FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
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Businesses battle
By Jeremy Smith
Business owners are facing “tough questions” as the Waipā’s Te Awamutu and Cambridge Chambers of Commerce look for ways to help members through the Covid-19 lockdown and its after affects. Cambridge chamber chief Kelly Bouzaid emailed a Cambridge Impact Study to her members late last week as a similar Waikato Chamber of Commerce poll showed that if the lockdown continued past eight weeks, nearly 20 percent of the businesses under the regional chamber’s umbrella may have to close. Te Awamutu chamber head Kris Anderson said the numbers would appear to be not too dissimilar to responses being received by the Te Awamutu and Waipā’ business community. Mrs Bouzaid told the News that in Cambridge there was clearly short and long-term detriment to the business sector and the organisation was committed to finding ways of supporting its members. About a third of the Cambridge chamber’s “business voice” of about 300 businesses had completed the impact study by the time the News went to print. The Waikato Chamber’s survey indicated nearly 40 percent of those polled would never close their business in the current situation, while from a mental health perspective the same percentage of respondents said they were “really struggling”. About 70 percent of regional respondents said the government
was doing a good job of handling the situation. Waikato Chamber executive director Don Good said they would run the regional survey fortnightly. It was “extremely positive that business owners were reporting their business “would and could” stay open beyond the eight wek time frame” Mr Anderson said rather than focus on how many Te
Awamutu businesses would close, it was better to look at how each individual industry was responding. While extending the lockdown beyond four weeks would make things hard for business, the worst thing to do would be to open back up too soon, he said. “We are here now, let’s deal with it properly and focus on the most important recovery phase. “We will come out of this
situation and there will be new opportunities for all business with strong fundamentals.” Kelly Bouzaid applauded the level of “resilience and robustness” on display across the Cambridge business community. “We have a large proportion of small and medium sized enterprise here in Cambridge and enjoy many driven entrepreneurs and astute business owners who have invested in professional services
• Continued page 5 • Chamber’s ‘Nxtstep’ – page 2
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Derek Teague’s winning image of the gates above Lake Te Koo Utu. Inset: Derek Teague
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during their journey. “They have adopted technology, adaptation and change early.” The Cambridge Impact Study asked respondents how they were coping with the mental stress the lockdown was putting on them. It also addressed how many weeks of lockdown business owners felt they could cope with before facing closure, the financial
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It was while on a quiet evening stroll with fellow Cambridge Camera Club members that Derek Teague shot the photograph that won him the 2020 Cambridge Photo Competition. The moody picture of the gates above Lake Te Koo Utu was selected from 89 entries received for this year’s competition, held as one of the surviving segments of the Cambridge Autumn Festival under the theme ‘Iconic Landmarks of Cambridge’. Derek said he took the picture some time ago, around 8pm. It was “just a case of the right place, the right time”. “A number of us had gone out that night, hoping to catch a shot of the supermoon. I knew where I wanted to try for it - at those gates.” Derek has lived in Cambridge for about seven years and works with Fonterra. Photography was a childhood hobby that he said he has enjoyed investing more time in during recent years. “I’ve probably been able to make more of it as a hobby.” Winning at a time when there was so much disappointment over the cancellation of the Autumn Festival makes it all the more special, he said. First prize in the competition, sponsored by People in Mind Ltd, was worth $250.
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FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
Job-matching website launched A free job-matching website for the Waikato region went live this week to support business owners and employees affected by COVID-19 The Waikato Nxtstep site offers a platform for Waikato businesses to list vacancies, and for jobseekers to list themselves. It was created by the Cambridge Business Chamber in collaboration with Te Waka, Waikato’s Regional Economic Development Agency. Cambridge Business Chamber chief executive Kelly Bouzaid said the organisation realised quickly that COVID-19 was going to impact on low employment statistics in Waipā and the greater Waikato region. “This website is a way to help match employers and jobseekers quickly and locally, and to make the recruitment process as easy and effective as possible.” Stressing its Waikato-wide focus, she said the end goals were regional employment and business continuity. “People will be looking for paid employment as we move between all four levels of the COVID-19 alert system, then into recovery. And when lockdown levels change, there will be urgency in recruiting
Briefs…
Health shuttle
Go Bus has won the tender for the Taumarunui health bus service which makes daily trips to Waikato Hospital. The service, which started on Tuesday, stops in Te Kuiti and Te Awamutu. During the lockdown a 23-seater bus will operate at half the capacity for those who have significant health needs and require more special care. For details go to https://www.waikatodhb.health. nz/patients-and-visitors/for-patients/ community-health-transport-shuttles/
Essential services during lockdown
staff with the desired skill sets, including staff for the ‘shovel ready’ infrastructure projects when they get the green light.” Getting the website operational so quickly was made possible through a piggyback arrangement with an existing online platform by NxtStep, she said. The aim was to achieve maximum benefit by including anyone wanting to use its capability and by capturing jobs available across all sectors in the Waikato, including cross-pollinating with other job-listing sites through wider collaboration. Kelly Bouzaid worked on the initiative with colleague Jannat Maqbool - Hamilton City Council’s Smart Cities Advisor and senior academic staff member at Wintec – who said NxtStep had been an easy choice as their business model was all about supporting regions to retain talent. NxtStep general manager Poncho RiveraPavon described forging products that showcased job opportunities and created
Cambridge Business Chamber CEO Kelly Bouzaid.
On the beat with Senior Constable DEB THURGOOD Don’t look for loopholes Hello all… how is everything going in your bubble? For our Te Awamutu readers, a special hello. I am the Community Liaison Officer for Cambridge, similar to the role of Te Awamutu CLO, Constable Ryan Fleming. I’m glad to have the opportunity to continue talking with you in these difficult Covid-19 times. I’ve seen a few jokes going around along the lines of, “I thought January was the longest month, but March proved me wrong!”. The year 2020 has certainly felt that way at times hasn’t it? As we continue through April, I know that the continuing stress of the level 4 lockdown can at times bring a roller coaster of emotion into our bubble. I think it’s important to cut ourselves some slack and practice self-care when we can. Know also that there is help available. If you or someone you know needs support with food in order to get through, in Cambridge, you can contact the Salvation Army, 07 827 4723 or Cambridge Community House, 07 827 5402. If you are unable to get out to buy your own essential supplies, ring the Civil Defence Emergency Management Line on 0800 800 405. If you are affected by Family Harm, phone 111 if in immediate danger or otherwise contact the Women’s Refuge Crisis Line on 07 855 1569. The main thing is that you reach out. On the Thursday before Easter, I spent six hours on a checkpoint west of Hamilton. It was great to see that many people were legitimately travelling to essential work or the supermarket. There were however
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still those who were simply heading to the beach to walk the dog, driving until their child fell asleep, or driving into their (nonessential) business to do administrative work. One person told us they had planned to head over to their bach in Whangamata to pick up a farm tool. Yes, it seems a part of human nature to try to bend the rules and look for loopholes. Now is not the time to be that person, it is the time to stay safe and stay home. If you see someone in breach of the guidelines, you can report it via 105. police.govt.nz. In Cambridge, I’ve heard of only a very small number of people taking their stress and frustration out on our supermarket staff. I appreciate all of the measures our retailers continue to put in place, to ensure our safety while in their stores. The community spirit remains strong and everyone is getting used to the new normal with social distancing usually in place. Let’s not get complacent on that, however. I have enjoyed seeing the teddy bears and Easter eggs on my walks around the neighbourhood too. I know that it is disappointing to not be able to use the playgrounds and skateparks. This time offers us a chance to be creative and make the most of a less hectic time with the family. Waipā, we are doing this - we just need to hang in for the duration. Kia Kaha. You are doing well!
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meaningful connections between jobseekers and employers as their speciality. “We are determined to support the region by facilitating these relationships during this time.”
