Two Llan schools closed today due to snow

Snow has started to fall across Denbighshire, with some disruptions to schools. As a result of the snow and freezing temperatures, the following schools have decided to close for the day: Ysgol Dinas Bran, Llangollen.  Ysgol Bryn Collen, Llangollen.  The Council's Highways teams have been out and about gritting routes across the county out and continue to be out and about dealing with the wintry weather. For full details of the routes gritted, click on the linkGet winter weather advice, and updates on the current situation. In the meantime, the council is urging people to monitor the weather bulletins for the most up to date information. Further information will appear on here and on the council's Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Some Wrexham schools closed tomorrow

Ahead of tomorrow's predicted heavy snow, Wrexham Council has announced three of its schools - which may be attended by pupils from this area - will be either closed or partially closed tomorrow (Friday):

Ysgol Rhiwabon High School, Ruabon - Partially Closed

The school is closed for the following reason(s):

• Insufficient staff cover
• Complications as a result of inclement weather

Further Information: The school will be closed on Friday January 18th 2013 to all students and staff due to the risk of severe weather and the potential travel disruption. This decision has been taken under advice from the Met office and travel organisations and is to ensure the safety of our students and staff, many of whom travel some distance. The school will be open for those students who have an external English Literature and Maths exam. tomorrow. The school anticipates being open on Monday as normal but please check the Wrexham Council and school website for further updates over the weekend. Thank you all for your assistance and support Alun Harding Headteacher

Last Updated: 03:32PM 17/01/13

St Christopher's School, Wrexham - Closed

Further Information: In view of the high possibility that the weather tomorrow will be extremely poor I have no alternative than on Health and Safety grounds to close St Christopher’s. As you are aware many of our students and staff live along way from school. I can not guarantee tomorrow that taxies, buses etc will be able to get to school safely. As it has already started to snow this afternoon I have no alternative than to close the school tomorrow. I am extremely sorry to have to close the school but the weather predictions for tomorrow are grave for this area. Yours sincerely Maxine Pittaway Head Teacher

Last Updated: 03:09PM 17/01/13

St Josephs Catholic & Anglican High Sch, Wrexham - Closed

The school is closed for the following reason(s):

• Complications as a result of inclement weather

Further Information: The school is closed fully tomorrow, Friday 18th January. Our decision is based on the Met.Office forecast of adverse weather, including blizzard conditions. Our school’s priority is young people’s safety. The school is fully closed and so no pupil should attempt to travel to school, even if their individual journey seems straightforward. We have sent all parents and carers a letter and advised each Year Group about work they can undertake, and we thank you for your support in this. Please refer to our letter home for details about how you can further monitor the situation over the weekend. Thank you so much for your support and understanding as Parents and Carers

Last Updated: 03:48PM 17/01/13

Currently, 31 Wrexham schools are set to open tomorrow.

For more information, see the Wrexham Council website at http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/english/education/school_status.cfm

Snow - the opening event ...

* The canal towpath was already under a light covering of snow this afternoon (Thursday).

The heavy stuff isn't officially due to get here until the early hours of tomorrow (Friday) morning, but light snow has been falling on Llangollen for most of the today.

This left a number of places with a light covering, including the canal towpath.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning and emergency services and other agencies are warning people to take care especially when travelling on the roads. 

Visitors get their teeth into new campaign

 

* Food, glorious food ... Carole Startin (right) with Tansy Rogerson.
 

The Hamper Llangollen food festival and a host of award-winning Denbighshire producers are to star in a campaign to transform North Wales into a foodie heaven for visitors.

 

The aim is to give tourists a taste for the area so they have an appetite to come back again - and again.

 

It's all part of the drive by Tourism Partnership North Wales to make the region a top five UK destination for visitors.

 

The renown of Welsh lamb has already travelled far and wide with the likes of American President Barack Obama and the Pope tucking in.

 

But organisers say the Food North Wales campaign is about more than just lamb, beef and pork.

 

Apart from the award-winning butchers there are bakers and brewers, buffalo herders and bee-keepers, fudge, paté and cheesemakers, and even a purveyor of garlic products.

 

They will be showcased on the new Food North Wales website that's being hailed as a gateway to gastronomic delight.

 

The campaign was launched at the Bodnant Welsh Food Centre in the Conwy Valley.

 

Carole Startin, Marketing and Events Executive with Tourism Partnership North Wales, explained: "Food North Wales is all about bringing together for the consumer under one umbrella.

 

"We have wonderful food and drink that’s produced locally. As well as our marvellous meat, there are our fantastic vegetables and heavenly bread, exquisite liqueurs and fine ales - they are part of the wonderful taste of North Wales.

 

"The website will also include information about where to eat and drink and the latest news stories about the fine food available in North Wales.

