Skaters can take to the natural ice in Winterswijk for the first time this winter. The large rink managed by the Winterswijkse IJsvereniging opened at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, NOS reports "It’s absolutely happening," said Henk Te Selle Te Selle and his team of volunteers have worked tirelessly to prepare the ice The preparation process is always unpredictable as the success of ice-making depends on weather conditions we give it our all every evening when there’s an opportunity to make ice It’s always a waiting game to see if it works out." Using a drill, the ice team measured the thickness of the ice at 8 millimeters—sufficient for skating, at least through the morning. "The temperatures this morning won’t rise much, so skating will be possible until the afternoon, at least," Te Selle added. He remains hopeful for extended skating conditions. "With a bit of luck, maybe we’ll have fun on ice all day." This isn’t the first time Winterswijk has led the way for natural ice skating. Last November, skaters also took to the ice thanks to an experimental method by the association that kept the rink’s surface cold enough to form a thin layer of ice, even though the air temperature hadn’t dipped below freezing. Additionally, Winterswijk hosted the first natural ice marathon of last season. The KNSB, the Dutch ice skating association, awarded the event to Winterswijk over Haaksbergen, despite both locations having ice thick enough for the competition. © 2012-2025, NL Times, All rights reserved. Photo: Vincent Jannick ANPSkaters were able to take to natural ice at the Winterswijk outdoor rink close to the German border on Tuesday morning “The ice is perfect,” the rink’s ice master Henk Te Selle told broadcaster NOS “It was a good night and the temperature was right.” According to the AD the Winterswijk ice is now eight centimetres thick warmer air is set to move into the Netherlands later today and cloud will stop the temperature dipping below zero tonight The Netherlands has some 200 ice clubs which go all out to create outdoor ice rinks – often by spraying a concrete track with water – when a spell of frost is predicted We could not provide the Dutch News service without the generous support of our readers Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days We could not provide this service without you Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey Dutch police discovered 300 kilograms of illegal fireworks in a residential neighborhood in Winterswijk on New Year's Eve leading to two arrests and intense local concern has prompted the mayor to consider drastic measures including the closure of the suspects' homes a 22-year-old and a 38-year-old from Winterswijk were arrested and taken to the arrest complex in Borne Authorities confiscated several vehicles in connection with the illegal fireworks which were all transported for further investigation Winterswijk Mayor Joris Bengevoord expressed his shock and anger following the incident "I am deeply shocked by this," he said in a statement "Storing such a large quantity of fireworks in a residential area is unacceptable I will do everything possible to take strong action including exploring the possibility of closing the homes involved." "One can only imagine the potential disaster if a fire had broken out in one of these homes That tragedy has been avoided today," Bengevoord added The investigation into the fireworks' origin and the suspects' intentions continues The fireworks were uncovered during a routine inspection of car-based fireworks displays on Nieuw Beusinkweg early Tuesday morning Police observed professional-grade shells being fired an action prohibited outside of regulated events further checks of nearby vehicles revealed a large stash of illegal fireworks including linked Cobra fireworks known for their destructive power Police sealed off the street in a 100-meter radius for safety as Explosives Safety Teams were called to assist Investigations led to the seizure of fireworks from five cars authorities found the 300 kilograms of dangerous fireworks The mayor’s frustration stems from a similar incident last year when 300 kilograms of fireworks were discovered in a shed in another residential area but they are incredibly dangerous and must not be tolerated," Bengevoord said A police spokesperson noted the seriousness of the find and praised the swift response by officers Authorities have yet to determine what the suspects intended to do with the linked Cobra fireworks but the situation could have escalated quickly Winterswijk is located in the East of the Netherlands and provides space for a total of 28,852 inhabitants Three quarters of the municipal border is shared with Germany One of the greatest cultural attractions of the city is Villa Mondriaan the museum based in the parental house where the world-famous artist Piet Mondriaan has spent his youth Winterswijk has high performances in area of Waste Management and Circular Economy The Dutch city has a very good door-to-door collection system for recyclable and organic waste The collection and treatment system achieves very high recycling rates there is also collection of items for reuse The city has achieved the national target for residual waste reduction The city of Winterswijk has demonstrated that teamwork with citizens can give good results A number of citizen participation and awareness measures have been implemented successfully with the aim to promote waste separation and reducing littering The awareness activities targeted residents The European Green Leaf jury was impressed to see how the city of Winterswijk’s advanced initiatives to drive the ecological transition joint meetings with local stakeholders from business to private that help steer the local energy transition or a revolving fund for citizens to increase the energy efficiency of their homes Winterswijk’s strategy for energy neutrality by 2030 was well-presented and convincing including sustainable investment and financing of initiatives while the renewable energy deployment across the city from 0.9% in 2012 to 12.6% in 2020 is an impressive indicator A wonderful year as a European Green Leaf municipality | A letter from the Mayor of Winterswijk EGLA Technical Assessment Report Award Cycle 2022 Jury Report – Award Cycle 2022 Video of Awards Ceremony Photos from Awards Ceremony Winterswijk 1-Year Report CrownHeights.info presents a new mini-series on Lost Jewish Communities that have vanished over the last few centuries In the first episode we begin the journey in the town of Winterswijk Winterswijk is proudly part of the Achterhoek a cultural region in the eastern Netherlands Its name (meaning “rear-corner”) is geographically appropriate because the area lies in the easternmost part of Gelderland and therefore in the east of the Netherlands Despite holding the record for the coldest temperature in the Netherlands (-47 in 1942) the city’s name is unrelated to winter Winterswijk had a Jewish community since 1700 The Jewish population of Winterswijk grew over the course of the 18th century; an organized Jewish community did not come into existence in the town until the century drew to a close The community was officially recognized in 1800 During the early years of Jewish life in Winterswijk religious services were held in synagogues in private homes at various locations in the town an actual synagogue building was consecrated in the Jodensteeg (Jews’ Alley) The Jodensteeg synagogue remained in service until 1889 when it was converted to house Winterswijk’s Jewish school following the consecration of a new synagogue in the Spoorstraat Although the Jewish community in Winterswijk suffered severely during the Second World War community life was re-established in 1951 with the re-inauguration of the synagogue present in this small town the community numbered no more than 30 people