Looking at the past

The search for history around Te Awamutu’s Anzac Green continues – but with more questions than answers.

As work gears up to renovate the flagpole on the green, district councillor and Te Awamutu RSA member Lou Brown hopes more information about the history of the green will be uncovered.

He understood the flagpole has been in place since 1923.

But information provided to The News suggests it may have been added later. A correspondent reported Te Awamutu’s museum collection has historic photos of the green – but without the flagpole.

The News picked up a copy of the 1984 book Frontier Town – A History of Te Awamutu 1884-1984 at a Hamilton market on Sunday, but a quick scan failed to shed more light on the issue, other than to confirm the cenotaph had been erected in 1923.

It does note that Teasdale St – the green in on the corner of Teasdale and Bank streets – was named after John Burgess Teasdale, a Waipā county councillor who died in 1927. The town’s first Bank of New Zealand building was on the junction of Bank and Alexandra streets.

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As promised, this week I’ll speak to what you can do when you are unable to get home in Civil Defence emergency.

Most likely you will be at work; therefore each business ought to have a plan. These should include:

• Emergency procedures for fire, earthquake, tsunami and other hazards.

• Assembly points, wardens and first aid training.

• How to contact staff, suppliers, clients and insurance providers.

• Alternative arrangements if you are unable to access your premises, files, etc.

• Talk to disabled staff. Find out what support they might need if there’s an emergency. Also think about how you might need to help any visitors who have a disability.

Employees may be unable to travel home. They may have to shelter at work and will need supplies, they will also have great concern for loved ones and pets that they cannot contact. Plans need to made on how to accommodate for this.

If you are trapped in your vehicle, do you have an emergency kit? An emergency kit should contain at least a torch, batteries, some form of shelter and ideally some basic food and water and be easily accessible within your vehicle.

During a Civil Emergency, news updates will be provided regularly on the main news/ radio channels.

It is important to monitor these channels. The information provided will be the same messaging to ensure consistency of information. This can also be accessed online through Civil Defence’s Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Quarries on hold

Two quarry applications in Ōhaupō and Maungatautari remain on hold while Waipā council waits for further information. Rukuhia Land Company has applied to operate a sand quarry in the Ōhaupō rural zone while Beacon Hill Contracting, which had been unlawfully operating a sand quarry at Oreipunga Road, is seeking resource consents to authorise the activities.

Parking tickets

The pre-Christmas parking crackdown in Cambridge and Te Awamutu by Waipā District Council resulted in 93 parking infringement notices - mostly for motorists overstaying their time. Parking in Waipā is free but there are time restrictions in place in the Te Awamutu and Cambridge central business districts.

Dog numbers

There are about 270 unregistered dogs in the Waipā district. The animal control team is working through the list and issuing infringement notices which carry a $300 fine. Staff impounded 68 dogs in the three months up to Christmas. Owners claimed 49 of them, seven were put down and six rehomed.

Funds available

The second ground of applications to Waipā District Council’s Community Discretionary Fund opened this week. Funds are administered by the Pirongia Ward Committee, Cambridge and Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Boards, and support community activities or projects in the Waipā district.

New playground

Work to revamp John Rochfort Park on the corner of Hall and Bryce Streets in Kihikihi will begin this month as part of a new $300,000 playground.