600 thousand euros for small towns

The provincial government in Almeria has announced July 21 as the deadline for submission of applications for a share of 600 thousand euros. The money is destined for investment in 15 projects; 400,000 for a total of ten projects in towns with less than 2,000 inhabitants and the other 200,000 for five projects in towns with between 2,001 and 5,000 inhabitants. The maximum for any single project will be 50,000 euros. The qualifying ayuntamientos have been notified of the offer. The money is intended to be used for improving infrastructures for the development of public services and for improving the towns' productive and economic frameworks.

Mojacar beaches can’t fly blue flags

The organisation responsible for awarding blue flags to beaches here in Spain, the Asociación de Educación Ambiental y del Consumidor (ADEAC), the Consumer and Environmental Education Association, has been in contact with the ayuntamiento of Mojacar after being told of the absence of life guards on the towns beaches. The ayuntamiento has told ADEAC it will not fly the blue flags on the two beaches which were awarded them earlier this year, the Venta del Bancal and Marina de la Torre beaches, if there were no lifeguards on duty, although it also told the organization that there were now lifeguards on these beaches and they would be displaying the blue flags in the next few days.

The AEDAC will be sending its inspector for the Almeria area to Mojacar on August 1^st. to check the facilities.

Fatal car crash in Lubrin

The accident happened just before 11 p.m. on the A-1101 road in the municipality of Lubrin in the Sierrra Los Filabres when a car with two occupants left the road and rolled over. One of the occupants was injured and was evacuated to Torrecardenas hospital by ambulance, but the other occupant died in the accident and was not removed from the scene until a judge gave permission for removal of the body.

Parents in Huercal Overa to vote on school uniform

The parents' association of the Virgen del Rio public school in Huercal Overa are being asked to give their opinion on the use of a uniform in the school and whether to introduce a school dining room.

Their opinions are being determined by means of a questionnaire being distributed to all the parents. Among the questions they are asked to respond to are; if they would like their children to wear a uniform to school, how they feel about the installation of a dining room in the school and if they would like their children to use the dining room. The survey allows the parents who complete it to maintain their anonymity.

Cuevas beaches get lifeguards

The ayuntamiento of Cuevas del Almanzora has announced the services it is offering on its seventeen kilometres of beaches this year. The councillor responsible for the beaches, Jose Haro, announced the hiring of six lifeguards as well as the daily cleaning of the beaches by council employees and machinery. Showers and toilets have also been installed where possible and the wooden boardwalks on the beaches have been replaced.

Jose Haro also highlighted the fact that boardwalks have been placed as far as possible on the accesses to some of the coves that the coast of Cuevas boasts; coves such as Cala Cristal, Cala de las Cochas or Peñon Corto, all virgin coves with difficult access but ideal for snorkelling or diving. If you do go to any of these coves take care with the abundant sea urchins as if you tread on one the walk back up the cliffs to the car can be rather painful, wear footwear into the water and whatever you do don't sit on one.

First Desalination plant water pipe almost finished

The first of several large bore water pipes which are to transport water from the carboneras desalination plant to different parts of the province is in place and covered with earth and almost ready to begin piping water. This is the pipe that goes through Mojacar and past the back of Garrucha and carries on to the Bajo Almanzora area. The work on this pipe started at the beginning of this year. More pipes are planned to the area around Tabernas and Nijar.

The Carboneras desalination plant is currently running at only ten per cent of its full capacity due to the lack of infrastructure for transporting the water to its final destinations. It has the capacity to provide almost 25 million gallons of drinking water per day. The average consumption of water per capita here in Spain is about 61.5 gallons, meaning the plant can provide for more than 400,000 people.

Trial starts of two accused of rape in Albox in 2004

The victim was the first to give evidence in the trial, telling of how she was confronted by two men as she made her way to her car after having been in the town fair the night of October 3, 2004. She told of how the men bundled her into her car while she punched out at them, they then drove her to a nearby open area. The victim went on to say how she could remember no more of what happened except for lying on the ground with a man on top of her, but she affirmed that at no time did she manifest any desire to maintain sexual relations with any of the men. When she recovered consciousness she was at the wheel of her car and she returned home at about 7.00 a.m. with injuries and scratches and without her underwear, after which she went to the police to report the crime.

The accused deny having raped the young woman, one of them, identified by his initials J.C.Z.V., claiming that the sexual relations were consensual, adding that he couldn't remember if she had objected as he was drunk and confirmed that he had let her go when she bit him on the mouth so that he would leave her alone. The next morning the two men left the flat they were sharing with others in Albox because they had heard that there were rumours in the town that they had raped a girl and were afraid of being arrested despite maintaining their innocence.

The lawyer representing the victim is asking the judge to sentence the accused to 37 years each in prison for holding a person against their will, rape, robbery with intimidation and serious bodily harm.