Winterswijk was home to a Dutch resistance member code named Tante Riek who helped hide Jews and allied airmen shot down over the Netherlands She was sadly betrayed and died in a Nazi concentration camp though she is remembered near a Jewish memorial in front of the town hall a military vehicle on a low-loader hit a cable that was connected to a structure supporting sound and lighting equipment The impact caused the structure to collapse dispatching multiple ambulances and a trauma helicopter to provide medical assistance The injured individuals were taken to the hospital though officials have not specified the severity of their injuries confirmed to de Gelderlander that the victims were not in life-threatening condition He expressed gratitude to bystanders who immediately provided first aid “I am thankful to everyone who stepped in to help,” Bengevoord said authorities cordoned off the area as investigators examined how the incident occurred Images from the scene showed the damaged vehicle and the fallen sound system the reenactment had been intended as the highlight of the weekend’s celebrations The event had started on Saturday with a youth-focused liberation festival at a cultural center leading up to Sunday’s large-scale commemoration SHEBOYGAN - On an evening walk around Christmas 2020, Joske Meerdink stopped at a large monument in a cemetery in her hometown of Winterswijk, in the Netherlands, and began to read the story of the Phoenix She walked home and Googled the story for about four hours straight “I was immediately captivated by the story,” she said Meerdink set to work on a year-long podcast about the sinking of the steamship and teamed up with Dutch filmmaker Diny van Hoften The Phoenix was carrying more than 225 passengers a majority of whom were Dutch immigrants headed for Sheboygan when it burned to the water line on the early morning of Nov according to the monument on Sheboygan's North Point The disaster killed all but about 45 people on board — becoming one of the deadliest shipwrecks on Lake Michigan said Sheboygan Falls genealogist and historian Mary Risseeuw Meerdink and van Hoften visited Sheboygan in late July to interview people of Dutch descent in Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties including descendants of people who survived the sinking of the Phoenix Meerdink and van Hoften’s podcast and documentary will not only tell the story of migration from the Netherlands in the mid-1800s personal stories of passengers on the Phoenix and accounts of the ship's sinking but explore connections among descendants of survivors After beginning her work on the podcast — with the help of Risseeuw an expert in 19th- and 20th-century Dutch immigration to the Midwest — Meerdink discovered she is related to six of the 10 survivors from her hometown in the Netherlands “So my podcast is also about my search for family members who are still alive,” Meerdink said standing at Sheboygan’s North Pier in late July “I’m talking to them this week.” Van Hoften does not have a personal connection to the story but has long been interested in Dutch migration “Stories about immigration to the U.S fascinate me because I can’t imagine doing it — leaving all your family behind,” van Hoften said “Most people didn’t choose a better life for them “What’s fascinating about the Phoenix is people were wanting to give their children a better life so it’s a really tragic story.” One factor driving Dutch emigration in the late 1840s was a potato famine in the country Crop failures were making it incredibly difficult for farmers to make a living after a split in the Dutch Reformed Church called the Secession of 1835 also drove people to immigrate to the U.S. “The immigrants who came specifically to Wisconsin did not come with a minister in the same way they did to Michigan and Iowa but for many of them (a reason for immigrating) was religious freedom as well,” she said Colonists organized Sheboygan County around 1838 and the county grew rapidly in the 1840s, from 133 white settlers in 1840 to more than 1,600 by 1844. The first group of Dutch settlers arrived in the county in 1846, according to a 1920 clipping of the Sheboygan Press More: Cedar Grove Holland Festival honors Dutch culture with events this weekend. More: Sheboygan native Tim Jacob was part of the expedition that found Ernest Shackleton’s sunken ship, the Endurance, off Antarctica. People have kept the story of the Phoenix alive for 175 years and counting around the 150th commemoration of the Phoenix’s sinking a Dutch TV station made a six-part documentary about the disaster The documentary and podcast now being created for the 175th anniversary of the sinking of the ship are significant because they show a new effort is being made to keep the story alive younger generation that potentially hasn’t heard the story will now know it and hopefully there will be new people to carry it on,” she said Some younger people in Sheboygan said they only knew about the Phoenix because of the monument on North Point ‘That’s the same way I know the story also “The challenging thing is to spread the story to a new generation so it didn’t get lost.” Some people wonder why it is necessary to keep telling the story Risseeuw’s response is there are a lot of people out there some of whom may not have even been born 25 years ago who may not know the story of the Phoenix is part of their own history Risseeuw lectures periodically about the ship and has heard from people that only recently found that they were descendants of survivors from its sinking “They’re beside themselves that they are part of that story,” she said “And they get to find out more information about it.” The name of the Phoenix is interesting considering its end “We end up putting our own spin on it,” Risseeuw said One way to look at the name and its relationship to the story is the people who rose out of the ashes of that burning ship and lived were able to create lives in Sheboygan County.” “I sit with a smile from ear to ear after enjoying a trip to Sheboygan Wisconsin USA,” Meerdink recently posted on Facebook The first episode of the podcast and documentary will both be released around Nov. 21 through Omroep Gelderland the provincial broadcast station where Meerdink and van Hoften work Reach Maya Hilty at 920-400-7485 or MHilty@sheboygan.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @maya_hilty Door de grote belangstelling voor het CABR is onze studiezaal vaak volgeboekt. Kunt u geen archiefstuk reserveren? Bekijk dan onze pagina over de aangepaste dienstverlening journalist Joske Meerdink decided to turn right and go across the local graveyard It lead to an unexpected find that sets off a voyage of discovery As she pieced together the story of a group of nineteenth-century Dutch migrants from the village of Winterswijk in the east of the Netherlands to Sheboygan in Wisconsin she discovered personal connections previously unknown to her I love to make evening walks in the town of Winterswijk The Dutch habit of keeping curtains open makes strolls resemble visits to a museum with the windows framing paintings that offer ever-changing views I decide to walk across the graveyard this time I immediately spot a brightly lit memorial: two bollards holding up a colorful plaque it immediately becomes clear to me that the passengers—people from my own town—must have gone through hell But the question that really strikes is: why didn’t I know this The memorial succinctly explains what happened on a cold night on Lake Michigan in late 1847 had left their home village and travelled almost five thousand miles to the shores of Wisconsin of which ten belonged to the Winterswijk group The memorial includes all the names of the passengers I recognize many of the family names and begin to wonder whether members of my own family were among them But other questions pop into my head too: why did