Cambridge News | March 21, 2024

Super Sunday

By Mary Anne Gill

Alana Mackay takes a deep breath and tries to sum up the Main Street Carnival and Art Market in Cambridge on Sunday.

“We managed to pull something together,” the Autumn Festival Trust chair says modestly about the record 5000 people who crammed into town to take in all that was on offer. “We always want people to have a good time.”

Cambridge Chamber of Commerce foot counts midway down Victoria Street put the

numbers at just under 3000 – a 107 per cent increase on the same Sunday last year.

“It was the best I’ve seen for a long time,” said chief executive Kelly Bouzaid.

“What those numbers show you that when there’s an event on like this, people will come into the CBD.”

“Alana Mackay is a pro when it comes to things like this. Her events just get bigger and better.”

Visitors came from around the Waikato, Taranaki and Auckland with a few international visitors

stumbling on the festival, said Mackay.

The additional 2000 attended the events in Victoria Square and outside the Town Hall where a recent find under the hall provided one of the day’s highlights.

General manager Simon Brew found giant chess set pieces and put them out on the piazza where they were a big hit with families.

“I’m pleased we used that different space in the square and the Town Hall so the whole thing came together,” said Mackay.

Yonatan and Inbar Weissler - who

emigrated from Israel four months ago with their two children Noga, 3, and Ella, 2 - took the opportunity to dress up as bumble bees.

The couple work as software engineers in Hamilton and live in Cambridge. “We just love it here and after today, we love it even more.”

New Plymouth couple Nancy and David Roberts were staying with family and appreciated the opportunity to sit down on one of the benches donated by the late Jack Shannon.

“It was a really good vibe in

town,” said Mackay who reported the festival’s other events were also going well.

Seats have had to be added to the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band’s concert at Te Awa Lifecare on Saturday following the iconic group’s announcement it would be their final gig.

The Enchanted Frozen Storytime in Cambridge Library was packed out as Elsa from Frozen entertained the children.

• See A ‘fantastic’ autumn festival, page 8 and An Autumn Celebration, page 11.

Marc

Brenda Broderick, left and Janice Sykes celebrate at the Cambridge Autumn Festival. More photos online cambridgenews.nz

Photo: Mary Anne Gill

Poor engagement

Waipa District Council has identified a preferred option for the location of a ‘third bridge’ by a blue shaded area, on a map provided by the Cambridge Connections Proposal. Several hundred residents within this area and vicinities have been instantly and severely impacted by the loss in value of their properties, not to mention the extreme distress this has caused.

With no targeted engagement for ratepayers in the area, there’s no doubt that many will not even know that consultation is well underway.

Council’s actions are unacceptable, deplorable and unlawful. A legal minefield has been created which will ultimately affect all ratepayers.

As Cambridge residents, this could happen to any of us.

Lesley Dredge

Cambridge

Which town?

With the publication of the traffic plan in The Cambridge News (February 29) we might need to change the epithet of Cambridge from tree town to traffic light town.

John Windle

de sac, would be a suboptimal outcome from this project.

Cambridge serves a sizable rural catchment and needs to anticipate and provide for increased traffic, as well as cater for residents’ convenience to walk and cycle or take a bus.

The project has five objectives, none of which explicitly support improved access to the CBD as a preferred destination for accessing goods and services.

BOOKARAMA

Last day for book donations:

Tuesday 2 April.

Late donations may be delivered to the Town Hall during the sale 17-20 April.

Rotary says:

A BIG THANK YOU

To everyone who has donated books to this year’s sale.

The council has not adhered to the Local Government Act, or followed their own Significance and Engagement Policy. Public feedback is sought only for the preferred option; theoretically this is not now an option.

The Public Works Act requires an accurate market valuation to be obtained for properties prior to acquisition.

Has the council considered how an accurate market valuation could possibly be obtained for these properties, when the fallout from the announcement of the preferred option has already impacted property values, and will do so for the foreseeable and distant future?

Cambridge

Pain, no gain

Most people would agree a third bridge is needed. However, closing one bridge and moving the current congestion 1.5 kms to the west seems abit like shifting the deck chairs, and shifting the pain without significant gain.

Each option closes Victoria St bridge to vehicles. Accepting this as a fait accompli has narrowed the optioneering and needs to be tested further. Through traffic needs alternative routes but removing a key access point, effectively turning the CBD into a dead end cul

The amenity value of Cambridge needs to be protected vigilantly, however amenity alone will not ensure Cambridge businesses thrive and, like it or not, vehicles accessing businesses and being able to park to do so provide the life blood for a provincial town.

Locating a third bridge will inevitably end in tears for some, when a town flushed with growth and servicing multiple new growth cells every year has not designated a bridge pathway ahead of approving that growth. If there are to be tears, let there at least be three bridges that will successfully serve the town’s growth and retain its unique character. My guess is that two bridge crossings for vehicles are unlikely to suffice.

Clare Crickett

Cambridge

Squealing rubber, revving engines and the associated aftermath of shredded tyres and rubber marks on the road are all too common signs of boy racer and burnout activity around Cambridge.

I understand the annoyance and frustration this causes. In the past month however, I can see only nine calls to Police for boy racer incidents in Cambridge. These were a single call each time, for separate incidents. Firstly, thank you to those who called 111 and provided information that enabled us to take positive enforcement action. Sustained loss of traction (burnouts) causes a lot of damage and pollution and can be intimidating to other road users. If Police are to take action on more offenders, especially those recidivist offenders, we need more community help. For each of the nine recorded incidents, there will be other people who witnessed the behaviour, and did not call. Each call adds weight to the situation and extra information for attending staff. This all adds to the evidence enabling us to take positive action, which may include impounding vehicles, prosecution, fines or alternative/youth aid action. Information we need includes registrations and vehicle descriptions along with possible driver and passenger descriptions and an account of what the vehicle was seen doing.

Perhaps you have CCTV which provides a

view of such offending or of the vehicles and people involved. Importantly in prosecution cases, we need those eye-witnesses to also be willing to make a signed statement about what they saw to police and be prepared to appear in court if required. If police are unable to locate the offenders at the time, at the very least, a vehicle registration gives us a start point for follow-up investigations.

If you wish to provide anonymous information about people or cars who are involved in any criminal or traffic offending, you can do so via Crimestoppers, calling 0800 555 111. To help us disrupt burnout activity however, a call to 111 when the perpetrators are there and doing it, is vital.

In other news, we have again had a few cars tampered with or stolen in the last week. Please remember to take keys out of your vehicle whenever you leave it, remove valuables, and generally make it as unattractive a target as possible for opportunists, through good parking in a secure or well-lit location.

Finally, it was great to see so many people come to the Te Awamutu Police Station Open Day last Saturday from across the district. They enjoyed interacting with Search and Rescue staff with their rescue vessel, a Police handler and his dog, police recruiting, seeing a patrol car set up for a shift and a tour of the station cell block. It was made even better by the presence of our Hato Hone St Johns

Ambulance and Fire and Emergency New Zealand colleagues adjacent with their demonstrations and information stands. Have a good week.

Artefacts found

Work has stopped on the stormwater outfall in the C3 growth cell south of Cambridge Road between Te Awa Retirement Village and St Peter’s School after workers found historic artefacts.

Waipā group manager Dawn Inglis said posts, organic matter and fire pits were found last week. Other items had been found on site some time before those.

Council says sorry

Waipā council has apologised to residents in a central Cambridge area where maps show a third Cambridge bridge could go over the Waikato River. In a letter drop to the hundreds of householders Transport manager Bryan Hudson said the council had intended to notify residents before details appeared in The News. “We apologise unreservedly that this did not happen.” A public information session will be held tonight to discuss the proposal further.

Business bites

Tammee Wilson has become the new chair of the Cambridge Business Chamber taking the place of Jim Goddin, who will stay on the board to ensure a seamless transition.

Darts places

Cambridge’s Nikki Roberts and Kerin Frost’s debut in the North Island darts championship recently saw them finish ninth equal in the pairs. Bradley Cook and Ian Mackuch made the last 16 of the consolation pairs while Andy Watkins and Cook made it to the last 64 in the singles.

Equestrian talk

Cambridge hosted some of the world’s most renown equestrian scientists at the International Society for Equitation Science’s conference at the Don Rowlands Centre at Karāpiro.

Sisterly time

Cambridge Community Board chair Jo Davies-Colley presented at the Global Cities conference in Blenheim last week on the town’s unique sister city relationship with Le Quesnoy in France.

Call for artificial turf

By Mary Anne Gill

A leading Waipā sports organisation wants the district council to convert its playing fields to artificial turf.

Details of Te Awamutu Sports Club’s request to the district council are contained in confidential councillor briefing papers released to The News under a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) request.

But the council’s decision

last week to strip $86,480 in sports fields improvements out of its budget because of financial constraints makes the plea to turn parts of Albert Park into artificial turf a long shot and unlikely to even be considered for another five years.

The papers released to The News, sent in a councillors’ weekly mail out, include a Waikato Artificial Turf Study completed by Visitor Solutions who were engaged by Sport Waikato on behalf

of Waipā and Hamilton City Council.

The report says Hamilton will soon need three artificial turfs at Marist, Gower and Korikori parks.

In Waipā the need is not as great – it recommends no development “at this time” - but a future location for one is at Tom Voyle Park in partnership with Cambridge High School.

Pirongia’s Clare St Pierre told councillors at an extraordinary Strategic Planning and Policy

committee meeting last week she was concerned at the big reduction in sports fields spend.

Community Services manager Brad Ward said while there were still some operational expenses in the budget for the two recently upgraded fields at John Kerkhof Park in Cambridge, there was nothing more planned in the short term.

