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Monday, March 4, 2013

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Disabled pupils’ welfare ‘ignored’

By Myles Hume A middle-aged man, who was stretchered out of a remote area in the foothills after a dramatic fall, is back at work and in perfect condition today.

The man, a diabetic tramping on his own, was found by a three-man Christchurch Search and Rescue (SAR) team, who treated him in miserable and treacherous conditions yesterday after he slipped into unconsciousness, causing him to fall and fracture his leg.

With the man back on his feet again today it may be an unreal story, but to 125 SAR members, the weekend’s training exercise in the Alford Forest Station was the prime opportunity to polish their skills and learn new aspects of the voluntary role.

The search and rescue of the middle aged man, an actor who groaned while pretending to slip in and out of consciousness, was an exercise for SAR volunteers who frantically worked against the race clock, putting their skills to the test under the watchful eye of senior SAR members.

It was just one task of the 24-hour operation, which demanded 12 SAR teams from across Canterbury take part in competencies such as navigation, fitness, clue processing, first aid, search methods and helicopter air operations.

Search and Rescue Canterbury District co-ordinator Ryan O’Rourke said he was impressed

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However, the special needs pupils are still being dropped off hundreds of metres away from their classroom because the bus is too big to access the campus.

Ashburton College deputy principal Grant Congdon also questioned the tendering process, saying schools were not consulted.

“When the outcome is going to directly influence what’s happening on the ground, people making decisions about contracts need to know real specifics about the individual students so the provider is able to meet the needs of those students, and I don’t think that step was done as well,” Mr Congdon said.

Ministry of Education group resources manager John Clark said the ministry put the vehicles through “quality requirements safety checks”, before considering the price offered by Ritchies and other bus companies.

He said restraints would have been up to standard and the bus was only required to drop the pupils at the gate.

He was “glad” to hear a timetable was sorted out to avoid pupils being on the bus for more than the maximum time of one hour.

However, he was saddened to hear questions over the ministry’s motives.

“I’m really disappointed people would say that, safety is the first consideration, not just of special needs students but other students as well,” Mr Clark said.

He said it would be an impossible task to consult with more than 2000 schools throughout the country.

Mr Congdon said Ritchies were still in the process of improving the service, hoping to drop the pupils closer to the school gate in the near future.

ONLINE.co.nz

To see more or purchase photos Photo Joseph Johnson 030313-JJ-034

Christchurch Search and Rescue (SAR) volunteers Manu Hamblyn (left) and Christian Ruegg work on an injured man during a SAR exercise at Alford Forest Station, near Methven, yesterday.

Crossing the Rakaia on two wheels The peloton traverses the Rakaia Bridge which was closed to traffic on Saturday morning as 235 cyclists competed in Ride the Rakaia.

The course took riders from the small Mid Canterbury town, 50km west to the Rakaia Gorge for a hill climb, before they made the speedy return to Elizabeth Avenue in Rakaia.

Twenty-four riders raced to the finish line with Jaron Stephens taking the men’s yellow jersey and Rachel Thow taking the women’s spoils.

• See also P2, 10, 14

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with what he saw out in the field, as SAR volunteers worked tirelessly to complete the challenges, running on a few hours of sleep.

“We’re assessing them, so it’s about setting the standard and seeing what teams were capable of today,” Mr O’Rourke said.

The first “rogaine-type event” of its kind to be held in the rugged yet accessible Mid Canterbury foothills, teams had to be back at the Alford Forest Hall base camp by noon yesterday, or risk losing points they gained while reaching destinations.

The Guardian was invited to watch the SAR teams in action, guided in the muddy and steep terrain by Land Search and Rescue field support officer Fritz van Rooden.

“It’s great to have you guys here, a lot of the work we (SAR) do is not seen and is usually handed out by a police media release to the public.

“Volunteers for SAR aren’t just someone from the local rugby club, these are trained people who give up their weekends to take part in challenging procedures like this so they are prepared for the real thing.”

Ellesmere SAR volunteers Tim Robilliard and Pauline Leask are fairly new to the emergency service.

Looking ragged, mentally and physically, Mr Robilliard said it was a worthwhile exercise.

“I’ve learnt lots, it’s the best way to practice and keep up our skills because we don’t get called out too often,” he said.

ONLINE.co.nz

Serious questions are being raised as to how the Ministry of Education allowed a bus company to compromise the safety and welfare of disabled children in Ashburton.

A crisis meeting was held at Ashburton College recently between the college, a parent representative, CCS Disability Action Group and bus company Ritchies Bus and Coach after concerns arose about the safety and reliability of the Ritchies bus which was transporting special needs pupils to Ashburton College and Hampstead School.

As part of a nationwide tender process, the Ministry of Education awarded Ritchies the tender to transport about 15 disabled Ashburton pupils to and from school this year.

The contract was taken away from a local taxi company.

Concerns were roused by parents of the special needs pupils and Ashburton College after finding out the bus did not have certified wheelchair restraints, pupils were arriving late to school, being picked up early from class and were being dropped off 300-400 metres away from their classroom.

It also emerged that a pupil who lived within 2km from Ashburton College spent an hour and 20 minutes on the bus.

CCS Disability Action Group believes up to 400 disabled pupils have been affected nationally by the change-over in transport providers.

Parent representative Mark Somerville, who has a disabled son attending Ashburton College, believed the pupils’ welfare was completely ignored.

He said Ritchies were not aware of the processes they needed to go through to have a compliant bus.

“They (the ministry) were not looking out for the welfare of our kids . . . from what I can see it was a cost-saving exercise,” he said.

“They have let down these kids in a big way.”

Ritchies, who did not want to comment, responded immediately to the concerns following the crisis meeting two weeks ago.

They installed certified wheelchair restraints, altered timetables so pupils arrived at school on time and ensured pupils were not sitting on the bus for more than an hour.

Search teams polish their rescue skills

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ANNOUNCEMENTS DEATHS

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111 diary

LOWE, Helen Elizabeth – On 03 March 2013, peacefully at home, Ashburton.

Much loved wife of Meredith.

Adored Mother and Mother in law of Philippa and Garth Anderson (Cambridge), Stuart and Kelli (Christchurch). Beloved Nan of Thomas, and Sophie; Max, Alex, and Xena. In her 71st year. Messages to PO Box 656, Ashburton, 7740.

Helen’s funeral service will be held at St Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Oxford Street, Ashburton on Wednesday March 6, commencing at 1.30pm. To be followed by interment at the Ashburton Lawn Cemetery Paterson’s Funeral Services, FDANZ, Ashburton

Incidents attended to by the Ashburton Police and Mid Canterbury volunteer fire brigades recently.

Check out guardianonline.co.nz, for up-to-the-minute updates on every fire callout in the district during the week.

• A quiet weekend The Rakaia Fire Brigade was called to a false alarm on the Rakaia Highway about 11am on Saturday.

The Ashburton Fire Brigade attended a minor miscellaneous fire on the corner of East and Tancred Street about 2.50pm on Saturday.

LISTER, Raymond John (RaiL) – Peacefully at the Croft Rest Home Timaru on Sunday March 3rd 2013 aged 81 years. Loved first born of the late Elza and Arthur .

Dearly loved brother and brother in law of Nola, Margaret and Ron Mills (both deceased), Mike and Polly (deceased), Hilary and Sabine (Australia), Philip (Motueka), Tony and Erica, Stephen (Brisbane), Fran and David Aitken, Barbara Lister and Robert Henry and a loved uncle of all his nieces and nephews. A service for Ray will be held at Betts Chapel corner North and Butler Streets, Timaru on Wednesday March 6 at 1.30pm thereafter private cremation. Messages to 162a North Street, Timaru 7910.

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Members are requested to attend the funeral service of their late comrade Cyril White [Stropper] Reg # 16835. Please assemble at the Returned Servicemen’s section, Ashburton Cemetery today at 2.30pm. Medals may be worn Malcolm Hanson President Please note all late death notices or notices sent outside ordinary office hours must be emailed to: deathnotices@theguardian.co.nz

to ensure publication.

During office hours notices may also be sent to: classifieds@theguardian.co.nz

Any queries please contact 0800 ASHBURTON (0800-274-287).

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• Nothing to report Ashburton police had no incidents to report from the weekend.

• Stab victim dies

Photo Joseph Johnson 020313-JJ-002

Some of the 235 cyclists who competed in Ride the Rakaia make their way across the Rakaia Gorge bridge.

Big plans for Ride the Rakaia ONLINE.co.nz

By Myles Hume The rapid success of Ride the Rakaia has event organisers already shifting their focus to 2014.

Only a day after 235 riders competed in the second annual race, race director John Moore was already looking towards what he can add next year to entice even more riders to take part.

“After two years it is looking pretty good, we have got a lot to talk about at the debrief on what

To see more or purchase photos we can improve, there could be potential for a few more things to add,” Mr Moore said.

Three-member teams cycling a leg of the race each, and new

challenges, are already in the pipeline for the original event, which has unique touches like coloured jerseys for course winners and the rare opportunity to

cross the Rakaia Bridge by bike.

This year’s success came as a relief for Mr Moore and other organisers after the event was marred by driving rain and a howling wind last year.

