A LAOIS village is “dying on its feet” due to dangerous speeding, which has forced some parents to send their children to schools elsewhere.

A MAN was brought before a special sitting of Portlaoise District Court this morning charged with offences relating to a message he allegedly posted on his social media page.

There were a record 4,300 entries in the competition.

TRESPASSING, speeding and anti-social behaviour are causing serious problems for residents in a Portlaoise housing estate, who have appealed to Laois County Council for help.

THE discovery of an emaciated dog in Portlaoise has caused upset and heartbreak for animal rescue volunteers. The puppy is so thin that he was described as ‘a little bag of bones’ by the Laois Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

The 16-year old teenager Jake Cunningham Burke who had been reported missing from Mountmellick since Friday 23 May has been found safe and well.An Garda Síochána would like to thank the public for their assistance.

A POP-UP restaurant at Heywood Community School in Ballinakill was a five-star success, as students cooked up a storm for almost 100 guests.

GARDAÍ investigating the murder and disappearance of Fiona Pender commenced a second search operation in Laois today 26 May. The search comes a day after they concluded a search for her body on lands at Killeigh in County Offaly.

GARDAÍ investigating alleged threats that were shared online arrested a man in Abbeyleix, this morning Wednesday 28 May. He is currently detained at a Garda Station in the Eastern Region under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

A SAFETY check is to be carried out on ‘wobbly cobbles’ that are causing trip hazards in Portlaoise.

A CAR was seized from a learner diver on cannabis who tried to evade a Laois garda checkpoint. Gardaí said that cannabis was found in the vehicle and the driver, who had no insurance, failed a roadside drug test.

Former Waterford Rose of Tralee winner Kirsten Mate Maher tied the knot with her partner Ger Butler at the stunning Castle Durrow in Laois on Saturday.

"Workers' rights in many cases have gone backwards and that needs to change," said the TD.

Bertie Kavanagh, Assumpta Terrace and formerly of Ballymorris, Portarlington passed away peacefully on Tuesday 27 May surrounded by his loving family at the Regional Hospital Tullamore and previously in the wonderful care of the staff of Oakdale ...

Paddy Bowe, Redcastle, Mountrath, Co Laois passed away unexpectedly on 24 May. Deeply missed by his brother, sisters, nephews, brother-in-law, extended family, relatives, neighbours and friends. May Paddy rest in peace.

A CARLOW man who admitted poisoning his partner was told by Judge Eugene O’Kelly that it was a “shockingly reckless thing to do”, when he appeared before the local circuit court to be sentenced last week.

LIDL is planning to open its third supermarket in Laois, on the site of a long-derelict garage. The new store would be constructed on Emmett Street in Mountmellick, at the former Central/Nissan Garage dealership that closed 14 years ago.

Gardaí are seeking the public's assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 16-year-old Jake Cunningham Burke who is reported missing in Mountmellick since Friday 23 May.

AN appeal has been made to the people of Laois to rally behind a campaign calling for the retention of funding for the LEADER programme.

Peggy Foster (née Cuddy), late of Bray, Co. Wicklow and formerly of Camross died peacefully on Monday 26 May in her 96th year surrounded by her loving family at Saint Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, after a short illness.