Cambridge News | May 16, 2024

Aussies eye our airport

By Mary Anne Gill

Regular scheduled trans-Tasman flights could be back on at Hamilton Airport with the first “credible engagement” between international airlines and the airport company in a decade.

The introduction of smaller Embraer E190 and Airbus A220 aircrafts to Australian fleets meant they could land at Hamilton Airport, chief executive Mark Morgan told Waipā District Council last month.

In his six-monthly report to the council’s Finance and Corporate committee, Morgan said Hamilton’s strategic location close to Auckland also made it an alternate option.

Waikato Regional Airport trades as Hamilton Airport and is the parent company for Titanium Park, Jet Park Hotel and Hamilton and Waikato Tourism.

The group’s operating surplus for the six months ended December 31 was $2.6 million, council Finance manager Jolanda Hechter told councillors in her report.

“The group has experienced challenges driven by the economic environment, but still finds itself tracking to budget for the year-to-date and full year,” she said.

Waipā – which owns 15.6 per cent of the airport company - received a dividend of $78,100 in November for the 2022-23 financial year but the company had not indicated in its Statement of Intent whether a further dividend was likely.

Deputy chief executive Ken Morris suggested in a draft letter to the company that airport directors should already be in a position at the time of preparing its statement, to include it then.

“Waipā has advocated for many years now for a significant level of dividend to be paid by the company as recognition of the capital and guarantee arrangements provided by the shareholders in the past,” he said.

Other territorial authority shareholders are Hamilton with 50 per cent, Waikato and Matamata-Piako also have 15.6 per cent while Ōtorohanga has 3.2 per cent.

The councils paid $2.125 million in 1989,

then another $12 million in 2008-2009. The company is now worth about $234 million based on a recent independent valuation of property, plant and equipment and investment properties.

Hamilton city councillor Ewan Wilson - the founder of the failed trans-Tasman Kiwi International Airlines – has publicly called for a review of the airport company’s strategic direction.

“Hamilton City Council should be looking to sell between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of its shares – possibly more,” he said in a recent Waikato Business News column.

That $12 million could be used to pay debt and lessen the load on ratepayers but could also see the introduction of a commercially minded shareholder in the mix, wrote Wilson.

Asked to comment, Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan said her council had no intention of selling its shares and would in fact be in the market to buy more if they were on offer.

The airport – while named Hamilton – sits in the Waipā district and it is the council’s District Plan which has enabled multimillion dollar commercial development.

Hechter told the Finance committee the council should seek a firmer commitment from the airport company board to advance the “credible engagement” with international airlines.

“The references to this in the draft Statement of Intent are relatively vague and officers believe there should be a greater commitment to make this a focus.”

Morgan said passenger numbers were down three percent but aircraft movements were up seven per cent.

The Jet Park Hotel – used as a managed isolation facility during Covid – had not seen the recovery in customers expected following a $4 million makeover two years ago.

Titanium Park industrial development is almost sold out with only three of the 30 developed hectares on the eastern side of the airport available for sale or lease.

• See: i-Site to stay in Town Hall, page 5.

Marc van den Heuvel Partner

Tourism opportunities were back on the agenda at the Waipā Home & Leisure Show where local operators combined to present their offerings and celebrate Destination Cambridge’s announcement the i-Site in the Town Hall would remain open after July 1. From left, Tali Jellyman of Sanctuary Mountain, Destination Cambridge general manager Ruth Crampton and Sculpture Park’s Sue Devonshire. See story, page 5. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Māori wards

Nothing personal, but it is Waipā mayor

Susan O’Regan (The News May 2) who is arrogant. Our newly elected coalition government policies are a result of democracy which our forefathers (including Māori) put their lives on the line for.

Maybe she should concentrate on efficiencies in her council rather than an ideology, so to reduce rates to alleviate the cost of living crises, instead of a 15 per cent rate rise. All ethnicities (including Māori) can and do compete in the marketplace, so don’t be arrogant and respect democracy. As Winston Peters says, “New Zealand is one country and one people”.

Bill Burr Piopio

Ōhaupō kudos

The article by reporter Chris Gardner on the Ōhaupō six month roading project was a great story. The reporter detailed the nature of the project but more importantly investigated the affected business owners’ experience. They explained the disruption caused but more importantly every single business owner acknowledged the pain was worth the gain.

What a refreshing change from the constant groaning we hear from Cambridge when there are infrastructure upgrades there.

The cycleways through Cambridge have caused disruption to be sure, but they are a once only capital project that will ensure more people will use their bikes than circling around in cars finding limited parking spots.

The cycleways won’t wear out like our roads - which regularly need maintenanceand the disruption to motorists that go with their sea of traffic cones.

Neil Gibb Cambridge

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027 450 0115

Mary Anne Gill maryanne@goodlocal.nz

021 705 213

Viv Posselt viv@goodlocal.nz

027 233 7686

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Krippner puts museum in the picture

By Chris Gardner

Volcanologist Dr Janine Krippner has made an explosive discovery.

Century old views of Mount Ngāuruhoe on the Central Plateau in eruption held by the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington are a smouldering sham.

Krippner, a Waikato University honorary research associate based in Taupō but born in Te Awamutu, was studying the impact of Mount Ngāuruhoe eruptions throughout history.

She noticed not all was it seemed with two views captured on March 29, 1909 by postcard photographer William A. Price.

“Having studied photography in high school I recognise that the burn technique has been used to create a fake ash plume,” Krippner said.

In the photographic development process in the darkroom light exposure had been increased in part of the images to make the

On the beat with

photograph darker.

“This is very clearly not an ash plume.

“My guess is someone was having a laugh and or were disappointed that they didn’t capture an eruption that day.

“The sort of ash plume they are trying to depict was very common before eruptive activity ceased in 1975. If this were real, it would have been ash emission that wasn’t very energetic – the wind can blow the ash away before it manages to get very high.

