THE A1 is fully operational once again following a collision on the road this afternoon.

Our picture shows the scene of the crash which occured around 2pm this afternoon when two lorries collided just past the coachworks.

The carriageway had been reduced to one lane for a time but just before 4.30pm things were back to normal on the road.

The Ireland team to play Italy in the RBS 6 Nations Championship at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday has been named and coach Declan Kidney has opted for an unchanged lineup.

DROMARA girl Caragh Milligan made history last week when she became the youngest player to be capped at senior level by Northern Ireland in a competitive match at 15 years and 121 days.

Caragh was voted Player of the Match by her team-mates in a 2-2 draw with Belgium in the UEFA Women’s Euro 2013 qualifier on the Wednesday night in Dessel.

“I’m so, so happy to have the priviledge to be here and I’m glad that Alfie [Wylie, Northern Ireland Ladies coach] had the confidence to pick me in such a big game. I’m delighted,” she said after the game.

“It wasn’t about me though, it was about the performance and getting the result out of the game. We haven’t played so well over the last couple of games.

“We knew all we had to do was put in 110% and we could match them technically so we just had to work hard right to the end.

“I’m grateful to all the girls for recognising my performance as well.”

Caragh currently plays for Glentoran Ladies but up until recently she had been with Dromara Village.

She played for the locals from when she was around eight years old and played in the Lisburn Junior league for the club’s boys team as a 10 year old until she was 14.

Her former coach, Malcolm Hanna, said of Caragh, “Even from the early days of coaching her you could see she had a real special talent and was a stand-out, even among the boys she was playing with and against.”

IT’S probably not that well known that there are a couple of world champions living in Dromore.

But for father and son duo, Alan and Mark Walker, this weekend will be the culminaton of weeks of training as they head off to the Tug-of-War World Championships.

They will form part of the Richhill squad which will travel to Perth in Scotland in an attempt to defent their title at the 560kg category.

In 2008 the club became the first from Northern Ireland to win gold at the world championships. Alan coached that side while two other local men, John Shannon from Lisburn and John Kennedy, who resides between Dromore and Hillsborough, were part of the team. They too will be part of the team off to Scotland.

Alan has given a lifetime of service to tug-of-war in this country and is one of only two people to have been elected to the tug-of-war hall of fame.

In 2010 the championships took place in Italy and against all the odds the gold medals at the same weight class were taken back to Northern Ireland, an achievement worthy of the highest recognition.

Mark was an avid observer in 2010, being too young to compete, but two years later he is in contention for a place on the squad, having trained hard and developed tremendously well over the interveining period.

At the highest level tug-of-war is a sport requiring the utmost dedication by way of training and personal lifestyle including diet, etc.

Many seasoned observers consider the committment to be on a par with that required from top international athletes in any sport.

The four locals leave with high hopes for success.

Police in E District are warning local retailers to be wary of bogus telephone calls.

The advice follows recent reports from businesses across Northern Ireland where staff were phoned by a person claiming to be from PayPoint technical services and were then asked to follow instructions to ‘update the system’ or ‘repair a fault’. This enabled money to be taken from the business via the online payment system.

Retailers and members of the public are reminded never to give out personal details over the phone to unsolicited callers. If you are unsure of a caller or feel that something is not right then ask for details to ascertain their identity.

Ask where they are phoning from, where they have got your details from and where they have obtained your telephone number.

Also, ask them if there is a number you can phone them back on or if there is another representative from their company that you can contact.

If you are still unsure about them then contact the company or business to check if the call is genuine. Legitimate companies won’t have a problem with you calling them back.

Anyone who believes they may have been victim of this type of scam or has any concerns should contact Police on 0845 600 8000.

VISITORS to Dromore could be forgiven for thinking the town has gone to the dogs, if the car park next to the Gospel Hall at Cross Lane is anything to go by.

It was there recently that poultry show patrons, some with children in tow, were confronted by a minefield of dog mess lining three sides of the car park, which lies to the left of the Gospel Hall as you approach from the front.

The grass strip at the bottom of the rear wall was particularly bad, but elsewhere the fringes of the car park were likewise liberally peppered with mess.

The car park has clearly been in use as a dog toilet - whether for one or more animals - for some time, with comparitively fresh deposits to be found alongside mould-covered mounds.

Ulster Unionist Councillor Olive Mercer said the best word to sum up the scene was “disgusting”. She added, “It really has been an unofficial dog toilet.”

Mrs. Mercer was herself among those to attend the recent poultry show and alerted council officers to the problem, but it was visitors to the town who pointed out to her the appalling state of the car park.

