THE well-known Paarl steakhouse Wagon Wheels has once again been adjudged the best grill house in the Boland, while Saddles Paarl was runner up in the district for best family steakhouse.

Wagon Wheels is the regional winner (Western Cape Districts) in the annual SA Grainfed Beef/Chateau Libertas Steakhouse of the Year Awards, with Damas at Worcester as runner-up.

The Best Grill House in South Africa for 2002 is a leading restaurant in Pretoria, Pachas in Hazelwood.

Saddles Steak Ranch Paarl was runner-up in the Western & Southern Cape Districts for Family Steakhouse.

Seven Spur Steak Ranch in Sea Point, Cape Town, was named as the Best Family Steakhouse in the country.

The annual SA Grainfed Beef/Chateau Libertas Steakhouse of the Year Awards are judged under the chairmanship of Lannice Snyman, renowned food writer. Food and wine writers around the country take part in the judging.

In the Grill House category the first runner-up was The Famous Butchers Grill in Claremont, with Godfather in Centurion, Cattle Baron in Tableview, B's in Hermanus and The Chuckwagon in Kempton Park in even positions.

The regional winner of the SA Grainfed Beef/Chateau Libertas Steakhouse of the Year Award in Greater Cape Town is Cattle Baron in Durbanville.

Runners-up were Cattle Baron Steak Ranch in Plattekloof, The Grill & Butcher in Bellville, The Butcher Grill House in Hout Bay and The Famous Butchers Grill, also in Durbanville.

FOR the past four years the Athlone Institute Trust (AIT) in Paarl has been granting bursaries and bursary loans to promising and needy students who are permanent residents of Paarl and Mbekweni.

By the end of this year the AIT, via the Bursary Project Committee, will have assisted a total of 263 students to the value of R676 000 at various registered tertiary institutions in the Peninsula and the Boland and as far as the Free State, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.

Next year the AIT will again grant a number of bursaries for tertiary students from their second year onwards. Bursaries will be awarded with academic merit or financial need of the applicant as primary consideration.

A maximum of 20 bursary loans will be available to first year students with serious financial need, who have obtained a minimum aggregate of 950 in the Matriculation Examination.

An applicant for either a bursary or bursary loan must:

* be a permanent resident of Paarl or Mbekweni and a parish member in good standing of one of the member churches of the AIT or a parishioner in good standing of his/her church;

* enrol at a registered tertiary institution for full-time undergraduate studies for 2003;

* have been promoted after the last year of study;

* show potential to study successfully;

* be willing to be involved in some form of community service in the Paarl/Mbekweni area under the supervision of the Bursary Project Committee.

Application forms and information are available at the offices of churches in Paarl or Mbekweni. They are Bethel United Congregation Church, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Immanuel UR Church, St Stephen's Anglican Church, Zions UR Church and the Methodist Church of SA (Mbekweni).

For enquiries, phone the secretary at 862-0225 from tomorrow.

Completed application forms must be forwarded to the Secretary, PO Box 846, Huguenot 7645 by 22 January. No late applications will be considered.

THE first step towards the long awaited construction project of the Skuifraam Dam near Franschhoek was taken last week when a public participation meeting was held in the town hall.

The meeting was the first phase of a process to establish an environmental management committee (EMC) representing stakeholders and residents of the Franschhoek/Drakenstein area.

The committee will provide input into the compilation of an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the Berg Water Project, which includes construction of the Skuifraam Dam. The committee will also monitor its implementation.

A number of stakeholders have already been identified, but any stakeholder groups who believe that they have reason to have representation on the EMC, are invited to register their interest. Registration closes today.

The process of grouping the stakeholders into sectors with common interests will commence tomorrow.

The committee is to be broadly representative of the different sectors of the affected communities and should be balanced in terms of gender and demographic profile, as well as environmental and social interests.

Consensus will also be sought on the various sectors to be represented on the committee and the process to nominate/elect representatives from these sectors.

Proof of stakeholders' mandate (signed resolution) will be required by Wednesday.

Construction of the dam in the La Motte forestry area is due to commence in the middle of next year.

The study will identify critical issues which will arise during construction of the dam.

The construction project, estimated at R1,4 billion (excluding cost escalation), will take five to six years to complete before the additional water supply becomes available by about 2010 to meet the increasing water needs of the Western Cape.

The project will include construction of the Skuifraam Dam with a wall 70 metres high and with a gross storage capacity of 126,4 million cubic metres.

Downstream of the dam there will be a three cubic metres capacity pump station and a 2,5km pipeline to deliver water to the existing Dasbos Adit of the Riviersonderend-Berg River tunnel.

Lower down in the Berg River a 4ha balancing dam will be constructed below the confluence with the Dwars River, with a pump station and a 10km pipeline to deliver water to the main dam.

Environmental Impact Assessment studies for the scheme have already been completed and authorisation was granted which stipulated that an EMP be compiled prior to construction and that an EMC be appointed to have input into the development of the EMP and monitor its implementation.

A consortium of consultants lead by Arup SA was appointed in October to compile the EMP and Tshukudu Environmental Services and Nomi Muthialu & Associates are responsible for the public participation programme and the establishment of the EMC.

A Background Information Document (BID) has been compiled for the project and whoever wishes to register as an Interested and Affected Party, receive a copy of the BID or has any queries regarding the project may contact Tshukudu Environment Services at Postnet suite 63, Private bag x15, Somerset West, 7129 or phone 852-7434, fax 852-2690, or e-mail info@ tshukudugroup.co.za or www.meetsi.com.

