In Aleksanterinkatu, which was renovated six years ago, there are depressions in the core area that will need to be leveled in the future. The method of implementation of the renovation depends on future traffic arrangements.
The cobblestones of Aleksanterinkatu will have to be taken down again when the street, which has sunk into potholes in some places, is leveled.
Lahti’s Aleksanterinkatua will start to be renovated in a couple of years at the earliest. Aleksanterinkattu has depressions in the core, which are caused by deficiencies in the substructure.
The most depressions are between Vesijärvenkatu and Rauhankatu.
The city’s goal is to prepare for next year the alternatives of solutions with which the renovation could be carried out. The plans are tied to future decisions about the traffic arrangements in the entire city center.
– In practice, we talk about whether Aleksi has public transport, and what other forms of movement there are, Honkanen states.
There are no estimates yet on the possible costs of the renovation. According to Honkanen, planning the renovation later can be an advantage, because construction costs are now high.
_More Päijät-Häme news in listen, watch and read what’s happening near you._
A criminal report has been filed and the police are investigating the case. According to the Pelicans organization, the matter is serious and unfortunate.
Junior Pelicans hockey operations continue as normal despite the two retired coaches.
The ice hockey club Lahti Pelicans’ junior team has suspended two coaches until the end of the year who have offered alcohol to underage players. A criminal complaint has been filed about the incident.
The events are scheduled for the beginning of June, when the school year had ended. It was not a Junior Pelicans event, but a party that took place during free time, where adult coaches have given alcohol to minors.
– Offering alcohol to minors is in no way an activity that looks like our organization and brand. I emphasize that the matter is very serious, it has been dealt with internally and now we have to make sure that something similar does not happen again.
Junior Pelicans ry and Liiga-Pelicans are two separate organizations, but nevertheless represent the same brand, states Pöyhönen. According to him, it is absolutely clear that Pelicans operates in accordance with good manners, regulations and laws.
– Responsibility is always included in what we do, and especially in this kind of activity within youth sports.
According to Pöyhönen, the situation of the suspended coaches will be reviewed once the official investigation has been completed.
Ilta-Sanomat was the first to report on the matter.
In a single-family house with electric heating, the final amount of the bill rises quite noticeably.
Many people from Lahti have an electricity contract with Oomi, because Lahti Energia is one of the founders of the sales company.
The sales company Oomi, partly owned by Lahti Energia, is raising prices. The company has informed customers that the prices of contracts sold under the name Oomi Kesto, which are valid for the time being, will increase from the beginning of October.
The company states that the price must be increased for compelling reasons, including the end of Russian gas imports and the uncertainty of electricity supply.
Oomi estimates in a customer letter that, for example, in an apartment building where around 2,000 kilowatt hours are consumed per year, the electricity bill will increase by around 37 euros per month. In a detached house with electric heating, which consumes 18,000 kilowatt hours per year, the effect of the increase on the electricity bill is on average 339 euros per month.
If the customer does not accept the price change, he has the right to terminate the electricity contract with a two-week notice period, according to the terms of the contract, Oomi states in its press release.
Lahti Energia’s electricity sales were transferred to Oomi Energia in the spring of 2020. Oomi is owned by several electricity companies.
_More Päijät-Häme news in listen, watch and read what’s happening near you._
THL’s wastewater study revealed that the use of cocaine has increased in many cities in southern Finland. In the North, a similar development in relation to amphetamine has not been seen.
The use of cocaine is accentuated on weekends, which is why it is also called a party drug. Illustration picture.
The use of cocaine is clearly increasing in Southern Finland.
According to the Institute of Health and Welfare’s wastewater study, cocaine is used in some places in the capital region already more than amphetamine, which has traditionally been considered a significant mirror of the country’s drug situation.
The change has happened this summer.
The weekend use of cocaine now surpassed that of amphetamine for the first time in the capital region.
Amphetamine is used on weekdays
In addition to the capital region, an increase in cocaine residues was also found in the wastewater of Salo and Kuopio, but it was more subdued than in the capital region. Based on the research, cocaine is also used a lot in Lahti and some other cities in southern Finland.
Even in Tampere, the amount of residues in waste water had increased, but did not reach the same level as amphetamine.
However, there were big differences between the cities. In Turku, cocaine was not highlighted in the same way as in the capital region. In addition, in the north the use of cocaine is still lower than that of amphetamine.
