News from the region

In preparation for the flood situation expected at the weekend, the districts of Oder-Spree and Märkisch-Oderland and the city of Frankfurt (Oder) have coordinated their crisis teams, in which internal and external structures work together, involving not only fire and disaster control but also building and environmental authorities, police and THW. The flood warning center of the state of Brandenburg had already issued flood warnings on 16.09.2024. The Oder-Spree district provides daily updates on the work of the Office for Fire, Civil Protection and Disaster Control at Aktuelle Hochwasserlage / Landkreis Oder-Spree (landkreis-oder-spree.de).

The "Our village has a future" competition has been held at federal and state level for decades and makes the commitment of the village population to the future of the villages visible. It is designed to support a long-term development process. Last week, the district evaluation committee visited the participating villages. A total of five villages successfully applied: Werbig, Dolgelin, Zechin, Ortwig and Reichenberg.

A ten-metre-long electric bus has been on the road in the Oder-Spree district for the first time since Monday, 9 September. It can be experienced on the Fürstenwalde city transport lines, the PlusBus line Fürstenwalde-Storkow, line 432 Fürstenwalde-Müncheberg and line 434 Fürstenwalde-Jacobsdorf until Friday, September 20, 2024. The bus is being operated as part of a two-week test phase by Busverkehr Oder-Spree GmbH. It is firmly planned that a second electric bus model will be tested this year, then in the Erkner area.

On Thursday, September 12, 2024, the nationwide warning day will take place from 11.00 a.m. The city of Frankfurt (Oder) will be taking part as part of its duties as the lower disaster control authority. A test alarm is planned with all available warning options until around 11.45 a.m. There is no danger or need for action for the population.

The new Citizenship Act came into force in June 2024. It stipulates that the naturalization certificate should be presented in a festive setting at a public naturalization ceremony. The Oder-Spree district hosted this event for the first time on Monday, September 9, 2024. District Administrator Frank Steffen, Katja Kaiser, Head of the Department for Youth, Social Affairs and Culture, and Ariane Haupt, Head of the Office for Foreigners' Affairs and Integration, welcomed the new citizens.

The MOL giveaway market initiated by the Märkisch-Oderland waste disposal company in March of this year has been a complete success. This is shown by an initial evaluation of the items offered on the www.verschenkemarkt-mol.de platform. A total of 931 items to be given away were advertised by residents of the district on Verschenkemarkt MOL in the period from March 17 to August 23, 2024. Of these, 573 actually found a new owner.