Whistle blown on crime
“We are driven, we will stand together and we will fight to clean up Western Extension,” were the strong and confident words of Western Extension resident and business owner, Julie Venner.
The call to clean up the Western Extension area came after the murder of the late Fakrudeen Muthalib (co-owner of The Benoni Butcher Co.) in March which had residents up in arms to stand together against crime.
This goal led to the formation of the Western Extension Residents (WER) group in April, which has since managed to devise a plan of action.
“At the end of June, we received the whistles we spoke about during the meeting, and now hope to hand them out to the residents this month,” Venner said.
“We are also having our next residential meeting on July 27 at Grapes Pub and Restaurant and all residents are welcome to attend.”
In order for residents to receive one of the 420 whistles, they need to give their details to their block captain who will be visiting the homes of the residents during the next few weeks until all information is captured.
“Each street has at least one block captain,” said another resident, Debbie Dos Reis.
“These block captains will take down the details of the residents for the WER database.”
Once all data has been captured, members of WER, Venner, Dos Reis and Clr Mary Goby will discuss which residents will be given first preference to receive a whistle.
“We will give whistles to the elderly and vulnerable residents (single parents. etc.) first,” Goby said.
Each whistle has a label with relevant emergency numbers and for those who are unable to blow the whistle, will have an application, created by CMS, installed on their phones which will pose as a panic button instead.
The whistle initiative was sponsored by Welsh and Associates, Café Bellini, Mary Goby and Verena and Martin Metze, who are all residents of and businesses in Western Extension.
“We want to give out whistles to residents to blow if there is a home invasion,” said Dos Reis.
“All residents still need to follow safety procedure of pressing their panic button to alert their security company.
“But blowing the whistle notifies the neighbours who can also blow their whistle which will hopefully result in the whole street blowing their whistles to scare the intruder.”
The WER group is appealing to businesses or anyone who can donate whistles or money towards buying more whistles to please do so.
“If companies want their logo or names on the whistle because they sponsored it, that can be organised,” Venner added.
Venner added that it is close to the elections so most residents think the visit from their block captain is a campaign method.
“This is not true. We just need your information for the database to keep everyone in the neighbourhood informed about neigbourhood activities,” Venner said.
However, if residents still feel uncomfortable sharing their contact details with their block captains, the three women have given their details for direct enquiries:
• Mary Goby: 082 679 7109
• Debbie Dos Reis: 071 161 1168
• Julie Venner: 082 497 1997
Since March, residents of Western Extension have also managed to inform each other about incidents through three WhatsApp groups which have been created.
Lastly, residents are all invited to attend a braai at 111 Elston Avenue at 6pm on Friday, July 29.
EMM is the second greenest metro
Follow us on these platforms:
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp: 079 431 2006
Instagram: benonicitytimes.co.za
