The Port of Hamburg is gearing up for its 836th anniversary celebrations from May 9 to 11 2025 with all kinds of tall ships and cargo vessels and a colourful festival on land Various fun events will be held from the St Pauli Landing Bridges and the Altona Fish Auction Hall to Überseeboulevard and the Övelgönne Museum Harbour Events begin on May 9 with an ecumenical service in St Michaelis church followed by a parade of cruise ships Fans can look forward to motor and sailing yacht shows as well as a water ski show featuring pirates and mermaids Other traditional highlights include the fireworks and Saturday’s tugboat ballet when the vessels literally “dance” to classical music and maritime tunes This will be followed by the rolling home of the traditional ships in the Övelgönne Museum Harbour  Events will climax on Sunday when the departing ships parade through the port between the Pauli Landungsbrücken and Teufelsbrück.  Historic ships can be viewed in the Övelgönne Museum Harbour in the traditional ship harbour or on the other side of the Elbe in the German Harbour Museum.  This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The Schockemöhle bred licensed stallion Vivaldon will continue as a junior rider's horse in sport The German pony rider Carla Thees-Ovelgönne has taken over the ride Vivaldon is a 7-year old Oldenburg stallion by Vivaldi out of Loxandra (by Diamond Hit x Argentinus x Larinero) The stallion was first named Vilando and sold in the 2017 PSI Online Colt Auction for 56,000 euro even though no new owner was recorded nor named Vivaldon was first licensed as a premium stallion at the Mecklenburger Licensing in Redefin in November 2017 and approved for Oldenburg in a home licensing on 8 January 2021. He was also licensed for Danish warmblood at a home licensing in March 2021 Vivaldon moved to Sweden to the Flyinge stud with whom Paul Schockemöhle had a collaboration At the 2018 Swedish Warmblood Stallion Performance Testing Isabel Freese picked up the training of the stallion A half ownership share sold to Danish Lone Boegh Henriksen Freese only competed Vivaldon once in 2022 in Ankum at the end of September German pony rider Carla Thees-Ovelgönne has now taken over the reins of Vivaldon  Thees-Ovelgönne has been competing at national FEI pony level with Harrison (by Henry x Balthasar) and Ekras van Tastique (by Valerossi x Llanarth Mostyn Triton) "I am so in love with him," a thrilled Carla told Eurodressage Photo © Jessica Stammer Stalls for Rent at Durondeau Dressage in Peer, Belgium Exceptionally Well Located Equestrian Facility in Wellington, Florida Well-built Equestrian Estate With Multiple Business Opportunities in Sweden Stable Units for Rent at Lotje Schoots' Equestrian Center in Houten (NED) For Rent: Several Apartments and Stable Wing at High-End Equestrian Facility Stable Wing Available at Reiterhof Wensing on Dutch/German border Real Estate: Well-Appointed Country House with Extensive Equestrian Facility in the U.K. Rémi Blot Jason Holloway enjoyed fishing and spent what free time he had -- which wasn't much -- angling It was a passion he shared with his wife and his daughter On Thursday, Ovelgonne launched a GoFundMe campaign with a $15,000 goal to help her cousin's wife and 3-year-old daughter father and role model in what prosecutors have described as a random shooting "Jason is survived by his loving wife Amanda and their daughter JoLeigh age 3 both in which he loved and adored," wrote Ovelgonne on the GoFundMe.com webpage "Amanda and JoLeigh will have to endure some major life changes and unexpected expenses I am raising money to assist with some of their future expenses that lie ahead of them." "Our fathers were twin brothers and we were a year apart," she said.  Ovelgonne described her cousin as a loving husband and an exceptional "Jason worked 60 hours a week as a welder to support his family," she said "Jason devoted what time he had off to taking care of his wife and daughter." Holloway was loading his groceries in his car when he was gunned down on Nov 8 by the man who parked next to him at the Market Street parking lot near the intersection of 19th Street and Quaker Avenue.  "My cousin Jason was just buying groceries for his family -- something he routinely did every Sunday morning," Ovelgonne said "It will never make sense to any of us why this happened." Ovelgonne said her family is still reeling nearly a month later "It has been hard to process this senseless act of violence," she said "You try to wrap your head around it but can't because it will never make sense What happened to my cousin and family - I don't wish upon anyone Lubbock police arrested 34-year-old Robert Baker in connection with Holloway's slaying.  Baker reportedly admitted to detectives to shooting Holloway He also reportedly admitted to shooting at the nearby United Express convenience store than at his own vehicle when he drove to Covenant Medical Center.  Baker was initially arrested on a warrant for murder that recommended a $350,000 bond.  Baker's $500,000 bond was reduced on Tuesday to $15,000 after a virtual hearing the day before in the 137th District Court.  