so many people from Winterswijk go to America What exactly happened during that fateful night And has the wreck of the Phoenix ever been found Searching the internet for information about the tragedy takes me well beyond midnight The story has taken hold of me and it won’t let go A year later the chief editor of Omroep Gelderland (Gelderland Broadcasting) asks me if I have ideas for a new podcast series I quickly draft a proposal and I am off on an historical adventure of several months chasing the answers to questions that have been running through my mind from the moment I clapped eyes on the Phoenix memorial Many have a home loom or are wheelwrights—building wooden wheels—to add to the family income It is a hardscrabble life and many long for better prospects no less than 318 people left Winterswijk to seek their fortune in America As Winterswijk had only about 7,000 people Some parts of the town were almost depopulated Winterswijk contributed one third of all Dutch migrants to the U.S people from other parts of the Netherlands left for America too Many motives coalesced in the process of pondering A number of Winterswijk farmers were tenants tilling the soil that was owned by large landowners who retained semi-feudal rights well into the nineteenth century A tenant farmer had few opportunities to acquire land of his own and if he had multiple sons With the population increasing continuously and harvests failing at times bad economic circumstances had already stimulated emigration The stories about the land of unlimited possibilities spread across the border and rolled into the eastern parts of the Netherlands like an unstoppable wave of good tidings Friends and family members who had already made the trip tried to persuade those who had stayed to follow Jan Albert Beukenhorst from Winterswijk was one of them We do not consider it less healthy than in Gelderland and it is the best in the whole of America A farm laborer can earn more here than with you Those of low descent here are equal to the wealthy one does not need to doff one’s cap to anyone so that you can live well in your remaining days For the people who ended up on the Phoenix In the early nineteenth century most people in Winterswijk attended the Dutch Reformed Church but for some it was becoming too lax and too liberal Dissenting believers organised meetings of their own dissatisfied believers in many places in the Netherlands began to split off from the established reformed church A group of secessionists built a church of their own but that did not stop the continuous persecution by the former co-religionists The idea of creating communities of their own in the United States slowly began to take root the group of Winterswijk secessionist decided in favor of group migration along the lines of similar plans promoted by ministers such as Anthony Brummelkamp van Raalte (who later founded Holland in Michigan) The Winterswijk group set their eyes upon Sheboygan in Wisconsin an area where a number of German migrants had already settled The favorable conditions for faming were largely similar to those in their own area after selling the crops gathered at the last harvest to fund their journey Not all were able to pay for their own passage wealthier members subsidized those less well off The migrants on the Phoenix did not just originate from Winterswijk All had taken a step that they must have contemplated for a long time life-changing decision to emigrate in the nineteenth century: what is the right time to leave as many had never journeyed beyond the next village They had never heard a foreign language and had no idea what awaited them except for the information contained in letters sent by relatives who had preceded them Dozen of horses and carriages fill the market square around the Jacobskerk in Winterswijk on Saturday take their leave from friends and acquaintances three sons and three daughters—had lived in Kotten The family load all their belongings on the carriage keeps a close eye on a young man of another family engaged in the same activity and decided to emigrate with his widowed mother his half-brother with his wife and children Hanna Gesiena and brother Jan Hendrik Reuselink had departed earlier in 1847 It was hard to say goodbye as the journey was not without perils Jan Hendrik gave his brother Harmen Jan a book of psalms a present that he himself had received fifteen years previously or perhaps in the expectation of a reunion Harmen Jan’s hand reaches into his duffle bag and he touches the psalm book of his brother that accompanies him as he begins his journey It may provide him with protection against God knows what The carriages took the departing families from Winterswijk to Arnhem where they boarded a river boat to Rotterdam From Rotterdam they went to Hellevoetsluis to board the sailing ship France which had arrived from Baltimore with a cargo of tobacco for Rotterdam The passenger accommodation on the ship was rather basic: badly-lit and overcrowded compartments with insufficient ventilation during bad weather The ship sailed in late September and soon the landlubbers from Winterswijk had their first experience of life at sea but fortunately the passage only takes four weeks The France reaches New York on 26 October and the some of the Winterswijk group knelt to thank the Lord for their safe passage If they thought the most dangerous part of their journey—the ocean passage—was over They proceeded north via the Hudson River to Albany and then boarded a canal boat to take them to Buffalo on Lake Erie The last stage of their journey was to cross the Great Lakes to Sheboygan In Buffalo the group took out tickets on the propellor steamship Phoenix Its double propellor made it a step up from paddle steamers The ship carried cargo—mainly coffee and sugar— and about two hundred passengers The ship was overbooked and it was not well-suited for passengers but the other members of his family did not Harmen Jan joined the Oonk family and his Johanna One of the other passengers was an American businessman He taught the Dutch children a few words in English The Phoenix sailed onto Lake Erie but encountered high winds and icy conditions on Lake Huron which scared the passengers huddling below deck but spirits were lifted as the passengers approached their final destination They were close to starting their new lives the Phoenix made an unexpected stop to take in wood as fuel for the steam engines After loading the captain decided to anchor and wait for the winds to subside Some rumors tell us that part of the crew went ashore for a drinking bout the wind dropped and the captain decided that it was time to sail He summoned the crew to return to the ship Half an hour after departure one of the passengers a young Irishman was woken by a noise from the engine room He was an experienced steam engine mechanic and recognized the sound: the kettles were running dry They told him to mind his own business and for good measure gave him a bloody nose Convinced that a disaster was about to happen the Irishman woke up his family and told them to find a place in the lifeboats the Phoenix is about three or four miles from Sheboygan One of the crew members notices smoke in the engine room fueled by the wooden superstructure of the ship Suddenly the metal smokestack tumbles over and disappears under the waves of Lake Michigan Parents try to get their children into the lifeboats David Blish gives up his place in order to save Dutch children He is still regarded as a hero in this tragedy but they are quickly filled beyond capacity Passengers run to and fro on the deck in panick screaming and shouting as as their clothing or hair have caught fire Many see no other option but to jump overboard They don’t last long in the icy-cold water One of Johanna Oonk’s sisters calls out: “Mother help me!” Then she sees her mother drown before her very eyes