Te Awamutu News | November 10, 2022

Off the cuff: community constable Ryan Fleming demonstrates the use of handcuffs to St Patrick’s primary student Braxton Patrick, 7, during last week’s Hampers for Christmas appeal – see more pictures, Page 10.

Eva is college dux

By Benjamin Wilson

Eva Oosterman has been named the 2022 dux litterarum of Te Awamutu College.

The 18-year-old took the top spot with firsts in subject for chemistry, English, mathematics and statistics, and science, winning the Ag Freeman Medal for Dux Litterarum and the $3000 cash prize that went with it.

Eva also received the Soanes Senior

Environmental Leader Trophy. She “passionately and purposefully” led the revitalisation of the school’s Environment Committee in 2022, and worked with others to help make 275 rat traps for Predator Free Te Awamutu.

Eva said she was a bit shocked when she was named dux, as she expected head boy Adam Swney to take it. Swney received the Mexted Cup for Proxime Accessit, which is the runner-up to dux, and was first in

subject for physics, sports science. He also won the Rotary Shield for Service to the School award, and the $16,000 University of Otago Leaders of Tomorrow Entrance Scholarship.

Eva said her favourite subject throughout 2022 was biochemistry, and she is hopes to study either a Bachelor of Biomedicine, or a Bachelor of Science majoring in cellular and molecular biology at Wellington’s Victoria University.

See our story from the prizegiving ceremony on Page 4

In power: Who are the new leaders of the Waipā Networks Trust? See Page 11.

Eva celebrates her award with grandmother Jocelyn Oosterman, father Simon Oosterman, and step mum Rhonda Oosterman.

Photo: Benjamin Wilson Eva celebrates her award grandmother Jocelyn Oosterman, father Simon Oosterman, and step mum Rhonda Oosterman.

Photo: Benjamin Wilson

He’s our lake mapper – Te Awamutu’s Jeffrey To talks about his unusual work on Page 3 today.

Vietnam reunion

Speaker: To Be Confirmed

Started 11 years ago by the late Catherine O’ Regan. Trustees, two vans with wheelchair access, van drivers and support person.

Date: Wednesday 16th Dec

Grey Power

TE AWAMUTU

A three day reunion will be among the Armistice observation highlights for the Te Awamutu RSA starting tomorrow.

The Government sent Victor Company to serve with the Australian Army force in Phuoc Tuy Province in 1967 during the Vietnam War.

From tomorrow, 1RNZIR Victor 2 Company whānau will be in Te Awamutu for three days to commemorate the infantry unit which served in Vietnam for six months from 1967 to 1968.

There will be a function on Saturday

and a ceremony will be held at the Sunken Cross at Memorial Park the following day at 10am.

Waipā District Councillor Lou Brown served with Victor 3 in Vietnam for a year from May 1968 – after companies 1 and 2 had each served there for six months.

He is among many former soldiers from New Zealand who have since returned to Vietnam in peace time and speak highly of its people.

Brown said anyone was welcome to attend the Sunday service.

Airport comes flying back

By Archer Miller

Hamilton Airport (pictured) says passenger numbers have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels ahead of the first post-pandemic summer.

Numbers varied greatly during the pandemic and the April-June 2021 quarter, when international borders were closed, saw a burst of people travelling domestically.

Passenger numbers in the present quarter have exceeded numbers recorded in the same period in 2019, before Covid came to New Zealand.

Data from Hamilton City Council and Hamilton Airport shows December is stacking up to be the busiest month in more than three

years.

The airport has five direct routes – Wellington, Christchurch, Napier, Nelson, and Palmerston North, and up to 26 flights every weekday.

The news comes as the airport prepares for the

formal opening of its $15 million refurbished terminal early next month.

The new terminal features structural upgrades and flooring as well as dedicated workspaces for travellers, a new departure area and cultural artworks.

Morgan tunes into the US

By Grace Odlum

Former Te Awamutu College student Morgan Ellis (pictured) is on a two week internship in the United States.

Ellis has been working remotely from New Zealand as an artist and repertoire intern for Artist Partner Group – a record label based in Beverley Hills, California – as part of her work towards a communications degree at Wintec.

She flew out on Friday.

Ellis is in her third and final year at Wintec. She originally studied at Waikato University after graduating from Te Awamutu College in 2018 but was attracted to the freedom and flexibility of the Wintec degree, so after a year at university transferred her credits from one institute to the other.

Ellis will be pitching some home grown music in Beverley Hills and discussing how international artists can break into the American industry, with a heavy focus on New Zealand.

One of her main roles as an intern has been talent scouting, online or by attending music events.

“People from smalls towns can do such big things”, she says.

Morgan is the daughter of Martin and Jane Ellis. Jane Ellis is a teacher at Te Awamutu Primary School. They have lived in Te Awamutu since 2008.

Rangiaowhia –a delay indeed

The deed to 61 Rangiaowhia Road remains with the Anglican Church due to an unforeseen “hold up”.

The Rangiaowhia property was purchased by the Church earlier this year.

They had intended to transfer their ownership of the historically significant whenua to Ngāti Apakura and Ngāti Hinetu during a ceremony last weekend.

A legal complication arose and stopped this from happening. It currently is unclear when the deed can be transferred.

“The church has got some things to do, so we’ll wait for them to get that done,” said Ngāti Apakura Rūnanga Trust chairperson Bill Harris.

