LOCAL NEWS – SATURDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2012

CEMETERY WORK PROGRESSING

The mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, inspected the work being carried out on the municipal cemetery this week, which is on target for completion in April.

The work, at a cost of 867,480€, will provide 1,242 new places and 252 additional plots, ensuring enough space for the next 20 years in the municipal site that first opened in 1898. In order to maximize the land available, a significant portion of these new resting places are located in blocks of five storeys, resulting in a lift having to be provided to take the deceased to their final home.

SCHOOLS TO REMOVE TEXT BOOKS

The teachers association for the municipality of Orihuela will vote to remove text books from schools in the next academic year, favouring photocopies provided on an individual basis by teachers in each class.

A move primarily driven by cuts in education spending, spokesperson Toñi Jorge, a teacher at the IES El Palmeral, said, "We thought that the cuts could be helpful for parents”, as each student must purchase at least nine books, which multiplied by an average of 25 to 30 euro each, costs 225 euro per student per course. The initiative will affect the classroom dynamics as each teacher will have to prepare the materials themselves, but it will allow flexibility in the contents of the lessons.

ARRESTS FOR ILLICIT PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHILDREN

In an operation across Spain, the National Police have arrested 81 people, 12 of whom were in the Valencia region and one from Orihuela, as part of a gang who distributed pornographic images of children under the age of 13 through the internet.

A spokesperson for the police explained that within a week of monitoring, each of the detainees had downloaded an average of five files, although some of them had come to possess more than 800, demonstrating how the images had been stored and evidence being found of attempts to delete the files or hide them from view.

Investigators are now examining 240 hard drives for evidence in one of the biggest cases to date, that involved officers in 21 provinces under the coordination of the technical investigation branch of the National Police.

PUSHING THE RAIL NETWORK

The los Verdes green party of Torrevieja has levied criticism to the ruling Partido Popular who they claim has “shown no interest” in supporting the move to reopen the rail link to Torrevieja.

The green´s are already fully behind an internet and Facebook campaign to attain signatures to present a case for the need to reopen the railway station and they hope that the PP will “Sooner or later have to realize this vital need for our economic development and to raise substantially the quality of life of users of this transport”.

COLD CAUSES CROP DAMAGE

The recent cold snap has had an adverse effect on crops of artichokes, beans and potatoes, as well as other fresh vegetables, which could see demand increase and higher prices during the coming months.

Around 10% of the total artichoke crop has been destroyed, but that is somewhat minimal compared to 50% of green bean plantations. Potatoes have also been affected around Orihuela, as have broccoli and cauliflower crops.

The cold weather is set to continue into the week, which some farmers are now pleased about, as they are hoping to “achieve better prices” for the items they can sell.