The lifeboats make their way through waters filled with wreckage and floating bodies Many of those who jumped ship try to grip the sides of the lifeboats The people in the lifeboats therefore hit them with the oars or with fists They manage to light a fire to warm themselves Eventually the alarm was raised and the steamship Delaware When it arrived at the site of the disaster The crew of the Delaware searched for survivors and managed to pick up three people Then the Delaware towed what is left of the Phoenix to the Sheboygan port Harmen Jan Reuselink and Johanna Oonk reached the shore in the lifeboats and survived as did Johanna’s two sisters and her father as her mother and three brothers did not make it Johanna’s sister Janna Hendrika throughout her life was terrified by fire as she had seen half of her family perish through the flames the traumatized survivors began to build a new life they lodged with hospitable people in Sheboygan but later they moved to villages where immigrants from Winterswijk had settled Land was readily available for new arrivals like the Phoenix survivors government promoted efforts to bring the land under the plough the main task during the first year was bringing down trees to clear the land The timber was used to build simple log cabins not something the Achterhoekers were used to Everything the new settlers required they had to make they had freedom of religion and they could now own the land they tilled Harmen Jan and Johanna settled in Gibbsville in Sheboygan County such as his brother Jan Hendrik and sister Hanna Gesiena Six years after the Phoenix tragedy Johanna unfortunately died at the age of twenty-seven leaving two small children (aged four and one) in the care of Harmen Jan Thereupon Harmen Jan married for a third time She was a granddaughter of Harmen Jan’s uncle and also bears the Reuselink family name: Johanna Reuselink Reuselink Together they are blessed with another seven children The last one was born when Harmen Jan was seventy years old On a sunny day in July 2022 I stand at the shore of Lake Michigan They are descendants of Harmen Jan and Johanna and I was about to contact them after a search that took several months From the water’s edge we survey the lake before us and in our mind’s eye we see the tragedy that happened here long ago The psalmbook Jan Hendrik presented to Harmen Jan was on the Phoenix when the ship caught fire Afterwards it washed ashore in a wooden chest The book was passed through the generations in the female line and thus came into the possession of the Foster sisters The writing on the flyleaf at the front of the book reads in beautiful and elegant letters: “Jan Hendrik Reuselink 25 September 1833.” I run my fingers over the text and it hits me: here I am holding a book that was owned by someone from the town where I was born while researching my genealogy I also discovered that I am related to Harmen Jan Reuselink as well as to Johanna Oonk but most certainly after they had survived the tragedy I hope it gave them the strength to come to terms with the awful memories of that dreadful night The Foster sisters and I drive to the “Jansen Cemetery” in Gibbsville I suggest to Rebecca that we “return” the book for a moment to him as a gesture She puts the book on his gravestone and for a short while we look at it together in silence It is incredibly precious to have a palpable reminder of that terrible event on Lake Michigan on 21 November 1847 The Phoenix failed to live up to its mythical meaning when it went up in flames The Greeks believed that the phoenix was able to be reborn from its own ashes Perhaps it was not reborn in the shape of a ship They rose from squalor to build a new life in a new world have seen the light of day in America as a result of these brave immigrants The psalmbook was not the only remnant of the tragedy that I encountered on my journey to America in the summer of 2022 As a result of the efforts of shipwreck hunter Steve Radovan and marine archaeologist Tamara Thomsen of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Preservation and Archaeology program we found an actual artifact of the ship itself: the smokestack It tumbled from the ship during the fire and thus marks the site of the disaster I knew absolutely nothing of the Phoenix and its fate two years ago Then I encountered the memorial at the old graveyard in Winterswijk and wondered whether any of my relatives had been involved a book that was owned by people who survived the tragedy and to whom I am even related The story of the Phoenix itself evoked a powerful but also troubling fascination in me and the personal links enhance my emotions even more Two years later my mission to tell the story and give it the attention that it deserves has yielded fruit I never imagined that an impulsive decision to turn right during an evening walk could take me from Winterswijk to Wisconsin So my advice: take an unexpected turn if the road ahead offers it She works for Omroep Gelderland (Gelderland Broadcasting) as Digital Content Editor In 2022 she made a podcast on the fatal voyage of the Phoenix This is the fourteenth installment in a monthly series of blogs telling stories about the rich history shared by the American and the Dutch peoples Authors from both countries will be presenting accounts of their own choosing in order to give as full a picture as possible of the triumphs and heartbreaks delights and disappointments that took place over hundreds of years of shared history Not all these stories are “feel-good history’ While the relations between the Dutch and the Americans have for the most part been stable and peaceful their shared history contains some darker moments as well Acknowledging that errors have been made in the past does not take away from this friendship but https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=3223 Dutch shipyard Heesen Yachts has announced it has expanded its interior workshop facility in Winterswijk Having acquired the space in in 2000 under the name ‘Oortgiese’ the new expansion consists of 2,240sqm of space bringing the production area to a total of 8,100sqm Heesen will now be growing its team here by 30 individuals which will bring the Winterswijk team up to a total of 130 The shipyard has reported that the expansion in both the facility and workforce is “in direct response to the increase in size and volume of the yachts being built by Heesen today.” Heesen is currently operating at full capacity with a project filling every possible slot the shipyard is on schedule to deliver a total of four projects in 2019 Heesen is also the only Dutch shipyard to deliver three yachts in three consecutive months an impressive statistic that is demonstrative of high level of efficiency at which the shipyard is currently operating the shipyard has now expressed a specific focus on the 50m-plus market grew slightly and we still see a stable and slightly growing market looking towards the future,” said Heesen's Mark Cavendish “I’m purposefully not mentioning anything below 50 metres as we are really not building anything that size anymore We are not standing still; we are constantly evolving to meet future trends.” The average LOA of the projects on the Heesen order book is 55.6m which not only reaffirms Cavendish’s point but also the demand for the new interior production area in Winterswijk “We look forward to the official opening of the new work space in September,” says Henry Schreur “[We] are ready more than ever to continue the tradition of building precious interiors to the highest Dutch quality standards.” Heesen currently has an entirely in-house department of specialists including cabinet-makers The shipyard has also claimed that “investing in the acquisition and the training of young talent is the secret behind Heesen’s interior creations.” Heesen Yachts delivered directly from The Superyacht Group's