Memorial crosses have been placed at Anzac Green ahead of this weekend’s Armistice. Photo: Mary Anne Gill

Sign of the times

The idea is to recycle, not remove. The Rotary urban miners – who recycle electrical equipment – found one of their signs missing on Sunday. Spokesman Mark Hanlon said the signs had occasionally been moved over the last two years, but never re-moved. The Rewi Street sign can be returned to either the Te Awamutu Sports Club or the Te Awamutu RSA.

Lotto wins

Tickets bought at Paper Plus Ōtorohanga and Robinson Street Superette, Cambridge, were among 11 to pick up second division prizes last weekend in Lotto. The tickets each earned $25,000.

80 up

Te Awamutu Women’s Section of the RSA is celebrating its 80th birthday today – on the precise anniversary of its first meeting in 1942.

Steaking a claim

He’s done it again. Te Awamutu butcher Brad Gillespie, who works for New World in Rototuna, was to the fore in another competition last weekend when he won the young butcher of the year title at the national awards in Auckland.

Award winners

Discover Waitomo won the Community Contribution commercial award at last Friday’s Waikato business awards evening in Hamilton. The Supreme prize went to of the Profile Group, which includes the giant AGP building in Hautapu.

Clouded out

Much of Waipā was left in the dark during Tuesday’s lunar eclipse – the forecasters correctly predicted the event which sees the Moon turn red would be screened in the upper North Island by cloud. Tuesday’s eclipse, where the Earth was positioned in a line between the Sun and Moon, will be repeated in 2025. The late evening event lasted about 90 minutes.

Weeding out lake issues

By Mary Anne Gill

A robotic kayak invented by Waipā engineer Jeffrey To is on course to capture what’s going on in Waikato’s lakes.

Ngā Roto near Te Awamutu has koi carp aplenty, some sunken objects including a 55m long oxygen pump and no plant life in the deeper parts, To found when he launched his kayak into the lake several months ago.

He was in Cambridge on Sunday to do the same at Lake Te Koo Utu.

His map should be available soon, but initial observations are the news is not much better for the Cambridge lake.

The fact the kayak got stuck in the western vegetation and To had to resort to some heavy hitting mechanical work suggests the thick plant life is an issue.

To, 33, and his protégé Tamehana Hohepa – 10 years younger - live in Te Awamutu and met at a gym in town where the former Hong Kong resident was press-benching weights Hohepa can only dream of.

“We got talking and I found out what Jeffrey was

doing,” said the former Cambridge High School and Te Awamutu College student who works as a scaffolder and is an automotive enthusiast.

“He’s a genius,” said Hohepa.

What To had done was invent and develop an unmanned surface vehicle – an autonomous boat – to map lakes and produce a bathymetric (underwater) map.

To test out the kit and find out what they could discover about Ngā Roto, the two men took the kayak, its sonar equipment and a GPS scanner out for a spin.

Motorboats are not permitted on the lake, so the inflatable kayak was perfect.

After estimating the depth of the water, To and Hohepa set the path and waypoints to maintain a consistent width so they could maximise the scan’s quality and avoid blind spots in the lake.

The carp were so big they were easily spotted by the first-person view camera mounted on the kayak.

In the water itself there was very little vegetation, some old tyres and other waste. But it was the oxygen

pump which fascinated him, and its owners were soon discovered – it was the council which had put the pump in several years before.

“The water clarity was very low, it looked almost black, we could barely see into the water except for the brightly coloured carp as they swam by.”

Only one person is needed to transport and control the kayak but with a few tweaks the system could be turned into an automated job.

To published his findings to his website and they attracted the attention of Waikato Regional Council lakes scientist Mat Allan.

“This is very innovative and a way to map depths in shallow and deep areas because some shallow areas cannot be accessed by normal boats.”

Allan has employed To and Hohepa, who provides technical operation support, to launch the boat in other Waikato lakes, including Te Koo Utu.

Hohepa is along for the

ride and having seen now how innovative To is, wants to be an engineer himself.

“I better get a move on,” he jokes, admitting he left school several years ago.

“I’m pushing this guy to study,” said To whose journey of discovery began 16 years ago when he was accepted into a cultural exchange programme between Hong Kong and New Zealand.

At first, he thought he had drawn the short straw when he was put into Year 13 at Te Kuiti High School but what it fostered was a love for the Waikato region.

He studied engineering in Auckland and worked his way into leadership roles in mining, manufacturing, aeronautical and IT software moving from Te Kuiti, to Ōtorohanga and now Te Awamutu.

To did some business studies as well and two years ago he and his wife Chloe Leung established Māki Products Ltd so he could turn his ideas into reality.

The software he has developed with information gleaned from the regional council, Conservation Department and NIWA combines all the data into one 3-D bathymetric map.

“With regular scanning on a routine basis, we would be able to record any changes to the lakes, and better track long term trends and any effects of seasonality,” said To.

“Our aim is to move towards monitoring and reporting, and subsequently implementation of maintenance systems in order to help maintain water quality and prevent future algae blooms at other lakes,” said To.

The other lakes To and Hohepa will investigate over the following months are: Kareaotahi (Cameron), Harihari, Kainui, Kaituna, Korekai, Numiti, Okoroire, Parangi, Pikopiko, Puketi, Rotongaro, Rotongaroiti, Rotopounamu, Tutaeinanga, Waiwhata West, Whakatangi, Te Otamanui, Waiwhakareke (Horseshoe).