“It was great and there was a lot of fast racing this year. The bridge crossing was awesome, we had lots of comments about that, especially when people got to the other side,” he said.

The course took riders from the small Mid Canterbury town, 50km west to the Rakaia Gorge for a hill climb, before they made

the speedy return to Elizabeth Avenue in Rakaia.

Live music, stalls and a children’s duathlon were part of the town’s Community Day at the Rakaia Domain where significant spot prizes such as a $5400 bike and 50 inch television were given away.

The weather made for close racing, which saw 24 riders vie for the finish line with Jaron Stephens taking the men’s yellow jersey and Rachel Thow taking the women’s spoils.

• Race wrap P14, photos P10

Harness Jewels with a twist Plan signed off

By Sue Newman Ashburton’s big ticket race day, the Harness Jewels, might be three months away, but planning is well under way.

The event is one of the biggest on the harness racing calendar and brings together Australasia’s top stake earning two, three, and four-year-old trotters and pacers to vie for big stakes over a mile.

This year’s event has a new twist.

The Jewels will be run over two days and will see three new races added on day two, for five-year-olds. The event stays with the tried and true formula of a nine race day card for Saturday, June 1, but the extra three races will be threaded into the day two meeting on Sunday.

The three extra races have allowed the Ashburton Trotting Club to create a special carnival racing weekend, said club president Alan Neumann.

The five-year-old events would provide some spectacular racing and were likely to attract some of the country’s top horses such as New Zealand Cup winner Terror To Love, Gold Ace and Bettor Cover Lover - club president Alan Neumann “It’s our objective to complement the traditional Saturday event with good quality racing across the board on Sunday, with the undoubted highlight being those five-year-old Jewels races.

We want to attract people to both race days and create something special,” he said.

The five-year-old events would provide some spectacular racing and were likely to attract some of the country’s top horses such as New Zealand Cup winner Terror To Love, Gold Ace and Bettor Cover Lover, Mr Neumann said.

“This will be a real treat for racegoers and we’ll be showcasing the big weekend in the best possible style.”

As was the case in 2012 a manual barrier draw will be carried out for all The Trust Ashburton Harness Jewels races.

This will be conducted in Christchurch on May 24 from midday.

The organising committee was working on a number of changes around around the main event to keep the event fresh and exciting for race goers, he said.

Police investigate man’s death Police are investigating the death of a 57-year-old man who fell from a high-wire adventure course yesterday.

The man was attending a team building day at Tree Adventures in the Woodhill Forest in west Auckland when the incident occurred.

A doctor and an advanced paramedic who were on the course rushed to help, after the man reportedly fell in front of his wife and scores of shocked onlookers.

Emergency services were called to the facility at 1pm but the man died at the scene from his injuries, said police.

It is not known whether he was wearing safety harnesses at the time of the fall.

Witnesses told 3 News safety was lacking before the incident.

Department of Labour staff attended the scene and are working with Tree Adventures to investigate how the incident occurred.

Victim support are supporting the man’s family and work colleagues.

Tree Adventures is a popular high-wire facility that has 10 different courses ranging from three to 14 metres above the ground, its website shows.

- APNZ

Dismay at new student loan rules

By John Weekes Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders will be hit in the pocket by sweeping changes to student loan repayments on April 1.

People earning more than $367 a week will have to pay more towards their student loan debts and graduates making additional, voluntary repayments will lose out when the “voluntary repayment bonus” is scrapped.

The Government said the new rules would help students pay back loans

faster – and save taxpayers money.

However, University Students Association president Pete Hodkinson said graduates with loans would spend less and businesses would suffer.

The changes to loan repayment rates mean someone earning $1000 a week will pay an extra $658 a year.

“This, for most people, will mean things like not going out to dinner (as often),” Hodkinson said.

“If 200,000 people are now not spending money in an industry like hospitality, think about the economic impacts.”

Inland Revenue said as of New Year’s Eve, 692,019 students and exstudents had loans.

Mr Hodkinson said poorer graduates were already struggling with debt.

“We have payments forced below the poverty line because of a repayment threshold of $19,084,” he said.

That threshold was well below New Zealand’s median weekly income, which last June was $29,120.

People choosing to pay back loans quickly will no longer be rewarded.

Currently, people making voluntary payments of $500 or more a tax

year on top of obligatory repayments earn a 10 per cent bonus, credited to their loan account.

University of Auckland arts and commerce student Cindy Smart said the bonus scheme should stay.

“I didn’t realise they were getting rid of it. It was quite a good incentive to pay [the loan] off faster.”

She expected her loan to ultimately reach $35,000.

In 2011, Treasury said more than 2600 people repaid student loans within a year of borrowing, earning $1.8m in bonuses.

- APNZ

Months of community work have gone into developing a plan that will ensure the needs of Mayfield people are met well into the future.

The Mayfield Plan was signed off by the Ashburton District Council on Thursday and the document is seen as a blueprint for the way the area develops and the way in which the needs of its residents are met.

Council policy advisor Jenna Marsden said the plan had come together after several brainstorming sessions with residents. The plan was developed by the community working with council staff and an independent facilitator. Two community workshops were held and there have been a number of meet-

ings with key stakeholders in the community.

“This strategy is about Mayfield deciding for itself what it wants to be and finding ways to achieve these things,” she said.

Mayfield residents want to increase community participation and engagement to ensure strong representation of their community in local decision-making. They also want to work on promoting their village by producing a catchphrase and a promotion and marketing plan.

The council was committed to helping the community achieve those goals, Mrs Marsden said.

The plan will be launched at the Mayfield Show on Saturday.

A man has died in hospital after suffering stab wounds in a domestic incident in Nelson.

Police have launched a homicide investigation following the death of the man yesterday. A woman who had also received stab wounds remains in Nelson Hospital in a stable condition. Police were called to a property about 10.45am, where they found two people with knife wounds. One person is in custody and will appear in the Nelson District Court today facing charges in relation to the incident. Police are not seeking anyone else in relation to the matter.

- APNZ

• Back in the water The brother of shark attack victim Adam Strange was one of the first back in the water when Muriwai Beach reopened on Saturday. Tristan Strange flew back from Cambodia after his brother was killed while swimming off the beach on Wednesday.

The beach and surrounding regional park were closed after the attack, believed to be by a great white shark. About 30 friends and family gathered on the beach just after 8.30am.

They hugged, linked arms and threw flowers into the surf.

- APNZ

• Van stolen Two English tourists were left with only the swimsuits they were wearing after returning from a swim in Taupo to find their van and possessions stolen. The theft is a devastating end to what had been a dream trip to New Zealand for Ben Horner and Claire Barham, both 25. The couple are struggling to come to terms with the loss of everything they owned in the country, totalling an estimated $16,000 and including passports, photos, souvenirs they had bought for family and a necklace belonging to Miss Barham’s deceased mother.

- APNZ

• Lotto results Official Lotto results for draw number 1343 drawn on Saturday.

Winning numbers (in ascending order): 8, 11, 12, 18, 33, 37.

Bonus number: 13.

Powerball winning number: 4.

Strike: 11, 12, 33, 8.

New dwelling consents rise Ashburton has delivered the rest of New Zealand a lesson in growth, with the number of consents for new dwellings issued in January up more than 80 per cent on January 2012.

And that 80 per cent plus increase puts the district at the top of the national list when it comes to the way in which its housing stocks are growing.

In January last year just 11 consents for new homes were issued while this year the number jumped to 20.

Figures released by Statistics

CRUMB

New Zealand show that the district’s rate of growth was significantly higher than any other territorial authority in the country. The national growth average was just 20 per cent.

The Canterbury region was at the top of that growth, nationally, along with Auckland and between them the two regions contributed more than half of the new dwelling consents – 378 in Canterbury and 372 in Auckland.

In Canterbury, rural districts led the way in growth with dwelling consents in Waimakariri up

55 per cent, Selwyn, up 20 per cent and Ashburton up 80 per cent. In Christchurch there was a 36 per cent drop with Timaru also moving in the opposite direction with the number of consents issued halving.

Dwelling consent number were up for each month last year over 2011, quadrupling in some months.

Nationally the trend for the number of new houses consented has risen 50 percent since March 2011 and Canterbury has led that growth since January last year.

by David Fletcher

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

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Bus fears may mean school loses out

POLL result Yesterday’s result Q: Was the Ministry of Education right in replacing special needs school transport taxis with buses?

Today’s online poll question Q: Has Rakaia improved its image?

To vote in this poll go to:

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Poll closes at 4pm

PHOTO gallery

By Myles Hume

020313-jj-028

James Lander (left) with Lilly Jones, 5, and Robyn Lander at Children’s Day yesterday.

John Schreurs this term, but after that, a costsharing arrangement between the school and parents may be an option.

Mr Schreurs said it was a concern to lose pupils, highlighting the importance to keep the bus running.

“We are trying to fight for the status quo,” he said.

He agreed the fear around the Rakaia bus was unfortunate timing in November, as primary school leavers would have been choosing between the district’s two colleges.

Rakaia School principal Mark Ellis said it was “a possibility” that pupils chose Ashburton College over Mount Hutt because of the bus but the real answer would lie with parents.

