Te Awamutu News | September 14, 2023

Pokie cap backed

By Mary Anne Gill

The operator of 108 gaming machines at seven venues in Te Awamutu and Cambridge is supporting a cap on the number of pokie machines in Waipā.

Limiting the total to 232 would mean Grassroots Trust can maintain its 47 per cent of the market and continue to generate funding for community organisations, it says in its submission to the council’s Gambling in Waipā review.

The council received 234 submissions and will consider them at its October Strategic Planning and Policy committee.

Waipā has 106 pokie machines in Te Awamutu, 72 in Cambridge, 36 in Leamington and 18 in Kihikihi.

Of those, Grassroots have 45 from three venues in Te Awamutu – Joy’s Place, Oval Sports Bar and the Firkin Sports Bar - 27 from two in Cambridge – Prince Albert and The Clubhouse - 18 in Leamington at 5 Stags and 18 in the Star Tavern, Kihikihi.

The rest of the operators include Pub Charity and Trillian trusts, Milestone and the Lion foundations.

Grassroots distributed $2.371 million in grants to 61 organisations in the 12

months ended July 31. The organisation is the fourth largest class four operator in New Zealand and the largest in the North Island.

Executive chairman Martin Bradley said Grassroots supports a capped policy which would contain any growth in gaming machine numbers despite the district’s

population growth. Currently there are five gaming machines per 1000 adult residents which could be expected to be less than four by 2050.

The trust supports the status quo policy of not allowing new venues allowed across the road from a school or licensed early childhood centre and supports the ability to

relocate pokie machines.

“Often these relocations are to newer, smaller, modern and more vibrant premises that create a positive entertainment precinct, supporting the local economy and encouraging tourism to the area.

“Permitting venues to relocate can also have some harm minimisation benefits such as relocating venues

from high deprivation areas to low deprivation areas assisting to minimise risk of gambling harm,” Bradley says in his submission.

Grassroots regularly exceeds the minimum regulatory requirement to return 40 per cent of gross proceeds to authorised purposes.

“It is Grassroots intention to distribute funds back to

the community that it was generated from – across the sport, community and education sectors.”

Among the biggest recipients of grants in the year to July 31 was the Te Awamutu Rugby Sports and Recreation Club which got $125,000 for salary costs including the Director of Rugby and event costs for the Te Awamutu cycling tour, $100,000 for field lighting, $87,000 for the senior men’s coach salary and other costs, $59,000 for salaries, physiotherapy services, indoor centre lease and medical supplies and $4500 for future physiotherapy services.

The Order of St John central region gets $204,000 towards purchasing a Gen4 ambulance for Te Awamutu. Other Te Awamutu grants include the intermediate school which got $50,000 for purchasing and installing turf, the squash club has a $40,000 contribution towards renovating the changing rooms, Marist Club has $35,100 to install field lights and two marquees and $20,000 on repainting the exterior and interior club room toilets, Te Awamutu Golf Club $20,000 for a feasibility study, the Youth Development Trust has $10,800 to buy a large mirror

Continued on page 2

Te Awamutu’s brass band is benefitting from grants.

Kathy’s last daffodil day

By Jeremy Smith

Long-standing Te Awamutu and Kihikihi Daffodil Day coordinator Kathy Keighley has resigned, saying the time is right for “new blood” in the role.

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“I’ve absolutely loved it,” she told The News last week, confirming she had stepped down as co-ordinator following Daffodil Day 2023 at the end of last month.

Daffodil Day, run by the Cancer Society of New Zealand, raises money to help support Kiwis affected by cancer.

“It has always humbled me how generous and supportive Te Awamutu and Kihikihi have been over the years. And I know the Cancer Society is aways grateful for what we contribute too.

“Cancer touches so many families, and the stories people relay to us of how cancer has affected either them - or someone they know – are always incredibly moving.”

In Te Awamutu and Kihikihi this year, more than 70 volunteers were involved –

helping with everything from facilitating six stands, to then helping count donations.

Te Awamutu’s 2023 Daffodil Day total was $5114 - in a typical year about 5000 individual flowers, or 500 bunches of 10, were sold, Kathy said.

Going forward, Kathy confirmed she’s “very willing” to be involved in planning and helping facilitate future Daffodil Days however she’s needed –and even to help others grow in their respective roles.

“But, while I’m happy to continue doing tasks like picking daffodils or helping man stands around either Te Awamutu or Kihikihi on the day, when it comes to the role of co-ordinator, I’d just really love somebody to step in with fresh eyes and enthusiasm.”

Kathy said her preference is to see someone who lives in Te Awamutu or Kihikihi take up the role of co-ordinator, rather than future Daffodil Days being organised from out of town.

“One of my thoughts had been how cool it would be if say two people – maybe some friends or

a team to coordinate it.”

And, as co-ordinator, Kathy said, the main task essentially involves acting as the key liaison between the Cancer Society and the Te Awamutu and Kihikihi communities in order to make Daffodil Day a reality.

Pokie cap backed

and two cross trainers, the football club will spend $7325 on purchasing football equipment and playing uniforms for the junior team and $7000 on two portable goals, Te Awamutu Tennis $5520 for tennis coaching, Te Awamutu Brass Band $3938 for three toilets and two vanities for a bathroom upgrade.

Te Awamutu College gets $20,000 for sporting uniforms, Te Awamutu Netball $5800 on stadium costs for its premier and reserve teams and the Citizens Advice Bureau has a $5000 contribution towards the manager’s salary.

In Kihikihi, the primary school gets $51,340 for a multi-use turf on the netball court, Waikato Rodeo receives $14,600 for event expenses, the kindergarten gets $3500 for seven play cubes, the rugby club has $29,670 for reroofing the clubrooms, $19,900 for goal

posts and a scrum machine and $14,175 for uniforms and playing/training equipment.

Pirongia Rugby Club gets $35,000 towards playing uniforms and equipment,

Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust $25,000 for purchasing biosecurity stations on the maunga and Stewart Alexander Golf Club $25,000 towards the club manager

“Being the co-ordinator has been a wonderful season of my life, I think it helps you build nice connections with an amazing network of people that you perhaps may not have otherwise had the chance to build.”

• See Beauty in the blooms, Page 10.

Continued from page 1

and course superintendent’s salaries.

Ōhaupō School receives $10,000 towards buying Chromebooks, ipads and a basketball hoop tower, Pokuru School, southwest of Te Awamutu, has $17,300 for school uniforms.

Finally, Puahue Hall Association gets $43,280 for refurbishing its wastewater system, Riverside Golf Club has $20,000 to build a covered driving range at its Tīeke course and Te Kōpua Marae $3666 for an AED defribrillator.

The rest of Grassroots board of directors are Kevin Burgess (pharmacist), Jeremy O’Rourke (real estate), Tracey Gunn (barrister), Gary Troup (sports marketing) and Fraser Lellman (accountant).

See teawamutunews.nz for Grassroots submission and where the money went.

Former Te Awamutu and Kihikihi Daffodil Day co-ordinator Kathy Keighley.

Photo: Viv Posselt a husband and wife for example - got together as

No resolution yet

Ōhaupō lifestyler Nick Jennings is still waiting for a response from Waipā District Council on an ongoing dispute between him and a neighbouring kiwifruit grower. The News understood the council had issued abatement notices preventing the grower from adding vertical black screens to the six-metre wooden piles in Parallel Road, however the council said while there was an abatement notice on the property file, it was not served as it required a resource consent application to be lodged. The resource consent was subsequently granted but is subject to an Environment Court appeal.

Workshops begin

World Café workshops will get underway next Tuesday on Waipā’s Ahu Ake Spatial plan. The council has appointed participants for the café which brings together residents, staff and experts to share knowledge, collaborate and generate ideas on complex issues associated with the plan. Participants will attend four online and face-to-face workshops in September and October.

Safety steps

Sections of State Highway 1 in South Waikato are being made safer with the installation of central and side barriers. The transport agency identified several stretches of SH1 from Piarere to Taupō that can be made safer through road widening and the installation of flexible safety barriers.

