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OCTOBER 23, 2019 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
T U R N T O PA G E
17
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Out of her comfort zone
(Joe Mastroianni)
Young Werribee resident Akon Dhel has been named a state finalist in the 2020 Miss World Australia competition. Miss Dhel and 30 other contestants took part in a preliminary final in Melbourne at the weekend. She was one of 17 to make it to state finals. Miss Dhel, 20, said she entered the event to step outside her comfort zone. “I was nervous, I’m not used to entering beauty pageants and talking about myself to a crowd, I’m not a model either, so I wanted to challenge myself,” she said. “What I enjoyed most was meeting the other girls, it was really fun and I met lots of characters from all walks of life.” Miss Dhel described herself as a “proud South Sudanese Australian”. She arrived in Australia at the age of six, after being born in a refugee camp. Miss Dhel is studying a three-year nursing degree and in the future hopes be gain employment as a nurse in the Australian Defence Force.
Alesha Capone
Thefts cause group pain By Alesha Capone The theft of about $30,000 of equipment could force the Williams Landing Estate Residents’ Association to shut down. Generators, a marquee and lighting used by WLERA to host last month’s Trail of Lights community event has been stolen from a locked storage container on Garran Street, Truganina. Thieves cut padlocks to the container some time between 5pm on September 29 and 1pm on October 1. WLERA president Ian MacGowan said the stolen generators, valued at $27,000, had been
rented from Kennards Hire in Werribee. Although WLERA had taken out insurance for the Trail of Lights event, the association is not sure if the insurance would cover the stolen items. Mr MacGowan said it is also unclear if Kennards’ insurance would cover the stolen generators. “If the cost of these goods are not covered by either our insurance or by Kennards, WLERA will be forced to be wound up,” Mr MacGowan said. “WLERA is a small community group and doesn’t have the funds to cover the full
replacement costs of the equipment. “If we can’t cover the costs we may need to officially wind up the organisation and liquidate what little assets we have to cover the liability, although that still will not cover the cost of the generators. “It depends on whether Kennards pursues the group for the costs or choose to cover the loss under their insurance.” Mr MacGowan said that if the WLERA was forced to wind up, it would put its other community activities “in jeopardy” including the Williams Landing Community Garden. A Kennards Hire spokesperson said: “We
Grill | Smoke | Roast | Bake
have spoken to a representative of WLERA and they are aware that the police are doing everything they can to recover the generators.” Police have recovered two of the generators from a Werribee house. During the school holidays, thieves also broke into a storage container at Truganina South Primary School, stealing bicycles and sports equipment. Principal Linda Danese said the bikes were used in the school’s bicycle education program, for pupils who did not own a bike. Anyone with information about the thefts can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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