AS THE new year begins, we take a look at what the last three months brought to north Wales!

Check out the last two roundups by clicking the links at the bottom of this article...

September

The community of Pwllheli were left in shock in September after 62-year-old Cllr Bob Wright died suddenly of a heart attack. Cllr Wright, who had represented the Pwllheli south ward since 2008, and second coxswain of Pwllheli RNLI, died aboard an RNLI lifeboat as they were requested to launch to a yacht aground the surf line of Pwllheli beach.

Matt Crofts, RNLI lifesaving delivery manager, said: “He was a tremendously dedicated coxswain for many years and his excellence in seamanship and helping others was acknowledged nationally with him being awarded the MBE in 2008. Everyone at the station is extremely saddened by what has happened and he will be greatly missed.”

• A distraught Llanuwchllyn woman contacted the Cambrian News appealing for help to find her beloved family dog, Celt, who was snatched from her garden. Heulwen Rowlands said her family had been devastated since their eight year old Labrador had gone missing.

Following the story in the Cambrian News and a social media appeal for information thankfully a local man discovered Celt out in the woods a week following his disappearance.

Heulwen said: “We are so happy to have Celt home, he’s a little shaken and doesn’t like going in the car anymore but we are so thankful he’s back and so grateful to the Cambrian News and the public for all their help.”

October

A Penygroes mother shared her heart warming story during October of the life-saving heart surgery that was carried out on her eight-month-old baby boy Noa. Noa was born with Holt-Oram syndrome, a genetic disease that affects just one person in 100,000.

Just days after being born, little Noa was operated on at Alder Hey Hospital near Liverpool.

The surgeons at the hospital manager to repair Noa’s heart with both human and bovine parts and his heart is now near perfect.

His mother, Elen Pritchard, said: “He enjoys every day like any other little boy, discovering more and more about the world around him.”

• The Welsh Government announced during October that it was to use a grant of £7,683 to protect the site of an American World War II aircraft, Lockhead P-38, which is buried in sand at Harlech beach.

The rare United States Army Air Force fighter, now known as the Maid of Harlech, was discovered in July, 2007, after 65 years under the sands.

Matt Rimmer, local historian and member of the Harlech P-38 project team, welcomed the funding news. He said: “The grant funding from Cadw will help to support the ongoing work to record and protect the aircraft, and will be used towards the cost of detailed geophysical surveys to establish and record the exact extend of the site."

November

Porthmadog was dealt a blow in November after the bombshell announcement that the tax office in the town is to close with the loss of 20 jobs. The decision by HM Revenue & Customs to close Ty Moelwyn within the next five years is described as a ‘huge blow’ to Porthmadog and the Welsh language.

Cllr Selwyn Griffiths, chair of Porthmadog Town Council, said: “The work at Ty Moelwyn has been very successful because of the dedicated staff of the highest quality. Welsh speakers in England deal with the office here because of their professional work of the highest order.”

A petition was launched in response to the news and a protest is planned for the new year.

• Questions were raised in November over the effectiveness of Dolgellau’s multi-million-pound flood defence scheme as heavy rainfall hit the town.

Marian Mawr and its adjacent car parks were covered with flood water after the swollen river Wnion rose to dramatic levels.

Dolgellau is one of the main areas prone to flooding in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd and the town’s £5.5m flood prevention scheme was tested to capacity on this occasion. However, Dolgellau councillors John Raghoobar and Linda Morgan was not sure the scheme is effective enough.

Cllr Morgan said: “Speaking to local residents what concerns me is that the flooding occurred when it wasn’t an especially high tide.

“What will happen if something similar occurs when we do have a high tide? What happens then?”

December

Following the devastating floods in Cumbria at the beginning of December Abersoch RNLI volunteer Elissa Thursfield told the Cambrian News of her emotional experience of taking part in her first ever flood rescue operation. Elissa, 28, was part of the Welsh RNLI Flood Rescue Team volunteers who joined the emergency services from across the country to help people caught up in the floods, brought on by Storm Desmond.

Joining her from the area was also Bryn Ellis from Pwllheli RNLI and Paul Filby from Criccieth RNLI. Elissa said: “There were many things which I saw that really tugged on my heart strings, but one thing that will stay with me from my time volunteering there was when we rescued an elderly couple from their home and once we got them to safety the elderly lady was squeezing my hand and thanked us for saving them – that really brought a lump to my throat.”

• Parents of pupils of the newly-built Craig y Deryn School in Llanegryn were left disgusted in December after discovering the building was full of mould, mildew and leaks. Lorraine Rogers, chair of the school’s Parent Teacher Association, who has two children at the school, said she was disgusted by the state of it.

She said: “There were buckets collecting water in all the classrooms, in the corridor, everywhere. There was white mould and mildew throughout the building, it’s a health hazard – who knows what the kids are breathing?”

Gwynedd Council said they had arranged for the main contractor to carry out the necessary repairs as soon as possible.