Waimea Weekly
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Locally Owned and Operated
Wednesday 15 November 2017
Page 6
Big winners at fishing day
Focus on WakeField
Page 24
Tasman Thunder
Page 16 - 17
Richmond gets new sergeants Simon Bloomberg Engaging with the community won’t be a problem for Richmond’s two new-old sergeants Craig Barker and Greg Beer who transferred from Nelson this week as part of a “realignment” of police staff across the Tasman district. The staffing changes follow a review by Nelson Bays Area police that identified a need to increase their engagement with growing communities like Richmond. Last month, senior sergeant Blair Hall moved to the Richmond station and this week he was joined by public safety sergeants Craig and Greg. Although Craig and Greg have been based in Nelson, they are both Richmond residents who already know the town inside out. And that, says Greg, will be a big advantage as they focus on increasing police engagement with the community and taking ownership of their beat. “I live here and I’ve got two kids who go to school here, so I have a vested interest in Richmond,” Greg says. “When you live in a place you get to know what’s happening and it’s all those small things that help us do a better job.” Craig, who was based at the Richmond station before being transferred into Nelson just over four years ago, says coming back to the town is “a positive step” for Richmond. He says the decision to increase police numbers in Richmond is recognition that it is growing rapidly and
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Work starts on McGazzaland Dan Shallcrass, front centre, with volunteers at the McGazzaland construction site on Saturday. Photo: Simon Bloomberg. Simon Bloomberg Wakefield mountainbiking legend Kelly McGarry may be gone but a group of his mates are making sure he will not be forgotten by building a new bike park where a young ‘Mc-
Gazza’ learned to fly. Kelly grew up in Wakefield and later attended Waimea College before making a name for himself on the free-riding scene, famously back flipping 22m over a ravine in a Red Bull Rampage competition.
Sadly, Kelly’s life was cut short last year when he suffered a cardiac arrest while riding in Queenstown, aged 33, but now his mates are building a bike park as a tribute to their friend. On Saturday, the volunteers started construction of the
3000 square metre bike park which will be named McGazzaland in honour of Kelly who was affectionately known as McGazza. It is also being constructed behind
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