Staff had been in discussions with clubs to improve fields but that would now be a long

term discussion, he said.

The report’s authors met on site with various sporting organisations and completed 16 sports field visits in Hamilton, Cambridge and Te Awamutu.

As part of responding to Good Local Media’s complaint to the Ombudsman about Waipā withholding information from The News, the council provided the weekly mailout after reviewing its reasons for doing so.

Once, twice… three times a lady

Most houses are built to stay. A few may get moved to another site, but one grand old lady is starting again at her third place of residence. Harriet Di Maio reports.

Blairgowrie House was built on a section in Hamilton Road in 1916 by Arthur and Kathleen Nicoll, and named after the Scottish hometown of Arthur’s father.

Arthur Nicoll worked for the wellknown Cambridge firm Speight, Pearce, Nicoll & Davys and was a president of the Cambridge Club in 1920.

Built in the Art and Crafts Bungalow style which was becoming popular in New Zealand at that time, Blairgowrie had a beautiful cottage garden and was to remain in the Nicoll family for 75 years.

In 1991 the house was cut into three sections and moved just out of town to 75 Peake Road. Annette McWha and her husband Kelvin purchased the property in 1994 from John Nicoll, Arthur’s grandson, and became only the second family to live in Blairgowrie House.

“We had a very large old house sitting in the middle of a paddock looking totally out of place,” says Annette. “We could hardly wait

to plant some tall trees and start a garden”. And over the next 30 years they created an award-winning garden, including a large ornamental pond surrounded by palm trees.

In 2007 the house was extensively renovated and was for many years a luxury B&B run by the McWhas. The cottage garden was a key feature of the property and was a popular venue for garden clubs and events. During this time Blairgowrie won several awards including a Waipa Heritage award for sympathetic renovation of a heritage property, and a Fieldays Hospitality award.

It was very important for Annette and Kelvin to retain the Art and Crafts character of the house and keep its original name. They also visited Blairgowrie in Scotland and found it to be a ‘lovely village, rather like Cambridge actually’, says Annette.

Annette and Kelvin kept in touch with the Nicoll family, and Arthur’s great-grandson David Nicholl came

to stay in the B&B.

Now, Blairgowrie House is doing it all over again; this time with Greg and Nerina Sommerville and their young boys Matthew, James and Oliver.

In February the house was again cut into three pieces and made the trip back through Cambridge to the Sommerville’s lifestyle property in Kairangi Road, Roto-o-Rangi.

“We just loved the house when we saw it; it had so much character,”

says Nerina. “We really appreciated its history, and as soon as I walked in the door, I knew it would be perfect for us as a family.”

Nerina, a keen gardener, is looking forward to creating another fitting garden setting for Blairgowrie House. As only the third family to live in Blairgowrie in more than 100 years, they are excited to start a new chapter in its history. And they will keep the name too – it’s well travelled, just like the house.

As she looked in Peake Road

Blairgowrie on the move to Kairangi Road with Nerina and Greg Sommerville and Matthew, James and Oliver.

Blairgowrie began life in Hamilton Road in 1916.

Tuning in to Cambridge

By Mary Anne Gill

When Catherine Gibson was appointed Orchestras Central chief executive three years ago, she needed to find a home in the Waikato.

“When I was looking for somewhere to live, I was looking for something with a community feel.

“The whole idea of wellbeing and social connectivity became hugely important as we came out of Covid,” the English-born professional oboe player recalled.

After several years living in a tiny Khandallah home in Wellington, Gibson also wanted a short commute to the organisation’s base at Waikato University.

Cambridge was it.

There was a connection, albeit a long time ago, when Gibson – now in her early 60s, was studying music at Victoria University in Wellington. She was selected as the soloist to play the Mozart Oboe Concerto for the Cambridge Music School’s concert in the Town Hall.

“The acoustics are just amazing,” said Gibson who says the hall today has the potential to be a satellite venue for orchestral music.

As part of the Cambridge Autumn Festival, Orchestras Central (Ngā Tira Pūoru o te Pokapū) will present three events on Saturday and Sunday.

It starts with ‘Comfortable Classical’, a specially designed relaxed concert, creating a comfortable and welcoming environment for families, first time concert goers and regular listeners.

In the evening it will be ‘Vivaldi by Candlelight’ and on Sunday, the Waikato Youth Orchestra, which appeared in the festival last year in the hall, will perform

‘Fire and Romance’ in the afternoon. The youth orchestra held a camp at Epworth in Hora Hora Domain over the weekend to connect with their peers in preparation.

Gibson has collaborated with Town Hall general manager Simon Brew, who she worked with in Wellington and who conducts the Youth Orchestra, to bring orchestral music to Cambridge.

Prior to her appointment as chief executive in April 2021, Gibson was artistic manager and chief executive for Chamber Music New Zealand in Wellington.

From 1976 through to 2005 she worked professionally in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, then returned to central Otago and then Canterbury where her two children attended school. They are now musicians as well – Todd GibsonCornish is principal bassoon of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Bryony Gibson-Cornish is in London and plays viola in an international string quartet.

“Very clearly Cambridge has a strong community feel and I’ve experienced that in the three years I’ve been here. It’s absolutely charming. You just need to walk down the high street Saturday morning and it’s buzzing.”

The people are not all locals either, she said.

Gibson bought a house in Cambridge Park where she lives with Toffee, her fouryear-old cavoodle dog.

“Cambridge has heritage, that’s appealing to me.”

But she is aware of the growth challenges Waipā council faces; her commute is either through town or via Kaipaki to Waikato University with its “beautiful” campus.

“It’s a challenging time.

“The bridge situation is obviously an issue.”

She prefers to shop and support local saying because she has lived in cities for so many years, the appeal of local is strong. She loves the nearby Leamington Shopping Centre and the selection of clothes and shoe shops in town.

“You get to know the people in the shops, it comes back to community.”

Gibson is also a fan of the green spaces, the dog parks, wide footpaths and cycleways. Plus, she does fitness sessions with a small group of women who meet up outside of class, reflecting that sense of community care.

“You feel you’re in the town, but you also feel you’re in the country.”

If she has a request of the council, it is to invest in the Town Hall so national organisations look at it as a place to be.

“Art is really important. The focus on the arts tends to be Wellington and Auckland. We’re changing that between us, Simon, me and a few others.

“We’re really pushing our brand out nationally. There’s so much potential here.”

She has never played in the Town Hall or been at a concert when the fire siren has gone off but admits she would find it “off putting”.

Does Gibson describe herself as a local yet? As she answers, the group at the next café table starts singing Happy Birthday to Brian.

“That’s an exact example that it’s a community,” she says she feels part of and loves.

“There would have to be a good reason to move.”

Catherine Gibson outside the Cambridge Town Hall which she describes as a cultural jewel. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Harry Gone Away

Meg changed when Harry went away. Head up. Shoulders squared. Face softened. Smiling.

Harry with his backpack, with his rifle, with his skinning knife, following the little creek behind the house. Up the hills. Into the bush. Gone.

Meg read the job list he’d left for her. At least three days’ worth of work, maybe four. Three days before he came back. Four, even. She flung aside her shawl of wary stillness, and she danced.

It happened every time. She took the tape player and the extension cords from the “Keep out of the cupboard!” cupboard. Her life was in the cupboard. Opened all the windows. Stripped the beds. Stuffed sheets and pillowcases into the machine. Stabbed the “Hot” button. Shook the blankets and threw them over the line to air.

She set the player on the ground beside the garden. Wound the sound up high. All morning as she worked, she went back and forth and changed the tapes. The Judds. Emmy Lou Harris. Charley Pride. Eddie Low. When a song hit her in the heart she crouched and keened. Tears fell among the vegetables. She let them.

After lunch she re-stocked the stall at the gate. The people of the village, aware of Harry gone, came to buy. A lettuce. Tomatoes. Carrots. Glad to find her still in one piece.

They knew the situation. Everyone did, but what could they do? Harry was big. Mean. He frightened the women with his blue-eyed scowl. A man brave enough to chip him about Meg’s bruises might wake up in the alley behind the pub, missing a tooth or two, a boot-shaped purpling bruise above his broken ribs. The collective conscience of the village shuddered and held its tongue.

Each time Harry left, Meg would clear his job-list, then make improvements around the place. Lugging stones from the creek to make

a rockery. Clearing the tangled growth at the edge of the section. Planting things. Not things she had to buy but ferns and flax and creepers. She worked until it was dark, squeezing every minute from her precious solitude.

This time, a pond. She dug a channel from the creek, with crowbar, pick and shovel, to lead the water into an old plastic bathtub she’d found buried in the long grass. The bath was ok, just badly stained. Meg thought that if she bored a series of holes around the rim of the lower end, then dug a pit for the tub and sunk it in the ground, she might let the water run in, then out along another channel and back to the creek. She wasn’t sure, but she thought it might work.

Overnight, it seemed, “The Pond” lay under the trees, surrounded by pebbles and cuttings and flax roots yanked from the big bushes by the boundary fence. Meg, thinning onions, glanced at it now and then, satisfied. She’d put the player back in the “Keep out of the Cupboard!” cupboard, but dancing fantails kept her company, and tui called from the bush above the track.

It rained the next day, and the next, and then the next again. Around the village. The rivers rose. Civil Defence volunteers left their farms and businesses, gathered at The Hall, talked about evacuation.

Two men dripped their way through the downpour to fetch Meg. She didn’t move, stood gazing out the window, the light of Harry gone away absent from her eyes.

“Better come with us,” they urged.

