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Ditching plastic and making change.
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A midwife letter to Chris Fleming
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Local football star off to further career Ollie Blyth
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
A
PHOTO: Supplied
lex Plimmer, a local football player who graduated from Mount Aspiring College last year has been accepted into Longwood University in Virginia, USA, to study political science this year, and has also been chosen to represent the university in football (soccer). He will play for the Longwood Lancers football team for the university while studying, hoping to achieve a professional career in the sport in the future. Longwood University is a public liberal arts school of around 6,000 students, and their sports teams are in the top division in the country. “I will be studying political science with a focus on global politics. In addition, I am a
part of the Honours College, which is an extension to my degree with classes being based on principles of community, leadership, service, and scholarship,” said Plimmer. Plimmer was granted a scholarship from the university which covers tuition fees, room and board while in the U.S.. He will leave at the end of the month to attend pre-season training in early August. Tuition starts later that month. With such a strong course, Plimmer also seeks to keep football at the top of his agenda, “what drew me to the USA was the ability to study full time and earn a degree whilst also being able to pursue a professional football career in a top quality environment, essentially in a professional set up. Football will
definitely remain at the forefront, equally with my studies and was the determining factor in me choosing to go abroad,” he said. Plimmer went through USA Sports Connect to be able to get to the U.S. for his studies. The New Zealand-run recruiting agency helped him, “to visit some universities and partake in a few trials before I decided upon where I was going to attend.” Plimmer is very grateful for all the guidance given to him by Rory Hannon, who also travelled to the U.S. for similar reasons last year. He is also thankful for, “the team at the Fit Collective Gym in Wanaka for helping me out with my training and also the Masonic Lodge for their generous grant.” Pictured: MAC’s Alex Plimmer is heading to the USA to study.
Northlake Hotel appeal filed at Environment Court Emma Conyngham
editor@thewanakasun.co.nz
W
anaka Community Supporting our Northlake Neighbours Inc filed their appeal against Northlake Investments Ltd and Queenstown Lakes District Council on Tuesday. The decision to approve the hotel was met with widespread outrage amongst the Wanaka community and they have shown they won’t take the ruling lying down. Lawyer for WCSNNI James GardnerHopkins stated in the appeal documentation that one of the main reasons they are appealing is that the decision gave insufficient weight to the Outline Development Plan and the reliance that the neighbours and community surrounding the proposal site gave to the ODP. In the original ODP the site in question which is currently surrounded by residential development, was acquired by their residential owners in the expectation that the
site would be developed in accordance with the ODP which showed two tennis courts and a business park, the latter with five small buildings (not a 113-room hotel). The commissioners ruled that residents who purchased properties around the site should have expected the unexpected and “[the hotel] cannot be regarded as fundamentally unacceptable even if it challenges the grounds on which people initially chose to make a living and other investment decisions.” For residents who have ploughed their life savings into a property on Merivale Ave believing they were to be part of a community, the decision has felt particularly abrasive. What has particularly stuck in their throats, is the commissioners’ ruling that “we additionally find that the inability of any of the residents living on Merivale Avenue and Mount Creighton Crescent to make submissions to us based on the restrictive
Northlake covenants (assuming that they might have wished to), has not impeded our ability to consider adverse effects on them and reach reasoned and appropriate findings on the matter.” Gardner-Hopkins contests that “Irrespective of the lawfulness of the ‘non-objection’ covenants, their existence resulted in there being no residents or directly affected community members before the Commissioners. Accordingly, the Commissioners did not hear from the neighbours and community affected by the application. This is problematic, as it is the neighbours and community affected by an application are best placed to identify impacts of any proposal on the environment valued by them, including amenity values, and making submissions about provisions of the Act and findings in relevant case law on these matters. In other words, the Commissioners were deprived of important
evidence on key matters. This is the direct result of the applicant’s non-objection covenants (lawful or not).” Gardner-Hopkins frequently hinted at the illegality of the non-objection covenants which reportedly could be contested at the High Court if enough funds were found to mount a challenge. For now, the costs involved in this appeal are the focus. Niamh Shaw from WCSNNI said, “This is an important move to preserve our opinion and give us the option to appeal; however, although we have every intention of appealing, there are significant costs involved. Bringing it to court is conditional on raising the necessary funds.” She continued, “If anyone can contribute towards the remaining $650 to lodge the appeal, we would be most grateful! Please feel free to message us; or if you feel compelled to immediately throw cash, our bank account details are on our Facebook page.”
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Alexandra hospital temporarily closes
PHOTO: Supplied
ALLISON MCLEAN
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
PHOTO: Mary Hinsen
Cromwell is lighting up winter Ollie Blyth
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
This Saturday, the Cromwell Mall will spring alive to light up the winter gloom with dazzling lights, entertainment and a night market for all ages. ‘Light Up Winter’ this year has been organised by the Cromwell Districts Promotion Group and will feature a number of exciting events. The evening’s celebrations will begin at 4:30pm with magician Jonathan Usher’s performance in the mall which will be followed by a mass lantern release at 6:00pm. The release, held at the Big Fruit Reserve, will be serenaded by Gina Schmitz’s acoustic guitar set. A number of competitions are also being held on the night, from the Light Up Your Hat to the Window Display competitions. Bridgitte Tait from the CDPG says that, “Light Up Winter is a great night out for the whole community,” and that, “we want everyone to get stuck in, so we’ve
made sure that there is something for young and old. There are three spaces for the kids to go hide from the cold,” says Brigitte, “the library will play host to the craft cave and face painter and will have two story times. The kids can also go have a play with Duplo and playdough at PaperPlus, while the older ones can hang out at the Youth Centre.” Bridgette and her team are also excited to announce that, “the team from MoreFM’s breakfast show will also be joining us this year.” On top of this, a number of food and drink items will be available to the public. “From bacon butties and hotdogs to lamb ciabattas and pancakes, there is sure to be something to suit every taste,” said Gretchen Nightingale, Community Relationship Manager for the CDPG. “There will also be lovely hot chocolate, warm Ribena, and lovely mulled wine to warm everyone up. Looking forward to seeing you there!” Pictured: The Light Up Winter festival is not to be missed.
Northlake residents hit by power outages Ollie Blyth
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
Northlake residents have been struck by a number of power outages over the last few weeks and have often experienced outages lasting up to three hours at a time. Aurora Energy, the area’s electricity provider, has said that on top of some planned outages, some events have been out of their control. “Aurora Energy supplies power to homes and businesses in the Wanaka and Queenstown Lakes areas,” said general manager of operations and network performance John Campbell. “The Northlake development is on the PowerNet network, and as such we are not aware of any outages within the Northlake development itself.” A PowerNet spokesperson said in regard to
Northlake, “The recent July 7 fault between 9:45am to 12:45pm was an undetermined fault and further investigations are in progress. The length of outage time was due to precautionary measures of dismantling the equipment for testing prior to re-energisation.” Most planned outages are advertised by Aurora Energy before they occur for at least ten days prior. Notifications are available on both the Northlake and PowerNet Facebook pages, as well as on the Aurora website, where an account of upcoming outages may be found. “Unfortunately unplanned power cuts can occur that are beyond our control, trees falling onto lines, cars hitting poles or a bird strike. Our crews work quickly to identify these faults and get the power back on as soon as is safely possible,” said Campbell.
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Charlotte Jean Maternity Hospital was forced to close for 36 hours on July 6 and on July 9 as a result of insufficient staffing levels. Facility manager Sue O'Brien reportedly sent the region's midwives a Facebook message that indicated an apology for being unable to accept admissions for births and postnatal care but allowed midwives to still use the facility if they supplied their own back-up midwife. The message noted that the Southern District Health Board (SDHB) had 'failed to come up with any solutions'. The news prompted Waitaki Member of Parliament Jacqui Dean to accuse the SDHB of 'sitting on its hands while knowingly allowing Alexandra’s maternity hospital to close its doors to birthing mothers because of staff shortages'. “Charlotte Jean Maternity was unable to accept any admissions for
births or post natal care on two separate occasions recently," said Dean. “I understand that hospital management contacted the SDHB, three weeks prior to the first closure, and again on the eve of the first shutdown, but nothing was done. So not only was the SDHB aware of the hospital’s staffing shortages; they did little to help the Central Otago community, instead allowing the maternity hospital to cut services on both occasions. She continued, “I find this lack of support is appalling, particularly when the SDHB is charged with providing birthing mothers across this region with access to safe and operational services. Central Otago women, from Wanaka to Cromwell and Alexandra, need reassurance that this birthing facility will be open when they need it and that no further shutdowns will occur.” Pictured: Charlotte Jean Maternity Hospital was forced to close for 36 hours on July 6 and on July 9 due to insufficient staffing levels.