Another turnaround

Construction began on a turnaround bay at SH1/Keeley’s Reserve on State Highway 1, east of Cambridge, this week as part of the SH1 Cambridge to Piarere Safety Improvements.

Op shop prices defended

By Jeremy Smith

Te Awamutu opshops have rejected criticism of their pricing.

In a social media post last Friday, avid opportunity shopper Kelly Case wrote that she was “sad” to see ornaments priced as high as $210, suggesting “Te Awamutu is the absolutely the most expensive place I’ve ever experienced, it’s just out the gate”.

But Hospice Waikato regional retail manager Teresa Bidlake denied suggestions items were overpriced.

“The purpose of Hospice Waikato Shops is to turn second-hand goods into first class care,” she said. “We give our donations the price they deserve and honour the reason somebody has donated them to us.

“We certainly don’t overprice our items and the amount of traders coming in and purchasing from us, and our happy customers are a reflection of the fair pricing we have.”

But Case told The News more expensive items should not appear on the shop floor.

“Don’t put expensive things like this in a shop and call it an opshop. I want to make it clear that this isn’t an attack on opshop

staff around town, they are lovely, I just can’t afford the prices as they go up.

“I thought opshops were there for families - if that’s the cost, fine, but what they need to do is take expensive items which people like myself can’t afford and sell them online, and give the money to charity

Bidlake said Hospice Waikato stores do put items on Trade Me.

“And we have an online shop. We do like to give the Te Awamutu community the opportunity to purchase the items too though and sometimes these are obviously special antique pieces.”

Case said her social media posting came after years of “…trying to figure out what the hell I’m going to dowhere am I going to go to get the things I need?”

She cited other examples of overpricing as $300 for a set of drawers.

“I love to op shop, and I’ve been doing so every Friday for 30 years, including the 12 I’ve lived in Te Awamutu.

“It’s just sad and is something that really does need to be sorted out. Last Friday as I have done before, I left my op shopping with nothing, and that absolutely guts me.

“If you saw my house, I

live out of an op shop – it’s a cool, comfy home and I love it.

“It’s hurting every part of me and making me so sadoppshopping is something I take so much joy in.”

Bidlake said a lot of research and experience goes into pricing.

“Under-pricing an item is not respectful to those who donate to us.

“We have volunteers and staff who price different categories, they know their brands, what items cost brand new, what items are worth second hand and understand quality. We

do have price ranges for everyone at our Hospice Waikato Shops.”

At the Salvation Army Family Store, manager Vanessa Hay agreed.

She told The News her team did thorough research – including online - to ensure their pricing was accurate.

Waste to energy issue heats up

The battle lines are being drawn on plans to build Paewira - a waste to energy plan in Te Awamutu.

Waipā District Council opens submissions tomorrow - but a group opposed to it has already called a public meeting and launched a petition.

The application to build a plant on Racecourse Road was lodged with the council by Global Contracting Solutions in December 2021.

A year ago this month, the council decided the application should be publicly notified and the company reactivated its application earlier

this month.

It wants to incinerate 150,000 tonnes of rubbish a year to generate electricity. Rubbish would be trucked in from around the Waikato region and stored then sorted.

The application will be assessed via a joint hearing process with Waikato Regional Council, which has also received resource consent applications for the project.

Environmental groups Go Eco and Zero Waste Network Aotearoa have called a public meeting for September 26 at Te Awamutu Library under the moniker “Don’t

Burn Waipa”.

Promotional material says the site – now zoned industrial - is in the middle of a residential neighbourhood “with schools, food businesses and significant future residential housing immediately around it”.

“It is also near the Mangapiko stream which flows through the heart of Waipā and is subject to flooding.”

The statement says the impact of pollution to air, water and soil, “whilst fuelling the climate crisis is why we need to stop this, before it starts”.

The News has sought comment from the company.

When The News broke the story of the planned plant in February 2022 the company said it had support from Ngāti Apakura.

Initial plans showed a cafeteria, visitor education centre, e-bike charging stations and a walkway around the plant with feature windows.

The district council has posted 400 letters to residents and businesses in the vicinity of Racecourse Road, advising the four-week submission process.

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Karen Mansfield, left, Hussan Shariff and Teresa Bidlake at Hospice Waikato Te Awamutu.

Pirongia grant bids considered

By Jeremy Smith

The Pirongia Ward Committee has $29,000 of discretionary funding to allocate for the 2023/24 financial year, and was to begin the process of deciding who gets what last night. But some of those wanting a slice of the cash will miss out.

The agenda for the committee’s September meeting - held yesterday after The News went to print - confirmed the committee has received a total of 19 applications totalling almost $49,000.

These applications are round one of two

rounds of funding for this financial year. The other is set for next year.

Speaking to The News on Monday ahead of its Wednesday meeting, Pirongia ward Committee chair Clare St Pierre - a Waipā district Pironga-Kakepuku Ward councillor - said the process of allocating the funds was set to be “challenging” given the high calibre of the organisations and groups which had applied.

“There are a broad range of wonderful organisations doing fantastic work represented in the applications.

“We’re always a little constrained in that

Marking up 50 in fine style

The Te Awamutu Music Federation (TAMF) will mark its half-century this weekend with a 50th Celebration Concert of solos and duets featuring renown pianist Michael Houstoun and collaborative pianist Sarah Watkins.

Sunday afternoon’s concert at St John’s Anglican Church will also feature the launch of an anniversary book compiled by Sue Baker.

She has spent many months researching TAMF’s 50 years of staging concerts for the local community, filling the 80-page publication with stories, photographs, profiles and details of performers through the years.

The book’s title has been kept under wraps until this weekend and will be announced at the concert.

New Zealand-born Michael Houstoun, who was made a Companion of the New Zealand

Order of Merit in 2012, has some history with TAMF. In 1987 he inspired the committee to purchase a concert piano, and after much community funding and a contribution from the Waipā District Council, he chose a piano and was the first to perform on it at The Woolshed. Since then, he has played a further eight times in Te Awamutu. He has performed internationally for many years and among many other accolades and awards, received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. Accompanist and chamber music aficionado Sarah Watkins has also performed extensively nationally and internationally. Currently on the teaching staff at the University of Auckland, she has received numerous awards throughout her career and was named the Classical Artist of the Year in 2022.

we only have a finite amount of funding to distribute,” St Pierre said.

The committee’s discretionary funds are delegated to the committee by Waipā District Council to help it promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of community groups or organisations in the Pirongia-Kakepuku ward.

The largest application received this funding round was from Ōhaupō Community Sport and Recreation Centre which applied for $10,000 in order to create a master concept plan as the organisation seeks to develop a bare paddock at Memorial

Park, Ōhaupō.

This was followed by an application from Mangahia Catchment Charitable Trust seeking $5000 to help fund the development of a restoration and management plan for the lower end of Mangahia Gully.

Among other applicants was Ko Wai Au Trust, which applied for $3000 towards van maintenance and running costs and Pirongia Playcentre, which applied for $2550 to create a mural celebrating its 50year anniversary.

• See: a list of the applicants teawamutunews.nz

Little artists! Waipa has scores of them

Little artists! Waipa has scores of them. Given the challenge of depicting ‘Animal Protection’, dozens of children have entered a contest run by the China Cultural Connection. Over 100 entries have been entered at the Cambridge Library and the Exhibition is named, ‘We Are The One Family Animal Protection Youth International Art Exhibition’.

Plus there are 95 entries from CNSST FOUNDATON in Auckland.

These will be on display at the Cambridge Town Hall on September 16 and 17, 10am to 3pm. The official opening and presentations will be on Friday September 15. Along with these paintings will be a NZ China Theme books Exhibition supplied by the China International Book Trading Corporation. There are more than 2,000 books in English which including Economy, Science, Affairs Commentary, History, Medical, Education, Architecture, Environmental, Fairy tale, Cooking, Painting, and Chinese Language Learning. The books are made available to local libraries and schools.