“Parents made choices for their own reasons and we always advise them to look at the best option for their children.”

Photo Joseph Johnson 030313-JJ-018

Sirens the order of Children’s Day

By Myles Hume Emergency sirens and train horns were the big attractions as Ashburton celebrated New Zealand’s Children’s Day yesterday.

More than 2000 parents and children turned out for the annual event at the Plains Vintage Railway and Historic Museum, where queues more than 15 deep lined up for the Amac Bungies and the Water Walker.

But it was the rare opportunity to ride in a police car,

fire engine, or the K88 steam train, that were the big winners.

“It’s a nationally celebrated time to spend time with children, and we are fortunate enough in Ashburton to be able to put on this day without a cost to families,” Mid Canterbury Children’s Day organising committee chairperson Lorayne Oakley said.

Doug Armstrong was manning the train carriages which held up to 90 youngsters in one trip yesterday.

And he was kept on his toes as youngsters ballooned with

excitement as they made the round trip.

“It’s just something a bit different for the kids, who probably don’t get to do stuff like this too often.”

The atmosphere was abuzz with colourful character Phil Hooper from Classic Hits providing entertainment, as music blared throughout the day.

A children’s bike-a-thon and a range of food on offer also tickled locals’ appetites as the rain stayed away and made for another fun-filled Children’s Day.

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Mount Hutt College could be losing out on pupils over the uncertain future of a bus that transports pupils to and from Rakaia, its principal says.

All of Rakaia School’s Year 8 leavers are attending Ashburton College in 2013, a contrast to previous years when Mount Hutt College usually enrolled a proportion of pupils from the primary school.

Although Rakaia falls within the Mount Hutt College enrolment zone for Year 9 pupils and above, about 12 leavers from Rakaia School decided to go to Ashburton College this year.

Ashburton College does not have an enrolment zone.

Mount Hutt College principal John Schreurs said “it was quite a possibility” that parents did not want to send pupils to Methven after finding out in November that the school bus from Rakaia to Mount Hutt College, and back, may lose ministry funding because it was travelling outside the Transport Entitlement Zone.

At the time, concerns were running high for parents of the 40 pupils who caught the bus, worried their children may not have a way to school or would have to be transported a further distance to catch the bus.

“I would think it had had an affect. It’s a free choice of where someone goes, but because the buses may cost someone and there being a choice of two schools, maybe we didn’t have preference,” Mr Schreurs said.

Currently, the ministry is funding the Rakaia to Mount Hutt College bus for the first half of

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– Ride the Rakaia – Search and Rescue – Speedway – Junior duathlon – And so many more!

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ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

OPINION

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Asset sales - the good, the bad and the ugly T

he past few days have shown us all sides of privatising state owned asset sales, the good, the bad and the ugly.

The much anticipated Supreme Court decision on the partial sale of state assets produces an unequivocal victory for the Government. The five judges decided that the sale of the companies, starting with Mighty River Power, could go ahead while the issue of Maori water rights is considered by the Waitangi Tribunal at a later stage.

OUR VIEW The decision was a massive boost for Prime Minister John Key and especially his Finance Minister Bill English in his attempts to raise capital to lower the New Zealand debt.

While the court may have ruled in their favour, the Government’s plans received a huge blow a few days earlier when Solid Energy, which is also up for sale, turned out to be in desperate trouble.

Instead of being the golden

goose that could continue to lay eggs for the Government and investors, the coal producer surprised the market with a $389m loss. Suddenly a company with a previous book value of $2.8 billion is not looking so flash and the Government is queried why it was not aware of potential discrepancies after a private sector analyst had estimated it to be only $1.7b.

Solid Energy’s troubles are

companies on the block do not depend on global coal prices and as long as we keep turning on our TVs, heating and other appliances, Meridian, Mighty River and Genesis will be making decent profits.

Mighty River is likely to be floated halfway through this year and the interest is expected to be substantial.

How the Government will be able to secure that the shares remain in the hands of Kiwi mums and dads still remains to be seen.

Whether Bill English will be

Coen Lammers editor

not totally surprising after coal prices have plummeted and the company already had to make 450 of its staff redundant, but the real depth of the problems has surprised many.

Fortunately, the power

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There is no doubt politicians and the CDHB are dodging absolute assurances to our hospital services. I applaud Mr Janett for demanding answers. These should include surgery services! Why has the rebuild, if there really is to be one, not started. We dont want services diluted with mid canterbury residence forced to go to chch or worse still, timaru!

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Without a decent hospital in our town our growth is at a dead end.

It’s about time our mayor hardened up and stopped being such a wet sack!

The reality is the current services are already weakened and people are putting up with pain and risk they shouldn’t have to. people will die. very disappointing!! *

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Its vitally important that Ashb Hospital theatres be rebuilt & running again now. Should have been priority well before Art Gallery. healthFirst (Text message)

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Re: Tinwald traffic flow. Why lights? Surely roundabouts would be far better as control is only required at certain times of the day.

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Rain not enough to bring relief to parched farms

By Matthew Backhouse Much-needed rain in the North Island at the weekend was not enough to bring relief to parched farms, with little more expected in the next fortnight.

Patchy showers fell yesterday in the central, northern and eastern North Island, but were barely enough to top up water tanks and penetrate dry soil.

Police in southern Waikato warned motorists to take care on the roads, with the light rain after an extremely long dry period making the roads greasy.

The rain came after the Government declared a drought in Northland, with droughts likely to be declared in Waikato and Hawke’s Bay this week.

WeatherWatch said last month was New Zealand’s driest February nationwide since 1973 – the same month New Zealand had its hottest ever day of 42°C in Christchurch on February 6, 1973.

It said the driest February ever was in 1908.

NIWA said last month was very dry but disagreed it was the driest in decades, with few rainfall records broken.

The rain yesterday was the first in weeks for many areas but was hardly enough to break the dry spell.

WeatherWatch analyst Richard Green said the showers were localised and lasted for about half an hour.

The showers may have looked impressive, he said, but had brought about 5mm or less rain to the likes of Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

Mr Green said that was well short of the 50-100mm needed

to ease the dry soil conditions.

“We’d need about another 10 days like today to alleviate the situation.”

All the moisture would evaporate over the next few days and was barely enough to top up water tanks, and by Friday it will be like it never fell, he said.

Farmers had been in touch with Mr Green to say they were happy to see the rain, “but they’re more frustrated because it looks more ominous than what it’s actually delivering, so it is disappointing for farmers.

“They want to see more, and I would say that we’re looking at more droughts being declared over the next week to 10 days by the Government.”

Waikato and Hawke’s Bay were the next likely candidates for droughts to be declared – with Wairarapa and parts of Rotorua and Canterbury also potential candidates.

Mr Green said the dry spell would continue for at least the next fortnight, with pockets of showers providing nothing of significance.

He said the anticyclones which had been blocking potential rain-makers were expected to last until the end of the month, which was bad news for farmers.

Central, northern and eastern parts of the country could get some more significant rain about a fortnight from now – but long-range models in the last month had often promised rain but failed to deliver.

Mr Green said more than half the country recorded a total of less than 25mm of rain last month.

Rotorua received just 1.4mm of rain last month, Gisborne 15mm, Napier 14.2mm and Whakatane 10.4mm.

NIWA senior climate scientist Georgina Griffiths disagreed it was the driest February since 1973, saying much of the North Island was very dry, but hardly any February rainfall records were broken.

“This drought is because it’s been going for four months, rather than one particular bad month.”

She said rainfall totalled less than 15mm – which was less than 15 per cent of normal – in parts of Northland, Auckland and Bay of Plenty last month.

Ms Griffiths said it was the driest month ever recorded in Leigh, north of Auckland, and the driest February on record in Milford Sound.

NIWA is due to release its February climate summary today.

Federated Farmers’ Waikato president James Houghton said conditions were worse than the droughts in 2007 and 2008, which were estimated to have cost the country $2.8 billion.

Many farmers were being forced to sell stock, often to South Island buyers, and meatworks were overloaded, he said.

Ministry for Primary Industries’ North Island resource policy manager Stuart Anderson said the ministry was monitoring the situation.

Should drought be declared in Waikato, it would apply from Taupo to the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Dairy farmer Philip Bell said he had never experienced a summer as dry as this in the 50 years he had been on his Clevedon property.

“Next week I’ll be pregnancy testing all my cows and all the empty ones will have to go.

We’re in a pretty bad situation.”

- APNZ

NEWS TEAM

We also welcome your letters, but: • We reserve the right to abridge, edit or not publish letters.

• Correspondents are not permitted to use pen names, and for verification must provide address and contact number (neither for publication).

• Letters should be no more than 300 words.

Palmer suggested that his company structure should be an example why state asset sales could be successful.

He failed to mention though that Air New Zealand had been privatised before, in 1989, with disastrous consequences and had to be bailed out by the Government in 2001. This scenario is similar to that of Kiwirail which still struggles to make ends meet.

For every success story there is tale of horror, so the asset sales debate is likely to continue for years.

Constitution up for grabs

News tips

TXT US

able to collect the $5-7 billion he was hoping for is also highly questionable after Solid Energy’s announcement.