“This was also a common direction for the ash to travel based on dominant wind directions. I imagine who ever created it had seen an eruption, or at least photographs showing eruptions at Ngāuruhoe,” The News columnist said.

Price began postcard photography in 1906 in Whanganui, later moving to Northcote, Auckland, practicing on Queen Street between 1909 and 1910. From 1911 until his death in 1948, he lived at 21 Masons Ave, Ponsonby.

Online crooks prey on residents

I have been back on deck this week after four successful days last week delivering the Loves Me Not programme to Cambridge High School year 11 and 12 students. Thank you to all parents who consented for their children to take part in what is a very valuable course. The students were engaged and interacted well. No doubt the content also sparked some important conversations at home.

In good news this week, swift investigation saw the team arrest a male for a retail burglary last week. He was charged and has been remanded in custody pending a further court appearance.

Burglars are opportunists and one person or group is often responsible for multiple incidents in an area, continuing until caught. In the seven days prior to writing, we had four recorded burglaries in Cambridge.

Anytime a burglary occurs, Police will attend to carry out a scene examination (including vehicles being stolen from on private property which meets the requirements of a burglary). We will take a statement from the occupant, take photographs of the scene and conducting enquiries in the immediate area for information and CCTV.

Where forensic opportunities exist, a scene of crime officer will attend in order to take fingerprints, swabs (if appropriate) and photographs.

CCTV as always is great evidence, especially where footage is of a high resolution, clear and accessible. Please report all burglaries when discovered and preserve evidence including any items left behind by the offender at the scene.

Evidence gained from your scene, could be the vital clue that links together and solves a number of cases and enables us to identify and charge those responsible.

On another topic, I see that people in our community are continuing to fall prey to Facebook Marketplace fraud. The most common scenario, is that a person will advertise an item for sale that doesn’t exist in reality and then request payment online. Once the monies are transferred, the post - and sometimes fake profile used - are deleted from Facebook.

A recent report included an item being advertised for sale where the buyer was told that there was a lot of interest and a 50 per cent deposit was elicited from them to secure the deal. Once this was paid, the post and profile disappeared.

Anyone can create a Facebook marketplace advertisement, using any photo they have, regardless of whether the item is genuine or not. While we hope that most people are trustworthy, if we don’t take some common-sense measures to protect ourselves, we are not only enabling the offending, but encouraging the offenders to continue with the scam.

Pay on pick up and not before, especially where larger or higher value items are involved. As I have had said before in this column, realistically there is always a chance you will lose any money paid online in such a deal.

TradeMe, as an alternative, is a lot more controlled and less exposed to such fraud.

Have a good week and stay safe.

For about a decade leading up to 1930, he operated as Price Photo Co from a studio at 300 Ponsonby Road. Early postcards bore the imprint “The W.A.P. Colour Photographic Series, Wanganui Photo Co NZ”, which evolved to “Wanganui Photo Co, Northcote, Auckland, NZ”, and ultimately to “W.A. Price Photo Co”.

Photographic negatives of the images were donated to the library by Price’s widow Edith who died in 1966.

Krippner notified the library of her discovery so that it might update its records.

“Spotting false information or misused eruption images is commonplace today, unfortunately. It’s not often I find something so old.”

Photographic curator Louise Garrett was not surprised to learn the copy negatives produced by the photographic studio had been manipulated as the process had been around since the invention of photography.

“The photographer probably thought he needed to make it more interesting,” she said. “We will add Janine’s discovery to the records.”

Senior Constable DEB HANN

Mount Ngāuruhoe supposedly in eruption,

Photo: Alexander Turnbull Library.

Fluoride in water

A recommendation by the Te Awamutu and Kihikihi Community to pause the fluoridation of Cambridge’s water supply failed by 7-5 at Waipā’s Service Delivery committee this week. Clare St Pierre, Andrew Brown, Liz Stolwyk, Susan O’Regan, Lou Brown, Mike Montgomerie and Bruce Thomas opposed it while Mike Pettit, Roger Gordon, Dale-Maree Morgan, Philip Coles and Hinerangi Kara were in favour. Read more cambridgenews.nz

End in sight

Work on the SH1 improvements between Cambridge and Piarere should be complete next month. A key section between Gorton Road and Keeley’s Reserve is now complete, with turnaround bays in place at Gorton and Tunakawa roads and flexible median barrier installed in sections through to Fergusson Gully Road. Further south, work continues between Keeley’s Reserve and Moana Roa Road where median barrier is being installed.

Quarry update

Beacon Hill Contracting, the owners of a Maungatautari quarry which operated without a resource consent for several years, are finalising a Cultural Impact Assessment as part of their retrospective application.

Numbers up

Completion of the new cycleway in Wilson Street can’t come soon enough for the Cambridge Library team which has seen a decline in issue and visitor numbers during construction. Despite this disruption, the library picked up 372 new patrons from January through to March taking its numbers to 23,214. With three months of the financial year to go, Cambridge has issued 230,141 books and Te Awamutu 123,320.

Potholes fixed

More than 1750 potholes were repaired in seven months around the Waipā district by the council’s new roading contractor.

Sextortion a growing concern

By Steph Bell-Jenkins

Sexual exploitation, exposure to objectionable pornographic material and internet-based abuse are the biggest threats to children’s safety online, says a cyber safety expert.

John Parsons delivers child protection training around Aotearoa alongside the Police, Oranga Tamariki, health professionals and schools.

The risk assessment consultant visited Cambridge last week to run school workshops for local students, parents, caregivers and teachers.

Parsons said “sextortion” – where children were targeted for naked images – was a growing area of concern across New Zealand.

“Children think they’re building a romance with somebody online, they send the naked images and then they’re often blackmailed for money or more revealing images,” he said.

“I’m about to work with a family whose child sent hundreds of dollars to the criminals in an attempt to limit exposure of the picture that had already been sent.”

He said the most effective thing parents could do to keep children safe online was to be confident in their parenting, trust their gut instincts,

know who their children were talking to over the internet, and keep technology out of bedrooms until at least age 13.