“The entries are full of colour, imagination and passion,” said one of the judges, Dee Atkinson. The organiser and exhibition curator, and head of NZiTV with Prime Media, Dandy, said the purpose of this exhibition is to boost understanding between China and New Zealand young people and enhancing their friendship.

Since its establishment in 2017 the Little Painter Global International Arts Exhibition has seen tens of thousands of children from around the world, who have taken part in international exchange art exhibitions in 30 countries. Its primary intention is to build a platform for global children to communicate, share their art and forge lasting friendships.

This is the second year that Cambridge has been included.

Schools taking part this year are Cambridge Primary, St Peters School Cambridge Road, and Cambridge Middle School. Plus, there are numerous individual entries from Cambridge children.

As well, the Cambridge Town Hall will show entries from Auckland and China.

Prizes of first, second, third and certificates for highly commended will be awarded.

The winner in Cambridge will also receive a painting by New Zealand artist Carole Hughes.

The official opening will take place on September 15 and several children will attend one class from Cambridge Primary and others who will be awardees.

The opening will be led by deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk and there will be visitors from the New Zealand Chinese community.

Dee Atkinson, Outreach Librarian for Waipa Libraries, says numerous entries were received due to four well supported workshops. Two were held in the school holidays with Carole Hughes, and two on Saturday in both libraries.

The children have been very creative in their interpretation of the theme.

“A number just take your breath away, it was extremely hard to choose a winner,” said judge and artist, Kirsten Mcintosh.

September 16 and 17 is the time to visit the Cambridge Town Hall and see what little artists can do and how well their teachers have prepared them.

Mitch gets stuck in at this year’s painting classes.

Photo supplied by Michael Jeans

2022 Chinese Acting Consul General explaining some of the books to the then Mayor Jim Mylchreest and his wife Robyn.

Sarah Watkins will perform with Michael Houstoun in Te Awamutu on Sunday.

Photo by Lydia Sewell

Pensioners cry foul

By Mary Anne Gill

Three pensioners who are tenants in one of Waipā’s seven elderly housing complexes say the council is one of the worst landlords they have experienced.

While acknowledging how grateful they were to be in the units, Carol Sandbrook, Wendy Cameron and Jocelyn Jones told The News they often felt no one at the council was listening to their complaints.

The women live in Dr Tod Court in Cambridge – named after Henry Tod a general practitioner in the town between 1923 and 1973 and mayor from 1953-1956. It has 13 one bedroom units in Victoria Street.

But rats and mice, mould on the walls, delays in installing smoke alarms, a leaking hot water cylinder which resulted in months of high electricity bills, a poorly secured pelmet, a large stain on the carpet, lawns left unmowed and holes in the guttering are among the complaints which go unanswered for weeks, they say.

The News asked the council to respond but Property Projects manager David Varcoe is away. We will publish his response next week.

The women contacted The News after we reported rents would increase at the 93 housing for elderly units it owns in Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Kihikihi.

Increases would be capped at $30 per week and no tenants would pay ‘market rent’, says a paper presented in a public excluded meeting to councillors last month by Property advisor Toni Ensor and released to The News last week.

“We feel quite privileged to be here in the pensioner houses named after Dr Tod who brought a lot of kids into the world,”

said Jocelyn, 87, a long-time resident of Cambridge.

“We appreciate our housing; we don’t mind paying the rent, but they do nothing. You ring up to get something done, you get no communication from them,” said Carol, 74, who moved from Whakatane to Cambridge two years ago.

Wendy, 68, has lived in Cambridge for 30 years and moved into her unit in November last year.

Her biggest gripe is the disruption caused by motorists.

“Everywhere else in the pensioner places have signs up saying ‘residents only’ – this place doesn’t. Everyone uses it like the highway.

“There’s old people here who are deaf and a lot of people have cats and one has already been run over.”

Jocelyn said she was angered at The News’ story which said the council debated the rent increases behind closed doors. None of them have met any of the elected members on either the council or community board.

“We wouldn’t have a clue who they are. We have contributed to society so they should listen.

“I’m going down to the council to make an appointment to see the mayor. She needs to know,” said Jocelyn.

“It is the attitude of our landlord, the council, that irritates me. We want to be looked after equally,” said Carol.

“We’ve had enough.”

The three women are great mates who look out for each other.

“We’re quite full of life us three, we have a lot of laughs,” said Jocelyn.

“But they (the council) need to be pulled up, they need to be accountable.”

The paper presented to elected members said council was forgoing revenue of $305,448 annually because of its policy of now charging market rents.

Total rental income in the 2023-24 financial year is expected to yield $1.393 million.

The council’s Pensioner Housing Policy provides direction for the ongoing management of council’s housing for the elderly stock.

A BUILDING FOR EVERY SCENARIO

Any money generated from the housing has to be used for the maintenance, management, renewal and extension of pensioner houses.

Council has recently started work on 10 new one-storey units at Vaile Court in Leamington. They will be leased to Habitat for Humanity to manage.

Waipā is one of few councils in New Zealand which still provides housing for older people in the community.

Speed zone: from left Carol Sandbrook, Wendy Cameron and Jocelyn Jones have complained about conditions at their pensioner housing.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Life and times of Josef Sittauer

By Meghan Hawkes

It was only a splinter of tawa wood but after five days the tetanus bacteria it introduced into 13-year-old Vincent Sittauer’s bloodstream took his life. It was December 1885 and New Zealand had not been quite what Vincent’s father, Josef, had anticipated.

Josef, his wife Margarethe and their two infant sons had emigrated from Bohemia in 1875 but within months of settling at Ōhaupō Margarethe had died aged 27. Most Bohemian settlers were small farmers granted sections of land, initially living in small whares, growing food crops and rearing pigs and chicken. Craftsmen, such as blacksmiths and shoemakers were among the Bohemians and Josef was a bootmaker.

He remarried in 1879 and he and his wife Helena would go on to have a large family. Josef soon proved himself a settler of the right stamp and was quick to help his community when, in 1890, winds blew a bushfire straight towards Ōhaupō village and set alight the roof of Mr Edwards’s store. Josef, later described as working like a Trojan, chopped a hole through the roof so bucket brigades could quench the flames.

In the hot February of 1902, 15-year-old Peter Sittauer was with a group of boys at Horseshoe Lake (Lake Waiwhakareke) – now part of Hamilton. They pushed a boat out several yards from the shore and Peter, who could only swim a little, paddled around it but was suddenly in difficulties.

William Carr dived in to the rescue, but after a struggle he had to let go his hold as Peter was pulling him under. William showed great pluck, making two gallant rescue attempts.

Peter’s body was recovered by Constable McPhee, who kept the dragging operations going till dusk. An inquest found that Peter was accidentally drowned while bathing. The jury, at the suggestion of the Coroner, sent a message of condolence through the foreman to the bereaved parents.

Two months later Josef poisoned his thumb and in yet another terrible blow the bootmaker had to have his hand amputated at Waikato Hospital. Great sympathy was felt for the Sittauer family in their troubles and donations to aid his family - a wife and eleven children - were collected. By August Josef was back at work – advertising his thanks for past favours and promising footwear ‘repairs neatly done and prices reasonable.’

When World War One broke out in 1914 Carl Sittauer, 21, who had been keenly interested in the territorial movement, was among the first to volunteer for service. When news reached Ōhaupō in 1915 that he had died from wounds received in action at the Dardanelles, his parents had the heartfelt sympathy of the whole community on yet another loss of a son.

Something went wrong for Martin Sittauer and in a way he was lost to the family too. He left a trail of petty crimes and false names and by his early 20s had disappeared, perhaps overseas, perhaps to live out a life under an assumed name.

Vincent and Peter were buried at Ōhaupō Catholic cemetery, and Carl at Beach cemetery, Turkey (Gallipoli).

The importance of hospitality

By Christine Bryant, Lay Minister, St John’s

It was a real thrill for me to learn how successful the Year 12 and 13 Te Awamutu College food tech and hospo students had been in the regional competitions.

