One of the Miss Teen South Africa beauty pageant contestants, Tshepiso Mphidi, says young girls should refrain from dating “sugar daddies” because of peer pressure and focus on their education to be successful in life. Mphidi, who is from Haradali village, is going to compete in the national teenage beauty pageant to be held at the State Theatre in Pretoria on 16 December.

In yet another embarrassing scenario to hit a senior royal family, a senior traditional leader found herself out in the cold after the royal family announced that she will be removed as Thovhele of Dzanani.

The scourge of fake news, distributed via social-media platforms, is not only creating confusion but is also causing further trauma for families. In the latest such incident, a false report was distributed claiming that the girl who allegedly bullied a Mbilwi scholar two years ago had also committed suicide.

In what appears to be Mafia-style revenge killings, two men were shot at the Playland entertainment park in Muledane on Sunday. The killings sparked fear that many more will be killed, including people not involved in the feuds between rival gangs.

Dennis Charles Ball, one of the pioneers in our community, passed away peacefully in the early hours of Monday morning, 20 November, at the high-care facility of Our Home, Louis Trichardt, from natural causes associated with Alzheimer’s and ageing.

In a rather bizarre incident that occurred on Monday, a seemingly angry policeman, who was being reprimanded by his landlord for playing loud music, allegedly went berserk and shot and seriously wounded the man.

Roshini Pakkiree has once again made Louis Trichardt and its people proud. She was chosen as one of the Top 10 in the Mrs South Africa Pageant on Friday, 17 November, at Emperor’s Palace, where the event took place. Earlier this year, the Zoutpansberger wrote about Roshini, who had entered this competition. “I was excited right from the start of this journey. History was made, and I was part of this!”

Langanani Julian Mamburu, a hawker from Madombidzha near Louis Trichardt, is hoping that the Small Claims Court can come to her rescue. A few weeks ago, she lost the R4,000 she tried to send to her daughter, using the local Checkers store’s Money Market Facility. All her efforts to trace the money have been in vain, and her last hope is now pinned on the justice system.

The newly elected executive mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality(VDM), Tsakani Freda Nkondo, pledged to provide clean, drinkable water and sanitation to the communities around the district. Nkondo was elected on Thursday, 16 November, during a special council meeting that was held a few days after the former executive mayor, Dowelani Nenguda, had stepped down from his position. He was elected as VDM’s Speaker.

The trial of the Radzuma brothers continued in the Limpopo High Court last week, causing some drama when Judge Thogomelani Tshidada appealed to one of the witnesses to walk around the courtroom and identify the people who had kidnapped and robbed him.

One of the eight suspects arrested for allegedly burning down a nine-room house in Matangari village last year has been warned by the court to stop threatening members of the media covering the case.

With the election in 2024 approaching rapidly, a flurry of street-rehabilitation projects and repairs is once again taking place in Louis Trichardt.