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Launching technology: Jeffrey To and Tamehana Hohepa with Māki, their unmanned surface vehicle, on Lake Te Koo Utu.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill

The robotic kayak is out on the lake while on shore its findings are recorded.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill

College honours young achievers

The hard work of Te Awamutu College’s top students was celebrated at the school’s senior prizegiving last week.

Eva Oosterman was crowned the 2022 Dux Litterarum, with head boy Adam Swney the runner up.

Oosterman received four first in subject awards, and won the Soanes Senior Environmental Leader Trophy for her work on the schools Environment Committee.

Swney received two first in subjects, a $16,000 scholarship to University of Otago, and the Rotary Shield for Service to the School.

The school’s new head students were announced during the prizegiving.

They are Stella Quigley, Billy Ouston, Sarah Druce, and Kirk Van Marrewijk.

Marrewijk was the last head student to be announced and received an extraordinary induction from the school’s kapa haka group.

He is a member of the school’s kapa haka group and was also given a leadership award for Māori & Pasifika Achievement and Success.

Brylee Gibbes was awarded the Waipā District Council Service to the Community Award, which was presented by councillor Lou Brown.

The year 13 student chaired the school’s 2022 Service Committee, and represented Taranaki-King Country MP Barbara Kuriger at the New Zealand Youth Parliament in July.

“She has carried out this role with maturity and been a passionate advocate for issues affecting youth,” said deputy principal Wayne Carter.

Major sport awards:

• Ag Freeman Rosebowl for interhouse supremacy: Pounamu House.

• Bev Garrett Memorial Trophy for excellence in sport: Elijah Lee.

• The Tataurangi Family Trophy for outstanding performance in an individual sport: Zara Brennan-Shaw.

• Tangata Toa o Te Tau Trophy for sportsperson of the year: Maude Rewha.

Scholarships:

• Te Awamutu College Rogers Charitable Trust Tertiary Scholarship ($1500): Jessica Beck.

• Vetora Tertiary Scholarship ($1500): Danielle Johnston.

• University of Waikato School Leaver Scholarships ($5000): Joshua Fitzpatrick, Marnie Gielen, Sandie Goodrick, Danielle Johnston, and Liana Ramsey.

• David Johnstone Charitable Trust Scholarship ($6000): Joshua Fitzpatrick.

• University of Otago Performance Entrance Scholarship ($7000): Brooke Penny.

• University of Otago 150th Entrance Scholarship ($15,000): Reese Sanders.

• University of Otago Māori Entrance Scholarship: Jake Omundsen ($17,000), and Bethany Hughes ($21,000).

• University of Waikato Te Paewai O Te Rangi Scholarship ($21,000): Madison Coleman.

• RSA Peace Scholarship ($2000): Brooke Penny, Elijah Lee.

Special awards:

• Alison Clarke Memorial Award, top international student: Nattapon Hanam.

• Manaia Cup for Academic Excellence, top Māori student in Year 11: Jacob Chetwin.

• Bouma Trophy for Academic Excellence, top student in year 11: Avleen Kaur.

• Kia Kaha Trophy for Academic Excellence, top Māori student in Year 12: Dillon Holmes.

• The Poot Cup for Academic Excellence, top year 12 student: Kaeden Cresswell.

• Nga Kete O Te Wānanga Trophy, top academic Māori student in year 13: Bethany Hughes.

• Trebilco Cup for general excellence in year 12: Breanna Doig.

• Te Awamutu Business and Professional Women Trophy for Initiative and Enterprise: Anita Blakely.

• Prime Minister’s Vocational Excellence Award: Dylan Chestnut.

• Te Awamutu Masonic Lodge’s Trophy for Excellent Contribution to the school: Maude Rewha.

• Rotary Shield for Service to the school (girls): Marnie Gielen.

Dux runner up Adam Swney.

Te Awamutu College’s senior prize giving was held last week – Benjamin Wilson was there to get the story and the pictures.

2023 head student Kirk Van Marrewijk was inducted with a haka from the school’s kapa haka group.

The Te Awamutu College head students for 2023, Sarah Druce, Billy Ouston, Stella Quigley, and Kirk Van Marrewijk.

2022 head student Elijah Lee passes the torch to Billy Ouston.

Brylee Gibbes was awarded the Waipā District Council Service to the Community Award.

Heat undoes road works

By Archer Miller

Fresh repairs completed on a Te Awamutu road have been partially undone due to an unexpectedly warm weather.

Puniu Road is causing frustration for council, contractors, and residents because unexpected warm weather melted the bitumen on the newly repaired road. Potholes and broken patches were visible all over the road last week - less than three months after roadworks finished.

Paul Strange, asset engineer at Waipā Council, says there are additives in the bitumen that need to be evaporated out in warm weather over a period of about a week. The unexpected hot day caused most of those additives to evaporate at once, making the tar sticky enough to pull up parts of the road when it stuck to car tyres.

“We saw it coming and tried to make some plans…. unfortunately, we couldn’t get there in time. They [contractors] got there around 6pm, which was probably two hours too late, and the damage was done.”