As a relief teacher there, I have seen at first-hand how seriously they take the preparation for competitions. They develop their recipes and trial them over and over to perfect their techniques. Then they find the courage to pit themselves against the best from other schools.

Of course, food tech is not only about recipes, techniques and producing tasty food. At its heart, it is about sharing what you have with friends or strangers, however little that might be. Hospitality is an integral part of many cultures and countries. In the myths of Ancient Greece, we read about Baucis and Philemon, elderly and very poor farmers. Unwittingly, they entertained Zeus one night and were rewarded for their generosity.

Hospitality is deeply rooted in Christianity and there are many examples of it in both Old and New Testaments. It is more than mere courtesy. It is a sacred duty, a way of showing thanks for all that God has given us. In Genesis 18, we find Abraham warmly welcoming three strangers. He invites them to refresh themselves as he washes their feet. He kills a young calf for a meal and asks his wife, Sarah, to bake fresh bread. The three men are, in fact, messengers from God who foretell the good news that Abraham and Sarah will have a son, despite their advanced years. In John, Chapter 4, we read one of the most touching stories of Jesus’s life. In a village in Samaria, he sits down by a well in the hot midday sun. A woman comes by to

fetch water. Jesus asks her for a cup of water which she readily supplies. There follows a wonderful exchange where Jesus and the woman talk about the meaning of life and the living water of God’s spirit, the source of all life.

Genuine hospitality is possible no matter how much or how little we have. Opening our home doesn’t need to involve an elaborate dinner – a cup of tea and a listening ear are often more able to make someone feel welcome and valued. However, hospitality may involve sacrifice, putting ourselves out to give up time, resources or comfort to care for others. That is why God calls us to take care of all that he has blessed us with. The ultimate benefit of genuine hospitality is that it builds community. When someone feels isolated or lonely, we can play a part in building the supportive relationship where they will feel included.

In today’s fast-paced world, people often prioritise personal space and social media over face-to-face encounters. Nevertheless, the practice of hospitality is a timeless virtue. In Aging Gracefully, David Snowden quotes Mother Georgia of Notre-Dame Convent: “Healthy nutrition requires warm conversation as well as hot meals”. Whether or not the students from the college make a career in the food or hospitality sectors, they will always be able to offer good coffee and delicious food to those in need.

Te Awamutu wins ‘World Cup’

By Jeremy Smith

On a sporting weekend when the All Blacks suffered their first-ever loss in World Cup pool play, the Warriors went down to the Panthers in their NRL qualifying final and Te Awamutu born boxer Floyd Masson lost his IBO World Cruiserweight title, a Te Awamutu team achieved something “bloody amazing” on the world stage.

The Te Awamutu Sports Junior Rugby tour team, playing as the tournament’s New Zealand side, were crowned the winners of the Ovalive Tournament Terroirs of the World 2023 in Provence, France.

Run in Maussane-les-Alpilles, the U12s tournament is held every four years –2023 was the first time it has been open to international sides.

Essentially the “junior rugby world cup”, the Te Awamutu side went undefeated throughout.

The tournament ran last Friday and Saturday, with 18-minute games held due to temperatures above 30 degrees celsius.

With scores measured in the overall number of tries, the Te Awamutu side won its pool play matches four tries to two over France, 16-0 against England and 12-2 against Spain.

Then, in the semi final, Te Awamutu Sports beat Monaco 9-0, before downing Ireland 5-2 in the final.

All told, the side - coached by Kane Osborne and Anrew Christiescored nearly 50 tries during the tournament.

The group fundraised $80,000 since

November to attend, and speaking from France on Tuesday, Te Awamutu Sports Junior Rugby president and tour manager Nick Gold described the winning feeling as

“pretty phenomenal”. Alongside the coaches and Gold, Ange Gower and Larn Berge have been helping manage the team.

“It’s been a long journey. The boys put their heart and soul into each and every game.

“When it takes almost a year to get somewhere and you’re all working towards a goal - and then you get there in the endit’s a pretty big relief.

“It’s been an amazing tour and all the management and staff are so proud of the boys.

“It’s also been a team effort from the whole of Te Awamutu to get our boys over here we appreciate each and every person who helped us do so.”

With the team due to begin its 24 hours of flying time home yesterday, two joint players of the tournament have been named, as well as a recipient of what’s called the TA mana award, given to the player who exemplified team values both on and off the field.

The joint players of the tournament were Hosea Heke and Kain Berge and the TA Mana award went to Brax Legg.

Gold said the response from back home in Te Awamutu since word got out of the side’s win had already been fantastic.

“Our phones haven’t stopped really,” he smiled.

“The boys knew there was a bit of pressure to perform, and they took that seriously.

So, they’re pretty happy they can bring back the trophy and make people proud.”

Meanwhile, Gold said the future is already in mind.

“Hopefully, all things going well and fingers crossed, we’d love to come back here in four years’ time and do it all again.”

The Te Awamutu Sports Junior Rugby tour team celebrates winning the Ovalive Tournament Terroirs of the World in France.

Photo: Supplied.

It’s when, not if

New Zealand has experienced many more eruptions in our relatively recent history than most of us remember.

Many may have memories of the Ruapehu 1995 and 1996 eruptions, some may remember the many eruptions of Ngāuruhoe, and we are currently watching the Whakaari eruption being discussed in our courts and on the news. Small events like the 2012 Te Maari eruption and the 2007 Ruapehu lahars add to our list of activity, and we have also had periods of unrest – activity within the volcanic system that never makes it above the surface, at volcanoes like Ruapehu and Taupō. Our volcanic systems also include Taranaki, the Okataina Volcanic Centre (Tarawera produced a large and damaging eruption in 1886), Raoul Island offshore, and the Auckland Volcanic Field under our largest city.

When one of these volcanoes start to show signs of activity, picked up by our volcano monitoring systems that I discussed last week, people have a lot of questions. Will it erupt? When will it erupt? What would an eruption at that volcano look like? What are the potential dangers? What people, things, places, animals, critical infrastructure and transportation will it impact and where? How long will the eruption last? And many more.

When the eruption does start people are hungry for information - our decision makers, response agencies, and community members alike. It is the role of volcanologists alongside emergency managers to answer these questions, in collaboration with other experts like social scientists. We don’t have a lot of eruptions that have impacted society here in Aotearoa to look to, so we add the experiences at overseas volcanoes and combine that with our local knowledge, creating scenarios (examples of what might

By Janine Krippner

happen to see where our strengths and weaknesses are), and computer models to make sure we are as prepared as we can be.

Several New Zealand universities are in a process of potentially cutting volcanologists from their departments, showing just how little our country as a whole understands how critical volcano research is.

During any crisis or disaster we look to our experts to answer our questions, and we rightfully expect that they have the correct high-quality information and experience to help us.

Around the world volcanology is generally underfunded, with volcano agencies working hard to figure out our complex volcanic areas so that we can best help our communities not only with practical advice, but also to understand what is going on to reduce unnecessary stress.

Life is hard enough, you don’t deserve to be anxious over misinformation or misunderstanding how our Earth works. We may face potentially very high impact eruptions and we work to balance helping people be informed without being alarmist. We are also community members ourselves, we will be right there with you wanting to have all the answers ASAP.

There is so much more work to do on so many complex aspects of volcanoes and eruptions. What’s the point? The point is all of us. No matter where we live, we can be impacted by eruptions in some way, even if it’s through our economy. Along with other Kiwi volcanologists, I want to help. We live in a very active country where it is a matter of when, not if, we will experience another eruption.

It’s our own fault

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently published its latest report on the New Zealand economy.

The IMF does these reviews on their member countries about every 18 months. The report was not very flattering. One important conclusion was that New Zealand’s large current account deficit, which is currently 8.5 per cent of gross domestic product, showed clearly that New Zealand was living beyond its means. The IMF also expected the economy to slow further and possibly fall into recession.

It also said that the slowing housing market and rising interest rates were leading to a worrying rise in the level of debt arrears. However, despite the slowing housing market, New Zealand still had a major problem with housing affordability. In relation to average incomes, New Zealand had some of the least affordable housing in the world. Unfortunately, the IMF report was coy, or you could say disingenuous, when they wrote about the solution to this major problem.