“There were people there from Markethill,” she said, “people from Ballymena, in fact people from throughout Northern Ireland, and they had children with them.

Aside from being unsightly and making a poor impression on visitors to town, the unbelieveable volume of dog mess may have presented a health risk, particularly given the length of time some of it had been there.

Toxocara canis is a parasite - a worm - that lives inside dogs; the sticky eggs are invisible to the naked eye but can be picked up from, among other things, soil or grass. Fresh dog droppings are said not to present a direct danger as the eggs must mature outside the animal for several weeks before becoming infective, but mature eggs can remain viable in the ground for some time, hence the particular danger to children, who routinely roll on the ground in playing fields, parks and elsewhere.

If swallowed, toxocara eggs will not develop into adult worms in humans but can hatch into larvae that will travel around the body – usually causing no problems, but, rarely, settling in sensitive tissue such as the retina of the eye, where they may cause damage or even blindness.

Undeniably one of the worst examples of the impact of irresponsible dog owners locally, the Cross Lane discovery is nevertheless the latest in a long line of complaints about dog mess in Dromore, where efforts to tackle the problem are ongoing.

RESIDENTS in the Banbridge district have the chance to nominate local good causes for the National Lottery Awards 2012 - the annual search to find the UK’s favourite lottery-funded projects.

Nearly £880 million of National Lottery funding has been awarded to groups across Northern Ireland since the National Lottery began and any organisation – big or small - which has received Lottery funding, is eligible to enter.

National Lottery Draw Show host, Jenni Falconer, encouraged local people to get involved by nominating Lottery-funded projects which are deserving of recognition.

“National Lottery players raise a staggering £30 million every week for good causes,” she said, “and an impressive variety of Lottery-funded projects have touched the lives of many in Northern Ireland, helping vulnerable children, improving participation levels in sport, transforming parks and iconic buildings and celebrating our shared heritage.

“The National Lottery Awards recognise the unsung heroes, selfless volunteers and dedicated workers who are improving lives with Lottery funding. There are literally thousands of Lottery-funded projects across the UK deserving of recognition, so, if you know of a project that is making an outstanding impact in your community, we want to hear from you.”

Entrants which make it to the finals of The National Lottery Awards will receive national recognition at a star-studded event, broadcast on BBC1 later this year. They will also have a chance to win a £2,000 cash prize.

For more information, visit www.nationallotteryawards.org.uk. Entries must be received by 5pm on Monday, 12th March.

BIG names in local business will be out in force this Thursday for a night of celebrating all that is good in the world of business across the district.

The Leader’s Banbridge and District Business Awards will kick off in the Belmont Hotel at 7pm, with politicians joining businessmen and women for a glitzy ceremony.

The ceremony aims to recognise the talent, entrepreneurship and excellence that exists across the full range of business and commerce in the area.

Featuring a delicious dinner, awards ceremony, and entertainment from well-known Belfast comedian and star of “Give my Head Peace” Tim McGarry, it is sure to make for a fantastic night.

Banbridge Leader editor John Hooks said the night will be a celebration of the many successful businesses throughout the district.

“This is our second business awards and it will again be a chance for businessessmen and women throughout the area to be recognised for their hard work throughout the year,” said Mr Hooks.

“The last ceremony was a great success and we are delighted to be building on that for this year’s awards.

“The Leader is proud to be heading an event which will give recognition to the businesses at the heart of our community in the town and throughout the district.

“Everyone at the Leader is looking forward to what promises to be a great night.”

The awards, which are running on a theme entitled “From Flax to the Future”, have been sponsored by Land Securities.

Brian Henning, Managing Director of the Lotus Group and Stoney Properties, the joint venture partners of Land Securities at Bridgewater Park said : “The Business Awards are a very important event in the local business calendar and we are very pleased to be sponsoring them.

“It’s been a tough year for many local businesses and everyone has had to push themselves that bit harder to meet targets. There will be many people who have worked very hard throughout the year and the evening will be an opportunity to recognise and reward those businesses and individuals for their focus and commitment to meeting and indeed exceeding the needs of their customers.

“Banbridge is a great place to work and to grow your business,. We are firmly committed to the potential and success of the town, with the Lotus Group having recently relocated from Newry establishing new offices in the old Shoe factory site and Lotus Homes, our house builder investing significantly and pushing on with The Lotus Village development at the sit.

“I wish all of the entrants the best for the competition and look forward to a great event and evening.”

The ceremony aims to recognise the wide variety of aspects required for a successful business. The 2012 awards theme pays homage to the long history of individual and collective industry upon which local towns have taken root and flourished and the companies which carry on that tradition today.