Waimea Weekly
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Wednesday 29 April 2015
Locals off to help
Focus on Farming
Page 9
& RURAL Page 16-17
Netballers warm up
LIFESTYLE
Page 25
Hunter caught in quake epicentre When the big earthquake hit the region last Friday, Aniseed Valley resident Mike Buschl’s first reaction was “if it’s bad here, I hate to think what it’s like in Seddon.” Like many people, Mike thought the earthquake was probably centred at Seddon after the town was shaken by a 4.4 and 5.1 the previous day. But what Mike didn’t realise was that he was right at the epicentre of Friday’s 6.3 earthquake that was felt throughout Nel-
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son, Christchurch and the these bluffs and had to run to the ridge - I moved pretty lower North Island. Mike was hunting in Judge’s quick, I just ran on instinct. I moved pretty Creek in the Rainbow Valley, “If it had hit five minutes earabout 35km south-east of St quick, I just ran on lier I’d have had rocks comArnaud, when the quake hit ing down on top of me. I’d instinct. just come out from under the at 3.36pm and he admits “it - Hunter Mike Buschl. bluffs so I was really lucky.” was really scary”. “There were bloody big boulders rolling Once Mike had run to the ridge, he says he down the hill and rock falls and dust eve- felt relatively safe. rywhere,” Mike says. “I was standing above “I was high up above the bushline and on
a ridge, so all the rocks and boulders were coming down below me and to the side. The only danger was if the ground I was standing on gave way. Friday’s big quake was followed 10 minutes later by a 4.2 shake, leaving residents in nearby St Arnaud on edge. Lake Rotoiti School principal Giles Panting says “it was the noise that came first –
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Richmond remembers them
Monique Bergman An estimated 3000 people jammed into Richmond War Memorial Gardens on Saturday, the biggest crowd the service has ever seen. As soldiers in New Zealand uniforms marched down Queen St, local residents gathered at gardens and even onto the surrounding roads. Even though local World War I heroes
are no longer with us, their presence was felt during the moving ceremony which commemorated the 100 year anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove. Ian Blackman, committee member of the Richmond-Waimea Royal Returned and Services Association, welcomed the public before Waimea
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