– There are also smaller cities in our country where there is almost no cocaine in the waste water, reminds Gunnar.
The use of cocaine and also ecstasy increased on weekends, while amphetamine was used more evenly throughout the week.
– This reflects the fact that cocaine is used by people other than problem groups, says Gunnar.
The table below shows how much amphetamine and cocaine residues have been found in urban wastewater and how their use is distributed in different cities. The information in the table is from March 2022.
The change can be seen in drug drunk driving
In THL’s wastewater study, residues of amphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy, methadone and conversion drugs were investigated in the wastewater.
The use of amphetamine, which was at the top of the statistics in previous years, rose to record numbers in 2020, but now the amount has dropped to the same level as before the corona era.
According to THL’s assessment, the use of amphetamine started to decline after the extensive drug seizures made by the authorities in the spring of 2021, and has not since returned to record levels.
– This can also be seen in the number of mild cases. Last year, drug-driving drunkenness already decreased from the year before that, says Gunnar.
The availability of cocaine, on the other hand, has generally increased in Europe.
Big regional differences in conversion drugs
In Finland, the use of drugs as a whole has increased over the course of ten years, but in some localities there was also a decrease.
MDMA, or ecstasy, is used all over Finland, but its quantity had also decreased in several of the cities studied. Such were, for example, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Pori.
Conversion drugs are regularly detected in the capital region and occasionally in different parts of the country. The regional variation is large.
In March, alpha-PHP was found in Kokkola, Vaasa, Seinäjoki, Pietarsaari and Savonlinna even more than in the capital region. It could have been a certain batch that arrived in the locality.
10 years of research
The purpose of the wastewater survey is to comprehensively map the use of drugs in Finland. The study covers 60 percent of the entire population of Finland. It covers 27 cities and their surrounding areas. The research has been carried out until 2012.
The samples of the ongoing wastewater research are collected from Helsinki, Tampere and Turku between Sunday and Monday morning.
More extensive monitoring of waste water was last carried out in March of this year.
THL issued a new recommendation, which at least increases booster vaccinations for people over the age of 65. Päijät–Sote’s corona point is prepared for the change and there are enough vaccines and vaccinators.
It was very quiet at the corona vaccination point in Lahti on Thursday afternoon.
Lahti’s corona vaccination point hopes that people will actively take booster vaccinations according to the new recommendation.
THL said on Thursday that it recommends a new corona vaccination this fall for everyone over 65 and those in risk groups.
The difference to the previous THL recommendation is that it no longer matters how many vaccines have been previously received or how many times one has possibly contracted the corona virus.
The booster vaccine can be taken in the fall, when at least three months have passed since the previous vaccination or illness.
In the Päijät-Sote region, the vaccination coverage of people over the age of 12 is over 85 percent so far.
There are enough resources
The Lahti shopping center Trio’s corona vaccination point has been quiet lately. During the busiest times, more than a thousand people per day have been vaccinated at the point.
– There are enough vaccinators and vaccinations, promises Rämö.
You can come to the vaccination point in Lahti without an appointment. You must take your Kela card with you.
Asikkala will also have a pop-up vaccination point open next week on Monday and Wednesday from 12:00 to 18:00. You can apply for the corona vaccination without an appointment at Kanavatie 11 (the former premises of the veterinarian).
_More Päijät-Häme news in listen, watch and read what’s happening near you._
Renovation plans for Lahti City Hall’s parks are well advanced. The work will start next year. The original drawings have been lost. Among other things, old postcards have been examined in the survey work.
The parks in front of Lahti City Hall will be renovated in connection with the renovation of the building.
The park zone integral to the town hall is divided into two.
Postcard picture of Harjupuisto in 1914. The picture is from Sirpa Heiskanen’s private picture collection.
The park in front of the town hall was built after the completion of the town hall in 1912. The Harjupuisto park, located east of Rautatinkatu, has an earlier origin, from 1905.
The renovation is done on the basis of the park’s historical survey. Old photos and postcards have been used as help.
Researcher Riitta Niskanen knows the history of Lahti parks. Among other things, he has written a book on the subject.
The goal is to bring the park zone closer to its historical original state. In the renovation, the parks are widened and, for example, lightness is created in the statue plantings.
The park furniture is being lightened, the current ones are a heavier series Central European model.
