Waimea Weekly
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Your Community Newspaper
Wednesday 17 July 2013
A novel fundraiser
Page 17
We’ve moved!
Chasing glory
Page 18-19
Newport Light Engineering
Page 33
Tapawera gets cell coverage Tapawera residents can finally “get in touch” with the outside community after Telecom came to the party, ending the town’s inability to get phone coverage. A $350,000 phone tower is up and running giving Telecom customers sufficient phone coverage within the township for the first time. It will also span six kilometers northwest of Tapawera along the Motueka Valley Highway and southeast alongside State Highway 6. Tapawera’s battle had been ongoing for the past few years and was pushed along by school student Matt Ball who lobbied a number of networks in order to get the coverage. Councillor Stuart Bryant labeled the previous situation as “frustrating” and believed the announcement is hugely
Tasman councillor and Tapawera farmer Stuart Bryant can now get cell phone reception at his home. Photo: Phillip Rollo.
SEE PAGE 2
Fire-fighters save gas station The owner of Brightwater Motors says a quick response from volunteer fire-fighters prevented what could have been a very serious fire. Because the Brightwater business doubles as a petrol station, the risks increased ten fold when a spark in the back shed ignited on Friday. Tom Horncastle says there were fire-fight-
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Phillip Rollo Reporter
editorial@waimeaweekly.co.nz ers on the scene within three and a half minutes of phoning 111. “It was managed bloody well by everyone involved and now we just get onto the insurance side of it,”
he says. “It never got to the stage where it couldn’t be controlled. If the fire brigade was another ten minutes then it might have been a different story. But it was well under control. All our staff went into the fire drill and it worked perfect.” Tom says the fire started when a mechanic was working on a motor in the back shed, which is where most of the long-term jobs
100% locally owned and operated
are done. “It looks like a 12volt spark ignited some fuel and then roared on from there. He grabbed a fire extinguisher but that couldn’t control it.” From there the fire caught onto Tom and his wife Melanie’s house, which was empty at the time, causing external damage on SEE PAGE 2
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