He urged parents of children aged 0-13 to commit to “giving their children a childhood”.

“They need to be children,” he said. “And they need very good, regular sleep patterns. Sleep is the single biggest contributor to their health and wellbeing.”

What they didn’t need, he said, was to be immersed in social media and television programmes like The Bachelor, Geordie Shore, Love Island, Married at First Sight and Naked Attraction, which exposed them to “relationships that are not real” and could inform how they related to others when they were older.

Parsons also warned of the dangers of letting children play R18 video games, which could contain swearing, sex scenes and graphic violence, and expose them to online predators.

He spoke about a 24-year-old woman haunted by intrusive thoughts she blamed on playing an R18 game when she was 10.

“When she often drives a car she imagines driving onto the pavement,

Playground in mind

By Mary Anne Gill

Design for a playground renewal at King’s Garden in Cambridge is underway following iwi engagement.

The playground – on the corner of Tulip Place and Carnation Court - was donated by the subdivision’s developer but it is an odd shape and unsuitable for playing football.

Consultation with Ngāti Koroki Kahukura and Ngāti Hauā has taken place, Community Services manager Brad Ward told the council’s Service Delivery committee this week.

“Staff also undertook a survey of local residents and park users to gain feedback on desired elements and function for inclusion into the design,” he said.

which she’d never do…she saw a young boy swinging a plastic golf club but she thought she saw a baseball bat being used in an horrific manner,” he said.

The woman was now “deeply aware of nurturing and protecting” her own children and keeping them away from violent computer games so they didn’t “carry the same traumas”.

“If we marinate children in love and compassion in childhood, we

One resident has offered to raise funds for shade sails which do not form part of the renewal project.

Construction should start in September to allow for lead in times with equipment.

Meanwhile the new destination playground in Papatakohe Park in the Bridleways Estate to the west of Cambridge is about to get underway. It would be “an exclusive play haven for

Celebrating Life - Your Way

our littlest community members, meticulously designed for safety and enjoyment,” developers have described it.

But vandals are continuing to wreak havoc at the new playground in Terry Came Drive where there has been fires in the toilet and on the safety surface.

Ward said contractors had recently completed a deep clean of all play equipment and fixed where necessary.

have a very strong chance that that child will become loving and compassionate,” Parsons said.

“But if we raise that child in violence, in aggression, then we reduce that particular chance.”

Goodwood School principal David Graham said it was a parent’s right to be able to see how their children were interacting online.

“You’re not their friend, you’re their parent, so it’s your job to protect them,” he said.

Weeds worry residents

By Mary Anne Gill

Bamboo, convolvulus and jasmine have taken over parts of Lake Te Koo Utu’s steep banks. The weed growth in Cambridge is generating concern within the community, Community Services manager Brad Ward told the Service Delivery committee this week.

Staff do not have the resources to manage the weed creep so the areas will be incorporated into a Vegetation Management Plan currently being developed as part of a concept plan implementation.

Meanwhile talks are underway between the council and iwi over the design and implementation of a waharoa (gateway) at the Albert Street entrance to the lake.

It is another type of weed causing concern in northern Cambridge where alligator weed has been found in the Appleby Road stormwater reserve.

Waikato Regional Council has responsibility for the control

and remove of the noxious weed, known as alternanthera philoxeroides. It poses a major threat to ecosystems because of the adverse effects on both aquatic and terrestrial environments. The weed joins Dutch Elm disease as a concern for council staff.

A tree on private property in Te Awamutu, was found to have the fungal disease in February.

John Parsons has been working as an online child protection consultant for about 15 years.

Photo: Steph Bell-Jenkins

Children enjoy the new playground on Terry Came Drive.

Photo: Supplied.

Alligator weed has been found in Appleby Road, northern Cambridge.

Photo: Waikato Regional Council.

i-Site safe for now

By Mary Anne Gill

Cambridge’s i-Site will remain open after securing support from two tourism operators.

Destination Cambridge general manager Ruth Crampton said when Waipā District Council announced it was pulling its funding for the i-Site, from July 1, she was determined to keep the doors open.

“The future was looking a little bleak,” she said following the council decision last year to can its annual $157,000 grant.

Riverside Adventures Waikato will take over the information centre in six weeks, supported by Destination Cambridge.

Rural Tours, who had previously signed a working agreement with the i-Site have renewed their relationship and secured two of the current i-Site staff post July 1.

“This would not have been possible without the support of Simon Brew and the Cambridge Town Hall Trust board who understood the delicate situation the Cambridge i-Site found itself in,” said Crampton.

“With their support, an affordable rental has been agreed, which will be shared by Rural Tours, Riverside Adventures and

Destination Cambridge. This also enables the Town Hall to recoup some cost as they look to secure funding to continue to upgrade and develop the majestic building which is at the very heart of Cambridge.”

Crampton will stay on in a reduced capacity overseeing the digital aspects of the Destination Cambridge business and focusing on a more active promotion of the tourism industry.

The cambridge.co.nz website –which has more than 140,000 visits a year – is a key promotional tool for the town and will continue under her stewardship.

Riverside will offer transportation bookings, accommodation and activity advice and bookings, visitor information, DOC hut tickets, NZ and local gifts, as well as their bike hire and kayak business from the Town Hall while retaining a presence at the Velodrome and Horahora.

Destination Cambridge has also made a submission to Waipā’s enhanced annual plan arguing councillors made the decision with flawed information and without realising the value of tourism to Cambridge.

Plan hearings will be held next week.

Skilled cyclists the aim

By Mary Anne Gill

Renae Townsend’s students weren’t the only ones to benefit from a new bike skills programme which got underway at Cambridge East Primary School this week.

The Year three and four teacher readily admitted she had learned the importance of preparation before heading out for a bike ride, something which Bicycle Revolution Cambridge say every cyclist should do.