They said, “achieving long-term affordability depends critically on freeing up land supply, improving planning and zoning, and fostering infrastructure investment to enable fasttrack housing developments and reduce construction costs and delays”.

This is all true but it gives the impression that solving the housing affordability problem through these supply-side policies will be costless. There are only two ways to improve housing affordability: house prices have to fall or average incomes have to rise. The supplyside policies promoted by the IMF will only improve affordability if the increased supply brings down average prices.

One other statement in the report that surprised me was that “the management of the pandemic had been exemplary”. Some commentators thought the IMF were

By Peter Nicholl

complementing the economic management of the pandemic. I am not sure that they were. But if they were, they are even more out of touch than I thought they were about this period. The Reserve Bank, and most other Central Banks around the world, lowered interest rates to ridiculously levels and created huge amounts of liquidity.

When I first started voting there was a political party called Social Credit. They were treated with scorn by most economists. But what the Reserve Bank and many other Central Banks did recently went even further than the polices Social Credit used to advocate. The amount of liquidity they created was truly staggering. It still amazes me that the IMF was not critical of this enormous amount of cheap liquidity creation when it was a happening. You have to wait to see the medium-term impacts of this enormous creation of cheap money before you can call it a success or a failure. We are getting towards the mediumterm now. What have been the impacts? inflation is almost three times the Reserve Bank’s target level, we may be heading for a recession, we have a huge current account deficit, we have some of the least affordable housing in the world and we have huge government and household debt levels. That doesn’t look like a very exemplary set of medium-term impacts to me. Most of these impacts should not be a surprise to the IMF or anyone else. These are the things you should expect to get when you create a mountain of cheap liquidity.

But we can’t blame the IMF for the daunting set of economic problems we now face. New Zealand has never had an IMF economic programme. Our economic policy choices have been our own.

SPECIALISING IN CUSTOM BUILT KITCHENS, BATHROOMS, LAUNDRYS, WARDROBES & ALL OTHER INTERIOR JOINERY

A depression impression…

By Jeremy Smith

Walking into Barbara Fleck’s house in Te Awamutu, one is met with a key impression – colour.

“That’s true,” she says. “…all the rooms have something somewhere.”

To a large degree, it’s due to her pursuit of a passion first sparked in childhood - now you’d likely be hard pressed to find a comparable collection anywhere in New Zealand.

That collection started roughly 25 years ago, with a “little green vase and a little green butter dish” – now she estimates she’s closing in on 600 unique pieces of depression glass collected worldwide.

Depression glass is glassware which is often clear or coloured translucent.

It was distributed free, or at low cost, in the United States and Canada around the time of the Great Depression between 1929-1939.

“For some reason, I’ve always just loved coloured glass. I just think it’s absolutely beautiful,” Barbara said.

“My earliest memory of that love is of visiting a relative’s house when I was a young girl and seeing they had coloured glass at the top of all their windows and around their front door.

“I was always so impressed.”

These days, be they bowls, cups, vases, or a wide range of other depression glass items in a vast assortment of colours – blue, green,

red, pink, you name it – Barbara’s employed a straightforward approach to amassing her now impressive collection.

“If I’m in a particular place visiting, I’ll have a quick look. But honestly, I don’t look really hard for it. I don’t chase it,” she said.

And yet, over the years, Barbara – who has lived in Te Awamutu all her life – has found depression glass in international locations as far afield as Amsterdam and Ireland, and as close to home as here in Te Awamutu.“Red is my favourite colour of all my pieces,” Barbara said.

“…that’s probably because it’s the rarest colour I have. It’s very hard to find.”

She isn’t sure how her collection compares to any others like it nationwide – but she once saw a similar collector on the news who had about 150 pieces of depression glass in their possession.

“That said, I must say I never dreamed my collection would grow to be this size.”

And, Barbara adds, the collecting will continue because the feeling of “enormous happiness” as she discovers each and every new piece has never wavered.

“I’m always fascinated as I wonder about the story each piece would have to tell,” she said.

Barbara is an avid collector in more than one way – come December, her home is turned into a Christmas celebration.

Watching the signs

Waipā District Council staff have been on sign watch over the last week.

Compliance manager Karl Tutty told The News there had been six complaints from six different complainants in the last week about Chemist Warehouse signs.

“Enforcement staff followed this up last week and in doing so, identified some other non-complying signs around this same area. All those with noncompliant signs are being asked to remove the signs immediately,” he said.

All the complaints were in Cambridge.

The council recently completed a review of the Public Places Bylaw and in terms of signs is proposing to allow one street sign - up to one metre square - per business premise unless a permit is issued. At present there are no controls over the number of signs less than that size.

Council says the proposed change – which council will consider for adoption on September 26 - allows businesses to advertise but prevents the streets and footpaths being cluttered and causing hazards.

Barbara Fleck with her depression glass collection.

Beauty in the blooms

By Mary Anne Gill

Waipā daffodil growers

Clive Denton and Robin Hill were thrilled to be back ‘home’ at the weekend in the Cambridge Town Hall to show off their prize-winning flowers.

The last time they were in the hall was in 2007 – after a nearly 40-year absence - to celebrate the centenary of the first daffodil show in Cambridge.

Since then, they have shown off their blooms in the Hamilton Gardens Pavilion.

Clive is from Cambridge and recently published One Hundred Years of Cambridge Daffodil Shows in time for the two-day North Island daffodil show on the weekend.

Robin grows daffodil bulbs at his Fisher Nurseries base on Cambridge Road near Te Awamutu and many of his progeny were among the winners on display.

The champion bloom was

grown in Te Kuiti by Lisa Watkins.

The award came as a big surprise to her as she recently moved into town from her Piopio farm and was not sure what the new soil was going to produce.

The new clay soil, record rainfall and several recent frosts had her doubting whether she would produce a finalist, yet alone a winner.

But her Omeomy flower impressed the judges. And the secret?

“It got a lot of fertiliser,” said Lisa who also pointed to the smoothness of the petal, the symmetry, colour, condition and cup as reasons for its victory.

The show attracted 45 exhibitors with 1200 blooms. While the event is one of the country’s major shows, few came from the South Island because weather conditions had delayed the daffodil season.

“We’re lucky it’s been a very slow season because I don’t think we would have

got everyone in the Town Hall,” said Clive.

A return to the Hamilton Pavilion is on the cards once it has been refurbished, he said.

In his book Clive delves into the role Cambridge mayor Frank Buckland played in setting up the first

daffodil shows.

A champion daffodil grower himself, he wrote the schedule for the first show in 1907, entered numerous prize winning flowers and provided daffodil bulbs to further promote the growing of daffodils.

Having the new Town Hall in 1909 to display daffodils brought credibility to the Cambridge event and resulted in the establishment of the Cambridge Daffodil Society in 1912.

The society ran its shows every year in the Town Hall until 1968.

The Wellington Horticultural Society is credited in 1898 with holding the first show dedicated solely to daffodils.

The National Daffodil Society was formed in 1926. Daffodils have been around for centuries and traditionally herald the start of spring in both hemispheres.

Their botanical name is narcissus, named after the youth in Greek mythology who was tricked into falling in love with his own reflection.

By Jeremy Smith

“I don’t want people to just go home thinking, ‘I watched a nice production’. I’m actually hoping it speaks to our audiences - and even our students - and they all go home both encouraged and transformed.”

When Waipa Christian School’s production For Such A Time As This hits the stage next week, that statementdirector Madge Le Hane says – will be the foundational reason they’re putting it on.

“If I’m honest, I don’t just see our production as entertainment. To me, it’s really a Gospel message of the goodness of God in our lives, celebrating all that He has done and can do.”

Running over two days at Te Awamutu Bible Chapel, with a noon matinee performance next Wednesday and an evening performance the following day, For Such A Time As This tells the story of the Old Testament account of the life of Esther, the Jewish wife of Persian king Xerxes.