As the potential gain for the Treasury diminished, he must be wondering whether the asset sales were worth the colossal crap he got himself into.

At the end of tumultuous week, Mr Key and Mr English would have been grateful to hear Air New Zealand’s annual profits skyrocketing from $39m to $100.

With the Government still owning 73 per cent of the airliner, its chairman John

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ou may not know it - and you would not be alone in your ignorance - but as we lesser folk struggle with our daily grind, “wise heads” elsewhere are meeting to discuss, and decide on, the official way in which we run our country, otherwise known as the “Constitution”. But before you go to Google to see what the present version of that document says, pause, take a rain check and a deep breath.

There’s no hurry. There isn’t one.

In the mind. Our current Constitution exists more in the mind than on paper.

Which is the incentive for the august members of the sitting committee, who wish to formalise, compartmentalise, rationalise and “racialise” the business of overall government.

That we have done so relatively well all these years without such weighty intervention is, apparently, by the by - as we “of a certain age” used to say.

Bluntly. To put it bluntly and why not - these significant and highly controversial deliberations are part of the intensely political manoeuvrings entered into by National when inveigling and inviting the Maori Party in particular, and Maoridom in general, to “come on board” as a coalition partner, thus ensuring the establishment of a National-led Government.

For any hope of a continuation of that cosy cohabitation - and National haven’t exactly a queue of would-be alternative coalition partners from which to choose the chickens are about to come home to roost.

Enthusiastic. Enthusiastically led by Maori Affairs Minister, the permanently bright-eyed and urbanely ubiquitous, Chris Finlayson, the most likely outcome of this convocation of conferees is the enshrinement into the new Constitution of the Treaty of Waitangi, complete with all the “principles” it supposedly incorporates.

Whether this would be regarded as a welcome development by the “general public” of Aotearoa, New Zealand, “remains”, inevitably, “to be seen”.

Appeasement. Some might even go so far as to suggest it would be nothing more than a “doctrine of appeasement” whereby the Crown abdicates its primary responsibility of government in favour of a form of dual control, thus laying the grounds for “separatism”, by any other name.

“Them” and “Us”, rather than disappearing from the daily language of ordinary Kiwis, would be likely to become firmly and officially entrenched.

You might also consider that a backward step. The “One Nation” to which lip service is paid and reverence expected, would then seem even less than convincing.

In fact, it is already apparent there is a strong strand of objection to this “Maori-inspired, $4 million Constitutional Review” beginning to emerge. I, for example, have now been encouraged to sign up to a “Declaration of Equality” which talks of “ a commitment to one rule for all” and, “let us reject the racial division of Treaty of Waitangi politics”.

“We declare”. 1) We reject references to the Treaty of Waitangi or its principles in any constitutional document.

2) We ask such references be removed from all existing legislation. 3) We ask that racebased Parliamentary seats be abolished - as was once National policy. 4) We ask that race-based representation on local bodies be abolished. 5) We ask that the Waitangi Tribunal be abolished.

“Therefore…in the interests of New Zealand we

Nick Lindo EYE ON POLITICS

call on the members of the House of Representatives to implement the principles of this Declaration of Equality to ensure there is one law for all.”

The above is undoubtedly “considered” comment rather than rabid red “neckism” but is it a recipe for national harmony and friendly unity from the Bluff to the Cape? One would have to doubt it. Should I sign, I wonder?

Meanwhile. The longest political honeymoon in history - if it can still be considered thus - continues. Now well into its fifth year it just doesn’t seem to matter what John “Man for all Seasons” Key does. To the recent list of disasters/fiascos/ debacles - think “Novopay”, Christchurch Schools (Hekia Parata?), Mainzeal - and mere shambles can now be added the mysterious goings-on at the Auckland Casino and Mr Key’s dealings with it. The Auditor-General appears to have cleared him of accusations of underhand dealing while still criticising him for the way in which the Casino’s offer, and the deal done to build and pay for a Convention Centre in Auckland, was arrived at.

That the quid pro quo for Casino generosity requires another five hundred lifedestroying pokie machines be added to the serried ranks already in place - and milking the money from those who have little to spare - seems not to have worried the PM a jot. “I’ll do anything for the economy and Kiwi jobs.” Moral must make way for Mammon.

Now “Solid Energy” has turned out to be nothing like as robust as the name might have suggested and has joined a number of other failed undertaking down an already overcrowded gurgler.

That so many of its top “brass” were receiving astronomical remuneration “packages” up till almost the day of disintegration has not been well received. Its much vaunted - now fallen CEO, Don Elder, has surfaced, with egg on face and leaking mana.

Despite what would appear to most as political deaths these setbacks and potential vote-losing events - on top of all the rest - the latest poll has National up in all categories and all other Parties and their leaders down. In fact, on its figures, National would be able to govern without the irritating necessity of having to trim its sails in order to bring a maverick or two on board just to see it acquire the Captain’s bridge.

Popularity. Such popularity not only cannot be bought - well, almost - but also dumbfounds political pollsters, ballot gurus, psephologists and vote collectors wherever they huddle over their computers.

In those overused words, “the figures just don’t add up”. It must, surely, all end in tears but not, apparently, just yet.

Afterthought. The situation for Mr Shearer is so dire he has even thrown Trevor Mallard to the wolves. They will enjoy the taste but we shall miss his colourful contribution to Beehive shenanigans. Why, even this week, Mr Key was blaming something “The Mallard” said in a speech in 2007 for the present life and death struggle of Solid Energy.

Wow! Not many MPs have carried that sort of clout.

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

NEWS

www.guardianONLINE.co.nz

Fire rips through three houses

By Rebecca Quilliam and Matthew Backhouse Terrified neighbours have spoken of explosions and flames leaping metres in the air as a suspicious fire ripped through three houses in a leafy Auckland suburb on Saturday night.

Police and fire safety officers were this morning examining the house where the fire started, which has been made a crime scene.

The fire started in a house that was under construction on West End Road in Westmere, about

8.20pm. It quickly spread to neighbouring homes, causing extensive damage to the two adjacent properties.

It was understood people were seen fleeing the area just before the fire started.

People in neighbouring properties were evacuated and nobody was injured.

Dawson Mutu lives across the road from the properties and was first to see the flames in the property’s front room. The fire escalated quickly and before the fire department arrived, the blaze was moving across the roads, he said.

“If the fire brigade didn’t get there when they did, we could all be in dire straits here on the other side of the road.”

Flames reached 10 metres in the air and the billowing smoke was thick.

Mr Mutu said it was terrifying to see, especially because he had a four-year-old daughter and a twoweek-old son in his home.

Another neighbour had called police after they saw people behaving suspiciously around the area and they arrived quickly to the scene, Mr Mutu said.

Police told Mr Mutu they were

speaking with people in relation to the blaze.

Another neighbour, Mark Burns said it was “the most major fire I’ve ever seen”. “Intense heat and explosions and I couldn’t get nearer than about 50m from the place.”

He heard an explosion from his home and saw a big glow, which drew him out to see what was happening.

The main house was gutted and the neighbouring houses were “severely damaged”, he said.

“I would say that all three would have to come down.”

Another neighbour, who didn’t

want to be named said she heard some explosions. She said the blaze was enormous and expanded very quickly.

“It was very scary.”

Fire Service risk management officer Russell Dickson said the house where the blaze started had been “totally destroyed” in the fire.

“It then affected the other houses.

Fortunately our guys got there in the nick of time to cut the fire off and prevent more major damage.

“Both houses have been damaged, but not as severely as one would expect in another five minutes.”

Call for free kids’ flu jabs

By Chloe Johnson Free flu vaccinations are in the pipeline for children under the age of five after an alarming number of toddlers ended up in hospital last winter.

The Ministry of Health has lodged a request with drug-buying agency Pharmac to extend the eligibility of free influenza vaccines.

Health officials say almost 400 children aged four and under were admitted to hospital with influenza last year, and the rate was particularly high for those not yet 1.

The flu season is likely to start in the next three months and vaccination preparations are under way.

Free flu vaccines are currently only available to people aged 65 and over, pregnant women and people with health conditions.

Statistics New Zealand estimates there were 311,840 children aged four and under last year.

It could cost the Government a further estimated $8.8 million, on top of the $18 million spent last year, to make the plan happen.

One mother of constantly ill children, Kyla McCormack, hopes it gets the goahead.

“It would be great to have the choice, especially for people who couldn’t afford to pay for the vaccination.”

Her twin boys, Charlie and Nathaniel, aged two, had low immune systems and she could not afford to take any more days off work to look after them.

“My boys are sick all the time because they go to daycare and pick everything up,” McCormack, 37, said.

Her four children, including two healthy teenagers, had all been vaccinated against meningococcal, tentanus and MMR. The numbers of young children being admitted to hospital has been revealed in Shivers, a five-year multimillion-dollar flu study led by Environmental Science Research and National Influenza Centre director Dr Sue Huang.

It shows infants aged younger than one had a higher influenza hospitalisation rate than the elderly.

Parents can choose to vaccinate their children against influenza now, but are required to pay $19.40 for each flu vaccine, though prices vary among medical centres. Some children require two shots.