Check tyres, brakes, gears and chains before you even hit the road, Bike Skills tutor Sean Christian told the children who were instead eyeing the slightly wet field and the opportunity to do some skids.

Bicycle Revolution is a group of volunteers who aim to give cyclists the freedom and expertise to ride around Cambridge safely. Their Bike Skills programme at Cambridge East is the first of several they hope to roll out in schools, retirement villages and community groups around the town. There to help Christian out were world champion Paralympians Devon

Briggs and Anna Taylor. Bicycle Revolution founder and Olympian Sarah Ulmer said the group was able to source Grassroots Trust funding for the free Bike Skills training at Cambridge East.

“We’ve had schools and parents queuing up to get involved,” she said. But they were also getting approached by older riders hopping back onto bikes after years away who wanted refresher courses and to learn more about riding

e-bikes.

“We’re looking to cover everyone, all age groups,” she said.

Christian said a massive social change was occurring with bikes. He had noticed it was grandparents who were providing the impetus for their grandchildren to ride bikes.

“They buy bikes for them and have them at their place and go off riding together.”

Cycleways in places like Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Hamilton

had made family bike riding attractive, he said. Cambridge East assistant principal Kathy McIsaac said there had been a noticeable increase in children riding their bikes to school. The overflowing cycle bay at the school provided real evidence of that.

Getting the opportunity to improve their bike skills on the road gave children and their parents the confidence to ride to school even on what was a wet morning in Cambridge.

Thumbs up for bike skills, from left: Kana Coley, Will Joyce, Frankie and Billy McIntyre and Diamond Martin at the Bicycle Revolution Cambridge bike skills session at Cambridge East Primary School.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Cambridge at your fingertips

It’s all on your local App –are you?

The Cambridge App is the go-to place for your latest mobile news, sport and opinion.

Every day, locals open the app to stay informed about what’s happening in Cambridge.

But there isn’t only news on this app: it features upcoming events, funeral notices, the latest properties for sale, places to eat and drink, activities, local businesses, and much more.

Download the Cambridge App, look around, you might be surprised by what you find. •News • Property

Events

Scan here to download the app

CountryLife

Reach a targeted rural and lifestyle audience each month by advertising your business in CountryLife; featured inside the Cambridge News and Te Awamutu News.

Readership 70,470 Distribution 26,100

To list your business, event or activity, contact Advertising Director Janine Davy: 027 287 0005 or janine@goodlocal.nz

Main office 55 Victoria St, Cambridge

Faith and family: Eddie’s North Star

By Viv Posselt

Edward ‘Eddie’ Webb was a rare gem.

Not only was he a hugely successful businessman, a talented and competitive singer and outstanding Rotarian, but he was an indefatigable champion for his community, a faith-driven man for whom nothing was too much trouble.

His death aged 96 came just five years after he stopped work and gave up riding his bike.

“Every community should have an ‘Edward Webb’, someone who is focused on serving the people to create a better, more functional environment,” son Bruce Webb said last week.

Eddie’s three children – Gordon, Bruce and Jan – all spoke highly of their dad at a packed Trinity St Paul’s Union Parish Church farewell. Many people whose lives he touched were there to help the town draw a line under one of its most popular sons.

Eddie was born and educated in Cambridge, to local butcher Harry Webb and his Scots-born wife Janet. The outbreak of WW2 saw the then 14-year-old sequestered into the butchery to replace staff who enlisted. It was an auspicious start as by aged 17 he had saved enough to buy a section

of beachfront property at Waihi Beach, a spot that would later become the centre of many joyous family holidays.

It was also in his teens that he started singing seriously, building on a fortuitous arrival into a musical family by taking local lessons with Betty Wallace, then travelling to Auckland for weekly tuition. He went on to sing competitively and at numerous functions … music was something he enjoyed all his life.

Just out of his teens, at age 20, he met 17-year-old Betty Boyd, and the pair married in 1952. Their union and Eddie’s open love and admiration for Betty was central to his children’s eulogies. She was described by their dad as “his rock, his reason for happiness and success”.

By his mid-20s, Eddie was running his father’s butchery business, building it into a group of three meat companies in Cambridge and partnerships with another six companies around the Waikato. He was a member of the South Auckland Meat Retailers’ Association for 12 years, four of them as chairman, and joined a group of eight of New Zealand’s larger meat retailers to share business ideas, nationally and internationally.

Eddie developed and built

numerous commercial properties in Carter’s Flats and got involved in the building of a new timber factory in Cambridge for MLM. After the sale of his butchery business in 1979 he turned his skills to the timber business as a shareholder of MLM, and along with director Gavin Levesque they expanded and built a very successful timber processing and export business over a 40-year period.

Running parallel to that was the service he gave to others. He gave 46 years to Cambridge Rotary and was awarded the Paul Harris Award, the highest honour in Rotary International, acknowledging his outstanding contribution to the community.

He served on and led many committees, including for Cambridge Primary School, the Cambridge Electric Power Board, the Sheltered Workshop committee, and Friends of Resthaven committee. In 1965 he was elected to the then Cambridge Borough Council, becoming chair of the finance committee for three years and deputy mayor for another three.

Son Gordon Webb said his father’s life decisions were always made through his faith; it was the essence of who he was. Eddie spent 28 years on the board of the

Trinity Church, and 25 years as a church elder. His daughter Janette ‘Jan’, spoke of her father being ahead of his time with his belief in equality.

“He told me girls could do anything … he gave me that, and an adventurous spirit,” she smiled, “which was useful as we got up to all sorts of adventures together.”

Edward Webb – aka Eddie, Fast Eddie, Steady Eddie and more – was farewelled in Cambridge last week.

Join us for a scrumptious high tea

Get a taste of the Summerset life!

Here at Summerset Cambridge, we love any chance for a get-together, so we’re hosting a month of scrumptious high teas and you’re invited.

Just pop along anytime between 10am and 12pm, on any Wednesday in May, and enjoy a range of delicious food and tea and coffee on us.

