Te Awamutu News | June 13, 2024

Five Stags fights for liquor license

Nora Fu is fighting to bring back cold beer to Pirongia’s Five Stags Restaurant and Bar.

Fu, the sole shareholder of the Franklin Street bar and restaurant operator Night Pearl, has been unable to sell alcohol since May 19 after the Waipā District Licensing committee declined her application for renewal of an on-licence.

The restaurant and bar lost its licence after an underage staff

member sold alcohol to a minor during a police controlled purchasing operation. The young drinker was not asked for proof of identification and was allowed to sit outside the licensed area and drink alcohol. Fu had previously been advised drinkers could not consume alcohol in the outside area in front of the bar or to its side until a licence variation was granted for those areas.

“We are still open, but we can’t sell alcohol, only food,” Fu told The News on Thursday.

The licensing committee was not confident the licensee understood the obligations or conditions of the licence. Fu had received help from two licensing inspectors, police, and the secretary of the licensing committee, but the committee found “there appears to be an ongoing disregard for the assistance given or an inability to understand the obligations of a licensee.”

Yet The Five Stags website continued to advertise “cold beer, great food, tall tales”.

“We are just waiting for a hearing at the end of this month, appealing the decision.

“It’s not good for business.”

Fu’s appeal will be heard by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority.

Waipā Pirongia-Kakepuku Ward councillor Clare St Pierre described the loss of license as “a real tragedy”.

Fellow ward councillor Bruce Thomas met Fu after her licence was lost.

“I don’t think she understood the rules,” he said. “She’s done a heck of a job, and got a professional manager in. I think she’s on the right track.”

Other Franklin Street businesses and residents would love to see the Five Stags get its licence renewed.

Pirongia Four Square owner Chris McDonnell said: “I am just disappointed for the community. I just want them to get their licence… It’s a real shame. We want to see everyone in Pirongia do well.”

The Hive honey and hand made products store owner Shereen Parker was saddened by the loss of service that came with the loss of license.

“It would be really good to have it up and running again,” she said.

She was also mourning the closing and subsequent demolition of Café on Franklin in 2022.

“It feels like we are going a little bit backwards instead of forwards,” she said.

“I love the potential of the area.”

Last year Waipā District Council granted building consent for a bakery and three retail tenancies on the site of Café on Franklin. Now the site sits vacant and fenced.

Pirongia has been left high and dry by a liquor licensing committee ruling – but it may not be last orders. Chris Gardner reports.

Last man standing: the Five Stags Restaurant and Bar is open, but can’t sell drinks.

Pirongia Four Square owner Chris McDonnell - “disappointed for the community”.

The Hive owner Shereen Parker – “it feels like we are going a little bit backwards”.

Grey Power

TE AWAMUTU

This is your invitation to join fellow members or potential members at our next meeting

Waipa Workingmen’s Club, Albert Park Drive

Grey Power AGM

followed by the Solstice Luncheon

A Mid-Year luncheon only $35.00 per head for a sumptuous buffet

Thursday the 20th of June 11.30am for a 12 mid-day start

For more information please contact Bernard Westerbaan Mobile 027 491 6763 or Michael on 07 8719006

Te Awamutu Brain Injury Support Group

We invite all people living with a brain injury, their family/whanau and carers to join us.

Support groups can provide a sense of belonging, make social connections, and share ideas, issues, and worries. It is a place to share, listen and support surrounded by people who understand or are walking a similar path. Everybody welcome!

When: Friday 21st June 2024

Where: St John’s Ambulance Hall, 31 Palmer Street, Te Awamutu

Time: 10.30 am till 12pm

We look forward to seeing you for a hot drink and biscuit and a chat. A gold coin donation is appreciated. Please RSVP Phone: (07) 839 1191 022 381 2369 admin@braininjurywaikato.org.nz www.braininjurywaikato.org.nz

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Ian’s’ all about ‘volunteerism’

By Chris Gardner

Volunteering is in Ian Campbell’s blood.

The 60-year-old spends up to 25 hours per week volunteering for the good of his community: about 20 hours as chief fire officer of Te Awamutu Volunteer Fire Brigade and about five hours teaching Taekwon-do.

All this while holding down a job with the Department of Corrections as manager of industries at Waikeria Prison.

“The Department of Corrections have always supported volunteerism and particularly our local volunteer fire brigade,” said Campbell. “We’ve got more than one employee in the volunteer organisation and they’re very sympathetic.”

As is Campbell’s community who he believes nominated him for a King’s Birthday Honours Award. He received the King’s Service Medal for services to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Taekwon-Do.

“It’s pretty humbling when you get acknowledged by your peers,” he said. “I joined when I was young. So, it is habitual.”

Campbell has served the Waikato’s busiest fire stations, averaging 400 call outs a year, in various roles over 42 years. The last 18 have

been as chief fire officer.

“Being the chief in a busy brigade like ours is quite different to a small brigade. I’m available 24/7 for managerial advice. However, I’m still active and still get on the trucks when required.”

One of the biggest changes during Campbell’s service is the broadening the scope of incidents the service attends, including medical events previously only dealt with by Hato Hone St John.

“We do quite a few of those per year now,” he said. “We go to just about everything these days which means we have to look at what the brigade is made up of in terms of personnel.”

Campbell manages 40 volunteer fire fighters.

He is also senior instructor at two Te Awamutu Taekwon-do training sessions a week where he passes on his knowledge to 15 students.

“That’s something that I’ve been doing since I was a child in the seventies,” he said. “I just stuck with it. I’ve been doing that for 45 years.”

On the beat with Constable Ryan Fleming Our week in review

Here’s how last week shaped up for Te Awamutu police…

Monday – A driver fled after a series of burglaries. Police attended two family harm incidents, a minor motor vehicle collision and a self-harm incident.

Tuesday - Police received a report of graffiti in Kihikihi. Police attended a minor motor vehicle collision, two warrants to arrest were issued by the Te Awamutu District Court. Police attended a family harm incident and received a report of a Facebook market place scam. We investigated a breach of protection order, attended a mental health incident and a shoplifting incident was reported.

Wednesday - We attended a burglary, a motor vehicle collision between a motorist and a pedestrian, a threatening behaviour incident, a family harm incident and a case of a female breaching bail conditions.

An intoxicated male causing issues in the CBD was trespassed from a bottle stores.

A vehicle was stolen from a rural property. Police received yet another report of a scam Facebook marketplace. Police arrested a female with a warrant to arrest and conducted enquiries into a missing teenager.

A youth was found driving with excess breath alcohol (The limit is zero for under 20

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years).

Thursday - Police attended a burglary and a lengthy mental health incident. We received a driving complaint, a report of significant shoplifting at a supermarket and attended two family harm incidents.

Friday - Police attended a family harm incident, received a report of a threatening behaviour incident via text messaging, issued a Police Safety Order as a result of a family harm incident, received a report of threatening behaviour, and dealt with a male who breached his bail.

Saturday - Police interrupted two youth interfering with vehicles and we assisted in an investigation in Te Kūiti. We attended a burglary, arrested a female shoplifter, attended three family harm incidents, a male was arrested for driving dangerously and another breached bail conditions, Police received a report of a breach of protection order, a male was caught shoplifting and three people were found to be driving over the limit for alcohol.