Work starts on temporary hall Neil Sonnekus
newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz
Preparatory work has begun ahead of the delivery and installation of the temporary replacement of Luggate Memorial Hall. The immediate site for the relocatable building will be fenced off to allow for pile holes to be excavated over the next week. A site shed will also be delivered. While the worksite will be fenced off, access to the surrounding reserve area will not be affected. Queenstown Lakes District Council property director Richard Pope advised the scheduled delivery date for the prefabricated building was currently Monday, July 22. “The delivery will be in two stages over the morning and we will need access
via one of the tennis courts to avoid closing or affecting the reserve or existing footpath. Because of this, we will be closing the tennis courts on July 18 and we appreciate the community’s understanding for any inconvenience,” Pope said. Once the building is installed on the site, the fit-out process will begin and it is expected to be ready for use in mid-October. “We will be working to get the building up and running as quickly as we can for Luggate and the wider Upper Clutha community,” Pope added. In parallel to this, work has been under way to assemble a design team for the permanent hall replacement, and further community feedback will be sought for the operational aspects of the hall.
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QLDC acknowledges triumphs and trials to waste services launch PHOTO: Supplied
New scanner makes life a little safer Neil Sonnekus
newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz
PHOTO: Ollie Blyth
ALLISON MCLEAN
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
Like any massive launch to a new service offering, you win some, you lose some. On Monday, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) noted the ‘wins’ to the district’s new waste service integration but also publicly acknowledged 'it has not been plain sailing for all households'. “The Council, Waste Management and Wastebusters are committed to working together to lead the district towards its zero waste goal,” said Peter Hansby, QLDC general manager of property and infrastructure. “The first step on that journey has been distributing approximately 54,000 new bins to eligible homes. With a massive task to undertake, changeable weather conditions and some glitches in data around newer homes, it’s disappointing but perhaps understandable why not everyone got their bins for July 1.” Handfuls of eligible properties have voiced concerns about not receiving their new rubbish, mixed recycling and glass bins. “It’s been a huge undertaking and one we planned for 12 months but, ultimately with so many different moving parts, there will always be some teething
Diagnostic services at Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown will be enhanced with a state-of-the-art CT scanner, now installed and operational, which will benefit the Wakatipu basin and surrounding areas. The Siemens 128-slice SOMATOM go.Tope scanner, which has come with the upgrade to the hospital, is the second of its type to be installed in New Zealand and the first in a public hospital. “This is an important milestone in improved health services for the population of Central Otago and the Lakes District,” Southern DHB Lakes District Hospital operations manager Janeen Holmes said. Prior to the installation of the CT scanner, Lakes District Hospital only had plain film imaging. Patients who required advanced imaging had to travel for hours to either Dunstan, Dunedin or Southland Hospital.
problems,” Hansby said. QLDC’s project team said they are working to complete their deliveries as soon as possible. QLDC maintains a key focus of the service going forward will be continued education. It requires a commitment from all users to ensure the quality of the recycling is very high and can be properly recycled. If you are in doubt about an item’s recyclability, then throw it out. “We also rely on the community to take responsibility for the waste they produce,” said Hansby. “Whether that’s making choices about the types of products purchased or ensuring clean recycling goes into the right bins, it all helps. It’s early days but, so far, people are doing really well in response to the change in service although it’s clear that some in the community are still getting used to the new system and how it works.” By the time this article went to print, Council was optimistic that all matters would be resolved this week and the new service would begin to deliver as expected. Neil Sonnekus Pictured: Some Upper Clutha residents have yet newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz to receive their wheelie bin deliveries as part of the district’s new waste services plan, which launched Veteran local filmmaker Paul Roy on July 1. is looking for people from the old ground-culling days to feature in a podcast series about that period. Roy is responsible for two primetime documentaries, Deer Wars and Deer Devils. The former was about fees. QLDC general manager community services the development and early days of Thunes Cloete said the changes strike a fair balance helicopter hunting in New Zealand, between reflecting national benchmarks and delivering the latter covered the transition to live capture by helicopters. specific requirements for the district’s communities. “Both were real Kiwi ingenuity “While I acknowledge there have been some increases in fees, this allows us to future-proof and high-risk businesses with a key community service and improve cemetery many men being killed and injured. processes,” Cloete said. “In contrast, some However, it did result in the success services remain as they were. Most notably, we felt of todays today’s deer farms. Otago it was important that fees for baby and children’s and Fiordland were very much at the burials and ash internments remain unchanged, centre of these activities.” “I have some 200-plus hours of and continue to be well below nationally interviews already from my films but benchmarked levels.”
“The new scanner means that many people will not need to travel for a CT scan,” the hospital’s medical radiation technologist, Elisabeth Key, said. She added that the radiology team would be trained to operate the scanner, which cost approximately $1.1 million and was generously funded by a Central Lakes Trust grant to the Lakes District Hospital Foundation. Lakes District Hospital foundation chair Jayne Macdonald said the new service would provide the community with a sense of comfort and confidence that essential equipment was now available in the region. “To have ready and immediate access to diagnostic equipment of this quality in the Queenstown Lakes District means that potentially life-saving decisions can be made here without delay. Our growing permanent and visitor numbers will mean the CT scanner is well used.” Pictured: A new state-of-the-art CT scanner is now available in Queenstown.
Seeking old hunting hands for podcast
Council fees for dying go up Neil Sonnekus
newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz
Fee charges for cemeteries will go up from August 1 this year, the Queenstown Lakes District Council has announced. The charges will include changes to make headstones and monuments more robust, promote good health and safety practices for sextons and contractors, and reduce the number of non-compliant headstones. The fees will include a simpler structure and price list, including a simpler structure and price list, and maintenance fees will be included with internment
PHOTO: Supplied
need to contact people from the groundculling days. Most of these people are getting pretty old now and this may be the last chance to get interviews which are of historic importance,” Roy said. If you or someone you know was a part of deer history and would like to be part of the podcast series, please contact Roy at paulroy41@gmail.com. Pictured: Hunter and stag from early ground-culling days.
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QLDC distributes nearly $500,000 for local events ALLISON MCLEAN
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
PHOTO: Paul Maynard
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has approved close to halfa-million-dollars in grants for events in a cross-section of commercial and community interests. Nineteen of the 21 applicants were successful in QLDC's annual Events Fund; the funding decisions were made during council's June 27 meeting. QLDC arts and events relationship manager Jan Maxwell said along with promoting diversity, council had
paid particular attention to events with an environmentally conscious approach. “We have been working to encourage event organisers to consider and implement sustainable practices,” she said. New events given funding for the 2019-2020 financial year include National Secondary Schools Aerobics and Hip Hop Championship as well as the cultural celebration Polyfest. The anchor events, approved for $80,000 of funding each, are Warbirds Over Wanaka, LUMA Southern Light Project, Winter Games NZ and the
New Zealand Golf Open 2020. Another six events received funding up to $30,000 each, including Aspiring Conversations, Challenge Wanaka and NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival, while nine events received support of up to $5000 each through Council's local community support category to fund the costs of Council resources. Pictured: Guests attending the Warbirds Over Wanaka 2018 International Airshow. The biennial event recently received $80,000 of funding from QLDC’s annual Events Fund.
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Question time with Mike & Rhoda Mountz
PHOTO: Wanaka Sun
“Mike and Rhoda Mountz, from Pennsylvania, purchased Grace Farm on the outskirts of Wanaka in 2017, a pristine agistment centre for high-performance horse riding. Mike and Rhoda recently made a donation to help towards the purchase price of the Tarras church charitable trust to purchase the church building from the Presbyterian Synod.”