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Briefs…
Lockdown dumpers
The closure of public tips has prompted a wave of fly-dumping. Worst examples include a refrigerator full of expired food, building material offcuts, paint cans and household items dumped in Waipā, Otorohanga and Waitomo since the lockdown began. Refuse transfer stations are classed as non-essential services.
CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 3
Where has all the flour gone?
On track…
A 2020 start for a Waikato to Auckland commuter service is still on the cards. Work on the Huntly and Rotokauri stations and the fit out of the carriages in Lower Hutt has stalled, but Hugh Vercoe, chair of the rail governance working group, believes trains could run before the end of the year. “It’s clear we won’t be rolling out of Hamilton as planned on August 3,” he said. The startup passenger rail service project is being led by Waikato Regional Council, working with KiwiRail, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Hamilton City Council, Waikato District Council and Auckland Transport.
Burger blow
The owners of New Zealand’s Burger King franchise have been placed in receivership, but there are hopes the outlets will reopen after the lockdown. Burger King operates in Waipā at Te Awamutu and has an outlet just north of Tamahere in Hillcrest. The receivership has been described as part of a plan to restart the businesses post-lockdown and transition to a new owner.
“Use proper channels”
Covid-19 breaches are being reported in increasing numbers of local bodies – but people should be completing an online form at www.105. police.govt.nz. Western Waikato Emergency Operating Centre local controller, David Simes, urged people to use the “proper channels” for reporting breaches so councils could continue essential work. “By all means, tell your local council about noise complaints, animal control issues, water supply issues or rubbish in public areas, but breaches require a police response so need to be reported using the online form.”
Shoppers have queued to find the flour shelves bare for much of the lockdown.
By Jeremy Smith
New Zealanders at home in lockdown have upped their flour buying four-fold since the start of the Covid-19 scare. Despite constant media reports denying there is a shortage, there has not enough to go around – because those at the head of the supermarket queues have left nothing on the shelves for customers behind them. And it has only been in recent days that the rush on flour appears to be easing. Champion Flour chief executive Bruce Peden said his company had produced 250,000 bags of flour – in either 1.25kg, 1.5kg or 5kg offerings – for supermarkets nation-wide in just two weeks after “switching on a dime” from commercial requirements to focus its milling and packing efforts on the retail sector.
That amounted to an average two months’ supply. It was gobbled it up in a fortnight Bagged supermarket sales usually accounted for about six percent of Champion’s flour sales, it was now 25 percent. As well as running the company’s three mills - two side by side at Mt Maunganui and one in Christchurch – “24-7”, the run time of retail packing machines at two of its sites had increased from about 35 hours a week to 120 hours on each machine. Oji Fibre Solutions is supplying Champion with bags five times faster than usual, slashing its turnaround time from six weeks to just one – while another of the company’s bag sources, Ancor, is shipping bags twice as fast. Over Easter weekend many of his 130-plus workforce had decided that with the exception of Good Friday they would work through the long
weekend. Pratiksha Patel owns two Red Berry supermarkets with her husband Krishnaa – one in Cambridge and one in Matamata. She said on Tuesday that from her perspective things on the flour front weren’t quite as busy as they were at the start of lockdown. But she was still selling about 100 1kg bags of flour every day – 60 bags of standard flour and 40 bags of high-grade flour. “Things are starting to ease, yes,” she said. “It’s slowly starting to become a little bit more normal.” “We could keep producing at the levels we have been,” Bruce Peden said. “But I suspect we may not have to. We’ve noticed already that last week has been slightly better in terms of levelling off and I would anticipate the same trend will continue to happen again next week.”
Keep calm, welcome to crisis school By Steph Bell-Jenkins
Parents in lockdown are “crisis schooling” rather than home-schooling and should adjust their expectations, accordingly, says a Waipā teacher. “We are delivering our children’s education in the middle of a global crisis,” said Holly Fulforth, who teaches part time at Leamington School. She agrees with advice from New Zealand psychologist Nigel Latta who, during a recent discussion with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, told parents their single most important job was to keep things calm and settled in their homes. Latta said device time would “really help with that” and parents should not feel guilty about letting children play iPad games or watch television all day. Fulforth, who opted to continue schooling her seven-year-old son and four-year-old daughter rather than taking holidays when term one ended abruptly on March 23, says a flexible approach has benefitted her family. “We’ve morphed into a very relaxed, eachday-as-it-comes structure, mainly because my children are finally playing really well together
and alongside each other. It has been the best thing to come out of this situation and something I really didn’t expect.” Her top tips for parents: “stay calm, keep it fun and put on good music, audiobooks or movies”. “There are so many great apps and games that can make learning fun.” Kihikihi School teacher Arie Paton agreed creating a relaxed, unpressured home learning environment was vital. “Happy kids lear n,” she said. “It’s why being calm is so important; if our brain stem is firing, saying hey, this is a really scary situation, then you are wired into survival mode. This mode is not where learning happens, it’s once we are safe, and we are emotionally ok that we can do our learning. “So, learning needs to be fun and achievable.” Listening to your child was a key way to achieve this, she said. “If they’re hitting a wall and you’ve already explained it as best as you can, switch tasks, change activities or call it a day,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to message your teacher – we want to help – and don’t underestimate the importance of brain breaks.” Eliza Fulforth has enjoyed a variety of lessons at home.
4 | CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
How to shop in store safely WE ARE TAKING THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO PROTECT OUR CUSTOMERS AND STAFF AND STEM THE SPREAD OF COVID-19. One person, one trolley To limit customers in store we ask customers to shop solo and strongly recommend a one person, one trolley policy, where possible. For those who may find this challenging we suggest you ‘buddy up’ with a friend, family member or neighbour who could do the shop for you.
Physical distancing Please keep at least 2 metres away from your fellow shoppers and staff.
Product limits may apply We ask you to respect your fellow shoppers, only buy what you need.
Contactless payments We encourage customers to use contactless payments, such as payWave or Tap & Go, to reduce contact. We ask you to please be kind, patient and listen to store staff and security to comply with this new store entry system that will help reduce the risk to our community.
• Trading hours 7am – 9pm daily
COVID-19 Update
CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 5
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
Businesses Covid-19 information battle
This is your starting guide to life in Waipā during our lock-down. Most (but not all) information you will need is on the Government website (www.covid-19.govt.nz). In the coming weeks, we will be publishing information specific to our local community as it to comes to hand. We will carry an updated version of this graphic next week. Email editor@ impact closing their business would goodlocal.nz if you have information that you think will be useful to share with our local community and we will have on the Cambridge economy and whether business owners were looking include it in next week’s edition. Continued from page 1
to restructure. The study also addressed whether businesses were developing a post lockdown “reset strategy” and asked if they had identified future opportunities. So far what’s known is a quarter of respondents were in fact looking to increase staff numbers, while 75 percent indicated they were using lockdown time to develop reset strategies. She said now was the time for those businesses not already developing reset strategies to be doing so. Kris Anderson said the regional indications around mental health offered a “unique glimpse” into the environmental challenges some were facing. The Te Awamutu Chamber has an estimated 1800 workers under its umbrella. “Hospitality is an area we are particularly watching in Te Awamutu. The industry is very concerned,” Mr Anderson said. “Some business owners made new investment just prior to the lockdown, some are relatively new to the marketplace and others are carrying heavier overheads.” Post lockdown, recovery of the trades would be very important, Mr Anderson said, and how well this area rebounds would be an indication about how strong the recovery process is. Waipā business owners needing support are being encouraged to contact their chamber of commerce.
