Post
Phone: 09 235 7835 Email: info@thepostnewspaper.co.nz Web: www.deedprint.co.nz/newspaper.html
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Vol 25, No. 22
Students’ efforts tidy up community
Mangrove cutters cut off as council reviews consent
The team that has been steadily clearing the Waiuku estuary over recent years - the volunteer Mudlarks - have been told to halt all work while issues over the resource consent are ironed out. Local Mudlark Frank Hagenson wrote to the Post recently, apologising to residents that they group cannot continue the work. “I would like to say sorry to Waiuku residents for not getting more mangroves removed,” he wrote. “We have been stopped by council as they tell us we haven’t conformed to the resource consent granted to the Franklin Council.” Frank says the original (Franklin Council employee looked after the group, and the Mudlarks thought they seemed to be doing things right after about three years of hard work, including building the barge that carries the cut mangroves. The group even had a visit from the Prime Minister, local MP Dr Paul Hutchison and Council representatives. “We were told to carry on your
good work so we did; some of the group decided to build the bridge for the walkway for which consents had finally been approved. “The rest of the group carried on after Christmas cutting and moving the mangroves. We had the bridge built and planning the placement of it across the gut into Owens Road when we were told to stop all work on the mangroves.” As Frank says, on the day the bridge was moved into position, a meeting was held with the head of parks and reserves and the group’s new controller who said the reason the Mudlarks were stopped were stopped was that they hadn’t ‘ticked the boxes’ of the consent. As Frank says, the group’s understanding was that the consent process was being handled by the Franklin District Council, but now it appears that Auckland Council are unhappy with the work done by the former FDC staff, and the end result is the mangroves look likely to start making a return until the consent is revisited.
Massive careers expo for all What do you do if you have a teacher-only day and a day off school? Well, if you are some of the prefects and older students at Waiuku College you donate your time to the local Business and Development Association to take on a community project. Town Centre Manager Sharlene Druyven said she was delighted when the group approached her with an idea to ‘give something back’ to the town, and pointed them at the overgrown banks beside Waiuku’s recently refurbished River Lane. The students took to it with gusto, and Local Board member Jill Naysmith said the interaction between the WB&DA, the Board and the students is exactly the kind of interaction the Board is looking for to seek the views of the community’s youth on a variety of matters.
A careers expo this Monday evening features representatives from a myriad of businesses and training institutes, and is open to anyone looking for career, study, or training advice. To be held at the Waiuku College Hall in two sessions (4pm to 5.45pm, then 6.30pm to 8pm), the expo brings together tertiary institutions, travel and tourism groups, IT, industry training organisations, the Waiuku Business and Development Association, a flying school, hairdressing and veterinary train-
ers, DJ and sound engineering options, members of the military, Young Farmers and much more. Organisers say the expo is not just for College-age students - it will have something for everyone from intermediate school to retirement age, whether people are looking at options to continue study, to make a career change, or to seek a vocation. A sausage sizzle fundraiser will also be held on the evening. For further information contact Waiuku College.
Multi-pronged approach launched to boost local rugby The complex issue of how to keep secondary school players within the rugby fold, and provide them with a pathway to senior club rugby, was addressed in Waiuku last week by representatives from all organisations involved. The meeting, at the Waiuku Rugby Club, brought together the local College sports co-ordinator, representatives from Junior Boys Rugby, coaches from club and school, senior players and management and
supporters of the game. While junior boys rugby (club) has few problems attracting coaches, few of them carry on with the teams at College age. The need for further coaching of coaches, and local training sessions for prospective coaches was highlighted, as was the concern that the game itself is losing players - in part because of the available grades available within the Counties region. The school-age grades of Under
65kg, Under 14s, Under 16s and the second and first XVs is seen as not providing a pathway for lighter players, who do not feel comfortable against far bigger opposition. While this is a national and regional issue as well as a local one, and needs to be addressed at higher levels, the group agreed it was a factor in players dropping out of the game. While some went to other sports, there are also a number who simply stop playing local
sport, which in turn has an effect on numbers in club rugby at Under-19 and senior level. The group is looking to strengthen relationships between the club and the school, assist with trainings, make the club’s facilities available to school players and to generate further discussion and information through developing an interactive website to highlight the opportunities available in the game. One of the first examples of
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this inclusive approach was on the weekend when the College First XV played the curtain raiser to the Waiuku Premiers (match report page 16), and the College players will also be involved on Sunday when the club’s new scoreboard room is officially opened. Anyone seeking to be involved in the next meeting in a few weeks is asked to contact either the College or Waiuku Junior Rugby or the Senior Club.
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TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013 PAGE 1
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