A postman from Donegal says the freezing conditions will be here for weeks

Michael Gallagher forecasts the weather by spotting signs in nature.

He reckons a horse grazing near the farmhouse means bad weather and the arrival of a robin tells him snow is on the way.

Michael’s wife Margaret says he’s been telling his customers since early autumn there’ll be a white Christmas:

Road temperatures in parts of Donegal today have fallen so low that salt has become ineffective.

In Stranorlar, Ballybofey and Letterkenny, road temperatures of –13 degrees where recorded earlier today.

Salt is not effective when temperatures drop below -10 degrees.

Senior Engineer with Donegal County Council, Vincent Lynn, says he’s never seen temperatures drop so low:

Bundoran Town Council in Co Donegal has reduced its commercial rates by a massive 8 per cent in response to the growing challenges that businesses face in the popular seaside resort.

Vice Chairman of the Council, Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Philip McGlynn, who proposed the motion yesterday said that the council had to deal with the economic realities being faced on the ground:

The motion was seconded by Chairman Cllr Sean McEniff of Fianna Fail and received the support of both the Fine Gael and Sinn Fein parties.

Cllr McEniff, says the reduced rate is the biggest in the country:

The council has confirmed that all council car parking charges in the town are being waived from now until the end of the year in a bid to stimulate the local economy after serious losses  due to the bad weather.

The announcement was made following meetings with the Letterkenny Chamber.

CEO Toni Forrester is welcoming the parking decision and the rates cut, and is appealing to people to come into the town for the last few days before Christmas:

Letterkenny Town Council has unanimously adopted its budget for 2011, with projected expenditure of just over €7.5 million.

Of the council’s income, €4.5 million, or 55%, will come from commercial rates, which will be cut by 3.5% next year.

Members praised Manager Seamus Neely for achieving the cut while maintaining services, particularly in the area of leisure and amenities, with confirmation that the Bernard Mc Glinchey Town Park is now debt free.

Mayor Cllr Tadhg Culbert says an important balance has been achieved…………

Buncrana Town Council has passed its budget for 2011, with projected expenditure of just under €3.4 million. The commercial rate will be reduced by 2%, after manager John Mc Laughlin initially proposed that the rate be frozen.

As well as the rate reduction, members agreed a number of adjustments in the budget to increase the amount available for development, with a number of projects coming on stream in 2011.

Mayor Cllr Padraig Mac Lochlainn says the council has been progressive in ther way it has supported local iniative, and as a new spirit emerges in the town, the council will be to the forefront in supporting it:

Letterkenny Cllr Jimmy Harte says one of the legacies of the Fianna Fail-led Government will be its disgraceful neglect of child welfare, and its failure to tackle the child poverty issue.

A report published this week by the Department of Health says over 1,100 children are in need of social housing in Donegal, and the number of children experiencing consistent poverty increased last year for the first time since 2006.

Cllr Harte says at the core of the problem is a lack of investment in education, and that’s an area which Labour will prioritise if it is involved in the next government:

A terrorism charge against a leading dissident republican in Derry was dropped at the local Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

40-year-old Gary Donnelly, Rathkeele Way, Creggan was charged last August with possessing a mobile “phone for use in the commission or instigation of an act of terrorism”. He was alleged to have committed the offence in September of last year.

The charge was linked to the seizure of Gary Donnelly’s mobile phone by police officers following two pipe bomb attacks and a gun attack last year.

After he was arrested for the offence, Mr Donnelly described his detention as ridiculous. “I have been set up for my political beliefs. As a sign of how ridiculous this whole thing is I was questioned for hours about the shooting of a former mayor of Derry before they realised that it was a different person.”

In court yesterday a prosecution solicitor told District Judge Barney McElholm that the charge against Mr Donnelly was “withdrawn without prejudice”.

Scoil Colmcille, Kerrykeel

Castletown NS, St Johnston

Distribution of a new load of salt for treating roads is set to begin tomorrow.

A 4 thousand tonne shipment is arriving into Cork this evening, with a fleet of vehicles on standby to distribute it nationwide. Some supplies have already arrived in Dublin and Belfast, with extra salting taking place from tomorrow, with the N56 being redesignated from a green to a red route. This means the route will now be salted.

Vincent Lynn of Donegal County Council says it’s a welcome positive development………..