Sunday - Police attended a burglary at a commercial premises, a male breached his bail conditions and we attended a family harm matter.

His martial arts training has helped his time as an emergency responder.

“My martial arts training has definitely kept me fit and well. I’m a member of the Te Awamutu Firefighter Challenge team and we’re very successful on the competition track which is very physical.”

Campbell said his wife, Sharlene, and children Sam and Jessica, were the reason for his success.

“Although I’m the recipient of this nomination, and grateful and humble, the nomination actually belongs to my family and the brigade. It’s people, and the work that we do, that keeps people like me hanging around. I’ve been the chief fire officer for almost 18 years and I’m still loving it.”

• See: Gold star for Deane, Page 7.

Supported by Waipa District Council

King’s Service Medal recipient Ian Campbell with his wife Sharlene.

Waipā winner

A Waipā man has been named the Riding for the Disabled Tom Atchison Young Volunteer of the Year Award winner for 2023. Corban GeorgePotterton was nominated from a pool of 48 RDA groups. Corban is an RDA volunteer with an intellectual disability. He is supported to live as independently as possible by disability support provider Connexu.

Bid thwarted

A staff suggestion that Waipā District Council ditch its Age Friendly policy has been thwarted by a former veteran councillor. Kihikihi-based Hazel Barnes told last week’s Strategic Planning and Policy committee the community had thousands of senior citizens who were riding bikes, swimming, hiking and having a great lifestyle who had the skills to help and be part of the council’s engagement.

On their bike

Cycleway stats in both Cambridge and Te Awamutu show the last two months have been busy. Park Road in Te Awamutu had 2474 users in April and 2235 in May. April 29 was the busiest day with 160 users followed by 158 on May 5.

Job vacancies

Waipā District Council has 21 vacancies with 17 positions on hold due to the current economic situation, Human Resources group manager Stephanie Shores told the Audit and Risk committee this week.

Ombudsman’s call

Waipā District Council was involved with five complaints to the Ombudsman – including one from The News over behind the doors workshops – according to the council’s Quarterly Assurance report. Two are long standing, one is preliminary – understood to be this newspaper. A complaint about council’s refusal to maintain trees on private property was dismissed and another complaint related to a late Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request will not proceed.

Putting the wind up ‘wicked’ birds

By Mary Anne Gill

Just after sunrise every day, millions of sparrows, starlings and pigeons leave their roosting spot at Lake Rotopiko near Ōhaupō having created carnage.

National Wetland Trust co chair Don Scarlet explained to Rotary International president Gordon McInally and his wife Heather how important the partnership between Te Awamutu Rotary Club, Ngāti Apakura, Waipā District Council and the Conservation Department is to eradicate the “wicked” birds.

“All they do is to come here and roost, and sleep. Before that they undertake the final bodily function, which is to excrete and sadly that brings a lot of nutrients into this pristine, very low nutrient peat lake environment.

“That’s our wicked problem and we are still on a journey to mitigate that.” Waipā’s wetland

maintenance contractor

Murray Davies explained the latest plan to control the birds involved pruning off the bottom foliage to allow the wind and sun in.

“They leave 100mls thick in the bottom of the forest every might. It’s filthy and disgusting.

“We’ve got to find a way to make it uncomfortable for them to come back and roost.”

Birds hate the wind, he said.

Gordon – formerly a dentist in Edinburgh, Scotland - is the first world president to visit New Zealand and the couple’s five day trip included four Waipā visits.

The first was at Hamilton Airport where they saw a Life Flight plane, a partnership between Rotary District 9940 and the Life Flight Trust, which runs three nationwide Air Ambulance planes.

They attended district governor Bill Robinson’s Rotary Club in Cambridge,

Lake Rotopiko wetlands and Urban Miners in Cambridge which runs an e-waste reuse, repair and recycling service for the Waipā district.

So impressed with the Urban Miners recycling operation, the McInallys intend taking the concept back to their home in Yetholm in the Scottish Borders.

“This is fantastic. We take anything like this equipment, we just take it to our local dump, and I don’t think we pay attention to where it goes when we go to the dump,” said Heather.

“We’re going to go back and try and find out a bit more about what happens to the waste – the computers, microwaves etc. We just take it down to the local tip, it goes in a separate corner, but I realise we have no idea what happens to it.”

Yetholm’s population is only 600 people but Kelso, the nearest town, has 8000 people.

Earlier Gordon spoke about the Rotopiko

Here we go again…

partnership.

“We cannot do things working in isolation and working alone and it’s only when we truly come together as one that we can achieve great things such as you are achieving here,” he said before unveiling a macrocarpa bench made by Te Awamutu Rotary Club president Gill Johnston’s husband Allan.

“As one, we are better. This is the most beautiful spot,” he said.

“We recognise and

Thirty years ago, a young dairy industry reporter, newly transferred from the King Country, covered her first Fieldays. The News senior writer Mary Anne Gill will be back at Mystery Creek this week and filed her thoughts.

Maclain Swanson puts me on the spot – so what has changed at Fieldays in the 30 years since you covered your first one?

The Business Development manager says he was just starting kindergarten in 1994 when I made my debut at the southern hemisphere’s largest agricultural expo.

Well media for a start were in what was then the headquarters – the timber building which is now Exhibitor Services base – and we knew each other on a first-name basis.

We were well catered for too, literally, the food was brilliant.

The other major change has been Fieldays’ ability to innovate – the introduction of the Health and Wellbeing Hub and this year the Rural Advocacy Hub.

And it is obvious – there are more people and the amount of money most exhibitors have to spend is mind boggling.

Although there are still the little stands which have not changed in 30 years.

There will be politicians there – there always

were but I am sure we see more now because they realise Fieldays offers a unique opportunity to get the mood of the nation.

Traffic control and public transport is better although it does seem to those of us who live near Mystery Creek, that it is another opportunity for roads to be dug up. Now we have orange cones to mark where that is – I don’t recall them being around back then.

Maclain got me thinking about global warming too. He tells me he has never felt so cold as he did last year at the opening when then Prime Minister Chris Hipkins came in a desperate attempt to get the rural vote.

I remember it being ridiculously cold in 1994 too – gloves, scarf, double socks, singlets, jerseys and gumboots.

We had to scrape the ice off the Waikato Times yellow car. When I visited Fieldays on Monday, it was 16 degrees and raining, ever so slightly.

The weather forecasters were saying there would be no frosts, no icy chilly days and light rain.

understand the importance of wetlands in terms of our environment and the sustainability of our environment.”

He apologised on behalf of his forebears for introducing starlings, sparrows and pigeons.

“Hopefully you will find a solution to that this year and this very special place will be preserved and will play its part in the harmony of the environment. Thank you for allowing us to be on your land.”

Time will tell.

But what has not changed in 30 days is the excitement – Fieldays is here. God willing so too was I yesterday morning, finding the best spot in the media centre, trying to recognise anyone I knew and if I did, then what was their name? Bring it on.