The Biblical text recounts how she and her cousin Mordecai persuade the king to retract an order for the general annihilation of Jewish people throughout the empire.

Chosen by God for that task, Queen Esther goes before King Xerxes and is successful in her calling.

Madge said the Biblical narrative has strong themes of “destiny and calling”, and she hopes audiences will leave knowing they too are chosen by God for a unique purpose.

Madge has written the production herself, basing it on an animated children’s Bible story series called Super Book.

She’s even choreographed the music and dancing which features in the nearly hourlong show.

“A lot of my inspiration actually comes through music,” she said.

With a bit of a modern-day twist, For Such A Time As This begins with a missionary family returning from India to New Zealand.

Sitting down with their family and grandchildren, the production shifts from the missionaries telling modern-day stories of India to recounting the Biblical story of Esther to their family.

Madge said she first sat down to write the script for the whole-school production for the school’s nearly 90 students just prior to Christmas.

Rehearsals have subsequently been underway since term two.

“I’ve had a lot of fun as we’ve been preparing,” she said.

“I’ve loved being involved very much.”

The team at Murray Hunt Furnishers are suppor�ng

Waipa Christian School students Ruben Hattingh, left, Phoebe Raine and Lucas Boyd will play King Xerxes, Esther and Mordecai respectively in the school’s upcoming production, For Such A Time As This.

Judging the best daffodils: from left John Hollever (Levin), Rozanne Burnby (Southbridge), Lesley Ramsey (Cambridge), Graeme Miller (Pirongia), Wayne Hughes (Whanganui), Robin Hill (Te Awamutu) and Andrew Jenkins (Turangi) at the 96th Annual North Island National Daffodil Society Show in Cambridge Town Hall.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill

Lisa Watkins of Te Kuiti with the champion bloom. Photo: Mary Anne Gill

Ian’s a model car owner

Flicking through The News late last month, Te Awamutu’s Ian Stratford got “I didn’t realise there were any left in

1928 Willys-Knight for a little over a year after purchasing it at 18 in 1953, he’ll never forget it.“I’ve got you a car,” Ian’s father told him on returning home one day. It had been advertised for sale in Mt

At one stage, Ian even built two go-karts out of old bicycle parts so the grandchildren could “have a whale of a time” whizzing around a track he had shaped in the back yard. His passion for wood turning – and

Kōkako numbers on the up

By Roy Pilott

Kōkako – and kākāpō – are enjoying life in great numbers in the Waikato.

Doc – the conservation department - has revealed the results of its latest survey in the Waipapa South area of the Pureora forest show there are 124 pairs of kōkako – up from 87 eight years ago.

The total number in Pureora, where pest control has had a significant impact, is now estimated at more than 670 pairs.

And on Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, 20 more birds are expected to be introduced – or “translocated” in conservation speak - to the existing population – counted at just over 100 in 2020 - so that in a few “bird generations” kōkako will be moved off the maunga to expand populations elsewhere.

The news comes in the wake of the arrival in July at Maungatautari of four kākāpō from Whenua Hou – Codfish Island - at the foot of the South Island.

And as those four birds – the first kākāpō to live in the North Island for 40 years settle in, another group of the native parrots were

being prepared this week to swell their numbers.

It’s planned to have 10 males settled on the maunga before plans are made to introduce females.

Pureora was the scene of prolonged protests in the late 1970s amid fears that logging of native trees there would come at the expense of the remaining kōkako there.

Protesters succeeded in putting a stop temporary stop to the logging and it was abandoned in 1982.

At that time, it was thought the total population was about 700 pairs. The number fell to as low as 300 before the turn of the century but is now closer to 2000 pairs in 26 known populations.

The Waipapa South kōkako survey, carried out in May by five surveyors, covered 1250 hectares across 48 surveyor days. The results suggest an annual growth of four per cent.

Graham Kimber, Doc’s Maniapoto Operations manager, says recovery of the population in Pureora is an important conservation success story.

“Hearing kōkako in the Pureora Forest is a really special experience and long-term

Planting the corridor

More planting has been carried out in what is being developed into an ecological corridor between Maungatautari and Pirongia.

The two maunga have successful pest control and restoration programmes and are separated by a distance of 40 kilometres - but linked by the Mangapiko Stream which runs through Te Awamutu and Pirongia.

In a video promoting the Taiea te Taiao project, Poto Davies calls Mangapiko “the veins of the whenua”.

Clare St Pierre – a Waipā councillor and co-chair of Maungatautari to Pirongia Ecological Corridor Incorporated Society – says landowners on the stream who do just “a little bit of planting” might provide a stopover place for birds to land and feed as the fly between the two maunga.

She said the biodiversity strongholds would feed into the corridor species like kereru and kākā so people would be able to see them in their backyards.

Conservation Week was marked recently with planting along the stream at the Daphne Street Reserve.

“We achieved a great outcome over the afternoon and we’re hoping to hold other events so more people can be involved,” St Pierre said.

recovery work means more people can enjoy the bird’s song.”

The as yet fruitless hunt for some, though, goes on for the South Island kōkako which has orange rather than purple wattles.

The bird has not been seen since 1967 – though there have been several reports of their song being heard. It was declared extinct in 1967 – but then reclassified “data deficient”.

The kōkako has bounced back from near extinction.

Photo: Department of Conservation.

Bexie Towle, Taiea te Taiao Project co-ordinator, pictured during the planting day to mark Conservation Week.

Photo: Clare St Pierre.

Pastas please

“Life is full of pasta-bilities” Anon

You can’t go passed pasta for versatility be it in starters, mains or desserts. (Try a little cooked orzo in ambrosia desserts.) Pasta can be reheated or served cold with a salad dressing, so leftovers never need to be wasted.

There are over 600 different pasta shapes with new creations being developed constantly. The shapes hold varying amounts of sauce. Smooth sauces are generally served with thin strands of pasta. Chunkier pastas go better with chunkier sauces containing seafood, meat or vegetables. Fresh pasta is not necessarily better than dried. Most manufacturers now produce a range of pasta from hard durum wheat that is coarsely ground making it quite nutritious.

When cooking pasta, follow the instructions on the packet because each manufacturer recommends a specific cooking time. In general, a large saucepan of water should be brought to the boil, a little salt added and the pasta added slowly so the water does not stop boiling. Cook until it is ‚al dente‘ — that is, just cooked. Drain the pasta well through a sieve. I like to mix in a little olive oil or butter to prevent it sticking.

TORTELLINI & CHICKEN BAKE

1 tablespoon olive oil

350g skinned and boned chicken breasts, thinly sliced 6 mushrooms sliced

300g spinach & cheese tortellini

2 1/4 cups good tomato-based pasta sauce or passata

Garnishes: 1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained fresh thyme leaves rocket or basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Quickly stir-fry the chicken, until lightly coloured. Transfer to a baking dish. Sauté the mushrooms until browned. Spoon over the chicken.

In a bowl, combine the tortellini with the pasta sauce. Spoon over the chicken and mushrooms. Cover tightly with foil.

Tortellini & chicken bake

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the tortellini is tender. Garnish.

Excellent served with crusty rolls and a tossed salad. Serves 4.

CRUSTY PENNE & BROCCOLI

A diced red pepper can also be added to the mixture before baking.

250g penne

1 red onion, diced

300g broccoli florets

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tablespoon cornflour

2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard

150g sour cream

100g tasty cheddar or blue vein cheese, grated

Topping: 1/4 cup each: chopped parsley, fresh breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon mixed dried herbs

Cook the pasta - together with the onion - according to the packet instructions. Add the broccoli florets during the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain, reserving about 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water.

Return the water to the saucepan. Add the stock cube and cornflour and whisk to dissolve. Whisk in the mustard and sour cream. Bring to a simmer. Stir in the pasta and

vegetables, and cheddar cheese. Pour into a baking dish. Sprinkle with the parsley, breadcrumbs and parmesan. Cook under a preheated grill, until golden. Serves 4.