editors and market analysts Stay at the forefront of the superyacht industry with SuperyachtNewsweek Arthur Mamou-Mani illustrates how collaboration leads to success at TSDF Please select exactly what you would like to receive from us by ticking the boxes below: An elderly woman was killed Monday morning when a police vehicle struck her mobility scooter on the N319 near the German border The crash occurred around 11:10 a.m. on Kottenseweg, a major route connecting Winterswijk and Germany. The woman was crossing the road with her husband, who was also using a mobility scooter, when she was hit. Her husband was unharmed but witnessed the fatal accident. The couple reportedly lived in Germany. A trauma helicopter was dispatched at 11:14 a.m., but it was later canceled. Emergency responders attempted to resuscitate the woman, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The fire department placed privacy screens around the accident site, and the N319 was shut down for an extensive investigation. Traffic was redirected through Vosseveldseweg, causing significant delays. Initially, police in Gelderland stated that the Rijksrecherche, the national investigative agency, would handle the case. However, they later issued a correction on X, formerly Twitter, clarifying that the investigation would instead be conducted by the North Netherlands police unit. “The investigation is being carried out by a different unit because the East Netherlands unit is directly involved,” police said in a statement. Authorities have not released further details about the cause of the crash, and the name of the victim has not been disclosed. A police spokesperson said the involved officers were not responding to an emergency at the time and that their vehicle had no lights or sirens activated. “As far as we know, the police vehicle was not speeding,” the spokesperson said. “However, let’s not get ahead of the investigation and draw premature conclusions.” The incident has deeply affected the officers involved. “They are devastated,” the spokesperson added. “They are receiving support, and we will see how they want to proceed. Some may wish to return to duty quickly, while others may need time.” This is not the first fatal accident involving Dutch emergency vehicles. According to the Netherlands Institute for Public Safety, there were 225 crashes involving emergency vehicles in 2022 and 2023, resulting in 79 injuries and one death. Police vehicles were involved in 153 of those incidents, making them the most frequently affected service. Most of these accidents occurred in urban areas. 2023 Photo: Depositphotos.comPolice are investigating the deaths of a man and a woman whose bodies were found in a house in Winterswijk in Gelderland on Sunday According to local paper De Gelderlander were known to have a troubled relationship Sources told the paper the woman had moved away from the marital home in Doetinchem to the flat in Winterswijk A neighbour raised the alarm when he heard shouting on Sunday afternoon reportedly a member of the Achterhoek police force is said to have killed his wife and then committed suicide Some 43 women are killed each year in the Netherlands. In the period between 2017 and 2021, six out of 10 perpetrators were the partner or ex-partner of the victim, figures from statistics agency CBS show Residents in the center of Winterswijk received an NL-Alert on Saturday due to a large fire at a snackbar on de Markt Authorities issued the warning because of heavy smoke and urged people to avoid the area to allow emergency services to work but nearby buildings have been evacuated as a precaution Fire crews from across the region responded to the scene Emergency services also received assistance from German firefighters prompting officials to warn residents to keep windows and doors closed The race to host the first professional marathon of the season on natural ice has yet to begin in the Netherlands despite dropping temperatures in some parts of the country ice rinks in the northern and eastern regions compete to hold the opening event even with temperatures predicted to plunge well below freezing on Monday night the conditions aren’t favorable for creating the necessary ice for the race according to ice technicians in Winterswijk "The key is clear skies," said Hendrik van Prooije volunteers were ready to begin preparing the ice and it can take 1 to 1.5 millimeters of water per hour to create that amount two consecutive nights of cold temperatures," van Prooije explained there’s hope that this can be achieved overnight with club members potentially taking to the ice starting at 8:30 a.m there was just 1 centimeter of ice by Monday morning and local skaters hoped for a good ice day "It looked promising with a few nights of moderate frost," said club president Mark van der Meijde predictions of -4 degrees were deemed insufficient for the race "The temperature needs to be at least -6 degrees and the sun can’t be shining brightly by 11 a.m. recreational skaters in Drenthe may still be able to use the rink About 30 kilometers further north in Noordlaren we’re not there yet," said ice technician Kars Kroeze and Limburg are expected to dip to -4 to -8 degrees Monday night skating in the north will remain out of reach for now with temperatures hovering around the freezing point A 246-million-year-old skull fossil found in Winterswijk, the Netherlands, sheds new light on the origin and phylogenetic development of placodonts a group of marine reptiles that lived during the Triassic period Reconstruction of the juvenile placodont Palatodonta bleekeri (Jaime Chirinos) placodonts populated the flat coastal regions of the Tethys Ocean The most distinctive feature of these creatures was their teeth: the upper jaw had two rows of flattened teeth – one on the palate and one on the jawbone while the lower jaw only had one set of teeth ideal for crushing shellfish and crustaceans According to a research team led by Dr Torsten Scheyer a paleontologist at the University of Zurich the Winterswijk skull is the earliest form of all known placodonts The juvenile animal lived about 246 million years ago the skull is exceptionally well preserved and its characteristics set it apart from previous placodont discoveries “The basal-most known placodonts to date have the group’s trademark double row of crushing teeth in the upper jaw The flattened teeth that give these animals their name only appear in more derived placodonts.” “Unlike all the other placodonts discovered to date, the Winterswijk specimen has conical, pointed teeth instead of flattened or ball-shaped crushing ones, which means the pointed teeth on the lower jaw slotted precisely into the gap between the palate and upper-jawbone teeth when biting,” said Dr Scheyer, who co-authored a paper in Nature Communications “The group’s trademark double row of teeth in the upper jaw is proof that the new find is actually a placodont the scientific name given to the Winterswijk specimen were specialized in gripping and piercing soft prey.” The newly found skull of a juvenile placodont from Winterswijk “The double row of teeth in the new find combined with its considerable age lead us to conclude that it is a very early placodont from which the later forms developed,” Dr Scheyer said “The formation of crushing teeth and the specialization of a diet of shellfish and crustaceans thus developed later within placodont evolution.” The small Palatodonta bleekeri skull sheds new light on the ongoing debate on where the placodonts originated: previous finds suggested origins in the shelf sea areas of either present-day China or Europe Due to the considerable age of the find and its basal form the European origin of the placodonts is confirmed The team is hoping for further exciting finds in Winterswijk to discover more about the evolution of placodonts European origin of placodont marine