 

"We are what we eat and food is an integral part of our identity, it helps embed our unique sense of place.

 

"It therefore makes perfect sense for the food sector and the tourism industry to work more closely together than ever to make it easier for the tourist to find some quality food and drink while they’re here on holiday in Wales - and also help with their research before they come."

 

"As a perfect complement to our fine produce and truly exceptional restaurants, we have some fantastic food festivals across North Wales such as Conwy Feast, Mold Food and Drink Festival, Hamper Llangollen and the 700-year-old Conwy Honey Fair.

 

"We also have the newly established Clwydian Range Food Trail and we'd like to see more trails like this developed."

 

It was a sentiment echoed by Tansy Rogerson, the Marketing Manager of the £6.5 million Bodnant Welsh Food Centre that was officially opened by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall last summer.

 

Ms Rogerson said: "We’ve got so many fantastic artisan producers on our doorstep as well as nationally in Wales that we need to shout about them.

 

"The purpose of this campaign is to tell people outside Wales about the fantastic food on offer and to signpost them to where they can find it.

 

"Increasingly people want to know where their food comes from and we have 100 per cent traceability with our meat.

 

"By supporting local producers, we are keeping the economy going as well as keeping and creating jobs in rural North Wales."

 

Dewi Davies, the Regional Strategy Director of Tourism Partnership North Wales, is a passionate advocate of the economic benefits of promoting the food sector.

 

He said: "Our vision is to make North Wales a top five UK visitor destination and our strategy is geared up to achieve this goal.

 

"To be successful we have to provide brilliant visitor experiences and food is a central part of these experiences.

 

"There were already a number of good food initiatives in different corners of North Wales but we felt it was important to have an all-encompassing campaign highlighting all the great food stories that we have across the whole of the region.

 

"We have some fantastic producers - like Llaeth y Llan Village Dairy, Snowdonia Cheese, Patchwork Paté and Halen Môn - and we need to make information about them available in an interesting way to our visitors.

 

"As part of the campaign, we will identify those places where you can actually buy all this wonderful food - whether it is the Blas ar Fwyd delicatessen in Llanrwst, Edwards the butcher in Conwy, the Bison Grill at the Rhug estate, Hawarden Farm Shop or indeed Bodnant Welsh Food where the launch is taking place.

 

"All this fantastic food gives people another reason to come to North Wales, another reason to dwell - and another reason to make a return visit."

 

For more information go to www.foodnorthwales.co.uk

Police advice on safer winter motoring

North Wales Police has come up with the following advice for staying safe on the road this winter:

BEFORE YOU SET OFF

Is your vehicle winter ready?

Regularly servicing, and checking your vehicle is in good running order before setting out will reduce your chances of breaking down on the road. It's worth making these checks regularly - and particularly before a long winter journey:

• Is the battery fully charged? Replace it if it's not completely reliable.
• Are your lights clean and all working. Carry spare bulbs.
• Change your windscreen wiper blades if they are worn
• Check your fluid levels, screen wash, engine oil, anti-freeze in radiator
  Use a higher concentration of screen wash to prevent freezing
• Check all windows are clean
• Ensure your tyres are correctly inflated and replace them before the tread has reached the legal minimum. Check your tyre pressures (refer to the owners handbook) & tread depth (min 1.6mm)
• Consider booking your car into a reputable garage for a winter service for extra peace of mind.

Check your emergency kit is complete

Just gather together the items below and pack in the car at the start of the winter season. You never know when you might need them.
Your emergency kit should include:

• Ice scraper, de-icer and dry cloths
• Torch and spare batteries - or a wind-up torch
• Warm clothes and blankets - for you and any passengers
• Waterproof boots
• First aid kit
• Jump leads
• A shovel
• Piece of old carpet. Grit based cat litter is also useful and convenient to carry
• Road atlas
• Sunglasses (for low winter sun and the glare off snow which can be dazzling)
• High visiblity vest
• Warning triangle

SETTING OFF

If the weather is bad police advise you not to travel if you can possibly avoid it.

However if the journey is unavoidable, there are a few things you should do before each journey in severe weather.

• Check your emergency kit.
• Check tyres.
• Check lights and wipers.
• Clean windscreen, windows and mirrors.
• Clear any snow off the roof of the vehicle before you drive away.
• Clear any snow and ice from all windows, lights and number plates. Make sure you can see clearly and be seen.
• Make sure your mobile phone is fully charged - but don't use while driving.
• Take some food and a warm drink in a flask in case you get stuck.
• Don't forget to take any personal medication too!