“Council is really frustrated, the contractor is hugely disappointed, they’ve put a lot of time and effort into that.” said Strange.

“It was a fiddly job from day one”.

The roadworks earlier this year were delayed by around six weeks after old utility lines were found underneath the road and checks had to be made to ensure they were not active.

Strange says the road is structurally sound despite the broken surface layer.

Council and contractors are expecting to complete permanent repairs in the next few weeks. These repairs are estimated to take one or two days.

“We know exactly where people are coming from, we appreciate they’re frustrated.” Said Strange.

Artists give back

By Benjamin Wilson

Artists from Enrich Plus have raised close to $500 in support of Te Awamutu’s Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA).

“It is great to be able to contribute to another community organisation, they just do some wonderful things for the community,” said Enrich Plus service manager Shelley Blair.

In September Enrich held an art fundraiser which “celebrated the artistic talents of people in the disability community”.

Artists from the Enrich Plus Art Centre and Gallery sold their artworks in a gallery and gave a portion of their profits to the Te Awamutu RDA.

“We asked the artists if they wanted to contribute and give back to the community, and they said yes,” said Blair.

A total of $450 was raised for RDA.

“It was a huge success, and people weren’t just taking one or two pieces of art,” said Blair.

The fundraising initiative was organised by Enrich Plus art and craft coordinator Teresa Siemonek and support person Kim Potroz.

Riding for the Disabled head coach Rosalie Rea, who bought two pieces of art for herself, said she didn’t expect such a large amount to be raised when the total was shared with her last week.

Some of the artworks were inspired by a Van Gogh exhibition, which the Enrich artists visited in Auckland last year.

Artists Kathleen Bayer and Caitlin Thomas both had their artworks sell. Bayer painted ‘Sunny Flowers’, and Thomas painted ‘Two Cats’.

Bayer, despite being afraid of horses, said that it was good they could help RDA “shelter these horses so people can ride on them.”

The RDA has nine horses in total, including Echo, a

black Clydesdale cross, who was recruited just last month. They have 40 active riders, the youngest is two, and their oldest is over 50.

Rea said that they use horse riding to help people overcome the various obstacles they may face.

“It gives them confidence, self-esteem, it gives them balance, it gives them trust.”

Enrich artists Caitlin Thomas and Kathleen Bayer with Riding for the Disabled head coach Rosalie Rea, and horse Echo.

Questions, questions…

By Mary Anne Gill

Six Waipā residents have put in 15 per cent of the 434 official information requests to the council in the last year, taking up more than eight weeks’ staff time.

The most prolific requester, with 14, is a Cambridge woman whose requests have taken more than 70 hours and include questions about cycleways, rock garden intersections, residents’ survey, council meetings, replacement bridge and the Duke Street intersection.

Close behind her is a Te Awamutu man with 13 requests taking more than 65 staff hours on matters including Memorial Park, noise and dust management, Rangiaowhia site, spatial plans and upgrades to the Bunnings Building among others.

Another requester

complained to the Ombudsman about the council’s use of a macron in Waipā.

The News requested the information under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (Lgoima).

The council said in the 12 months ended October 31, 33 people had put in more than one request under the act.

Legal counsel Diana Aquilina said the council had a well-tested system to handle Lgoima requests and did not consider the process to be a waste of time.

“It’s all part of local government business,” she said in support of the system which she said provided transparency for the public.

“We take it in our stride.” Each request takes on average five hours.

Aquilina, who has been with the council for two years and for five years prior

to that was with Waikato DHB, graduated from Victoria University before beginning her work in public service.

It is an area she enjoys working in because of the variety and being part of a wider team.

The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act was passed in 1987 and recently revised. Requests for information can be made either verbally or in writing and agencies can charge a “reasonable fee” for staff time and photocopying.

Agencies can reduce or waive the charge if there is a good reason.

Aquilina said the council often puts LGOIMA responses on its website, particularly if they are issues of public interest, with requestors’ names withheld to protect their privacy.

Lucy Bennett, a senior communications adviser

at the Office of the Ombudsman said the law did not limit the number of requests a person can make to a local government agency.

LGOIMAs are tools the public and media can use to ensure agencies are open, transparent and accountable. Anyone can request ‘official information’ from the council and get an answer within 20 working days after the day it was received, she said.

There is a section of the act which can be used if agencies believe a request is frivolous or vexatious or if the information is trivial. But the threshold is high.

An item from Aquilina was the only substantive one on the inaugural council agenda last month when she outlined how the act applied to elected members’ council correspondence from both their Waipā-provided and

their private email addresses and text messaging services.

Earlier this year chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said local bodies should treat requests for information as a priority and not a chore or a challenge and vowed to take stronger action if statutory timeframes were not met.

Waipā rarely attracts any attention from the Ombudsman’s Office but did so three times in the past year.

One was when a requester complained a request had not met the 20 working day response time.

An incoming email had gone to the council’s spam box, so staff were unaware and unable to respond to the email.

Another was a complaint about the use of the macron in Waipā and the third was about road sealing issues.

Waipā’s prolific requesters and the time taken in the

past year are:

• Cambridge woman put in 14 requests around cycleways, traffic monitoring, Duke St intersection roundabout, replacement second bridge, Fieldays, Water Tower, rock garden intersections, Residents’ Survey, council meetings, money spent on areas, projected spending, Ahu Ake Stakeholders. Total hours approx 70 hours.