Lubbock District Court Judge John McClendon heard from Baker's family who requested his bond be reduced to a reasonable amount so they could place him in a mental health facility in the hopes of understanding what caused the deadly shooting Conditions of his bond include wearing a GPS monitor and taking random drug and alcohol tests He is also ordered to live in Tahoka with his older brother who has promised to watch over his brother 24-7 Baker is ordered to remain at the residence except to visit his doctor or attorney the German association of materials management purchasing and logistics (Bundesverband Materialwirtschaft (BME)) awards the Hans Ovelgönne prize (endowed with 7.000 EUR) to a young and ambitious researcher for an outstanding dissertation applicants must have completed an exceptional PhD thesis being innovative theoretically informed as well as practically relevant Vos focuses on the potential of a buyer’s preferred customer status to mitigate the negative effects of buyer dependency the influence of a buyer’s power usage on supplier satisfaction and perception differences in buyer-supplier relationships partial least squares point predictions and polynomial regressions with response surface modeling) together with a dyadic perspective to preferred customer research These methods also inform other scholars in social sciences how to assess the predictive abilities of models reveal curvilinear interaction effects and discover asymmetric relationships between factors which would have not been discovered with traditional methods The winner of the 2019 BME Hans Ovelgönne prize will be announced during the award ceremony which will take place on  26thof March 2019 in Mannheim (Germany) Vos is assistant professor at the department of Technology Management and Supply at the University of Twente public procurement consultant at the Public Procurement Research Centre (PPRC) and owner of the serious game company suPlay B.V. Frederik holds a Master in Business Administration (with highest distinction) as well as a Master in Organizational Psychology and a Master of Corporate Communication of the University of Twente he defended his PhD thesis with the title “preferred customer status supplier satisfaction and their contingencies” His areas of expertise include public procurement serious gaming and quantitative data analysis More information about the author: https://people.utwente.nl/f.g.s.vos © 2025 SFASU 1936 North St., Nacogdoches TX 75962 Your essential companion on the #EU2024 campaign trail Send ideas here | Tweet @EddyWax | View in your browser A quiet week in the EU capital exploded into life after European authorities blew the lid on a vast Russian interference scheme operating at the heart of the EU Parliament.  RUSSIA-GATE HITS THE PARLIAMENT: Here we go again? Hot(ish) on the heels of Qatargate and the EU Parliament is again facing a major scandal Czech and Belgian authorities busted a major influence network they said was spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda in Europe, and said that European politicians including MEPs have been paid for involvement. We have the full news story here. “One of the goals of the disseminated propaganda was the attempt to influence the elections to the European Parliament,” the Czech secret services announced on their website more like: Czech authorities sanctioned a media outlet called Voice of Europe But its YouTube channel is still up and it features interviews and panel discussions with some 13 MEPs from the European People’s Party One video was posted as recently as eight days ago Google spokesperson Karl Ryan said the platform was “investigating the channel and will take appropriate action if the channel violates our policies.” There is no evidence that these MEPs have been paid; all we know from Czech media who spoke to intelligence sources is that politicians from Germany Belgian PM Alexander De Croo said Thursday that the politicians taking payments included MEPs The videos hit familiar Kremlin talking points: MEPs argue against letting Ukraine join the EU urge Ukraine to hold peace talks with Russia and say there is too much focus on the war in Ukraine Many videos appear to have been filmed inside the European Parliament in Strasbourg and Brussels Marcel De Graaff, a Dutch MEP from the far-right Forum for Democracy party who appears in several of the videos, has rejected allegations of receiving payments for his engagement with Voice of Europe.  Letter to the boss: Parliament President Roberta Metsola was sent this letter by some 50 MEPs warning about De Graaff’s Kremlin-friendly speech in the Parliament just two weeks ago “The European Parliament cannot continue serving as a platform for the Kremlin’s propaganda,” the MEPs wrote adding: “We look forward to your prompt action in addressing this issue.” No reply has since come.  