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Guardian
Ashburton
www.guardianONLINE.co.nz
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
FIRST PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 27, 1879
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Stadium consent lodged By Sue Newman Another giant step has been taken in the drive to take Ashburton’s EA Networks Centre from planning stage to opening day. A land use resource consent has been lodged for the aquatic centre and stadium, planned for land off Riverside Drive and running parallel to Alford Forest Road. Council chief executive Brian Lester said the consent application marked an important milestone for the project. Because the River Terrace site is being zoned in the council’s district plan for open space, a land use consent was required for the facility. The consent covers issues such as noise, car parking, access to the site, signage and general aesthetics. It also covers the extent of the facilities proposed and landscaping. For the Ashburton Stadium Trust, the community fundraising arm of the project, knowing the consent application had been lodged was one more significant step towards seeing the project open and in use, said trust chair Maurice Myers. “The trust and the project group are delighted and knowing this had been lodged will help reduce any delays further down the track.” Work on the stadium is anticipated to start in mid-2013 and to be completed by mid-2015. It is anticipated to cost around $32 million, with $5 million of this money to be raised by the stadium trust from the community. Fundraising began in earnest in February and over the past 10 months Mr Myers said almost $4.5
million had been given by the community and community funders. “Our fundraisers have worked extremely hard and the community has responded wonderfully and we’re still getting positive vibes,” he said. When the $5 million target was reached the fundraising would not stop, however, Mr Myers said. “Clearly we want to raise all the money we can for recreational facilities and for a further assessment of the hydroslide which the community is clearly saying it wants and hopes to have.” The trust was also well down the track to meeting its goal of having 100 business partners who had contributed to the fundraising pool and currently has more than 80 signed up. Mr Myers is confident the goal will be met by early next year. With some significant fundraising runs on the board, he said the trust could now “conservatively” see a little more light at the end of the tunnel. For the community, the first tangible indication that work on the project has begun will come before Christmas when scrub clearance was carried out on the stadium site. The complex will contain four indoor playing courts and a four pool aquatic centre. It has been designed to grow as demand for facilities grows and provision has also been made to construct outdoor playing fields and facilities for a range of sports in the future. The consent will be publicly notified and submissions will be called and if a hearing is required, this will be conducted by an independent commissioner.
Burglary appals principal By Sam Morton
Photo Tetsuro Mitomo 111212-TM-142
It’s all great fun slip-sliding away A large sheet of back plastic, eight litres of dishwashing liquid and a fire hose meant only one thing for Netherby School pupils yesterday – fun. With what’s quickly becoming a school tradition, Taumaoe Touli, 10, (above left) and Tane Edwin-Sharpe, 11, along with
about other 130 pupils took part on the slip and slide challenge. The challenge saw the youngsters glide along the slippery surface with an ear-to-ear grin along with a face full of bubbles. It was the eighth year the
school has held the annual fixture, with principal Andrew Leverton featuring in his finest attire last year. He said there was no chance of him getting wet this year, however he was glad to see the pupils enjoying themselves after such a long year.
“It’s something a bit different for them at the end of the year, it gets them excited and having a bit of fun,” Mr Leverton said. It was part of end of year festivities, leaving only the school prizegiving tomorrow before the school packs up for Christmas on Friday.
Schools have little faith in latest pay accuracy By Myles Hume Schools’ worst nightmares are set to become a reality today following the latest round of teacher pays. Today marks one of the “most vital” paydays for support staff and teachers throughout Mid Canterbury, with holiday pay over the Christmas period going into bank accounts overnight. While teacher pay continues on its typical fortnightly cycle throughout the break, teacher aides and support staff remain
nervous with some looking as though they will not receive their full lump sum pay for the summer break. Schools waited anxiously in front of computer screens last night to see if amendments had been made to their SUE reports, however they remained skeptical. Novopay promised it would have the error-ridden system ironed out by December 25. However, according to the latest Staffing Utilisation and Expenditure (SUE) reports, which show schools what staff
90c Casual $1.20
are going to be paid prior to payday, there is set to be further anger and frustration behind school office doors. Schools have identified a raft of errors in their reports, one principal saying Novopay “did not have a hope in hell” in having the payroll system straightened out by the Christmas break. Hampstead School principal Peter Melrose said he was concerned some teachers may not be able to afford Christmas presents, so he has planned to take about $6000 out of the school’s operations grant to tide teachers
over the break. “It was a foregone conclusion, this is just a continuation of a volcano of errors,” he said. Their fears have been underlined by emails sent by Novopay, stating there had been issues due to incorrect calculations of support staff hours and omissions of statutory holidays they are entitled to. “We have identified several issues with today’s final SUE report. These are being worked on and we will keep you updated as we get more information,” a Novopay email stated.
Allenton School had counted 10 errors in its SUE report, where the majority of support staff were scheduled to be overpaid. One teacher who worked two hours was set to be paid $4000 if the problem was not rectified before the pay went through. “Staff are reaching the point where they are telling me they are getting close to resignation, they get frustrated and give you that look that they don’t want to be here,” Allenton School principal Graham Smith said. “Once again it’s the people
who are most vulnerable, I have a case of one person who just can’t afford to not have this money.” Tinwald School principal Peter Livingstone said Novopay would “break labour laws” if they did not pay people their holiday entitlement. One pay slip showed one of his staff members would not be paid for Christmas Day or Boxing Day, which she was entitled to. Schools will know if their staff had been paid correctly this morning.
Primary aged children should not be walking the streets alone, a local principal says. Tinwald School principal Peter Livingstone has spoken out against unsupervised children and petty youth crime after his school was unlawfully entered by young children on Monday night. The two children, believed to be Year 7s from another Mid Canterbury primary school, entered the school’s resource room and took valuable items, including a laptop and a guitar, about 7.30pm. Mr Livingstone was fuming after the incident and quickly carried out some of his own investigations, after ringing the police. After speaking with his caretaker and a teacher at the school, he was shocked to discover the culprits as two school aged children - prompting him to point the finger at parents, who should have known where their children were. “It’s not good enough, they should not have been out at that time by themselves and it’s that simple. “I would have to put the blame at the parents’ feet for this as well, because parents should take great care in their children’s whereabouts and where possible, supervise them,” Mr Livingstone said. “I can tell you, one of these children was quite some way from his house – this wasn’t just a stroll away from his front door.” However, Mr Livingstone took the time to praise the local police and a neighbouring school for their effective work in catching the offenders – who he believes should never have been left alone. Police approached the suspects yesterday and the two children immediately admitted their wrongdoing. “It wasn’t that long ago we were reporting a possible stalker on the loose, so what does it take for some parents to get the message,” Mr Livingstone said. “Generally, most parents will take the utmost responsibility for their kids, but there are obviously still some who don’t and one day that could escalate into worse incidents. “If they are prepared to steal and vandalise at their age now, then who knows what they will get into in a few years’ time if their actions aren’t dealt with,” he said. The two children will be served with trespass notices, preventing them from entering Tinwald School for a duration of two years. “What a shame that is too, because I am sure they would have liked to come down and play in the holidays, but they have to learn ... it’s just not acceptable,” Mr Livingstone said. All items were recovered undamaged and returned to Tinwald School. The matter will likely be referred to Police Youth Aid.
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