Emma Conyngham
editor@thewanakasun.co.nz
I was quite nervous going into the interview with American, Mike Mountz. I knew he was a Christian but I despaired he was of the ‘moral majority’ Trump variety; vehemently anti LGBTQ, rigidly dogmatic, racist, sexist and self-righteous—the type who declares ‘I am going to heaven, you are not because my religion is right, and yours is wrong.’ I expected to tiptoe around political and religious bombs for the whole interview. Never have I been so thankful to be wrong. Driving through Grace Farm, I am first struck by the names of the lanes that go between each of the horse paddocks in the new equestrian centre: Faith Lane, Hope Lane, Grace Lane, Mercy Lane and Love Lane. These are the kind of Christian values I can respect. I meet Mike and his wife Rhoda at a large motorhome trailer; not what I was expecting of a wealthy American investor. As it turns out, they focused on getting Grace Farm up and running to the benefit of the Wanaka equestrian community, before building a house. So for now, they are pretty much camping in a field. Mike is dyslexic and says he has never read a book in his life; not even the Bible. He listens instead. He is a self-made man who built up a car-wash empire in his home state of Pennsylvania, which he sold in 2012. The proceeds from that sale have given him an enviable level of financial freedom; a freedom that he used to shift to New Zealand and choose Wanaka as his new home. It’s a major accomplishment for a junior high school dropout who failed second and third grades. Every sentence that comes out of Mike’s mouth references God; every business story, every decision, every experience; not because he is consciously preaching but because it simply bubbles up in him. But there is no dogma; “I do not believe all the doctrines of the church, and I believe there are many ways to interpret the Bible. This has led me to formulate my own thoughts that I had had for most of my life. Along with these thoughts, I also have questions. You
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might find my thoughts and questions either enlightening, unsettling or both.” Mike loves Jesus but questions whether he was divine. He doesn’t believe someone’s sexuality has anything to do with their relationship with God, and that all religions receive God’s grace, not just Christians. For some Christians, this is heresy and yet Mike and Rhoda’s faith is an exuberant testament to people who walk the talk. Your religious beliefs are a sharp departure from mainstream American Christianity. Are there many like you? Mike: No, I don’t think so. I think I am the only one. My wife has been raised in a Christian home and they truly believe that Jesus was God, and so forth, so me coming into the picture, was a different tune to what they were used to. We used to have small Bible groups and I used to always sit in the back as the weird guy and I would always challenge everyone. I’d say, ‘how many people were raised in a Christian home?’ and they would all raise their hand. Then I’d ask, ‘if you were raised in a Muslim family, would you raise your hand?’ Of course you would… because that’s how you were raised! Rhoda: They would challenge him back as we were in a very conservative area of Pennsylvania, so his thinking is different and theologically outside the accepted norm. Mike: Some people say, ‘I found God on June 14th, 2010’ and I’m happy for them but for me God has been in my life as strong from the day I was born to today. I’ve been blessed to have that, opposed to someone who ‘finds god’ later in life. How did you end up in Wanaka and what made you stay? And why invest in equestrian? Mike: I stated to God, if I find anything I enjoy as much as I enjoy hunting, I will follow it. And as my foot hit the soil in NZ I just went ‘wow’ I’ve found it. I’ve never hunted since—I enjoyed the hunting but not the killing. As we were driving around on that first trip, I said to my wife, ‘I’m in serious trouble’, and she said ‘I know you are’. Rhoda: It didn’t happen for me in the same manner. When we got on the plane to leave we hadn’t even visited Wanaka in the first trip. I kept pointing to it on the map but we didn’t
have time. As we flew out of Christchurch I looked at Mike and he had tears running down his cheeks. We came back every year after that, sometimes by ourselves, and on one trip I came skiing by myself (2008) but the weather was bad so I only had four out of 10 days skiing, so I had time to look around. I was at Ohau, so I drove down here and sat lakeside and called Mike and said ‘I just found the prettiest place in NZ,” Mike: No you didn’t. You said, ‘I’ve just found the place you’re going to spend the rest of your life in.’ Rhoda: The next trip over, Mike visited Wanaka and that was it. It just felt good here. Mike: I found it amazing. I don’t mean to preach, but when I made that deal with God about giving up hunting, I literally went home and nailed my bow to the cathedral ceiling. I loved to hunt but I hated the killing, but I knew God brought me here. You said you thought God brought you here. Why? Mike: I am not exactly certain; I’m still searching for that. The farm here is a very small portion of my happiness; I feel the real happiness is going to come when I can touch young people’s lives. Maybe here at the farm, or at the church in Tarras… I wish I could tell you what the big plan is. When I put my foot on NZ soil I knew it, and on Grace Farm I knew it, and on Tarras church ground I knew it. There will be big things; but will it be in my lifetime? I don’t know. I was blessed in my business where I had thousands of young people work for me. There is no doubt in my mind that the farm is five percent of my happiness. There’s a much bigger picture than the farm, but it hasn’t totally come to me yet. It will be in God’s timing. What do you do with your time in Wanaka? Rhoda: My parents are still living and we have 12 grandchildren and 11 of them are in Pennsylvania, so that’s a draw for me to go back frequently. I get
a lot of pleasure working hands-on at the farm, as well as helping with research on ideas and concepts. I find my peace when hiking in the mountains. Mike: I work around the farm, but I’ve just come off a bad illness which I thought was the end of the road for me. Just as I was finishing my book, "Why Me?" it just kept getting worse and every day I woke up I was getting weaker and falling down steps. I’ve had all sorts of tests in Dunedin and Christchurch hospitals and they say ‘Mike we know you’re really sick but we just can’t work out why.’ In 2006 I woke up and had a bullseye on my chest. Doctors thought it was Lyme disease but it wasn’t, but I was ill for a very long time. I have more tests this weekend in Christchurch to try and work out what’s wrong. But I will go to my grave wondering why I am ill, with an illness they can’t figure out. For me my lifelong motivation is the fear of failing, but also, so sincere to me, is helping people; money is not my motivation. Money is a byproduct but not the goal of my life. I sell these trucks (Chevrolet and Raptor) out here, and I mow these paddocks and use it as thinking time. I know there’s a purpose in all this. I am just working out what it is.
PHOTO: Wanaka Sun
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COMMUNITY NETWORKS WANAKA
Money, money, money…in a rich man’s world available to meet people at the Community Networks office or at their homes, to support families to build their financial Money worries are high on the list of capability and life skills. Team Leader concerns that people contact Community Stewart Hawkins explains: ‘Our role as Networks Wanaka about, as living in our beautiful town comes with a high price tag. The mountains and the lake may be priceless but housing is expensive to rent or buy (and to keep warm in winter), it can be difficult to get about without maintaining a private car and food is not cheap (forget limes and avocados!). Wanaka is a desirable boomtown but the cost of living is high and wages tend to be low in the service, construction and tourism industries, with precarious security. For example, the slow start to the ski season has been tough for seasonal workers, so it is fantastic to see initiatives running such as ‘the ski workers dinner series’ with the Presbyterian Church, offering free hot suppers every other Tuesday. Financial stress is widespread in NZ — the Commission for Financial Capability and Wellbeing (CFFC.org.nz) reported last year that 69 percent of Kiwis were concerned about money, with 44 percent stressed, 30 percent losing sleep and 25 percent embarrassed about their situation. Help is at hand, assures Kate Murray, CNW Manager: “If you are worried about your financial mentors is to help people make finances please do reach out to Community good choices so that in the future they Networks, we’ll help you to connect with will not be going to high-interest lenders organisations which offer guidance and or running up the credit card and paying benefits. We can also offer a range of only the minimum each week. We want practical support such as food parcels, GP people to become confident about their vouchers and subsidised counselling.” money, and learn to plan how to use their Family Works financial mentors are money each week, with good debt, like a
Batty M Margaret Community Networks Wanaka
mortgage or an interest-free loan, and not be financially stressed each payday. We don’t want people wondering how they are going to pay that large electricity bill that just came last week.’
It may be worth checking out benefits offered by Work and Income, which range from help with rent and board to child and preschool care, health services, disability support, prescriptions and transport. Perhaps tax is your biggest financial concern? If so take advantage of the monthly Inland Revenue Department (IRD) visits to Community Networks on Wednesdays mornings. Make an appointment for help to understand your tax situation, fill out IRD forms, manage your student loan or to see if you are eligible for benefits such as Family Tax Credit. Tradies might want to seek guidance on being self-employed; for example, if you accept cash for a job and are injured you might not be eligible for sick pay, which can then trigger money and debt problems. Can you help? If you are in the fortunate position of not relying on your Winter Energy Payment you might want to consider donating it to the Community Networks Heating Fund to help local families in need stay warm throughout the winter, or perhaps you could donate foodstuffs or toiletries to the Food Bank? ‘Above all’, says Kate Murray: ‘Do reach out if you are stressed about money, seek support to help stop the debt and stress spiral, a problem shared is most definitely a problem halved.’ Further information: Community Networks Wanaka: 03 443 7799, 73 Brownston Street. Family Works: 0508 392 5392. COBS: 03 448 8072. Department of Work and Income: 0800 559 009. Ski workers dinner series, tickets from Cardrona/TC/Snow Farm offices.
PHOTO: Family Works
The Central Otago Budgeting Service (COBS) is another local support service that provides a free and confidential financial management service with information, guidance, and support. COBS also has speakers available to give talks or run workshops for community organisations or schools.
