FINE MAYORAL PARTNERSHIP
BAILEY'S mayor and mayoress, elected last Thursday, are both married to doctors, and are both parishioners of St. Mary's, Batley. The Mayor is Mrs. L. I. Fitzpatrick, wife of Dr. J. J. Fitzpatrick. The Mayoress is Mrs. E. Ni. O'Dwyer, wife of Dr. J. Ni. O'Dwyer.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick is an old girl of St. Joseph's College, Bradford, and is a governor of St. Gregory's Grammar School, Huddersfield. Mrs. O'Dwyer is active in the Parent-Teacher Association of St. Gregory's.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick's record of public service in Batley is both long and extensive, particularly in education. She serves on the West Riding County Council Education Committee, where she is a vicechairman of the School Management Committee.
It seems to be from her experience as a doctor's wife that she has taken the idea of opening a mayor's " surgery " for people needing help and advice. At her installation ceremony last Thursday, she said : "I will announce is monthly date when I will be at the Town Hall to hear from ratepayers who want advice or help." Obviously a forward looking woman with the interests of the people of her town deeply at heart. the new Mayor also said : " I think the time has come for us to stop looking back with corn
placency. We must look forward with anticipation and resolve. We have many problems, many improvements to work on."
HOUSING
As a Catholic mother with the welfare of the family at heart, she declares that the greatest problem is housing. Despite all that has been done there are still an overwhelming number of people living in houses not in keeping with the most modest of modern standards. " I don't wish to sound the alarm, but rather the alert. Let us answer their call urgently. Not only health, but morale depends on good housing."
She is the mother of three children (one son, Michael. now doing his National Service; another, Stephen, now studying at Leeds University: and a daughter, Mary. married. in Dublin).
The Mayoress, Mrs. J. M. O'Dwyer, is new to public life. She has five children: Michael (10), Marese (8), Anne (5). Aislinn (4), and James (16 months).