The stormwater system will be renewed. Environmental aspects are also taken into account in plant selection and lighting. In decorative plantings, more durable varieties and historical composition are preferred.
Flower planting group in Harjupuisto. In the past, palm trees and banana trees were also seen in the circular benches.
The Paavola campus is designed so that car traffic is as minimal as possible. Now parking has become a problem.
There is too little parking space at Gaudia high school in Lahti. The neighboring parking lot is too expensive in the opinion of high school students.
Suurlukio Gaudia’s parking problems and the situation at Villähte school came up during the first questioning session of the Lahti council on Wednesday.
– As an environmental city, we promote sustainable movement, i.e. public transport, walking and cycling.
According to Alho, during the planning phase of the upper secondary school, the city found out how many people can reach the campus area on foot or by public transport. Only a small part needed their own car. Alho also reminded that parking fees are high in the downtown area. However, from Kela you can get support for long trips to school for more than one hundred euros a month.
The city environmental board will discuss the monthly price of the Laaksokatu parking space in the near future.
The council’s next question hour will be held in November.
_More Päijät-Häme news in listen, watch and read what’s happening near you._
The Finnish Cup semi-final match left Lahti with a loss on Wednesday, when KuPS, who defended tightly, crushed the victory with one man down.
KuPS goalkeeper Otso Virtanen was sent off in Wednesday’s Cup match. At the same time, Lahti got a free kick from a dangerous position, but the ball did not go into the goal.
FC Lahti’s dream of entering the European football fields dried up on Wednesday, when the team lost to Kuopio Palloseura in the semi-final of the Finnish Cup at their home stadium.
The Lahti team played most of the match with one man advantage, when the Kuopio team’s goalkeeper Otso Virtanen received a red card for his play outside the penalty area.
Kuopio’s 0-1 winning goal came moments before Virtanen’s free kick, which bounced off the wall from the player from Lahti and into the net.
The team is now focusing on their league games. There are two matches left in the regular season and then the challenger series beckons. FC Lahti is second last.
– We have to fight to stay in the league. It takes an ungodly amount of energy, faith and will.
Audience numbers did not recover after the corona
– This has been a difficult season, everyone can see that.
A little over 1,100 spectators watched the Cup semi-final in Lahti.
– The number of spectators in the league has not recovered since the corona. I hope the audience will be excited to come to the games at the end of the season.
On Sunday, FC Lahti will face AC Oulu on the away field.
– We still face all our main opponents. Fortunately, everything is still in our own hands, Heikari estimates.
During a possible power shortage, rural electricity distribution will be interrupted. There is no concern about sufficient heat, but the price will rise.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has limited the availability of fuel and electricity and raised the price of energy. Lahti Energia produces district heating and electricity at Kymijärvi power plants.
Lahti Energia will increase the price of district heating from the beginning of November.
The price of natural gas has increased many times since a year ago, and the demand for domestic fuel has increased. That is why the energy price of district heating increases by almost 16 percent in the winter season.
In single-family houses, the increase means about 12 euros per month, and in apartment buildings, a little more than 5 euros per month.
– This is also illustrated by the fact that we live in truly exceptional times, says Haikarainen.
Haikarainen, however, comforts Lahti Energia’s district heating customers, because elsewhere the price increases are even higher.
– With our investments, we have made the domestic energy utilization rate very high, and we are not as dependent on fossil fuels as many other energy companies.
Haikarainen promises that the company will closely monitor the fuel market, and if the price spike eases, the prices will also be revised downwards.
– At this point, the outlook over the winter is so foggy that no one knows what will happen here.
Although the company mainly uses domestic fuels for the production of district heating, there are still 10 percent fossil fuels. The purpose is to get rid of it completely.
The price of district heating for Lahte residents will increase on November 1, 2022.
Regulation of electricity for a sparsely populated area
Lahti Energia also prepares for a possible power shortage and power outages caused by it. Decisions on electricity distribution restrictions are made by the grid company Fingrid.
During a possible power shortage in the operating area of the Lahti Energia Sähköverkto, short power cuts would be made in one area at a time in the morning and afternoon hours. The outages would target a sparsely populated area and last for an hour or two at a time.
The electricity would not be cut off in the central area and the agglomeration. The most critical sites of all, such as hospitals and service buildings, are completely excluded from power outages. In the central area, the disadvantages of power cuts would be greater than in the countryside, because the elevators would not be operational.
