Pupils sent home

Poorly secured Parkside Primary shuts doors after thieves destroy facilities

SARAH KINGON

VANDALISM and theft has crippled Parkside Primary School, forcing it to close its doors to pupils last Friday until its damaged facilities are repaired.

The school has experienced a wave of disruption over the last few weeks as electrical wires were cut, toilets broken, fences destroyed and the principal’s laptop stolen.

Student governing body chair Thanduxolo Joseph Faku said: “The vandals are looking for copper which they sell to buy drugs and support their habit.

“It will cost us R30000 to repair the plumbing and R500000 to rewire the school with electricity over the next few weeks. Children came to school on Thursday [August 4] but we had to send them home on Friday [August 5] as a health and safety precaution.”

EL’s best hope of gold in Rio

•Marathon runner  Lusapho   April  is confident he can do it

SARAH KINGON

EAST LONDON- based marathon runner,  Lusapho   April , 34, is all set to represent South Africa at the Rio Olympics on August 21.

This is his second time aiming for gold at the Olympics, after an unfortunate fall during the London Olympics in 2012 caused him to limp home in 43rd place.

Still holding the record for the Hannover Marathon in 2013, winning it in two hours, eight minutes and 32 seconds, and winning the race again this year (2:11:27),  April  is confident he can win gold next month.

Fatal crash outrage

•Victim’s friends point fingers to tow truckers

SARAH KINGON

THE tragic death of East Londoner  Thorin   Mallinson , 24, in a collision involving a tow truck on the N6 to Stutterheim last Tuesday has sparked outrage on Facebook.

His parents, James and Sharon  Mallinson , said according to eyewitnesses at the scene, two tow trucks were allegedly involved. They claimed one of the tow trucks was allegedly overtaking the other, when it collided with their son’s Corsa bakkie. He died on the scene.

In a collective outcry,  Mallinson ’s friends have vented their feelings on social media towards the apparent lack of regulatory controls around tow truck drivers.

The Facebook page “Justice for Thorin” has received more than 4000 likes since the incident, with many followers sharing stories about other incidents involving alleged negligent tow truck drivers. The Facebook site administrators have chosen to remain anonymous out of fear of victimisation, as the campaign gains momentum – and the towing industry feels the pressure.  Thorin ’s father said he was pleased with the mature way in which the administrators have run the site, expressing his solidarity with the campaign.

Pupils make SA team

•Vukuhambe teens in U23 wheelchair basketball squad

SARAH KINGON

THREE athletes from  Vukuhambe  Special School have been selected for the South African U23 Wheelchair Basketball  team  which will head to the Men’s World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Canada next year.

Yibanathi Xalisa, 17, Ayabonga Jim, 16, and Mava Mlomo, 16, are the only athletes selected from the Eastern Cape, following a legacy of outstanding players emerging from the school in Mdantsane.

Shark bites surfer

•Teenager keen to return to water despite needing 300 stitches to right leg

SARAH KINGON

YOUNG surfer  Dylan   Puttergill , 14, is surprisingly upbeat and eager to surf again after being bitten by a  shark  at The Haven in Transkei on June 16.

The Merrifield College Grade 9 pupil jumped into the ocean with his dad, Phillip, shortly after arriving at their beach house overlooking the ocean for the long weekend. After an hour of surfing, his dad headed back, and that was when  Dylan  encountered the  shark .

“I was sitting on my board in 2.5m deep water with my legs in the water. I felt an explosion below me that bolted me back and as I was launching out of the water it grabbed my leg,”  Dylan  said.

Giving farmers hope

SARAH KINGON

DISABLED   farmers  were encouraged and honoured at a Mandela Day ceremony at the Christelike Maatskaplike Raad ( CMR ) office in Reeston on Monday.

The all-year-round Master Farming Project, coordinated by  CMR  and funded by Wesbank, assists those interested in starting their own vegetable gardens in the poorer areas of Reeston, Mzamomhle and Ducats with the skills and resources needed to start up and sustain themselves.

Muses break stereotypes

• Women pose nude to reclaim, celebrate bodies

SARAH KINGON

NUDE, strong and dignified stood 20 women, revealing all to redefine and celebrate the beauty of  African  women’s bodies.

The  African   Muses  launch took place last Friday, exhibiting 20 photographic portraits of women in various forms of undress to uncover their stories and break down stereotypes.

The project began in reaction to the storm of body-shaming comments following an incident where an unknown woman stripped naked in front of the statue of Nelson Mandela and embraced it in Sandton Square, Johannesburg in 2014.