They thought it was the house. Thought it was her things she didn’t want to leave. It wasn’t. She turned back to the window.

They followed her line of sight. The creek broke savagely and roared down her little channel. Gouged at the sodden earth. The bathtub floated out of the ground. In its wake, tumbling and rolling in the torrent, the hole in

his forehead washed clean by the water, was Harry.

Harry of the quick hands and sarcastic mouth. Harry, who turned up as she finished the trench, just on dark. Harry, furious at losing his rifle and pack over a bluff and into the river, looking for someone to take it out on. Who sneered at the bath sitting on the bank. Who pushed with his great feet at the side of the trench, caving it in.

Harry, who lurched at her, fist raised to punish her cry of protest. Rage blinding him to the pick she held in her hands. The pick she used, still bloody from his shattered skull, to scratch a shallow grave beneath her pit, to drag him to it, push him in and bury him. She put the bathtub over Harry.

She worked carefully, calm even when she washed the pick in the creek and had to pull a matted chunk of hair from the crack where the wooden shaft met the solid metal head. Flicked the hair into the water. Watched as it drifted down stream.

“Goodbye Harry,” she said and with the saying, was hit by a shudder of horror and release. Hit. Hit no more.

The Civil Defence men stood with her, waiting. Jim the butcher. Will from the farm down the road. Good men, faced with a dilemma. Holding a good woman’s life in their hands. No way of un-seeing the body, un-seeing where it came from, un-seeing Meg, frozen at the window.

No way of un-seeing the black eyes. The split lips. The arm in plaster from a “fall”. Two great thumb prints purple green and yellow on her throat and a voice that rasped for months from the damage done. For months!

The men’s eyes met in silent agreement. No dilemma here. Will took Meg by the shoulders and turned her towards him. She waited. Head down. Passive.

“Look at me,” Meg.

Will, urgent now. He lifted her chin until she met his gaze.

“We’ve got to get out of here, but before we go, Jim and I have some bad news for you.”

Jim nodded.

“Harry’s dead.”

They saw her flinch at the flat statement. Will put his finger on Meg’s lips to stop her speaking.

“We think he must have slipped, trying to jump the creek. Seems like he hit his head and got swept away. We saw his body in the flood but it could be weeks before they find it.”

He looked at her intently until he was sure she knew what he was saying, knew exactly what he meant.

“We’ll put a report in of accidental death.”

Jim nodded again, patted her reassuringly, sealing it.

“Now,” said Will firmly, “we’d better get out of here before we all get swept away.”

As they left the house, the water roared against the porch, testing the foundations. In Meg’s battered heart, a twisted knot of pain five years in growing finally let go. Five years of tears and tentacles slid seamlessly into the driving rain.

“Harry’s gone away.”

It pealed like bells in her mind, turning, spinning, flying.

“He’s gone.”

“He’s never coming back.”

Her head came up. Her shoulders squared. Inside herself, she flung open the door of the “Keep out of the cupboard!” cupboard. Her stillness shawl, the frightened shawl that covered up her fear, whipped into the water with the bruises and the brokens and the hidden, covered hurts. She let them go.

“He’s really gone?”

Will and Jim nodded.

“This time” they told her firmly, “Harry’s really gone away.”

Jan Mackenzie, pictured, has become the first Waipā based winner of the Cambridge Autumn Festival’s short story competition. The theme for 2024 was “dilemma” Here is her story – Harry Gone Away.

A ‘fantastic’ autumn festival

Susan O’Regan summed up the 2024 version of the festival which she opened in the Cambridge Town Hall last week.

That is how Waipā mayor

“This festival is fantastic in that it offers and celebrates diversity, and it includes lots of family friendly and low cost events,” she said, It also offered a programme mayors like her appreciated during the current challenges in local government. Winners of the short story and photograph competitions were announced with Cambridge scooping the pool in each.

Leamington’s Jan Mackenzie became the first Waipā author to win the short story competition –which attracted a record 202 entries - since it began 12 years ago when 52 entered.

The theme this year was The Dilemma and her story Harry Gone Away looked at a twist in a violent relationship.

Judges Venetia Sherson, Denise Irvine, Hamish Wright and Jill Carter said Mackenzie’s story was “beautifully portrayed” with a clever story line and very well-presented dilemma.

“There’s no wallowing, but the sparse language, understating, speaks

volumes - very effective. Beautiful use of language,” one judge said. Mackenzie came second in 2013.

“They’ve all got a little bit of me in them. Sometimes I write about quite terrible things but by doing the proofread it’s lost its power, and it then becomes story.”

Jane Thompson won the open photography competition with her photo of niece Bridget Burmester, husband Dane and fouryear-old son Blue on the slide at Karāpiro Domain.

“I can’t tell you how many times we went up and down that slide,” she said.

Judges described the theme Capture your Waipā Adventure a difficult topic, but Thompson said she was spoiled for choice.

“I’ve got so many photos of my family (in Waipā). Cambridge is a great place to take photos.”

Valentina, 13 and in year 9 at Cambridge High School, took out the youth category with her photo of cousin Nina Di Maio at Lake

Karāpiro.

Cambridge Art Society’s three-day art exhibition and sale was also unveiled during the launch. Hundreds of well-known New Zealand artists featured in the free display which closed on Sunday. Two photographic displays in the hall wrap up later today (Thursday) – the Reg Buckingham collection and Michael Jeans’ exhibition.

• Go to cambridgenews.nz to see the winning photos.

Winners are grinners, from left Jane Thompson, Valentina Di Maio and Jan Mackenzie. Photo: Mary Anne Gill

Cross at crossing

We were driving from Roto-o-Rangi and slowed as we approached the Leamington crossing, checking both ways. All of a sudden, this silly girl on a bike came barrelling from the right hand side straight over the crossing without checking for traffic. My husband slammed on the brakes as did the car behind us. These kids need to learn they have to respect the rules.

Theresa Dillistone

Cambridge

Good for the goose…

The News had an article from Andrew Johnstone, who lives in Fencourt, an area of Cambridge.

Firstly, I trust the facts and figures he has quoted are correct.

Secondly, consider this. When you look at a map of the North Island, Cambridge area has a central location, bordering on State Highway One and has the Waikato River running through the town. An ideal location for this incinerator plant, where heavy trucks could roll up and down highway one and have easy access to a plant, would be near Cambridge. The water that is required for this plant can easily be drawn from the nearby Waikato River.

Thirdly, should this be the case, I wonder if Mr Johnstone would be so keen to support the building of a plant in Cambridge. This would also apply to the elected members of the Waipā District Council who represent the Cambridge area. I am sure the residents of Cambridge would be up in arms and strongly object to the plant being built in their town.

Finally, like other places in New Zealand, we would strongly object to a plant being built at all and we must continue to look at improving our recycling habits through educating all residents throughout this wonderful country

Awamutu since 1984 and if the Waipā District Council go ahead and approve this plant to be built, they will leave us little option but to leave this wonderful town and find another district to live in.

Ron Allbon

Te Awamutu

I’m not convinced

Max Brown’s perspective (letters, March 14) that the Treaty of Waitangi is in the safe hands of David Seymour and ACT does nothing to quell my fears. It’s a bit rich of Brown to criticise interpretations of ‘so-called experts’, and then present ACT’s principles with no reference to Māori rights - a fairly central feature of the Treaty I would contend.

Brown’s ideal of ‘living as one’ seems to be to leave the Treaty in a museum and ignore that Māori have an important part to play in this country’s development. Thank goodness Māori (and many of Pākehā) won’t take this lying down.

Richard Hill

Cambridge

Treaty response

In response to Max Brown’s The Treaty letter. Of course we can mount an argument for the rights of one ethnicity. It is written in our Treaty Māori would have equality and sovereignty but still haven’t been afforded that.

Pākehā culture has dominated and supressed the Māori culture.

No one can not acknowledge the taking of land, the prohibition of tohunga abilities/ Māori rongoā, the official discouragement of speaking Māori reo, racism around employment, the ability to rent, and to even be seen as having values and a culture of worth.

A fair and just society has the intelligence and kindness to hear all of its peoples’ experiences, a desire to right the wrongs and

are given, in fact we gain a wider view of the world, safer and more inclusive communities and allow space in ourselves to experience new and different ways of thinking and being.

To evolve as humans we need to understand the past actions of our ancestors, to be gracious enough to not always think we have all the answers and the strength to confess our short comings.

Yvette Denton Cambridge

Hear ye, hear ye

As a business owner and resident in Hall Street, Cambridge, which will potentially be impacted by changed traffic flows because of the proposed new third bridge route, I want to express my concern and dismay about the lack of consultation with residents.

According to the documentation, the council has ‘consulted’ with over 120 stakeholders, but to my knowledge, this has not included

residents. This is where we live and we have built our life and lifestyles around our homes, surely a significant change to our environment is something that we should be consulted about?

I strongly encourage everyone in Cambridge to follow the coverage by the Cambridge News, and to make a submission by March 29, to the Waipa Council explaining how you feel about the proposal and how it will impact you. There are future congestion issues along Hamilton Road, and Bryce St or Grey St or Hall St and the crossroads of Alpha Street and Queen Street, and the impact on residents of these areas lives needs to be taken into account. Please take a few minutes and fill in the online form, or pick up a form from the council and fill it in with your thoughts.

Peter Church

Cambridge

• Submissions now extended until 5 April.

An autumn celebration

By Peter Carr

Back in 2008 (seems eons ago) The Cambridge Autumn Festival Trust was formed – resulting in the successful launch, the following year, of their initial street-front social, entertainment and arts presentation.