Purchase tickets from: www.cgf.nz, Amber Garden Centre and Cambridge Jewellers Tickets - $45pp Senior Citizens - $35pp

Diana Aquilina

Awamutu must be one of New Zealand’s bestkept little secrets.

The small Waipā town serves one of the country’s finest farming regions and has plenty to recommend it. Not only is it known as New Zealand’s ‘rose capital’, with glorious blooms charming locals and visitors alike during the summer months, but Te Awamutu offers fine education and a host of activities across lakes, wetlands, reserves, cycling and walking tracks and a range of sports. The area is steeped in a rich history linked to early Māori settlement and the days when the once-garrison town played a central role during the Waikato land wars. Much of that history is told through the town’s excellent museum and library.

Its growing population, currently at just under 14,500, benefits from straddling one of the North Island’s busiest routes, with an easy 40 minute-drive to Hamilton, 20 minutes to Cambridge and just over two hours to Auckland.

Supporting Te Awamutu and the surrounding area is a vibrant and growing business community centred on a blend of multi-generational firms, trendy boutiques that attract shoppers from around the region, and new outlets and service providers.

, a family-owned business with Craig and Angela FitzGerald at the helm. They’re a one-stop outlet for engineering services, workwear, and health and safety supplies, with a well-stocked retail shop. Craig, who is qualified in maintenance and diagnostic mechanical engineering, does the hands-on work in the field.

Looking after everyone’s health is Karen Gloyn, owner/operator at ATP Laser Therapy. The company started after registered nurse Karen researched new treatments aimed at reducing inflammation and pain and accelerated healing.

She spent time in Australia training in the type of advanced laser treatment used internationally, opening ATP Laser Therapy in Te Awamutu in 2013.

Landscape Supply Co was purchased earlier this year by Matt and Ammie Hardie. It caters for all residential and commercial outdoor solutions, offering quality plants and trees, a range of garden features and accessories, and a bulk-ordering service done either in-situ or online. They are the premier spot for landscapers, trade partners, DIYers and gardeners.

After being in Otorohanga close on 60 years Murray Hunt Furnishers are now in

Te Awamutu offering beautiful linen, beds, bedding & home décor. Available from October to December, an extensive range of Christmas decorations, stocking fillers and gifts.

Come in store to view our beautiful range.

Stella and Co owner Debra Bird is into her second year running the popular outlet, and in that time, has turned it into a vibrant retail space selling fabulous shoes, accessories and gifts.

The stock includes comfortable footwear as well as high-end shoes Debra sources through her biannual visits to the Auckland Shoe Fair Exhibition.

Vandals clock up more bills

By Benjamin Wilson

The Kihikihi town clock’s recent timekeeping troubles were caused by “malicious” intent, and are not related to council’s recent restoration work.

“Unfortunately, some people have been maliciously interfering with the power supply to the clock, deliberately turning the supply off,” a council spokesperson told The News.

The power supply to the clock and CommSafe’s office could be turned off by a switch outside of their shared building.

“If the power supply is turned on before the (clock’s) counterweight hits the floor, it’s not too much of a problem and the clock will reset itself. Unfortunately, the counterweight has hit the floor, so it’s caused chaos with the mechanism and now we need to pay to get it fixed,” said the spokesperson.

“It is just deflating really, because it is something so simple. And now they have the expense of having to get the clock rewound,” said CommSafe community safety officer Mandy Merson.

“The time had been good

for quite a few weeks until the power went out.”

The switch was discovered last month, after Merson called Waipā Networks to restore power to CommSafe’s office.

“The poor guy was scratching his head because he had tested all the things out, but who has an outside switch like that, you know?”

Merson said rubbish and drink cans had been littered near the switch throughout the month.

Waipā District Council installed security measures around the switch last week, to prevent it from being

Questions, questions…

• Te Awamutu man, 13 requests around Concept of Memorial, Te Awamutu By-pass, Cambridge Townbelt, Māori consultation groups, noise and dust management, upgrade to Bunnings building, population growth, Rangiaowhia site, concept plans, Spatial Plan, Velodrome. 65 hours.

• Te Awamutu man, 12 requests around Pirongia Cemetery, Te Awamutu skatepark, Lidar (lasar) system, Three Waters, redirections process, external consultants, structural reports, 2018-2028 What’s Our Story booklet, Waipā District Council Growth anomaly, population projections, Deloitte Sustainability Report. 60 hours.

• Te Awamutu man, 10 requests around:

Geographic information system (GIS) query, recording cameras, council purchases, Long Term Plan consultation, Covid Level 3 working, Treasury Report, senior council members, Annual Residents Perception Survey, Vaccine Passport, Deloitte Sustainability Report. 50 hours

• Te Awamutu man, nine requests around: fluoride, water related draft plans, vaccine mandate, Covid19 Health and Safety policy, council job losses due to vaccine mandate. 45 hours.

• Cambridge woman, seven requests around Transport Strategy workshop, Leamington Domain, Fergusson and Karāpiro bridge repairs. 35 hours.

turned off again.

“It’s disappointing having to take this action because a very small number of people have set out to deliberately cause issues,” said the spokesperson.

Additional actions, such as moving the power switch inside, have been planned by the council to further restrict access to it.

