Edition 24 Walkerville News November 2014

www.walkervillenews.co.za
Walkerville News November 2014 - Edition 24
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Mayoral Golf Day aids education in Midvaal
Midvaal’s annual Mayoral Golf Day
was held on 1 October 2014 at the Eye
of Africa Golf Course, and was once
again a huge success. 14 companies
participated in the competition,
which was eventually won by team
BBP. Prizes were awarded to the top
5 teams, to the team who had the
“longest day”, and a special raﬄe
prize was also on offer, with proceeds
from the raﬄe tickets further assisting
the cause for education.
R80 000 was raised to assist education
in Midvaal, and the four recipient
schools, who will each receive R20
000, were extremely grateful for the
donation. The principals of the four
schools, namely Laerskool Midvaal,
De Deur Primary, Sicelo Primary and
Laerskool Republiek attended the
event and thanked the sponsors and
the Mayor for their contributions.
The money will be used for feeding
schemes and materials required
by the learners. Midvaal’s Mayor,
Councillor Bongani Baloyi, who for the
first time took to the greens to show
his support for the cause, thanked the
stakeholders who had participated in
the golf day, and highlighted
the important role that
the private sector plays in
assisting worthy causes which
government cannot always
help due to limited resources.
He also proposed that going
forward, the private sector
should share skills with
and mentor needy schools,
for example, in areas like
business and financial management.
Midvaal Municipality is extremely
grateful to their sponsors who
made the day possible, and for their
generous contributions towards
helping this extremely worthy cause:
Eye Of Africa,
Sedibeng Brewery, Nedbank, BCX,
Lichenry, Emerald Resort, Model
Bottle Store, Nature’s Choice, ABSA,
Makro, Paramount Trailers, Revival
Electrical Transformers, Klopper
Jonker Attorneys, BBP Security,
Basil Read, Vaalridge Auto and BAU
Architects.
Midvaal Local Municipality
Walkerville Agricultural
Show 2015
In a ‘Fields’ of their Own
The Fields Estate Agency: A new ad/venture built on solid experience.
By Bruce J. Little
Stephan van der Merwe and Neville Thomas have been around the block.
In fact, they have owned and managed a few ‘blocks’ and sold a number
too (‘Blocks’ being properties). These two gentlemen have reinvented
themselves more times than Madonna (but with more integrity) and know
something about adapting with the ‘times’; So it was no surprise when they
decided to step out on their own four feet and establish ‘The Fields Estate
Agency’.
After many years of hustle and bustle in the big city, Neville and Stephan
opted for a quieter and more scenic lifestyle in Walkerville, and they have
never looked back (unless they’re reversing out of their driveway, of course!).
Selling properties are well within their “Fields” of expertise as they have
years of experience as principal agents for Gilbert Estates and Fine and
Country. They are also endowed with a rich entrepreneurial background,
which includes: Owning and running a Fast Food franchise during ‘the old
Hillbrow days’, Establishing Johannesburg’s first Internet Café in Westdene
and then running a Theatre Café for a number of years.
They have both successfully passed NQF5 for Real Estate exams, as well
as obtaining a ‘Master in Real Estate Practitioner Certificate’, and so your
investment in “bricks and mortar” (property), could not be in better hands.
Their slogan is “Service you deserve. Trust we earn.” because they embody
cutting edge property savvy, with old school values.
Becoming Estate Agents in 2004 was a dream come true for these gentlemen;
they would love to help you realize YOUR dream home.
THE
FIELDS
Estate Agency
SERVICE YOU DESERVE - TRUST WE EARN
011 949 2829 / 073 424 5224
www.thefieldsea.co.za
[email protected]
[email protected] • 011 949-4044
Pg 2
Mayoral Committee leads
Lakeside Community
March to SAPS De Deur
Mayoral Committee leads Lakeside
Community March to SAPS De Deur
The morning of 14 October 2014 saw
the Lakeside community take to the
streets to protest against what they
perceive as poor delivery from SAPS
De Deur branch. Midvaal’s Mayor,
Councillor Bongani Baloyi, along with
his Mayoral Committee, joined the
community to show their support
for their cause, and led the march
from Lakeside to the De Deur Police
Station. The march was a peaceful
show of protest, and was joined
by protestors of various political
affiliations, uniting in the cause of
community safety. Upon reaching
the station, the marchers read
[email protected] • 011 949-4044
out a memorandum of demands.
