In search of dead cats in the Hoogeveense canal, plans for large-scale housing construction in Drenthe and a call for measures to rid Borger-Odoorn of the ‘sniff city’ label. That and more was in the news in Drenthe last week. The most important events are listed below.
The Hoogeveen Animal Ambulance Foundation went on Monday with several volunteers looking for dead cats in the Hoogeveen canal. A striking number of cats have been disappearing in the Krakeel district recently. Six dead cats have been found in the canal in recent weeks. According to the Animal Ambulance, this is ‘too coincidental’. The organization suspects malicious intent.
Outgoing minister Hugo de Jonge wants to focus on large-scale housing construction. He announced this on Tuesday. One of the designated locations for part of this is the area between Assen and Groningen, with an extension to Emmen. 981,000 houses must be built before 2030. But according to the minister, that is not enough, he wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives. His expectation is that approximately the same number of houses will have to be built in the following ten years.
Jack’s Drenthe Rally is canceled this year. The organization announced this on Wednesday. The rally was actually supposed to take place on November 18 and 19. The organization says that it is still unclear whether the correct permits will be granted and that it is no longer possible to organize the event responsibly at this short notice. The rally will now be moved to the spring.
Borger-Odoorn wants to get rid of the nickname ‘Snuff City’, which the municipality has according to several council members. A majority in the Borger-Odoorn municipal council is concerned about drug use among young people. At least three young people from Valthermond ended up in an addiction clinic in a short time. Municipal councilors want measures against drug use.
The ATM failure rate in September was almost two percent higher than it should be. This is evident from research by NOS and regional broadcasters. People have experienced this in various places in the province of Drenthe. Nationally, banks aim for a failure rate of 2.5 percent. Last month, 4.3 percent of ATMs in the province were out of service due to a malfunction and it took an average of ten hours for them to work again.
The Geldmaat machine in Ruinen was out of action for a total of six days in September.