General « Thurles Information

Help Trace Faulty Immersion Cylinders

Over 500 homes in Ireland maybe at risk of catching fire because of a faulty Immersion Water Heater that owners – occupiers may not realise are installed in their hotpress.

This Immersion Heater, named the ‘GeminoX Ebs’ cylinder have already been identified as the cause of fires in four homes and the company are now desperately trying to track down the owners of this installed model.

Despite a number of public danger warnings, the response has been poor and to-date just 200 devices have been located, with at least 500 still not located.

Householders have been urged to check their hot-press and if they have a GeminoX Ebs water cylinder installed, they are urged to switch it off immediately.

They should then contact the GeminoX’s helpline on Lo-call 1850 427 947 or email info@gaswise.ie to arrange a free safety inspection and possible refit.

Overheating and possible fire ignition is caused by the black plug-in connectors located at the bottom of the grey box and at the front and on top of the cylinder.

Householders are warned not to be complacent and to contact the helpline if they have a GeminoX installed.

Reading Association of Ireland Annual Conference

Reading Association Of Ireland

A large number of Thurles teachers are expected to attend the 34th Reading Association of Ireland’s Annual Conference beginning this coming week.

This years conference theme ‘Promoting Effective Language and Literacy Instruction in 21st Century Classrooms‘ will be held in the Marino Institute of Education, Dublin from the 30th September through to the 2nd October, 2010.

Leading Irish and International researchers in the field of literacy will present on a diverse range of topics (such as responding to the literacy needs of struggling readers; responding to the language and literacy needs of migrant children in primary education; literacy reform in urban schools; perspectives on how phonics, handwriting and reading should be taught in our schools and, among other issues, they will explore why despite changes to our curriculum, the National Assessment of Reading Achievement (2004) of Irish primary pupils indicates little improvement in reading standards from the 1998 assessment.

Notable speakers at the event include Timothy Shanahan, University of Illinois at Chicago, Peter Afflerbach, University of Maryland; Brian Murphy, School of Education, University College Cork; Gerry Shiel, Educational Research Centre, St Patrick’s College and Taffy E. Raphael, University of Illinois at Chicago.

The conference will be officially launched on Thursday 30th September by the current president of RAI, Dr Martin Gleeson of Mary Immaculate College, Limerick and Dr. Anne O’Gara, President, Coláiste Mhuire, Marino Institute of Education, Dublin.

All members of the press are invited to attend the official launch from 7.30pm – 9.00 pm on Thursday 30^th September at Coláiste Mhuire, Marino Institute of Education, Dublin.

The Reading Association of Ireland was founded in 1975 and is affiliated to The International Reading Association, whose primary aim is to encourage reading and literacy education worldwide.

For further information visit www.reading.ie or contact Karen Willoughby, Thurles, Tel:0868206422.

Electricity Disconnections Cause Serious Alarm

Following a doubling in the rate of electricity disconnections in the four months up to July last and a warning yesterday by Bord Gáis of a “social middle-class recession,” the Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has called Bord Gáis, ESB, Airtricty and the Commission for Energy Regulation to a meeting of the Committee set for next Wednesday September 29th.

110,000 families who ran up huge arrears on their electricity and gas bills over the past nine months have been forced to sign special repayment plans, to avoid having services cut off.

Bord Gáis is now disconnecting 230 homes per month from gas supplies while the ESB is disconnecting 900 Irish homes each month or some 30 homes each day.

The Oireachtas Committee, of which Tipperary North TD Noel Coonan is a member, have taken this action following concerns expressed regarding the high disconnection rate in recent months, the cost of reconnection and the recent increases in electricity prices.

Speaking to Thurles.Info Deputy Coonan stated:

“Many households in North Tipperary have been impacted by disconnections. It has been revealed that almost 2,500 households a month, some 80 a day, are having their electricity disconnected after failing to pay their bills. In total, as of the beginning of September, 10,678 customers had been disconnected, more than in the whole of 2009. Bord Gáis is introducing a range of payment plans every five minutes for customers across the country, who have fallen into arrears. Electricity suppliers and the Regulator have agreed to our request to attend, so the Committee and I look forward to putting these issues to them and finding out how they intend to handle this worrying trend in North Tipperary and nationwide.”

There is also great concern among Oireachtas Committee members that the price for reconnecting electricity is excessively high and prohibitively expensive for many consumers.

One Million Euro Could Be Laying On Your Property

Check it out folks, there just may be a €1 million bonus laying on your property this morning.

Astronomy Ireland has pinpointed Tipperary as the most likely site where a meteorite may have crash-landed from space at 9.20pm on Wednesday night last.

Chairman of Astronomy Ireland, Mr David Moore said: “We’ve had hundreds of calls and we’ve pinpointed the location to in and around Tipperary, however the organisation is hoping to have an even more precise location in the county as more reports begin to be logged. We are now looking for reports from people in Tipperary or the surrounding counties who saw a very bright fireball streak across the night sky. The rock could be worth one million euro.”

Meteorite about the size of a large Walnut

Our picture shows one meteorites located shortly after it fell near Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow, here in Ireland in 1999. Note the ‘ thumb type’ indentations on the rocks surface.

So how do I recognise a meteorite?

Well it will look partially different to any ordinary rock. Meteorites come in many shapes and sizes and may have ‘fusion crust‘ which is a thin coating of glass rather like the glaze on a ceramic tile. This glaze will covers most of the outside of the freshly fallen meteorite. However this coating may very quickly crumble and falls off.

Freshly fallen meteorites, quickly recovered, are usually black over all or most of their outer surface. If they hit a particularly hard surface on the ground, they will probably chip or break into several pieces. When the interior of the stone is exposed, a stark contrast between the light coloured interior and the dark black outer fusion crust is very clearly noticeable.

Meteorites almost always contain non-oxidized iron when they land and once on earth they begin to rust.

Ninty percent of meteorites will easily attract a magnet. This is especially true for iron meteorites and you don’t need a special magnet, a simple refrigerator magnet will suffice. However not all rocks that attract a magnet are meteorites. A common earth mineral called magnetite will also attract a magnet.

Professional meteorite hunters often use a home made object called a meteorite stick to help them search and these are very easy to make. Take a magnet and tape it to the end of a long stick. Use a strong magnets salvaged from the back of any old speaker lying about. Once made simply poke at any suspicious looking rocks lying on the surface and see if they are drawn to the magnet.

Note: If you intend to look outside your own property, please beware that you must first seek the permission of the land-owner to look on their land. But remember you cannot remove any rocks without their consent, they still remain the property of that land owner.

Good hunting.

A Message For Leaving Cert Students

Irish Leaving Certificate Students got their long awaited results last week.
Helplines were very busy over the past few days as nervous students and their parents called to consult with guidance counsellors manning telephones and offering future hope and assistance.

Per reports approximately 4,000 ordinary level student callers have failed mathamatics. This has left them with very limited college options in 2010.

Another huge issue of concern for many other callers was the level of points needed for all hoped for courses next Monday. Points are set to increase for many courses, particularly in the medical and other related areas. But points are also set to fall for courses linked to the building industry, for architecture and for law.

However for many, an anxious few days lie ahead, as they await the publications of the college place offers from the CAO,expected next Monday morning at six o’clock.
For those of you who are anxious or feeling let down by life take a look at this video.

Sometimes, in life, it is necessary for a man with no shoes to meet a man with no feet.
So if you don’t attain, immediatly, your hoped-for expectations, don’t worry, pick yourself up and give it another go.
You will succeed if you follow that which you hold passionate, so dream big.