Whilst you’re here, why not also get a taste of the Summerset life that our residents love so much. We’d love to show you around our village and the brand-new homes available.

Love the life you choose.

High tea

Every Wednesday in May, 10am - 12pm

Summerset Cambridge 1 Mary Ann Drive, Cambridge 07 839 9482 | summerset.co.nz/cambridge

Nothing wrong with us? Not so…

As a volcanologist I work hard on local and international research projects and I thrive spending long physically demanding days on volcanoes. I am also in pain almost every single day.

May is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) awareness month. Over the years sharing my journey has helped others who have similar struggles, I hope this can help people closer to home.

So many of us have chronic health issues – prolonged conditions that can limit activities in daily living and require medical attention (even when we try to just tough it out). EDS is a group of connective tissue disorders that affect different parts of the body. For me it’s mostly issues with joints, back, and headaches, plus a raft of other issues. EDS can impact blood vessels, skin, eyes, gums, and organs. It also causes issues like chronic fatigue, brain fog, heart issues… the list goes on and some are fatal.

Something many of us have in common as we try to find a diagnosis and help, is the messaging that there is nothing wrong with us, when something very clearly is. It’s all in your head, you’re doing it for attention, or you’re a hypochondriac. This can be so much harder than the physical impacts, which is why it’s so important to build awareness about conditions like this. You may not have EDS, but if you have other issues that remain a medical mystery you are not alone.

These sorts of conditions are often invisible. We usually look totally fine (unless you’re in a wheelchair or on crutches). I have found that years of pain has meant that I can function perfectly fine most of the time and you wouldn’t have a clue what’s going on below the surface. For me, living with EDS has built a solid resilience and strength that I doubt I would have had otherwise. I’ve managed to find the silver linings.

Having a disability does not necessarily mean someone cannot do things, it’s best to not assume. Because of EDS I am fit and strong. I maintain my fitness to not just get through each day, but to be able to climb volcanoes and do strenuous fieldwork.

Getting a diagnosis meant that I could figure out how to take care of my body, and what to avoid to

prevent damage. There is hope. When I was younger I feared that I wouldn’t be able to do what I wanted on top of worrying that people wouldn’t let me do things, but I am doing just fine. It is getting worse with age, but I keep adjusting and thankfully my determination is serving me well. We are so very capable of adapting. I also have a wonderful

By Janine Krippner

doctor at the Te Awamutu Medical Centre, I cannot stress enough how much of a difference that makes.

If you’re living with undiagnosed symptoms my heart goes out to you, that is a tough journey to be on. I stumbled across my diagnosis online then went to the right specialists (geneticist and rheumatologist) to get it formally confirmed.

We have to be our own advocates. If you have a loved one with similar struggles, stick by them. Listen to them, they might not want suggestions or advice but just to be heard. We are capable of so much, sometimes we just need flexibility and adjustments.

If overly-bendy joints, dislocations, easy bruising, chronic pain, fatigue, or stretchy skin sound familiar to you, check out the EDS societies online.

Janine Krippner looking at lahar deposits down the Whangaehu River.

Photo: Brian Perttu.

First Waipā Home & Leisure Show a hit

Exhibitors want to be back for next year’s Waipā Home & Leisure Show following the success of the first version at Lake Karāpiro. Organisers Good Local Media were thrilled with the turnout over three days. Owner David Mackenzie said his “leap of faith” that Waipā needed its own show was proven accurate. Mary Anne Gill was there to capture some of the highlights. More photos: cambridgenews.nz

The perfect venue for Waipā’s first Home & Leisure Show.

We caught Treetown Designer Kitchens getting Stand 19 ready for the show. From left, Sara Steffert, Hayley Hohneck and Shannon Meredith.

On the tiles were Julie Atherton, left, owner of Cambridge Tiles and supplier Rebecca Leonard of Tile Space

Troy Johnson from Huis Bespoke Joinery in Cambridge.

Paula Waterhouse, Alexis Parker, Joshua Rietema and Sam Hogan were putting the finishing touches onto their Designers Co Lab - Collaborative Interior Design studio stand 45

Exhibitors reported a steady stream of customers while the café did a roaring trade inside the Sir Don Rowlands Centre at Mighty River Domain, Lake Karāpiro.

Hitting the spot at the Cambridge Distillery Company stand was shareholder Will Rendell, right, with Vicki and Mark Fleming of Lake Karāpiro.

Mikala Walshe of Mavis & Mick (Cambridge) had plenty of leather shoes, boots, handbags, accessories and women’s clothing on Stands 17 and 30.

Roger Ramsey of Majestic Sheep Breeders, Wharepuhunga - with some of his Swiss Valais Blacknose sheep.

First National’s Vayle Hammond and Tania Cortesi-Western.

Susan McHugh, left and Claire Simcock of Lions Tamahere.

Making the trip south from Whangarei were ex pat South Africans Janitha van der Merwe, left, and Marisa Bosman from the Biltong Shed.

Waiuku’s Dave Hare was extoling the virtues of inversion at the show –and was prepared to put his feet up to prove it.

Helping out, some of the team from Lions Tamahere, from left Sue Fookes, Sheryl Coulton and Rita Pandey.

Taking a breather outside in the sun at Lake Karāpiro were Good Local Media owners David and Rebecca Mackenzie.

Phones away; students chat

By Steph Bell-Jenkins

Cambridge High School students are chatting, laughing and playing games together more during break times since cellphones were banned in New Zealand schools, says principal Greg Thornton.

“Previously they would all gather around a phone, and I guess that just doesn’t happen as much now; they’ll just gather around, look at each other and chat,” he said.

“I think that there are some great consequences from the government making a statement that actually you need to put [your phone] away for a big chunk of your day and downstream kids connect again. It’s pretty cool.”

Cambridge Middle School principal Daryl Gibbs needs no convincing. There was already a policy in place banning cellphone use at the school when he arrived seven

years ago.

Under new government rules introduced on April 29, schools must ensure students do not use or access a phone while attending school.