Waipā District Council: Essential services such as recycling, road safety, water, customer support and animal control will continue to operate throughout the four-week shutdown. Go to waipadc.govt.nz, waikatodistrict.govt.nz or otodc.govt.nz for more information. Police: Read ‘On the Beat’ on P2. Medical Centres: Consult your health provider. Community Testing for COVID-19: Your nearest centre is at Claudelands Event Centre, open from 8am to 8pm. It is accepting both drive-throughs and walk-ins. Please use the Gate 3 entrance off Brooklyn Rd. Please use this centre if you think you have symptoms of Covid-19. Pharmacies: Pharmacies around Waipā are open on both weekday and weekends throughout the lockdown. If you need to pick up a repeat prescription, ring ahead to your pharmacy and arrange a time for collection. Pharmacy hours vary. In Cambridge Unichem Leamington Pharmacy is open 8.30am-5.30pm weekdays and 9am-12pm on weekends. In Te Awamutu, the Unichem Pharmacy in Teasdale St open from 8am-6pm Monday to Friday and from 9am-1pm on Saturday. Supermarkets: Households are asked to send one nominated shopper whenever a trip is required and customer numbers in-store are limited. As of Wednesday, Countdown hours are 8am-8pm. New World is advertising 7am to 9pm hours. Post Office: Go to www.nzpost.co.nz/ and click on Covid-19 updates. If you do not have
internet, call either the Cambridge Post Shop, based at Paper Plus, on (07) 827 4360, or the Te Awamutu Postshop on (07) 871 5199. Working from home: In Cambridge, contact Thinus du Preez at CompuHub on (07) 823 4666 if you need help. In Te Awamutu, call Computer Aid on (07) 871 3837. For non-urgent matters, please visit their website, www. computeraid.co.nz, and fill out the online contact form. Banks: Banks are updating their websites constantly. Check your bank’s website for information or ring your bank if you do not have internet facilities. Rest Homes: Please do not visit elderly relatives in our rest homes. Time to start writing daily letters and cards, send texts or make regular phone calls. Justices of the Peace: All our JPs are seniors so are unavailable for now. If you need the services of a JP, please ring and make an appointment at Te Awamutu District Court or Hamilton District Court 0800 268 787 for either. Churches: Whether you are in Cambridge or Te Awamutu, please contact your local priest, vicar or pastor for information. Several churches in Cambridge and Te Awamutu are updating their websites and producing multiple online services a week. Garages: For any assistance, if you have online access, please visit either https://vtnz.co.nz/ or www.nzta.govt.nz Many Waipā service stations remain open, but with social distancing practices in place. There is no indication of a
supply issue. Automobile Association: All AA sites are closed, and the AA will not provide driver/ vehicle licensing or WOF services. Go to https://www.aa.co.nz/membership/ important-covid-19-update/ for details. Citizens Advice Bureau: Both the Cambridge CAB and the Te Awamutu CAB offices – based on Alpha St and Alexandra streets respectively – are closed during the lockdown but will still operate from volunteer’s homes. They can be contacted by phone - 0800 367 222. Schools, Kindergartens, Day Care Centres: These are all closed for the next four weeks. Community Hubs: The government has done everything it can to limit the spread of Covid-19 in New Zealand and how we manage at the local community level will be very important in the coming weeks. There are many ways we can form small local hubs to ensure everyone has access to what they need. Consider forming a Whatsapp street group or a local Facebook group so you can help each other out or just pass the time! Our Elderly in the Community: Our elderly are among our most vulnerable and anyone over 70 is required to stay at home for now. There are many elderly people living independently in our community – please keep them on your radar and support them in any way you can. Many of our elderly do not have Internet access, so if you are in a position to help them out with online shopping, paying bills online or ringing them up for a chat please do so.
Due to the lockdown our shop will be opened for NZ Couriers essential pick ups/drop offs ONLY from Thursday 26th March. Our opening hours have now reduced to Monday - Friday 9.00am - 4.00pm. We have an electrician on call for emergencies and our service technicians will carry on attending any urgent appliance repair/replacement as best as we can with the means available to us. We can be contacted via phone 07 827 6591 or email cambridge@bettaelectrical.co.nz.
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FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
HOW TO SHOP
IN STORE SAFELY
We are taking the following steps to protect our customers and staff and stem the spread of COVID-19.
Limiting Customer Numbers in store We recommend shopping alone and may use a one in – one out system during peak shopping hours. You may need to wait at the entrance until you are advised to come in.
Physical distancing Please keep at least 2 metres away from your fellow shoppers and staff.
Contactless payments We encourage customers to use contactless payments such as payWave to reduce contact.
Product limits may apply We ask you to respect your fellow shoppers, only buy what you need.
We ask you to please be kind, patient and listen to store staff and security to comply with this new store entry system that will help reduce the risk to our community.
COVID-19 UPDATE
CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 7
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
Rate relief plan Waipā District Council will roll out a series of rates relief measures – including lower rates penalties and longer payment deadlines for penalty remissions. In a move it said was aimed at assisting district ratepayers who were struggling because of Covid-19, and the resulting lockdown, councillors voted in favour of the proposal during an extraordinary meeting of Council last week. Rate penalties will drop from 10 per cent to three per cent and payment deadlines will be extended. Waipā District Council mayor Jim Mylchreest said the measures applied to rates due in the current financial year and were in line with the Government’s Covid-19 Response Unit recommendations. “We’ve been advised by the response unit to continue issuing rates notices for essential services, such as water, recycling and roading. If residents were to stop paying for these services we would no longer be able to provide them. “What we can do is help those who are struggling financially by significantly reducing our penalty fee and extending payment deadlines for ratepayers seeking penalty remissions. He said it meant residents who qualify would have much longer to pay their rates and won’t be penalised. The measures could be applied to any current water rates charges and to the fourth quarter rates charges which were due at the end of May, Mr Mylchreest said. He urged residents who needed help to contact Council to discuss their options. “We need to hear from you if you and your family are under financial pressure and unable to pay for regular Council-operated
services. There are many ways we can help but we need to have that discussion first.” Mr Mylchreest said Council was also reviewing its 2020-2021 Annual Plan, which is out for consultation. “We are taking a steady approach so we can make decisions based on facts and ensure we are doing the best we can for our communities.” Annual Plan submissions will be considered by Council’s Strategic Planning and Policy Committee on May 26, before being presented to Council for adoption on June 30. Waikato Regional Council is also considering options for a rates relief package for ratepayers facing financial hardship. Chairman Russ Rimmington said prolonged economic impacts are expected and the regional council wanted to be able to help ease the financial burden. The options being considered include rates remission and postponement policies, flexibility in the period over which rates payments can be made and the setting of a zero rates impact budget for the 2020/21 financial year. Mr Rimmington said while the council’s rates bill is unlikely to be the biggest bill most Waikato people will face, councillors did recognise the accumulative impact of all expenses for those who are struggling. “I’ve never seen the Council so unanimous over anything,” he said. “And we do not want to add to the financial burden on our communities at this point in time.” In Waipā applications for penalty remission, including the extension of the rates payment deadline, can be sent to rates@ waipadc.govt.nz and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
Council zooms online
Georgia is spoken for… By Steph Bell-Jenkins
Cambridge couple Alex Heaney and Georgia Perry have a special reason to remember the Covid-19 lockdown. Alex, 25, who part owns Spoken Cycles, had been planning to propose to Georgia, 26, on a trip to Melbourne to see a Harry Potter play last month. “But lockdown obviously put a halt to that so it really just became a matter of when the right opportunity arose,” Alex said. Alex met Georgia six months ago through a “crazy cycling group” that rides at 5am several days a week, year round. So a planned bike ride with her on the first Saturday of lockdown seemed an ideal time to propose. “Georgia’s parents happened to be coming out, so that worked well for a quick chat to Simon on the way out. We smuggled a bottle of Verve into the back of Georgia’s mum’s e-bike basket.” Alex’s well laid plans were threatened when Georgia suggested cutting the trip short. “Conveniently Georgia’s gears were playing up and being a bike mechanic I said
Alex Heaney surprised Georgia Perry with a marriage proposal.
could adjust them at the top,” he said. “I knelt down to fix them, then just stayed down and popped the question. It was so unexpected and there were so many tears that it took a while to coax an actual answer out of her. It was an epic feeling.” It had been a close call getting the ring sorted before the country went into lockdown, Alex said. The couple, currently
in an eight-person bubble with Georgia’s family, is tentatively planning a February wedding. “I guess we’re just being optimistic really, in hoping that by that time everything is back into some sort of normality,” Alex said. “We just hope that all our friends and family will be glad to have something to celebrate when these events are able to start happening again.”