The council started restoring the clock late last year and have retrofitted it with an automatic winding system. It was originally built in 1881 and was stopped in 2017 due to safety concerns.

Be A Bit Different in

RF Scott

Community lends a hand

By Benjamin Wilson

Operation Christmas Hampers will easily reach its goal of giving away 200 Christmas hampers this year.

“If Christmas is about giving, supporting people, and having a festive time, this just kind of ticks all the boxes really,” said CommSafe community safety officer Mandy Merson.

The community initiative staged its third donation drive of the year last week.

Te Awamutu Scouts, parents, and community organisations followed constable Ryan Fleming as he drove around residential areas, flashing lights and sirens near Memorial Park on Wednesday.

They were collecting donations for festive hampers that are to be given out before Christmas.

“The stress of Christmas is not just the day, it is the week after and sometimes the week before as well,” said Fleming.

The charitable initiative has been giving out hampers to families in need of extra support for several years, but were hindered last year because of Covid.

This year, they hope to give out at least 200-hampers, and Merson says with the amount of donations they’ve received already they will easily reach that target.

“It is a good learning opportunity for the kids, because they don’t understand that there are people who don’t have Christmas trees or can’t go out and by Christmas things, because those are luxuries for some people,” she said.

The number of volunteers who turned

up for last week’s donation drive had significantly increased since their first drive in October.

Harding and Son Construction owners Josh Harding and Katie Peace joined to help after they saw what the initiative was doing last month.

“They didn’t know about it. They were one of the first streets that we collected off and they said, ‘how do we get involved?’ said Merson.

Courier Post drivers Tina Atkins and Marjorie Oman helped collect donations with their work vans.

Neighbourhood Support officer Johanna Tong and Kainga Aroha supervised contact coordinator Sandra Clarke did the same in the CommSafe Community Patrol car.

Te Awamutu volunteer firefighter Lochlan Rollinson was dressed up as Santa Claus and accompanied Fleming in his police car. He hopes to bring a fire truck and a team of firefighters to the next drive, which will take place in Kihikihi later this month.

Merson said the beauty of their initiative is its communal nature.

“The fact that there are all these volunteers and all of these members of the community who have no idea who each other are, and they just come together, it is all about the community spirit isn’t it?” she said.

“There is not one company or agency that leads it, everybody in the community just comes together.”

In mid-December, the various community organisations will begin to assemble the Christmas hampers at Zion Church, before they’re dispatched the following week.

Ryan Fleming helped organise the community initiative.

Five-year-old Te Awamutu Primary student Jake Beukes leading the way.

Seven-year-old St Patrick’s primary student Braxton Patrick carries a crate of donated food with courier driver Tina Atkins.

CommSafe community safety officer Mandy Merson.

Communications break down

A review discussing how to make local government more relevant to people has itself highlighted a glaring communications’ failure.

The Department of Internal Affairs informed national media and Government funded local democracy reporters about the release of a draft plan - but newspapers like the Te Awamutu News were left out of the loop.

The review includes 29 recommendations on how to revitalise and boost engagement with local government. Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is calling on councils to see He mata whāriki, he matawhānui as an invitation to think big.

The review was carried out by an independent panel set up by Local Government minister Nanaia Mahuta.

LGNZ president Stuart Crosby says the review was a “once-in-ageneration chance to move past the two-dimensional way we think about councils”.

“Low voter turnout at October’s election reinforces what’s at stake – we must make real change if we want to strengthen local democracy,” he said.

In an unattributed response about its publicity of the review, the Department of Internal Affairs said “we have clearly missed you as an independent title and we apologise for that”.

Good Local editor Roy Pilott said the omission underlined a blinkered Government approach to news and

advertising evident in a constant failure and or refusal to communicate with members of the New Zealand Community Newspapers Association.

The organisation represents more than 80 community mastheads.

“Stuart Crosby is right – there is a need for change, and acknowledging a section of the media which is hyper local would be a step in the right direction,” Pilott said.

Good Local Media generated almost 80 stories during the just completed elections - about 10 times the number clocked up by its rival “community” publications which benefitted from Government advertising.

New leaders for trust

By Mary Anne Gill

Waipā Networks Trust has appointed Sarah Matthews as its new chairperson, the first woman to lead the trust.

David McLean was chosen as the trust’s deputy chairperson.

Matthews, a chartered accountant with Ruapehu District Council, will soon move to Taupō District Council as chief financial officer.

The 37-year-old is a first term trustee – she topped the pool in last year’s elections – and has a long-standing relationship with the trust as the trust’s secretary/ treasurer for more than a decade.

The network trust owns Waipā Networks Ltd which is responsible for the electricity lines throughout Waipa, parts of Waikato and Ōtorohanga districts and delivers power to nearly 30,000 consumers.

Matthews and her husband Justin have a blended family of five children ranging in ages from 8-15.

“I am beyond excited to serve as the trust’s chairperson and to continue working with the company to ensure a positive impact for all Waipā power consumers”.

Matthews also paid tribute to her predecessor Craig Sanders, who held the chairperson position for nine years.

“Craig provided many years of stable leadership to the trust,

leading the trust through many significant milestones during his tenure. I am extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity to continue this work.”

The other elected trustees are

Ray Milner, Judy Bannon and Marcus Gower.

Matthews is also the chairperson of two other Waikato organisations; YWCA in Hamilton and HRT Property Holdings Trust.