Some of the concerns they raised
were the large number of rapes of
young women and the elderly in
the area, suspects who were still at
large in the community who should
be arrested, and cases which were
dismissed and should be reopened.
They also displayed concern around
the abuse of police vehicles, and the
fact that emergency calls are seldom
responded to. A request was made
for a sector vehicle to be assigned to
the Lakeside area, in the hope that
constant, visible patrols will reduce
crime and violence in the community.
The memorandum was handed over
to a representative from SAPS De
Deur, who agreed that they would
submit a response to the community
within one week.
Midvaal Local Municipality
Pg 3
So many young dogs are struck down
by this disease each year that I can’t
stress enough how important it is to
vaccinate your pups.
Parvoviruses are a large group;
almost every mammal species
(including humans) seems to have
its own parvovirus. Fortunately, each
virus is specific for which animal
species it can infect (i.e. the pig
parvovirus will not infect people, the
canine parvovirus will not infect cats,
etc.) The canine parvovirus will affect
most members of the dog family.
Parvoviruses are smaller than most
viruses and consist of a protein coat
(a capsid) and a single strand of DNA
inside. It is hard to believe that such
a simply constructed organism could
be so deadly; however, this virus
has proved especially effective at
infecting rapidly dividing host cells
such as intestinal cells, bone marrow
cells, cells of the lymph system, and
fetal cells.
Parvoviruses are not enveloped in fat
the way many other viruses are. This
makes parvovirus especially hardy
in the environment and difficult to
disinfect away.
While the parvoviruses of other
species have been well known for
decades, the canine parvovirus is
a relative newcomer. The original
canine parvovirus, discovered in 1967
and called CPV-1 did not represent
much of a medical threat except to
newborn puppies but by 1978, a
new variant, CPV-2 appeared in the
U.S. This newer version seems to
represent a mutation from the feline
parvovirus (which is more commonly
known as the feline distemper virus).
Because this virus was (and is) shed
in gigantic numbers by infected
animals, and because this virus is
especially hardy in the environment,
worldwide distribution of the virus
rapidly occurred.
At this time, the virus is considered
to be ubiquitous, meaning that it is
present in EVERY ENVIRONMENT
unless regular disinfection is applied.
In 1978, no dog had any sort of
immunity against this virus. There
was no resistance and the epidemic
that resulted was disastrous. To make
matters worse, a second mutation
creating CPV-2a had occurred by
1979, and it seemed to be even more
aggressive. Vaccine was at a premium
and many veterinarians had to make
do with feline distemper vaccine as
it was the dlosestrelated vaccine
available while the manufacturers
struggled to supply the nation with
true parvo vaccines.
Over thirty years have passed since
then. The most common form of the
virus is called CPV-2b. Virtually all
dogs can be considered to have been
exposed to it at least to some extent,
which means that most adult dogs,
even those inadequately vaccinated,
can be considered to have at least
some immunity. It is also worth
mentioning the new particularly
virulent strain of parvovirus: CPV2c, which is rapidly becoming the
second most common form of canine
parvovirus. CPV-2c was discovered
in the year 2000 and is able to
infect cats. Cats vaccinated against
feline distemper can be considered
protected.
Currently
available
vaccines cover all variants of canine
parvo including CPV-2c as do all the
commercially available diagnostic
test kits.
Symptoms are relatively easy to spot
and can include bloody diarhea,
vomiting, loss of appetite and a
strong iron-like smell of the faeces.