However, there are some exemptions, such as when a phone is needed for health reasons.

Cambridge High School’s head girl Chiara Woodford said it had been “hard to adjust” to the new policy. She fully supported phones being turned off in class, which helped students focus.

“People get it in class totally, and they respect that, but they don’t understand why you can’t use it at breaks and things like that, because they don’t see how it affects their learning,” she said.

“Kids are always on their phones and iPads or whatever these days, so maybe they’re just trying to restrict that, which I understand, but you also

use your phone to find your friends and to hang out with your friends,” she said.

Woodford said policing the ban was hard for teachers, who already had enough to do, and there were other negatives. It was harder to contact other student leaders about changes to meeting times or locations, and she could not post photos from school events on Instagram.

Thornton said Cambridge High School consulted with the community and banned cellphones during class time a few years ago because “they were really affecting learning and the concentration of students”.

The government’s new rules meant extending that policy to include break times.

The school began asking students to have their phones “away for the day” in term one, before the government officially implemented the policy on the first day of term two.

“We found that the community actually were really supportive, and the students have been great –they understand that it’s a national directive and are supportive and recognise that,” Thornton said.

Gibbs said students hand in their phones before school starts.

The policy was easy to manage, he said.

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Experienced professionals. Local specialists. Quality advice.

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Cambridge | 07 827 5147

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Hamilton | 07 848 1222 www.lewislawyers.co.nz

Hamilton | 07 848 1222 www.lewislawyers.co.nz

CAMBRIDGE VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE CALLS OVER THE LAST WEEK

TUESDAY

1:40pm, Car re, Addison Street

THURSDAY

9:47pm, Breathing issues, Cambridge Road

FRIDAY

7:34pm, Unconscious/Fainting, Shelley Street

9:05pm, Cover to Te Awamutu Station

MONDAY

9:08am,Building alarm and evacuation, Lake Street

Chiara Woodford

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Welcome home, sort of

By Peter Carr

In 1969, when the successful moon landing astronauts landed back in the Atlantic Ocean, they clearly came off a high of world appreciation and folded themselves back into society – albeit with a long public speaking programme ahead.

A few days ago (sans the speaking programme) it happened to me when I returned from several weeks delightfully cruising the China Seas (there is more than one) and landing back with a wallop into the relative quiet backyard that is called Cambridge. Relative by world standards at least.

To find that things are changing. The first being that a (possibly long overdue) change of chief executive at the Waipā District Council has been formally confirmed and we are to be guided by the softer tones of a lady.

Softly, no doubt, in audibility but I suspect some real-world adjustments to the sleepy body that prevaricates re the Cambridge transport scene and permits ugly three-storey buildings to spring up.

So, in changing the chief executive (who has every right to a long and healthy retirement) perhaps it is also time to address just how well – or badly – the planning and roading departments are being headed?

With the arrival of the new manager perhaps we will see greater visibility and better management at the senior levels which is long overdue.

But the buck does not stop with paid officials – just how sleepy or inefficient are some of the elected people? This is – nor should be – a job for life. There are less than desirable traits being shown – not just in the Cambridge electees – but also across the district.

Elected people recusing themselves from making positive change decisions demands a question being asked – why is that person still there?

It was pleasing to see the heads of the two community boards have taken some opprobrium on the chin and admitting that their scorecard could have been better. And full marks to those two hard-working ladies for their honesty.

The dilemma of Israel…

By Murray Smith, Bridges Church

And I can drive safely along a reducedwidth Wilson Street again - now that the far from numerous cyclists have been gifted a wide and safe pathway for their two-wheeled perambulations.

The number of orange cones have reduced to something under mega-proportions and the number of trees felled to satisfy the Duke Street (pathway) boardwalk should have those of a green disposition in handkerchiefwringing anguish.

But such is progress as the money that is being consumed in this exercise will not be there for ever.

So maximising spending when it is possible will no doubt satisfy those more closely concerned with the construction.

But, dear readers, keep up the pressure on the transport scene. The work undertaken now and over the next two decades may not benefit you but will certainly benefit your children.

Good planning, listening to the people, clarity of thought and transparency of objectives are required.

Behind closed-door muttering in a room in Te Awamutu must become a thing of the past.

Similar in size from Warkworth to Cape Reinga, a tiny nation features daily in worldwide news. It’s been that way since May 14, 1948 when Israel declared its sovereignty following a UN remit. One day later, armies from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq invaded. Facing overwhelming odds with only 600,000 people in the reborn nation, they not only survived, they triumphed and by 1949 armistice negotiations began that would ensure the existence of the Jewish State. World opinion over Israel has recently become sharply divided. Initially, standing with Israel was easier considering the attacks made by Hamas on October, 7 2023. That incursion delivered the largest loss of Jewish lives in a single day since the Holocaust itself. Any doubt about Hamas’ appetite for ruthless bloodshed evaporated. With this recent war dragging on, many have turned against Israel believing its responses are disproportionate to what Hamas set in motion.

History offers perspective for today’s conflict revealing thousands of years’ worth of attempts to dispossess and destroy Israel.

The Holocaust displayed history’s darkest attempt to systematically destroy the Jewish people.

Six million European Jews were exterminated between 1939-1945 by a regime deeming they shouldn’t exist. Having just celebrated its 76th anniversary as the ‘reborn’ State of Israel, today Israel again faces terrorist calls for its extinction. Bible prophecy foretells Jerusalem becoming a ‘burdensome stone’ with all nations of earth gathering against her, regardless, from a Biblical perspective Israel will never cease

to be a nation since the land promised by God to the Jewish people was an everlasting inheritance (Genesis 17:8). While openness to a Biblical perspective is a moot point, evidence of Israel’s miraculous ‘preservation’ abounds. Consider the ‘impossibility’ of Israel ever being regathered…1948 was beyond human engineering, as were the outcomes of 1967 and 1973 wars.