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Account manager Ashleigh Trent of Te Awamutu tries out the Happy Cow scratch brushes on Cambridge farming and agriculture company Shoof’s stand at Fieldays.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

World Rotary president Gordon McInally, left, with National Wetland Trust co chair Don Scarlet on the pontoon installed over Rotopiko peat lake in the reserve. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

It’s 1939, and Meghan Hawkes looks back on the headlines in Waipa.

Guiding highlights

A Girl Guide camp, under the control of Miss H Gray Hammond, was held on an ideal site with excellent swimming facilities at Mr Clothier’s Karamu property.

Divisions from Te Awamutu, Ngāruawāhia, Te Kūiti, Huntly, Cambridge, Hamilton, and Putāruru attended and although the weather was often inclement the 34 campers made the most of their stay.

One of the Te Awamutu Guides chronicled their adventures noting that on the first day they immediately set to work learning to erect square tents. Over the next few days, they tried their hands at gadget-making and went on a hike to collect six varieties of native trees. There was a half hour of campfire every night involving the singing of rousing choruses.

One afternoon they had a most enjoyable half hour of country dancing. The girls also survived an electrical storm. Shortly after their arrival in camp they had been warned that an emergency call would be made. On the morning this happened the guides collected their knives, plates and cups, dressed and were ready in 15 minutes to hike away as ‘the river was rising rapidly.’ They then breakfasted on the top of a hill. A fancy dress tea saw Te Awamutu Guides attired as two Butlers, Winnie the Pooh, Rabbit, and the rear half of Eeyore.

departed, singing, in pouring rain.

News A Snip in Time

A huge macrocarpa tree felled at Kihikihi had been planted there as a two-year-old tree in 1878. It grew to a girth of 22 feet, and when the owner of the property disposed of the tree for 15 pounds it suggested that there was money in tree planting. The buyer expected to more than recoup his outlay by the sale of strainers, posts, and battens.

In peculiar circumstances Mr Maunder, a Kihikihi farmer, fractured his thigh, necessitating admission to Waikato Hospital. Mr Maunder was driving a tractor and when he came to a gate he got off the machine to open it, allowing the tractor to move slowly behind him. However when the machine was abreast of the gate a projecting iron bar struck Mr Maunder pinning him against the gate post.

Despite his injury Mr Maunder was able to reach over the gear lever and disengage the motor, halting the machine. Fortunately Mr Maunder was near his home and his plight was soon noticed.

On Visitors’ Day they indulged in competitive games, country dancing, fire lighting competitions and later, midnight feasts. Once camp was broken various lorries arrived to take the girls home. With books full of autographs and many snaps taken, they

Some vandal or vandals caused considerable damage at the municipal septic tank located near the bank of the Mangapiko stream at the end of Daphne Street just off the Paterangi Road. Somebody had got into the building, removing the heavy timber covering the tank, smashed the earthenware fixtures, and also the concrete steps leading to the sewer equipment. A terrible mess had been made, causing a great deal of trouble in restoring the tank to serviceability.

AGE OF REASON

GP system - oh the pain

By Peter Carr

The previous government elected to re-shape the national health service by demolishing district health boards. In part I supported this move as I had never had faith in poorly-elected inexperienced wannabees (as governance people) dictating policy that affected the lives of people.

Many shook their heads at the (then) government’s move, but New Zealand is over-full of doomsayers.

The reason for this health-centred opinion this week is that, over recent weeks, I have been through the health system treadmill due to a very painful back problem.

Unable to see my GP for at least three weeks I elected a ($30) walk-in triage at my local medical centre where the highly pleasant and helpful triage nurse directed me to a duty doctor (‘may take up to two hours wait Peter’).

This very pleasant overseas-trained doctor prescribed antibiotics and told me to return in two days if it did not have a positive effect. It did not and I returned to find myself with yet another overseas educated doctor.

So, the first question is just how many days a week are GPs actually in their clinics? And why? Are their earnings too high – are they exhausted – or they just fed up with the system? Each of those GP visits cost $60. Bill now $150.

Informatively I have read that the country is short of 500 GPs.

Due to a formal meeting in Wellington the following week – and with increasing pain – I attended a public clinic where a very helpful doctor prescribed much stronger antibiotics. And the pain continued.

Overall bill now climbs to $295 - in a ‘free’ health system.

I returned to Cambridge and the pain grew over the long weekend, so we elected to attend the Te Awamutu Mahoe Clinic – another three hour wait –on King’s Birthday.

The helpful duty GP phoned the surgical registrar at Waikato ED stating that I needed ‘acute’ care. (Bill now climbs to $390). And off we trundled to the frustrating horror of ED at the main hospital.

The staff were brilliant, caring, helpful and continually apologising for yet another three hours wait.

The collection of sick and those just hiding from the cold air outside was pitiful and depressing. The portly and short statured ‘guard’ shows how low and ineffective the security really is.

Once through yet another triage, the subsequent meeting with the surgical registrar changed everything to ‘green’ and I was in a bed by 5pm.

From that moment on I have total praise for every hospital staff member I met.

From the surgeon through to the nice lady who provided sustenance once the operation was complete.

The care, humour, requisite discipline - all A1 plus. Being in a mixed-gender 5-bed room was interesting – resulting in my apologising to the two lady patients for my snoring cacophony.

The key question to all of you is this – when will the GP system collapse causing people to lose faith and go directly to an already overstretched hospital?

I give it a maximum of five years regardless of which political parties are in power.

HEADS UP, WE’RE FLYING BY!

From Monday 17 June, we’ll use a helicopter for a day or two to survey our lines and equipment in your area. This survey is crucial for ensuring your lights stay on and our community stays safe.

The footage we gather will help identify areas needing maintenance, repairs, or replacement. Our aircraft will fly over Waipā Networks-owned lines and infrastructure, capturing visual footage of equipment only – no private property or livestock!

The survey is weather-dependent, so stay tuned on our social media for updates!

A sanctuary under threat

By Chris Gardner

A cash flow crisis could force the closure of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari by the end of August.

“Prior to Wednesday we would be looking at six weeks before we were going to shut up shop,” Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari general manager Helen Hughes told The News on Friday. The Maungatautari

Ecological Island Trust, which operates the $5000 a day 3400-hectare predatorproof enclosure, the world’s largest, collected $83,600 in ticket sales from 380 people at a gala dinner and art auction last week. They were 20 $220 tickets short of a sell-out.

“My hope is money that we have raised will give us a bit more breathing space to take us until the end of August to try and find the

funds to bridge the gap,” said Hughes, who took on the role eight months ago.

Hughes is focussed on fundraising, while investigating what “shutting up shop” could look like at the end of August as she currently doesn’t know.

“We have got an immediate cash flow issue.

The trust has been going backwards in terms of revenue for a long time.”

The loss of the contestable

Department of Conservation Community Fund had cost the organisation $300,000 a year over the last four years and other sources of funding had dried up in the worsening economic climate.

“What we are seeing is a reduction in funding. Central government and funding organisations have cash constraints.”

Hughes and trust co-chair Don Scarlet are seeking help to fill the funding shortfall.

“We are seriously cash constrained, because that’s what’s happening in the community,” Scarlet said. “Everyone is doing it hard; we are doing it hard.”

