Callout results in new vehicle

Silverdale St John has a new ambulance, donated by a local woman after she saw, first-hand, the service that St John provides. Colleen McKay was at a concert in Ōrewa with a friend, when the friend took ‘a bad turn’ and an ambulance was called.

“A first response vehicle came, and the paramedic was wonderful as he did the necessary checks of my friend,” Colleen says. “While we were waiting for the ambulance to arrive to take her to North Shore Hospital, I decided to donate an ambulance and the wheels were put in motion.”

The ambulance was officially dedicated at a ceremony at Silverdale St John station on February 28. The event was attended by Colleen, her friend, ambulance staff and representatives of other divisions of St John, as well as Northern Region Patron Richard Blundell.

St John Rodney Area operations manager, Casey Stark-Allen, said at the ceremony that Hato Hone St John is humbled by Colleen’s generosity, and the ambulance is a welcome addition to the fleet.

Last year, the Silverdale and Manly ambulance crews attended 7707 incidents and transported 5755 people to a treatment facility.

A new ambulance, fully kitted out, costs around $249,000. To find out more about donating an ambulance contact Suzana Noth, email suzana.noth@stjohn.org.nz or phone 09 579 1015 x 8472.

Last month, Pinehaven Cottage staff put two and two together when Kathy McCormack from Mission without Borders put out a request for anyone who could knit for the cause.

Isa’s pile of blankets had found good homes!

Pinehaven’s diversional therapist, Jayne Minifie, says Kathy was delighted with the donation, and said many babies will benefit from Isa’s kindness.

Isa’s cot blankets will be sent to orphanages and villages in eastern Europe. Last year Mission without Borders sent donations

Blanket knitter Isa Ordish, aged 94, right, with Kathy McCormack. from the public to the Ukraine for people displaced by the war.

“Isa doesn’t seek the limelight, but she is happy to know that her knitting is going to a good cause and keeping babies warm,” Jayne says.

No free lunch for Councillors

Hibiscus Rodders’ recent Ōrewa Beach Festival raised $52,000 for the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust. The Rodders will take the big cheque over to the helicopter base in convoy on April 2. Co-organiser of the Rodders festival, Sharon Morris, says it is a great outcome, especially as the festival dates had to be changed because of the floods, and the event was reduced to two days.

By Laura Kvigstad, Auckland Council reporter. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. An Auckland Council committee chair has taken the initiative, showing his colleagues there is no such thing as a free lunch under council’s budget pressures. At the Planning, Environment and Parks committee on March 2, chair Richard Hills cut the free lunch of the committee as discretionary spending. This followed the Governing Body resolving to encourage cuts to discretionary spending by council, Council Controlled Organisations and local boards a week earlier. At the time of the resolution, Cr Hills was concerned that councillors did not have a common view of what discretionary spending actually is. Before going to lunch, Cr Wayne Walker, who had moved the Governing Body’s resolution to encourage cuts to discretionary spending, asked who made the decision to cut lunch. “I decided that lunch is discretionary, at least in my committee – other chairs can make that decision for themselves.” Cr Hills said. Cr Walker later told Hibiscus Matters that apart from finding out late that there wasn’t going to be any lunch provided, he also felt the matter should have come to a workshop rather than the chair making the decision. “I don’t see the lunch as discretionary Council spending,” Cr Walker said. “I work hard to keep my expenses minimal and I think the modest cost of providing lunch is worthwhile.” In its previous term, the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board stopped providing free lunches to members, Chair Gary Brown says. “We changed meetings to daytime, to save money on after-hours security too,” he says. “It was our way of helping with savings during Covid-19 and now we’re continuing in the same vein.”