reptiles and the evolution of crushing dentition in Placodontia article number: 1621; doi: 10.1038/ncomms2633 A Dutch podcast maker and American shipwreck hunter discovered traces of the Phoenix steamship in Lake Michigan 175 years after the ship went up in flames killing nearly 200 of the mainly Dutch emigrants on board Podcaster Joske Meerdink stumbled across the story of the Phoenix by accident, she told Omroep Gelderland She noticed the monument for the disaster while walking through Winterswijk one evening and was shocked that she didn’t know about it When she found that the residents of the Achterhoek town also didn’t know much about it she decided to get the shipwreck the attention it deserved The Phoenix was carrying over 225 passengers when it went up in flames on 21 November 1847 within sight of its destination - Sheboygan in Wisconsin Nearly 100 children were among the victims In July, Meerdink and filmmaker Diny van Hoften visited Sheboygan as part of their quest to tell the ship’s story. That’s when they made contact with shipwreck hunter Steve Radovan. “She was really insistent that, boy, it would sure be nice if we could find artifacts from the Phoenix,” Radovan said to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal That got him thinking about a log he saw around the area where the ship was said to have sunk They reached out to a diving team to check the site an archeologist at the Wisconsin Historical Society and a diving team member discovered that the object was not a log but a smokestack “It has to be the Phoenix because that would be the only smokestack out here in the area,” Radovan said to the American newspaper The smokestack of the Phoenix tells me exactly where this disaster happened now.” The Phoenix disaster significantly impacted the size of the Dutch community in Sheboygan local genealogist Mary Risseeuw said to the Journal Sentinal “Immigration halted for probably 12 to 14 years after the Phoenix disaster,” she said “People in Sheboygan County wrote letters back to the Netherlands warning them that it wasn’t safe for them to get on a ship and come.” will broadcast on Omroep Gelderland on Tuesday Heesen Yachts has announced the official inauguration of its newly expanded facility in Winterswijk – home to the yard’s interior workshop The ceremony was attended by the mayor of Winterswijk alongside the Chairman of Heesen’s Supervisory Board and its other directors “We look forward to continuing the tradition of building precious interiors for the most innovative Heesen yachts to the highest Dutch quality standards,” commented Henry Schreur “Exceptional artisanal craftsmanship sits at the heart of yacht building and the expansion of our Winterswijk facilities reinforces not only the strength of the work being undertaken in-house at Heesen but also the lengths that we go to in order to deliver unrivalled customer satisfaction.” The expansion of the facility consists of 2,240 square metres of new production space which brings the total production area to 8,100 square metres The office space has also increased by 332 square metres “We look forward to continuing the tradition of building precious interiors for the most innovative Heesen yachts to the highest Dutch quality standards” - Henry Schreur the expansion is a response to increased demand from owners for yachts of greater size and volume Heesen is also hiring 30 new workshop employees bringing the total workforce at the Winterswijk facilities to 130.Heesen is one of a select group of shipbuilders to have an entire in-house department of interior specialists to enable the yard to maintain a consistent quality and level of service Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker houses in 18 cities can be visited where Jews or members of the resistance lived and worked before during and just after the Second World War Stories of the residents are shared in the houses which look back on the resistance and Jewish life during the war The memorial program Open Jewish Houses - Houses of Resistance will last until May 5 the story of the Jewish boy Dicky Boekebinder will be told on April 30 in a house on the Binnenboomweg Dicky hid with the family of Gert Jan Bollen's grandparents in Winterswijk Dicky and Gert Jan were the same age at the time and Gert Jan will tell about their time together during the war historian and journalist Peter Paul de Baar will talk about the Jewish politician Alida de Jong on May 4 later became a trade union official and a member of parliament for the SDAP In 1943 she was murdered in the Sobibor extermination camp The open houses can be visited in Amsterdam, Assen, Bergen op Zoom, Borculo, The Hague, Deventer, Emmen, Gorinchem, Gouda, Groningen, Haarlem, Hoorn, Nijmegen, Steenwijk, Utrecht, Wageningen, Winterswijk, and Zaanstad. More details about the commemoration program can be found on the website of the Jewish Cultural Quarter. You currently use an outdated internet browser. You can upgrade to a modern browser or use the Google Chrome Frame to optimize your viewing experience Nedap offers SENSIT a network of wireless parking sensors that detect the real time vehicle occupancy of single parking spaces The system provides real-time parking space information which can be used to guide traffic to available parking spaces in cities and towns Motorists therefore experience less parking stress and easily find a parking space Local councils benefit from a smooth flow of traffic improved use of car park facilities and maximum return on car park investments combined with the new parking guidance system have a clear beneficial impact on reducing search traffic in Winterswijk The searching for parking has reduced significantly since parking spaces are better utilised In addition motorists find the current parking guidance system extremely useful as apparent from the analysis carried out by Keypoint Consultancy on request of the Winterswijk town council Keypoint analysed the car park utilisation rate prior to and after the system became operational Moreover experiences of motorists were analyzed as part of the research Signs displaying real-time parking information Nedap installed the SENSIT parking system which is used worldwide in numerous on- and off-street applications for guidance Nedap had many years of experience with the wireless sensor technology to perform accurately under all weather conditions Nedap’s SENSIT was award winning at Intertraffic 2006 Gulf Traffic 2011 and nominated for the British Parking Awards 2012 due to its accurate technology and the opportunities it brings to market Wireless vehicle detection sensors on parking bays The wireless parking sensors detect the real timeoccupancy of every single parking space SENSIT from Nedap is a network of wireless parking sensors that detect the real time occupancy of every single parking space The system provides real-time parking space information which can be used to guide traffic to available parking spaces in cities and towns Motorists therefore experience less parking stress and easily find a parking space Local councils benefit from a smooth flow of traffic The Dutch technology company Nedap AVI is the leading specialist in solutions for long-distance identification and wireless vehicle detection solutions to optimise monitor and manage the flow of traffic in urban areas Nedap AVI offers a full range of innovative products that combine leading edge technology with quality resulting from over 30 years of experience in RFID Several locations across the Netherlands offered ice skating opportunities Sunday morning as temperatures dropped Among the places where artificial ice rinks were open were De Lier in Zuid-Holland and Winterswijk in Gelderland the rink had to close due to rising temperatures chairman of the Hard Gaat-ie ice skating club "It was incredibly busy," van der Berg said This was our first time opening this