Slip blamed for decline The number of nights people spent in Wanaka’s commercial accommodation in October was more than 13 percent lower than the previous year and the slip on State Highway 6 between Haast and Makarora is being blamed. PAGE 2
New Chair for Trust Former Central Otago District Mayor, Dr. Malcolm Macpherson, has been named as Chairman of the Central Lakes Trust. PAGE 3
THUR 23.01.14 - WED 29.01.14
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WANAKA’S INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Unforgettable experience
Overnight adventure PAGE 3
The support of his home crowd made a “massive difference” to Wanaka’s Dougal Allan along the Challenge Wanaka course on January 18. “It helped bring out the best in my performance but it also brings another level of enjoyment to the whole race experience. I was one proud Wanaka boy on Saturday.” Dougal (pictured) was placed third in the pro field in his first ever long distance triathlon. He told the Wanaka Sun a real highlight of the day was the final kilometre of the run. “Ardmore Street and the finish line seemed to come to life for me and I’ll never forget the experience of seeing all the kids and parents of the community shouting and cheering for me as I came home in third place,” he said. “Very humbling and unforgettable.”
Older people struggling PAGE 5
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Relationship breakdown Jessica Maddock Wanaka Sun
Local poet praised PAGE 9 NEW MINI COMP STARTING TODAY!
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A “breakdown in relationships” between Wanaka Primary School Board of Trustees, and between trustees and the principal, is behind the Ministry of Education’s decision to appoint an independent consultant to manage aspects of the school. Cleave Hay, a governance facilitator and mediator, would commence his part-time role as a limited statutory manager at the school next week. It would be reviewed within a year. His first month would involve talking to people about what the issues were, and preparing an “action plan” on how they could be resolved and how long it was likely to take.
Until then, he said, he could not comment on the detail of the problems. However, he understood the “breakdown in relationships” had resulted from communication issues within the board, several of whom were new to the
on governance, communication and processes, he said. It was the fourth time Mr Hay, who was from Timaru, had been contracted to help resolve issues at a school. He had already worked with the
It may be all smoke and mirrors, or it may be serious. role, and between it and the principal. Complaints made to the board, which he was not yet privy to, and how those had been managed was a factor. MrHay,whosebackgroundwashuman resources, would take over governance of staff and employment matters from the board, and provide it with advice
Wanaka Primary School Board in November last year, helping it with strategic planning. It had become clear then that it was “not working at the board table. “In some ways, it had started to fall apart and become more and more frustrating.”
He had become involved to take the board through an “impasse. “And the ministry looked at it and decided it was more than a bit of an impasse,” Mr Hay said. “It may be all smoke and mirrors, or it may be serious.” The board had been without a chairperson since Richard Cubie resigned from the role on December 10. In a letter to his fellow board members, which was sent anonymously to the Wanaka Sun, Mr Cubie said the board had had to “deal with a series of complex and contentious issues” and, while it had worked hard to re-establish its focus, his tenure as chair had been “irreversibly compromised. Story continues page 3...