School kiosk broken into

A kiosk at the Hochtaunusschule in the Bleibiskopfstraße was broken into sometime between Monday, 3rd July and Saturday, 8th July, 2017.

The thieves forced open the cash box and took out around €200.

Police would like anyone with information to call them on 06171 62400.

 

Kiosk petition fails to collect enough signatures for a referendum

A petition to hold a referendum on the future of the kiosk at Oberursel’s main station has failed to collect the required number of signatures.  The kiosk had closed in the middle of December and was removed early in the new year.

The “Bürgerbegehren” required 10% of those living in the town and eligible to vote  to sign with their full name, address and date of birth.  The deadline ran out yesterday: Thursday, 17th January, 2013, when one of the organisers of the petition, Angela Stohrer, submitted the 189 pages to the town hall.  It was 8 weeks to the day since the town council had rejected a motion by Ingmar Schlegel of “die Linke” to stop the kiosk’s closure.

However, many of those who had downloaded the petition from the internet and printed it off had often not filled out all of the columns on the form, especially the date of birth, making their voting status difficult to confirm for the town hall and thus invalid. [Read more…]

Last day for the kiosk – first week for the petition

It was always going to be a sad day at the kiosk next to the U-Bahn station in the Nassauer Straße, with Friday, 14th December, 2012 being the last day of business for the kiosk before it finally closed for good.

With the shelves slowly becoming empty, many of the regular customers had turned up to spend a last evening there with a cup of coffee or a mug of mulled wine.

Much of the conversation going on concerned the future of the kiosk – or lack of it – and in particular the “Bürgerbegehren” that has been started this week.

A “Bürgerbegehren” is a petition to held a referendum on something, and there are strict rules on how to carry one out. [Read more…]

Candles and torches for the Kiosk at the station

The group with torches and candles outside the kiosk.

Around 20 people gathered at the kiosk next to the U-Bahn platform at Oberursel’s main station this evening (Friday, 7th December, 2012), to once again light candles and torches and hold a vigil in protest over the decision to close the kiosk next Friday.

They will gather again as the kiosk closes for the last time at 5.30pm on Friday, 14th December.

Candles for the Kiosk

Candles for the Kiosk - 30th November, 2012

Around 20 people gathered at the kiosk at the U-Bahn station this evening, Friday, 30th November, 2012, to light candles and hold a vigil in protest over the decision to close the kiosk in two weeks time.

They intend to gather again next week at the same time, 5.30pm, and again on 14th December when the kiosk closes for the last time.

Opinion: how not to save the kiosk

The kiosk at the station will close in just over three weeks, ending a 100 year tradition of having a kiosk at that location.  Even a last minute attempt to save it at the town council has failed.

Can anything still be done?  Well, there are plans to hold a vigil at the kiosk every Friday evening until it closes.  And there is still the matter of 1,400 signatures on a petition, but this has yet to be handed in to the town hall.

So when I was invited to a press appointment yesterday with the kiosk’s operator and the mayor (although admittedly not by either of them directly) I expected either to be told something new, such as a new solution for the bus drivers’ problem or a new location for the kiosk, or simply a photo appointment to hand over the petition.

As it turned out, neither was the case.  The appointment between them turned out to be a discussion, a sort of “setting the facts straight” affair.  Worse still, no-one had bothered to inform either the town hall or the mayor that the press had been invited.

In my opinion, that is not the way to deal with either the people in the town hall who you are hoping will help you stop your business closing next month, nor with the local press who you hope will be reporting on it.

I left the meeting to attend another appointment after the first hour, and – regardless of any personal opinion that I may have about the kiosk situation – took a conscious decision not to report on the details of what had been discussed.  As yet, I have not found any articles from the newspaper reporters who were present in their on-line editions either, so maybe they came to the same conclusion as well.

Last bid attempt to save the station kiosk fails

Following an appeal by local bus drivers and engaged members of the public, including discussions on Facebook, a member of the town council representing the party “Die Linke” put forward an urgent motion to extend the lease on the kiosk at the station at the council meeting last Thursday (22nd November, 2012).

The motion received the two-thirds majority that it required to be accepted onto the agenda, with all councillors voting in favour of its addition with the exception of one councillor from the CDU party who voted against it.

But with the town’s budget to be debated first, it was not until three hours later that the councillors actually got round to discussing the motion itself. [Read more…]

Can the bus drivers save the kiosk from closure?

A bus in front of the kiosk at Oberursel's main station

A bus in front of the kiosk at Oberursel’s main station

The workers’ council (“Betriebsrat”) representing local bus drivers handed in a petition containing 100 signatures to the Mayor of Oberursel, Hans-Georg Brum, against the closure of the kiosk at the town’s main station.

The kiosk is due to close in the middle of December as part of the re-development of the station area, leaving the drivers without a public toilet to use on their routes.  The toilets at the station are too far away, either to leave the bus unattended or for the amount of time that the drivers have when they stop here.

The kiosk serves around 300 people every day, many of whom are waiting for buses or the U-Bahn trains, and has itself collected approximately 1,300 signatures.  “How many signatures does it take before the town’s administration takes notice?”, asked Christoph Alles who runs the kiosk with his wife Daniela.

The last sunset over Oberursel’s outdoor swimming pool… for now

Oberursel's outdoor swimming pool as it shut at 7pm on 16th September 2012

These photos were taken during the last hour of the outdoor swimming pool (Freibad) in Oberursel, on Sunday, 16th September, 2012, between 6pm and 7pm.

As the sun set over the trees, the pool slowly emptied, the gate was locked up for the last time and the guests slowly made their way home – some of them with souvenirs from the buildings that are due to be knocked down next week.

The pool is due to re-open for the summer season in 2014.

(Click on any photo to enlarge and start the slide show)

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