ISSN 1833-1831 Tourist Park Coober Pedy 08 86 725 691 BULLS GARAGE On-site Service Centre Phone: 86 725 036 Tel: 08 8672 5920 https://cooberpedytimes.com Thursday 14 June 2018 VICTORIA NIKOLOUDIS ‘AT HOME’ IN COOBER PEDY AFTER THAILAND FIRE ORDEAL by Margaret Mackay Victoria Nikoloudis, daughter of Coober Pedy’s Jimmy the Runner, and grand-daughter of the late Inge Feug has spent a week in Coober Pedy to be with her dad and to visit close friends after being released from the Royal Adelaide Hospital Burns Unit last week. Through a series of events that went wrong while cooking dinner at her apartment in Thailand on 11 April, 2018 Victoria was rushed to a Thai hospital suffering 30% burns to her upper body. 37 year old Victoria is sharing her story through the Coober Pedy Regional Times, reaching out to thank many of those who came to her aid and to perhaps inspire others who may be facing a serious life challenge of their own. Throughout this ordeal (far from over) Victoria has shown strength and courage that might rival some of history’s finest women warriors. Victoria relived her ordeal for our story: “I was heating up a pot of oil on a portable burner, which is what I use for cooking at home in Chiang Mai Thailand. I had the window open and the was fan on! Margaret Mackay © “While the oil was heating I was dashing around doing washing and other things. Suddenly I noticed smoke and Victoria Nikoloudis just discharged from the Adelaide Burns Unit and at ‘home’ in Coober Pedy with saw the oil was on fire. My mind began racing. I knew not to put water onto the burning oil but I didn’t know dad Jimmy Nikoloudis for a week how to extinguish it.” The pot then flew out of my hands and and that’s when I “I am called Khun Yay - ‘Grandmother’ by the kids”, felt the oil all over my arms, my chest and my neck. My Victoria told us. “In a panic I ran downstairs to the land-lady’s house, face was burning too and fortunately it was only from leaving the door open! There wasn’t anyone there and so the flames; the oil hadn’t reached my face. “One of my projects with the Care Corner children at I ran back upstairs. In that time the flames had tripled their request was Muay Thai or Thai boxing. This is and were almost touching the air-conditioner.” “All I could see were flames. I felt certain that the Thailand's national sport, known to us as kick-boxing.” apartment was gone and that I would die. No way in a “I had an instant vision of the whole block of apartments million years would I have thought I would die this way”! “Through Muay Thai the children learn discipline and going up in flames if I didn’t act quickly. I ran to the confidence, and together with a reward of a certificate bathroom and grabbed a thick bath mat so I could grasp In that frightening and surreal moment Victoria said, she per week for their progress, I watched these children the handles of the pot.” recalled thinking, “If I die today, I knew I would die doing flourish and grow. This work gives my life a special what I loved for the past three years.” purpose.” “I live in a small one bedroom apartment and so the distance to the front door was not far. Carefully I walked To put some of the readers into the picture; Victoria is a “I have so much more work to do with orphaned children. the burning pot nearly to the front door that was still open. K2 Kindergarten teacher and since 2014 she has been I did not want to die that day,” said Victoria. At that moment the wall fan swivelled towards me and involved with Care Corner Orphanage Foundation and the blew the flames into my face and onto my hands.” Rustic Pathways Foundation (both children’s orphanages) “I remember running through the flames and saw my in Thailand where she now lives. neighbour on the ground. A fire-ball had been generated “Spontaneously I tilted the pot away from myself but the in my kitchen and had ‘wooshed’ outside. I ran past the oil spilled out onto the tiles causing me to slip over. Victoria explained that these organisations care for children neighbour and slipped again and fell into more hot oil” left without parents or had parents that couldn’t afford to keep them, or who were never registered at birth. At this point here was still no help on the way.” Continued on page 8 e Victoria training to stay fit for her Muay Thai projects SERVING THE OPAL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD SINCE 1982 The COOBER PEDY REGIONAL TIMES is ‘WORLD WIDE’ READ Newspaper FREE online at: https://cooberpedytimes.com/ ABOUT US 7 DAYS WEATHER - Mornings with frost Email: [email protected] Coober Pedy is an underground town Coober Pedy Oodnadatta Tarcoola Andamooka Roxby Downs built on the back of opal mining The CPRT newspaper first