Sanctuary Mountain’s 18 full time equivalent staff welcomed a record 20,000 visitors in the last year, including 4000 school students.

“We had a fantastic fundraising gala dinner and auction. Almost 400 people were there for one reason – to support that amazing project.”

“We are trying to keep doing everything we need to do to keep the fence secure, to keep the kiwi secure, kākāpō maintained and our enclosure secure.”

The fence was breached twice in May in high winds.

Scarlet said it was too early to report the trust’s financial position as accounts were being prepared for auditing.

Asked how much cash the trust needed, Scarlett said: “How long is a piece of string? I would love half a million dollars at the moment to build resilience and another two and half million to build a new visitor centre.”

“Half a million dollars

would give us 12 to 18 months of breathing space,” Hughes said.

“Three thousand people giving us $25 per month would solve it.”

“I would love anyone who supports this project to find a little bit of cash in their wallet and send it our way,” Scarlet said.

Hughes said she was feeling deflated.

“I feel like I am screaming in a crowded space, and nobody is listening,” she said.

“I am focussed on trying to solve this problem. I am tired. It’s an emotionally trying process. I believe passionately in what we are doing. I don’t want to see us fail. I believe that we will get there. This is a community led initiative and it’s going to need the community of New Zealand to solve it.”

Photo: Quinn Dallinger.

Helen Hughes

The magic of a Morgan

By Mary Anne Gill

Cazna Payne is adamant husband Steve loves their 1960 cream Morgan 4/4 more than her.

And when asked to refute that, the Te Awamutu man hesitates, confirming his wife’s assertion.

But it is clear they both have a soft spot for one of the British car company’s cherished models as they wait to start in the Waikato Veteran and Vintage Car Club’s annual double 50 classic car rally on Saturday.

They were among 67 entrants from around the Waikato, Wellsford, North Shore, Auckland, South Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taupō.

The rally – based in Cambridge this year - catered for vehicles that were at least 30 years old and could be cars, light trucks as well as motorcycles in their original or restored condition.

Entrants travelled about 80km – give or take depending on missed turns – in the morning and another 80 in the afternoon.

Lunch was in Putāruru at the Timber Museum while rally plotter Bryan Cossey had set a route around the South Waikato and Waipā which tested navigators’ skills but in his words was a “nice, easy rally.”

Cazna (Anzac spelt backwards) and Steve first became acquainted with their Morgan 4/4 in the early 1980s when they were in their 20s.

They thought nothing more of it until 2012 when someone told them a Morgan 4/4 was for sale in Nelson. So, they flew down and quickly realised it was the same car they drove in years before.

“It was like being reunited with an old friend,” said Cazna who says the car – both refer to it as ‘she’ – can reach speeds of 70 miles (112km) per hour.

“No 100 miles (160km) per hour,” Steve chips in.

The Morgan 4/4 was built between 1936 and 2018 and holds the record as the longest running production vehicle in the world. It also featured in a number of movies and television shows.

Fame, Columbo, Lovejoy, Dempsey and Makepeace, Dangerfield, Keeping up Appearances and Midsomer Murders all used Morgan 4s in television episodes.

But perhaps the most famous appearance was in the film War of the Roses, where Michael Douglas’ character owned a 1960 Morgan +4 Roadster which his wife Kathleen Turner spitefully ran over and crushed.

A Waikato thing

Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management and Customer, Community and Services manager Drew Mehrtens discusses a podcast which tells the story of our land.

I first read Dr Janine Krippner’s column in this paper when I was thinking about making a podcast for the Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group.

Janine’s ability to communicate the history and the science through great storytelling is outstanding, and rare.

We connected through this paper and I asked her if she’d be open to being part of the Volcano episode of our podcast: A Waikato Thing.

Cut to: Janine, sitting near the top of Mt Ruapehu, on the breathtaking lava field, hiding from the wind behind a giant chunk of sharp rock talking into my microphone.

The resulting podcast has

no host or interviewer, but it’s a series of stories told by multiple scientists like Dr Krippner, all intercut, weaving a single thematic narrative making up each episode.

We all made A Waikato Thing from a place of curiosity, a sense of home and a desire to help our Waikato communities.

Researchers, scientists and experts, like Janine, have generously explained our most powerful natural phenomena.

In addition, we pull back the curtains on the psychology of warning messages with Sally Potter. Discover the future of AI for flood forecasting with Dr Phil Mourot. Geological

and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) scientist Brad Scott will take you to the geothermal areas of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and explain some of those things you hear but may never have had a chance to ask a volcanologist or geologist, such as: what is earthquake weather? Why have people reported waves in footpaths during earthquakes when no concrete was cracked?

Principal scientist - and dad - Graham Leonard takes us even deeper, with insights from the 10 year supervolcano Eclipse Project, while also giving us fun ways to teach kids how volcanoes work. Rick Liefting and Whitney Mills from our Hazards Technical

Advisory Group, give us insights about flooding, earthquakes and tsunami. For those on the west coast, get an insight into giant underwater landslides from our past that shaped our coastline. See the Waipā and King Country in ways you may never have before.

Travel east across the Waikato into the scarps you encounter when travelling toward Morrinsville and through the Piako. Then across the Hauraki Plains to the Coromandel where you’ll understand more about our flood protection systems and a different kind of tsunami to what people often expect.

In addition to these and more from our science community, you’ll even get a masterclass on our region’s mātauranga Maōri from Waikato-Tainui’s Rahui Papa. Unlock the secrets of a form of storytelling known as pūrākau where clues to our event history are embedded in epic stories.

And I’ve only scratched

HIGHLIGHTS:

the surface of what’s in the podcast. We even have bonus interviews with our experts explaining how they became who they are todayinspiration for any interested in trying something new at any age.

It’s been a fascinating journey for me.

• More details, see teawamutunews.nz

14 - 28 November 2024

• Popular well-paced excursion

• Three nights in Strahan and Hobart

• Explore the North West corner

• Cruise on the Gordon River

• Ride on the Wilderness Explorer Train

• Private guided Tour of Port Arthur

• Salamanca Markets

COMMENT

Dr Janine Krippner

Drew Mehrtens

Steve and Cazna Payne of Te Awamutu with their “old friend” a 1960 cream Morgan 4/4.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill

Gold star for Deane

By Chris Gardner

Deane Mark wanted to be just his workmate, now his daughter wants to be just like him.

Mark, 48, applied to be a volunteer firefighter 30 years ago when he worked at Erg Automotive in Te Awamutu.

He was intrigued by a colleague who used to run to the fire station every time the siren sounded.

“I decided to join up then,” he said.

The colleague who inspired him is long gone from the service, but Mark remains.

He will be presented with his 25-year Gold Star on June 29 with his daughter Addy, 18, alongside him in uniform, fulfilling a long-held dream. She’s been joining her dad at the fire station for two years.

Mark’s wife, Ange, and younger daughter, Kenzee, 11, will also attend the occasion.

Mark doesn’t remember his first call out. It was about six months after he signed up, but his first fire was on Taylor’s Hill, Te Awamutu, where the occupants escaped the flames and Mark’s crew extinguished them.

