³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

You can't visit Llangollen without taking a few minutes to stand and admire the power of the Dee as it crashes over the rocks and beneath the stone bridge.

how - for the last two years - people have been working behind the scenes to see if that power could be harnessed to provide electricity for the town.

It makes sense, don't you think?

But it's not the first time the Dee has been put to use. The monks of nearby Vallé Crucis Abbey got there first - about 700 years ago, says Silas Jones from rural development group .

Silas told the there were water mills up and down the Dee generating power to begin the Industrial Revolution before coal, steam and oil.

[Can anyone shed more light on these old mills and does anything remain today?]

So far, Peter Carol, who runs watersports business Pro Adventure has spent his own cash along with grant support from public bodies for feasibility studies which all take time and so it could still be 10 years before the idea becomes a reality.

And this, it seems, is what prompted contributor CM Millman to overnight with these comments:

"My home is sited on a small local river in a village in Flintshire and is the site of the original electrical supply for the village which was generated by the river.

"My local electrician confirms that I could replicate this system for my own use and that of neighbours. So why don't I do it you ask:

- The capital cost is, for me expensive
- I have to obtain permission from the river's authority
- Red tape associated with creating power and leaving the grid is almost impenetrable

"So the government want us all to go green - only on their terms and profit surely!"

Over to you...

CM Millman may be interested to know that one tiny community, the former Ddol Ucha, near Mold, used to generate their own power in the 1920s, as Joan Tapper remembered when she took part in one of our former Then & Now film projects a couple of years back.

This photo [below] shows the water that was harnessed and in her film she explains how it was put to use.

Said Joan: "My father made the pond in 1920. He wanted to generate electricity to the home, the farm and buildings and we also gave the electricity to the local Ddol Chapel for their use. We used to saw wood and we used to grind corn and it never broke down."

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales is currently running a looking at how we're tackling the challenge of climate change in Wales.

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, the organisation which works with the community to try to create a more sustainable environment, wants to hear from Mold residents and visitors about how they can make the town more people-centred.

They'd like to see people relying less on cars to get about, instead using public transport, walking and cycling.

However Mold's roads are not geared up for cyclists and Cittaslow Mold is, therefore, asking locals where they would like to see cycle routes established.

They'll then aim to work with Flintshire County Council, cycling and environment groups Sustrans and Taith to "try and make Mold a more people-centred place".

If you have any suggestions, contact .

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- Leader
A man who narrowly escaped death after arsonists set fire to his Wrexham flat door says he is living in terror of another attack happening.

- Leader
The Morris family from connah's Quay are holding a round the clock vigil for triplets who are fighting for their lives after being born 11 weeks premature at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

- Tizer
Maesbrook farmer, Ray Morris, is used to providing a unique 'taxi' service during the village's frequent floodings - but last week it turned into a lifesaver.
Plus:

- Daily Post
Jules Peters spoke for the first time about how she feared she would die, after being struck down by two blood clots and a mystery African virus after her climb up Mount Kilimanjaro for husband Mike's Love Hope Strength Foundation - which raises money for cancer sufferers.

- Denbighshire Visitor
Friends Dave Mann, 36, from Llangollen, and Tim Benson, 34, from Derbyshire lost on Scafell Pike during a charity challenge were forced to huddle together to survive freezing conditions, 40mph winds, rain and snow while trying to raise money for Cylch Meithrin Llangollen (Welsh medium nursery).

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Congratulations to Julie and David Dean from Rhewl whose website, , has just been voted by the as the fifth best travel website on the web.

Finishing just behind , Julie and David's website allows people to download free audio tours onto a mp3 player, "then plug in and head off".

Julie says: "To be placed just after the Lonely Planet website leaves us with a warm glow."

There are more than 1,000 audio tours and trails available on the website from tourist sites to off the beaten track walks.

The husband and wife team also produce audio tours for a variety of heritage, nature and community organisations.

Locally, there are audio trails [in English and Welsh] at , and .

And they have just completed a project for the at , and a .

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None of us are getting younger, but imagine your surprise if, while watching '' you suddenly spot yourself - and in black and white no less!

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- North Wales Weekly News
A terrified wife described how she feared her husband was dead after a gang of youths beat him up in the street outside his shop.

- Tizer
Severn Trent has set a date for its return visit to Oswestry when it will once again ask its consumers what they think of the town's drinking water.

- Your Vale News
The fastest growing company in North Wales said it expects to create around 200 new jobs next year.
Tag:

- Evening Leader
A retired Flintshire couple who complained of a 'holiday from hell' have failed in their bid to sue the travel agent who sold them the sunshine break in Benidorm.

- Denbighshire Free Press
South Denbighshire Neighbourhood Policing Team said they have received numerous complaints from members of the public in relation to anti social driving/gathering at the front of the antiques centre on Rhyl Road in Denbigh.

- Daily Post
Work has started on a £3m new learning centre at Deeside College's Northop campus.

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For once, there's some good news on the jobs front this week:

- Denbighshire Visitor
Rhyl-based Total Trade Group has grown by 397% in the period 2006-2008. The company is a provider of domestic property maintenance, energy efficiency and mechanical and electrical services to social housing and other clients.

- Border Counties Advertizer
The Big Green Book, a resource website for business, is rapidly expanding which should lead to the creation of 30 jobs.

