Ficksburg News

Described by friends as ‘larger than life’, he did much to promote tourism

The community in Ficksburg was rocked to its foundations recently by the news that one of our town’s best-known young businessmen had died in a shooting incident at his office early last Monday morning. Foul play is not suspected.

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Die Suid-Afrikaanse biathle-span, waaronder vier jong Ficksburgers, het hul stem dik gemaak en die meeste medaljes verdien van al die lande wat aan die biathle-wêreldkampioenskappe in Monaco deelgeneem het.
Janus de Beer, Jan en Henning Buitendag en Wayne Wesson was deel van die span van 85 Suid-Afrikaners tussen die ouderdomme van 8 tot 68 jaar wat met 21 medaljes teruggekom het. Dertig lande met 252 atlete het by die byeenkoms mee-geding.
Die kampioenskappe is gehou in die Larvotaa Baai in Monaco waar die atlete op teer gehardloop en in die see geswem het.
Die Ficksburgers het uit-sonderlik presteer. Janus was negende uit 30 atlete, Wayne, Jan en Henning was onder-skeidelik vyfde, sesde en sewende uit 24 atlete.
Die Ficksburg-kontingent wat die toer meegemaak het, het bestaan uit 13 persone met pa’s, ma’s, boeties en sussies wat die atlete gaan ondersteun het.
Monaco was vir almal ’n fantastiese ondervinding en vir die grootmense was dit ’n openbaring om te sien hoe Ferrari’s en Porsche’s daar so algemeen soos Toyota’s in Suid-Afrika is.
’n Hoogtepunt van die toer was die ‘Desert Safari’ in Dubai—28 luukse viertrek-voertuie het die SA-groep by die hotel kom oplaai en 50km na die woestyn in Shjarja geneem waar hulle vir twee ure in die woestyn rondgejaag het, duin-op en duin-af.
Daarna het hulle by ’n oase gaan kuier waar die kinders kamele kon ry en op die duine kon ‘surf’. Die groep is ook met ’n woestynbraai ge-trakteer.

Die Caledonpark Primêre Skool is beslis nog ’n juweel in Ficksburg se kroon! Dié skool is so pas aangewys as een van die ‘Top 50 Skole’ in die Vrystaat vir 2005 en het daarmee prysgeld van R100 000 losgeslaan. Volgens die skoolhoof, Marietjie Hart, was hierdie toekenning slegs moontlik deur die toewyding en harde werk van die personeel én leerlinge. Daar sal volgens haar deeglik besin word oor die aanwending van die prysgeld, wat ook ’n groot motivering is om die skool tot verdere hoogtes te lei in die toekoms. Op die foto saam met die aanprysingsertifikaat wat van die onderwysdepartement ontvang is, is me Hart, Jerome Calvert, ’n onderwyser en ook lid van die beheerraad, Josephine Jantjies, voorsitter van die beheerraad, en John O’Connor, departementshoof.

by Jack
Last weekend three Ficksburg teams visited Clocolan for that club’s first open day of the new season. The green was still very ‘new’ and soft after its surface preparation for the summer, and very difficult to play.
Two of the three teams won two games and drew one. Team Fleischer—Dennis and Joan with Pieter and Rita Krog—took second place after Marquard A, who won all their games.
Team Bartlett—Frank and Norah with Pat Reid and Linda Fuhri—also won two games and drew one to take third place.
Their last game against Winburg ended in rather dramatic fashion when, after leading comfortably for most of the game, with two ends to go, Ficksburg were 19-14 up.
On the last end disaster stuck and suddenly Ficks-burg gave away seven shots to make them down 19-21 and thus they had to score three to win with one end to go. Again things didn’t look good, with Winburg already lying three shots. Pat Reid’s first wood was slightly short, but was the second shot; his second wood came in for shot.
Winburg’s skip’s first wood was fairly short; Frank’s first wood was slightly wide. Then Winburg’s last wood moved Pat’s in for second shot—now the scores were level and Frank still had a wood in hand. Playing a true ‘Skip shot’, this wood rolled in absolutely perfectly for the shot, giving Ficksburg the game by one shot.
At the time of going to press, the three Ficksburg SA Police bowlers, Gawie Booysen, Mark Lancaster and Sakkie Nel, were still in Cape Town for a series of tournaments.

The Ficksburg Tourism Forum is challenging the community in Ficksburg to make things happen for themselves—particularly regarding the Imperani Tourism and Training Centre, where things seem to have ground to a halt—and not to wait for handouts from big business, government and NGOs.

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