“It was pretty much destroyed,” he remembered.

In 2001 Mark took a leave of absence from firefighting to establish his own business, Deane Mark Autoelectrical, in Ōtorohanga. He returned to Te Awamutu

after hiring an Ōtorohanga manager five years later and established a second branch. He’s just sold the business after establishing Caravan Import UK.

Mark returned to the fire service in time to join the effort to extinguish the Tamahere Cool store blaze and subsequent explosion that killed Derek Lovell in 2008.

“We spent a few days there,” he said.

Mark considers earning his Lions award from the United Fire Brigades’ Association Firefighter Challenge as his biggest achievement.

So how many hours a week does he spend at the fire station when responding to calls?

“Quite a few because we do a lot of training and fundraising, I look after the property, and there’s lots of social things,” he said.

“You do spend a lot of time down there. It’s up to you what you want to put into the place, but the more you put in, the more you get out of it.

“It’s a great place to be part of. When you’re a part of that place, you want to do things for the place.”

Te Awamutu chief fire officer Ian Campbell said Mark had given 25 years of extra ordinary service.

“Deane’s a very, very capable senior firefighter,” Campbell said. “He brings a lot of skills and does a lot of work that’s unsung.”

Rodeo sisters

sisters Lylah and Riley Woods will compete in the United States next month as part of New Zealand’s first High School Rodeo team taking part at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Wyoming. The Waikato Rodeo Club teens will help make up

the Kiwi team of five at the event.

Lylah, 16, will compete in the breakaway roping section and Riley, 14, in the barrel racing and team roping.

A fundraiser in support of their trip will take place at Te Awamutu’s Storyteller Eatery & Bar on June 22.

Helping the environment

Te Awamutu Primary students planted 414 native plants on a farm in Ngahape, south of the town. The plants included mānuka, harakeke and karamū. The group enjoyed a a lot of parent support and all the plants were in the ground by lunchtime.

The planting coincided with Trees for Survival’s ‘Donate a Native Tree’ week.

Every donation made at Trees for Survival at the end of May gifts a native tree to a Trees for Survival school for students to grow.

Senior firefighter Deane Mark, left, receives his 25-year Gold Star this month, with firefighter daughter Addy, right, at his side.

Pirongia

Students supported the Trees for Survival Project.

TE AWAMUTU Spotlight on

Fruit Monster

The owners of Fruit Monster have been bringing the same friendliness and warmth to customers since 2009. Their simple aim is to provide Te Awamutu with the freshest possible produce –while at the same time keeping prices as low as possible. Along with a range of Filipino groceries and spices sourced from Auckland.

Hunt murray hunt furnishers

Murray Hunt Stores merchandise is forever changing, there is always something new to see. Beautiful home décor in all 3 stores and of course the Bedsrus stores stocking a wide range of New Zealand Made Sleepyhead beds. There’s something for everyone, so come on in and meet the friendly team. They’re here and ready to help.

Located

specials including all your favorite traditional Indian dishes, and plenty of vegan and vegetarian options on their menu. They also offer a selection of pasta dishes, from chicken and mushroom fettuccine to Chow Mein you are sure to find something to tantalize your tastebuds! Pick up a takeaway on your way home and experience what Spice Heaven has on offer.

ON SHAKY GROUND

When volcanic gases turn deadly

By Janine Krippner

Starting at 9 to 10 pm on August 21,1986, heavy gases crept along the ground from the volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon, moving silently towards villages and homes. Over the following six to 36 hours people awoke weak and confused, some unable to speak, to find that 1746 people and thousands of animals had died.

Gases are a fundamental part of volcanic eruptions and a normal part of our planet’s cycles. Understandably, there is concern and even fear about toxic gases during eruptions, but it’s not as simple as eruption equals gases that kill or harm. The type of gases and their concentrations are important, as well as how long you are exposed to them (breathe and exist in the air containing them).

Thankfully, volcanic gases usually get blown away far above our heads, so during most eruptions we don’t have health impacts. However, when the conditions are right for us to be exposed to high concentrations for an extended time, we have a problem.

We measure the concentration of gases by parts per million (ppm), a unit used for very small amounts of one thing (a gas) in something else (like air). One ppm SO2 means there is one molecule of that gas per million within the whole mixture, or 0.0001% SO2. Here are just some of the volcanic gases released during and between eruptions. Some others are harmless, like the most abundant gas - water vapour, and others have different environmental impacts.

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is irritating to the eyes, throat, and respiratory tract, and smells like fireworks or striking a match. We can smell this gas starting at 0.008-0.2 ppm and below this level some sensitive asthmatics can feel the effects. Exposure to SO2 over time can lead to headaches, coughing or difficulty breathing, and unfortunately those with conditions like

asthma are more at risk. About 6 ppm could cause irritation of eyes, nose, and throat, and 20+ ppm leads to paralysis or death after prolonged exposure.

Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) is the gas that gives the rotten egg smell at Rotorua starting at 0.0005 to 0.3 ppm. Our noses are very good at detecting this one! An interesting attribute of this gas is that we lose the ability to smell it at around 20 ppm, and increasing concentrations cause eye irritation and pain, respiratory tract irritation, pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs) above 250 ppm, nausea and vomiting, then death above 2,000 ppm.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) has no smell and is 1.5 times heavier than air, leading it to sometimes accumulate in lower areas (e.g., pits or basements) where it can be deadly. In this case we talk about percentage in the air, where at 2-3 per cent we might have shortness of breath with exertion, at 5 per cent breathing can become laboured, loss of mental abilities, drowsiness, and ringing in the ears above 7.5 per cent, and above 15 per cent is a lethal concentration. This was the main gas involved in the Lake Nyos disaster.

Monitoring these gases is important for understanding what is happening with the volcanic system and detecting changes in activity, and also for protecting our health. While horrific events like that day at Lake Nyos are uncommon, we work to understand what happens and why to prevent this heartbreak from happening again. For a more extensive description of health impacts from volcanic gases and ash go to the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network (IVHHN) website.

FAITH IN WAIPĀ

The value of a good leader

By Christine Bryant, Lay Minister, St John’s

Recently St John’s Church lost one of its most significant leaders and servants, Alan Empson.

At the heart of all that Alan was and accomplished was his deeply held faith in the love of God. It fuelled his desire to offer his many talents to the service, not only of our church, but also his community and, above all, his family.

For Alan, faith and works were indivisible. He exemplified the kind of leadership that is rooted in faith and practical wisdom. Memorial services and obituaries have highlighted his many strengths.

Not least among these was his ability to be an innovator in agriculture and horticulture. I teased him on more than one occasion that his farm with its verdant swards and immaculately trimmed photinia hedges looked like a golf course.

He always answered that there was plenty of rough if you knew where to look! In that self-deprecating line, you knew that care for God’s creation underpinned every venture he undertook on his land. Along with being innovative, Alan was always willing to share what he had learnt and to mentor others who wished to follow in his footsteps. He was generous to a fault with his time and energy.

With the passing of such a leader, the loss of institutional knowledge and quiet spiritual guidance is significant.