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Nursery Production
Bike Mechanics & Servicing THURSDAY 18.07.19 - WEDNESDAY 24.07.19
· · · · ·
Pruning Barista Patisserie Brewing Licence Controller Qualification
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P L A S T I C - F R E E J U LY Waste Free Fair sets attendance record ALLISON MCLEAN
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
PHOTO: Wastebusters
Wastebusters gets real with recycling ALLISON MCLEAN
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
In response to the turmoil surrounding global plastic recycling, community recycler Wastebusters has opted to recycle loads of it onshore. Wastebusters recently sent 17 tonnes of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), known as number two plastic, and clear polyethylene terephthalate (PET), known as number one plastic, to be recycled at factories in Christchurch and Wellington. The plastic was collected from Wanaka and Alexandra businesses, the two towns’ recycling drop-offs and Central Otago’s rural recycling drop-offs. Wastebusters commitment to ‘real recycling’ means that clean, uncontaminated recycling are sorted and bailed to be converted into highquality products. “I’m sure people enjoying their morning coffees in cafes and restaurants around Wanaka and Alexandra will be happy to know that the milk bottles used are going off to Christchurch be recycled into new things,” said Wastebusters communications coordinator Ruth Blunt. Fourteen bales of HDPE were sent to Comspec in Christchurch. Wastebusters
said the plastic will be converted via a wash plant into clean, dry and flaked HDPE which is fed through a compounding extrusion plant to produce an HDPE resin. The resulting material can eventually be used to make pipes and drainage systems. Fifty bales of PET were shipped to Flight Plastic in Wellington via truck, rail and boat where the plastic will be put through the wash plant, shredded and made into new PET sheets. Then it will be thermoformed into new containers for products like meat and kiwifruit. “Because Wastebusters has separated collection systems and we hand-sort our recycling, we can guarantee clean high-quality product for New Zealand-based reprocessors,” said Wastebusters business recycling manager Bis Bisson. “The key to the future is for society as a whole to use less single-use plastic and for companies to take responsibility for the packaging they’re producing. Limiting the types of plastic we use to a smaller number of plastics which can actually be recycled would be a minimum first step.” Pictured: Real recycling in action at Wastebusters thanks to the businesses, visitors and residents who recycle with them.
Wanaka saw a record-breaking 650 people attend the Waste Free Fair (WFF) at Lake Wanaka Centre last Sunday as locals brought their energy and enthusiasm for waste-free living through the front door. The WFF has become an annual affair in town co-hosted by Wastebusters and not-for-profit, voluntary group Plastic Free Wanaka; the fair provides an array of solutions for those who want to cut plastic waste out of their lives. This year’s events included tips ranging from honey wrap demonstrations to children’s upcycling ideas as well as the Japanese folding art of Furoshiki. “Our town has come so far in the last few years,” said Wastebusters’ Sophie Ward. “As a community people are taking it to the next level and going beyond the simple stuff looking for solutions. People loved the easy, practical ideas we had to move beyond packaged goods — like making their own beeswax wraps and produce bags. We had lots
of people talking to us about where Wastebusters recycling goes, and what and how to recycle.” Ward said they had two bulk food refill systems at the fair, both launched this month, which demonstrates how retailers are reacting to customer demand. “With no soft plastic recycling in the district, people are looking for an alternative,” said Ward. “Bulk bins are a great solution to avoid food wrapped in plastic packaging that’s destined for landfill.” The WFF team said they are keen to know what people thought about the 2019 festivities. Those who attended Sunday’s fair can visit Plastic Free Wanaka’s Facebook page to fill out an event survey. “It’s not too late to join Plastic free July (PFJ), you can sign up on the PFJ website to get tips on how to reduce your plastic waste,” said Wastebusters’ Ruth Blunt. “If you were inspired by the WFF, why not make a pledge to cut down on your waste. Start with bringing your water bottle, cup or container for takeaway food and drink. Every time you choose to refuse single-use plastics, you can make a difference.”
PHOTO: wanaka sun
In another win for plastic free shopping, Soulfood Organics just opened their bulk bin section this week. Paul O’Hara, owner of the store said, “At this stage we have got lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, peanuts, coconut chips, NZ quinoa, millet, sun dried tomatoes, and sultanas. We encourage people to bring their own containers, but provide paper bags at 20 cents if they require it.” Soulfood Organics also has bulk buying for spices, herbs and teas. Their refillery also includes apple cider vinegar, two local olive oils, Nelson olive oil, eco store dishwasher and laundry liquid, local honey, brown rice syrup, apple syrup and tamari sauce. Bring your own bottles and fill up as much or as little as you need.
GP Telephone Triage We are pleased to offer this new service. If you need to see a doctor on the day, we can have a doctor phone you and your concern may be able to be sorted on the phone or a suitable appointment made. Phone (03) 443 0710 first thing in the morning and ask for the GP Triage 23 Cardrona Valley Road, Wanaka www.WanakaMedical.co.nz Wanaka Medical - Leading the Way
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Dynamic music duo in Water quality buoy planned Queenstown for Lake Wanaka Ollie Blyth
Ollie Blyth
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
Two Kiwi musicians will be in Queenstown this weekend performing a number of original songs with New Zealand band Katchafire in anticipation of their full length debut album. Dillastrate consists of Henare ‘H’ Kaa on lead vocals and drums, and Tim Driver on keyboards, bass synth, loops and vocals. The two will be playing with Katchafire at Loco Cantina in Queenstown this Friday and Saturday, which will be a part of their nationwide winter tour. Driver says that the duo, “love playing live probably more than anything else in the world, so people can expect to see us up on stage absolutely loving every second of it! They can expect an engaging, highenergy set that mixes hip-hop, soul and electronic music into a single force,” he said. “We're also very busy on-stage, with my bandmate H playing the drums and singing simultaneously and me doing my best to play around five instruments at once.” Kaa and Driver first formed their group a number of years ago after studying together. “Initially we studied music at the CPIT Jazz School — now Ara Music Arts — from which we really synced up musically. Since then, we have played in countless
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journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
PHOTO: Supplied
bands together, the most significant of which were probably Ahoribuzz and Soulsystem,” said Driver. “Half of the tour is shows in support of Katchafire, in particular the Queenstown shows this coming weekend, with the other half seeing us perform headline slots in a range of venues around the country,” said Driver. “As we have been recording our debut album over the past six months or so, we decided to put together a full tour to get out of the studio and get back into playing live for a while!” Pictured: Dillastrate.
The Otago Regional Council recently installed a solar powered water quality monitoring buoy in Lake Hayes earlier in the month, and have announced that Lake Wanaka will have its own in time to come. The ORC commissioned the University of Waikato to build the buoy, which functions in two ways: both as an above water weather station and as a below water winch that can test for water quality throughout the water column. The technology allows for the lake’s quality above and below water to be monitored so that predictions can be made about its future. “The data from this buoy will greatly improve our understanding of how Lake Hayes is responding to the environment in both the short and long-term, so we can make informed decisions about remediation,” said ORC environmental resource scientist, Rachel Ozanne. There has not been any publicly announced deadline for Lake Wanaka’s installation at this point, but for now the technology is to be tested out at Lake Hayes. The autonomous electrically powered buoy has a variety of functions for measuring a lake’s quality, and is able to collect very precise measurements at that. “The advantage of this system is that water can be measured at multiple depths up to every 0.1 metre, allowing an understanding of important water column variables such as the vertical distribution of algae,” said Ozanne. As of yet, the installation of the buoy has already proved to be beneficial for the community at Lake Hayes. “This is a major positive step on the journey
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PHOTO: Supplied
ORC is taking with the Friends of Lake Hayes to provide data to assist in measuring remediation of the catchment and the health of our beautiful lake,” said Mike Hanff, chairman of the Friends of Lake Hayes Society, “It’s particularly exciting for Friends of Lake Hayes as a piece of technology we’ve long been hoping for.” Pictured: The Lake Hayes Buoy installation.
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OPEN Letter Wanaka midwife delivers concerns about local maternity care issues “I have lived in Wanaka for 15 years and worked as a full time LMC for much of that time. I’ve had the privilege of delivering hundreds of babies in this area, many of whom I now see as teenagers around Wanaka. I feel in many ways that many of these mums and their families are an extension of my own family. We spend 10 months on a journey together. Sometimes joyous and sometimes devastatingly sad. After all of this time though I still absolutely love my job. “I am currently working as a mentor for new graduate midwives and midwives who are new to working in a remote rural setting. Wanaka midwives are the most remote midwives in NZ; they are the furthest from a hospital. I also do shifts at the Queenstown Lakes District Hospital and work as a locum midwife covering rural midwives who go on stress leave, sick leave, study leave or holiday. I undertake some supervisory work for the NZ Midwifery Council, which is the regulatory body for midwives (the College of Midwives is the professional membership organisation). However, my first love will always be at the coal face ‘catching babies’. “Although I still work casual shifts for the Lakes District Health Board (DHB) in Queenstown, relieving employed, also called ‘core’, hospital-based midwives, I recently resigned from my contract with the DHB providing weekend cover for two communitybased lead maternity carers (LMC) in Wanaka. "It no longer feels safe for me, or the mums and babies. After doing 18 weekends on call, I couldn’t find any other midwife willing to join this roster. We have at least 10 midwives in Wanaka with annual practicing certificates, but they choose not to work at this time. NZ currently has its highest ever number of midwives holding an annual practicing certificate. Sadly, many of these midwives don’t want to work in this current climate.
