ISSUE NO. 1640
8 - 14 December 2016
COSTA DE ALMERÍA
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Horse returns from the dead By Matthew Elliott Police are investigating a councillor in Almeria accused of throwing a horse down a twometre deep hole and leaving it there with the ditch covered by metal plates. Jose Sanchez Gonzalez, the Town Planning councillor for Rioja, claims he thought 23year-old Lucero was dead and has pledged to cooperate fully with the Guardia Civil in their investigation. Agents from Seprona, the animal protection wing of the Guardia, will determine whether Gonzalez acted maliciously, or if the incident is, as he claims, a terrible misunderstanding. On Sunday, police, firefighters and a vet received an anonymous call to investigate a hole on the councillor’s property. They found Lucero, still alive and healthy, but very dehydrated. Using a crane the firefighters rescued the horse which was able to trot without difficulty. Sanchez claims he found the horse motionless a few days before and assumed he was dead. He contacted a neighbour who dug the hole but admits that, after he pushed Lucero down, the horse began to kick and struggle. Sanchez claims that he desperately tried to call a vet but to no avail.
The councillor said he then threw a blanket over the horse and covered the hole as it was pouring with rain and went to seek help. He claims to have contacted the authorities himself. Determining who, if anyone, the councillor was in communication with will be crucial to the investigation. Sanchez said he is horrified by social media reports suggesting he was trying to kill the horse and said he condemns animal cruelty in all its forms. Lucero is in good health and it seems odd, though not impossible, that he may have been temporarily paralysed.
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Baby blues A BABY which the authorities believe was bought from her mother by a homosexual couple from Vicar remains with a foster family and a judge has requested a DNA test to determine whether one of the two men really is her father. The two men and the mother were arrested by the Guardia Civil and the young baby taken into the custody of the auSee page 4 thorities last month.
Shrinking beach VERAPLAYAZUL residents’ association has spoken out on the state of Vera’s nudist beach and warned that the first line homes are in danger due to erosion.
The beach has reduced in size by 60 per cent over the last 20 years and the situation has worsened following construction of a breakwater. See page 8
MC Mojacar MOJACAR is to be next year’s host for the Association of the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain and the national and international display for the tourism sector, the council has reported. The Most Beautiful Villages in Spain brand is a sign of quality, a prestigious sign of tourism and heritage conservation which has very important repercussions on See page 12 the sector.
Stationary situation AT an extraordinary plenary session at Albox Town Hall last week the council approved a move to request the provincial council takes over running the
fire brigade from the local fire station as quickly as possible. A letter outlined the need for new resources to guarantee an effiSee page 58 cient service.