As one mighty totara falls, it is important to ensure that new leaders are identified and encouraged so that God’s love continues to spread where it is most needed.

It is somewhat appropriate, therefore, that, as I was mourning Alan, I was also

at General Synod in the process of selecting a new Archbishop for Tikanga Pakeha, the pakeha branch of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa-NZ and Polynesia.

We chose Bishop Justin Duckworth of Wellington to pick up the mantle of leadership from Archbishop Philip Richardson of Waikato-Taranaki. You may have heard him called the “long-haired, jandal-wearing” bishop.

This is a glib description of a priest who, with his wife, has dedicated his adult life to identifying with and serving “the last, the lost and the least”. Yes, Archbishop Justin does have long dreads and, if not wearing jandals, is barefoot, however, like Alan, he is passionate about the love of God to change and sustain the lives of those who struggle. He also thinks deeply about what faith means in a 21st century world, he is a fluent speaker of Te Reo – his first address to General Synod as Archbishop was in flawless Māori – and he is gifted at encouraging and empowering young leaders in the church. The new Assistant Bishop of Wellington, the Rt. Reverend Anashuya Fletcher, a vibrant young woman whom Archbishop Justin ordained priest just a few years ago.

Alan’s life of faith and works touched many people. His legacy of caring about and for his church and community will continue so that new leaders will step into his shoes and build upon his contribution.

Alan Empson – Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Murray

PHOTO: Brodie Hewlett, left, with mother Bev

Council called the crisis team

By Mary Anne Gill

Waipā activated its Crisis Management team after a Cambridge Connections meeting where mayor Susan O’Regan was allegedly threatened.

The drop in meeting about the site for a third bridge over Waikato River -held at Bridges Church on March 21 - was abandoned.

Some of the estimated 500 people who turned up lambasted staff and elected members about the plans to take swathes of long-established residential land for the project.

The fiasco would go on to be dubbed The Night of the Blue Blob – a reference to maps issued by the district council which showed large chunks of blue over hundreds of houses.

Council’s Audit and Risk committee met this week, and members were told the level of aggression at the meeting resulted in the Crisis Management team being activated to respond to community sentiment.

This “stabilised” the risk, resilience and risk advisor Genny Wilson told the committee. The team assessed the risk to O’Regan, elected members, staff and members of the public, she said.

It resulted in a “project reset” with all potential bridge locations

taken off the table.

O’Regan then announced an independent review would be undertaken to see where the project could have done better, reflect on what had caused concern and reset the project to get it “back on track.”

WSP will undertake the review.

Part of the multi-national’s brief will be to look at how the business case for Cambridge Connections was developed and whether the

project was consistent with Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency’s business case process.

The Waipā crisis team identified improvements to the council’s Threat and Response framework.

A new Meetings and Engagement stream has been added for risk assessment which include safety plans for common venues and procedures for operating meetings.

The council’s executive team

would get a register of meetings on the go and discuss whether senior management should be included.

Part of the criticism of the March meeting was that many senior staff – including chief executive Garry Dyet and Service Delivery group manager Dawn Inglis - were not present.

Community Services manager Brad Ward was left to abandon the meeting which had resorted into

a moan fest towards Transport manager Bryan Hudson. Neither is a member of the executive team.

The committee also heard that while the organisation’s top risk remains inadequate workforce and capacity, communications and engagement with the community remains an “extreme” risk. • For more, go to cambridgenews. nz

Seniors’ ‘changing dynamics’

By Viv Posselt

The government is working across several fronts to meet the demands of changing needs in our ageing population, Minister for Seniors Casey Costello says.

Speaking at last week’s Cambridge Grey Power meeting at Taylor Made Community Centre, the New Zealand First MP said the changing dynamics of seniors, particularly in terms of housing and health, must be factored into any new initiatives.

“So much of what we understand about ageing has changed, and we need to respond to that. We have to be smart about how we deal with health and housing in that sector.”

People are living and working longer, and an increasing number won’t have paid off their home when they retired, she said.

“In 10 years, 21 percent of our population will be over 65, with a greater number

than ever aged over 80. In some areas of the country, those percentages will be even higher.”

The view that most New Zealanders would live mortgage free post-retirement is also fading, she said, adding that over 20 percent of those reaching 65 today do not own their own home.

There was a shortage of aged care housing stock and ageing problems related to current stock, she said. Adding to that was a scarcity of respite-type accommodation, pressure around dementia care, limited psychogeriatric facilities, and employment shortages in the sector, particularly for inhome services, plus a cost of living crisis that is exacerbating the situation for all sectors of society.

“The model we have has been not fitfor-purpose for some time and has not been adequately funded,” Costello said.

“We are currently working on a number of

initiatives. This sector is a huge priority for the government and there is a lot of work going on.”

Growth in capacity and options is required, she said, and local councils need to upgrade existing pensioner housing and build more. “There are some amazing social housing projects being delivered, but they are not evenly distributed around the country.

Costello, who is also Associate Minister across both police and health portfolios, said the government was actively addressing issues around the cost of living and the provision of health services to seniors.

Budget 2024’s allocation of $2.12 billion for primary care and public health was aimed in part at driving some healthcare services back to communities, she said, and further planned investment is aimed at expanding cancer screening and lowering wait times for early diagnosis or emergency

There are only 5 one-bedroom or two-bedroom supported living apartments still available in the new Hanlin Building. These easy-living apartments are in the heart of our established retirement village with its own café and village shop right on your doorstep. Enjoy the community vibe and great lifestyle with the added benefit of care and support as you require.

Contact: Sandra Fairhurst 07 827 6097

Mayor Susan O’Regan addresses the controversial March meeting.

Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

Casey Costello, addressing Cambridge Grey Power last week

Price hedging gains traction

By Chris Gardner

A record number of dairy farmers and rural professionals have turned out for a milk price hedging workshop.

Thirty-two people showed up for the workshop at Fonterra Farm Source, Cambridge, a larger turnout than previous workshops in the Waikato, Taranaki, and the South Island.

“Farmers are becoming more interested, which is really positive, interest has been growing pretty rapidly over the past three,” NZX derivatives sales manager James Atkinson said.

More than 20 per cent of New Zealand milk produced by just under five million dairy cows in more than 11,000 dairy herds is being managed via milk hedging tools.

Milk price makes up more than half of an average dairy farm’s risk profile when looking at different costs and revenue streams on farm from season to season.

A pie chart shows milk prices make up more than half of a dairy farm’s risk profile.

Fonterra dairy farmers have been able to use fixed milk price tools since 2019. Futures and Options have been available since 2017, however,

they have seen more uptake from farmers over the past few years.

Milk price hedging uses financial instruments such as futures contracts and options or processor fixed contracts to hedge against fluctuations in milk price driven by climactic, economic, and political factors.

Futures can be used to lock in a milk price for a future season.

“Farmers pay an initial margin upfront which generally decreases over the life of the future position as volatility reduces and the milk price becomes more known,” Atkinson said. “The variation margin is marked daily to the futures market price.”

Options are like insurance, Farmer pays a premium up front, to protect them from a falling milk price.

“Options protect against downside risk in milk price and can be an effective tool for farmers who want to set a price floor,” he said. “There are a number of strategies farmers can use with Options.”