“Our midwifery-led maternity model is not broken. The funding from the Ministry, the lack of services and resources provided by the DHB and a lack of understanding by politicians and DHBs about what midwives actually do, are the issues. “Fair remuneration for what we do is also an issue. We love our jobs, but we can’t pay our bills and mortgages with love. Here’s a snapshot: the first and second trimester combined payment for a rural midwife is $371.50 (28 weeks of 24/7 on call care). If I get called out at 2am to a pregnant woman visiting Wanaka, who may be unwell, in premature labour or bleeding (for any number of hours), I get paid a set Ministry of Health fee of $61.50. To put that into perspective, a GP can claim $400 an hour. That GP will often call in a midwife to assist. If a woman visiting from Wellington, for example, calls me out during the daytime for again, any number of hours, I can claim a set fee of $41, and this includes my travelling time to her. As of July 1, 2019, with our increased pay rates, this has gone up to $43. I recently asked a local electrician his night time call out rate and it was over $200 for the call out fee alone. A local plumber said at that time of night he would tell the person to ‘wait until the morning’. If only... "After 15 years of saying ‘sorry’ to so many people, missing my kids’ birthdays, missing funerals, letting sports teams down, walking out of movies, missing kids school camps, always going to bed early; I don’t regret a moment of it, but, for now, I am tired of waiting for change. “Over the years I have attended women miscarrying on their bathroom floors, delivered their babies on the side of the road in ambulances, helped birth stillborn babies and premature babies born at home way before they should be, attended countless unplanned home births, and, with the help of my amazing
PHOTO: Supplied
colleagues, we have managed, but it has taken its toll. Can you imagine doing your job only to be in the middle of nowhere with no ride home? It’s always an interesting experience. I have assisted at car accidents with St Johns when on the road home from hospital transfers. I have had the husbands of new mums offer to chopper me to Dunedin so that I can provide ‘the continuity of care’ that is at the heart of our midwifery model to which I assured them I would try my best to provide. “We have wonderful GPs in Wanaka; however, they no longer do obstetrics and call on us for most emergencies relating to pregnant women. The geographic isolation means that we are spending way more taxpayer dollars on helicopter retrievals from Wanaka. A heli retrieval sounds very speedy when, in actual fact, they take at least two to three hours to get here from Dunedin by the time they have gathered the required staff. It is a positive step to now have this available, but remember that people injuring themselves on a ski field have had access to emergency helicopter pickups for years. “Chief Executive of the SDHB, Chris Fleming, commented recently that he
considered it acceptable to have a baby in the back of an ambulance. There really isn’t much room inside an ambulance, Chris. Consider what it’s like to resuscitate a newborn baby and deal with a mother having a haemorrhage with sometimes only a St Johns volunteer/driver to assist. It can get pretty stressful in there. I would be happy to invite Mr Fleming along to see how it feels travelling on icy gorges in the middle of the night with no phone coverage or support at hand whilst supporting a woman in full blown labour, bleeding or with a sick newborn baby. I don’t believe anyone would agree that is ‘acceptable’ in this day and age. “For 15 years, my colleagues and I have paid for an office space to work out of. The new ‘maternal hub’ has been promised for over a year and will not happen in 2019. There is a small office that has been allocated by the SDHB. It is not equipped to deal with a birth and is in full time use by local midwives running antenatal clinics. We use the corridor to store equipment. “The amazing mums in Wanaka deserve more. They shouldn’t have to pay to sit in a motel in Dunedin awaiting labour whilst being separated from their loved ones. They also shouldn’t have to sit in Wanaka hoping that they can safely navigate the roads to make their way to a birthing unit or hospital. "The large geographical areas, the stretched service, stress, lack of colleagues and poor remuneration means for now I will stick with Airbnb cleaning. I hope the powers-that-be reprioritise women, babies and midwives to ensure our maternity service can once again be assured of providing the positive outcomes for which it is held in the highest regard around the world.” Pictured: (L to R) Midwife Justine Quirke with new mum Joanna Williamson and baby Phoebe, aged four months. – By Justine Quirke
SDHB response to Wanaka maternity care issues Editor’s note: The Wanaka Sun shared Justine Quirke’s letter with Southern District Health Board (SDHB) and asked CEO Chris Fleming for comment. Instead, we received a response from SDHB executive director of strategy, primary and community Lisa Gestro. "There is no doubt that the LMC midwives of Central Otago do an outstanding job in challenging circumstances. Some of the issues Ms Quirke raises were the reasons behind our review of primary maternity services that led to the system of care we are now implementing. While LMC midwives are paid directly by the Ministry of Health, we recognised that the particular challenges of practising in areas such as Wanaka meant additional support was needed. "As well as the pressures Justine has outlined, there are other challenges for these midwives compared with their urban counterparts: for example, they lose income when a woman they care for needs to travel to an urban centre to birth and it may not be practical for the midwife to join her. Rural midwives also typically carry out tasks that urban midwives can direct to hospital settings, such as antenatal blood pressure tests for women in the care of a specialist. Plus there were significant inequities in services; in Southland there were three primary birthing units within around 40 minutes of each other in Gore, Winton and Lumsden, with low volumes of births particularly in Winton and Lumsden (with Lumsden staffed 24/7 for less than one birth per week); while other areas such as Wanaka and Te Anau had significant population bases, but no formal maternity infrastructure. This required us to think differently about how primary maternity services are
delivered. "The Integrated Primary Maternity System of Care aimed to take a holistic view to direct resources differently, and increase the reach of services across the whole district. This meant creating maternal and child hubs in Wanaka, Te Anau and Lumsden to support midwives in those communities, and improve integration with primary care services. Additional ‘sustainability’ payments are now being made to remote rural midwives, with 21 LMCs across the district taking up this additional remuneration. We are also further alleviating their costs, by paying for room rental, plus equipment and consumables that otherwise LMCs would need to supply. Plus we are funding paid time off for LMCs with a roster of back up midwives. "Altogether, we’re now investing more in primary maternity services in rural areas than previously. We are pleased that five additional midwives have commenced or re-entered practice in the Central Lakes area since making these changes. The additional supports and payments may not be all they need, but is nonetheless a genuine attempt to assist this important workforce, and is more than was previously available to them. "While we set up a permanent maternal
and child hub in Wanaka, our interim solution has been to pay for a clinic room at Wanaka Medical and purchase additional safety equipment such as a resuscitaire. We have employed a hub coordinator, who is supporting tasks such as blood tests, and establishing new initiatives such as running ‘telehealth’ clinics for women who require specialist care, enabling them to avoid attending clinics at Dunstan Hospital or making long trips to Dunedin with around 45 consultations having taken place already. Yes, the popularity of this initiative has exceeded capacity, but that PHOTO: Supplied doesn’t take away from the fact it is a positive new service, benefiting many women, that was not previously available. "So while the physical building is not yet complete, the hub services and equipment are available, and there is greater support than previously. And please note that while a Maternal and Child Hub can provide support in the event of rapidly progressing births, it is not intended as a planned place of birth. We are however committed to exploring the question of the best location for a primary birthing unit in Central Otago, given changing populations. Currently women in this area are served by Charlotte Jean
Maternity Hospital in Alexandra. Birthing in a primary facility such as a birthing unit is not suitable for many women, however. And there is no short-term solution to the fact that some women will need to travel or be transferred to secondary care hospitals in Dunedin or Invercargill. A full, acute, secondary-care, surgical hospital, with 24/7 rosters of anaesthetists, obstetricians and more, is not currently viable in the Central Lakes area. The size of our district and the need for some people to urgently receive specialist care is a concern to everyone working in the health sector, and why emergency-trained staff, emergency transport systems and partnerships with St John are such an important part of how we deliver care here. Giving birth in an ambulance is not ideal; but in our context it is better than many alternatives. "Undoubtedly, providing safe, equitable maternity care across our vast district is an issue that is both important and complex. Our commitment is to find ways to make the best use of resources to provide the care that women and their families deserve, and we sincerely appreciate the efforts of the incredible midwives and others in our health community who help make this happen." Pictured: Lisa Gestro, SDHB executive director of strategy, primary and community. – By Lisa Gestro, executive director of strategy, primary and community
A response to Justine's letter from the Ministry of Health was received as we were going to print and is available in the online edition at www.thewanakasun.co.nz
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Crimeline HENDERSON I Ian Senior Constable, NZPD
PHOTO: Alpine Images
Wedding winners tie the knot Ollie Blyth
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
Wanaka-based Tregold weddings are pleased to announce that the winners of a $17,000 wedding package at the 2018 Wanaka Wedding Fair have tied the knot recently. Jess and Fred Armstrong, a Central Otago couple, got married at the Corbridge Woolshed and were supplied with services from some of Wanaka’s best wedding vendors. The 2018 wedding fair was a hit with bride and grooms to be, with local suppliers showcasing everything from wedding cakes and photography, to venues and styling, plus anything else required to tie the knot. Thanks to wedding organisers Tregold weddings, the couple were able to organise their special day just the way that they wanted. Flowers were provided by Jenny from Studio 24, which included a range of autumn colours and delicate flowers.
