Looking back 2019 – July to November

JULY

Marist Brothers Linmeyer High School celebrated Youth Day by serving the youth from their community. One hundred and forty-five children and teenagers from Christ Religious and Social Services were treated to a fun-filled carnival day.

Three fine employees of iPop Vehicle Sales surprised their manager when they returned R13 000 found in a car after it was serviced.

Star of Gardening 101 on the Home Channel and author of Garden Style was the guest speaker at the Johannesburg South Garden Club’s bi-monthly meeting. Quirky, madly intelligent, fun-loving and academic to boot, Melanie Walker spoke about her new book Garden Style and showed the members of the garden club a slide about what she has been up to in the past few years.

Six men were arrested on charges of illegal mining. These miners, known as zama-zamas, have been known to murder competing minors.

Marlene Swanepoel, principal of Covenant College, retires at the age of 60. Marlene began at the school in 1992 as an educator.

The Johannesburg District for Mental Health held an Awareness Campaign for Mental Health at the United Cerebral Palsy Association of South Africa in Townsview. Their four core areas of focus were promotion of mental well-being, prevention of mental illnesses, early identification and treatment and rehabilitation and reintegration.

Door of Hope Children’s Missionary received a financial boost of R46 000 thanks to Xtreme Dance Studio’s charity dance showcase.

AUGUST

Mondeor High School’s Gospel Choir was chosen to sing with John Tsenoli ahead of hundreds of schools who auditioned for this year’s production of SHINE 2019 at the Teatro, Montecasino.

Johannesburg Child Welfare celebrated 110 years of existence with a fund-raising gala dinner at the Thaba Eco Hotel.

Just Darling in Mall of the South won the Service Excellence Award at the Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) Coffee Shop Awards for 2019.

Helalia Johannes wins her fourth 10km SPAR Women’s Challenge in a record-breaking 32 minutes and 29 seconds.

Mulbarton resident Kathy Groome makes children safety heroes with her organisation RISK Facts of Life and inspires others to care.

Devastation occurred in Johannesburg South, with mountains of building rubble, industrial waste and even animal carcasses illegally dumped across the entire length of the Klip River wetland along Swartkoppies Road.

The Virago Awards were held at Turn n Tender, where women from Ward 23 were recognised for their great stature, strength and courage.

SEPTEMBER

Forest Hill High School turned 100 and celebrated its centenary at Turffontein Racecourse with a four-course buffet.

In an intelligence-driven operation, 12 suspects were nabbed on the N12 West just after Kliprivier Drive while on their way to commit a cash-in-transit heist.

“Crime Intelligence, as well as the multi-disciplinary team, must be applauded for this outstanding work,” said Commissioner of Police Gen Khehla Sithole.

Orion became the new Joy Dog on the block and appeared in a Dulux advertisement for its new product, EasyCare.

“Orion is definitely following in in his late brother, Oscar’s, paws. Oscar appeared in quite a few Dulux adverts and he was also the dog behind the original Joy Dogs with himself, Yola and Jazmine,” added Sue Green, owner of the Joy Dogs. “Oscar taught Orion everything he needed to know and this advert surpassed expectations, especially since it was his first time on set and he was only 14 months old.”

George Barkhuizen, who was accused of shooting his wife, Odette, on June 11, 2015, in Oakdene was found guilty. Bail was revoked and Barkhuizen will be sentenced on September 29 in the Johannesburg High Court.

André de Kock and Enrico Schoeman turned up the heat on a quad bike and broke one of the most dangerous Guinness World Records. They rode a quad bike through a 36.9m-long fire tunnel at the Midvaal Raceway in Meyerton. They broke the record of 25m, which had stood since 2012.

George Barkhuizen, who murdered his wife, Odette, on June 11, 2015, was found guilty and sentenced to effective life imprisonment. Individually, he received 25 years for murder, 15 years for fraud, six years for unlawful possession of a firearm and two years for the unlawful possession of ammunition.

