Rising star

Knysna rider Slade Pullin, 13, mounted his first motorbike at the age of  four. He is now racing at national level and ranked in the top ten in his class in South Africa - turn to the Sports page for the full story.

IN THIS EDITION:

Keurbooms River dwindles – News & Views page

Old cars come to George – Sports page

Mercia Draghoender voted in as mayor of George

The Independent Democrat deputy mayor of George, Mercia Draghoender, and speaker Bazil Petrus share a moment of triumph as Draghoender is appointed acting mayor of the town on January 20, after DA mayor Flip de Swardt was voted out in a 21 majority vote of no confidence by the ANC, ID and ACDP. Looking on is municipal manager Cecil Africa who has recently been on acrimonious terms with De Swardt. The DA and ID coalition has been in tatters for months over a power sharing agreement, which finally ended when the ID aligned with the ANC to bring De Swardt down. In a  surprising move, DA member of parliament for George Marius Swart and DA George chairman Daniel Maritz announced the following day that the party would not put a mayoral candidate forward for today's (Wednesday January 27) meeting, but would become the official opposition, where, according to Swart, the party could make a difference. 'We will also concentrate on the 2011 municipal elections where we hope to garner more...

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Author: Kelvin Dippnall

Century-old Knysna Golf Club razed

A fire razed the historic Knysna Golf Club on January 13 - although no one was hurt and the town’s fire brigade acted swiftly, everything inside the building was destroyed. Dazed spectators and staff tried to salvage bits and pieces but once the fire had spread into the roof of the building, there was little anyone could do but watch. A faulty water boiler caused the fire, which was fanned by a strong south-easterly wind. The club’s management made a brave effort to continue business as usual, erecting temporary structures and putting phone lines in place to ensure that regular weekly competitions could go ahead.

Vigilance required as thieves target SA in Cup run-up

MOST South Africans, and that includes Garden Route residents, live in the hope that this year’s Fifa Soccer World Cup will be a great success. At the same time, certain folk are seeing the frenzy as an opportunity to grab extra cash for their own pockets.
It seems that a lot of people are forgetting the important aspect of safety during this time - South Africans from all walks of life tend to be vulnerable and exposed to crimes of all kinds as preparations continue for the world to descend on our beautiful country.
Competition seems rife in the growing phenomenon of electronic theft. Reports of various kinds of swindles surface almost every day, for example when people receive SMS messages to announce that they have won cash, supposedly paid into their bank accounts.
“I was informed that I had received R8 540 in my bank account,” says a recent Bitou victim. “I was shocked and happy at the same time, as I was in deep need of cash.”

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Author: Bongani Tom

Missing Knysna, J Bay women sought

On January 15 the Knysna Police announced that they are looking for Cynthia Slyut, 32, who was last seen during August 2009. She was reported missing by her parents in Knysna and information indicates that she was last seen in Cape Town.
Cynthia is of medium complexion, about 1.69m tall, of slender built and has brown hair. Anyone with information can contact the investigation officer, Captain Claudette van Zyl, at Knysna Police Station on 044 302 6652.
Less than a week later, national coordinator of Missing Children SA (www.missingchildren.org.za) Judy Botes announced that 15-year-old Thabisa Sitemela of Jeffrey’s Bay was reported missing on January 14.
After coming home from school, Thabisa dressed in a green short sleeved V-neck T-shirt, boot leg navy jeans and brown sandals. She also wore red and brown beads. She left her parents house without taking her cell phone along, and was not seen again.
Thabisa...

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Poverty war room on cards for Eden

THE first steps in establishing an Eden District poverty war room as part of the national anti-poverty strategy, were taken late last year by the Eden council mayoral committee.
The meeting was called to finalise the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the War on Poverty strategic partnership with the Growth Foundation, which will be headed by health economist Dr Veni Naidu.
Eden mayor Leon Dorfling said the meeting was successful, that “certain conditions” such as a business plan and modus operandi were agreed upon, and that the MOA was being drawn up.
“There were concerns at the council meeting regarding funding and the operation of the project, but we met with Dr Naidu and after establishing certain conditions we will draw up an MOA for five years.”
According to the agreement, Eden will supply an office for Naidu, give temporary administrative support to establish the office and contribute R500 per month for the utilisation of electricity ...

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Bitou water supply - all the alarm bells sound…

Long-time CXPRESS contributor of years past, and outdoors fundi of legendary proportions, JACK MUDD shares a piece of his mind on the local water crisis

WE took the alarming photo (at left) of the Keurbooms River at Williamsberg mountain reserve, some 15km upriver from De Vlugt two weeks ago.
Admittedly, there are other tributaries that feed into the river further down its course, but this should send a clear message to all Plett residents who have no alternative water than that supplied by Bitou Municipality - who draws from the Keurbooms extensively for our already stressed water supply.
The Keurbooms and Bitou rivers – which is also just a trickle of late - have to sustain its own bio-diversity and eco-systems, and the all important wetlands and estuary. These, I’m sure, are under even more stress… and conveniently forgotten in these desperate times.
Interesting to note, though, are the hectares upon hectares of...

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