Hamas’ stated purpose is to destroy Israel and Jewish people in the region. Israel claims its response isn’t to destroy Gaza or the Palestinian people, rather Hamas. This terrorist organisation took political control of Gaza declaring its aim to obliterate Israel. Given the menacing existence of Hamas, aided by Hezbollah in the north, Iran and its cohorts from the east, Israel’s sense of vulnerability is understandable.

Notwithstanding that, escalating collateral injury being done to the innocent population of Gaza without ties to Hamas, should outrage us. Israel’s questionable tactical responses are compounded by Hamas’ strategy of integrating among civilians, jeopardising the innocent.

In all this, there’s pressure to choose a side. Can you support Israel’s right to exist, yet disagree with its policies; and at the same time stand in solidarity with Gazans? I think so. Under threat of elimination or terrorist attack, wouldn’t New Zealanders fight for our nation’s best, defending the right to be safe, despite flawed governmental dictums at times?

That summarises Israel’s position.

Footy club’s wait over

By Mary Anne Gill

Cambridge Football Club’s lease on the 12.7ha it uses on the Town Belt has been extended another five years.

It could not be any longer because Waipā council staff are working on a new sports field lease model review which would change the way the council manages publicly owned sports fields in the district.

Property advisor Angela McEwan said the club’s lease expired two years ago on June 30 and under the new agreement would go through to the same date in 2027.

The club has occupied the reserve since 1948 and use the grounds 50 weeks of the year for football and cricket.

It owns all the buildings on site and recently spent thousands of dollars developing two football playing fields, including the number one ground used by the Reds, its first division side which currently leads the Northern Region Football southern conference with 18 points. The Reds won their first round match in the prestigious Chatham Cup competition on Saturday beating Papakura City 8-5 in extra time at McLennan Park, Auckland.

The annual rent for the grounds is $1613 plus GST and subject to ministerial consent.

At the same meeting, the Karāpiro Kayak Racing Club’s lease of 480 sq m at the lake was extended five years, also subject to ministerial consent.

The new $6 annual lease requires the club to remove existing containers and replace them with a more permanent storage facility.

The Cambridge Riding Club will also enter a new 15-year lease at $658 a year for 4.079ha of reserve land in Carlyle Street. While its lease expired on July 1, 2015, the club remained on the land and now has a final expiry date of November 30, 2038.

And proof the property team have been busy, the Riding for Disabled Cambridge Inc also have a new 15-year lease for reserve land it uses on Vogel Street.

The new $863 annual lease will incorporate an adjacent freehold parcel of land and a licence to occupy part of the unformed legal road which bounds the reserve.

Double delight for middle school

By Steph Bell-Jenkins

Cambridge Middle School proved its depth of football talent by taking out the boys’ and girls’ divisions of the Waikato Intermediate and Middle Schools nine-a-side football tournament at Jansen Park in Hamilton last week.

The girls’ team battled their way through four tight rounds of pool play, drawing nil-all with Matamata Intermediate and 1-1 with Maeroa Intermediate, beating Te Awamutu Intermediate 1-0 and drawing nil-all with Berkely Normal Middle School.

Going for gold in their final against Maeroa Intermediate, Cambridge’s Rosie Halliday scored with a shot that squeaked in off the right-hand post just before halftime. Three minutes later, Lauren Waters struck, sending the ball into the goal’s top-left corner. Maeroa came back hard in the game’s final five minutes, but goalkeeper Chelsea Baird kept her composure to save two shots and seal Cambridge’s 2-0 victory.

The boys’ team opened strongly, winning their first pool match against Te Awamutu Intermediate 7-0 and going on to defeat Berkley Normal Middle School 5-0, Matamata Intermediate 1-0 and Maeroa Intermediate 2-0.

In the final against Matamata, Asa Ayas scored with a powerful shot after four minutes. In the second half, Arthur Tilghman showed his class, scoring two goals just two minutes apart. Seconds before the final whistle Cambridge conceded a penalty but goalkeeper Archer Turner-Lines kept the shot out to maintain his team’s clean sheet for the tournament.

In the swim of it

Attendance records at Waipā District Council’s two swimming pools in Te Awamutu and Cambridge have been smashed in the six months ended December 31.

Nearly 193,000 people – up 9.3 per cent from the previous year’s 176,403 – visited Te Awamutu Events Centre and Perry Aquatic Centre, representatives from Waipā Community Facilities Trust told district councillors this week.

But it appears users favour the Cambridge pool over its Te Awamutu counterpart with the newer Cambridge facility hosting 76,402 swimmers compared to the 67,147 in the western side of the district.

Visitors included the North Shore Swimming Club and the Liz van Wellie Swim Club which used the facility for its swim camps.

Te Awamutu’s stadium has recovered from its Covid malaise with 19,749 visits – up 18.6 per cent on last year and 44 per cent ahead of 2000, when the pandemic restricted numbers.

Club Waipā, the fully equipped and modern gym, had 31,390 users with the group fitness classes growing by 21 per cent.

Kihikihi Bowling Club started its “Winter Programme” last week with a very successful Presidents’ Birthday tournament. President Dave Barnett sponsored the event and playing conditions were perfect with a full field of entries and $1000 allocated to the prize pool. Hillcrest made the trip south and the team of John Ottoway (skip), Larry Fitzpatrick and Ross McLay edged out Frankton Junction with Kihikihi in third. Two teams made the trip over from Cambridge Central but were unplaced.

Casey Brook-Smith celebrates after scoring a goal against Morrinsville Intermediate at the Waikato Intermediate and Middle Schools football tournament in Hamilton. Photo: Steph Bell-Jenkins

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Negotiation

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- Modern home, built in 2019 – low maintenance and double glazed.

- Features include-modern kitchen with generous scullery, stunning vaulted ceiling, office nook and covered entertaining deck.

Open Homes Saturday 1-1.30pm & Sunday 11-11.30am Your Own Garden Sanctuary

Setting; Private - Pool - 2km to Town Negotiation

1/143 Tirau Road, Cambridge

- The four bedrooms (plus office) home & pool is well positioned privatized from the two-bedroom cottage.

