Janauary 2022 | Page 20

See Jottings on page 22
News
Nerja fire
Two apartment blocks overlooking Nerja ’ s Enrique López Cuenca Sport Stadium were evacuated on December 2 after fire broke out on a 2,000 square metre area of dry vegetation between them . The spectacular blaze created smoke which invaded the properties and could be seen across the town . There were no injuries and the flames were extinguished within two hours .
Water order
The regional government last month ordered 650 homes in Nerja to be connected to the municipal water supply . The decision includes properties in the Fuente del Baden area which have been supplied privately since 1979 . The Community Association argued strongly for the existing arrangement to continue but , as from January 1 , the water it owns is used for agricultural purposes .
Appeal lost
A retired Guardia Civil officer from Periana has lost his appeal against a 30- month sentence imposed last year after he was found guilty of the sexual abuse of a ten-year-old girl . The offences occurred between 2010 and 2011 , but did not come to light until 2016 when the victim told her mother what had happened . The officer had appealed against decisions handed down by both the Provinical Court in 2020 and the Superior Court of Andalucía last year .

The Axarquía ’ s dry winter

The new hydrological year began on October 1 and is becoming the worst in the Axarquía since 1994 when the last major significant drought occurred in the province of Málaga . Water from the Limonero reservoir , north of Málaga , began arriving in the area last month .
In mid-December , the reservoir at La Viñuela was 17.25 per cent full and was holding 28.54 cubic hectometres of water , compared with the 43.47 cubic hectometres in storage 12 months earlier . Only 5.9 millimetres of rain water had been collected there since October 1 .
Earlier last month , the city of Málaga began supplying water to the Viñuela reservoir . Three cubic hectometres was sent from the Limonero reservoir ,
Richard Thorne 1940-2021
Richard passed away peacefully at his home in England on December 6 . He was 81 years old and leaves his beloved wife Wendy , his three children Max , Claire and Julia , and his seven loving grandchildren .
Diana Carter writes : Richard and Wendy Thorne moved from Henley-on-Thames and settled in Nerja in the 1990s . They joined the Costa Animal Society ( CAS ) and , after a short time , Wendy became President of the charity while Richard became Treasurer . They continued to do a fantastic job together for many years .
Richard organised dances , outings , quizzes and other money-raising events , while overseeing the finances . He also managed to get a lot of financial help from local businesses in the area .

Obituary

immediately north of the city , via the pipe which connects the two . In the first quarter of this year , a similar amount is expected to be supplied from the Chillar river following extensive work in the Nerja area . These six hectometres are expected to be enough to see the Axarquía through the first months of 2022 , even if there is scarce on no rainfall .
The Junta de Andalucía last month decreed “ exceptional drought ” for the Viñuela – Axarquía area , and stated that the reservoir was in “ emergency due to serious scarcity .” The State Meteorological Agency ( AEMET ) says the province of Málaga is the area of Spain where drought is increasing most , and has assessed it as lying between “ dry ” and “ extremely dry ” on its measurement system .

See Jottings on page 22

Both Richard and Wendy were the main forces of CAS for many years and we were all very sad when they retired from the Society . Now , it is with great sadness that we hear of Richard ’ s demise and would like to offer our condolences to Wendy and all the family .
18