– The power outages mainly affect single-family houses with electric heating in sparsely populated areas. Then the greatest possible power drop can be achieved with the least inconvenience, says Rautiainen.
If there are power outages, they will be announced with national emergency bulletins. In addition to the company’s social media channels, the information channel in Lahti Energia’s area is Radio Suomi.
Exact information about the power outage area is also provided on Lahti Energia’s website in the disruption notices. The purpose is to inform about power outages well in advance of the outage, i.e. the day before.
– There may also be a situation where we have to cut off the electricity immediately. Then we won’t even have time to warn, Rautiainen states.
A possible power shortage can hit the heart in winter. Rautiainen believes that there is no need for electricity distribution interruptions at least before December.
Residents participate in energy saving talks
You can prepare for a threatening power shortage in advance. The national energy saving campaign \”Astetta alemmas\” starts in October. Every energy saving measure improves the situation. A three-day home supply is a good preparation, especially in a sparsely populated area.
– Reducing energy consumption makes sense. The less energy we consume, the less emissions are produced and the better the money is also enough, says Timonen.
_More Päijät-Häme news in listen, watch and read what’s happening near you._
The artistic director of Teatteri Vanhan Juko changed. Locality, community spirit and artistic ambition will be reflected in the repertoire without forgetting the traditions of Old Juko.
Teatteri Vanhan Juko artistic director Esa-Matti Smolander.
Lahti’s professional theater Vanha Juko, like many other small theaters, has struggled with the difficult economic situation, especially during the corona virus. The theater was able to participate in the state participation system, which is hoped to bring opportunities for the development of operations.
Esa-Matti Smolander respects the traditions and emphasizes that it is a theater from Lahti.
– It is important that our productions have a local perspective. We operate in Lahti and Päijät-Hämee and are part of this community. I’m not so interested in whether the public comes here from Helsinki, says Smolander.
From the beginning, the work has been characterized by artistic uncompromisingness.
– We will definitely stick to this in the future. We want to keep the artistic level as high as possible and do what we do passionately and to the fullest, assures Smolander.
The director’s own passions and interests will also be seen, for example, in the plays he directs, of which _Kaksi sistara_ will have a repeat premiere on Friday, September 2.
The sisters’ difficult journey to the second premiere
Teatteri Vanha Juko, like many other cultural actors and event organizers, experienced the effects of the pandemic. The play Two Sisters was supposed to be performed last spring, but the performance season was interrupted for the first night due to corona restrictions and illnesses.
– At first, the shows were postponed and then canceled until we decided to move the shows to this fall. We will celebrate the new premiere next Friday and perform the play until September, says Smolander.
Moving shows may seem easy and simple, but it’s not.
– Getting ready for a new play and the premiere is all about working together and group dynamics, and rebuilding it after unfulfilled expectations and disappointments is not easy, Smolander continues.
The public’s expectations for the Two Sisters were high. The screenings were sold out and everything seemed promising.
The play is especially touching in Lahti, where a large number of locals were involved in the organization of the World Cup as volunteers, and the Lahti Ski Club and the city were strongly involved in organizing the games.
– Fortunately, our audience is loyal and many decided to wait for new shows. We hope for full halls now that we finally get to perform the play, which will be realized in cooperation with the Academy of Arts, says Smolander.
Vanhan Juko Actors Maria Nissi and Markus Karekallas play the parents of a skiing family.
The doping scandal hits like a bomb.
Two sisters deals with a topic that is familiar to many Finns. The life of the family from Lahti revolves around sports, when the doping scandal of the 2001 World Championships in Lahti hits like a bomb.
Skiing is the family’s religion and greatest love. The family’s daughters, two sisters, live to the rhythm of skiing. Mom, a former competitive skier whose career was cut short by injury, whips the girls forward. Father reconciles his role between skiing and everyday life and family members.
– My whole life has been spent working and working, practicing and running in the swamp. The fulfillment of dreams is one’s own home competitions, describes Smolander, the play’s director.
– The show is a story about faith and losing it, mourning and recovery, skiing and complete dedication to it. It’s not about irony, and it’s not about mocking those who are touched by sports, says Smolander.
Teatteri Vanhan Juko’s second autumn premiere is The Unknown Soldier, realized in cooperation with Turku City Theatre, which premieres at the end of November.
