Celebrating 150 years

The Church of the Immaculate Conception is celebrating 150 years on Friday, August, 15 at 7pm Bishop Michael Smith will say Mass on the evening, and this will be followed with a social evening. Fr. Stan Deegan would like to remind everyone that all are welcome.The parish priest of Meedin and Miltown present when the church was built was a Fr. Robins, who came to stay with family in Rochfortbridge during the late 1840s or early 1950s. The Fielding family donated the land for the current church to be built on.The Metro!It is believed that local people living in Rochfortbridge are now referring to the Village Enhancement works as 'the Metro'! The works which are expected to take another three to four weeks, are causing some to wonder if they will ever be complete. But Bernie Bradley of the Tidy Towns committee says the works are necessary and will make a huge difference to the look and layout of the village.'Westmeath County Council has been busy undergrounding overhead wires, and it is believed it has encountered a lot of trouble with the replacing of pipes,' he said.'We have been unable to do much with the town centre this year for the Tidy Towns, but we understand that it takes a lot of time to get the works done properly,' he continued, 'and I believe when they are finished, the town will be fantastic.'Of course, there is still a lot of traffic passing through the town, despite the fact that the by-pass is now open, so this is also a factor with time. But Tidy Towns already have big plans for next year,' he said.Fun and games at summer camp!Children from Rochfortbridge aged between 5 and 12 years, took part in an action packed DKAM summer camp last week, which helped them to improve on their social skills, experience challenging activities, develop self-esteem and make new friends.Having great fun, and without a moment to spare, the children were separated into groups of 5 - 6 year olds and 7 - 12 years. In a safe and friendly environment in the local national school, the activities included face painting, arts and crafts, soccer, basketball, rugby, volleyball, unihoc, football, gymnastics, dance, parachute games and tug o war, among many others.In charge of the DKAM summer camp at Rochfortbridge, Alan Mulhall from Walsh Island, County Offaly, who set up DKAM with friends from college, talked to the Westmeath Examiner about programme.'We give summer camps all around Ireland, in Waterford, Tipperary, Kildare, Offaly and Westmeath, and they are proving to be a huge success. The children really enjoy them and it gives them a chance to meet old and new friends during the summer. It really helps build on self-esteem and improve on their social skills,' he said.Alan who has a BA in Recreational and Leisure Management from Waterford IT, has been running DKAM along with two other friends for two years now. It also provides PE to schools during school term.Knock PilgrimageThe annual Meath Diocese Pilgrimage to Knock will take place on Sunday, August 10. A coach departs Milltownpass at 9.30am, Rochfortbridge at 9.45am, Tyrrellspass at 10am, Kilbeggan at 10.15am and Horseleap at 10.20am. If you would like to book a seat, please phone 086 2571645.Rochfortbridge FCTraining takes place on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings on the Castlelost road pitch. The club are currently in pre-season training at the moments before the league , which kicks of on August 23 and 24.No plans for Milltownpass Health CentreThere are no plans for the development of a new health centre in Milltownpass, Westmeath county councillor Mick Dollard (Labour) was told a recent meeting of the Dublin-Mid Leinster Regional Health Forum.Cllr. Dollard asked the HSE if the concept of a medical centre for Milltownpass had been looked at in the context of strategic plans for the county.Mr. Hugh Kane, Assistant National Director for Primary Continuing and Community Care, said that there were no plans for such a development as services can be accessed from Kinnegad, and the future development of Primary Care Team services from that area.