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Homes Saturday & Sunday 11.00 - 11.30am

GRIFFITH, Arthur William, (Archie) – Passed away peacefully at Waikato Public Hospital with his family at his side on Monday, 13th May 2024. Aged 75 years. Loving husband to Linda for 51 years. Cherished father and father-in-law to Ray & Sharron, and Christine. Precious popa to Tayla, Harrison, Jonty and Archer. ‘Special thanks to the staff of Waikato Hospital for the care and love shown to Archie in recent months.’ A celebration of Archie’s life will be held at Woodside Estate, Woodside Road, Tamahere, Hamilton on Monday, 20th May 2024 at 11:00 am followed by a private cremation. All communications to the Griffin Family, c/- 3 Hallys Lane, Cambridge 3434.

BARKER

Kevin and Shirley

Married on 17th May 1974. Wishing you both a very happy 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary. Your love has stood the test of time, and your bond continues to inspire us all. With love, from Trevor & Shona, Simon & Kylie and Brendon & Chenel and your much cherished six grandchildren.

COLLECTION of large garden pots and Italia bird bath. Ph 021 211 87 54

FIREWOOD – Oak and Gum Mixed, shed stored. No delivery, pick up Leamington. $115 per metre Phone 0274 962 399.

KINDLING for sale, Large sack. Also, 9kg full gas bottle. Ph 0221 914 700. After 3pm only.

Section 101, Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012

PUBLIC NOTICE

Of an application for Renewal of On-Licence Kaipaki Promotions Limited, C/- Omega Hospitality, PO Box 50, Kumeu, has made application to the Waipa District Licensing Committee for the renewal of an on-licence in respect of the premises situated at 2/125 Mystery Creek Road, Ohaupo known as Mystery Creek Events Centre.

The general nature of the business conducted under the licence is Event Centre. The days on which and the hours during which alcohol is sold under the licence are: Monday to Sunday 8am to 1am the following day.

The application may be inspected during ordinary office hours at the office of the Waipa District Licensing Committee, 101 Bank Street, Te Awamutu or 23 Wilson Street, Cambridge.

Any person who is entitled to object and who wishes to object to the issue of the licence may, not later than 25 working days after the date of the publication of this notice, file a notice in writing of the objection with the Secretary of the District Licensing Committee at: Waipa District Council, Private Bag 2402, Te Awamutu 3840.

No objection to the issue of a renewal licence may be made in relation to a matter other than a matter specified in section 131 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012.

This is the first publication of this notice.

MEETING NOTICE

Pursuant to Section 46 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 notice is hereby given that a meeting of Nga Pae Whenua the Joint Management Body for the Taumatawiiwii, Ngati Koroki Kahukura ki Hinuera, Waikaukau and Te Reti Reserves will be held on Wednesday 22 May 2024 at 2pm in the Kaipaki Meeting Room, Waipa District Council, 23 Wilson Street, Cambridge.

A copy of the agenda will be available two days before the meeting at the Cambridge Public Library.

FONTERRA HAUTAPU

Annual Public Meeting

6 – 8pm, Wednesday 22nd May, 2024 Fonterra Training rooms –Fonterra Gate 5, off BRUNTWOOD ROAD

Please join us to discuss the recent performance of the Hautapu Dairy Factory, and the DairyFert Land-spreading Operation.

The discussion will be followed by tea and coffee and a light supper.

Please RSVP by Monday 20th May 2024 via phone/text – 027 406 1765 or via email –Hautapu.community@fonterra.com

See you there!

TREASURER

CAMBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC

The Cambridge Historical Society has an exciting opportunity for someone to join our Committee as Treasurer.

The Society is well supported and promotes the preservation of the history and heritage of Cambridge as well as managing the local Museum and its collection. We are looking for someone who has an interest in local history and would be prepared to volunteer up to ve hours a week to manage the accounting function for the Society and report to the Committee monthly. If you would like to work with a friendly and welcoming team, supporting the operation of the Museum and get involved in promoting and maintaining the historical heritage of the Cambridge area, we would like to hear from you.

Please email Je Nobes at admin@cambridgemuseum.org.nz to express your interest

Cambridge Health & Community Trust AGM

19th June at 3.30pm. 22a Taylor Street.

AGM Notice

The Maungakawa Environment Group Society Inc (MEG)

Date: Sunday 9 June 2024 Time: 3.30pm Venue: 136 Maungakawa Road

For information about the society and RSVP to attend the AGM please email meg.inc.scty@gmail.com

CIT Y WIDE C

CAMBRIDGE OPEN HOMES

Heritage funds hit the spot

Apply to dmleo60@gmail.com

Janine on 027 287 0005 or email janine@goodlocal.nz

By Mary Anne Gill

Restoration of the stained glass windows at St Paul’s Church in Rangiaowhia are among six projects to get funding from Waipā District Council’s Heritage Fund.

The $20,000 is $40,000 shy of what is needed to restore the historic window which was removed in December by window conservator Izaac Randell.

The fund assists with the preservation and enhancement of the district’s unique environmental, cultural, and historical heritage.

The latest round of $68,701 was the first under new fund criteria which makes money available to community members or groups working to safeguard the district’s rich and diverse heritage.

Pirongia Heritage and the Waikato Diocesan Trust Board both got $14,500 for exterior repair and painting at the village’s information centre and the board’s iconic Cambridge St Andrew’s Church.

Maungatautari Ecological Trust got $6987 for a trailer to transport items around the maunga and Lectorium Rosicrucianum NZ Inc has $10,000 to rewire its Karāpiro hostel.

Finally, the historic Cambridge Bowling Club has $2714 to paint its clubrooms. The club celebrated its 125th birthday this season.

The window at St Paul’s Church

Cambridge Bowling Club celebrated its 125th anniversary earlier this year and its clubrooms had a repaint. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

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