And – Covid interruptions apart – it has gone from strength to strength. Two names stand out as being involved just about throughout the whole venture – Alana Mackay and Alan Milton. I dug deep into the photographic history, actually 2009, and uncovered a photo of two industrious festival worthies adorned in fluoro jackets in the middle of the road – Alan and Alana’s father David.

Along with others these hard-working people have enabled Cambridge to come to life – mainly kerb-side – every year just prior to the millions of tree leaves commencing their turn to autumnal gold and brown.

And the weekend just past was no exception as a cloudy threatening day turned by 10am into a glorious warm sunshine bringing out the local crowds to goggle, listen, consume and giggle their way through a multitude of wide-ranging residents hellbent on enjoyment.

Picture the austere BNZ bank (sorry BNZ you are not alone) with hot-to-trot rock ‘n rollers swinging wildly outside the bank windows. Across the road and round the corner in the Rouge courtyard about half of the excellent 75 strong Cambridge Mosaic Choir were in full flood.

Further north, after passing numerous interesting stalls many displaying handcrafts, we came upon the Victoria Park farmers market area. It was converted from the vegetable, bread and fruit displays of the day before to a number of roofed stands with a well-placed stage hosting a three-man Blues

group. More feet tapping and bodies swaying.

And there was Alana, in the obligatory fluoro jacket, keeping an eye on proceedings. Meanwhile at the edge of the area the Cambridge Lions were busy dolling out their usual fare from their well-run mobile kitchen – with all profits going back eventually into the community.

Across to the Town Hall - with the main auditorium filled with a large collection of frames holding oils and watercolours from local artists. There is plenty of talent in this town. In the adjacent Victoria Room were a magnificent series of photographs which had me itching to get my camera out of the cupboard.

Right outside the front door – much to the relief of many parents and grandparents – a delightful clown was hosting a performance for a large group of little people – who were squealing with delight.

Further down Victoria Street a lone contralto voice with guitar accompaniment presented soulful music that, too, attracted a good crowd of attendees.

This is not a one-day affair – it runs for 10 days with many opportunities to enjoy music, theatres, visual arts and dining. We are heading on today (Thursday) to Te Awa Retirement Village – who ever thought that such an establishment would host a Blues evening in their fine Woolshed facility? But they do and it works well there.

Putting aside the horrors of orange cones, blocked-off streets and emerging cycle paths, Cambridge was in full swing of enjoyment, happy memories and grateful appreciation of the hard working trust.

Lately I’ve noticed when asking people, “How are you?” that frequently their quick response is, “busy!”

It even seems that it’s proudly worn like a badge of honour. If I’m busy I must be successful! Really? If we’re not frantically busy, are we failing in life? Like, how dare you not be bathed in stress, sleep deprivation, worry and on the brink of a burnout? Is that really what being a ‘productive’ human who is making a difference in life looks like?

Nothing should ever define our identity to the point that perpetual busyness assures us of status, of feeling validated or worthwhile. Is an equation being formed here that people who aren’t super busy are useless?

It’s sadly commonplace to trade the value of having a life of genuine quality, for a life of ‘quantity’.

I think that what I’m describing broadly fits our culture - we are restless. Restlessness displays itself in so many ways. Being overly absorbed and occupied in multiple details and tasks, starting things but not sticking with them to completion… being easily distracted.

A notable feature I see occurring in many lives is the fundamental detachment from basic moorings - losing who we were born to be, what it is that defines us and what life is supposed to be about.

The restlessness we’re born with propels us into experiments… the flitting from one experience to the next.

A faster paced life, re-inventing our identity or seeking it through achievement, in a new relationship, or in affirmation or a new amusement. Interesting, the word ‘muse’ as a verb, means to think or meditate in silence.

When the letter “a” is used as a prefix it renders a word into its negative form. So ‘a muse’ means to distract or divert attention from thinking.

I’m suggesting it’s worth stopping to think… is an inner restlessness propelling you to pack life full, to strive to be recognised as someone known for their performance and productivity? At what cost? Are you living a sustainable lifestyle, chasing outcomes that are exacting a negative a toll on your wellbeing?

I heard a certain chest thumping alpha male say, “I’d rather burnout than rustout!” But why do either?

It’s so profoundly empty and no achievement will fully satiate the ‘thirst’ and restlessness of a human being.

I’ve been convicted of the need to ‘live in rest’. I know what goes with the territory of restlessness- waking in the small hours when sound sleep flees to leave you wrestling with situations, churning over things that seem so huge in the hours of darkness.

With it comes anxiety, agitation, uncertainty… lack of peace… anything but a state of rest. It effects mood, sound judgment and provokes a heightened sense of ‘busyness’ when ironically you’re actually accomplishing less.

The total answer is found in personal relationship with God. The Bible states, “In repentance and in rest is your salvation.” Forsaking self-reliance, there’s a rest which restores balance and poise to life, that is not driven, but fully satisfies. Jesus extends this invitation, “Come into me all you who are weak and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11: 28).

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By Mary Anne Gill

As gigs go, it was one of the more satisfied audiences the Cambridge High School jazz band will ever play for.

The Cambridge branch of the National Party - and Taupō MP Louise Upston - recently celebrated 100 days in office and their annual meeting.

They invited the jazz band along to their function at Good Union and members donated $520 for their fundraising efforts, most coming after vocalist Grace Gillanders belted out a stunning rendition of Amy Winehouse’s Valerie.

The band, which hopes to travel to Sydney next year to take part in the Australian International Music Festival, rehearses once a week under the tuition of music teacher Lisa Norman.

This will include judged performances and workshops at Sydney Conservatorium, an hour long performance at Darling Harbour and a performance in the Sydney Opera House.

But a more immediate goal is the New Zealand Youth Jazz Festival in Tauranga next week.

Later this year they will also participate in the Waikato Music Festival at Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts in Hamilton.

The jazz bands are for students with at least two years of experience on their instrument who would like to explore a range of jazz styles including funk, Latin and swing.

Instruments include flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, bass, guitar, keyboard, drums and vocalist.

Waste Minimisation Community Fund

Do you have an idea or community project that means less rubbish will go to landfill?

Does it support...

Circular economy in action

Mātauranga Māori approaches to waste minimisation

A reuse, reduce, rethink or redesign approach?

Saving food from becoming “waste” from the paddock to the plate

Waipā District Council has funding from the Ministry for the Environment Waste Levy, with $50,000 available.

Te

Waipā District Council Cambridge Service Centre, 23 Wilson Street

You

Grace Gillanders performs Valerie. Behind her is Grace Vivian on bass and drummer Reuben Stevens. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Star turn: Tina Turley (Canadian Blues guest) and stilt walker Sandra Jensen of Hamilton’s Freelunch Street Theatre on the Victoria Square stage.

Cambridge-based Affirmation livened up the proceedings with spirited performances by Grant Mason (trumpet), Bill Forest (sax), Ben Gilgen (keyboard), Steve Mills (drums), Chris McMahon (bass), and John Worth (guitar).

Think award winning lifestyle

At Summerset, we’re proud of what we offer, with our outstanding facilities, welcoming communities, and excellent staff.

Now there are even more great reasons to choose Summerset. We’ve been voted winner of the Reader’s Digest Quality Service Award, and Aged Advisor People’s Choice and Nationwide Group awards.

So, if you are contemplating village life, pop along to Summerset Cambridge and meet our residents who call the village home. They’ll let you in on the lifestyle they enjoy, share the facilities we have, as well as the wonderful homes available now.* We’d love to share the Summerset lifestyle. We think it’s gold!

Love the life you choose

Resident led Open Days

Wednesday 20 & Wednesday 27 March

10am - 2pm

Summerset Cambridge

1 Mary Ann Drive, Cambridge

07 839 9482 | summerset.co.nz/cambridge

HE WHAKAWHITIWHITINGA WHAKAARO

Where did race come into it?

Much is being made of ‘race’ today wherein some sides in the political debate refer to Māori being privileged as a ‘race’ of people; and others refer to Māori as being marginalised because of their/our ‘race’.

This is confusing. And unhelpful.

In 1987 the Court of Appeal said the Treaty signified a “... partnership between races...” and the Court asserted that partnership was a significant Treaty principle which should help the parties find a true path to progress for “... both races”.

However neither Te Tiriti nor The Treaty use the word ‘race’ or anything like it.

The word for a Māori political community was ‘hapū’, each with their own ‘tino rangatiratanga’, their autonomy and independence. The authority to establish a ‘kāwanatanga’ was acknowledged as a new political body responsible for the formulation and installation of just laws

and government.

By Tom Roa, Tikanga Advisor, Waikato University

Focussing on Te Tiriti/The Treaty, their articles, and the contextual principles in the signing of Te Tiriti/The Treaty in 1840 to help with the interpretation of Te Tiriti/The Treaty today is very welcome.

And from that examination we need to work out how ‘tino rangatiratanga’ and ‘kāwanatanga’ interact for the benefit of all concerned.

‘Race’ is a classification system which too often reflects the colonial behaviours of the past. The colonised were most often denigrated as inferior to the coloniser. The hierarchy of eugenics was taken to its ultimate extreme with the attempted genocide of the Jews in Nazi Germany in the 1940’s.

People are born into cultures which are informed by place, family and language. New Zealanders with Māori ancestry in their identifying with whānau and hapū celebrate those

circumstances of birth with whakapapa, and pēpeha. And they take a pride in classifying themselves with ‘mana whenua’ as ‘tāngata whenua’. Pākehā New Zealanders celebrate their ‘Kiwi’ identity by also identifying with place, family, and language.