Pharmac spokeswoman Jude Urlich said a subcommittee was reviewing the request as part of a cost-benefit analysis.

The outcome of the review would not be available until the end of the month, she said.

Dr Huang said healthy children should receive free vaccinations because they were most at risk of spreading the disease.

“The younger children being hospitalised has been quite high for quite a few years,” Dr Huang said.

“They have a high disease burden and we need to do something about that.”

It also impacted on productivity.

“Parents have to stay home to look after them and they lose productivity because of that.”

- APNZ

5

Mr Dickson said he was investigating whether an accelerant had been used.

“It’s been a rapid fire and we’ve got to find out why.”

The house had been under renovation at the time.

“The house was totally stripped out – it was just bare walls, studs and things like that.”

Mr Dickson said the house was now a shell which needed to be bulldozed.

“Nothing’s saved – it’s totally destroyed, and I mean totally.”

Fifteen fire trucks and 60 fire- APNZ fighters battled the fire.

Sled teams set for a wild race

By Rachel D’Oro

ap photo

New Zealander Curt Perano drives his team during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race at the weekend in Anchorage, Alaska.

The world’s most famous sled dog race kicked off yesterday with an 18km trot through Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, before the real competition begins today in Willow, 80km to the north.

Gone will be the big easy grins as tense mushers and their leaping dogs begin the (1610km trek through unpredictable wilderness to the old gold rush town of Nome on Alaska’s western coast.

Along the way, the teams will climb mountains, cross forests and gorges and frozen rivers. They’ll sign in at village checkpoints. They’ll face blizzards and brutal winds. Some of the 66 teams starting the race will scratch from the running far from the finish line.

Contenders can’t wait to get to the trail.

“As far as I’m concerned, the weather is one of the easiest things because it’s the one thing I have no control over whatsoever,” said defending champion Dallas Seavey, 25, the youngest Iditarod winner. “My job as a musher is to train a team and train myself to work with whatever conditions Mother Nature throws at us, and the worse it is, the better we do.”

The Willow musher is among six past Iditarod winners, including his father, Mitch Seavey, in the 41st running of the race. Dallas Seavey also is among six past winners of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, held just weeks before the Iditarod.

Whoever reaches Nome first wins a new truck and a cash prize of $50,400. The rest of the $600,000 purse will be split between the next 29 mushers to cross the finish line.

- AP

• Lotto winners Two Lotto players who bought tickets at Auckland supermarkets have won $1 million each in Saturday night’s draw. The winning tickets were sold at Pak’n Save Glen Innes and Countdown Manukau City Mall. Lotto Powerball was not won and has jackpotted to $9m, while Strike jackpotted to $400,000. Aucklander Kel won $100,000 on the Winning Wheel in the live draw on Saturday night. The latest Winning Wheel ticket was sold at Wainoni Pak’n Save in Christchurch.

- APNZ

• Ad pulled An ad showing a shark circling a bikini-clad woman was pulled from screens this week. In the commercial for Lynx deodorants, a male lifeguard rescues the woman. Spark PR’s Luci Marshall said, “It’s been pulled from TV, digital and cinema because it would be in terrible taste for it to run after such a terrible experience.”

- APNZ

• Victim named The person who died in a car crash north of Christchurch yesterday has been named as Alana Adams. The 29-year-old from Kaiapoi was driving a car when it crashed on Flaxton Road about 4.10am.

Police, fire and ambulance attended the scene. - APNZ

• Serious injuries A man with serious leg injuries was found lying in the middle of a road in Christchurch early yesterday. Police said the 21-yearold was found by a passing motorist on Gardiners Road in Harewood, some 200 metres north of the Claridges Road intersection, about 12.20am. They are seeking witnesses who may have seen the man walking along Gardiners Road or who witnessed any suspicious vehicles or activity in the area.

- APNZ

Putting news into schools with thanks to the Ashburton business community

METHVEN PRIMARY

The 2013 school year has begun the way we left off in 2012; that is with the pupils and staff engaged in myriad of learning activities both inside and outside the classroom. This year our school’s major focus, apart from maintaining our excellent results in reading, writing and maths, is centered around making connections between our learning and the community around us. We are thinking beyond the four walls of the classroom to blend learning with experiences.

Year 6 students taking part in a tricky Leadership Day challenge.

Sprinting for the finish line in the Methven Primary Triathlon.

Bringing the Treaty of Waitangi to life through a re enactment.

It all go at the bike transition at the Methven Primary Triathlon.

Our New Entrants class engaged in a reading activity on their iPads.

The noodle race at the Junior Methven Area swimming sports.

Our wonderful new roll growth classroom is now fully operational.

The Methven Primary cricket team getting ready for Milo Cup finals day.

Ashburton College Newsletter

8

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

Issue 03, March 4, 2013

‘Individual Excellence in a Supportive Learning Environment’

Message from the Principal

Information

‘Individual Excellence in a Supportive Learning Environment’ Kia ora and Greetings.

NCEA Success Over and above everything else the most important focus for our College is student achievement.

Essentially, we only succeed when our students succeed.

Noting that, much of this newsletter covers student success with recent examples being the wonderful Scholarship results, and many students’ sporting successes.

One of the key measures of student success are NCEA results, and we have spent the last three weeks analysing our 2012 results in a number of ways. We have looked at the overall results, and completed further analysis into trends etc. We have looked at differences for different groups of students, patterns over time and comparisons against other similar and higher decile schools.

Overall, our student pass rates in NCEA are improving each year, which is a very rewarding trend indeed. We have also achieved a very positive lift in Level 3 (Year 13) results, alongside a significant lift in pass rates for our Māori and Pasifika students, to a level well above national expectations.

Our publicly recorded Level 1 NCEA result does reflect a number of students who are in special programmes and who are not able to complete NCEA Level 1 in one year. Measuring “like with like” would increase this by another 4% but, as a community College, we would never restrict options for a student just to manage the statistics.

Continuous improvement like this is the result of individual teachers and teams of staff members working together, in new ways and trying new things to make a difference, as well as involving students and their families.

I wish to publically thank our staff for the numerous initiatives that they have put in place over the last 12 months to make even more of a

difference to students and their success. I know that Heads of Faculties and others are already looking at what things worked which they will continue with for this year, and what further initiatives we will put in place to ensure even more students achieve in 2013.

Being at College Last week The Guardian published the results of some of our internal research looking at how much of a factor attendance in class is for success in NCEA. Logically, we all know that being away from class creates a risk, but what we didn’t expect was how quickly that risk is created and how large the risk actually is.

We are now looking at how we, as a College, will monitor and respond to any risks to success that are created though a student’s absence.

Naturally, the first port of call will be with the student and their family to see what we need to do to ensure that the young person remains engaged in their learning.

Novopay We are very appreciative of the work and support of our local MP, Jo Goodhew, which has made a difference to getting a number of outstanding things addressed. However, Talent2 keeps on inventing new ways to make mistakes.

The overall score: HMS Novopay is still sinking!

Please Let Us Know As always, we can only deal with things that we know about. If you are aware of something that is not right, such as students at the skatepark when they should be in College; or of something that is affecting your child’s confidence or learning, please let us know. A quick phone call to the College or email to their teacher is all we need.

We do our very best to ensure our students are safe, engaged and learning but we will never be aware of everything. We need your help too.

Cheers Grant McMillan Principal

Event

Ashburton College Japan Tour Group Fundraiser

Prelims Day

Disco

A very successful day was held on Friday 15 February.

This is a ‘fun’ day for all students, with House Competition to the fore. Students, by participating, were able to earn House Points to kick-start the annual, hotly contested House Competition as evident below.

for College Year 9 and 10 Students This Friday 08 March, 7:30pm - 10:30pm Ashburton Sports Hall, Tancred Street. $5 Entry

(Pictured left) Year 9 student Bradley Van-der-Eik easily clears the High Jump, with style.

Tickets will be on sale at College, on the Chessboard, at lunchtime, Friday 01 March and Tuesday 05 March.

Snacks and soft drinks will be available for purchase at the event.

Ash-Dance 2013 Monday 25 March, 7:00pm Ashburton Trust Event Centre

(Pictured right) Naomi Cone – Green House runner (Pictured far right) Nirvana Edgecomb, as the Red Devil, keeps Red House participants on their toes (and other Houses at a distance!).

All Styles of Dance – from Ballet to Hip Hop, Class Groups, Cultural Groups, Solo Performances.

Tickets will be available for a Gold Coin donation.

From the College Office, Student Counter, from morning interval on Monday 18 March.

Congratulations College Student Leaders for 2013

sPACIFICally PACIFIC

Ashburton College places a real emphasis on student leadership and students’ ability to positively influence the culture of our College. Many students have taken up the challenge of accepting the responsibilities of student leadership and we acknowledge them below, with appreciation.

The Pasifika Education Church Service and Awards occasion as held at Riccarton High School last Tuesday evening.

Staff - Welcome Vaughan Matheson

This is a key time of year for sports events, many of which are highlighted below and in the congratulations section.

This event celebrates the success of secondary school top Pasifika Academic Achievers 2012 and Emerging Pasifika Leaders (2013).

