News of yesteryear
These were some of the local stories making headlines in years gone by.
This week we look back at the Herald of November 19, 2010:
• Man crushed
A Leachville man was crushed to death after a concrete slab collapsed on top of him.
The accident, which saw another man seriously injured, happened on Friday afternoon, last week.
Emergency services and police were called to a residential address along Sabie Avenue just after 1pm.
The two men, both in their 50s, were constructing a double garage on the premises.
The deceased is the owner of the property.
The exact cause of the accident is not known and will be investigated by the Department of Labour.
It is believed the man died from head injuries and internal bleeding.
The other man, who sustained broken legs and other injuries, was stabilised on the scene.
Emergency services personnel carefully pulled him from the rubble and he was transported to the Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg.
• Remembrance not so sweet
Gone are the day when ex-servicemen and women marched along the parade in the Garden of Remembrance to lay wreaths.
Established in 1934 as a memorial to those who died in conflict, the garden in Hosking Park has long been forgotten.
Read: A time to remember the fallen
More than 70 years later, it is covered in litter, weed-ridden and a home to vagrants.
With worldwide commemorations on Remembrance Day held on Sunday, last week, it is shameful that local members of ex-service and military organisations have to travel out of Brakpan to honour and pay tribute to the fallen.
A striking feature of the garden, the cenotaph, has been subjected to vandalism and lies in an appalling state.
The cenotaph was unveiled on Remembrance Day in 1946, and once reflected the names of the men from Brakpan who lost their lives during World War II.
Moths from the Cosy Corner Shellhole in Brenthurst and the Brakpan community raised funds for the building of the cenotaph.
A portion of its inscription reads: “Sweet is the fragrance of remembrance”.
This, and other lettering made from copper, has been hacked at and removed.
The metal plague bearing the soldiers’ names is also gone.
Crude graffiti and broken glass further deface the memorial.
The pond in the centre of the garden is empty, the pathways are non-existent and rubbish has taken the place of flowers.
Plastic bottles and bags, tin cans, glass bottles and papers are strewn throughout the garden.
The remains of fires, whose flames have scorched many of the walls, as well as an overwhelming stench of urine, is a strong indication that people are living in the garden.
• Seven wanted suspects behind bars
Detectives from the Brakpan Police Station recently participated in a special operation, which yielded great results.
Seven wanted suspects were arrested by the local detectives for burglary, theft, culpable homicide, armed robbery, theft of a motor vehicle and reckless and negligent driving.
Also read: Man nabbed for selling fake concert tickets
• EMPD ready to fight crime over holidays
The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department has revealed its 2010 Festive Community and Road Safety campaign.
The campaign was launched on Wednesday morning, last week, by EMPD chief of police Hlula Msimang, and the metro’s portfolio head for Community Safety, Clr Mthuthuzeli Siboza.
They were at the forefront of a roadblock along the M2, where hundreds of motorists were stopped.
The roadblock was a joint operation between the EMPD, emergency services and the disaster management units.
While some people were given summonses for various traffic offences, others were given road safety education material.
The metro aims to reduce its road fatalities by a further 15 per cent this festive season.
This follows last year’s dramatic decrease of 50 per cent.
Have a story?
Contact the newsroom by emailing: Thelma Koorts (editor) brakpanherald@caxton.co.za
or Stacy Slatter (news editor) stacys@caxton.co.za
or Miné Fourie (journalist) minev@caxton.co.za
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