GA English on Sunday News in Brief for the Weekend

Bonn police can currently only be reached by the emergency number 110; A man had to be rescued from after trying to cool down in the Rhine yesterday; Walkers prevented a major fire from breaking out in Rheinbach; Bonn’s administrative bosses met up at a golf hotel this weekend at a cost of 44,000 euros; There was an ecumenical church service on Saturday in honour of 14 people who had died in Bonn without family or loved ones to remember them.

GA English on Sunday: News in Brief for the Weekend
Foto: Dieter Hombach

Bonn Police telephone lines not working

The Bonn police are struggling with technical problems. Since this morning, the telephone system has not been working properly. The telephone number 0228 / 15-0 and all extensions are not available. The authorities announced on Sunday morning that they are working at full speed to remedy the problem.

The emergency call number 110 is not affected and is available at all times.

Firefighters rescue man from the Rhine in Bonn

A 32-year-old swimmer had to be rescued from the Rhine on Saturday afternoon. The police reported that the young man had been looking to cool off briefly in the Rhine underneath the Kennedybrücke bridge in summer temperatures and had gone into the river. Although he was extremely careful and was sporty, he was unable to hold on to the bank of the river against the current and the undertow in the Rhine and his life was in danger.

Several passers-by saw that he was in distress and informed the fire brigade and emergency services, which immediately dispatched rescue and emergency teams to the scene.

Several boats and a rescue helicopter were deployed to find man as quickly as possible. He was eventually pulled ashore about 500 metres downstream.

Around 35 firefighters from Bonn, Bornheim and Niederkassel were deployed.

The Bonn Fire Brigade warns against bathing or cooling down in the Rhine, even with the now very low water levels. The slightest lack of attention could result in serious danger to life.

(Original Text: Michael Wrobel)

People out for a walk prevented major fire in a wood in Rheinbach on Saturday afternoon

An evidently carelessly discarded cigarette almost caused a serious fire in a forest in Rheinbach on Saturday afternoon. According to fire brigade chief of operations Edgar Kroymann, people out walking near Todenfeld had discovered a small fire developing. They were able to put it out, but as a pile of brushwood was also already smouldering, they alerted the fire brigade.

The Hilberath fire brigade then moved out and was able to quickly put out the fire before it could spread.

"If the people out for a walk had not discovered the fire, a bigger blaze would certainly have developed," Kroymann said in an interview with the GA. "Open fires and smoking are currently prohibited in the forest. Even though it has rained a little, all the terrain and the trees and bushes are still extremely dry," Kroymann said. The risk of forest fires is therefore very high.

(Original text: Michael Wrobel and Petra Reuter)

Costs of around 55,000 euros: Bonn city leaders on closed meeting at golf hotel

On Friday, the Bonn City Council, including Mayor Katja Dörner (Greens), the administrative board as well as the heads of the departments and the heads of the new programme offices set out on a joint trip for a conclave. Destination: the Stromberg Country and Golf Hotel in Rhineland-Palatinate.

But city spokesperson Barbara Löcherbach doubts that the 65 or so people from all levels of management will get to play golf or do similar enjoyable things at the four-star hotel. After all, the topic on the agenda is the "Adaptation Plan for Climate Neutrality 2035" and, as we know, the city of Bonn still has a lot to do. The GA was told that the majority of the participants had travelled by bus in an environmentally correct manner; only a few had travelled individually for "health reasons".

According to Löcherbach, the costs for the conference including the stay until Saturday amount to 55,000 euros. "The hotel was chosen as the cheapest in a tendering procedure." When asked why the closed meeting could not take place on municipal premises in view of the meagre budget situation, she replied: "One of the goals is for the management level to set itself up strategically together. To do this, it is customary to use an outside location."

(Original text: Lisa Inhoffen)

Children find munition from World War II on riverbed

The police and the public order office say that two children from Lülsdorf behaved in an exemplary manner when they discovered a rusty object in the water while playing on the banks of the Rhine. They took a photo and showed it to their parents, who subsequently informed the police.

The officers sealed off the spot on the Rheinuferstraße, below the Lülsdorf castle, and the city's public order office got the explosive ordnance disposal service in. The find was recovered and examined in the afternoon, when it turned out to be an American mortar shell from the Second World War that was still fully functional and in good condition. The grenade was taken away in a secure container.

In this context, the police and the public order office reminded the public not to salvage any metallic objects from the banks of the Rhine - because they could be unexploded munitions that could cause great damage.

(Original text: Dieter Hombach)

Church service for the “unremembered”

When a person who has no family or relatives dies, the public order offices and municipalities take care of the burial. In most cases, this is done anonymously and without a funeral service. On Saturday at noon, 30 visitors came to the Namen Jesu Church to pay their last respects to 14 people who had died with no family of relatives to remember them.

Four times a year, the Association of Christian Churches (ACK) in Bonn invites people to such an ecumenical memorial service. The names of the deceased are read out and candles are lit for them. These names were read out yesterday: Wolfgang Andrews, Mourad El Houraze, Anna Engels, Gary Griffith, Klaus Hänsch, Werner Klumpp, Hilmar Kunde, Alexandre Merker, Uwe Pommerening, Tomasz Szymanski, Heidemarie Weber, Sascha Woineck, Rocco Wolfram and Adelheid Zeise.

The memorial service gives them back some of their dignity, explained Thomas Schüppen from the Alt-Katholische Kirche. "We believe that people own their names and that wherever people are buried without names, they are deprived of dignity at the end of their lives," he said.

Schnüppen lead the ceremony together with preachers Georg Maria Schwikart, Gisela Thimm and Esther Runkel. The musical part was provided by the Bad Godesberg Trombone Ensemble under the direction of Michaela Frommelt. Family members are rather rare visitors at the memorial services, Schüppen said. "They are often people who read the names of the deceased in the newspaper, remember them and then come to the service. They are grateful to know that the person has passed away," Schüppen told us. He could not tell much about the 14 names. "Guido Danz, a deceased person who had his name read out here, wrote a prayer that we pray together regularly at the memorial services," he added.

The memorial service is very well respected by the people of Bonn, and often people who knew one of the people's names join in the service," observed ACK chairperson Esther Runkel. "Our most important concern for all churches is to respect people in their dignity. That people understand and see that we are all loved by God," said the chairperson.

A visitor who does not want to see her name in the newspaper has been coming to the service for the "unremembered" for years. On Saturday, the 81-year-old had sat in the last row and listened devoutly to the trombone playing. "One must also pay homage to the homeless," the Bonn resident said, explaining her concern.

The costs for the burials of the deceased without relatives are borne by the city of Bonn. Where exactly the deceased find their final resting place is not known. "We in the City of Bonn think it is very important that those buried anonymously are honoured," said Mayor Gaby Meyer, who attended the memorial service. "I am very grateful to the churches for making the ceremony possible here. It's just beautiful," Meyer added.

The next ecumenical memorial service "for the unremembered" will be held on Saturday, 12 November, at 12 noon at the Namen Jesu Church.

(Original text: Niklas Schröder)

(Translation: Jean Lennox)

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