Waimea Weekly Locally Owned and Operated
Wednesday 2 February 2022
‘Little mongrels’ cause $3k damage Jo Kent Reporter
jo@waimeaweekly.co.nz
Damage to sports buildings in Brightwater has become so severe that trespass notices are being taken out against the offending vandals. A group of five teenagers have
been captured on temporary cameras, installed by Tasman District Council, after continued vandalism at Lord Rutherford Park racked up repair costs of over $3,500. Wanderers club manager Diane Drogemuller says it’s got to the point where enough is enough. “There is so much ongoing dam-
age to buildings that as soon as we fix something up, it gets smashed to pieces again.” The group have kicked off door knobs and handles on the sports buildings and public toilets and used them to smash the toughened glass windows. “They’ve also pulled down electrical cables in the changing shed
and created really dangerous situations where live wires are hanging out of the ceiling, and then there’s all the broken glass to deal with,” Di says. A fire extinguisher was stolen from a Seifrieds building close to the park and subsequently let off in one of the changing rooms. “The worst thing for us is that the
whole cricket wicket block was sprayed with poison three times over a period of six weeks, which killed the grass,” Di says. “Each time the dead patches had to be seeded, top soiled and watered to get the grass back up, at great expense. The players are
see page 2
Adventure awaits for family Jo Kent Ditching the daily grind to travel the country on a house bus is an adventure of a lifetime and the Ballagh family from Richmond have just taken the plunge. When Rebekah’s husband Hamish said he was ready for a career break, she suggested they rent out their house and travel the South Island with their toddler Mikah and dog Jet. “I’ve always, always, always wanted to live in a bus or do some tiny living. My work running coaching programmes and creating mental health resources is entirely Continued on page 4.
Hamish, Mikah, Rebekah and dog Jet with their renovated house bus. Photo: Jo Kent.
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