The penultimate week of the year has arrived. Which topics dominated the Drenthe news?
Avebe potato starch factory and potato farmers did well last year. That became clear on Monday. The starch yielded a record price for the company, and the farmers benefited from this.
“An unprecedentedly strong year”, chairman David Fousert of Royal Avebe described the ‘potato year’.
Gaby de Ruiter is the new confidential counselor of LTO Noord who must offer farmers a listening ear in the fight against crime. Because, mind you: one in five farmers in the Netherlands has already been approached by criminals. “Farmers and gardeners can always call me, I treat all conversations and information confidentially,” says De Ruiter about her role.
On Wednesday it was announced that Groningen Airport Eelde had been saved. The provinces of Drenthe and Groningen will together invest 46 million euros in the airport over the next ten years. This can be used to pay the costs for matters such as security, fire brigade and infrastructure maintenance, costs that the airport cannot bear itself.
A day later, the name of the new mayor of Hoogeveen was announced. It is Martijn Breukelman, 32 years old and alderman in Hardenberg. He will be the youngest mayor of Drenthe.
The water is on the lips of the water boards. Due to the heavy rain from recent flows, ditches, canals and rivers have flooded. The Vechtstromen Water Board has therefore switched to “crisis organization phase two”.