Paired with the venue at Corbridge, linen napkins and table runners from Whistling Reindeer, and tables, benches and sheepskin throws from Rustic Rabbit, the pair and their whanau were treated with their unforgettable rustic paradise for the day. Samantha Stout, wedding planner from Tregold Weddings said that they were overjoyed to treat the couple with their dream experience, “We were super excited to be a part of our most recent couple’s wedding festivities… We were blown away by the generosity of Wanaka’s wedding suppliers, we had so many people wanting to get involved that we had to turn some away!” The $17,000 prize was donated collectively by a number of local wedding vendors. The couple were over the moon with the service provided by Tregold’s planning service and recommend them to others looking to tie the knot. Pictured: Jess and Fred Armstrong tie the knot in a $17,000 wedding they won at the Wanaka Wedding Fair.
The week started off with the donation box at the Blue Pools up at Makarora being attacked with a grinder and the cash donations stolen out of it over the weekend of July 6 and 7. Anyone who has information about this theft is asked to contact the Wanaka Police on 443-7272 or call ‘105’. There was a nasty vehicle crash on State Highway 6 just north of Makarora on the evening of July 8. Occupants of the vehicle received injuries when the vehicle rolled over. A big thanks to all those people who stopped and assisted the occupants until police, fire and ambulance staff arrived. On July 11, we dealt with a local driver who happily took the advice of local police and booked an appointment with his GP to get a medical clearance to continue driving his car. If you know someone in a similar situation and think they may not be fit to drive, then book in a conversation with your GP just to be sure. On July 12, a local driver was spoken to for driving when forbidden and has had his vehicle impounded. Police also dealt with two incidents where people had consumed too much alcohol; fortunately friends and family were able to look after those people until they recovered.
There were a few issues with alcohol during Saturday’s Ranfurly Shield rugby match between Otago and Thames Valley, but otherwise everyone was pretty well behaved. Three drink drivers were apprehended over the weekend; two of them are off to Court to explain how that happened to the judge. Also on Saturday, police found a home for two horses out for a trot along Muir Road, Lake Hawea. Thanks to Pete and Kirsten for finding us a paddock for them. We received a couple of theft reports over the weekend for jackets and wallets. Please keep an eye on your gear when you go out to the pubs as there are, unfortunately, some people who are helping themselves to other people’s property. If you have lost a bike lately we have a few here at the station as well as a bunch of jewellery, watches, prescription glasses and also a generator among other items; come and see Kate or Catherine to see if we have your property. Continue to be careful when traversing the Crown Range Road between Wanaka and Queenstown as there will be grit or ice that will trip you up. Keep the following distances twice the norm, and pull over if you have to use your cell phone when driving. Have a safe week (he wiki haumaru).
Festival ends on high spectral note, rubbish-free
All work and Snogain ALLISON MCLEAN
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
Snow Farm NZ will welcome up to 100 teams this Saturday morning as each navigate across snowy open country by way of a map and compass. The cross-country ski farm and Highland Events are hoping for continued snow as they prepare to co-host their second rogaine-styled competition, dubbed ‘Snogain’, in three-hour and six-hour heats. The Snow Farm NZ team used the opportunity to host a rogaine on snow to showcase their backcountry skiing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing around the Pisa Range. Rogaining is an orienteering sport of long distance cross-country navigation that involves route planning and navigation between checkpoints by using a variety of map types. In a rogaine, teams of two to five people choose which checkpoints to visit within a time limit with the hope of maximising their score. Sixty to 100 registrations are anticipated depending on weather (snow day is June 21). There is no set course so teams will be required to look after one another. “One way or another this will be an adventure,” said event organiser Terry Davis. “Fingers crossed for more snow to fall before Saturday so snowshoeing and cross-country/ski touring will be the go. But, if snow is poor, we will go ahead anyway just like we do with our autumn and spring rogaines in trail running shoes or tramping boots. We are highly unlikely to cancel due to weather; our motto is ‘the worse the weather, the greater the adventure.’”
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PHOTO: Mark Sedon
Neil Sonnekus
newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz
PHOTO: Supplied
Saturday’s registration opens at 8:30am before teams grab their gear, equipment and maps to hit the trails. For more information, visit highlandevents.co.nz. Pictured: Keiran Phillips placing rogaine controls during last year’s Snogain event.
The 17th annual Mountain Film and Book Festival came to a close following a successful 10 days. The world-class quality of the films, the international speakers and the tales of extraordinary expeditions once again enthralled festival-goers. The winner of the Grand Prize was Spectre Expedition – To the End of the Earth from directors Alastair Lee and past festival speaker Leo Houlding. In the film Houlding (UK), Mark Sedon (NZ) and Jean Burgun (France) undertake a journey of epic proportions. The trio snowkite 2,000km across Antarctica, unsupported, to reach the summit of the most remote mountain on Earth: The Spectre. The People’s Choice award went to Ascending Afghanistan: Women Rising
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from director Erik Osterholm. The film was a NZ Premiere and it took a look at the plight of women in Afghanistan and their terrible treatment under the Taliban dictatorship. A diverse group of women formed a climbing team and were trained in an attempt to summit one of the region’s highest peaks. The climbing experience became a catalyst for change for many of the women. Iconic rock climber Lynn Hill (USA) presented at the festival and tickets to “her show sold incredibly quickly,” according to festival director Sedon. The Charitable Trust takes a deliberate approach to reducing the event’s impact on the environment. The audience supported the intention to minimise waste and the end result was only one-and-a-half bags of rubbish at the end of six days. Pictured: Jean Burgun snow-kites in Antarctica.
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Sun Sport
Nordic corner suite, grey Reduced to $1,899
PHOTO: supplied
Adaptive snow sports ensures the snow is for all Abby Costen
journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz
Snow Sports NZ has set up agreements with every commercial ski area in New Zealand, along with many overseas, to aid disabled people in experiencing adaptive snow-sports. The organisation aims to support those with permanent functional impairments ride the mountain; offering its adaptive members discounts on lift passes and instruction, as well as specialised equipment rentals – such as modified skis and snowboards, frames and outriggers. The adaptive membership costs $20 per annum for under 16s, valid from July 1 and June 30 – ideal for the holidays. The charitable trust sponsors athlete and two-time Paralympic gold medalist Adam Hall. Diagnosed at birth with spina bifida, he started skiing at age six and switched to snowboarding at age nine. During Starting Out in Adaptive Snow Sports in NZ, Adam says: “skiing and snowboarding truly is an incredible feeling, [leaving] the everyday business of a disability behind you for just a short period of
time and be up on a chairlift shredding around.” Cardrona Alpine Resort near Wanaka has one of the biggest adaptive snow-sport programmes in the country, catering to people with physical, sensory and cognitive impairments; including autism and dyspraxia which come with additional emotional and mental challenges, as well as physical. At Cardrona, the target is to ensure that skiing and snowboarding comes with no limits, providing adaptive members with 50 percent off day passes and rentals, plus 40 percent off lessons. “Cardrona does a fantastic job in this area and has done for many years,” said Jane Stevens, adaptive snow sports manager from Snow Sports NZ. Snow Farm NZ, the home of cross-country skiing, likewise offers cardholders 50 percent off day passes and specialised rentals. Visitors can glide across 55km of trails, taking in views of the Pisa Range and bubbling Meg River. Find out more or sign up to be an adaptive member at snowsportsnz.co.nz. Pictured: a young stroke survivor hits the slopes with Snow Sports adaptive ski volunteers.
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Champions take a while to regain winning ways Neil Sonnekus
newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz
It looked liked Otago were going to head for the sheds with a 13-0 deficit after a string of handling errors just before halftime, but then Sekonaia Pole crossed the line and first-five Ben Miller converted smoothly. Playing Thames Valley in Wanaka in defence of the Ranfurly Shield, James Lentjes, Miller, Aleki
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Morris, Dylan Nel and skipper Slade McDowall all dotted down for Otago in the second half. Winger Harry Lafituana scored a try in each half for the visitors, and first-five Reece Boughton made up the rest of their points. The heavy rain that was forecast only came gushing down after the match ended. The Otago players were mobbed by kids wanting autographs and to touch the old log o' wood.
