Although Hersonissos Mayor Spiros Danellis,
now in his second term of office, was happy to discuss improvements in the
township since he first took the job, he was quick to point out that there’s
much more to be done.
“I’m never satisfied, and I never will
be,” he said. “We’ve made major inroads in dealing with the children and the
elderly in our Demos, for example, but there are always many additional
programs that need to be addressed.”
Some of the new programs recently
introduced, which are free and open to everyone, are: computer training; two
levels of classes teaching Greek as a second language; three departments of
art classes for painting, hagiography, sculpture and engraving;
comprehensive classes (125 hours each) for development of social skills in
the work place, economy, business acumen, crisis management and confronting
national emergencies.
Mayor Danellis said the Demos also has
a series of adult education classes for basic English and computer basics.
Another popular program, open to all,
is free broadband internet access, which is available at four locations: the
town hall, the Port Authority building, the public library and the Citizen
Service Center.
“We’re especially proud of the inroads
we’ve made on behalf of our senior citizens and our youngsters,” Mr.
Danellis said.
Κ.Α.Π.Η.
is the Center for Open Protection of the Elderly, and its goals are to
promote social participation for the seniors, preventive hygiene and
neighborhood involvement.
Its members, who are municipal
residents 60 years of age and over, pay a symbolic fee of 50 cents
regardless of social or economic situation, for a yearly membership card.
The main goal of
Κ.Α.Π.Η.
is the prevention of medical, psychological and social problems of the
elderly, and to help them remain autonomous, equal and active members in the
community. The center also offers organized entertainment, social and
medical lectures, and care and guidance pertaining to medical and
hospitalization aid in co-operation with the doctors of the rural health
facility. Also, physiotherapy is available to all members.
Other activities and facilities include
a meeting place with affordably-priced refreshments and table games; a
seniors’ choir, painting courses, sports for the third age, and dance.
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For other
seniors, the Demos maintains Κ.Η.Φ.Η.
program, which is a center providing daily home care for elders not
self-sufficient. Κ.Η.Φ.Η.
works in co-operation with several social services and health units.
“Of course, we have equally important
programs for our young people, too,” Mayor Danellis explained. “Youth
programs include a choir group and an orchestra where children can get free
access to instruments as they learn to play them.”
He said the glee club has about 60
school-age members, and about 50 kids play in the orchestra. Both hold
various concerts around the Demos and in Iraklion.
Getting into the area of public works,
the mayor said that the main road through Hersonissos
is just about half completed, with
sidewalks and street lights, and the remaining half will be finished before
the start of 2008 tourist season.
“Beginning this fall, many roads will
be made into one-way streets which will help the traffic-flow,” he promised,
including the troublesome Filikis Eterias road, which is a major congestion
point due to illegal parking on the narrow thoroughfare. “And, with six more
able bodies in our municipal police force, we’ll have a total of nine
policemen to help enforce no parking regulations, as well as other town
ordinances.”
Among the myriad of future projects,
Mayor Danellis outlined a plan to develop the beach roads into scenic
pedestrian walkways – a plan which would necessitate the replacing of all
those quasi-illegal beachfront extensions operated by many pubs and tavernas,
which obstruct seaside views.
“There are social reasons why they’ve
been allowed to operate up until now,” he said. “But, soon they’ll be
replaced with uniformly designed environment-friendly structures allowing
for maximum exposure to sea viewing.”
Another of the mayor’s pet projects is
the plan to connect all the area’s antiquities – Roman and Byzantine – by
designing a journey where visitors will be able to view the remains of the
ancient Roman theatre, the 4th century Roman baths, the aqueduct,
the inlaid mosaics, the basilicas and many other ancient sites.
“We have so much to offer in the area
of antiquities, but much of it is overlooked by visitors because it is not
presented properly,” he said, unrolling a huge display blueprint to prove
his point. “It is my goal to make all these things, which show our rich
ancient history, available to the public in an exciting format.”
Mayor Danellis first took office in
2002, and his second term doesn’t expire until 2010.
Will he seek a third term?
Perhaps not, if he is satiated – but
that doesn’t seem likely.
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