Nelson Weekly
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Selwyn Place, Nelson • theringmaker.co.nz/diamonds
Tuesday 30 June 2015
Gas-guzzling cruise for American car lovers
new All mises pre
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Lowe turns out for Waimea
Snow and ice bring winter fun
David Macintosh, 8, pushes Taylor Macintosh, 2, along the ice skating pond at St Arnaud on Sunday afternoon. Photo: Jacob Chandler.
The winter cold has arrived, but so has the winter fun. Last week, the ice-skating pond at St Arnaud was frozen enough for locals to dust off their skates and this weekend Rainbow Ski Area will open for the winter. The ice skating pond, located two minutes down the road from St Arnaud Village, has already proven popular with both professional ice skaters and families. Hamish Simpson, operator of the Rotoiti Water Taxi, has been hiring out skates for the first time, after purchasing the business earlier this year to keep him busy in the off-season. He says he has to check the pond each morning by making sure his foot won’t go through
the ice if he stomps on it. “It can be a little bit fickle with the pond. Sometimes it’s skateable, sometimes it’s not. You’ve got to be onto it and check it every day,” he says. Rainbow marketing and events coordinator, Georgie Tudor-Jones, says the ski field is looking in fantastic shape for opening day, this Saturday. “We extended our snow making to the top, last year it was only up to tower six. Even if we don’t have enough natural snow we’re going to have man-made snow right from the top from day one,” she says. To see a video on this story, visit
Nelson L ve
.co.nz
No cellphone funding for Nelson It appears there will be no immediate improvement to Nelson’s cellphone coverage, after Nelson City Council decided not to apply for a share of $50 million that the government has made available for upgrades of mobile phone “black spots”. Nelson City Council confirmed that it has no intention of applying for the money, despite Tasman District Council surveying its residents and enlisting the support of the Nelson Economic Development Agen-
cy to support its case for some funding. Residents from around the region were quick to point out areas where cellphone coverage is poor in Nelson, via the Nelson Weekly Facebook page. Many said there were black spots in Marsden Valley, Maitai Valley, parts of Atawhai, Cable Bay, Ngawhatu, Todd Bush Valley, Marybank and even parts of Nelson South, including the hospital. But the council says it does not “have any-
Andrew Board
Nelson L ve
Editor
andrew@nelsonweekly.co.nz thing on hand regrading blackspots in Nelson City”. The Mobile Black Spots Fund was set up by the government to extend mobile coverage into black spots of main highways and key tourist areas. Sites will be selected
following consultation with key business and community stakeholders, with funds allocated .co.nz by a tender process. Other funds set up alongside the black spot fund include the Ultra-Fast Broadband Extension and the Rural Broadband extension. Nelson EDA manager Bill Findlater says they were approached by Tasman District
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