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Dougherty makes rep team Neil Sonnekus
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Maggie Dougherty of Upper Clutha Hockey has been selected for the Central Otago Under 15 Girls’ hockey team. She, along with 17 other girls, will attend a coaching session with Sporting Edge on Saturday afternoon, July 20, in Cromwell. Her mother, Paula Shortall, said, “She’s really excited. She made the squad for the U15s last season and played some of the first games, but she didn’t make the tournament team. She’s been working really hard on her skills recently, so she’s really happy to be included in the team.”
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Maggie, who usually plays at half- or fullback, has three siblings who also play hockey, which tends to keep her parents quite busy. “She’s been playing hockey since she was seven, she was in the Central Otago Collier team in 2017, and she’s been playing in the Upper Clutha senior B for two years. She was named in the senior A team, but she decided not to play because they had lots of players and they said she might not get a lot of game time, so she decided to rather have a lot of game time [in the B team] and have a good go running with the ball,” Shortall said. Coming from such a sporting family, Maggie also plays netball in the summer.
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Tight home game for the Premiers Sports reporter
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Wanaka hosted title favourites Roslyn Wakari at Wanaka Recreation Centre last Saturday. Danillo Santana and John Skilton came in to the starting 11 to replace the injured pair of Fletcher Cavanagh and Blair Scoullar. Both teams competing well in the first half with little reward until Roslyn scored in the 30th minute against the run of
play. The goal gave a boost to Roslyn’s play; Wanaka did well to manage after a spell of pressure. The Premiers were close to scoring late in the half, when Allan Carmichael’s shot from 22 yards rattled the right hand post after a fine lay off from young Harry Grimsdale. At halftime, the result was 1-0 in Roslyn’s favour. The second half had Wanaka slightly edging the even contest and they were rewarded with an equaliser in the
75th minute. Fine build up play led to Carmichael again shooting from 25 yards out and Roslyn’s keeper, Tom Stevens, could only parry the shot. Steve Pleskun showed a true strikers instinct to fire home the loose ball from eight yards out to draw Wanaka level. Wanaka had two great opportunities to grab the full three points. Pleskun burst down the right flank and delivered a perfect cross for an unmarked Valintine Nova Ruis who headed wide. And with time nearly up,
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Toa Roode showed composure with a good touch to open up a shooting chance, but his shot was straight at Stevens. Wanaka were pleased with a much improved performance from their previous game. Standouts on the day were Thomas Van Hees, Michael Gealogo, Danillo Santana and man of the match Paul Hodgson. Wanaka will travel over the Crown Range on Saturday to take on current league leaders, Queenstown Rovers, in what is shaping up to be a typical local derby.
Senior women rally against the odds
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With no coach, no supporters, no subs and no goalie (the latter playing for the U18 Southern team in Auckland), the Upper Clutha Senior Women’s team faced an uphill battle in their game against Queenstown. While they could have defaulted, their love for the sport spurred them on as they decided to play a semi-final game without a goalie; probably a first for Central Otago hockey at this level. From the start, the Upper Clutha women fought hard with defenders marking tight and forwards putting on lots of pressure, resulting in four penalty corners for them; unfortunately, none were successful. The team’s doggedness held off Queenstown and they came out of the first quarter nil all. With no subs to give players a break, the team’s efforts in the first quarter started to take its toll and Queenstown scored three consecutive goals in the second quarter; all of which could
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have been defended with a padded goalie. Nevertheless, fuelled by half-time Gummi Bears and uplifting team talk, the team came back onto the pitch with renewed vigour. Carolyn McKay made a run towards the goal and sent a hard hit into the circle, which was deflected by Carla Molyneaux high into Queenstown’s goal. Carla closed the gap further to two to three scoring with straight shot from the top of the circle from a penalty corner. In the third quarter, Queenstown scored from a high deflection into the goal, unstoppable for the Upper Clutha defenders to take the final score to four to two to Queenstown. Despite the loss, Upper Clutha was super stoked with their effort and team spirit. They now play for third place next week and with a goalie in tow, who knows what they can achieve. Pictured: The Upper Clutha Senior Women’s team faced an uphill battle in their game against Queenstown, resulting in a 4-2 loss.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
It’s not a “done deal”!
Well there’s a first time for everything I guess. I’ve never written to a newspaper before, but with the current issues facing Wanaka at the moment I felt compelled to put “pen to paper” or rather fingers to the keyboard! I would like to plead, encourage, cajole....”whatever it takes” with Wanaka residents, rate payers and regular visitors to Wanaka, to take some time out of their super hectic lives to get themselves informed about the major issues facing our township. Issues like the Northlake hotel application, the Special Housing Zone in Hawea, the town centre masterplan, QLDC application to discharge untreated wastewater into our waterways, the redevelopment of Wanaka Airport and most importantly of all — the failure of our infrastructure planning to keep pace with domestic and tourism growth. I’m sure I’ve missed some others, but you get the drift! In so many cases, changes to Wanaka are being driven by commercial interests and outside organisations because we (and that includes me too), don’t turn up to information sessions, we don’t look at online information, join action groups or we fail to submit on various applications. It’s assumed we don’t care! In light of a number of recent disappointing decisions that have gone against popular opinion, it is really easy to get disheartened. “Why bother?” “It’s a done deal!” I would say in the most encouraging way possible...it’s only a “done deal” if we remain ignorant and apathetic. While we can be cynical about democracy, I truly believe the alternatives are worse. In NZ, we still have the right to an opinion and we can express it openly. I beg you to resist the temptation to give up! We CAN DO many things to have our voices heard. We can vote and elect representatives who we think will best align with our views and hold them accountable. If we are busy with family, our business or just keeping our heads above water, we can join groups who do have time to represent our views. Rather than write submissions personally, we can support submissions made by these groups and in some cases provide time and financial support. We can sign petitions, share and comment on social media. We can write letters to newspapers vote in polls, put up posters, hand out brochures or plonk a sticker on our car bumper. Heck, we can march in the streets if we want! That’s democracy. Please don’t give up! It’s only a “Done deal” if we don’t care. Get informed Wanaka peeps! Have an opinion and make it count. A. Oxley Wanaka Resident
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR To submit a letter for possible publication in the Wanaka Sun, please send it via email to editor@thewanakasun.co.nz.
Letters can also be sent by private message on our Facebook page. Letters may be edited or abridged. Letters of no more than 300 words are preferred.
OPINION: Plastic Free July — uncomfortable changes Emma Conyngham
editor@thewanakasun.co.nz
We are now in the middle of Plastic Free July and some things are going great and others are coming at a cost — and not just financial. Although, it must be said that the plastic-free options are currently breaking my bank so some options are not going to be continued beyond July 31 unless the market starts creating such a ruckus of demand that prices come down. But the other cost is that of, ahem,
a personal nature. I tucked away my Rexona for the month to trial plasticfree alternatives with the view to switch permanently if I find something that does the job. But so far, I am not loving the clammy pits and constantly trying to smell myself to see if the plastic-free but also aluminum-free deodorant is working. To answer that question, it’s not. But here’s where things get uncomfortable. My sister is extremely environmentally conscious and has made many lifestyle changes to care for the
planet. We are genetically linked and share the same propensity to sweat but she’s committed to the full gamut of waste-free products and believes that clammy pits is just the price to pay and she’s prepared to pay it. “We are addicted to convenience,” she cries. “Making good decisions requires sacrifice and discomfort but saving the planet isn’t going to be easy. We just have to do it.” Her words ring in my ears. Husband and I recently paid mega bucks to buy an electric 4WD because it was a cost we believed was
worth it. (And it is). But I am not sure I can pay the cost of stinking armpits. Am in living in dissonance or am I just making a practical decision? Or is ‘making a practical decision’ just another way to say ‘justifying a bad decision’? Everyone has different boundaries and a different perspective on cost but for me it’s the personal items that are the most challenging; stinking pits, stringy hair, bad skin — whatever plastic-free options are out there, they have to work, otherwise they’re a no from me.
The NZ Mountain Film Festival Charitable Trust would like to thank the community for their support of our recent Festival. We wish you all good health and fun adventures for the year ahead. Don’t forget our grant scheme is now open and we raised over $5,000 that we have to give away.