“The ’24 season milk price futures dropped to as low as $6.70 per kilogram of milk solids then peaked above $10.30 throughout the life of the contract. Every season can be volatile.”

Fonterra’s May 29 forecast was between $7.70 and $7.90.

“Fixed milk price is a handy way to get farmers started in the education. They can build from that to other products and tools.”

“A lot of other businesses use these sorts of tools to lock in the margin and lock in profit.”

“Farmers use the tools for hedging purposes, which means to manage their price risk and manage their business more effectively. So, if you can lock in margins above costs on farm that can build resilience within a business. It’s for managing milk price risk.”

Te Awamutu at your fingertips

It’s all on your local App – are you?

The Te Awamutu 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 Te Awamutu.

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 Te Awamutu App, look around, you might be surprised by what you find.

• Property

Sports

Rural • Lifestyle

Dining •Events • Activities • Art & Culture • Funerals •Jobs • Shop • Stay • Professionals

Scan here to download the app

Feds leader looks for improvements

A Federated Farmers leader has responded to last week’s story in The News where farmers were encouraged to lobby for better milk prices.

Waipā accountant

Jarrod Godfrey said Fonterra’s opening milk price forecast for the 2025 season, in real terms, was not materially different to what was paid to farmers 20 years ago.

Cambridge Federated Farmers chair Richard Myers said the costs of operating businesses need to be scrutinised.

“We need to put more pressure on the Fonterra business to improve performance. Fonterra has a work force of about 23,000 employees, three times as many farmer shareholders. When did Fonterra last trim the work force?

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

He said another important area where farmers had most control was over operating their own farm business.

“One of the major important farm budget items that can be controlled is imported feed. Growing grass is the farmer’s cheapest feed option. Every time imported feed is used there is substitution of grass for a more expensive feed.

“Home grown feed harvested is a major driver of farm profitability. There is real potential for improving pasture management on farm by measuring accurately average pasture cover, grass growth rates, drawing up feed budgets and diligence with feed allocation. We pay for Dairy NZ and there is much helpful information available from this source.”

“Also, we have a Board of Directors dominated by farmer shareholders six to three. How about a board of four each with the Chair the best person for the job?”

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

70,470

26,100

James Atkinson.

Beanies and vortices

By Viv Posselt

Two Waipā residents are pinning their hopes on a successful outing at this week’s National Fieldays.

One of them is the Cambridgebased chief executive of Brain Tumour Support NZ, Sarah Verran, who hopes the national organisation’s presence at Fieldays will help grow awareness around brain cancer and help boost support.

The other features the VS150 Vortex Stirrer, entered into this year’s Innovation Awards, designed and made by Swiss-born Cambridge resident, Naldo Zryd, under his label Lebendwasser.

He says it has the agricultural effluent problem in mind and can be used to oxygenate and clean water in ponds of all sizes.

Zyrd’s earlier invention, a water ratio imploder, was included in the 2017 Fieldays Innovation Awards, and he was a finalist in the 2020 Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Awards with a creation that also involved a swirling vortex of water.

Neither a scientist nor a naturalborn marketer, Zyrd, a trained chef, has been fascinated by vortices for decades. He found the vortex provided a solution when making ice sculptures, clearing the water as it froze.

“I was hooked from then on,” said Zyrd. “I have worked on several versions of the VS150 since then. This is the result of years of trial and error, it can operate using

small pumps and because it sits on a float, it can be set and left to do its work. I’m looking forward to seeing the reaction at Fieldays.”

Sarah Verran, on the other hand, is an experienced marketer, but it was her experience with brain cancer through her now 19-yearold daughter that inspired her to become involved.

The Brain Tumour Support NZ Trust started around 2019-20 to offer support to those diagnosed with brain tumour and Verran said it was important that the topic “is known about before it is needed”.

Their first Fieldays participation follows the launch of a new fundraising platform ‘No Going Back’, an initiative at the heart of last month’s Brain Tumour Awareness Month, entitled Make May Matter.

“A brain tumour diagnosis brings fear and uncertainty. Your life changes from that moment and there is no going back. That is what is behind our fundraising campaign,” she said. There was no such support in 2015 when the Verran family received news of their 10-yearold daughter’s diagnosis with a rare brain tumour. “We were thrust into months and years of surgeries and treatments with often overwhelming information coming from all sides and really no time to process it.”

She said around 350 New Zealanders are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour each year, with some 260 dying from it annually.

Brain cancer kills New Zealand children at almost double the rate of leukaemia; it can affect anyone at any age, and its causes remain unknown.

With no government backing, the trust relies on grants, donations and fundraising to provide patient and caregiver support. Central to that is their Brain Box care packages which go out free to anyone diagnosed with brain cancer, and which include a set of Patient Guides and an array of gifts, including what have become known as Brainy Beanies for added comfort.

It is these beanies, currently coming in by the box-load from around the country, which will be sold at Fieldays to help raise funds.

Pirongia wins

A Pirongia triple took the top prize in last week’s bowls tournament at Kihikihi where six different clubs finished in the top half dozen.

Prizes were paid down to fourth place and with two four winners and four three winners two teams missed out, with the least ends won and points scored.

The winners were Denise Te Momo (skip) Lynda Bennett and Nevenka Drnasin with 56 points

from 21 ends. They narrowly headed off the Beerescourt team of Wayne Wenham (skip), Barry Chapman and Raewyn Chalkin who finished with 54 points.

The best of the three winners was a Frankton Junction team skipped by Dennis Meinung followed by a Te Kuiti team skipped by Peter Lange.

The two 3 winners who missed out were from Raglan and the host club.

Te Awamutu hang on for draw

Honours were shared in the Battle of Waipā between Cambridge and Te Awamutu in the Waikato division one women’s senior reserve match at John Kerkhof Park in Cambridge on Sunday.

But the joy on the Te Awamutu players face when the whistle blew with the score at 2-2 showed the draw meant more to them than Cambridge. And that is because Cambridge

– down by 2-0 with 24 minutes to go – grabbed two goals and then peppered the Te Awamutu defence with attack after attack.

Holding on was a tribute to the young Te Awamutu team’s character.

Cambridge scored through Tahlia Hansen and Charlotte Watson after Amanda Carleton and Esha Fellingham put Te Awamutu ahead. • Photos teawamutunews.nz

Top three - Lynda Bennett, Denise Te Momo and Nevenka Drnasin

Sarah Verran, with some of the hundreds of ‘Brainy Beanies’ being sold at National Fieldays.

Praise for coaching ‘legend’

By Steph Bell-Jenkins

There was one person mentioned repeatedly after Te Awamutu Intermediate came third at the Waikato Intermediate and Middle Schools hockey tournament last week – coach Sally Davies.

“Sally lives and breathes hockey and her energy, drive, passion and dedication to all things hockey is astounding,” said teacher in charge of hockey Kylie Morrison.

“She has supported the school for years – she gives up hours and hours of her time – she’s amazing.”

Like the year 7 and 8 players, Davies was all smiles when her team won a tense play-off at Hamilton’s Gallagher Hockey Centre to finish third out of eight at the regional tournament.