winter." The Doornsche IJsclub announced on social media that the rink would be reconstructed overnight in preparation for more skating hundreds of people were skating on Sunday morning according to the Winterswijkse IJsvereniging The club said that it plans to spray additional layers of water on the rink overnight school children in Winterswijk will be able to skate for free on Monday on a rink known as the "krabbelbaan." posted on social media that it was unable to open on Sunday due to water underneath the ice The club hopes that if temperatures remain cold LAUREL PARK -- Debora Groot remembers the day in 1937 as a teenager living in The Netherlands when her trusting nature was forever altered by war "I came home from school one day and I heard a terrible commotion in the living room," Groot said "My parents were trying to comfort a young German Jewish woman She was chased by SA men (a branch of the German Army) while trying to escape on foot to the Dutch border This drama traumatized my outlook on life." The 86-year-old Hendersonville resident recounted her World War II experiences as a Dutch Jew during the Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) program Sunday at Agudas Israel Synagogue in Laurel Park which commemorates the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II is observed from sundown Sunday to sundown Monday People packed the synagogue to sing somber music recite prayers for the martyrs and listen to speakers such as Groot share their experiences of life during World War II It is important to remember the Holocaust for several reasons the Holocaust is not just the story of the many millions of people murdered it is a story of resistance," he said to the 75-member congregation "The Allies and others fought the Nazis and helped the Jewish people." Hendrik "Henk" Colijn helped his native Holland survive the Nazis during World War II by joining the Dutch Resistance Colijn spent his childhood in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) but returned to his homeland at age 15 to attend high school Colijn said his outrage at how Jews in Holland were being treated and his empathy for them spurred him to join the Resistance Hiding Jews in a slaughterhouse near Amsterdam espionage and obtaining ration cards from government distribution centers to get food for people were among the activities he participated in as a teenager during the war I didn't weigh the pros and cons -- there was a need to be filled and we filled it," Colijn said said he estimated that he helped about 100 Jews either hide or escape from the Nazis The Holocaust must never be forgotten and it is important to teach younger generations about the horrific event that nearly wiped out the Jewish race said 65-year-old Hendersonville resident Willa Stone I used to teach my students about the Holocaust and take them to programs about it," she said The employers organizations VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland have said that they are concerned about the recently announced new border controls the Netherlands is introducing in a few weeks along its land borders with Germany and Belgium “The border controls on the German side are already leading to extra costs for companies and we fear that these will only increase,” the organizations stated in reference to similar checks implemented in Germany They call on the government to coordinate the introduction of controls as closely as possible with neighboring countries and to spare economic traffic as much as possible Dutch Minister of Asylum Marjolein Faber recently announced that the Marechaussee is going to start conducting border controls on December 9. This is a temporary measure that will last six months. It is meant to combat illegal migration and human smuggling or trafficking. The minister emphasized that commuters and economic traffic will be inconvenienced as little as possible. According to Faber, there is contact with the border regions about this. The decision has also led to criticism from Winterswijk, a municipality in Gelderland. The border municipality claims that many residents will be inconvenienced by the controls because they work on the other side of the German border. "European free movement is very important for border regions. We are not in support of daily queues at the border," said Winterswijk’s Mayor Joris Bengevoord. Bengevoord said that he will be following the implementation and consequences of the border controls "with great interest." According to the mayor, the measure brings back something "that we consciously distanced ourselves from decades ago." The Winterswijk mayor is vice chairman of the Association of European Border Regions, the AEBR. The organization had previously called on European countries to exercise restraint when it comes to border controls "because they saddle residents of border areas with delays, economic damage and damage to social cohesion.” The Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) also questioned whether the controls are effective and enforceable. A spokesperson for the association said that they shared these concerns weeks ago, but they were not taken into account. Photo: Vincent Jannick ANPEarly skaters in Winterswijk Photo: Vincent Jannick ANPSkating fanatics were able to enjoy skating on natural ice for a few hours for the first time this winter as the Winterswijk outdoor rink opened after a night of moderate frost Skaters could access the ice at 8.15 am after the local ice club team worked through the night to ready the rink for the morning after the temperature plunged to as low as -7 Celsius there was enough ice for a few hundred skaters to enjoy local ice master Hendrik van Prooije told broadcaster NOS ‘We’ve never been open so early in the season.’ Op de schaatsbaan in Winterswijk kan deze ochtend weer geschaatst worden! Foto’s door Willy Bonnink-Naves ❄️ pic.twitter.com/MwNwQoE2hF — Weerplaza.nl (@Weerplaza) November 20, 2022 The coldest place in the Netherlands on Saturday night was Enschede on the German border where the temperature fell to -8.8 Celsius The frost covered most of the country apart from the north of Groningen In the De Bilt weather station near Utrecht the temperature fell to -6.5 Celsius – or what is officially known as a moderate frost The chilly temperatures will be short lived and from Monday the temperature will rise to around 8 Celsius during the day and fall to 4-7 Celsius at night Sunday’s sunny spells will also be replaced by cloud and showers Skating enthusiasts can go to multiple places in the Netherlands on Monday morning to skate on artificial ice rinks after minimums dropped well below zero in most of the country overnight and Doorn worked many hours to ensure enough ice forms to skate on The ice rink in De Lier opened at 8:30 a.m. The ice skating association Hard Gaat-ie worked hard spraying layers of water for freezing overnight. “And of course, we did it again,” the association said on Facebook “There is now more ice on the floor than the previous times.” The Noordwijk ice rink, NIJC Gevers “Enjoy this perhaps last chance this winter,” The Doornse ice club in Doorn opened at 8:00 a.m and will stay open “as long as the weather permits,” probably around noon “We did it There is a great ice floor for a morning skating pleasure,” the club said The ice rink in Zeist is also opening as long as the ice holds.” The one in Winterswijk According to Weeronline temperatures dropped below freezing everywhere in the Netherlands overnight Minimums of between -4 and -6 degrees were recorded in most places thermometers will still hover around freezing in the north and just above it elsewhere in the country skating enthusiasts can skate on natural ice rinks this weekend the ice rink of the Hard Gaat-ie ice club in De Lier was opened on Saturday morning making it one of the first natural ice rinks where people can skate this season