused the credit crunch"- is a joke or not. According to former Portadown News editor Newton Emerson, women have pushed up the cost of living by bringing in second incomes and thus caused property prices and the cost of living to rise.Women would generally be much happier if they stayed at home and leaving their jobs would have the added bonus of solving the unemployment problem, he argues.The majority of the civil service is made up of women, says Mr Emerson, often in low level administerial positions which they would be happy to give up anyway.'Of course there will always be a place in the world of business for exceptional women,' he generously concedes in his article.'Women also have an important role to play in jobs that are too demeaning for men, like teaching.'But the general employment of women is another matter. Indeed, working women almost certainly caused the credit crunch by bringing a second income into the average household, pushing property prices up to unsustainable levels.'We can"t say that we believe that women caused the credit crunch but here are some facts that Mr Emerson should take into consideration.Most women work in low level civil service jobs because it is the only sort of work they will get and over the years they will watch their male colleagues, who have not taken "career breaks" to have a family rise above them while they continue in clerking/ secretarial jobs.Women did not cause inflated property prices- greedy developers and bankers who lent money to people they shouldn"t have did.Five great reasons to live in Mullingar!Huge interest and debate going on about last week"s question on what"s great about Mullingar.One reader says the dinners are better than mother"s at Mattie Cullen"s Bridge Bar. Another says Niall Breslin is one of the best things about town. (Or did she mean finest?). That was rivalled by the suggestion that the finest thing in Mullingar was the Joe Dolan statue, while in the same vein, the same reader also said that the statue of the monks was one of the finest pieces of public art in the entire midlands.Also suggested was the quality of the walks locally. 'I just love doing the Canal Line,' said one reader.