LET’S GET CREATIVE WAIPĀ How the public saw last week’s Waipā council meeting is how many people now see their work colleagues.
By Jeremy Smith
Waipā District Council’s first full online Council meeting appears to have gone without a glitch. And the Mayor and some councillors say they see scope for using more technology in future meetings. An extraordinary full Council meeting was held last week using video communications app Zoom. It was also live-streamed on YouTube. Mayor Jim Mylchreest told the News afterwards he felt the “unique situation” of streaming a meeting had gone well. “I am not sure how it went from a viewer’s perspective, however from the perspective of myself and other councillors it went well and there were no issues.” Mr Mylchreest said while utilising live streaming capabilities in the future was something Council would have to decide, he personally had no problem with it, whether that be meetings entirely online or streamed from Council chambers once usual meetings resume. “I would expect that if there was a demand
for it, councillors would be quite relaxed,” he said. “I think the use of this technology going forward would be fantastic as it would allow more members of the community to sit in on meetings and get a better understanding of the issues facing our district.” Te Awamutu ward councillor Hazel Barnes said the experience was “quite different” but she felt utilising technology going forward was a good idea. Speaking of the lockdown she said she felt there would be aspects which would “open people’s eyes”. “I suspect we might be able to look back on this and say ‘what areas of life improved and how can we keep it that way,’’’ she said. Councillor Andrew Brown said while an online meeting felt a little more isolated by nature, he gave it the thumbs up. “It’s obviously not quite the same as being in the council chamber, but technology-wise it actually went far better than I thought it would.” Cambridge ward councillor Grahame Webber said the meeting itself was positive and Zoom was “easy enough” to use. “Once you get set up and signed in it’s really amazing,” he said.
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8 | CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
FAITH IN CAMBRIDGE
THE AGE OF REASON
Time to call in the expert
Crisis? What crisis?
Have you seen those optical illusion pictures which involve cleverly concealed images that you’re supposed to find? No matter how long you stare, the unyielding item eludes your struggle to unveil its substance. The worst bit is others seeing it really quickly. Your options are to ask for help, gleefully pretend you can see it too, or just keep seeking! Life can be like this. We don’t know what we don’t know. What we don’t see, we don’t see. Profound, right? It’s true…there’s times we need help from others who ‘see’ better than us or who have life experience we lack. Years ago, we sought the help of such a person- an industrial chemist. His company specialised in precious metal recovery and refining. Our church at the time had taken the lease on a sizeable building which needed a massive clean-up and refurbishment. The ‘working bees’ were more like working wasps, as we piled up rubbish that the previous tenant had accumulated over 40 years of operating a large manufacturing jewellery business. This expert stated that our rubbish piles would contain gold residue and that the crimson dust covering everything would contain a percentage of gold- it was a special rouge for buffing precious metal. The tatty carpet caught his eye. He explained given the nature of its environment, that over many years the likelihood of gold accumulating in the pile as tiny particles of filings or dust was high. The only way to extract it was to burn it and refine the ash. I reluctantly let him cut out a square
Utilising the adage that ‘one swallow does not make a summer’ one could argue the point that a small number of ‘COVID-related’ deaths do not constitute, of themselves, a national crisis, sad though the demise of these elderly people is - especially to their families. Harking back to the swine flu saga these are very small numbers and do not come anywhere near the appalling road deaths annually. But a number of journalists are making the proposition that a high number, statistically, of the elderly who have allegedly succumbed to this awful virus, were also earlier stricken with other debilitating illnesses. Thus, the journalistic watchers looking for a story will latch on to the theory that perhaps all the statistics re demise are not truly directly Covid related. Rather, the virus latched itself onto someone already weakened, and vulnerable, which hastened the inevitable. I apologise if readers find these comments disturbing or even unsociable. But being virtually locked into a (rather pleasant) corral with 250 people ‘of an age’ brings with it time to ponder what we are being told versus what may indeed be reality. The daily pronouncements from the Beehive by very well informed and well-meaning people is starting to assume a perception that, as it is 1pm, we had better say something. That is all very well but perhaps the accent could be more on showing a simple graph - where the number of people recovering on a certain day is greater than the number being perceived to be
By Murray Smith, Senior Leader, Bridges Church
metre of carpet to take it away for a test. A week later he came back to report that our one little carpet square had surrendered $150 worth of gold – after processing costs. Over weeks to come, all the old carpet was pulled up to be burnt and refined along with the piles of rubbish. Many thousands of dollars resulted in a staggering unexpected windfall. There’s often ‘gold’ staring us in the face where we might least expect it. If only we’d just be open enough to ‘ask, seek and knock’. Those were the words of Jesus. Instead of going through life pretending we’ve ‘got this’, our approach ought to be one of humbly acknowledging that we need help. There’s so much in the ‘puzzles’ of life we don’t see or get right. Decisions to make, things to know and understand. We need an expert guide and there is none greater than God Himself. I recently read a British journalist’s lengthy article about how life could look after CONVID-19. It was weighted with ominous uncertainty. This quote highlights its tone “…the texture of everyday life has altered, a sense of fragility is everywhere”. True…the props in life once considered ‘reliable’, simply aren’t. Uncertainty and trepidation about the future can only be mitigated by calling in the real Expert. One who with the assured certainty of omnipotence, secures the future of anyone calling on Him.
By Peter Carr
newly stricken (or at least ‘probable’) in the eyes of the Ministry of Health. People understand pictures so much easier than words - even though the highly respected and very well experienced Dr Ashley Bloomfield is clearly the most understandable person for the current malaise in which we find ourselves. Over the weekend there was a very good disclosure of his credentials, both academic and by way of experience. Thank goodness we are seeing him and not his fitness freaked Minister. Often the Health ministerial slot at the Cabinet table is a recipe for early demise from the oval-shaped furniture. Not many last the whole triennium unless they have nerves of steel – witness the two periods of government where the energetic Annette King took up the challenge. So, as we face another week walking around each other there is one thing for certain. We all know, almost to a millimetre, what a two metre radius looks like. Longstanding friends head towards each other then, without a word, a raised eyebrow by one walker signals to the other that it is time for the circular dance. And amazingly, without uttering a single word, both people lurch towards opposite ends of the circle in order to maintain the requisite distance. When this is all over perhaps some smart musician - accompanied by a lyricist could enjoin us all to dance and sing the Covid Tango.
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CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 9
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
DOWN WITH THE KIDS
A climate for change? We think so
On March 15, 2019, more than a million students from 125 countries skipped school to protest for the climate. Later that week, Wired Magazine asked a young Australian organiser how on earth a movement of school children managed to coordinate something of that scale. “Schools in Australia weren’t allowed to endorse the strikes, so social media was the best way for us to actually reach out to people,” Ambrose Hayes, 14, answered. They used flyers and posters, she said – but the reason they were able to organise so effectively was because of the climate movement’s huge social media following. Our current national lockdown is, of course, making mass protests of the March 15 kind unfeasible. But, armed with that already strong online network, the current crisis will only aid the teen climate strike movement. “I think I speak for New Zealand when I say that our government has shown us that they can courageously respond to emergencies. So it’s important that we demand that they show the same attitude towards the climate crisis,” Coco Ramona Green-Lovatt, 17, from the New Zealand wing of “School Strikes 4 Climate” told me two weeks ago.