Trust team: Waipā Networks Trust chair Sarah Matthews and deputy chair David McLean. Photo: Supplied.

Jingle bell cakes

It’s time to fire up your festive baking skills. A rich fruit cake will keep for years and like wine, it often improves with age. Prepare traditional cakes at least one month before cutting. During this time, the flavours mellow and the texture improves making the cake easier to cut.

This year I experimented with two new (to me) cake pans. A friend made me a wooden cake box with sides but no base. You sit it on top of sheets of newspaper and baking paper, fill it with the cake mixture then cook it at a low temp. The wood protects the outside of the cake from burning. I remember my grandmother cooking her Christmas cake this way. Wooden cake boxes are available from some kitchenware stores. I also tried a more modern approach. Many kitchenware stores are selling extra deep, heavy cake pans which have become popular with designer bakers. I lined the cake pan with baking paper to protect the sweet, dried fruits from burning on the outside. The deep sides of the cake provide an excellent canvas for artistic expression whether it be with icing, ribbons, raffia or stick-on decals.

All recipes use level metric measures.

CHOCOLATE CHRISTMAS CAKE

The pan I used was 9.5cm deep and 18cm in diameter. You could also cook the cake in a deep 21cm cake pan and bake for just 2 hours or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Start testing after 1 1/2 hours

1kg quality mixed dried fruit

150g green glacé cherries, halved 1/2 cup brandy, sherry or orange juice

225g each: butter, dark cane sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

4 large eggs

175g quality dark chocolate, chopped

225g plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground mixed spice

1/2 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon, nutmeg, salt

Put the dried fruit in a bowl with the brandy. Cover and soak for several hours.

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Line the base and sides of a deep,

heavy 18cm-round cake pan with 1 layer of baking paper. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, dark cane sugar and vanilla essence, until light. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix well.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water or in the microwave in 30 second bursts. Stir well. Cool slightly. Add to the butter mixture.

Sift the flour, mixed spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Stir into the butter mixture. Fold in the dried fruit. Mix well. Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 3 hours, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack. Can be brushed with brandy once a week before cutting. Wrap in foil and keep in a cool place.

CRANBERRY & ORANGE CHRISTMAS COOKIES

The dough can be frozen and the cookies baked when required.

125g butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla essence finely grated rind 1 orange

1 tablespoon orange juice

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup each: craisins, pistachio nuts, Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg, vanilla, orange rind and juice. Beat well. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift into the butter mixture. Beat well.

Coarsely chop the craisins and add.

Finely chop the pistachios in a small food processor. Place on a small tray.

Divide the dough in half. Roll each into a 20cm long log. Roll in the pistachios. Coat well. (At this stage the logs can be wrapped in plastic film and frozen.) Cut as many rounds as required then replace the remainder in the freezer.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Cut the logs into 2cm thick rounds. Place on the tray about 2cm apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Cool on the tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. When cool, store in an airtight container. Makes about 26.

G-F CHRISTMAS MINCE TARTS

Not all Christmas fruit mincemeat is gluten-free — check the packaging.

200g gluten-free flour

125g chilled butter, diced 1 tablespoon icing sugar 1 egg extra butter for greasing 400g fruit mince

Place the flour, butter and icing sugar in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture resembles fresh breadcrumbs. Add the egg and mix until just combined. Roll into a ball, flatten then wrap in plastic film. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Lightly grease 2 x 12-hole mini muffin pans.

Roll the pastry out between 2 sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Using a 5cm-6cm diameter biscuit cutter, stamp out 24 discs. Re-roll any trimmings and use. Gently place in the muffin holes.

Spoon the fruit mince into the unbaked shells. Bake for 15 minutes, until the pastry is light brown. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. Makes 24.

By Peter Nicholl

Inflation is out of control

Mervyn King, a former Governor of the Bank of England, said publicly in late October that ‘central banks have lost control of inflation’. I agree. All central banks were very slow to take action to control inflation as it rose to levels that were double, then treble and then over four times above their inflation targets. They were slow off the mark because they believed initially the surge in inflation would be transitory. But the drivers of inflation have now become widespread and are becoming entrenched.

Most central banks are belatedly taking action to slow inflation down. The most aggressive recent actions have been taken by the US Federal Reserve.

The Fed on November 2 announced its fourth successive interest rate increase of 0.75 percent. The Fed’s actions are going to put the pressure on other central banks to follow their lead.

The Fed is not like other central banks. It is the central bank of the country that issues the world’s number one reserve currency, the US dollar.

The US dollar has been strengthening recently because with the amount of uncertainty and instability in the world increasing, investors have been looking for ‘safe havens’.

The US dollar is still regarded as the safest haven currency. The US now also has higher policy interest rates than many other countries, including New Zealand.

Given these two things, there is only one way the US dollar exchange rate will go in the next few months. It will continue to get stronger. This means that other currencies, including the NZ dollar, will continue to get weaker against the US dollar.

Many major import items are priced in US dollars so that means the inflationary pressures impacting on NZ from abroad will continue to rise.

One of the most worrying things about recent inflation data in New Zealand is that though the initial surge in our inflation was primarily driven by external factors, locallygenerated inflation has been at a similar rate in the last two CPI releases.