became DIGITAL in 2006 and is now ONLINE albeit a number of * copies are still printed locally DUGOUT Editor - Margaret Mackay PO Box 275 Coober Pedy SA 5723 Ph: (08) 8672 5920 Email: [email protected] https://cooberpedytimes.com/ Next Newspapers *Winter Solstice Thursday 28 Jun 2018 Thursday 21 June, 2018 Thursday 12 July 2018 Thursday 26 July 2018 Thursday 09 Aug 2018 September Equinox in South Australia is Thursday 23 Aug 2018 on Sunday, 23 Sept 2018 at 11:24 am Advertising Rates Display $6.50 per cm/col Classified $8.00 per cm/col Bookings and Material must be in Fri prior to publication EMAILING LIST If you would like to be on a fortnightly email- out send your preferred email address to [email protected] The Coober Pedy Regional Times “Your Outback Communities Newspaper” CPRT became a FREE Newspaper in 2006 and increased its distribution to 4,500 hard copies + Free Online Newspaper, promoting news, events thus distributing advertising to tourists and to nearby communities and towns. The CPRT receives no external funding. A local newspaper is the voice of the people. A truly free and independent press is a vital component of any healthy democratic society. [...] the prime value of journalism is that it imposes transparency, and thus accountability, on those who wield the greatest governmental and corporate power. ~ Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill CONTRIBUTORS ‘Media releases’ may be submitted however there is no obligation on the newspaper to publish any part of it. Media releases are generally one sided so comments may’ be extracted and used in a related article. CPRT does not provide free space for political or business advertising . Advertising rates are in the column above. Letters to Editor are sent by email where possible and must be relevant to the community. Defamatory comments will be edited or deleted. 1.) NEW IS AFTER AN EVENT. You or your group may wish to send a News Article. Aim for a 300 word story in plain text and a suitable photo. DISCLAIMER: Opinions and letters published in The Coober Pedy Regional Times are not necessarily the views of the Editor, or Publisher. The 2. If seeking an Editorial - “Advertorial” or “Special Coober Pedy Regional Times reserves the right to edit or omit copy, in accordance with newspaper policies. Letters to the Editor must be attributed Feature”, please enquire about the cost first. with a name, address and contact phone number - names and town of origin will be printed, or may be withheld at the Editor’s discretion. During the 3.) Advertisers may be entitled to editorials course of any election campaign, letters to the editor dealing with election issues must contain the author’s name and street address (not PO Box) for 4.) Sponsorship for clubs or community programs publication. Right of reply is always available. is by arrangement INDEMNITY: Advertising agencies, advertisers and other contributors accept full responsibility for the contents of advertisements and other submitted, signed 5.) Names and Captions must accompany photos material and agree to indemnify the publishers against any claim or proceedings out of the publication of such advertisements or material. Provision of + DO NOT REDUCE PHOTOS material or copy for publication in the Coober Pedy Regional Times Newspaper constitutes acceptance by advertisers, advertising agencies and other 6.) Letters to Editor need to be signed and also may contributors of this condition. be edited. Copyright Notice: All of the content published by CPRT, including articles, photos, images, graphics, advertising, layout, printing plate content and 7) SUBMISSIONS that are not received by deadline related material, is owned by CPRT, or by other information providers who have licensed their content for use in this publication. Additionally, the entire content of the Coober Pedy Regional Times past and present is copyrighted as a collective work under Australian copyright laws and may not be are unlikely to appear in that edition reproduced without written authorisation. The owner of the collective work is the Coober Pedy Regional Times Newspaper. Page 2 Coober Pedy Regional Times Thursday 14 June 2018 Keeping the community informed Requested Is Local Government working for us? documents COUNCILLOR PERFORMANCE REVIEWS? 9. REGISTER OF ALLOWANCES AND BENEFITS • Key Performance Indicators Framework - developed in conjunction with stakeholders (community) input The Coober Pedy Regional Times requested an up-to- • 12 months performances review involving stakeholders date copy of the Register of Allowances and Benefits from the Coober Pedy District Council Admin on 17 May 2018 • That all council meetings are recorded and placed on council website.