Should your dog display any of these
symptoms you should get it to a
vet immediately as the sooner it is
treated the better the dogs’ chances
are of recovering.Never wait and see
if the dog may recover of it’s own
accord,it won’t.
Parvoviral infection has become a
disease almost exclusively of puppies
and adolescent dogs but can easily be
prevented with timeous vaccinations.
To veiw vaccination
schedules go to my blog at
http://
petandlivestockhealthcare.
blogspot.com
Thank you
To all the community members from Walkers
Fruit Farms, and neighboring areas of Apple
Orchards, and Penvale , and the Midvaal
Fire services for your assistance in fighting
the fire at Brand Muller’s Farm (Arboretum)
The fire started during the morning, and got
completely out of control due to the high
winds. Fire trailers from all areas were used
to combat the fire. After over 4 hours, we
managed to get control, with the rain doing
the final damping.
Midvaal Emergency 016 360 7500
De Deur SAPS New Number 016 590
9200
Cllr Rob Jones MMC Community services
[email protected] • 011 949-4044
Pg 4
of tasters was noticed for either the eats or the champagne.
At the time of going to the press, the bottle store, Potjiekos and Hair Talk are
all established. The latest establishment to open is Vision Homes which also
has the Allied Building Society brand for Walkerville.
We still have to wait for the rest of the Shops to open, but it all augers well
for the future of Walkerville
Opening of New Shopping Centre in Walkerville
It was several months ago when local residents saw pile of bricks appear
and the word went along the grape-vine that ‘something’ was happening
opposite the post office. Later the ‘something’ became known as the new
shopping centre and finally on 13 September ‘our’ new shopping centre
became part of life in Walkerville with the Official opening.
The opening was conducted in style. We had display by the drum majorettes
from the JG Strydom High School, trained by Anshum Venter. For the
children, who always get bored at this sort of thing, there were pony rides. It
seemed, from the crowed percent that the whole of Walkerville had turned
up for the event.
The Master of Ceremonies was Hugh Rouse who kept the public well
informed, up to the time when Charles Whyte, Chairman of the LAC came to
cut the ribbon and declare the shopping centre OPEN.
In his opening speech Mr Whyte praised Mr Maurice Goncalves for his
foresight and commitment to the project. The project originally started in
1978 when Mr Goncalves opened the ‘old’ bottle store and purchased the
current site. Much work had been done in the intervening years to sort
out legal problems involved and it said much for the leadership and hard
work of Mr Goncalves that the project had finally come to fruition. A great
anniversary present for both Mr and Mrs Goncalves on their 33rd Wedding
anniversary.
With the opening completed the events for the day were not over. Poejiekos
offered free eats, samples of the fare to be purchased in the days ahead and
Mr Goncalves provided free champagne, to help the eats go down. No lack
MIDVAAL - 90.6fm
COMMUNITY FUN WALK
Join Midvaal and 90.6fm as we walk
united against violence
[email protected] • 011 949-4044
SATURDAY
15 NOVEMBER 2014
5KM
STARTS 8AM
AT MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS,
MITCHELL STREET, MEYERTON
OPTIONAL ENTRY FEE: R10
IN SUPPORT OF
ACTIVISM AGAINST VIOLENCE
CONTACT 016 360 7627 / 7608
Pg 5
Building Business in
Midvaal
Midvaal Local Municipality has one
of the lowest unemployment rates
in Gauteng, with a figure of less than
12% compared to the provincial
average of 25%. In recent years,
however, the municipality has been
experiencing the effects of the global
economic crisis and the national
economic downturn. As a result
of this, the municipality is seeking
ways to support existing businesses
to allow them to grow, and finding
means to attract national and
international investors. Some of the
processes which the municipality has
Events Column For
Walkerville, Midvaal
SPORT
Speedway Race Meetings 2014
at Walkerville Showgrounds
30th November 2014 - Legends of the
past
7th December 2014 - Dot Engineering
[email protected] • 011 949-4044
improved include the simplification
of procedures and by-laws to make it
easier for new businesses to establish
themselves in Midvaal. Turn-around
times on applications for land use
have been shortened to decrease
waiting time for investors. The
Council has also invested in upgrades
to the Meyerton CBD, making the
area more accessible and attractive
for both businesses, and customers.