Jong en oud genieten van schaatsen in Winterswijk. De wonderbaan is weer volop in trek. pic.twitter.com/CRqYoCQqJw is excited that the ice rink can be used again It was not yet clear on Friday whether the ice would be firm enough for skating by Saturday But thanks to the favorable weather conditions on Saturday morning “We started on time yesterday and hoped that the weather would stay clear With temperatures between 0 degrees in the northeast and +3 degrees in the southwest it is unclear how long the ice skating fun will last predicting early in the morning that it will be very busy during the day it is still unclear how long the ice rink can remain open where children and beginners can practice their skating skills on the ice the preparation of the ice rink was in full swing the ice rink club had decided that the weather forecast was good enough to create a nice ice surface The ice rink was then able to open its doors at around 8 a.m Geen natuurijsmarathon maar schaatsen op natuurijs in Winterswijk voelt voor de schaatsers als een jubelton. pic.twitter.com/pmbJBBVx2O Three police officers were injured in a fight with a man who wore shorts only in Winterswijk on Wednesday afternoon, local newspaper De Gelderlander reported. The 43-year old man who was arrested will have his mental health checked for showing what was described as "disturbed" behavior during the incident. Two of the three officers were treated in a hospital for their injuries. The third one was examined by a doctor, but required no further treatment. They mainly suffered facial swelling as a result of multiple blows received during the fight. The man got into a fistfight with several officers at the roundabout connecting Rondweg-Zuid and Wooldseweg around 2:30 p.m. It took about twenty minutes before police officers were able to overpower the man who was not responsive to their commands. "He did not react to the pepper spray and the truncheons we used also did not help. We suspect that he behaved this way as a result of substance abuse, combined with his mental condition," police said. Footage of the incident was widely shared on social media. The video shows a man walking barefoot wearing only shorts. He attacked the officers repeatedly, also with an object that he grabbed from the ground. He kicked and punched the police officers, eventually knocking one of them over. The police were alerted just before 2:30 p.m. about the man who allegedly attempted to open car doors at Rondweg-Zuid. He is also said to have hit the vehicles and jumped in front of a truck, narrowly escaping being hit. "When colleagues arrived there, the man was immediately very aggressive towards them and he immediately started fighting.” The struggling officers were reinforced by a second team and with four men they finally managed to arrest the man around 2:50 p.m. The man was detained and has also received medical care due to his worrying condition. The police asked all witnesses of the incident to come forward and provide a witness statement. Photo: DutchNews.nlThe lowest temperature in the Netherlands in eight years was recorded in the village of Hupsel when the temperature dropped to -15.4 Celsius That is the coldest it has been since January 16 when the freeze dropped to -18 Celsius in Herwijnen The lowest Dutch temperature ever recorded was -27.4 Celsius registered in the appropriately named Winterswijk in 1942 The temperature during the day on Tuesday will range from just below freezing in the north it may feel far colder in the chilly easterly wind and little change is expected in the coming days with sunshine during the day and hard frosts at night according to the transport ministry’s roads department but there are still problems in some places and on secondary roads Train services are also getting back up to steam although rail company NS has again urged travellers to delay all but essential journeys Some coronavirus testing and vaccination centres also remain shut including the RAI testing centre in Amsterdam and several in Rotterdam But there are also people who have to cross the border for or five times a day that is very annoying for the residents of this area,” the Winterswijk mayor said “You want people to be able to cross the border freely.” The Euregio will keep a close eye on the situation “We will certainly make ourselves heard if this leads to undesirable situations.” It is not yet clear how Germany plans to carry out the passport checks though the German police union already raised capacity concerns they’ll probably be similar to temporary checks Germany is already carrying out at the borders with Poland Police officers at the border stop cars that look conspicuous The mother of 27-year-old Benjamin Giorgio Galli, who died fighting for Ukraine’s International Legion, said her son joined the military effort simply because he thought Russia’s actions there were morally indefensible. Galli, from Winterswijk, Gelderland, died on Sunday six days after he was wounded by a bombing, his mother, Mirjam, told AD Galli was on a mission in a village near Kharkiv when a bomb went off on 12 September. The Dutch man was struck by several pieces of shrapnel, and was transported to a hospital. His parents tried to make their way from the Netherlands to Kyiv. While she was on her way to Ukraine in a bus with her Italian husband they received a call saying that Galli had died He went there because he thought it was a great injustice that Russia had invaded Ukraine He wanted to help the people get their land back,” Mirjam told the newspaper He was working for a logistics company in Winterswijk when the Russian invasion intensified in February Galli came to a fast decision to travel to Ukraine He spoke with his family at length for four days but ultimately decided to head towards Poland’s border with Ukraine with nothing but a backpack Galli was I assigned to the First International Legion on 3 March but also when he received a letter of commendation from his commander "We are very grateful to you for supporting the Ukrainians in the fight against the Russian aggressor," wrote Bogdan Molchanov His mother spoke with Galli the day before he was injured and he described restoring electricity in people’s homes but also to really do something meaningful for the Ukrainians.” It would be the last conversation she would have with her son “We left [for Kyiv] with the idea that we would see him again after months away We were hoping he would still be able to recover but sadly that wasn’t the case,” Mirjam told AD “Of course I would have loved to have seen him married I know it was genuine and that he was happy He told us he would be at peace if he died The impact of Galli’s death was not lost on Winterswijk Mayor Joris Bengevoord “Every casualty in this war is one too many His Dutch mother and Italian father are now trying to make arrangements to bring his body first from Kyiv to the Netherlands they hope to eventually bury him at their family cemetery in Italy A school teacher in Winterswijk was fired this week after he accidentally projected photos portraying male genitalia from his phone on to the classroom’s big screen The teacher wanted to show his students a different set of images from his phone at the time and not the photos and renderings of penises which were displayed At the time of the incident earlier this week he was working with students aged 12 and 13 in their transition year from primary school into secondary school It was not known if the photos were of himself or of another man The unnamed teacher at Gerrit Komrij College was terminated to guarantee student safety It did not matter that the teacher worked at the school for about a decade with a spotless record “The teacher has violated the integrity code of the school and the trust is shattered,” Lommen told AD “We stand for the safety of our students and parents must be able to rely on it.”