The Covid-19 response has shown teens the Government can act fast and drastically when the situation seems urgent enough, putting public health before anything else. This will make teens all the more ready to press for change, drumming home just how equally urgent the climate crisis is. Covid-19 itself is an example of that urgency. Many researchers think that it is humanity’s destruction of biodiversity that creates the conditions for new diseases such as Covid-19 to jump from their original animal hosts to humans. Climate destruction is bringing people closer to the sources of more novel viruses. First Ebola, then Sars, Mers and now Covid-19. All (nearly) within my lifetime. Teens know that pandemics like these are likely to become more regular occurrences if climate destruction continues. The truth is, in five years, Covid-19 will probably be a distant memory. My generation seems so far, thankfully, to have been mostly spared from the horrors of coronavirus. What we won’t be spared from though, if action doesn’t happen quickly, is the horrors of climate change. What does an online movement look like? Armed with hashtags like
NO PLANET B
By Matteo Di Maio
#Digitalstrike and #climatestrikeonline, teen activists have been posting pictures of themselves holding climate strike placards en masse. An online post by Greta Thunberg, the 17-year-old activist behind last year’s mass school climate strikes, encouraged students to “take it online” instead of “taking it to the streets.” What helps with this is that teens are more active online than any other generation. And organisers think a movement forced to operate online may actually bring in more people to the cause. “With numerous countries in lockdown and with our strong online presence we are certain to gain a large following,” Green-Lovatt told told me. “And I feel that when we are to have a strong voice then we will expand our following,” she said. If anything, the teenager climate strike movement will emerge out of this lockdown with more young, passionate activists than ever. When the streets finally reopen, all the more students will be ready to hit them.
It’s just nature By Peter Matthews
I like to claim that I don't waste my time trawling through the often mind-numbing pithicisms which litter the avenues of social media, but the truth is that sometimes I do. It's a bit like fishing; every now and then you might just find something worthwhile. I found one such gem this week. I hope the author will not mind my quoting it word for word here: "Dear humans, you fell asleep in one world and woke up in another. Suddenly Disney is out of magic, Paris is no longer romantic, New York doesn't stand up any more, the Chinese wall is no longer a fortress and Mecca is empty. Hugs and kisses suddenly become weapons, and not visiting parents and friends becomes an act of love. Suddenly you realise that power, beauty, and money are worthless, and can't get you the oxygen you're fighting for. The world continues its life and it is beautiful. It only puts humans in cages. I think it is sending us a message: You are not necessary. The air, earth, water and sky without you are fine. When you come back, remember that you are my guests. Not my masters. Sincerely, Planet Earth." It's not the best piece of writing you've ever read, but the message is perfectly clear and I commend the author for writing it. Continued on page 18
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10 | CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS
Life in our sister cities
By Matteo Di Maio
On the Rue Victorien Cantineu, just out of Cambridge’s “Sister City” Le Quesnoy, a recently pitched makeshift banner reads “Merci a Nos Heros. Aidez-les, restez chez vous.” The translation is “Thanks to our [medical] heroes. Help them, stay at home.” The banner is a signal of support to those fighting the Covid-19 pandemic: something that – just over 100 years from the Great War – is a shared enemy to the people of Cambridge and Le Quesnoy. The two towns, declared “sister cities” in 1999, are both experiencing major disruptions to daily life as a result of Covid-19. The sister cities link between the Cambridge and Le Quesnoy commemorates the liberation of the French town by New Zealand troops on November 4, 1918. It was a crucial Allied victory in the war. The historically connected towns are now living under stringent national lockdowns. Eight days before New Zealand shut up shop, the French had imposed a nation-wide lockdown. In Le Quesnoy, Mayor, MarieSophie Lesne wrote to residents on March 19, reminding them that public places would be closed – including the “ramparts” that surround and characterise the town. It’s important to respect the new “measures de confinement,” Lesne wrote.
Residents pay tribute to their “medical heroes”.
“When the NZ Brigade liberated Le Quesnoy from German occupation in 1918, the first soldier over the top of the ladder and the ramparts was a man born in Cambridge while his father was Vicar of St. Andrews,” Cambridge Community Board Chairperson Sue Milner said. While both Waipā and Le Quesnoy are living under similar lockdowns, Covid-19 is likely an even scarier concept for the French. Local media reports spotlight two recent cases of people being admitted to hospital because of Covid-19. A Quertician woman was admitted with “urgency” to the Valenciennes Hospital in Belgium on April 6 – her symptoms confirmed. The second case was probable, with one resident sharing “her story” after apparently catching the virus. Talking of “difficulty breathing”, the “Living in Le Quesnoy” Facebook page recounted her symptoms. While the Waikato is home to hot-spots, the closest Covid-19 has officially got to Cambridge is a scare at the Avantidrome on March 18, when the facility was closed due to a person showing symptoms of coronavirus. Some things Le Quesnoy is going through though – like the shared lockdowns – will be more familiar to Kiwis. Milner – who maintains contacts between the towns – said “much like New Zealand there are very few businesses able to be trading … butchers, bakers, and grocers.” And there’s plenty of ‘citizen police’ over there, too. “The Le Quesnoy Facebook page is certainly getting complaints about some businesses being open when they shouldn’t be.” The online debates of “Querticians” are certainly equally lively; after the Mayor made the decision to continue holding the market – with strict social distancing measures in place – residents exchanged barbs over the health benefits of open-air markets versus supermarkets. And though the Cambridge and Te Awamutu News couldn’t confirm that the popular Teddy Bear Hunt trend had reached Le Quesnoy, there have certainly been many instances of kindness and solidarity between citizens.
Life in Le Quesnoy.
Residents were urged to take part in nightly “clapping” to show thanks to the region’s health workers. And when the Mayor called in late March for Le Quesnoy-based “seamstresses” to make protective masks to stem a PPE shortage facing health workers, she received over 100 replies offering to help. The Mayor also called for a “chain of solidarity” to help the town’s elderly and vulnerable. When people had “no other option,” Mayoral staff would be available to shepherd residents to the supermarkets, she said. Some aspects of the lockdown in Le Quesnoy are more foreign, however. While there are similar restrictions on movement – travelling to essential workplaces, short exercise and healthcare are the main exceptions to the “Stay at home” rule – residents have to fill out a “Attestation de déplacement dérogatoire” or “Certificate of exemption” to make such trips. If residents are caught without the certificates, they can face a €135 fine. Many French towns have become used to shutdowns in recent years – with strikes and the infamous “Gillet Jaunes” protest causing frequent disruptions to daily life. Like Cambridge and Te Awamutu, Le Quesnoy is in one of its country’s most affected regions. In the Haute-de-France region of France, where Le Quesnoy is, 2444 cases of the virus
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FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
Photo: Marie Sophie Lesne
were confirmed by April 4, with 806 deaths. Le Quesnoy’s region is the fifth most affected by the virus in France, out of 18. Any local tourism has also been cut off due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. Interestingly, 200 of the 800 tourists who typically visit the town each year are Kiwis, according to the French Embassy. Cambridge also shares a sister city relationship with one other town – Bihoro in the Hokkaido region of Japan. A sister city agreement between Cambridge and Bihoro was signed in 1997 – and a Japanese garden outside the Cambridge Waipā District Library commemorates the link. Bihoro, unlike Le Quesnoy, is not living through an official national lockdown, though a recent Hokkaido-wide state of emergency closed schools and allowed police to urge people to stay home. On April 5, 194 infections had been confirmed in the Hokkaido prefecture, making Hokkaido the most affected region in Japan. Despite this, on March 19 the state of emergency was lifted after the island’s Governor said he was confident that enough medical beds would be available. In her letter to “Quercitains” – the people of Le Quesnoy – Mayor Lesne had a message of support. “Even if the roads of our town are deserted … we are united,” she wrote. “Gardons Courage”. Stay courageous.
