Today's roundup brings a bizarre case involving a cow in Pakoštane, the installation of a statue of Our Lady of the Snows in Kukljica, and a series of other important events in Zadar and the county.
Thursday, August 6, 2026, and the days that followed brought a series of important and diverse news from the Zadar area. From staffing changes in healthcare, through a tragic discovery on the island, to religious and communal events, here's what marked the past period.
The Institute for Emergency Medicine of Zadar County has undergone a significant staffing change. Acting Director Mladen Oluić has dismissed Chief Medical Technician Luka Čurković, as reported by Zadarski list. Luka Ledenko has been appointed to the position.
Čurković held the post for only three months. He assumed the role in early May 2026, after Ana Ožaković, who had been the Institute's head nurse, was removed from her managerial duties. The official reasons for his dismissal have not yet been disclosed, nor is it known whether the decision is linked to events that have been associated with his name in recent months.
On the same day, August 6, at around 7:20 a.m., following a citizen's report, a dead body was found in the sea in Lučina Bay on the island of Pašman. A police investigation at the scene quickly led to the identification of the deceased.
It was determined to be a 24-year-old Slovenian citizen. The circumstances surrounding this tragic event are still under investigation.
Pakoštane has been hit by an unusual problem. A cow that had been roaming unsupervised for days entered a private chard field owned by Dragan Vukoja. According to him, the animal caused damage exceeding 20,000 euros.
By Vukoja's estimate, the cow consumed about ten tons of chard in roughly twenty days. Vukoja believes the animal, due to a lack of water, tried to quench its thirst through the succulent vegetables, but he thinks such food ultimately proved fatal for it. The cow died afterward, and its calf remains by its carcass, refusing to leave its mother.
On August 6, 2026, at the age of 92 and in the 73rd year of her monastic consecration, Sister Marija Valburga (Josica) Petani, a Benedictine nun of the Monastery of St. Mary in Zadar, passed away. She was born on August 28, 1934, in the Arbanasi district of Zadar, into a family of six children, to father Krsto and mother Ana Nikpalj.
The funeral of Sister Valburga will be held on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at the City Cemetery in Zadar. The funeral rite will be led by Zadar Archbishop Milan Zgrablić, followed by a requiem Mass at the Church of St. Mary.
Earlier that week, on the feast of Our Lady of the Snows, Archbishop Zgrablić blessed a monumental statue of Our Lady of the Snows in Ždrelaščica Bay in Kukljica. The statue of the Mother of God holding the Child Jesus is placed along one of the busiest maritime channels in the Adriatic, between the islands of Ugljan and Pašman, through which more than two thousand vessels pass daily during the season.
"This statue is a sign of faith, a reminder that Our Lady is permanently present among her people and that she watches over all who pass by with maternal care," said Archbishop Zgrablić, as reported by the Media Office of the Archdiocese of Zadar.