Three Ashburton College Students Featured Prominently

Kirsty Moffett (Returning to College)

Teacher of Mathematics

Teacher of Child Development

Information 2013 Class Photographs Orders taken from Thursday 07 March

Ashburton College Student Executive 2013

Executive members all hold areas of responsibility and/or Committee Chairperson roles.

(Pictured above, front row – left to right): Ellen Dakers (Ball Committee); Ash McBride (Elected Student Representative to the Board of Trustees); Kane Olsen (Head Boy); Finau Fakapelea (Head Girl); Vicki Squires (Treasurer); Lizzy Hill (Secretary).

(Back row – left to right): Savanna Ornsby (Sports Committee); Matthew Arnold (Environment/Canteen Committee); Hannah Waters (Student Welfare Committee); Josh Aberhart (Social/Recreation Committee); Abbey Marshall (Ball Committee).

Student leaders were acknowledged and presented with their badges at a full College Assembly mid February, where the stage party was piped on by Head Boy Kane Olsen (pictured left).

Photographs are presented on an A4 laminated sheet with the photo at the top and the students’ names at the bottom.

Cost - $12.00 Correct money or cheques would be appreciated, in a named envelope.

(Please make cheques out to Photoshots).

Completed envelopes and money to be handed into the College Office.

Envelopes are available from your student’s Family Form Teacher or at the College Office.

Orders close - Wednesday 20 March 2013.

Victoria Excellence Scholarship, 2013 2012 Year 13 student Alasdair Tarry has started his University Career knowing he was a recipient of this prestigious scholarship. The scholarship was dependent on Level 3 NCEA Endorsed results.

Ashburton College Swimming Sports In the midst of athletics events, on Thursday 21 February, the College Swimming Sports were also held.

(Pictured right); Head Girl Finau Fakapelea and Head Boy Kane Olsen receive their badges from the Principal, Grant McMillan.

Parent/Caregiver-Teacher Interviews Year 9 Year 9 Interviews are being held on Wednesday 27 March, at the Hotel Ashburton This is the first of the College’s 2013 parent/caregiver/teacher evenings.

Where possible parents/caregivers are asked to book interview times on line.

This can be done from Monday 11 March.

(Pictured left and right) – relay events.

House Executive Leaders for 2013

What do you do if you don’t have internet access?

Please phone the College Office to book interview times with the staff, or your child can ask their teachers at College to allocate an interview time, in each subject.

How you can book on-line :

The staff Heads of House and Student Leaders work very hard during the year to encourage student participation in events and to ‘do battle’ in the quest for the much coveted ‘Winning House’ title at the end of the year.

1.

BLUE HOUSE

GREEN HOUSE

RED HOUSE

ORANGE HOUSE

Head of House:

Head of House:

Head of House:

Head of House:

Ms Stacey Monk

Mrs Claire Bubb

Mr Ryan Walsh

Ms Claire Van-Polanen

Co-Captains:

Co-Captains :

Co-Captains :

Co-Captains :

Elliotte Strange Steven Twamley

Cameron Havis Danyelle Lusty

Melissa Gooseman Nick Ralston

House Executive:

House Executive:

Grace Goulter Charlie Stewart Morrison

Kate Benny Brooke Clark Georgia Clarke Mark Mably Daniel Rance Ella Robertson

Cait Bassett Joe Brown Campbell Chapman Logan Donald Amanda Fleming Livvie Kennedy

Year 12 students: Tom Dudley Heni Ede

Year 12 students: Brittney Davis Awa Timothy

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Login to your Ashburton College portal at www.school-links.org.nz by entering your username and password: as emailed to you last week.

Click on ‘Visit Ashburton College’ Click on the ‘Events’ items in the Blue Menu bar.

Click on ‘Interview Centre’ at the right.

Click on the ‘Book Interviews’ icon for the Year 9 evening.

When the list of teacher names appear, select your child’s teachers by clicking on the appropriate check box.

Now follow the instructions - if you get lost there are detailed instructions under the Event Tab, please scroll down to see them.

Interview Length of Time: •

•

Each Interview slot is for 5 minutes so please be aware of this when booking and book only the one 5 minute slot with each teacher. If you need to speak with a teacher for longer please arrange a separate appointment time with them so that we can help you without holding other families up.

Please try to leave a gap between some interview times so you are not rushed.

Teacher Only Day – Thursday 28 March Please note the first of Ashburton College’s three Teacher Only Days will be held on the above date (the Thursday preceding the Easter Holiday Weekend). Further information will be distributed closer to the time.

The purpose of this day is Course Programme Planning and Professional Development.

Two further days are scheduled for the year – • •

Friday 31 May Thursday 14 November

(prior to Queen’s Birthday Weekend). (prior to Christchurch Show Weekend).

Ashburton College Canteen Volunteer Assistance Can You Help?

We require adult volunteer help in the College Canteen for 1½ hours on Thursdays, 9:30am – 11:00am, term time only.

If you can help us please phone Brenda, Canteen Manager, on 308 4193, ext 851.

(Pictured left to right); Sala Touli (Pasifika Emerging Leaders Award); Finau Fakapelea (Pasifika High Academic and Emerging Leaders Award), Thywill Saofai (Pasifika High Academic Award).

House Executive: Karl Clement Matt Coote Luke Martin Megan Davies Kaitlyn Nepe Carlyn Reed Year 12 students: Sophie Congdon Ryan Hampton

House Executive: Hannah Cairns Jack Dudley Phoebe Ganda Tony Mui Shaun Stagg Courtney Van-der-Eik Year 12 students: Harry Ferguson Stacey Hopwood

(Pictured below): Ashburton College 2013 House Captains primed for Athletics Finals day at the Domain Oval, last Friday: (Left to right): Nick Ralston, Melissa Gooseman (Orange House), Cameron Havis, Danyelle Lusty (Green House), Charlie Stewart Morrison, Grace Goulter (Red House), Elliotte Strange, Steven Twamley (Blue House).

Records Broken

Standards continue to rise with six new records claimed – by: Joseph Brown – Senior Boys (an impressive three records) 1 length Breaststroke - 20.46 (2012 20.47) 3 lengths Breaststroke - 1:10.25 (2012 1.10.60): own record set last year 4 lengths Medley - 1:28.44 (2012 1:29.25): own record set last year Jake O’Grady – Senior Boys. This record was held by Stuart Doig and has stood for 26 years.

3 lengths Freestyle - 57.84 (1986 58.16) Green House Senior Girls Brittany Butler, Brittney Davis, Phoebe Ganda and Danyelle Lusty.

Freestyle Relay - 1:21.26 (2003 - 1:23.34) Medley Relay - 1:29.28 (2003 - 1:31.38)

Grade Champions Year 9 Boys Year 9 Girls Year 10 Boys Year 10 Girls Year 11 Boys Year 11 Girls Year Senior Boys Year Senior Girls

George Howden Sophie Beckley Flynn Beeman Lucy Clough Kody Stuthridge-Croot Caitlin Johnstone Joseph Brown Phoebe Ganda

(Runner up – James Prendergast) (Runner up – Sarah Whyte) (Runner up – Kohan Henwood) (Runner up – Katelyn Grey) (Runner up – Leander Kolb/Mark Tait 2nd equal) (Runner up – Sonya Whyte) (Runner up – Jake O’Grady) (Runner up – Danyelle Lusty/Brittany Butler 2nd equal)

NZ Age Group Swimming Championships At the time of writing the Age Group Swimming Championships were in their first day, involving four Ashburton College students: Joseph Brown, Lucy Clough, Jake O’Grady and Caitlin Johnstone.

First day results gained three finals berths - Lucy Clough (400m Freestyle), Joseph Brown (200m Individual Medley) and Caitlin Johnstone (pictured).

Medal Winner

Caitlin Johnstone stormed home in the 50m Breaststroke taking over a second off her previous best to take Silver in the 15 year old Girls’ Final.

6

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

WORLD

www.guardianONLINE.co.nz

Jihadi mastermind believed dead Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the oneeyed Islamist who masterminded a brazen attack on an Algerian gas field, was branded “the Uncatchable” – but the desert fox has now reportedly been killed in northern Mali.

Chad said its troops killed the al Qaeda veteran yesterday during an operation in the Ifogha mountains, where French-led forces have been hunting Islamist fighters who occupied northern Mali for 10 months.

Belmokhtar claimed the spectacular attack in January on the In Amenas gas plant in southern Algeria, in which men from his

“Signatories in Blood” group, an al Qaeda breakaway, seized hundreds of hostages at an isolated facility operated by British, American and Norwegian oil companies.

The seizure ended in a bloodbath, with 38 hostages killed by the time an Algerian raid ended the crisis.

Branded a terrorist by some, Belmokhtar is seen by others as a common criminal.

He was born in 1972 in the Algerian desert city of Ghardaia.

But in a rare 2007 interview, he said he was drawn away from home by his fascination with the exploits

of the mujahedeen combating the Soviet invaders of Afghanistan, whom he joined in 1991 when he was barely 19 years old.

It was in Afghanistan that he claims to have lost his eye when it was hit by shrapnel, and where he had his first contacts with al Qaeda.