A Metsola spokesperson said: “The President is aware of the allegations being made and the Parliament is looking into the specific allegations.” “We never were offered money and we never received money,” said an assistant to Alternative for Germany MEP Maximilian Krah including ones filmed inside the European Parliament and at Voice of Europe’s headquarters in Prague Danish MEP Anders Vistisen also said he was not offered money ‘Urgent debate’ requested: Renew’s President Valérie Hayer — who is also French President Emmanuel Macron’s top candidate for the election — called for an “urgent debate” in the European Parliament in a letter to Metsola that you can read here. This debate should take place at the next plenary “If sitting MEPs or candidates in the upcoming European elections have taken money from or been corrupted by the Russian Government or their proxies Dutch Green MEP Bas Eickhout also called for an investigation into candidates standing for the European election “The European elections are in 10 weeks’ time We need to be sure that none of the candidates for these elections are being paid by Russians,” he said in a statement.  **POLITICO Pro Energie & Climat France décode le futur vert en France en temps réel. Notre service d’information composé d’infolettres, alertes, et bien plus, est votre sésame pour accéder aux coulisses des débats sur l’énergie et le climat en France. Demandez votre essai gratuit de notre infolettre.** an impoverished Roma neighborhood on the outskirts of Slovakia’s second-largest city Jozef Fratel is not planning to vote in the upcoming European election because the European Union has changed absolutely nothing in his life In this faraway corner of eastern Slovakia — a 90-minute drive from the Ukrainian border, in one of the EU’s poorest regions — life is far removed from the intricacies of Brussels politics EU elections draw significantly fewer people to the polls than national elections (see By The Numbers which has consistently been worst-in-class since it joined the EU in 2004 with the lowest turnout in the bloc at every European Parliament election Only 137 out of 4,419 registered voters in Luník IX took part in the 2019 EU election — a 3.1 percent turnout I vote’: Maria Horváthová lives in a three-bedroom apartment in Luník IX which she shares with her six children and four other adults. Horváthová doesn’t “know anything” about the EU but “as a normal citizen with many respondents citing discrimination and low education levels a sitting member of the European Parliament from the conservative anti-establishment OĽaNO party Turnout is fairly low in every election — except in local municipal elections where Luník IX residents elect their own mayor which is all the more important given the borough is mostly self-governing Many people who are still registered to vote in Luník IX have moved abroad But that’s not enough to explain why so few people make it to the polls for EU elections “Changes there might be important for your children,” Šaňa said the MEP who will be running for reelection in June that could be done by attracting more EU money to Luník IX “I am convinced that this [would] motivate even poor Roma to come to the polls,” Pollák said criticizing local authorities in Košice for having “no political will to improve the situation in those poor communities.” TURNOUT PROBLEM CHILD: Slovakia is the biggest headache for policymakers trying to get more citizens to participate in the EU election The country has consistently recorded the lowest turnout in the EU since holding its first vote in 2004 Sad trombone noises: Participation exceeded 20 percent for the first time in 2019 … but was still less than half of the EU average As many as 15 of the 19 registered voters in this idyllic hamlet on the Polish border cast their ballot in 2019 of Jurské’s 777 registered voters showed up on election day Not just an EU problem: Participation in the national election has also dropped significantly since the 1990s — so much so that former prime minister and leader of the Ordinary People (OL’aNO) party Igor Matovič suggested a €500 participation reward to boost turnout in the 2023 general election The bill drew fierce criticism from other parties who accused Matovič of attempting to bribe the electorate REASONS FOR STAYING HOME: Unsurprisingly disillusionment and a lack of interest in politics are cited as the top reasons for abstention according to a post-election Eurobarometer poll from 2019 Conflicting holiday plans and work commitments also ranked pretty high on the list DISSECTING THE ELECTORATE: EU election turnout in Slovakia tends to be quite low across the board but some groups tend to engage more than others Who doesn’t: Only one in 10 Slovaks under 25 voted in the last EU election Turnout was also low amongst people with a lower level of education and those who believe their voice doesn’t count in the EU associate professor of political science at the Catholic University of Lille reflected on the unforeseen consequences of a potential increase in turnout in the June election “Given the socio-economic characteristics of those who abstain this may largely be at the advantage of radical right political forces,” she said The party claims to stand for “human rights” which is basically double-speak for being pro-Kremlin JOCKEYING FOR POSITION: Fine Gael MEP Colm Markey was bumped off the ticket in the Midlands North West constituency by Nina Carberry a former jockey who won Irish TV reality show “Dancing with the Stars” in 2022 Carberry and Maria Walsh will be the candidates for the EPP in that constituency MEP ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ABUSE TO RUN: Greek MEP Alexis Georgoulis who was removed from the Left parliamentary group and Syriza party after being involved in an investigation into alleged sexual abuse Georgoulis announced he will run for the party Green Movement my top colleague Nektaria Stamouli reports OLYMPIC HOPEFULS: Two of the candidates on the list of Greece’s EPP party New Democracy are former Olympic champions: Pyrros Dimas in weightlifting JOIN LIST IN ITALY: Small Italian parties such as Italia Viva — run by former PM Matteo Renzi — and Emma Bonino’s Più Europa, and Volt will run on a joint list called United States of Europe.  