Tornado Block Watch discusses way forward

The Tornado Block Watch held their annual general meeting over the past weekend (Saturday 16 August).

The meeting, held at Tornado Park Old Age Home, was held to reflect on the past year and discuss their way forward.

Caroline Mulder and Greg Hogan led the meeting and conveyed their sincere thanks for the members’ participation over the past year. They were happy to report a decreased crime rate in the area. About 40 households have purchased radios and their prompt communication has become an essential part of the Block Watch’s operations, Mulder said.

“We have an SMS system by which we send out messages to all members and their families regarding crime trends,” Mulder said proudly.

“We thank everyone for their assistance in our social commitments in the past year by helping us clean the parks, providing medical support to families and starting a small feeding scheme.”

The Tornado Block Watch committee also is proud of the 14 panic buttons that they have distributed to elderly residents in their sector, for which they have partnered with Dunmar Security.

“Going forward, we wish for every street to have at least one person with radio access 24/ 7, thereafter we aim for every household to get radio access.

“We want to increase patrollers and have wider awareness programmes.

“We are looking into implementing a digital surveillance project.”

The committee thanked Mulder for her contribution, assistance and commitment to social issues by rewarding her with a certificate. Dunmar Security also was awarded a certificate of appreciation.

The new executive committee was voted in and announced during the meeting.

View a gallery of the event here.

Tornado Block Watch executive committee:

• Caroline Mulder (Chairperson)

• Greg Hogan (Vice chairman and radio representative)

• Francois van der Westhuizen (Patrol captain)

• Ronald de Hanie (Treasurer)

• Gary Sice (Public relations and incident reports)

• Stacey Fick (Legal and administration)