Miss Joburg South was held at Mall of the South, with Michelle Moolman walking away with the winning crown. First princess was Tumi Matela, while Brittany Wait was second princess.

Naresh Kuverjee, Hemisha Makan, Payal Dessai, Dr Arno Strydom and Rohit Dessai from the Southern Suburbs Hindu Cultural Society mounted Kilimanjaro. Their mission was to raise at least R1-million for the medically underprivileged.

OCTOBER

The Johannesburg Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals turned 116 and celebrated the day in style with cats and dogs getting pampered. The bath and brush station was packed with volunteers who bathed, brushed and played with the dogs.

Door of Hope urged the community to sign a petition against the proposed amendment to the Children’s Act.

“We are very concerned. If the Act is passed it’s more than likely none of our 71 babies and children currently at Door of Hope, between nought and three years old, will ever be adopted and experience a loving family. This Act will also affect similar organisations,” said Nadene Grabham.

Isabella Rocha (13) from Meyersdal, a Grade Seven learner at Marist Brothers Linmeyer, won the National Spur Singing Stars competition 2019. She sang Hallelujah by Alexander Burke.

“This song is fabulous. I love it and I knew in my heart it was the right song for me,” said Isabella.

MMC for Public Safety councillor Michael Sun took delivery of 40 new high-performance vehicles that were handed over to the JMPD’s Special Patrol Unit at the Public Safety Department headquarters in Martindale.

South of Johannesburg and Tourism held their last business network brunch of 2019 at the Thaba Eco Hotel. Trevor Sturgess, guest speaker at the event, provided an invigorating talk that both inspired and motivated in a personal and business space.

A serious collision occurred on the corner of Lois Avenue and Skukusa Road in Gleneagles when a truck, which was carrying 20 000 litres of diesel, lost control coming down Skukusa Road. It came to rest upside down in the stream by Builders Warehouse. The truck collided with two stationary bakkies and another vehicle. No fatalities were reported.

Gold Reef City, in association with Cansa and Icarus Media, hosted the Cansa shades of Pink Zumbathon powered by Group 1 Renault The Glen and Z-Dance Fitness and raised R28 000 for Cansa.

After eight months, the M2 Motorway reopened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Johannesburg Road Agency closed the M2 Motorway between Crown Interchange and Maritzburg Street on February 28 for rehabilitation.

NOVEMBER

Alberton Matric Project learners enjoyed their matric dance at Reading Country Club. Matriculants took the opportunity to not only say their farewells, but also to turn the evening into one of glitz and glam.

Busiswe Nobela, winner of the Face of SPAR Women’s Challenge 2019, along with Cornel Steyn (SPAR South Rand) and René Kalmer (ambassador for SPAR Grand Prix series) came along to Lerato Education Centre in Jackson informal settlement to hand over a huge donation of trainers to the school. Caxton South joined hands with SPAR as part of their annual fund-raising initiative.

One of the biggest one-day road races, the 2019 Soweto Marathon, saw some 40 000 runners take to the streets in the South and Soweto, which started and finished at the FNB Stadium.

Reatile Foundation and Egoli Gas donated a cheque to the value of R100 000 to the United Cerebral Palsy Association in Townsview. They also spent the morning cleaning, painting walls, gardening and getting to know the residents.

The SAPS uncovered a major drug laboratory at Lefaso Farm in Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State, worth millions of rands. It was subsequently revealed that the operation had links to two houses in the South of Johannesburg.

The newly revamped Pick n Pay Mulbarton opened its doors to the public on November 21 with plenty of specials and promotions. Owner Bruno Barradas pulled out all stops to make the evening one to remember at the Mugg & Bean Mulbarton.

A thunder and hail storm hit parts of the South of Johannesburg on November 21, causing flooding to many areas and damage to the Glen Shopping Centre. Part of the upper ceiling collapsed as a result of the flash floods combined with heavy hail, which blocked the drains, forcing the water to overflow and come down to the lowest point, which happens to be the Glen.