WAVE GOODBYE TO THESE MEPs: My fellow reporters in the newsroom have been hitting the phones to ask all 705 MEPs if they are running again Here are the latest MEPs who’ve told us they are stepping down GÖNNE TOMORROW: Jan Ovelgönne was until recently a parliamentary assistant to German Green MEP Rasmus Andresen But he suddenly became an MEP in the wake of Malte Gallee’s resignation amid a sexual harassment scandal Ovelgönne said he will return to being an accredited parliamentary assistant in June but added in an email: “Maybe my perspective changes for the 2029 elections after my experience in the coming weeks?!”  FOUR PORTUGUESE MEPS BECOME MINISTERS: You can also wave goodbye to these four Portuguese MEPs. who will become ministers in Portugal’s new government, my colleague Aitor Hernández-Morales reports CRETU QUITS POLITICS: Former Romanian EU Commissioner Corina Crețu is quitting politics Crețu had already said she would step down as an MEP after her PRO Romania party flirted with an alliance with the far-right populist AUR “It is time for others to defend the European Project,” she wrote in an email.  A well-placed source told me that three of Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz MEPs won’t be on his soon-to-be-revealed list of candidates: Balázs Hidvéghi Edina Tóth and Andrea Bocskor.  Fidesz’s list is done and will be officially presented next week might run on a new joint list with a social democrat **It’s election year – and we’ve done our homework so you can get the most out of it. POLITICO’s Media Solutions team has cracked the code on brand policy communications during a pivotal year for global democracies. Spoiler alert: our informed audience tells us brands are needed more than ever in shaping post-election policy. Read more here.** POLITICO’s Leyla Aksu and Paul Dallison have made another playlist of songs to get you in the mood for the election. This week’s has some top tunes from Slovakia. Here it is MEP trivia:  Can you name any of the former prime ministers running for a seat in the European Parliament from across the EU? Answers via email please Last week I asked you to tell me who are the oldest and youngest current MEPs are The correct answer was Denmark’s Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (age 26) and Poland’s former Parliament president Jerzy Buzek (age 83).  Congratulations to Luc Aboubadra from Milltown Partners for being the first to get this right Honorable mentions to BCW’s Bernat Graell Artigas and Safran Group’s Clarisse Corruble who sent in the correct answer shortly after Casual reminder: We’re also on WhatsApp! Follow our account here to stay up to date on the latest European election news in between Playbook editions Last word: “We can’t afford to be one step behind Putin and his propaganda army on a chess board … We have to constantly bear in mind he will use the disinformation and foreign interference as a weapon to divide Europe,” Commission Vice President Věra Jourová on the Russia influence allegations Current election excitement level: Russia’s interested X Can we help you find what you’re looking for Austin State University’s timbersports team is inexorably linked to the university’s forestry program While the university mascot may be the Lumberjack — homage to the region’s rich natural resources and forest-based economy — the Forestry Building may be the only location on campus where one might see a student wielding a chainsaw adopted its constitution and was recognized by the university on Dec the same year the SFA Department of Forestry was established the team made its mark in history as one of eight participating schools in the inaugural Association of Southern Forestry Clubs-sponsored Southern Forestry Conclave the Southern Forestry Conclave has grown to include 15 schools from across the southeastern U.S the SFA Sylvans compete in both physical and technical events against often-larger universities such as Auburn University the University of Georgia and Virginia Tech the SFA Sylvans have consistently risen to the occasion assistant professor of forestry at SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture and Sylvans faculty adviser the Sylvans won first or second place in 29 out of the 31 Southern Forestry Conclaves held from 1986 to 2016 The team hopes to continue this streak as SFA hosts the 60th annual Southern Forestry Conclave held March 17 - 18 Stovall explained that due to the amount of space and logistics required for physical competitions as well as the sheer number of participants the event will