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Murchison
Wednesday 23 March 2011
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Waimea quiz CALL AN EXPERT Season starts Because experience counts with a bang wizzes P 20
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High rates halt ‘vibrant’ CBD entrance A plan to revamp the entrances of the Richmond shopping district has been put on the back burner by Tasman District Council. The work has been deferred by TDC in its draft annual plan in a bid to reduce the finanical burdon on ratepayers. In last week’s Waimea Weekly it was revealed the proposed rate increase for ratepayers will be around seven percent. For Richmond Unlimited, the marketing arm of the Richmond business community, the news is another setback in its attempts to bring more business into town. “We’ve been pushing for the gateways for some time and we’ll continue to push for it,” says Richmond Unlimited chairman Andrew McGlashen. Council had planned to undertake a project to improve the entrance to Richmond and the central business area in the next financial year. The cost of the project was estimated at around $412,720. Coun-
cil is now proposing to defer the work until the 2012/2013 year. Having significant gateways into communities is important according to Andrew, and vital for retailers. “Unfortunately with the road layout if you’re not knowledgeable of the area a lot of tourists do end up bypassing us.” When you look at the money initially budgeted for the upgrade, Andrew says Richmond Unlimited can see why council would need to make cuts to spending and why it would need to be planned for. “As I see with the health budget, it’s not a bottomless pit.” Tasman mayor Richard Kempthorne says council needed to identify spending areas that could be cut to keep the rate increase down.“It would have been nice to do it but we needed to cut discretionary spending.” Richard says council intend to keep the project on the list and it will get done in the future.
ALL SET: Vern Powell and Bill Wheeler are hoping they can do battle at the Oakwoods Village Scooterkana today. Photo: Teresa Hattan.
Ready, set, go... scooterkana takes off The fists aren’t likely to come out in this battle, but you never can tell. Today, if the weather permits, Oakwoods Village will be hosting their annual Scooterkana. The event is based along the “streets” of the village and is aimed at those in the care facility and the villas. Vern Powell has been a resident at Oakwoods since 1989 and he says he loves participating in the Scooterkana. But this year his daughter is visiting, so Vern isn’t sure if he will be able to make it but he has decorated his mobility scooter just in case. The afternoon, as well as being skill based, also provides a lot of fun for the residents. Often a lot of preparation goes into creating the colourful
speed demons. Residents find they are able to dress their mobility scooters up with all sorts of things. Bright balloons and soft toys feature heavily, with the odd noise maker thrown in for good measure. Today the Scooterkana will feature a relay, a rally, an obstacle course, a slalom and a skills section. This provides variety for the residents, who are able to experience the rush of racing and also the ability to learn new things. These skills help the residents when they are moving about the facility and when they are out visiting. The day will finish with a “celebrity race” which sees staff race each other.
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