DIEP onder die grond is een van Paarl se bes bewaarde "geheime".

Met die somer om die draai, is water en waterbesparings weer op almal se lippe.

En hoewel elke inwoner aangemoedig word om te bespaar, vind die grootste beparings in Drakenstein ondergronds plaas.

Berigte oor groot besparings in ander munisipaliteite met 'n nuwe stelsel wat waterlekke beperk en verwering van pype en toebehore vertraag, het Paarl Post genoop om by ons eie ingenieursdepartement aan te klop.

Vriendelik is genooi, kom kyk na die drukbeheerstelsel by ons reservoirs: "Hier spaar ons tot 60%."

Salig onder die indruk dat alle reservoirs bogronds is, vertrek ek saam met André Kowalewski, Hanré Blignaut en Johan Wessels van die ingenieursdepartement op ons sending.

Ons stop in Van der Stelstraat en verbaas sien ek hoe die manne 'n mangatdeksel oopmaak.

"Die water het genoeg gesak, ons kan maar inklim," word ek vriendelik genooi.

Die smal staalleertjie sak loodreg die donker dieptes in en met my hart in my keel voel-voel ek my pad tot onder op een van die reuse-waterpype.

Die entoesiasme van die ingenieursmanne oor hierdie waterwonder is aansteeklik en gou vergeet ek van die koue en klammigheid.

Dié ondergrondse beheerkamer is een van verskeie wat geïnstalleer is om die waterdruk in die dorp te reguleer.

Met behulp van elektroniese drukkleppe word die druk verminder of vermeerder, na gelang van die aanvraag.

Veral snags, wanneer mense nie baie water gebruik nie, kan die druk aansienlik verminder word.

"Ons moet net altyd sorg dat die druk voldoen aan die vereistes vir water vir brandbestryding," verduidelik Kowalewski.

Een van die probleme met hoë waterdruk, is dat dit pype laat lek en slytasie van die stelsel verhaas.

"Waterverliese het reeds met ongeveer 60% gedaal teenoor die 'hoogtepunt' drie jaar gelede, voordat die druk verlaag is.

"Indien dit nie plaasgevind het nie, sou ons water-aankoopkoste  ongeveer R4,9 miljoen per jaar meer gewees het."

Daar word beoog om die stelsel verder uit te bou in die nuwe boekjaar.

* Considerable savings have been effected in Paarl after the installation of a water pressure regulation plant which cuts down on pipe leakages.

'n AANSOEK om hersonering en onderverdeling van 'n eiendom op die Franschhoekpas vir die oprigting van 'n eksklusiewe kliniek, word tans geadverteer vir besware deur die Munisipaliteit Stellenbosch.

Die eiendom is die plaas L'Aubade van 15 hektaar waar beoog word om 'n plastiese chirurgiekliniek en 50-kamer herstelfasiliteit, die L'Aubade Mountain Retreat, op te rig.

Sommige inwoners van Franschhoek het reeds hul kommer uitgespreek oor die visuele impak wat die gebou teen die berghang sal hê.

Vir die ontwikkeling moet die skemaregulasies gewysig word en die plaas hersoneer word vanaf Landbousone I na Onderverdelingsgebied.

Die planne is beskikbaar ter insae by die munisipale kantoor op Franschhoek en Stellenbosch (soggens).

Besware en/of kommentaar moet skriftelik by die Munisipale Bestuurder, Posbus 17, Stellenbosch 7599 ingedien word teen 6 Desember. Navrae by Angelica van der Merwe 808-8255.

Die aansoeker namens die ontwikkelaar is Chittenden Nick de Villiers. Vir navrae, kontak Anton Lotz van CNdV by tel 461-6302, faks 461-6466 of epos planning@cndv.co.za.

* The developers of a proposed exclusive clinic on the Franschhoek Pass have applied for rezoning of the property for this purpose.

THE Search is back - and this time it is bigger and better! Once again Engen is throwing their weight behind developing local tourism and is asking South Africans to cast their votes and tell us which three towns they believe best showcase our beautiful country.

The promotion runs from 18 November to 20 January at all participating Engen and Zenex Service Stations. Local participants are Paarl Car Sales, Courtrai Motors, and Drakenstein Motors and Village Motors.

"The Engen Town of the Year award has certainly lifted the awareness of the Southern Cape region, with Knysna winning in 2000 and Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay taking second and fourth place respectively.

This year more people and organisations are being involved in the promotion. Towns, their local tourism bodies and even their service organisations have been approached to create awareness and excitement amongst their communities about Engen's Town of the Year 2002 Promotion.

As an incentive the towns have been offered the chance to gain publicity in a series of three-minute inserts, to be produced by Engen, which will highlight their towns and areas.

These "travel inserts" will be screened on national television during the promotional period.

The first step was for local tourism organisations to develop a motivation detailing why they believe their towns should be featured in the inserts. An appointed panel then judged the replies and the towns, believed to be most deserving, were selected.

The most important part of the promotion, however, remains the South African public. Their votes will determine which town receives the prestigious title of Engen's Town of the Year.

To give all the towns a fair and equal chance, entrants will be required to name the THREE towns they believe best showcase our beautiful country.

These votes can be cast at any participating Engen and Zenex Service Stations and there is no limit to the amount of times people can enter.

Each entry form that is filled out will place that person in the running to win one of five South African holidays (R30 000)!

In addition, the winning town and village will each receive R50 000 to be divided between the town council, the tourism body and the elected service organisation, and the Engen Excellence Award for their achievement.

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