Driving through ice and snow

If you find yourself out and about in severe weather conditions:

• Make sure the windscreen, back and side windows are thoroughly de-iced on the outside and clear on the inside before setting off. Don’t simply clear a ‘porthole’ to look through.
• Lower your speed in poor visibility and poor driving conditions. It’s better to drive slowly and smoothly to avoid braking sharply.
• Use the highest gear possible to avoid wheel spin, without increasing your speed.
• Select 2nd gear when pulling away, easing your foot off the clutch gently to avoid wheel spin.
• Brake gently to avoid locking the wheels. Get into a low gear earlier than normal and allow the speed of the vehicle to fall gradually.
• Maintain at least a 10 second gap between you and the vehicle in front. It takes 10 times further to stop in icy conditions than on a dry road.
• Use headlights whenever visibility is reduced – for example, early morning, at dusk, when it's raining or in any gloomy conditions.
• Don't dazzle others with your main beam.
• When driving downhill, choose second or third gear to prevent skidding.
• Take corners very slowly and steer gently and steadily, rather than with jerky movements, to avoid skidding.
• Never brake if the vehicle skids. Instead, ease off the accelerator and steer slightly into the direction of the skid until you gain control.
• If you do get stuck, straighten the steering and clear the snow from the wheels to give the tyres some grip. Once on the move again, try not to stop until you reach firmer ground.
• If your vehicle breaks down, pull off the road as far as possible and switch on the hazard warning lights.

WARNING!

      . Look out for winter service vehicles spreading salt or using snow ploughs.

• Maintain a safe distance behind salting vehicles. They have flashing amber beacons and travel at slower speeds – around 40mph.
• Do not overtake unless it is indicated as safe to do so – there may be uncleared snow on the road ahead.

AM calls for Welsh Government statement on health shake-up

Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called for a Welsh Government statement on the consultation on controversial NHS shake-up plans for North Wales following accusations from campaigners that it is flawed and that petitions have been ignored.

 

Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board has been consulting on plans to close minor injuries units along with some community hospitals - including Llangollen - while specialist care for very ill newborn babies could be moved from Denbighshire's Glan Clwyd Hospital to Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral.

The board is due to discuss the proposals at its meeting this Friday, which is open to the public.

* Mark Isherwood AM. 

Mr Isherwood has been contacted by campaigners throughout North Wales who claim that interpretation by independent analysts of the data generated during the public consultation does not reflect the true feelings of people in the region.

Llangollen campaigners have expressed fury that the analysis seems to dismiss those thousands who signed petitions out of their own free will.

 

In this week’s Business Statement Mr Isherwood asked the Welsh Government to respond to the concerns and for an Assembly debate on these in Government time.

He said: “Widespread concern has been expressed by campaigners throughout the region regarding Opinion Research Services, which carried out the consultation on behalf of the Health Board, with one constituent quoted as saying that “it strains all sense of credulity in its blatant manipulation of numbers in order to arrive at the result that it sets out to achieve.

 

“There has been widespread concern from Flint, Prestatyn, Llangollen and across north Wales about the fact that thousands of signatures on petitions have been ignored.

 

"Also, the largest responses, which came from the wider consultation, have been completely ignored; the majority of people were opposed, but you would not know that from the consultation report. We therefore need a statement, hopefully before this goes to the board on Friday, and we certainly need time in this Assembly to debate the concerns now being raised.”

The Minister for Finance and Leader of the House, Jane Hutt, told Mr Isherwood his request for a statement “is premature because it pre-empts the report and response from Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board, which are forthcoming.”

Vehicles stopped in safety clampdown

Over 100 vehicles were stopped as part of an operation to ensure the safety of schoolchildren in Denbighshire and Flintshire.
 

On Tuesday, 15^th January officers from North Wales Police, Denbighshire and Flintshire County Councils and VOSA worked in partnership on Operation Coachman – a national operation aimed at checking the roadworthiness of vehicles used to transport children to and from school.
 

The vehicles stopped included taxis, minibuses, coaches, buses as well as ordinary vehicles belonging to members of the public.
 

During the operation whereby a total of 106 vehicles were stopped, two immediate suspensions, six deferred warning notices, four immediate prohibitions and one delayed prohibition were given. These were for a variety of offences including the general maintenance of the vehicles, health and safety requirements, fuel leak, defective tyres and a hazardous step on a double-decker bus.
 

Fixed Penalty Notices were also given regarding mobile phone and seatbelt offences and ten bylaw offences for vehicle general maintenance matters.
 

Sergeant Emlyn Hughes said: “It is disappointing that drivers with the responsibility for transporting children don’t spend their time checking their vehicles are roadworthy before use.
 

“We want to ensure that children have a safe journey to and from school and I would urge all drivers to carry out simple checks ahead of their journey, such as checks on lights, brakes and tyres.”
 

Further checks across the region’s counties will continue.


Watch the video with this story:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-wDqmo9E54&feature=player_embedded