Many have adopted for themselves the term ‘tāngata tiriti’ – a term both aspirational as well as political - ‘people of the Treaty’ - those who have made a home for themselves here in Aotearoa/New Zealand, recognising the authority granted in Te Tiriti/The Treaty to the Crown to ‘govern’, and the right of tāngata whenua to retain their Tino Rangatiratanga.

This is not a question of ‘race’. It is a question of how Tino Rangatiratanga and Kāwanatanga can best be applied to our behaviours as individuals and groups to promote the bet possible outcomes for us all as citizens of this land.

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AT YoungHeart

The world is a retiree’s oyster

From before he even left school, Ken Carston’s professional life was already mapped out. He was going to be a painter and decorator.

And from the age of 11, after school and during the holidays, he began a half century of work ethic which was “pretty hard” to let go of when it came to retiring.

The former Te Awamutu resident says retiring isn’t as easy as you might think.

“You might have the nuts and bolts of it all sorted in terms of nance and where you might like to go for the big OE. But getting your mind around not being that fully productive member of society anymore isn’t as easy to get to grips with.”

Ken says the hardest part was realising that having the big three-quarter acre section with its big gardens and a sprawling home simply had got too much for he and his wife Heather.

“We’ve always been keen gardeners, but more than 50 years of painting has left me with arthritis and all of a sudden I’ve got to consider what I realistically can’t do these days.”

Making the transition between working and retirement wasn’t a sudden one.

“We spent 10 years putting together a plan speci cally

geared towards this time, and the last two years with me getting my head around the fact that time is here and that I had to make the biggerthan-I-thought step between working – and not. And I think it’s important men particularly, take that into account.”

He says the one thing he is grateful for is the number of choices available for retirees these days.

“You can choose to downsize to a retirement village type scenario, which has a great community feel and plenty of activities to choose from day-today; it’s a very interactive way of life, what with tennis courts, or games or gym or whatever interests you.

“We did look at that, especially as the gardens are manageable and you can make the transition from there to assisted living or resthome easily while still keeping your support network of friends around you.”

But as someone who is used to space and not wanting to be hemmed in at this stage of life, Ken has embraced the idea of life on the road, something that ever-increasing numbers of retiring Kiwis are doing every year. Especially as groups like New Zealand Motor Caravan Association continue to buy or lease parks throughout the country.

“ We’ve travelled a fair bit over the years and it’s a great lifestyle –tens of thousands of people are doing this now, much more than used to when we were young.”

than used to when we were young.”

This is borne out by the increasing membership of the NZMCA, whose members veer very much towards retired and which now exceed well over 100,000 and by the strong lobbying position it has in relation to both local bodies and central government.

“We’ve travelled a fair bit over the years and it’s a great lifestyle – tens of thousands of people are doing this now, much more

“There are people from all walks of life; those who sell their home and buy great tow vehicles and vans or buses, those who downsize to something smaller and buy a campervan – but with the focus

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The team at Lewis Lawyers covers an extensive range of

matters including occupation right agreements, succession planning, wills, enduring powers of attorney, PPPR applications (property manager and welfare guardian), capacity issues, residential loans and subsidies, asset protection and elder abuse.

on activities from guided RV tours to electric bike tours, the world is the oyster of the retired group these days no matter what your retirement fund or income is,” he says.

“It’s important you have a base to come home to though, and for us, we’ve chosen a lockup-and -leave situation which allows us to travel for several months of the year and come o the road in winter if that’s what we feel like doing.”

“It’s a section with a small easycare garden that is inexpensive to maintain if we are away, and a good-sized shed that can be locked up – we either continue to live in our caravan while we are there or could put a tiny home on it depending on council requirements. It’s all we need.”

He believes the fact there is so much to do for the newly retired these days is a reason so many are living longer.

“When I was a kid, our nanas and grandads lived at home

until they died or before ending up in a resthome and most were gone before their 80s. These days, 80 is the new 70 – so I’m told!”

For Ken and many others in that half a decade between deciding whether to stop work or not, the reality is the choices available mean it does not mean people have to sit and “wait for God”.

“Honestly – there is so much out there to go and enjoy and do and if I’d realized the extent of those choices, I’d have planned to have done it much earlier,” he says. “While you don’t need a zillion dollars in assets or in the bank to do much of it, you do need to know how to live reasonably frugally and plan ahead for contingencies.”

His passions are shing and gold panning and while he admits his knees are no longer any good in a river on a West Coast winter, the great summers the South Island is renowned for ensure he keeps his hand in most years.

LEANNE WOOD Legal Executive

JOANNE JOGIA Senior Solicitor

REBECCA SANFORD Senior Solicitor

Ken Carston, recently retired contemplating the wide array of choices he has in front of him.

YoungHeart

Elderly abuse – more common than you think

When we think of elder abuse, we tend to think of domestic violence.

But it’s important to realise that is not the case at all.

When elderly people become more dependent on others for their health and well-being, or for nancial matters, often the change from independence to being abused can be an insidious, slow process that isn’t recognised until it’s too late.

So what is it, exactly? Legally in New Zealand, it is described as any act that causes harm to an older person, including: psychological abuse – this can range from anger to threats, humiliation or harassment that causes feelings of distress, shame or powerlessness

nancial abuse – this could include illegal use of someone’s

money or assets, or being pressured to change a will or sign documents physical abuse – including any physical harm or injury sexual abuse – including any non-consensual sexual activity neglect of any kind, whether intentional or unintentional not providing food, housing or medical care.

At its most extreme, abuse may be criminal – but it can also be more subtle. In most cases, people experience more than one type of abuse.

Unfortunately, studies have shown abusers are often someone the older person depends on for support or care. They often live with the person, or are someone close to them – a family member, friend or a neighbour. Many elderly in this position don’t or won’t say anything; they don’t want to make a fuss, or are afraid they

will lose that support – or afraid of the person who is abusing them. Some may not even be aware that what is happening is regarded as abuse.

There are speci c things you can watch out for when it comes to your elderly loved ones:

 fear of a particular person or people

 concern about the whereabouts of their money or cash cards

 unexplained hiding of valuable items

 worry, anxiety or irritability

 depression or withdrawal

 disturbed sleep

 changes in eating habits

 suicidal thoughts

 shaking, trembling, or crying

 rigid posture

 expressing helplessness, hopelessness or sadness

T Reluctance to talk openly, or letting others speak for them

 avoiding contact with a speci c person – even down to not making eye contact or talking to them.

Often those more at risk include those who:

 have poor health

 su er from mental illness or dementia

 depend on others to help them take care of themselves or get around

 don’t have friends or family close by, or have con ict or dysfunction in their family relationships

 have older or adult children or dependents with a disability or health issue

 had limited education.

 are in a poor nancial situation – or conversely, are considered well o with easy access to accounts.

If you’re concerned that someone is experiencing elder abuse, consider talking to them. The sooner you reach out, the sooner they can get help. The O ce of Seniors advices you to ask:

 Are you ok?

 Do you want to talk?

 Is someone hurting you?

 Is there anything I can do? Always remember to listen to what your elder has to say and not jump to conclusions. Be there for support, rather than giving advice or telling them what to do.

Remember that abuse can create feelings of shame for the elderly. The older person may need to work through things in their own time. If you have serious concerns, you can talk to organisations such as Age Concern, your local GP – or if serious, call police.

THE MANY SIDES TO A GREAT FUNERAL DIRECTOR

he quali�es that elevate a funeral director from ordinary to extraordinary aren’t easily found, but one local company has them in abundance.

Legacy Funerals Cambridge stands out for blending empathy and compassion with a quiet efficiency that also respects diverse cultures and religions.

They consider it a privilege to help grieving families navigate their loss in such a way that in mourning a death they also celebrate a life.

Delivering such services with authen�city calls for a unique skillset. Steering them through those processes is funeral director and branch manager of Legacy Funerals Cambridge, Jono Gibson, a man with over a decade’s experience in the industry and a few other hidden talents besides.

Becoming a funeral director wasn’t always on Jono’s radar. The Whanganui-raised youngster moved to Auckland to pursue a career in the automo�ve trade, but the loss of a friend in a vehicle accident impacted him deeply and years later, when he heard a local funeral home was looking for staff, he did a few days’ work experience with them to see if the profession was right for him.

The firm in ques�on was Sibuns Funeral Directors in Remuera, and Jono took the job. “They gave me a really good start in the industry. I then worked for Davis Funerals, one of the biggest in Auckland. Theirs was a far more diverse clientele … we dealt with a wide range of religions and cultures.”

Learning the profession and building experience gave Jono the personal sa�sfac�on he sought. In 2018 he was offered an opportunity to take on the manager’s role

at Cambridge Funerals (which had been sold to Legacy Funerals). Jono accepted this role as he and his wife Ashleigh were ready for life in a smaller town.

“It’s been very successful for me, both personally and professionally,” he said.

Last year, the company rebranded to become Legacy Funerals Cambridge, linking it with Legacy Trust which had been established in 2007 by Tauranga funeral director Greg Brownless. The model sees a significant por�on of profits generated through the Legacy funeral

homes gi�ed back to the communi�es each one serves. That charitable element has already seen a significant amount of money returned to this community. In addi�on, it aligns with Jono’s personal viewpoint and further enhances his sense of belonging in Cambridge. He and Ashleigh bought a house and went on to have two children. Li�le Goldie was born in April this year and Monty is nearly 3, coincidentally the same age as Charlie the family dog who comes to work with Jono every day.

When not working and embroiled in family life, Jono enjoys sea fishing. It’s a far calmer pas�me than those he enjoyed in more carefree days.

