News in Brief for the Weekend

Unknown persons throw benches into Beuel skate park

A group of youths or young adults have caused considerable damage to the concrete structures of the skate park in Beuel's Rheinaue on Landgrabenweg. As Sascha Heinz, chairman of the operating association Subculture Bonn, reported to the GA, a sizable and mixed group of young people had apparently already partied with plenty of alcohol in the late hours of Friday evening. Between 10 p.m. and 11.30 p.m., some of them climbed over the fence of the closed facility and pushed three massive benches into one of the bowls. Various bottles were broken outside the park. This is what the footage from an internal surveillance camera showed. The damage was discovered the next day at noon when the facility was opened.

As a result of the incident, the concrete surface of the skate park was damaged in several places and must now be painstakingly repaired. The three benches were also broken. Heinz, the association's chairman, estimates the damage to be several thousand euros and would appreciate donations to cover the cost of repairs. He has already filed a criminal complaint. The police press office has confirmed to the General Anzeiger that they have received the complaint and are asking anyone who has any relevant information to call them using the central telephone number 0228/150.

The so-called backyard pool and the flowbowl, in simple terms two large concrete bowls, had been opened only in May last year with the second construction phase of the skate park. The city's sports and baths department had invested around 350,000 euros in the project. The association contributed 30,000 euros to the project through donations, contributions and work. This makes the damage all the more painful. That is why Heinz does not suspect the perpetrators to be among the association's members. "I think you've suddenly made a whole lot of new friends," he says on Facebook, and says to the perpetrators: "God, you're so dumb."

The skate park is regularly open every day from 12 to 8 p.m. The minimum age is eight years. Helmets are compulsory up to the age of 16. On Fridays, club members can use the facility exclusively from 6 to 10 p.m. In Bonn, the Subculture association also takes care of the halfpipe in the Rheinaue directly south of the sewage plant and organises courses for beginners and advanced riders.

Original text: Martin Wein

Hit-and-run suspect caught naked

Police have arrested a suspect following a series of hit-and-run accidents in the Cologne city area and on the 59 motorway. When passers-by found him, he was allegedly naked.

Preliminary findings indicate that on Saturday morning, a driver overtook vehicles on the left and right of the A59 motorway at excessive speed and then hit another car, according to police. The force of the impact caused this car to crash into another vehicle, the driver of which suffered serious injuries. The alleged offender is said to have fled the scene of the accident on foot. Two passers-by then confronted him in an industrial zone. He was reportedly unclothed. Police are investigating a possible connection with other hit-and-run accidents that occurred in the city area.

Police said they arrested the man, who was slightly injured, and took a blood sample on suspicion of substance abuse. A helicopter was deployed to search for possible other passengers in the suspect's car. No further arrests were made.

Children swelter at 30 degrees in the kindergarten

Trouble continues to brew over the "Swimmy" day-care centre in Lessenich almost two years after it opened. First, building defects delayed the move-in, now the ventilation system is causing trouble. On hot days, the rooms heat up to 30 degrees. "We therefore cannot rule out the possibility that we will have to adjust the daycare hours on these days to protect both children and staff," says Kurt Dauben of the Kleiner Muck association, which runs the daycare centre, renting it from the city of Bonn.

Building problems before the opening

Actually, the "Swimmy" daycare centre was supposed to open in 2018. But then the Bonn Youth Welfare Office discovered serious construction defects. It finally went into operation on 1 March 2020. "All known construction defects were largely eliminated," says Dauben. The only exception was the deficient heating and ventilation system. This had been known about from the beginning and had often been the subject of complaint by the Kleiner Muck as a tenant.

Especially in the upper rooms, where children over the age of three are cared for, the temperatures rise sharply in the summer. According to Dauben, the problem is not least due to the building design, which does not comply with the so-called Bonn Model that was introduced in 2016 and according to which all new daycare centres are supposed to be built. The many glass surfaces make the centre bright and friendly. " But despite the external blinds, the glass surfaces heat up the rooms a lot when the sun is bright," says Dauben. In addition, there are not yet enough large trees in the vicinity to provide shade.

Fans and drinks in the heat

The association's hands are tied. "As the owner and landlord, the city of Bonn is responsible for taking care of defects that are due to faulty construction planning or execution," Dauben explains. Until then, he wants to do everything possible to protect children and staff. However, the short-term measures are literally just a drop in the ocean. For example, there are enough drinks, and in some cases cooler rooms on the lower level can be used. "We have purchased fans with water cooling for all rooms," he says. The disadvantage: high electricity costs.

City faces legal problems

The city is confronted with legal problems. Because the day-care centre was built by an investor, there is no direct contractual relationship with the company that installed the ventilation system, explains Lea Hoffmann from the press office. "The city can only ask the investor to improve the situation, which has already happened in the past without success." That is why an expert has now been commissioned. The deficiencies in the ventilation system would be remedied by the city and the investor would be invoiced.

Ventilation and sun protection instead of air conditioning

Hoffmann points out, however, that a ventilation system is not an air-conditioning system. "For environmental reasons, we only actively cool rooms in exceptional cases, for example when it’s necessary for technical or health requirements." For those facilities where it gets too hot, the city recommends providing cooling through ventilation or sun shades.

The city has continued to purchase water hoses and lawn sprinklers, he said. "The day-care centres are also allowed to purchase fans from our budget," says Hoffmann.

Technically, ventilation systems could be equipped with heat recovery and gentle cooling. In addition, geothermal heat exchangers or water heat pumps are to be used. On Saturday there was an on-site meeting with the city and Kleiner Muck to discuss these technical solutions.

Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach