Naas's new twin is the size of Dublin
Omaha's Mayor Mike Fahey and Naas Town Council chairman Willie Callaghan signing the twinning agreement last night
OMAHA & NAAS, 16 March 2002: by Brian Byrne. The city with which Naas formally signed a twinning agreement last night is known as the ‘Gateway to the West’ in the United States and has a population of almost 700,000 in its metropolitan area, and has over 113,000 children in its school systems. It has 11 third level colleges catering for over 43,000 students.
The twinning agreement was signed in Creighton University (below), which is run by the Jesuit order.
The metropolitan area of Omaha covers 2,500 square miles, and over a million people live within a 50-mile radius of the city centre. The cost of living in the region is estimated at some 12% lower than the US national average.
The City of Omaha administers over 8,000 acres of parks and 13 neighbourhood recreation centres, and the local leisure opportunities include golf (up to 50 courses), softball, hunting, fishing, boating, skiing, horseback riding and hiking. Athletics, ice hockey and basketball are key spectator sports.
Culturally, the city citizens are also well served, with many museums and galleries, more than 15 theatre organisations, a symphony orchestra and an opera society.
The largest employers include the US Air Force (Omaha was headquarters of the Strategic Air Command from the 50s), the Union Pacific Railroad, several insurance and healthcare companies, and some 18,000 businesses are located in the metro area.
The twinning of Naas and Omaha was signed formally last night by Naas Town Council chairman Willie Callaghan, leading an official delegation comprising town clerk Declan Kirrane and councillors Seamie Moore and Timmy Conway. The Naas group, which includes representatives of business and cultural organisations from the Kildare town, will take part in a St Patrick's Day Parade in the city this afternoon.
©2002knn
©2002johnglenn creighton pix