Meanwhile Wrexham FC's chief executive has been reassuring worried supporters of the club that its future is safe:

- Daily Post
Supporters are worried that private investors could pull out of the Wrexham Village project at any time but the chief executive maintains that the steady stream of income generated by Glyndwr University students would prevent any financial problems.

Other stories in the local papers this week:

- The Leader
Following the conviction of Lukasz Reszpondek for the murder of Ermatati Rodgers in Wrexham, the Leader puts online the CCTV images and interview tapes of Reszpondek.

- Rhyl Journal
Valerie Johnson, 63, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2001, raised £2,000 for Bowel Cancer UK by taking part in the 26-mile run through the Big Apple.

A lucky Wrexham person, who wishes to remain anonymous, has won £100,000 as part of an online Mecca Bingo game.

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Well, to be precise, the final 50 words!

For this is a [or ] using the 50 most commonly occurring words in a debate hosted by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ section yesterday, , in response to a which accused the Welsh of being unfriendly to visitors!

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Here's a copy of the weekly newsletter sent to email subscribers:-

Fears for tears - Baring all - Prime Minister drops in - Llangollen on the telly - Farms go chic - Olympians run around Wrexham - Community groups clean up - And when you can judge a book by its cover

A couple have spoken about a medical condition which can stop their toddler daughter's heart every time she cries.

People are baring all, attending a group therapy session to cure phobias and swimming two miles - all in the name of Children in Need.

Community groups across north east Wales have cleaned up in an awards ceremony today for reclaiming areas covered in tonnes of rubbish.

Former Strictly Coming Dancing contestant John Sergeant's new TV series sees him soaking up the fun at Llangollen's world music festival.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he is determined the Flintshire Airbus plant will remain the UK's biggest factory.

From the old image of 'pick your own' fruit farms to fashionable cafes with quality home grown food, farms have been changing.

When you can judge a book by its cover - a profile of book artist Angela Davies's work.

After last weekend's festival, the future of Wales' only variety of plum is being assured thanks to people in the town from which it gets its name.

Find out why an Olympic gold medallist and other athletes are running around Wrexham on Monday.

Keep an eye on activities in Cardiff and Westminster on the new Democracy Live website.

Hwyl am y tro - bye for now

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Stories in the local Press this week have a common theme, and show how people power is being used to oppose a number of schemes which could affect community life.

- Evening Leader
Transport chiefs faced a grilling after admitting they still have no idea how to solve the congestion nightmare at the county's worst traffic blackspot - on the approach to Shotton.

- Daily Post
Villagers turned out in force at a special hearing in a bid to keep open a footpath which they claim has been used by generations. Denbighshire council wants to officially add the path, along part of the driveway of Llanbedr Hall to the county map, but this is being opposed by the property's owner, who bought the property in 2003 and is trying to stop people using it.

- Tizer
Oswestry's Chamber of Trade has written to Shropshire Council giving its support to plans to build a supermarket on the town's Central car park. But that's against most traders' wishes, says .

- Evening Leader
A group of residents have launched a campaign to stop a takeaway being built in the area of Brunswick Road, Buckley, raising concerns about potential problems caused by anti-social behaviour, noise, parking and litter from customers.

- Daily Post
A controversial application to discharge sewage into an important water course in Rhyl has been rejected by the Environment Agency. Anwyl Construction had applied for permission to discharge sewage into the Aberkinsey Drain, near Dyserth Road, as part of its new development, attracting opposition from residents and local politicians.

- Rhyl Journal
Residents are hoping research will highlight the traffic problems blighting their Abergele street. Traffic monitoring has been going on in Kinmel Avenue, after people living in the area complained that the number of cars using the narrow two-way road, along with double parking had driven them to breaking point.

[If you want daily updates, follow us on or use our ]

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Update, Thursday, 11 November: from 34 minutes [available until December]

Cast your mind back to earlier this summer and the colourful dancing parade winding its way around the streets of Llangollen during the opening day of the .

And, among others, seeing former TV political reporter and Strictly Come Dancing contestant John Sergeant leading the dancers and musicians and wondering what the heck he was doing out in front.

Well, all will become clear when his new three-part TV series gets its first airing, [ from 34minutes].

He which includes him seeing Llangollen's annual world music and dance festival from the perspective of overseas visitors, specificially competitors from Java.

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is the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's new portal to politics, providing live and on demand video coverage of proceedings in the Welsh Assembly and the other national political institutions, plus the European Parliament.

But what makes this website different is a new tool - the ability to search all the videos for a spoken word, say 'Wrexham', or 'health' or even 'Cymru' because Welsh language searches are also possible.

Basically, you'll be able to toggle straight to the info you want.

The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Mark Coyle explains it better: "By its very nature, the business of politics can be lengthy. Can you/would you watch an entire six-hour long debate from the House of Commons?

"Democracy Live gives you the ability to search for a specific word or words spoken in the proceedings and the results will give you links to the points in the video where they were spoken."

He goes on: "One aspect we're particularly proud of is that we've managed to deliver good results for speech-to-text in Welsh, which, we're told, is unique."

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Wrexham's got its , and there has even been a campaign to market a over the last couple of years; and both have food festivals; and now .

What other fruits, food or drink can we use to market other towns in north east Wales, asks ?

Can you help?

There's no doubt we love our food. Just for fun, I and got a return of nearly 6m pictures!

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