His skills as a drummer saw him play with an Aucklandbased heavy metal band that toured the North Island. He s�ll plays up a storm in his garage and more recently filled a brief slot with Cambridge Rotary’s Bruised Brothers band.

He thrilled at racing motorbikes at one stage, riding Hampton Downs, the Paeroa Street Race, and quite appropriately, Whanganui’s annual Cemetery Circuit.

The many parts that make up Jono the man go towards making him a more understanding and engaged funeral director.

Cambridge is lucky to have him.

The personable manager at Legacy Funerals Cambridge, Jono Gibson, has some surprising talents outside his profession.

Choosing a mobility scooter

Mobility scooters have come a long way since their introduction in the 1960s.

These days they not only can be charged to travel for more than 60 kilometres (depending on the make), they can range from strong and sturdy, to sleek and foldable, or fully raincoat covered with wiper blades.

Thinking about what your personal circumstances when making a choice is an important factor when choosing a mobility scooter – especially if you are not buying a brand new one.

There are a lot of things to consider when choosing one; your weight, where you will use

it, the state of the footpaths (you cannot drive these on a public road except to cross or where there is no available footpath), do you need it for shopping, do you need it covered or not because of inclement weather being just some examples.

Below are some of the types available and where they might be best suited for use.

Travel or foldable scooters are smaller than others, they’re lightweight and minimised easily and stored in a car boot.

As you’d expect, a small scooter like this will only have a short distance available for travel

on a single battery charge, up to about 12kms before it will need recharging. It also will be limited in the weight it can carry; around 114kg maximum and this on at ground.

These scooters are excellent for those who want to go to markets, enjoy botanical gardens or anywhere where there is well constructed pathways, although it pays to remember that loose gravel and sand are not user-friendly for most of these scooters.

LARGE SCOOTERS

For people with wide hips or long legs, a medium- to largesize scooter is the starting point. Large scooters are designed for all terrains and have batteries that can travel up to 60 kms before they need to be recharged, which allows for most uses. Some may use smaller wheels than the bigger scooters.

And for men in particular, they can hold more weight. The weight capacity on a model’s

spec sheet is important. If you weigh more than the capacity, you stand to lose the warranty. The rule is you should weigh at least 10% less than the weight capacity, and less again if you use it for shopping purposes on a regular basis. Most of these scooters will allow for 130 to 160kgs.

HEAVY-DUTY SCOOTERS

Large, heavy-duty scooters can carry the most weight and go the longest distance on a single battery charge. Most scooters have a bigger ground clearance than their smaller counterparts, but some heavy-duty models sit even higher above the ground, making it easy to travel over rough terrain and more importantly, protecting electrics in wet weather. One of the biggest pluses of these is they all come with big wheels and these make the scooters easier to navigate over rougher terrain, including old footpaths or areas where councils still have not got up-to-date with connecting better footpath to road ramps. The stability these types of wheels provide is important in these instances.

YoungHeart March

They also cope better with hilly terrains. The weight these can carry are markedly more that the smaller scooters, some are able to take in excess of 300kgs. The downside is they are heavy and not as easy to handle as the smaller ones, so not suitable for frail people.

POINTS TO CONSIDER

It's not just the size of the scooter that matters. It’s also the comfort factors you’ll need to take into account.

Some scooters have back support that can be adjusted vertically to best t your back.

Some come with a headrest as well.

Armrests should be adjustable to a comfortable height. Some scooters feature armrests that swing out to make it easier to get on and o and steering column can often be adjusted to tilt toward or away from the seat so you don’t have to reach far in front of your body to drive.

The height of the seat, as well as how far you can move it forward or backward, makes all the di erence in terms of

comfort and you do need to try these out before you buy. Most scooter seats are square and well-padded.

Bright head and tail lights are a plus for outdoor scooters and should be used every time you are using it. Most come with indicators and it pays to use those.

Some scooters also come with a ag, to make them more visible to people and other vehicles and having a rearview mirror— or even better, one on each side—is important for making safe turns.

Most scooters come with a two speed range – slower for the more careful driver and a bit more zest for those on an open area where there is some longer travel involved. These can reach speeds of 49km/hr, so it pays not to underestimate them –accidents can and do happen.

The distance a mobility scooter can travel on a single battery charge can vary dramatically— as mentioned, depending on the size of it. Almost all scooters have a battery capacity metre,

so you can gauge how much you can travel before your next charge. They are not quick charge and need between six to eight hours, so it’s a good practise, if you use it every day, to charge it at night. Batteries will last up to a couple of years before needing to be replaced, so make sure what you buy can be serviced locally.

BEST FIT?

If you’re thinking about adding a mobility scooter to your daily routine, ask yourself two questions:

What are your physical challenges? People with neurological challenges or who have had a stroke might not have the balance and strength to get on or o safely. Cognition and eyesight are two other issues — you need to be able to see objects and where you are going, see where other people are and be able to make safe turns. Anyone who has rotator cu tears or has problems using their wrists or ngers, may need to test whether they can operate a mobility scooter safely.

Growing older doesn’t always mean having to live more frugally

There is a wide variety of discounts available through several di erent sources for those past the age of 50.

The SuperGold Card is the main standard for those who reach the age of 65 – but there is also Grey Power at 50.

The organization which started back in 1986 as a lobby group, o ers great discounts ranging from electricity through to Bluebridge and Interislander crossings. There is also electricity discounts gained through the partnership with Pulse Electricity. Grey Power also o ers a free small life insurance to members.

Perhaps one of the biggest pluses is their website, where you can nd a lot of helpful tips and links to other websites which can answer questions you may have.

The SuperGold Card is issued by the Government to those who have turned 65 years of

age and also o ers a wide range of literally thousands of discounted services.

This includes free public transport at o -peak times (usually 9am to 3pm and from 6.30pm to the end of service on weekdays, and any time on weekends and public holidays), and heavily discounted purchasing availability at a number of retail outlets as well as a range of services including insurances.

Most supermarkets o er days where Goldcard holders can enjoy signi cant discounts, your local one will tell which day of the week that is. Accommodation providers if you are staying away often o er discounts to Gold card holders, as do restaurants. Trades do too – it pays to check ytour local ones as to who does.

If you have a phone or tablet, download the app for SuperGold Card, this will help you navigate through all of this easily and nd out at any given time where you can easily nd the best deals in town.

YoungHeart

Wills and EPoAs

Our estates, what we have to leave behind to those we love, can often be fraught with problems when we pass and every lawyer or Public Trust o cer will have horror stories of families ripped apart because the issues of wills haven’t been dealt with properly.

Of all the things we do in life, preparing for our deaths is one of the most important, no matter how much or how little your estate may be.

There are two issues to consider around this.

The rst is making sure that you have thought about who you want to take care of your estate after you pass away. You want to have someone you can trust to not only take care of the directions you’ve entrusted in your will, but strong enough to cope with unhappy members of the family or those who think they have more rights than others, or those who think to override your instructions.

Your executor also shouldn’t have to face that alone if you think your family isn’t going to be happy with how you have managed your will.

If that is going to be likely, ask your lawyer to act as a co-executor.

In this day of blended families, it’s important to be clear on what you want and what the law states you have to do – and to know the di erence.

There are many di erent scenarios, from dealing with estranged children, making sure you look after long term partners whom you have not married or conversely, looking after children from a previous marriage while still taking care of a new spouse.

Challenging wills is not a new thing, and it happens in many families. But you can potentially circumvent this from happening by asking your lawyer to help you draw up an a davit explaining why you have chosen a speci c instruction for or against a member of your family.

This would be put before the judge who is considering the challenge being put forward and it could go a long way in seeing a challenge being denied, especially if it is well written in terms of explaining your actions.

When it comes to complicated matters such as farm or business succession, make sure you have proper formal advice from those who are quali ed to help such as lawyers and accountants who specialize in these areas because this area is fraught with pitfalls. The second area you should make sure you deal with is that of Enduring Powers of Attorney or, EpoA.

There are two aspects to this, one being health, the other nancial. You may choose to have the same person look after both, or di erent people who are skilled at each one. Whoever you choose though, make sure there is a strong level of trust between you and them

because these are important roles as you move into your winter years.

These are by necessity legal roles and the papers need to be drawn up by your lawyer and witnessed by either a court registrar or a Justice of the Peace.

In terms of the health and wellbeing, this role means taking care of all matter pertaining to your health, from organizing doctors’ visits, giving consent for surgery, through to taking you into resthomes, or any other thing which is designed to give you the best possible outcome in terms of health and wellbeing when you are unable to be in a position to do this for yourself.

The same basis applies for nancial wellbeing, where the person appointed as your EPoA looks after everything to do with your nancial wellbeing, from paying bills, looking after investments, ensuring your accounts are taken care of in such a way that if requested by a court, the accounts are easily and precisely understood.

It’s important to understand that the role of EPoA can only be enacted once a doctor has signed o that it is necessary and the person for whom it is being sought is no longer capable of making their own decision, or making decisions that are in their best interests, such as might happen when someone su ers dementia or a stroke.

So it is important to have this sorted well in advance and to revisit it on an annual basis, making sure you are still happy with your EPoA choices.

There are instances when a court will appoint an EPoA when someone is considered by their doctor, or an appointed doctor, to be mentally incompetent, so it is always better to have made the choice yourself while capable of doing so.

AT YoungHeart

Choosing a resthome

Moving a loved one into a resthome environment is not an easy choice to make for anyone – not the person concerned, nor their family.

The decision involves quite a lot of planning and can often feel daunting. It is a lot to try and condense a houseful of memories into a small room. It is also unnerving to move into an unknown environment and to think of having to give up some everyday comforts they have enjoyed.