Medieval market comes to Garrucha

This year for the first time residents and visitors have been able to enjoy a medieval market in the Paseo Mediterraneo in Garrucha. The market, which was in Garrucha for about ten days had all you would expect from the middle ages; candles, herbal remedies, arts and crafts, Moroccan tea shops, and smoky barbequed meat and sausages accompanied by traditional scrumpy style cider to name but a few of the wares on offer from the stalls. For the children there was a puppet show telling stories of princesses and dragons or the pied piper and keeping even today's over stimulated youngsters entertained for half an hour.

If you missed this market the traditional summer market is still open every evening in Garrucha from dusk to late in the Paseo Mariritimo just behind the Almejero restaurant, selling everything you never knew you wanted.

Mosquitos under control in Mojacar

The ayuntamiento of Mojacar has expressed its satisfaction in the work carried out by the pest control company LOKIMICA S.A., which won the contracts for pest control in Mojacar and Vera this year. The results at the moment seem to be very positive with virtually no mosquitoes in the area at the moment.

TO achieve these results LOKIMICA S.A. has been working throughout the year using a helicopter and off-road vehicles equipped with spraying machinery. The product they have been using is not so much an insecticide as a larvicide, attacking the mosquitoes at their larval stage. The 'biopesticide' used is a microbe known as Bacillus thurigiensis, and is highly selective, affecting mosquito larvae and others of the same order but having no toxicity in other insects, birds, reptiles or mammals.

Equally important as spraying is raising public awareness of control, as many mosquito foci are situated on private property making them more difficult to control. Some tips for keeping mosquito numbers down are; keep water deposits, ponds, untreated swimming pools and other static bodies of water clean, wherever possible introduce goldfish or Gambussia as these fish eat the mosquito larvae and pupae, try to avoid abandoning things that could accumulate water and cover wells or tanks hermetically or with mosquito netting.

Turtles released to eat jellyfish

The release of turtles into the sea off Cabo de Gata is part of an ongoing project organised by the Almeria local government Environmental Department. The turtles released are loggerhead turtles, know in Spanish as tortuga boba (daft turtles), and hatched on the same beach where they have been re-released. The turtle repopulation project has involved bringing eggs from the Cape Verde archipelago off the west coast of Africa and burying them on a beach in Cabo de Gata to which, in theory the adult turtles will return to lay their eggs in years to come. When the eggs hatched the baby turtles were taken to the marine species recovery centres in Malaga and Algeciras where they were cared for under controlled conditions. Now the animals, almost a year old, have been returned to their hatching place and released into the wild to fend for themselves.

The year old turtles now weigh between one and one and a half kilos but adults can reach weights of more than 100 kilos in as little as five years and it is estimated they live 30 to 62 years in the wild. As well as jellyfish loggerhead turtles will eat crabs, prawns, sea urchins, fish, fish eggs and even seaweed.

A similar experiment is being carried out in the Canary Islands.

Every dog must have his day

Every dog must have his day and if one thing would make a dog's day it must be the pampering and loving attention that Anita gives to all her canine clients.

Anita has worked with animals for twenty years now, spending eight years as a veterinary nurse before training in animal grooming. She works out of Veravet in Vera and K9 Kennels between Vera and Garrucha, and has worked for the last two years with Costa Indalo vets in the Mojacar Centro Comercial but now the vet is moving and the clinic there is closing.

Anita will still work at Veravet and K9 Kennels, but for those unable to get their dogs to either of those places she is offering a mobile service. Doggy heaven is just a phone call away.

The VIP treatment she gives starts with a good brushing, which gives Anita a chance to check for ticks, fleas, burrs, grass seeds and any types of skin ailments. Then a bath and a trim; when Anita arrives at your home she not only brings her clippers, brushes and grooming table, but a whole range of specialised shampoos and even doggy perfume, the shampoos include flea shampoo, shampoo for dark hair, light hair, even dry shampoo in case your dog really doesn't like getting wet. Anita also clips their nails, checking their paws for foreign bodies that can get caught between their toes and cleans their ears, which helps prevent ear infections.

All of this of course leaves your dog feeling cooler and, Anita assures, looking younger, it helps keep their fur in good condition and on more than one occasion Anita has been the first to spot symptoms that have led to the early discovery of tumours, heart conditions and other illnesses that could otherwise have gone undiscovered.

You can call Anita on 662 344 734 at any time, all you need is a bath or a space in the garden or on the terrace with a hosepipe. If you prefer to drop your dog off at Veravet or K9 kennels and pick it up refreshed and rejuvenated give her a call and make an appointment. And remember as Franz Kafka once said; "All knowledge, the totality of all questions and all answers is contained in the dog", so treat them well.

Anita is qualified and fully legal here in Spain. She can be contacted seven days a week on 662 344 734.