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CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 11
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
Covid-19: we’ve been here before Stunning similarities have emerged showing New Zealand had a template for dealing with Covid-19 – more than 100 years ago. An article published by editor Michael de Hamel in the fortnightly Akaroa Mail this month recounts how that newspaper reported on coping with the influenza outbreak in 1918 as it ripped Banks Peninsula. Like Covid-19, it was brought into the country through our ports, but debate continues as to whether a second, more virulent strain of a flu which had spread around the globe evolved here or was introduced. As the epidemic spread across the peninsula, the Akaroa Mail published a notice on November 15 telling readers meetings were no longer allowed in closed spaces, churches were temporarily closed, and Akaroa Borough Council meetings were postponed. There was no recourse to on-line meetings then. Four days later an editorial noted “…the public can help most considerably by keeping away from others while any member of their household is affected The Akaroa County Council obtained supplies of an inhalation mixture from Christchurch and sent some of it to each local post office. The council also had leaflets printed giving directions for its use and sent one of these to each household. An ‘inhalation chamber’ was set up in the Red Cross shop opposite the Akaroa Post Office and was for people free of the disease to use in an attempt to keep the germs away. The Borough Council had rooms at the technical school cleared for use as additional hospital space. The author of editorials was probably the then-editor Ethel Jacobsen, who suggested that people should keep away from large gatherings. By November 22 deaths were being reported. In Okains Bay the situation was still dire – but none of the cases were critical – “except that of Mr John Ware, whose age was a distinct handicap.” By November 26 following seven more deaths, the paper reported “…the patient who does not give himself up to a complete spell while he is suffering from the complaint often pays for his neglect with his life.” The epidemic struck during the flush of the milking season. Dairy herds were left unmilked, as there was no one to milk them and at Little Akaloa the milk factory manager was very ill.
At Okains Bay nearly every family was affected, and in many cases the whole family was down. Mrs Blair of Pigeon Bay was reported as dying at Akaroa Hospital on Friday night, and Mr Blair, the factory manager was ill all week. “Mr Blair is again at work in the factory though it seems hardly right that he should be back at his post so soon,” readers were told. Mr J J Donovan of French Farm was also reported as a death, which had cast quite a gloom over the district. The November 26 edition also reported that there had been reports of sick people being out walking the streets. In a line chillingly similar to today’s announcements, notice was given that “any person suffering from influenza must not leave their house and grounds for fourteen days after being attacked, and the police were asked to help enforce this”. By December 6 things were looking up. “The position has improved materially on the Peninsula in the last few days and only a few fresh cases are reported and those not of a serious nature. “The loss to business people must have been very severe and the boarding houses and hotels must have suffered through the
The killer flu
The lethal influenza pandemic that struck New Zealand between October and December 1918 claimed about 9000 lives - half the number lost in WWI in four years. Internationally what was known as Spanish flu claimed at least 50 million lives. The flu devastated Māori populations, even though they largely resided in rural areas – but precise figures were not recorded. In a letter to the Auckland Star, quoted by nzhistory.govt. nz, Aperatama Rupene wrote Māori had “stood shoulder to shoulder with his pakeha brother” during the Great War… and some Waikato men had been imprisoned for resisting conscription in protest against the confiscation of their tribe’s land after the wars of the 1860s. He continued: “in most Maori homes today there is weeping and desolation. Boys have died across the war, whole families have been wiped out by the influenza, and there are many aching hearts because these boys are in gaol”.
Go Wire
Electrical 07 846 9474 021 GO WIRE Central Medicine Depot, Cathedral Square, Christchurch, December 4, 1918. This photo shows the former Patriotic Bazaar converted by the Public Health Department to dispense 'Government Standard Influenza Medicine'. The sign on the right says: 'stimulants for patients. Small bottles of whisky, brandy or stout will be sold at the Central Medicine Depot'. The partly obscured sign at left reads: 'medicine supplied only to poor people with actual bad cases in the house'. Photo: nzhistory.govt.nz
lack of visitors at a time when there is a great deal of tourist traffic to Akaroa. “It is to be expected that things will brighten all round and that Akaroa will be very full and busy in the coming Christmas season.” The whole epidemic was just about over by the time the December 10 edition of The Akaroa Mail came out.
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Thank You, Be Safe and Look after your Loved ones. Thank you to all our front line staff, our medical professionals, supermarkets, police, emergency services. All our essential service staff are doing a fantastic job and we appreciate your sacrifice and hard work during this unprecedented time. To our customers, look after yourselves and your family and we will see you on the other side of lockdown. Wayne and the Arkanda Team.
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12 | CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
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CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 13
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
with Jan Bilton
Pasta please Pasta is the perfect ‘lockdown’ standby. Although pasta is now a universal favourite, it was once available only to Italian noblemen. However, in the late 17th century when meat became too expensive, pasta was recognised as an economic meal-maker. Noodles were the most common shape. Now there are dozens of varieties. Pappardelle (papa-dell-lay) — broad ribbons — is one of my faves. It’s comfort food and marries well with creamy sauces. Ribbed pasta such as penne is excellent for holding chunkier sauces such as bolognese and is a great all-rounder. I also love it in salads. Lasagne sheets are versatile: use as a quick substitute for a pastry topping for a savoury or fruit pie — brush it generously with melted butter before baking; or make your own cannelloni tubes by rolling up short pieces of lasagne around a filling.
BROCCOLI & MINT PASTA
Use the florets only. The stalks turn it ‘pungent brassica’. Add the stalks to soups or stews that have stronger flavours. 2 cups (200g) broccoli florets 2 1/4 cups (200g) shell pasta 1 large clove garlic, crushed 1 cup packed mint leaves freshly ground salt and black pepper to taste 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil finely grated rind and juice 1 lemon Garnish: grated parmesan chees 1/4 cup chopped walnut Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the florets. Cook until bright green and tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove them to a food processor. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook until
English Language Groups in the Waikato Region
just tender. Reserve a 1/2 cup of the water. Meanwhile, add the garlic to the broccoli and process until smooth. Add the mint and seasonings. Pulse until smooth then — with the motor still running — slowly drizzle in the Term 2, 2020 oil. Location Start date Day Time Cost per term Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Add (Tokoroa) South Waikato Sportspasta & 5 May Tuesday 7:00 – 9:00 pm Freepenne for Resident Broccoli and mint One-pot with capsicums Event Centre, 25 Mossop Rd, Tokoroa Visa | $80 for NR the broccoli mixture, lemon rind and juice. 200g pappardelle theforpappardelle according to the packet Cambrige Healthdried and 6 May Wednesday 10:00 amCook Free Resident Toss to coat evenly adding enough reserved Community Centre – 12:00 noon Visa | $80 for NR 1 shallot, diced instructions. cooking water to make it ‘saucy’. 22A Taylor Street Cambridge 1 tablespoon olive oil 6 May Meanwhile, sauté the shallot in the oil until Serve garnished with the parmesan and Railside by the Green Wednesday 6:00 – 8.00 pm Free for Resident 41A Hetana Street,cloves Matamatagarlic, crushed Visa | $80 2 large softened. StirforinNRthe garlic then add the tomato walnuts. Serves 4. Te Awamutu i-Site, 1 Gorst Avenue 7 May Thursday 7:00 – 9.00 pm Free for Resident 1 tablespoon tomato paste paste and wine. Stir well and simmer for 30 Te Awamutu Visa | $80 for NR 1/4 cup dry white wine seconds. Stir in the cream. Add the salmon ONE-POT PENNE WITH CAPSICUMS Morrinsville Community House 4 May Monday 10:00 – 12.00 pm Free for Resident 1/2Street, cupMorrinsville cream in pieces and heat gently. Add the drained I used roasted red capsicums from a jar. for NR 43 Canada Visa | $80 200g wood-roasted salmon, skinned pappardelle. 