The Waipā side beat Maeroa Intermediate 1-0, lost to Fairfield Intermediate 1-0 and then beat Morrinsville Intermediate 5-2 in pool play, advancing to a semifinal against eventual tournament winners Cambridge Middle School.

After losing the semifinal 4-1, Te Awamutu took on Matamata Intermediate in a tense play-off for third

“So

but they missed, so our player did a left-to-right drag and got it in the goal.”

Devon Howells, had done exactly what his coach had asked him to do – draw the goalie out and shoot.

“It was good, but I did not feel good before it started; I was terrified,” Howells,13, admitted.

Player of the day was year 8 student Cory Higham, who scored Te Awamutu’s two goals in their third pool game against Morrinsville.

The students all thanked their coach, who Morrison described as a “hockey legend”.

Morrison teamed up with Davies to run hockey at the school in 2015 and said she was “like another nana” to the players.

“She has even written to Waikato Hockey on behalf of students whose parents can’t afford the substantial fees, to insist that they waive them for the benefit of the child,” she said.

“Every year, I stand up at our end of season prizegiving and talk about what an absolute legend this woman is and how lucky we are to have her.

“In simple terms, she is the reason hockey at Te Awamutu Intermediate has gone from strength to strength since her return in 2015.”

which ended scoreless prompting a penalty shootout.

Captain Finn Titchener, 12, said the side missed three and got two but so too did

Matamata.

we had to do sudden death. Matamata went first,

Te Awamutu Intermediate hockey coach Sally Davies (left) shares the moment as (from left) Lennox Priscott, Jack Stroobant, Finn Titchener and Cory Higham swamp Devon Howells, who has just scored a golden goal to secure third place for his team at the Waikato Intermediate and Middle Schools hockey tournament in Hamilton.

with Jan Bilton

Make the most of roasts

I well remember my childhood Sunday roast lamb. That’s because they were always cooked the same way. The only slight variation was one week the lamb was served with mint sauce and the next week mint jelly.

Herbs complement so many meats. Some combos are traditional such as pork and sage and lamb and mint. But fennel with lamb is as good as mint if not better. Fennel has an aniseed flavour much admired by the Italians who call it finocchio and the French (fenouil). All parts of the plant can be enjoyed with lamb. Roasted fennel bulb is great as are the seeds combined with butter as a baste.

Rosemary is one of the most fragrant herbs. A little goes a long way and it is a favourite seasoning for all meats. Rosemary has been hailed since ancient times for its medicinal properties. In Europe rosemary is often used to help treat indigestion. Kyoto University researchers in Japan have revealed that rosemary may significantly help prevent brain aging — it contains an ingredient, carnosic acid, that fights off free radical damage in the brain — excellent if you’re thinking of having a second glass of wine.

ROSEMARY ROASTED BEEF

1.3kg lean roast beef eg topside

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

6-8 rashers streaky bacon

2 each: carrots, parsnips

300g pumpkin, peeled & seeded

6 yams

6 cloves garlic

flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1-2 teaspoons dried rosemary

2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lightly oil a roasting pan. Ensure the beef is at room temperature. Wrap the bacon rashers around the meat to almost cover.

Peel and chop the carrots, parsnips and pumpkin into thick chunks. Place in the roasting pan with the yams and garlic and toss with a little olive oil. Season. Sprinkle with the dried rosemary. Place the meat on top. Top with fresh rosemary.

Roast for 1 hour for medium or 1 1/2 hours for well done. Remove the meat and vegetables to a serving platter. Tent with foil. Cover with a towel. Stand for 15 minutes before carving the meat. Serves 6.

THYME FOR CHICKEN ROAST

Don’t worry if the grapes burst a little — their juice adds to the flavour of the pan juices.

Stuffing: 25g butter

1 tablespoons thyme leaves

1 each: apple, pear, peeled, cored and diced

1 cup French bread croutons

1/2 cup seedless grapes

1/2 cup white wine

salt and pepper to taste

Chicken: 1.5kg free-range chicken

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

freshly ground salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons thyme leaves

1 large bunch seedless grapes

small sprigs thyme to garnish

Stuffing: melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan. Add the thyme, apple and pear. Sauté on low heat, until softened. Add the croutons, grapes and wine and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated. Season. Cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Chicken: wipe inside and out with a paper towel. Fill the cavity with the stuffing including the neck cavity. Truss or tie with string to ensure a good shape. Brush with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper and thyme.

Place in an oiled roasting dish, breast-side up. Roast for 1 hour. Add the grapes, drizzle with a little olive oil then season. Continue roasting for another 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 74°C.

Remove from the pan. Tent with foil and cover with a towel. Rest for 15 minutes.

Serve with the grapes on the side. Garnished with thyme sprigs. Great accompanied by baked kumara or potatoes. Serves 6.

LAMB WITH FENNEL

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

25g butter, softened

1.5kg leg lamb

4 fennel bulbs

1/4 cup olive oil

flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup each: red wine, orange juice

1 1/2 cups lamb or beef stock

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly oil a roasting pan. Combine the garlic, fennel seeds and butter. Score the lamb as you would a ham. Brush well with the butter mixture. Halve or quarter the fennel bulbs. Toss in the oil and season. Place in the roasting pan. Top with the lamb. Roast until the internal temperature is 75°C, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the lamb and fennel to a warm platter. Tent with foil and cover with a towel. Stand for 15 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, add the liquids to the roasting pan. Scrape any browned pieces from the bottom. Boil until slightly thickened. Season and serve as a sauce. Serves 6.

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(6)

Cowboy show (5)

Across: 1. Fray, 4. Cobble, 8. Twitter, 9. Ounce, 10. Baby, 11. Ruthless, 13. Workforce, 17. February, 19. Trio, 21. Eerie, 22. Naughty, 23. Myrtle, 24. Tank. Down: 2. Rainbow, 3. Yeti, 4. Circumference, 5. Brochure, 6. Lunge, 7. Messy, 8. Tuba, 12. Argument, 14. Earthen, 15. After, 16. Copy, 18. Burly, 20. Curt.

Great detail (2,5)

Acclimatise (5)

Rosemary roasted beef

Thyme for chicken roast

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

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

Delivery runs available in the following area: • Alexandra Street, Tawhiao Street, North Street, Wylie Street and Leith Street.

Please contact us on E: admin@goodlocal.nz

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

Preliminary notice of the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

To be held at the Clubrooms on SUNDAY 23th JUNE 2024 AT 11.00am

Calling for Nominations for PRESIDENT, VICE-PRESIDENT, and EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (minimum of eight required) and FINANCE COMMITTEE (three required). ONLY FINANCIAL MEMBERS ARE ELIGIBLE. Nomination forms will be available from the Club from Saturday 25th May 2024 and close at 7.00 pm Thursday 6th June 2024. Remits are to be submitted to the Secretary and close on Friday 31st May 2024 at 5.00pm

Voting forms will be available, if required, from Saturday 8th June 2024 until 5.00pm Friday 21st June 2024. Current Financial Members only are entitled to vote

Tania Green SECRETARY

Tania Green SECRETARY