Waimea Weekly
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Wednesday 28 September 2016
nelson
Council loses two of the best
Chisnall saves best till last Page 22-23
Page 8
Page 37
Land gift for Mapua community health project Simon Bloomberg A proposal to establish a communityowned health centre in Mapua has been given a boost after retired farmer and businessman Dale Vercoe offered to donate land for the project. Mapua GP Tim Phillips outlined a proposal for the centre at the Mapua and Districts Community Association meeting earlier this month. The centre would be based on land off Mapua Drive and include residential, palliative and emergency health care - it would be independent of the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board and funded and run by the community. Tim says Mapua needs a community health centre because the public health system is failing and the community needs to take the initiative to secure its own “health safety”. Although planning for the centre is still in the preliminary stages, Tim says the proposal is receiving plenty of support from people in Mapua. “I feel a big concern for what is happening to community health in New Zealand and there should be something
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Kevin Tippett, left, and Pat Melville were out whitebaiting on the Waimea River last week. Photo: Simon Bloomberg.
Slow going for whitebaiters Simon Bloomberg Whitebaiters around Nelson and Tasman are hoping that their patience will pay off, after a frustratingly slow start to the season. Nelson whitebaiter Pat Melville has been a regular on the lower reaches of the Waimea River since the season opened on August 15 and says catches
have declined after a reasonably promising start. “There was a bit of a run earlier on but it’s dried up since then,” Pat says. “But it’s still early in the season so we are still hopeful - we’ll just have to wait and be patient.” Pat’s whitebaiting friend Kevin Tippett of Richmond is also optimistic that catches will pick up, but in the meantime
he is still more than happy to be out on the river. “We’ll be lucky if we get enough for a pattie today the way things are going,” he says. “But it’s a good day out and it’s another day away from the garden.” A little further upstream, Noel and Joc Davis were not faring any better. The Richmond couple, who have been white-
baiting for over 30 years, were not getting their hopes up after spotting just one whitebait heading up the Waimea River. “It’s our first day out today and I’ve only seen one whitebait - I don’t think there’s much around.” It appears that the Waimea River is not the only place
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