There is also more anecdotal evidence of wages rising strongly here. Pay rises are to be expected. Labour is the scarce factor of production in many industries.

Economics tells you that the prices of items that are scarce tend to rise. Most central banks, including the RBNZ, are still forecasting that inflation will fall back towards their target range of 2-3 percent - but their forecasts keep moving the date that this will happen further into the future.

Not long ago they were saying this would happen in 2023, then 2024 – and now they are saying it could happen in 2025.

I expect that date to continue to shift into the future and to be like a mirage – out there in front of you but you never seem to get closer to it.

The US Federal Reserve is finally taking some aggressive action to get back control over inflation.

But because central banks have been so slow to take action, inflation pressures have strengthened and spread. It is going to be a long and bumpy battle to get them back under control.

Where will the skaters go?

The quest to find a home for a Kihikihi skatepark has taken a turn.

Of three sites initially suggested by Waipā District Council, two have been dropped – but another two have also been suggested.

So in the running now is a site behind the town hall –and two venues which have yet to be announced.

Out of contention are the old Kihikihi landfill site on Leslie St and Kihikihi Domain.

Community services manager Brad Ward said the challenges associated with

using a landfill site were too great – and the community did not see the Doman as a suitable site

Of the new options – “as soon as we can confirm if these new locations are viable, we’ll be letting the community know”.

It is hoped to start work on the new park in early 2024. It will rely on community raised funds, though the council will contribute come money.

The Kihikihi-based Te Paparoa Committee Group has already started fundraising.

PURE BRED German Shepherd puppies, microchipped, vaccinated, wormed, 6 weeks old. Looking for forever homes from 21 Nov. All pups will have pedigree papers and registered with Dogs NZ. To view www.kriegerin.nz Ph 027 821 1989

NOTIFICATION OF INTENTION TO CONSIDER TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURES

Waipa District Council will consider an application to close the following roads to ordinary vehicular traffic:

• Rangiaowhia Road – whole length from Cambridge Road to Puahue Road between 5.00am and 5.00pm on Tuesday, 21 February 2023 for the 2023 Rangiaowhia Commemorations.

The application will be considered under the Tenth Schedule of the Local Government Act 1974.

Arrangements will be made for access by emergency vehicles during the closure, if required.

Any objections to the proposal must be lodged with Waipa District Council, in writing, to events@waipadc.govt.nz, before 4.00pm on Friday, 25 November 2022. Please include the nature of the objection and the grounds for it. See the Privacy Statement on the Council’s website for further information.

For more information, please contact Waipa District Council on 0800 924 723.

Dyet CHIEF EXECUTIVE

HOUSE CLEANER wantedfortnightly for retired person. Ph 0274 797 862

Newspaper Deliverer Wanted

for delivery of the Te Awamutu News, your local weekly community newspaper.

Deliveries are to occur every Thursday. Are you honest and reliable and would like to earn some money while keeping fit? Our runs are suitable for either youth (minimum age 11 years) or adults.

Delivery runs available in the following areas:

• Pakura Street/Raeburne Street/Daphne Street

Please contact us on E: admin@goodlocal.nz

Provide your name, phone number, and the area you are located.

Clause 7

PUBLIC NOTICE

Schedule 1, Resource Management Act 1991

Waipa District Council gives notice of the availability of the summary of decisions requested by persons who made submissions on Proposed Private Plan Change 20 (Airport Northern Precinct Extension) to the Waipa District Plan under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).

The summary of decisions requested by submitters and the submissions received on Proposed Private Plan Change 20 may be viewed at:

• Online at www.waipadc.govt.nz/planchanges

• Waipa District Council offices in Te Awamutu and Cambridge

• Waipa District Council public libraries in Te Awamutu and Cambridge

Making a further submission

The following people may make a further submission: (a) any person representing a relevant aspect of the public interest; and (b) any person that has an interest in the proposed policy statement or plan greater than the interest that the general public has; and (c) the Waipa District Council itself.

A further submission must be limited to support of or opposition to a submission that has been made on Proposed Private Plan Change 20 and must seek that the submission be allowed or disallowed (in whole or in part).

A further submission needs to contain all of the information detailed in Form 6 of the Resource Management Forms, Fees and procedures Regulations 2003. A copy of Form 6 can be downloaded from www.waipadc.govt.nz/planchanges or is available from the above-listed places.

Lodging Your further submission

You may send your further submission to Waipa District Council by one of the following methods:

• Fill out the online further submission form 6 at www.waipadc.govt.nz/planchanges

• Download and print a form 6 and either:

• Email to: districtplan@waipadc.govt.nz

• Post to: Private Bag 2402, Te Awamutu 3840

• Deliver to: Waipa District Council, 101 Bank Street Te Awamutu OR 23 Wilson Street, Cambridge

A copy of your further submission is also required to be sent to the submitter to which your further submission relates, no later than 5 working days after lodging your further submission with the Waipa District Council (refer clause 8A, Schedule 1, RMA).

Dates

The Summary of Decisions requested is publicly notified on Friday 11th November 2022. Further submissions must be lodged with Waipa District Council by no later than 5pm Friday 25th November 2022, which is 10 working days after the day on which public notice is given.

Dyet Chief Executive

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Garry

of

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Public Notice of Availability of the Summary of Decisions Requested in Submissions on Proposed Private Plan Change 20 – Airport Northern Precinct Extension