A lotta ‘Lotto’ love for Ahiohill Tidy Towns’ new bench

WHILE Ahiohill Tidy Towns didn’t win the lotto, they certainly had a windfall when National Lottery bosses donated a new bright blue bench for their community.

They made the donation after hearing that lotto tickets and scratch cards had been dumped in the area earlier this year, and reached out to the hard-working Tidy Town committee.

Speaking to The Southern Star, Deirdre O’Regan, assistant secretary of Ahiohill Tidy Towns, who found the lotto litter on the road said they were surprised to receive an email from the National Lottery about the littering incident.

‘It turns out they came across an online article about the lotto litter and were astounded by the incident,’ said Deirdre.

‘They wanted to do something for the community as a gesture of goodwill and the idea of an inscribed bench came up.’

Deirdre said they already have a few of these benches in the locality so she suggested to them about getting another, to go on the same road where the litter was found.

‘They loved the idea. These benches are ideal too because they are made from recycled plastic, are crafted locally at Ballingeary joinery and are maintenance friendly.’

She said the recognition that they received from the National Lottery for doing something that they do day in and day out without even thinking about it, was very rewarding.

‘It honestly gave us a boost at a time when our new secretary Michelle Kelly and I were trying to piece together our National Tidy Town entry form for 2024, which isn’t for the faint hearted!

Receiving the lotto bench just in time to be added into our entry form was uplifting and completed the cycle of the story very nicely.’

Meanwhile, the committee are asking all local election candidates to avoid erecting posters within their 50km speed limit zone in the village.

They said that posters are unsightly and always create litter, no matter how careful they may be.

‘Cable ties, nails in poles, bits of torn posters have littered our community in the past and it’s not fair on our volunteers who have put so much time into cleaning and tidying our community.’