2 tablespoons olive oil Original passport and visa are required for registration purposes. Topping: 1 tablespoon capers Serve in shallow bowls topped with the capers 1 small onion, diced dill or fennel fronds and dill or fennel. Serves 2. 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms 2 cups penne To enrol, call or email 3 cups chicken stock Phone 027 562 2991 3 roasted red capsicums (from a jar), drained Email ellena.butcher@englishlanguage.org.nz Web www.englishlanguage.org.nz and sliced 2 cups each: baby spinach leaves, grated tasty Term 2, 2020 English Language Groups in the Waikato Region cheddar cheese Location Start date Day Time Cost per term 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (Tokoroa) South Waikato Sports & 5 May Tuesday 7:00 – 9:00 pm Free for Resident 2 smoked chorizo, sliced Event Centre, 25 Mossop Rd, Tokoroa Visa | $80 for NR Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the Cambrige Health and 6 May Wednesday 10:00 am Free for Resident onion until softened. Add the garlic and Community Centre – 12:00 noon Visa | $80 for NR mushrooms cooking until the mushrooms are 22A Taylor Street Cambridge limp. Railside by the Green 6 May Wednesday 6:00 – 8.00 pm Free for Resident Add the penne, stock and capsicums. Stir, 41A Hetana Street, Matamata Visa | $80 for NR cover and simmer for about 6 minutes. Te Awamutu i-Site, 1 Gorst Avenue 7 May Thursday 7:00 – 9.00 pm Free for Resident Te Awamutu Visa | $80 for NR Uncover and continue cooking until the penne Morrinsville Community House 4 May Monday 10:00 – 12.00 pm Free for Resident is tender. 43 Canada Street, Morrinsville Visa | $80 for NR Stir in the spinach, cook for 1 minute then stir Passport and visa are required for registration purposes. in the cheeses and chorizo. Serve immediately. Original passport and visa required registration purposes. All are classes offeredfor online until further notice. Serves 4. To enrol, call or email | Phone 027 562 2991 | Email ellena.butcher@englishlanguage.org.nz | Web www.englishlanguage.org.nz
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CountryLife 14 | CAMBRIDGE & TE AWAMUTU NEWS
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
APRIL 2020
Rural deliveries surge By Jeremy Smith
Rural delivery drivers in the News’ catchment area have kept their foot on the gas moving into the second half of the lockdown. Cambridge and Tirau-based Jim McMurray has been delivering between 60-80 parcels a day, six days a week - while long-time friend of the Cambridge & Te Awamutu News, Geoff Orchard, has been out completing his delivery of the paper each week. Both Jim and Geoff are essential services. In Jim’s case, the independently contracted New Zealand Post driver has seen an estimated 20-25 percent increase on usual delivery volumes throughout April and May. And that’s just in the last week. He told the News that in while lockdown there wasn’t initially much of an increase or shift in the type of items being delivered, but that’s changed. Food items and medicine were the most common items, while mail pickups were also on the up. “It might be that as people are starting to work out how to order things online we’re starting to see an increase at our end.” Jim said rural residents he’s delivered to have been delighted to see him as he – while observing two-metre social distancing – completes his run. “For many people at rural addresses they may not have seen anyone else at all for, by now, about two weeks – unless they’re in town grocery shopping – so in a way we are their touch point and I like to make sure everything is okay.” In other spheres, Jim is a well-known cyclist in Waipā – having won six world titles in the past seven years in his age group. He also owns a screen-printing business, which he said has been hit hard by the lockdown. When people see Geoff in his white 2006 Mitsubishi Colt, he says they know by now what’s coming. Their copy of the latest Cambridge & Te Awamutu News. For the past three years in that vehicle, Geoff has been hitting the road each week to complete his “270 drop” rural paper delivery run around RD1 Ōhaupō. His area stretches east of Ōhaupō from Mystery Creek Rd in the north to Jary Rd in the south. He has been delivering papers for about a decade - three of those years solely in the “$2000 purchase with the light on the top and 150,000km on the clock”. Each return trip of paper deliveries takes about 55 kilometres. Given the News is an essential service, he has continued to deliver throughout the lockdown. “I have to say it has been universal smiles,” Geoff said of the reception he’s been getting.
He felt delivering the paper rurally during the lockdown carried extra significance. “For a lot of people, it really is important, they’re happy to see you. The local paper is how they stay in touch and how they get news.” Other strings to he and partner Chris’ bow include having owned and run The Olde Creamery Café for about 20 years. In addition, Chris runs the Kiwi Cookie Company website. Baked at the cafe, there are now 150 cookie designs, with
cookies going out into cafes and delicatessens, as well as a wide range of other locations around the North Island. Their customer base stretches from Catlins in the south to Kerikeri in the north. Both the café and the cookie website though remain closed through the lockdown though. The endeavours are special to the couple’s hearts, so they’re not going anywhere else soon. “It’s such a special place,” Geoff said. “You won’t get me out of here in a hurry.”
Jim McMurray drops off a copy of the Cambridge & Te Awamutu News.
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‘Superfood’ in big demand COUNTRYLIFE
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
By Jeremy Smith
Demand for frozen produce from Ōhaupō’s Blueberry Country has surged as – it would seem – people adjust to life in lockdown. Production of the frozen “superfood” at the company is up more than 40 percent in just a few weeks and there doesn’t appear to be a softening of the market on the horizon just yet. By comparison though, the company’s export market is “noticeably lower”, according to CEO Jerem Wylie. Mr Wylie told the News that prior to lockdown the company was tracking around 15–20 percent up in their frozen berry market this year, but in the last few weeks it had jumped to about 65 percent. Exported produce made up four to five percent of the company’s total fresh sales and overall the company was tracking at about 90 percent of last year’s production. Blueberry Country is owned and operated as a team effort between director Greg Furniss, his wife Alison, their son-in-law Warrick McDonald and daughter Kristen and Greg’s two sons - Paul and Geoff. As well as in Ōhaupō, the
company operates orchards in Waipu, Ngātea and Southland. It grows blueberries on-site as well as importing and exporting berries to meet demand across fresh and frozen markets. Mr Wylie said the increase in demand on the frozen front might in part be due to the myriad of ways people could store and use the “superfood” while they were in lockdown. “Blueberries are obviously great for health and wellbeing and because you can freeze them, they make a great breakfast lunch or dinner option. “Then of course, with people at home, there’s an increase in home baking – and of course you can’t go past a good blueberry muffin.” Typically, Australia and the developing markets of Thailand and Vietnam would be Blueberry Country’s biggest export markets, but the company is now more focussed on markets closer to home. “There’s no doubt it has been challenging in areas this season,” Mr Wylie said of the current situation. “But I think in tough years we just have to take our medicine. What we’re mostly focussed on at the moment is
Blueberry Country director Greg Furniss pictured in one of the company’s orchards in February. our domestic supply.” One of those challenging aspects included factors that were “driving up and making significantly higher” the company’s import costs. Throughout lockdown the business was picking and packing berries, while taking every precaution. “Staff wellbeing is our number one priority,” Mr Wylie said. “We’re being absolutely sure we follow all the guidelines set out by the Ministry of Health and staff are not being made to come to work, if they feel they would prefer to have some days at home.” The company has less orchard staff working midlockdown than they typically would – those who would
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normally help prepare the orchard ground and get plants ready for planting as they look towards next season. Typically, the blueberry season lasts from about late November to April – next season has not been adversely affected just yet, Mr Wylie said. “We haven’t been hit too hard by having less orchard workers than say we normally would, but if lockdown goes on for longer than the projected four weeks we may have to re-assess that.” Even prior to lockdown
though there was a mitigating factor the company was already having to deal with – the lack of rain. “Honestly though, that’s probably the bigger factor for us - the dry weather and the drought. We haven’t had much rain and that can mean that while the fruit is still there, they can be a lot smaller.” Blueberry Country owners Greg and Alison, who had a background as beef farmers, grew their first blueberry plant in 1977. In 1990 they became outright owners of Blueberry Country.