Midvaal is focussing on implementing
initiatives that will allow local
SMME’s to participate in the
economy, on supporting small scale
and emerging farmers, and on ways
to increase Midvaal’s contribution
to the Gauteng Food basket. In
order to achieve these goals,
the Development, Planning and
Housing Department have begun by
completing a migration plan, which
details the impact of the high inmigration into the Gauteng province
on Midvaal Municipality. Midvaal’s
high population growth rate in
National Final
••• ••• ••• ••• •••
Upcoming Walkerville Pony Club
events
Saturday & Sunday 7/8th November
- Mounted games competition, at
Southern riding centre *
Sunday 23rd November – Rally, at
recent years has occurred as a result
of migration, rather than natural
growth, and the migration plan
reveals details of who is moving in,
what skills they possess, what their
needs are, what skills gaps exist, and
what contribution these migrants
can make to the economy. Through
studying this information, Midvaal
Municipality can determine what
strategies to implement to convert
high migration rates into positive
economic circumstances.
Midvaal is also currently undertaking
an economic analysis, which will
situate the Midvaal economy
in the context of Sedibeng and
Gauteng, and investigate Midvaal’s
comparative
and
competitive
advantages, as well as what sectors
to promote, what programmes to
implement to enhance those sectors,
and how policy should impact on
leading and lagging industries. The
municipality is reviewing their spatial
development framework to include
a capital investment plan, which will
coordinate investment by assisting
with the eradication of backlogs,
attracting investment and supporting
the agricultural industry.
Through implementing all these
studies and research, Midvaal Local
Municipality aims to encourage
growth in sustainable jobs and the
improvement of quality of life for all.
Councillor Solly Nkhi
MMC for Development, Planning and
Housing
Walkerville Showground’s
Saturday 6th December – Branch AGM,
at TBA
Fundraising Events
••• ••• ••• ••• •••
Upcoming IEA Events
14th - 19th • December IEA Holiday
Camp
Pg 6
Mole Snake (Pseudaspis cana)
This is a large thick, solid snake, with a pointed snout
and small head, usually around
1 to 1.4meters long but has
been known to reach 2meters.
The body scales are smooth,
coloration is variable but
normally a light to reddish brown.
This snake is harmless to humans
and is very useful to keep rodent
populations down.
This snake is widely distributed
in Gauteng, its habitat is sandy
scrub land, highland grasslands,
desert regions.
Recently in Walkers Fruit Farms 2
large specimens of approximately
2 meters have been seen.
Please do not kill our snakes rather contact your local
conservancy to have them removed. Contact details can be
found on the conservancy website www.conservancies.org
Sedibeng District hosts OR
Tambo Games 2014
The OR Tambo Games are an annual
inter-municipality sporting event
held in Gauteng. This year, the
Sedibeng region had the honour
of hosting the games, and there
was great excitement amongst the
Midvaal team leading up to the
event. The Games took place on
Friday, 24 October 2014, starting with
an opening ceremony that included
sky-divers, a parade, and a marchby of municipal representatives.
Midvaal’s teams participated in 13
sporting codes, and the results were
excellent.
In cycling, Midvaal placed first and
third in the individual races, and
the team was second overall. The
Golf team came 3rd, and a Midvaal
runner placed 3rd in the individual
road running competition. The Men’s
Morabaraba team won 2nd place
overall, the Ncuva team finished 4th
[email protected] • 011 949-4044
and the Action Cricket and Pistol
Shooting Teams were 5th in their
competitions.
The Games are designed to foster
inter-municipal goodwill and unity,
and team spirit is always high at this
event. The Municipality is extremely
proud of the performance of all its
athletes at this event.
Midvaal Local Municipality
Pg 7
[email protected] • 011 949-4044
Pg 8