be held at the Durango’s Canyon event venue located in Mount Enterprise “The Sylvans student leaders are driving the planning process and will be handling every aspect of hosting the 2017 conclave,” said Stovall “We have a great group of about a dozen students who have been actively involved thus far.” “It just seemed like the Sylvans was the best fit for me,” he said serves as president of the organization and participates in five of the 14 physical events offered While timbersports are characteristically perceived as male-dominated activities Bowman and Ovelgonne won the Jack and Jill crosscut event Bowman and her former women’s crosscut partner “When competing in the 2015 conclave hosted by Mississippi State my women’s crosscut partner and I were less than a second away from breaking the conclave record for the event,” Bowman said Bowman said the team also encourages students from all majors to join “I thought that since I was not a forestry major but I could not have been more wrong,” she said “Everyone is welcome to join Sylvans and encouraged to try any event he or she wants.” In addition to the Southern Forestry Conclave the Sylvans also complete service projects throughout the year they planted more than 20,000 trees during a volunteer reforestation project they often assist community members in completing tree and brush removal and conduct demonstrations during campus events The 2017 Southern Forestry Conclave, sponsored by STIHL, is a free event and open to the public. Events take place from 1 to 5 p.m. on Friday, March 17, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 18. To learn more about the Sylvans, as well as the 60th annual Southern Forestry Conclave, visit www.sfasu.edu/conclave 936.468.3401Email Us1936 North St. Nacogdoches, Texas President Metsola opened the 10-11 April plenary session in Brussels The Agriculture Committee has sent one request for urgent procedure for the following legislative file: Simplification of certain CAP rules The vote on the request will be taken on Thursday the vote will be held at the next part-session The Commission statement on Russia's undemocratic presidential elections and their illegitimate extension to the occupied territories will be wound up with a resolution to be voted on at the next part-session The report by Mr Torvalds on Urban wastewater treatment initially planned for the voting session on Thursday will be put to a vote in today's voting session The Council and Commission statements on New allegations of Russian interference in the European Parliament in the upcoming EU elections and the impact on the Union are added as the first point after today's voting session The debate will be wound up with a resolution to be voted on at the next part-session Council and Commission statements on Ongoing hearings under Article 7(1) TEU regarding Hungary to strengthen Rule of Law and its budgetary implications will be wound up with a resolution The following items are added to the votes on Thursday: Requests by several committees to start negotiations with Council and Commission Decisions by committees to enter into inter-institutional negotiations (Rule 71) are published on the plenary website If no request for a vote in Parliament on the decision to enter into negotiations is made by Thursday 12.00 midnight Information concerning the distribution of votes is available under the section “Priority information” Nun ist es Gewissheit: Ein seit Montag vermisster 39 Jahre alter Mann ist tot Die Hamburger Feuerwehr barg die Leiche am Sonnabend bei Övelgönne aus der Elbe nachdem Passagiere einer Fähre den Körper am Mittag im Wasser gesichtet hatten der am vergangenen Montag in Övelgönne beim Schwimmen untergegangen und seitdem vermisst worden war Eine große Suchaktion am Ufer in Övelgönne nahe des Restaurants "Strandperle" war am späten Montagabend ergebnislos abgebrochen worden der offenbar über keinen Wohnsitz verfügte soll am Montag mit Bekannten am Elbufer unterwegs gewesen sein während sich ein anderer noch ans Ufer retten konnte Ein weiterer Mann soll hinterher gesprungen sein An der anschließenden Suchaktion waren mehrere Feuerwehr- und Polizeiboote Taucher der Deutschen Lebensrettungsgesellschaft (DLRG) sowie Rettungshubschrauber und eine Drohne beteiligt Nach diesem Vorfall warnte die DLRG vor dem Baden in der Elbe Dieses entspreche dem Laufen auf einer Autobahn sagte Nicolas Hopf vom DLRG-Landesverband Hamburg NDR 90,3 Durch Ausbaggerungen und Schiffsverkehr würden in dem Fluss starke Strömungen herrschen Schwimmer und Schwimmerinnen könnten dies leicht unterschätzen Laut Umweltbehörde liegt die Strömungsgeschwindigkeit bei Flut bei 1,2 Metern pro Sekunde Selbst geübte Schwimmerinnen und Schwimmer könnten nicht dagegen ankommen Vor allem an den ausgebaggerten Abbrisskanten in der Elbe sei es sehr gefährlich Dort könnten Menschen durch den starken Sog einfach nach unten gezogen werden Ein generelles Badeverbot gibt es für die Elbe aber nicht denn das Baden fällt unter den im Hamburgischen Wassergesetz festgeschriebenen Gemeingebrauch Konkret heißt das: Öffentliche Gewässer dürfen zum Baden genutzt werden in denen es besonders gefährlich ist - beispielsweise im Fahrbereich von Schiffen