While it's natural to feel anxious, a move to a rest home can be transitioned smoothly and well, so that life for an elder improves with many of the things they were anxious about quickly resolved. It is important for families and caregivers to involves the person who will be moving into the resthome all the way where possible. By making an appointment with the homes you wish to see and being shown around the facilities, the room, meeting the sta and talking to some of the residents, this can often set their minds at rest and allow them to develop a feeling of being welcomed and reassured.

Because resthomes are interactive, it’s important that the one chosen matches as much as possible, the values, cultural requirements and beliefs your elder may have.

One of the greatest changes has to do with the increased interaction with, and dependency on others. The closer living arrangements of residential care can be more like living in a atting, boarding, or hotel situation than any other type of accommodation. For many, it has been a long time (if ever) that they have had to live at such close proximity to strangers. Out of necessity, residents have to get to know many new people, from fellow residents to sta . Some facilities are busier places than others, so choose one that suits your elder’s personality.

For example, some people nd it harder than others to mix, or they may be the sort of person who enjoys spending a large part of the day on their own. It would be wise for this person to choose a rest home that can cater for and support these lifelong preferences. A busy, interactive environment may just lead to stress or unhappiness.

For those who are lonely, residential care

will provide increased opportunities for interaction and new friendships are often formed.

Maintaining privacy is also something that a lot of people moving into residential care are concerned about –personal, health and nancial privacy are all important. Discuss any concerns you have with sta and/or management and when viewing a facility, observe carefully how residents' privacy is respected before making your choice.

It’s important to realise that residents still have costs that need to be met – even those who are fully subsidised by the government. Clothing and personal items ranging from toiletries to incontinence pads need to be funded by the resident or their families, as does a small allowance for such things as haircuts or outings. Because the bulk of a person’s superannuation is used for covering the costs of accommodation, these incidental costs need to be something the resident’s family is aware of.

For others who can subsidise their own accommodation, some resthomes can o er additional choices such as rooms with ensuites which have an additional cost on top of what the government will pay.

Resthomes provide activities for residents throughout the week which can range from gentle exercises, games, music, crafts and much more.

Prior to selecting a care home, talk to the activities coordinator see if your elder’s preferences can be accommodated into the activity schedule. There is also usually the opportunity to go on outings or visits

to local community groups to keep up your community contacts, or make some new contacts.

These days, most resthomes internet and/ or computer facilities for residents to use. This can be a great opportunity to learn something new or alternatively, helps to keep your elder in contact with friends and family.

Imposed routines, and/or the ability to come and go as one pleases, are signi cant factors to bear in mind when making a choice of residence. Some rest homes have a more formally structured environment than others.

Talk with sta and other residents to nd out the formality or otherwise of a particular residence and work this with what is likely to best suit.

An elder’s room should be personalised with their own furniture where possible, incorporating things of sentimental value and other items they enjoy having close by. This creates a more private feel which helps others respect your space.

Ideally a move into residential care should bring about an increased quality of life for the new resident. Provision of regular well balanced meals, monitoring of health conditions and medication and medical advice when required helps in maintaining the best health possible. Many facilities have programme with a rehabilitative content which aims to maintain or, if possible, restore physical skills or capabilities.

Living within a facility may also provide a greater sense of security for those who were previously living alone in the community.

It’s Time to Experience Premium Independent Retirement Living

Family owned and operated, Te Awamutu’s Highfield Country Estate was established in 2012 and is set in beautifully landscaped grounds.

Due to unprecedented demand, we are proud to announce the limited release of an additional 50+ villas with earthwork construction starting soon. Select from a variety of floorplans with the well-appointed two and three bedroom properties featuring spacious, open plan living with quality fittings and appliances.

Our Residents Enjoy the Benefits of:

• A family focused and dedicated Management Team

• Friendly, welcoming and supportive staff

• A comprehensive programme of weekly social outings, events and activities

• A safe and secure living environment

• Beautifully landscaped well-established and maintained grounds

• A vibrant community atmosphere and sense of belonging

• A focus on health, fitness and well-being

• Maintenance free, lifestyle living

“One of the best decisions we made was to move into Highfield, where we know, and our family knows, that we live in a safe, happy, and friendly environment where people look out for one another. We love living here and if you are lucky enough to get the opportunity to purchase a villa, please come and join us and enjoy our retirement.” – Dave & Shona Hollinshead

To learn more about the benefits of independent lifestyle living at Highfield and to organise a personalised tour of our facilities contact General Manager Sheryl Thomas – 07 871 2020 (Monday to Friday between the hours of 10am – 3pm) manager@highfieldcountryestate.co.nz | 397 Swarbrick Drive, Te Awamutu

A champion’s year

By Viv Posselt

Emma

Poole’s

tenure as FMG’s first female Young Farmer of the Year is nearing its end.

Last July, the Pirongia farmer, already the Waikato Bay of Plenty Young Farmer of the Year, became the first female national champion in the competition’s 55-year

history.

It gave the young mum, farmer and veterinarian a massive buzz, one that prompted her to say at the time, ‘we’ve finally knocked

the grass ceiling off the roof’. She reflected recently on what that win has meant.

“It’s been a blast, for sure, with two main elements to it,” she told The News.

“Winning the title creates a lot of opportunities around personal growth, and I’ve really benefited from those. Then there is what you do with the title and how you use that public profile. I hope I’ve used that to create a more positive side to the sector. There has been a lot of negativity around farming in recent years, and I’d like to think I have balanced that out with more positive messaging.

“The fact I’m the first woman to win it has certainly attracted a lot of attention. I’ve been approached by a lot of women since my win, for sure, and quite a few have said they now feel they can give it a go.”

Emma found her own impetus to give things a go far earlier in life. She is one of five siblings who grew up on their parents’ Muriwai dairy farm and considers herself lucky to have parents who never made her feel her future should be defined by gender.

“I am fortunate with my upbringing. Confidence is the biggest element … my advice is to surround yourself with people who give you confidence.”

Her brother Tim Dangen, now the third generation to run the family farm, was the 2022 FMG Young Farmer of the Year winner, and her husband, Chris Poole - who went head-to-head with Tim in the competition that year - won it for Waikato Bay of Plenty in 2023. Emma was also a finalist in 2019. All are focused on encouraging the next generation. Tim works with young people in Auckland through an MPI-supported pathways-

focused initiative, and Emma and Chris have twice offered a ‘Young Farmer Competition’ at nearby Pirongia School. The latter is more about offering hands-on experiences. Its success is behind a decision to do more school events and perhaps encourage other Young Farmer members to pair up with schools to replicate it elsewhere.

The Pooles rear about 11,000 calves across two family farms in Pirongia. Parked by a shed on the farm they occupy is the fully equipped ute Emma uses when on callouts for her other job – as a veterinarian with Vetora in Te Awamutu.

The win netted Emma around $100,000 in prizes and she’s grateful for the financial leg-up, particularly in the current tough financial climate.

She has also travelled a lot during her year, initially linked to an emissions scoping project she was working on with Fonterra and latterly as a trade ambassador for the global agricultural machinery manufacturer New Holland.

“The Fonterra project is finished now but I enjoyed the synergy it provided in combining my two roles – that of farmer and vet,” she said. “Just seeing how other people farm is enormously valuable. The best thing about this year is the people I’ve met, the connections I’ve made.”

There are even busier days ahead as Emma prepares for the birth of her second child next month, a first sibling for the couple’s 2-year-old, Beau.

She is also working on her input into the next FMG Young Farmer final in Waikato, something she said will come this year with a touch of ‘watch this space’ as she looks to change things up slightly.

Pirongia’s Emma Poole remains unstoppable even as she awaits the birth of her second child.

Guests get the genuine product

By Mary Anne Gill

A Kaipaki dairy farm hosted

70 Vietnamese distributors last week as part of an exclusive insight into New Zealand’s dairy industry.

The 200ha farm owned by the Bardoul family is home to 600 HolsteinFriesian dairy cows and the processing base for Kaipaki Dairies. Hamilton-based nutritional products company Carefore Global – which started up last October manufacturing premium adult nutrition products – exports colostrum and milk-powder products to Vietnam.

They use contract manufacturers in Auckland and the Waikato and brought the distributors to New Zealand to give them a first-hand experience.

The visitors got the genuine product in Kaipaki including heavy rain and calving.

The Bardouls have been farming on Kaipaki Road since the mid-1980s and have their 600-plus milking cows, in two herds, produce about 400,000kg/ milksolids a year.

Calving is in spring and

autumn so when the Vietnamese arrived, their first stop was a visit to see calves from newborn to two weeks old.

The Bardouls’ relationship with Kaipaki Dairies’ John Heskett, Claire Williams and Riley Chick started three years ago as a supplier and stepped up a gear when they became quarter shareholders last year.

They opened a new processing factory on the Kaipaki farm soon after with milk coming directly from the cow shed via a 100m underground stainless line.

Carefore Global’s chief scientist and founder Grant Washington-Smith and consultant Alan Cresswell accompanied the delegation to the farm where farm manager Paul Gibson gave them a quick tour.

It included a walk into a nearby paddock to see some of the biggest cows in the Waikato, courtesy of an American genetics programme, animal welfare and a feeding regime which does not rely on pasture alone.

Carefore’s product Colos

IgGold – a powdered dairy drink with immunoglobulins from colostrum - was developed for flavour and best health and suits the healthconscious Vietnamese consumer.

“This visit was an opportunity to showcase the meticulous journey of Colos IgGold, from the lush pastures of New Zealand to the high-tech manufacturing facilities in Hamilton and Auckland,” said Washington-Smith.