Youth, people with disabilities and environmental groups can apply at http://www.mountainfilm.nz/information/grants/ THE WANAKA SUN
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Wanaka Salvation Army Family Store. Opening Hours – Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm, Saturday 9.30am – 4pm. We look Specialising in forward to seeing you curtains and blinds here! including all repairs Donations kindly received. Please drop them into the Salvation Based in Wanaka Army Family store or ph 443 5068 to book a pick up. Phone Helen: 022 413 4622 Cut rags (100% cotton) e: helen@dynzdesignz.co.nz web: www.dynzdesignz.co.nz and drop cloths, only $7 for a big bag. Now in the yard container at STORAGE Wastebusters. Open 9-5 seven days. Rags, rags, rags ... little ones, big ones, cotton ones and drop cloths, available from the Wanaka Salvation Army Family Store 443 5068. Business Networking International. The Wanaka chapter of BNI meets weekly at 7am Tuesday NOTICES morning. Great networking cases we would love them, or phone for a pick up for opportunity to grow your business. Contact Randal please just drop them into large amounts. Volunteers welcomed at Dobbs for information the store, thanks. The Salvation Army Family The Salvation Army Family 021 973 043 Store is desperately store if you have some needing good quality free time and would like SERVICES mens clothing and shoes. to be part of a team which If you could please just makes a difference, come Wanaka Pharmacy is your drop these into the store and see us. local pharmacy. We’re the big pharmacy at the top of Helwick Street - open from 8am until 7pm every single day. Ph 443 8000. FREE COMPUTER LESSONS for older people - Community Networks is offering one-on-one lessons in your own home on your own device or at our offices. If you are interested please call into Community Networks or phone 03 443 7799. WHEELS TO DUNSTAN - free shuttle service is available to Dunstan Hospital or Alexandra specialist appointments, also linking with the St John Health Shuttle to Dunedin Hospital. For bookings, please call Community Networks on 443 7799. JP SERVICES are available at Community Networks every Tuesday from 1pm2pm and Friday from 10:30-11:30am. Please book your appointment by ringing Community Networks on 03 443 7799.
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Be part of the small team responsible for producing our popular weekly newspaper. • You will have the relevant journalism qualifications, and a minimum of two years' experience writing for a recognised media organisation. • You will have existing local contacts and the ability to connect with the wider community. • You will also have an eye for community news, strong writing ability and photography skills, and the ability to meet strict deadlines. Based in Wanaka, this position is for 20 hours per week with an immediate start. This is a fantastic opportunity for a passionate journalist who enjoys a challenge! If this sounds you, please forward your application with your CV and cover letter to: The Editor, The Wanaka Sun, PO Box 697, Wanaka, editor@thewanakasun.co.nz
We’re looking for someone who has: • A proven history of success in a sales or business development role; preferably from within the media industry • Strong interpersonal skills with an ability to develop effective business relationships • Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills • Self-motivation, resilience and the ability to achieve objectives and goals within company guidelines • A strong sense of accountability and an attention to detail • Ideally a formal qualification in business or marketing
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N o t i c e b o a rd | P a p a P ā n u i Amendment to the July 2019 Meeting Schedule Additional Meeting Resource Consent Hearing (Spark NZ Trading Limited RM181589) – Edgewater, Sargood Drive, Wānaka. Tuesday 30 July and Wednesday 31 July 2019 at 10.00am.
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Please send sports results to sports@thewanakasun.co.nz by Tuesday at noon. Results should be unformatted and presented in the body of the email.
1. Waterfall Creek Property 2. Bannantyre Road Effluent Pond 3. Luggate Heights Subdivision 4. Three Parks (Primarilyy North & South Areas)
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Position responsibilities include but are not limited to: • Reach monthly revenue targets • New business acquisition • Develop key client and business relationships • Prepare advertising proposals • Maintenance of client and revenue records • Provide weekly sales reports to management
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Free delivery to Wanaka, Cromwell and surrounds, PO boxes in Makarora, Cromwell, Haast, Wanaka, Albert Town and Hawea. Also distributed to businesses in the Wanaka business district Average circulation: 15,000 weekly. Phone: 03 443 5252 • Fax: 03 443 5250 Editor: Emma Conyngham • editor@thewanakasun.co.nz Journalist: Allison McLean • journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz Neil Sonnekus • newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz Ollie Blyth • journalist@thewanakasun.co.nz Advertising: 021 956 740 adrep@thewanakasun.co.nz Admin: Benn Ashford • 021 956 740 admin@thewanakasun.co.nz Mail: PO Box 697, Wanaka
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$175 within NZ (including GST) per year. Overseas rates on request. Remittances to PO Box 697, Wanaka, NZ.
• An application of Carrot Pindone will be placed out between July 16 to August 20. • PLEASE NOTE: Pindone is less hazardous than most poisons. • Would require an average sized dog an excess of 20 entire rabbit carcasses to cause any secondary poisoning. • If poisoning occurs please take to vet for Vitamin K treatment.
For further information please contact PAUL COSGROVE - 027 430 6082
Wanaka Stadium Bowls Monday Edgewater Trophy: 1st N Roberts K Urquhart K Outram 2nd B Steel M Hardy H Davies 3rd D Urquhart P Wilson G Cameron. Tuesday morning 2x4x2: 1st J Rich A Coupe 2nd M Parker K Allison 3rd K Light K Outram. Tuesday afternoon 2x4x2: 1st G Thomas J Feehly 2nd K Sutherland M Baxter 3rd P Traynor N Matheson. Tuesday evening Trades:1st 3 M’s 2nd Mt Aspiring College 3rd The Nobowlmen. Wednesday Afternoon Village v Town: Village 101 – Town 91. Wednesday evening Trades: 1st Silid Hits 2nd G & T 3rd Clubbers. Thursday afternoon Triples: 1st V Ransom A Turnbull R Chartres 2nd L Hardy P Traynor L Leary 3rd D Cameron N Harris D Paterson. Thursday evening Trades: 1st Rotary 2nd Tuta Wera 3rd A Haig M Wight N Walker. Friday Progressive Skips: 1st I Fletcher 2nd B Russell 3rd T Tovey Thirds 1st G Cross J Feehly Leads 1st B Thorburn 2nd Macy Cameron 3rd= S Morris F McElrea. Saturday Studholme Trophy: Beacon Point 40 Hawea Country 40 Mt Albert 37 Hawea Town 33 Pembroke Heights 31 Meadowstone 28 Rippon West Meadows 25 Village 24.
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McLean keeps focus on Tokyo
PHOTO: Supplied
Neil Sonnekus PHOTO: Supplied
Contest goes down to the wire Neil Sonnekus
newsdesk@thewanakasun.co.nz
The Wanaka bowls team, after seeming set for an easy victory, had a narrow escape to beat neighbourly rivals Hawea by the slightest of margins. The annual challenge between the clubs for the Val and Cliff Garrett Trophy was held on Sunday, July 7, in the Wanaka Bowling Club’s stadium. The event consists of each club having five teams of three bowlers (men and women) playing three games during the afternoon. After the first round of games, Hawea had its nose in front by three wins to Wanaka’s two. In the second game, however, Wanaka scooped the
pool by winning all five games to lead 7–3 and seemingly heading for victory. But Hawea had other thoughts and came roaring back in the last round with four wins, but just missed the knockout punch by drawing the last game of the round. That made the total score 7.5 games each, so it came down to which club had won the most points during the event. This, in itself, was also close, with Wanaka just pipping Hawea by 115–110 points and thereby holding on to the trophy for another year. The event was first held in 2008. Pictured: Val Garrett presents the Val and Cliff Garrett Trophy to Wanaka skip Peter Wilson.
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England-born Hamish McLean’s parents moved to Auckland when he was three. A year later he learned to swim. Next year he’s going to the Tokyo Paralympics, aged 20. “At the end of 2009 we moved from Auckland down to Wanaka, where I joined the Wanaka Swim Club nearly straight away. I initially did it to learn how to swim, as water is such an important part of New Zealand. It wasn’t until 2011 when I went to my first national competition that I started to become really focused on competitive swimming,” he said. By then he’d already been identified as “part of the Para swimming talent identification programme”, according to the Paralympics New Zealand website. Focus is a word that is a very apt word for the young man. “Yes, I think I have been pretty focused on things throughout my life. At school I had to train a lot; this meant that I had to be very organised to fit everything in.” And he still fits everything in, like studying for an engineering degree at the University of Canterbury, “because I enjoy maths and science”.
And then, in 2016, there was suddenly a slot for him to go to the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil. “It felt like I didn't have too many expectations on myself, which was really nice. When I was doing the 400 freestyle final, where I broke the [Oceania] record, I thought I was going fast but didn't realize I was going to break the record. I was stoked to get that time,” he said. “I learnt that if you put enough hard work into something and you focus on something, you can achieve what you want and sometimes even do better than you think.” The people he credits most with his success are his parents. “They have helped me since the very start of my swimming career and pushed me to try hard in both swimming and education. It is great to have them supporting me all the time.” His exercise regime is typically intense. “I have a schedule of nine sessions a week. It is very hard to fit all the training in with university studies, but I manage in the end. And yes, it will probably get busier towards Tokyo 2020.” Pictured: Hamish McLean in action for his country at the Pan Pacific Para Swimming Championships in Brisbane, 2018.
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