PRAWN FETTUCCINE

400g dried fettuccine

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup cream

500g cooked, peeled prawns

1/2 cup each: chopped parsley, chopped basil

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

100g grated parmesan cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook the fettuccine in a large saucepan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions, until ‚al dente‘. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and sauté briefly to release the flavour. Add the cream. Simmer, stirring frequently. Lower the heat and stir in the prawns, parsley, basil and thyme. Continue cooking until the prawns are just heated through. Do not overcook. Remove from the heat.

Drain the pasta and toss lightly with the sauce. Toss again with the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

When it comes to Te Awamutu’s sewing and clothing alteration needs, this name says it all. Angela Wood and Kathy Flay make it ‘Sew Easy’.

Open for about 18 months, the company is the culmination of a long-held dream for the pair. Close friends for nearly 50 years, Angela and Kathy often chatted about opening the business together.

And “right from day one” last March, they’ve been amazed at the support Te Awamutu’s shown them.

“It’s our dream, so with every job we strive for the highest quality results with a personal touch. We genuinely want the best for customers, I think people really appreciate that,” Angela said.

Their reputation is spreading far and wide –mostly through word of mouth to date. And customers come from as far afield as Cambridge, Te Kuiti and Otorohanga to avail themselves of Sew Easy’s services. Kathy said they’re willing to take a wide range of sewing-related requests - everything from hemming pants to replacing zips on jackets and trousers is already proving

popular.

“Whatever their sewing needs, we welcome people coming to see us.

“We’ve received some really nice customer feedback, which is fantastic. We absolutely love what we do,” Kathy said.

“Yes, we’re a great team,” Angela adds with a smile. “Pop in and say hi, we’d love to meet you.”

Crusty penne & broccoli

It’s sew easy!

Masson stopped in first title defence

By Roy Pilott

“He couldn’t have taken a harder opponent if he tried.”

So said the commentator watching Te Awamutu born Floyd Masson early on in his WBO cruiserweight title fight – and eventual stoppage – in Brisbane on Saturday.

The Waipā born boxer saw his perfect record, and

the title, go when he was stopped with a few seconds left of the sixth round by Belgium’s Yves Ngabu in a brutal encounter.

Masson was bleeding from the nose and mouth by the end of the second round – but it was a cut suffered in the fourth round which sealed his fate.

It was a massive cut above his right eye, and under a

barrage of accurate head punches from Ngabu he eventually crumpled against the rope.

Referee Will Soulos intervened as Masson rose, and stopped the fight.

Judges David Craig, Adam Height and Olena Pobyvailo all had the fight 49-46 – and so did I.

Masson’s late first round flurry won that round for

him, but after that Ngabu took control, going for the head, switching from southpaw to orthodox, and absorbing Masson’s body shots.

It was the second “war” in a row for Masson, who won the title in April from Italy’s Fabio Turchi in a fight that went the distance – 12 rounds.

“It wasn’t my night, it’s a hard pill to swallow, but he deserved it,” Masson said.

For Ngabu, the fight should set him up for a significant pay day – the 34 year old fought an almost perfect fight to take his record to 22 wins from 24 outings.

But for Masson, while it’s back to the drawing board, he goes with considerable praise ringing in his ears.

Silver linings

Floyd Masson

Two Te Awamutu Primary School students had the “best day of their lives” on Monday. Payton Dent and Frankie Britton, both eight, were among 30 students aged eight to 14 who had the chance to train with members of the Silver Ferns in Papakura. Payton, left, and Frankie - who both play netball in Te Awamutu - were pictured with Silver Ferns Phoenix Karaka, Peta Toeava and Maia Wilson. The group of students was taken through an hour of drills, before finishing up with some games to consolidate what they learned. Frankie said her favourite positions on court are goal shoot and goal attack, while Payton’s are goal attack and centre.

COME JOIN US & HAVE SOME FUN

By Chef Louise Chidlow

Quick crossword Sudoku Wordsearch

WYKWUKWWEXTIDFKOOE

EGJPQDCIUGSBOJATFR

AGEBYYRZNOIPWDOIOU

TOUCLSRIBTMYNNUSRT

HFWLEARAZFRSPBXXEA

EXIAIERNFZAYOZKKCR

RHSNTHGIRBLPUHTZAE

COOLTOGNIZEERFZJSP

NTEHURRICANEZHKTTM

MWLIAHMNCJDRYNESSE

SOHLYGQOADFCLOSEJT

WSGADZEMNDLRWMGCIM

AIUCNFBZISOGOLQYXS

HSOIIWRMELOSUNZCWJ

Across

1. Bucket (4)

4. Inhabit (6)

8. Surprise (7)

9. Of the kidneys (5)

10. Unclothed (4)

11. Imitate something (8)

13. Someone next door (9)

17. Shamefaced (8)

19. Bushy hairdo (4)

Last week

21. Not as wet (5)

22. Skill (7)

23. Myth (6)

24. Care for (4)

Down

2. Desert (7)

3. Medieval stringed instrument (4)

4. Short-lived romantic encounter (3-5,5)

5. Ribbed fabric (8)

6. Black and white mammal (5)

7. Smooth and glossy (5)

8. Submerged (4)

12. Spread out (8)

14. Hooligan (7)

15. Actor’s remark to audience (5)

16. Comfy and warm (4)

18. Chosen few (5)

20. Food regime (4)

Across: 1. Psalm, 4. Solace, 8. Climate, 9. Waste, 10. Upend, 11. Vertigo, 12. Toward, 14. Scared, 17. Eclipse, 19. Pesto, 21. Avian, 22. Avocado, 23. Ignore, 24. Surge.

Down: 1. Pick up the tab, 2. Alike, 3. Meander, 4. Shelve, 5. Lower, 6. Cashier, 7. Second to none, 13. Walking, 15. Copious, 16. Rebate, 18. Pinto, 20. Stair.

KIRIKIRIROA ROPU TAUTOKO HAMILTON SUPPORT GROUP

ki te kore nga putake e mākukungia e kore te rakau e tupu

If the roots of the tree are not watered, the tree will not grow.

We invite all people living with a brain injury, their family/whanau and carers to join us. Support groups can provide a sense of belonging, make social connections, and share ideas, issues, and worries. It is a place to share, listen and support surrounded by people who understand or are walking a similar path.

Everybody welcome

When: Tuesday 19 September 2023

Where: Community House, 193 Shakespeare Street, Cambridge

Time: 10.30 am till 12

We look forward to seeing you for a hot drink and biscuit and a chat. A gold coin donation is appreciated.

Please RSVP

Phone: (07) 839 1191 Marion 022 128 4154 admin@braininjurywaikato.org.nz www.braininjurywaikato.org.nz

TLRPWKUOMEYOSSTLAC

DETOHHVFSIRZNSTORM

WEUREDNUHTLBORQNMC

KTCTCHANGEJDWFRESH

BREEZE

BRIGHT

CHANGE

CHILLY

CLOSE

COLD

COOL

CYCLONE

DOWNPOUR

DRIZZLE

DRYNESS

FAIR

FOGGY

FORECAST

FREEZING

FRESH

FRONT

FROST

GUST

HAIL

HUMID

HURRICANE

ISOBAR

MILD

MIST

MONSOON

RAIN

SEASON

SLEET

SNOW

STORM

SUNNY

SWELTERING

TEMPERATURE

THAW

THUNDER

TORNADO TROPICAL TROUGH WARM

WEATHER

WINDY

WINTRY

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TE AWAMUTU OPEN HOMES

CLASSIFIEDS

HLZ/TGA/AKL REMOVALS

WAIKATO

ANNUAL PIRONGIA CRAFT DAY 2023

Only NZ Handmade &

MAIN STREET

Sunday 24th September 9am - 3pm

RESOURCE CONSENT APPLICATIONS

Waipa District Council and the Waikato Regional Council have received resource consent applications as below. As both Councils have determined that public notification is required for their respective applications, this is a combined notice advising of the public notification.