Dairy farmer Paul Gibson with a week-old calf.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Part of the Vietnamese delegation brought to New Zealand by Carefore Global checks out newborn calves at the Bardoul farm in Kaipaki. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Google that one

Father of five Logan Dawson hit the bullseye with a shot at redemption .

Last week he and partner Sian were named winners of the region’s Share Farmer of the Year category at the Waikato Dairy Industry Awards.

“I wanted my kids to find something positive about me when googling and I’ve spent the past decade trying to be the best role model I can be for them and my team,” he revealed.

As of this month, that’s mission accomplished.

Just over a decade ago Logan Dawson was discharged without conviction, but fined, after admitting animal cruelty charges –related to encouraging his dogs to attack boars to train them for pig hunting.

“I am so sorry and have used the experience as an opportunity for personal growth and I lead our team to diligently display best animal welfare practices,” the 36-year-old

said after last week’s win.

The couple are equity partners and 50-50 share milkers for Ōhaupō’s Jim and Sue van der Poel on their 333ha, 1350-cow farm. They won $19,960 in prizes and three merit awards.

The 2024 Waikato Dairy Manager of the Year category winner was Matthew Macdonald, farm manager for David and Jenny Macdonald on a 74ha Hamilton farm.

Ōtorohanga Farm Manager Annie Gill was runner-up in the Dairy Manager category. She works on Doug and Lorraine Courtman’s 56ha, 142-cow property.

Zac van Dorsten, who works on Louise and Tony Collingwood’s 165ha, 470-cow farm, also at Ōtorohanga, was third.

Kirwyn Ellis, the 2024 Waikato Dairy Trainee of the Year. He is the herd manager for Hamish and Sheree Germann on their 130ha property at Pirongia milking 475 cows.

By Clyde Graf, Waipā-King Country Councillor

It’s Long-Term Plan time again at Waikato Regional Council. The LTP review happens every three years, falling within the second year of the council term. It sounds boring, but it’s an important planning document, which impacts us all.

It forecasts council’s budgets for the coming 10 years, with in-depth focus on the first three. The Annual Plan, reviewed every 12 months, is based on the LTP, with some small room for variance.

As is always the case with bureaucracies, budgets increase, year on year. The Waikato Regional Council’s rates are forecast to increase from $130 million to $178 million by 2034. That money is collected from all ratepayers via various mechanisms and rating models – mostly through General Rates and Targeted Rates – with the intention of limiting annual increases to 10 per cent. Fingers and toes crossed on that one. There are several issues council is focusing on in this LTP and councillors hope to receive feedback from the public, including from you.

The council is planning to streamline the rating of public transport, effectively removing the requirement of local councils to collect the funds on regional council’s behalf. This shift in the rates collection is offset by the cessation of public transport rates collected by your district or city council.

Another planned change is the disestablishment of the Regional Development Fund, which was created during the 2015-2025 Long Term Plan, to provide funding to regionally significant projects.

The funding of Te Waka, a regional

development agency, has been another contentious issue. In a controversial decision, determined again behind closed doors and avoiding the scrutiny of the public eye, Council voted (8-6) for continuing the funding of Te Waka, at a sum of $750,000 a year, for the next 3 years. The funding will come from remaining money within the Regional Development Fund, instead of being returned to ratepayers.

Other areas of focus are the Te Huia train service, and a change to the permitted activity monitoring rating model. The heavily subsidised Te Huia service is supposed to operate as a trial until 2026. A decision on central government funding is expected soon. If government doesn’t back it, should you?

An increase in the Natural Heritage rate is the third main issue to be considered. The most recent State of the Environment Report identified many gaps in biodiversity management. Council is considering options to increasing the rate of $5.80 per property to either $8.68 or $15, with the latter effectively increasing the fund by an additional $1.403 million.

So, it’s your feedback we’re keen to hear and need to hear. Are the proposed increases reasonable or way out of line? Is it a small price to pay for better focus on biodiversity, or will it mean money down the drain? Should regional development money be returned to ratepayers, or given to Te Waka? There are LTP community engagement opportunities in March and April.

Sian and Logan Dawson with their trophy.

Quick crossword

Across: 1. Case, 4. Kitbag, 8. Cushion, 9. Raise, 10. Ahoy, 11. Patience, 13. Deodorant, 17. Obstruct, 19. Smug, 21. Grand, 22. Upstage, 23. Bereft, 24. Evil.

Down: 2. Abscond, 3. Epic, 4. Kangaroo court, 5. Terminal, 6. Align, 7. Deter, 8. Clad, 12. Porridge, 14. Timpani, 15. Boggy,

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SUIT THREE

Cambridge 55 Peake Road

5 3 3 2

For Sale: $3,300,000

View by appointment or scheduled open day www.harcourts.co.nz/CB6382

Gary Stokes M 021 351 112

Bevan Higgins M 027 471 2424

Eureka 50 Appleton Lane

5 2 3 2

For Sale $1,399,999

View by appointment or scheduled open home times www.kdre.co.nz/CB6383

Gary Stokes M 021 351 112

4 2 1 1

Step inside to discover a warm and inviting living room, bathed in natural light, perfect for relaxing or entertaining guests.The heart of the home revolves around the kitchen and living area, the modern kitchen boasts ample bench space and storage, making meal preparation a breeze.

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BLAIR, William Alexander

Strang (Bill) – Passed away peacefully on the 13th of March 2024 after a brief but courageous battle, aged 82 years. Cherished husband of Vera for a wonderful 63 years.

Loving father of Linda, Gina, William, Michelle and Fleur. Grando to five grandchildren and great grandfather of three. A private service has been held and a memorial service will be held in the Hawkes Bay at a future time. Communications through Legacy Funerals Cambridge, PO Box 844 Cambridge 3450.

JOHNSTON, Joan – Passed away peacefully at Waikato Hospital on Wednesday 7 March 2024. Aged 87 years.

Dearly loved wife of Owen.

Much loved mother and mother-in-law of Shane, Erin & Kevin Smith , Tanya & Terry Hone. Special friend to many. The family would like to thank everyone who have supported them through this difficult time. At Joan’s request a private family farewell has taken place. All communications to the Hone Family, 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge 3434.

KERRY, Rhoda Daphne

Passed away quietly at the Bob Owen’s Retirement Village, Bethlehem on the 15th March 2024 aged 96 years. Loved wife of Keith (deceased) and later, partner of Bill (deceased). Loving mother of David (deceased), Grant and Julie, and Ian and Fiona. Grandmother to Dean, Karima and Zahida, greatgrandmother to Declan. As per Rhoda’s wishes a private cremation and family service will be held. Communications to Legacy Funerals Cambridge, PO Box 844 Cambridge 3450.

PROCTER, Raymond –

Peacefully passed away in his sleep at Cambridge Resthaven on Friday, 8th March 2024. Aged 85 years. Dearly loved husband of Jocelyn for 60 years. Much loved father and father in-law to Susan, Nicola & Raymond, and Judith & Ross. Cherished Grandpa to James, William, Claudia, Olivia, Lucy, and George. At Ray’s request a private farewell has taken place. All communications to the Procter Family, c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge 3434.

WOOLLEY, Bryan Worth –

Passed away peacefully at Lauriston Park Care Suite, Leamington, Cambridge on Friday, 15th March 2024. Aged 92 years. Dearly loved husband of Bev for almost 63 years. Loved father and father-in-law to Katherine & Robert, Derek & Lee, Jacqui & Jason. Grandad to Gillian & Jordan, Mathew, Sarah, Keagan, Fallon and Max. Great-grandad to Caleb and Lacey. ‘Special thanks to Lauriston Park Care Suite Staff for the care shown to Bryan over the last six months.’ A private family farewell has taken place. All communications to the Woolley Family, c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge 3434.

MARTIN, Trevor Clifford

7.12.1948 – 8.02.2024

Pearl, Steven & Roni, Maree & Kelly Higgins and their families, would like to express our deepest appreciation to everyone who reached out to us. The shared memories from all of you who visited Trevor and attended his funeral, along with the many phone calls, flowers, cards, gifts of food and words of condolence meant a great deal to us all. Trevor and Pearl were extremely grateful to all those who visited him so regularly during his bravely fought battle over the duration of his illness. Trevor will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. Please accept this as a personal acknowledgement of our thanks to you all.

Special Needs Drivers - Cambridge

Permanent Part-Time Special Needs (SESTA) car and van drivers required for Cambridge, 15 hours per week, school terms only, transporting students to and from school.

What you you need:

 Full Class 1 Licence (minimum 2 years)

 Passenger Endorsement (we can help you obtain this)

 A responsible and caring approach

Get on Board with Go Bus Transport and come join our great team in Cambridge!

If you want to be part of a business that is making a difference in your community, then we want to hear from you!

Our recruitment process includes a Drug and Alcohol Test and a Police Vetting check.

To be successful, applicants for this position must be a New Zealand Citizen, have permanent residency or hold a valid NZ Work Visa with no restrictions.

To apply please email –joanne.burman@gobus.co.nz or call 021-747-191.

Women’s Mobile

TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE – Arapuni Road

Please note that the roads listed below will be closed to ordinary vehicular traffic on Tuesday 2 April 2024 for the 160th O-R-akau Anniversary Commemoration.

Between 6:00 am and 5:00 pm on Tuesday 2 April 2024:

• Arapuni Road – between Brotherhood Road and Tiki Road Arrangements will be made for access by emergency vehicles during the closure, if required.

For more information, please contact Waip-a District Council on 0800 924 723 or email events@waipadc.govt.nz

Garry Dyet

WAIPA DISTRICT COUNCIL