In this week's Westmeath Independent

This week's Westmeath Independent is now on the shelves and has 44 pages packed with the best local news, sport and photos. Stories include:

* Anti-austerity protesters disrupted Monday's meeting of Athlone Town Council by shouting questions at the councillors and forcing the meeting to be moved into another room.

* A crematorium, which could be the first outside Ireland's main towns and cities, is planned for Ballinasloe.

* It's the end of an era in Athlone, as the last remnants of St Mel's Terrace are demolished this week. We have a story and photos of the demolition work

* Local Gardai are investigating a series of house break-ins in the Monksland area.

* We feature a review and colourful photos of Athlone Musical Society's current production of Oklahoma.

* Our news feature examines what's in store for local health services in 2013, while Kori Kilduff is profiled in the 'Independent People' series. 

* We have a series of photos from the Tubberclair NS confirmations and the Athlone Tri Club fundraising 5k run.    

* The paper carries 12 pages of the best local sports coverage, including reports on Westmeath and Roscommon's drawn encounters in the national football league last weekend. Meanwhile reporter Kevin O'Neill explores what this year's League of Ireland campaign could bring for Athlone Town FC, with high-profile manager Roddy Collins now in charge.

All this and much more in this week's paper, which available in local outlets and can also be accessed in the ePaper format (for more on this option, see: http://www.westmeathindependent.ie/epaper#undefined)