APPLICANT’S NAME: Global Contracting Solutions Limited

LOCATION: 401 Racecourse Road, Te Awamutu

NATURE OF APPLICATIONS:

Waipa District Council (WDC) – Reference LU/0323/21

To construct and operate a ‘Waste to Energy’ plant, which would burn rubbish that would be used to generate electric power.

Waikato Regional Council (WRC) – Reference APP143988

APP143988

Activity 1: 143988.01.01

We put you first

Activity 2: 143988.02.01

Activity 3: 143988.03.01

SUNNY

The home features, amazing views of Maungatautari from the large deck with ranch slider to sun drenched living, great original wood kitchen, freshly painted cupboards with electric stove, rangehood and pantry, near new carpet, three good size bedrooms, two bathrooms (one with bath and one with shower and laundry). The freehold section is well fenced, back off the road, up a wide shared driveway and has a separate double garage. You need to visit this home to truly appreciate it.

Get in touch with Vayle or Tania to arrange a viewing.

Visit

Activity Description

Discharge of emissions to air associated with operating a Waste to Energy plant

Discharge of stormwater to surface water associated with operating a Waste to Energy plant

Deposition of cleanfill associated with constructing a Waste to Energy plant

Resource consents are sought to construct and operate a waste to energy plant, to serve the dual purpose of incinerating waste and generating electricity from the steam produced.

Both applications include an assessment of environmental effects and several technical reports. The Waipa District Council (WDC) application can be viewed electronically at our Te Awamutu Office, 101 Bank Street, Te Awamutu or online via waipadc.govt.nz/wastetoenergyplant. Please contact Waipa District Council’s enquiries team on 0800 924 723 if you have any questions about this application.

The Waikato Regional Council (WRC) application can be viewed electronically via https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/APP143988 or at the Hamilton Office, 160 Ward Street, Hamilton. Please contact the WRC enquiries team on 0800 800 402, if you have any questions about this application.

Any person may make a submission on the above applications, but a person who is a trade competitor of the applicant may do so only if that person is directly affected by an effect of the activity to which the application relates that;

a. Adversely affects the environment; and

b. Does not relate to trade competition or the effects of trade competition. Please note: A separate submission will need to be submitted to each respective Council if you wish to provide a submission on both applications.

You may make a submission on the WDC application by sending a written submission to Waipa District Council, Private Bag 2402, Te Awamutu, 3800 or electronically to submissions@waipadc.govt.nz. The submission must be on Form 13. Copies of this form are available on the WDC website: waipadc.govt.nz/wastetoenergyplant

You may make a submission on the WRC application by sending a written submission to Waikato Regional Council, Private Bag 3038, Waikato Mail Centre, Hamilton 3240 or electronically to RCsubmissions@waikatoregion.govt.nz. The submission must be on Form 13. Copies of this form are available on the WRC website: http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/other-consentforms/ Submissions close on Friday 13 October 2023.

You must also serve a submission on Global Contracting Solutions Limited whose address for service is C/-Terra Consultants, PO Box 5028, Frankton Hamilton, 3242, or by email to richard.falconer@terragroup.co.nz as soon as reasonably practicable after serving your submission on Waipa District Council and/or Waikato Regional Council.

Garry Dyet E Chief Executive

For

and

on behalf of the Waipa District Council CDA

On behalf of Waikato Regional Council

Heat Pump

ADVERTISE WITH THE EXPERTS

DESTINATION TE AWAMUTU

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

The AGM will be held on Thursday 28th September 2023 at 4pm at Burchell Pavilion, 1 Gorst Avenue, Te Awamutu

Call for nominations to the Committee are now accepted. All nominations must be received by 5pm, Thursday 27th September. Nominations to be emailed to office@ teawamutuchamber.org.nz

PUBLIC NOTICES

You’re invited to…

Fonterra Te Awamutu’s

Annual Community Meeting (Manufacturing Site)

Date: Tuesday 19th September 2023

Time: 5:00 PM – 6.00 PM

Venue: Learning Centre Fonterra Te Awamutu, 1600 Alexandra Street At the meeting we will:

• Introduce you to our manufacturing team.

• Provide you with an update on our activities and operations.

• Provide an update on Project Mangapiko – our wastewater treatment plant upgrade which has improved the quality of the treated site wastewater before it is discharged to the Mangapiko Stream.

• Update from Sustainable Dairy Advisor on activities happening in local catchments.

• Hear from lead members of the Taiea te Taiao Ecological Corridor group about the work being done to improve the health of the Mangapiko Stream. This is your chance to ask questions and share any thoughts or feedback. Light refreshments will be provided. Please bring along your family and friends!

Please RSVP to our Environmental Manager Caitlyn Poole by texting 027 275 6157 or by email: caitlyn.poole@fonterra.com

CARE, Caroline Jean, (nee Tredo) – Passed peacefully at home surrounded by family. Loving wife of Gordon. Loving mother and mother in-law to Jenny & Brett, Lisa, and Patrick & Karen. Grandmother to 16 grandchildren and 29 great grandchildren. When it rains we look for rainbows.

When it’s dark we look for stars.

Forever in our hearts you’ll live on.

We’ll miss you to infinity and beyond.

At Caroline's request a private farewell has taken place. All communications to the Care Family, c/- 262 Ohaupo Road, Te Awamutu 3800.

FRANKS, Walter George –

Our dear Dad peacefully shut his eyes and slipped away on Friday, 8th September 2023, aged 76 years. Dearly loved husband of the late Gael and cherished companion of Colleen. Adored father and father in-law to Mark, Jason & Tania, Teressa & Kevin, and Aaron & Cath. Cherished Grandad to 13 grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. Sadly missed by Pele, Lawrence, John Nicholas, and their families.

Treasured memories always held dearly in our hearts. A celebration of Walter's life will be held at Te Awamutu Bible Chapel, Chapel Drive, Te Awamutu on Tuesday, the 19th of September 2023 at 11:00am followed by the burial at the Te Awamutu Lawn Cemetery. All communications to the Franks Family, c/- 262 Ohaupo Road, Te Awamutu 3800.

WOODS, Bryan Murray – Passed away suddenly at Waikato Hospital on Wednesday, 30th August 2023, aged 67 years. Father of Kale Will be greatly missed by all his family and friends. Special thanks to all the Emergency staff that helped Bryan in his final hours. A celebration of Bryan’s life has been held. All communications to the Woods Family, c/- 262 Ohaupo Road, Te Awamutu 3800.

SITUATIONS VACANT SITUATIONS VACANT

FABRICATOR/WELDER

- Key member of a small friendly team

- Global leader in Air Filtration

- Cambridge location Camfil NZ Ltd, the world leader in air filtration products and services, has expanded rapidly in New Zealand and is seeking to recruit an exceptional Fabricator/Welder. This role will work closely with our workshop foreman to build an outstanding level of product and customer service.

This role will involve all aspects of fabrication and job assembly.

Some site maintenance work would be required from time to time.

To be successful in this role you should;

- have a strong safety focus

- have a good background in all facets’ of Mig / Tig welding & fabrication. (Aluminum, Mild & Stainless Steel)

- be passionate and take pride in your work.

- have adequate verbal and written communication skills

- show attention to detail and accuracy

- enjoy being part of a successful team and working in a modern equipped facility.

If this challenging role appeals to you, please forward your CV to craig.gosnell@camfil.com

Refer to www.camfil.com for company background information.

Production Assistant

• Key member of a small friendly team

• Global leader in Air Filtration

• Cambridge location

Camfil NZ Ltd, the world leader in air filtration products and services, has expanded rapidly in New Zealand and is seeking to recruit an exceptional Fabricator/Welder. This role will work closely with our workshop foreman to build an outstanding level of product and customer service.

This role will involve some aspects of fabrication and job assembly.

Some site maintenance work maybe required from time to time.

To be successful in this role you should; have a strong safety focus be passionate and take pride in your work.

• have adequate verbal and written communication skills

• show attention to detail and accuracy

• enjoy being part of a successful team and working in a modern equipped facility.

If this challenging role appeals to you:

Please forward your CV to craig.gosnell@camfil.com

Refer to www.camfil.com for company background information.