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FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
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DEATHS
DEATHS
HOLDAWAY, Robin Fiona MacLeod – Passed away on Sunday 5th April 2020 in her 88th year. Darling mother of Diana, Lesley, Jennifer and Fiona. Loved mother-in-law of their husbands. A very special “Nana Robin” to Rebecca, Rachael, Rowan, Naomi, Sarah, Vanessa, Johnathan and Charlotte. Loved wife of the late Graeme Holdaway and loved wife of the late John Crook of Pukeatua. Special thanks to the staff of Camellia Resthome for their loving care of Robin in her closing years. A memorial service to celebrate Robin’s life will be held at a later date. All communications to the Holdaway Family c/- 262 Ohaupo Road Te Awamutu 3800.
KENNEL, Josef Franz, (Joe) – Passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, 9th April 2020. Aged 88 years. Dearly loved husband of the Late Teresia. Much loved father and father-in-law to Elisabeth & Ruedi, Christina & Clement, Suzanna & Brett, Erica, Julie & Rod, John & Nicola, Paul & Joanna. Beloved granddad of Mario, Yann, Rebecca, Claire, Justin, Ethan, Gemma, Teresa, Alex, Melissa, Isaac, Max and their partners and all his great-grandchildren. “A strong, brave and loving character.” R.I.P. Due to current circumstances a private cremation is to be held. The family will arrange a Memorial Service at a date to be advised. All communications to the Kennel Family, c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge, 3434.
FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
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LINZ, Helen Maureen, (nee Beck) – Very peacefully passed away after a long illness at Resthaven Home & Hospital on Saturday, 11th April 2020. Aged 87 years. Loved wife of the late Allan. Much loved mother and mother in-law of Andrea & Michael, Sandra, Catherine & Jeff, and the late Graham. Grandma to Ritchie, Rhys, Eloise, Jacob, Lennex, Keenan. Due to the current circumstances a private cremation has been held. A memorial service will be held at a later date. All communications to the Linz Family c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge, 3434
TERVIT Mary Patricia (Pat) – Passed away peacefully at Matariki Hospital on Wednesday, 8th April 2020, in her 103rd year. Dear wife of the late George and loving Mother of the late Sandy and Malcolm, and Mother of Robin, Barry, and Stewart. Much loved mother in law of Helen (dec), Sue, Chris, and Erica. Loved Grandmother of ten, Great Grandmother of twenty, and Great Great Grandmother of two. Thank you to all the staff at Matariki Hospital for all the care given to Mum. “Rest peacefully Mum” A private cremation has been held and a celebration of Pat’s life will be held at a later date. All communications to the Tervit family, 287 Wallace Terrace, Te Awamutu 3800. Te Awamutu Funeral Services, FDANZ.
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CHURCH NOTICES
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NO PLANET B
It’s just nature
Continued from page 9
Back in 2004, when called upon for a single word to sum up a magically beautiful natural scene in a remote part of the South Island, columnist Joe Benett came up with: 'indifferent'. Joe was saying that nature is indifferent. It doesn't care about humans, lakes, butterflies, or anything else. A scene may be exquisitely beautiful to the eyes of a particular human but it undoubtedly encompasses countless organisms all locked in mortal combat for their very survival, none of which could give a toss who is watching or what they think. Richard Dawkins explores this concept in his 1976 book 'The Selfish Gene' suggesting that all life is simply the result, for the time being, of life itself - whether in the form of the left foot of a rabbit, a single cell of a virus, or an orchid - simply attempting to survive,. Now for my view: We are not entirely sure why we are on Planet Earth, nor indeed why Planet Earth exists at all - although we are getting there with the 'how'. Nature couldn't care less about us - or anything else. All matter simply exists according to the laws of physics. Religion has, in all cases has been devised by groups of humans seeking to exert control and power over other humans, and we do not need it to provide a moral compass. We can be good or bad all by ourselves. The current situation, crisis, pandemic, whatever you want to call it, is just another day at the office for nature. Our part in this play is beyond our own determination. Let's just be good to each other, and the planet we live on, while we're here.
We’re sticking with you
Today we celebrate the third of our “lockdown” News editions with a pledge to continue to keep you informed and entertained, through thick and thin. The Cambridge and Te Awamutu News were combined by publisher David Mackenzie to ensure we could continue bringing you news and views. It is a signal of our unwavering confidence in the value of community newspapers and the significant role they play. We also appreciate the challenges facing our advertising family as they deal with the crippling impacts of the lockdown. During the lockdown the News will be delivered to rural addresses as normal. In town you will find copies at your supermarket and most essential service outlets. FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2020
Cambridge & Te Awamutu
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Call
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Your Local Independent Papers
FDANZ
APRIL 17, 2020
Businesses battle
By Jeremy Smith
Business owners are facing “tough questions” as the Waipā’s Te Awamutu and Cambridge Chambers of Commerce look for ways to help members through the Covid-19 lockdown and its after affects. Cambridge chamber chief Kelly Bouzaid emailed a Cambridge Impact Study to her members late last week as a similar Waikato Chamber of Commerce poll showed that if the lockdown continued past eight weeks, nearly 20 percent of the businesses under the regional chamber’s umbrella may have to close. Te Awamutu chamber head Kris Anderson said the numbers would appear to be not too dissimilar to responses being received by the Te Awamutu and Waipā’ business community. Mrs Bouzaid told the News that in Cambridge there was clearly short and long-term detriment to the business sector and the organisation was committed to finding ways of supporting its members. About a third of the Cambridge chamber’s “business voice” of about 300 businesses had completed the impact study by the time the News went to print. The Waikato Chamber’s survey indicated nearly 40 percent of those polled would never close their business in the current situation, while from a mental health perspective the same percentage of respondents said they were “really struggling”. About 70 percent of regional respondents said the government
was doing a good job of handling the situation. Waikato Chamber executive director Don Good said they would run the regional survey fortnightly. It was “extremely positive that business owners were reporting their business “would and could” stay open beyond the eight wek time frame” Mr Anderson said rather than focus on how many Te
Awamutu businesses would close, it was better to look at how each individual industry was responding. While extending the lockdown beyond four weeks would make things hard for business, the worst thing to do would be to open back up too soon, he said. “We are here now, let’s deal with it properly and focus on the most important recovery phase. “We will come out of this
situation and there will be new opportunities for all business with strong fundamentals.” Kelly Bouzaid applauded the level of “resilience and robustness” on display across the Cambridge business community. “We have a large proportion of small and medium sized enterprise here in Cambridge and enjoy many driven entrepreneurs and astute business owners who have invested in professional services
during their journey. “They have adopted technology, adaptation and change early.” The Cambridge Impact Study asked respondents how they were coping with the mental stress the lockdown was putting on them. It also addressed how many weeks of lockdown business owners felt they could cope with before facing closure, the financial
• Continued page 5 • Chamber’s ‘Nxtstep’ – page 2
In the mood…
Derek Teague’s winning image of the gates above Lake Te Koo Utu. Inset: Derek Teague
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It was while on a quiet evening stroll with fellow Cambridge Camera Club members that Derek Teague shot the photograph that won him the 2020 Cambridge Photo Competition. The moody picture of the gates above Lake Te Koo Utu was selected from 89 entries received for this year’s competition, held as one of the surviving segments of the Cambridge Autumn Festival under the theme ‘Iconic Landmarks of Cambridge’. Derek said he took the picture some time ago, around 8pm. It was “just a case of the right place, the right time”. “A number of us had gone out that night, hoping to catch a shot of the supermoon. I knew where I wanted to try for it - at those gates.” Derek has lived in Cambridge for about seven years and works with Fonterra. Photography was a childhood hobby that he said he has enjoyed investing more time in during recent years. “I’ve probably been able to make more of it as a hobby.” Winning at a time when there was so much disappointment over the cancellation of the Autumn Festival makes it all the more special, he said. First prize in the competition, sponsored by People in Mind Ltd, was worth $250.
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