Now nicknamed Lawar (The OneEyed), he returned to Algeria in 1993, a year after the government sparked civil war by cancelling an election the Islamic Salvation Front was poised to win.

He joined the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which conducted a

violent campaign of civilian massacres in its battle against the government, sometimes wiping out entire villages.

Belmokhtar thrived thanks to his intimate knowledge of the nearly lawless “Grey Zone” of southern Algeria, northern Mali and neighbouring Niger. That success was strengthened by a network of tribal alliances that he cemented through marriage.

In 1998, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) broke away from the GIA. Belmokhtar, now also nicknamed “The Uncatchable” by a former

French intelligence chief, went with them. Nine years later, the GSPC formally adopted the jihadist ideology of Osama bin Laden and renamed itself al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

These Islamists have spun a tight network across tribal and business lines that stretch across Africa’s Sahel region, supporting poor communities and protecting all kinds of traffickers.

They are comfortable operating in harsh desert terrain and have made millions of dollars from the ransoms of European hostages.

Belmokhtar was pushed out as

one of AQIM’s top two leaders in northern Mali in October for what one regional security official said were his “continued divisive activities despite several warnings.”

The precise details are not entirely clear, but his third nickname, ‘Mr Marlboro,’ could provide a hint.

With a reputation as a smuggling baron – dealing in contraband cigarettes, stolen cars and even drugs, as well as profiting from illegal immigration networks – Belmokhtar’s commitment to AQIM’s puritanical brand of Islam was questioned by some members of the group.

A Malian official said AQIM supremo Abdelmalek Droukdel had said Belmokhtar had been “dismissed for straying from the right path.”

After being ousted from AQIM, Belmokhtar founded Signatories in Blood, which launched the Algerian gas plant attack days after France sent fighter jets, attack helicopters and troops into Mali on January 11.

The report of his death came after Chad’s president said his forces had killed Abou Zeid, the top AQIM commander in Mali, a few days earlier.

- AFP

Assad ‘ready Sinkhole rescuers call off search for body for talks with opposition’

By Tamara Lush

Rebels capture Two children killed prison in Syria by Australian soldiers Jihadist rebels have seized control of a prison in the northern Raqa province and freed “hundreds” of detainees, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported yesterday.

“Government forces pulled out of Raqa’s central prison located in the northern part of the provincial capital after clashes that lasted days,” the watchdog said.

Jihadist rebels from Al-Nusra Front and other insurgents took over the prison at the weekend “and liberated hundreds of prisoners,” it said, adding some detainees were transferred to nearby Tal Abiad to appear before a local Islamist court.

The prison takeover came as battles raged on the outskirts of the city of Raqa between rebels and Syrian troops, the Britain-based Observatory said.

Sixteen rebels and 14 government soldiers were killed in the fighting, which the Observatory said was “the most violent in the region” since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad erupted nearly two years ago.

The rebels, who control most of the countryside of Raqa, have been attacking army checkpoint on the outskirts of the provincial capital.

Elsewhere, rebel fighters and government forces fought for control of a sprawling police academy at Khan al-Assal in the northern province of Aleppo, the watchdog said.

- AFP

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Australian Defence Force (ADF) commanders are trying to find out how two Afghan children were killed during an allied operation involving their soldiers.

The boys, aged seven and eight, were shot dead late last week as they tended cattle in Oruzgan province in Afghanistan where Australian soldiers were fighting back after a Taliban attack.

Defence force chief General David Hurley offered his condolences to their families, but said it was too early to say how it happened or who was responsible.

But the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it took full responsibility.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has been briefed on the incident, declined to comment yesterday, saying she would leave any commentary to General Hurley.

“I’m not going to deal with the details of the incident in question,” she told reporters in Sydney.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said civilian deaths were a “horrible feature of war”.

“It is absolutely tragic, absolutely tragic whenever we get civilian casualties of war,” he told reporters on Sunday.

The ADF and ISAF are jointly investigating the incident in the northwestern province, but have only con-

firmed no Australian soldiers were injured.

A joint Afghan-ISAF team visited the district of Shahidi Hassas in Oruzgan at the weekend to investigate and meet with local leaders.

Australian soldiers from the Special Operations Task Group were conducting a routine liaison patrol.

ISAF said the troops had opened fire at what they believed were insurgent forces.

“We deeply regret that the International Security Assistance Forces were responsible for the unintended death of two young Afghan boys during the operation,” General Hurley said in a statement.

He said Australian personnel immediately reported the incident to Afghan government officials and military leaders.

“It is premature to make any determination about how the incident occurred or who was responsible,” General Hurley added.

ISAF expressed its “deep regret” at the civilian casualties.

“I offer my personal apology and condolences to the family of the boys who were killed,” ISAF commander General Joseph Dunford said.

“I am committed to ensuring we do the right thing for the families of those we harmed, as well as for the community in which they lived.”

- AAP/AFP

• Queen resting after bug The Queen is resting after suffering symptoms of gastroenteritis. She was due to attend a military celebration in Wales during the country’s St David’s Day celebrations, but was forced to cancel her planned engagements because of the sickness. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on her condition yesterday, but a spokeswoman earlier confirmed Queen Elizabeth II would spend some time at Windsor. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are due to fly out to Rome for a two-day visit next week, which could now be in doubt. A palace spokesman said the visit was still due to take place, but a decision would be made after she was assessed.

- PA

• Melbourne siege ends The body of convicted rapist Antonio Loguancio has been found in a bungalow after a two-day siege in Melbourne came to a fiery end. Police say the siege escalated about 1pm yesterday when a number of shots were fired from the bungalow at the rear of a property in Glenroy. The bungalow caught fire around 2pm and fire fighters found Loguancio’s body when they extinguished the blaze. Loguancio had been holed up in the Justin Avenue property since Friday night but the standoff came to an end after loud bangs heard coming from the property were followed by billowing smoke. Deputy police commissioner Tim Cartwright said police had attempted to talk Loguancio out of the bungalow throughout the siege. The homicide squad will investigate the death and present its findings to the coroner. - AAP

• Six die in Japan blizzards

Summer Care

At least six people died in a spate of snow-related incidents as blizzards swept across the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido at the weekend, police and news reports said. A 40-year-old woman and her three teenaged children were found dead in a car buried under snow in the town of Nakashibetsu, eastern Hokkaido, a local police spokesman said. They are believed to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning as the car’s exhaust pipe was blocked by snow and the windows were up, Kyodo News said yesterday, adding that snowfalls of more than two metres were recorded in the area.

- AFP

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Syrian President Bashar alAssad says he’s ready to negotiate with the country’s opposition, but refuses to consider stepping down.

Assad offered to hold talks with rebels in a bid to end the crisis on the condition they lay down their arms, but in a rare interview with a UK newspaper he made the distinction between the “political entities” he would talk with and “armed terrorists”.

“We are ready to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms,” Assad told The Sunday Times in a video-taped interview conducted last week in his Damascus residence, the Al-Muhajireen palace.

“We can engage in dialogue with the opposition, but we cannot engage in dialogue with terrorists.”

His offer of talks echoed that of Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem in Moscow last week - the first such move by a top Syrian official.

Syria is locked in a 23-monthlong conflict in which the United Nations estimates more than 70,000 have been killed, but Assad dismissed the idea the fighting is linked to his continued role as president.

“If this argument is correct, then my departure will stop the fighting,” Assad said.

“Clearly this is absurd, and other recent precedents in Libya, Yemen and Egypt bear witness to this.”

Assad accused the British government of wanting to arm “terrorists” in his country.

“How can we expect them to make the violence less while they want to send military supplies to the terrorists and don’t try to ease the dialogue between the Syrians?”

Britain has been pushing for the lifting of a European ban on arms supplies to Syrian rebels, but at a meeting last month European Union foreign ministers decided instead to allow only “non-lethal” aid and “tech-

nical assistance” to flow to the Syria’s opposition.

Assad added that “Britain has played a famously unconstructive role in different issues for decades, some say for centuries - I’m telling you the perception in our region”.

“The problem with this government is that their shallow and immature rhetoric only highlights this tradition of a bullying hegemony.”

The British government is bound by an EU arms embargo which European foreign ministers decided not to lift at a meeting in Brussels on February 18.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague had called for changes to the existing arms ban “so that we can provide a broader range of support to the National Coalition”, the opposition umbrella group in Syria.

“We give them strong political and diplomatic support. We also give them assistance in terms of equipment at the moment to help them try to save people’s lives,” he added.

“I think there is a broader range of equipment that we could give to them.”

Assad dismissed the suggestion Britain could play a constructive role in resolving the fighting, saying: “We don’t expect an arsonist to be a firefighter.”

He said that for a long time there had been no contact between the Syria regime and the British government, which lacked credibility in its dealings with Syria because of its history in the Middle East.

“If you want to talk about the role, you cannot separate the role from the credibility,” Assad said.

“And we cannot separate the credibility from the history of that country.”

Assad accused Britain of wanting to escalate the conflict through its desire to supply military equipment to the rebels.

“How can we expect to ask Britain to play a role while it is determined to militarise the problem?” Assad said.

- AFP

Peter St

By Nick Morrison

US officials have called off the effort to recover the body of a man swallowed by a sinkhole below his Florida home.

Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill says rescuers will end the effort to find Jeff Bush’s body.

Bush was in the bedroom of his home east of Tampa when the earth opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five others in the house escaped unharmed.

Merrill says officials plan to begin demolishing the home today, using heavy equipment.

“We’re dealing with a very unusual sinkhole,” he said.

Yesterday, the normally quiet neighbourhood of concrete block homes painted in Florida pastels was jammed with cars as engineers, journalists and curious onlookers came to the scene.

At the home next door to the Bushes, a family cried ap photo and organised boxes.

Testing had deterEngineers work in front of a home where sinkhole opened up underneath a bedroom and swallowed a man in Seffner, Florida.

mined their house was also compromised by the sinkhole, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Ronnie Rivera.

The family, which had evacuated on Saturday, was allowed to go inside for about half an hour to gather belongings.

Sisters Soliris and Elbairis Gonzalez, who live on the same street as Bushes, says rumours are circulating among neighbours who are concerned for their safety.

“I’ve had nightmares,” Soliris Gonzalez, 31, said.

“In my dreams, I keep checking for cracks in the house.”

Experts say thousands of sinkholes erupt yearly in Florida because of the state’s unique geography, though most are small and deaths rarely occur.

“There’s hardly a place in Florida that’s immune to sinkholes,” said Sandy Nettles, who owns a geology consultancy in the Tampa area.

“There’s no way of ever predicting where a sinkhole is going to occur.”

- AP

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Radio DJ Mel Greig will reportedly return to work at 2DayFM after being taken off the air over the royal prank call that had tragic consequences. Greig confirmed her return to News Limited when spotted outside a Sydney pub on Saturday but didn’t say what her role would be. “Someone from the station will be in contact with News Limited when I return,” Greig told the reporter.

“I’m not supposed to say anything. I’m so sorry.” Her former on-air partner Michael Christian quietly returned to the airwaves last month.

- AAP

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

TRAVEL

7

www.guardianONLINE.co.nz

Big year for northern lights

photo AP

The northern lights or aurora borealis shimmer in the sky above Kenai, Alaska, shortly before daybreak. This year and next year are expected to offer prime viewing for the northern lights due to a peak in the cycle of solar activity that causes the lights.

Bill Carter had been planning his bucket-list winter vacation to Alaska for 30 years, and he couldn’t have picked a better time to take it.

The retired chemist from Jesup, Georgia, didn’t mind that February temperatures can hover near minus 40 degrees on the outskirts of Fairbanks, because the night sky there offered Carter something most people never get to see: The aurora borealis.

“Yellows, oranges, greens. There were light bursts that would come from time to time,” Carter said during his trip.

“There were light rays that seemed to come from the ground up, and from the sky down.”

The northern lights can be seen on dark, clear nights when charged solar particles strike the upper atmosphere near the North Pole.

Because of a predicted peak in a solar cycle, this year and next year are expected to offer prime viewing for the elusive phenomenon.

So Alaska’s tourism industry is gearing up for thousands of visitors like Carter — including jet loads from Japan — who are willing to wait outside in freezing weather, often for hours past midnight, in hopes of catching a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of the lights.

Fairbanks, the largest city in Alaska’s interior, is well-suited for aurora tourism because it’s located just at the edge of the “auroral oval,” a ring-shaped region that circles the north magnetic pole where auroral activity is most common.

It also has less cloud cover because of its distance from the ocean, and tourists can usually escape the city’s light pollution by driving just 17 kilometres out.

Lonely Planet, National Geographic and the Los Angeles Times travel section have all named Fairbanks or its surrounding areas as one of the best tourist destinations this year.

Dixie Burbank got a glimpse of the aurora as a child growing up in Wisconsin, but as an adult always wanted to travel to where the lights

YOUR

stars

ARIES (Mar 21st Apr 20th) The Sun and Mercury are exactly sideby-side today, both entrenched in mysterious Pisces. On one level, your ideas may be supercharged, at another you could be more subjective. If you have been spending more time alone thinking deeply, or have even had some thoughts rushing around your mind, it will be important not to obsess about these.

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Due to a predicted peak in a solar cycle Alaska’s tourism industry is gearing up for an influx of tourists who are willing to wait outside in freezing weather, often for hours past midnight, in hopes of catching a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of the northern lights. Joshua Berlinger takes a look at the attraction of this phenomenon. are more powerful.

“This has been something I’ve talked about for years, finally making our trek up to Alaska to see the northern lights,” said Burbank, of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, who, like Carter, saw the lights during a visit to Alaska recently.

“Because of the solar max, this was the year to do it.”

Solar cycles last roughly 10 or 11 years and the “solar max” is the cycle peak, when the sun emits the most energy.

“The heavens just opened up with activity,” Burbank added. “It’s sheer excitement to see the lights come

out.”

When the solar cycle hit its low point or solar minimum in 2006, Nasa predicted that the next solar maximum could produce the most activity since the historic solar max of 1958, when the northern lights could be seen as far south as Mexico.

If you compound that with the fact that aurora activity tends to become more common around autumnal and vernal equinoxes, the start of spring in March could be quite hectic for Fairbanks.

“Because of the buzz of the aurora blasts we definitely think it’s gotten

more attention from the media,” said Deb Hickok, the president and CEO of the Fairbanks Visitor Bureau and Convention Centre.

“It’s certainly been a busy winter.”

Bernie Karl owns one of the most popular resorts in the Fairbanks area to see the lights. He said his Chena Hot Springs resort has been completely booked from the end of December to the end of March and all of next winter.

Todd Salat, a professional Alaskabased photographer who has been chasing the northern lights for 16 years, said he has seen some of the most powerful auroras of his career

The northern lights near an observatory outside Fairbanks, Alaska.

ZERO

TAURUS (Apr 21st May 21st) If a friend or associate has seemed distant or out of touch, why might this be?

Is it because you have been too preoccupied, or have you both been busy? With Mercury still in retreat it would be easy to assume that there is an issue between you when there’s not. Of course, someone has to make a move to get in contact, so how about you Taurus?

GEMINI (May 22nd Jun 21st) Although your ruling planet Mercury remains in backward motion, today its conjunction or combust influence with the Sun can help you to fight through some of the potential misunderstandings that tend to occur when this happens. This can be especially so at work where your enthusiasm, passion and clarity of thought can stand you in great stead.

CANCER (Jun 22nd - Jul 23rd) Travel and distribution are two areas that often get severely blighted when, like now, Mercury is retrograde. The plain fact is that however much we order our affairs to try to control situations, no-one is sure to be totally immune from its influence. Yet today, despite this, your mind can seem to be working better. Absorbing new ideas will come easily to you.

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LEO (Jul 24th - Aug 23rd) Business communication is boosted by the conjunction of the Sun and Mercury today, as you find a greater than usual desire to probe beneath the surface of situations and get at the nub of key information. If you are needing to factfind around the cost of loans or mortgages, here too you can do well. Just don’t be in too much of a hurry to make a final decision.

VIRGO (Aug 24th Sep 23rd) It’s been an interesting time for interactions with other people, at times inspired whilst at others you may have felt almost baffled. A little more light can be cast on one situation today, but this does require you to listen as well as to say your piece.

With Venus and Jupiter square you can probably use charm to good effect in a career situation.

this winter, and has taken some of his best photographs, too.

“The thing just goes crazy and starts ripping across the sky, then all of a sudden you can’t believe what you’re seeing — ripples of light going from one horizon to the other in a matter of, you know, five or 10 seconds,” Salat explained. “(It’s) just incredible. It makes you feel small because it’s big. It’s global.”

But Salat — and others who observe the aurora on a regular basis — aren’t quite sure the predictions of increased activity will hold true based upon what they’ve seen so far this season.

Mark Conde, a professor of physics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, expects that recent solar activity indicates that auroras may not be as active this March as some have anticipated.

“The current solar cycle is proving to be far less active than previous ones by quite a wide margin,” Conde said. “I would expect the peak of the current cycle — if it follows the current trend we have now — it’s probably going to only be about half as active as it was in 1958.”

Despite Conde’s expectations, Fairbanks still expects to be inundated with tourists, especially from Japan.

Japanese tourists have been travelling to see the lights for years, but the number of them travelling to the United States has risen significantly since Japan Airlines began chartering flights directly to Alaska almost a decade ago. The airline chartered 15 jets from cities throughout Japan to fly to Fairbanks this winter.

Shigeo Mori, who does Japanese marketing for Chena Hot Springs, explained that the Japanese fascination with northern lights stems from a philosophy that contemplates both sides of nature: Its destructive power as well as its natural beauty.

“It’s more than a phenomenon for the Japanese people,” Mori says.

“It’s tradition, it’s history.”

-AP The aurora borealis, or northern lights, near the city of Talkeetna, Alaska.

SIMPLE

LIBRA (Sep 24th Oct 23rd) Details continue to be very important but with your ruler Venus in a tight right angle to Jupiter, there could be a tendency to try to overlook them or to make claims that may not quite stack up. In an effort to please people you may find yourself saying something that’s unrealistic or even volunteering to help when there is really no need.

SCORPIO (Oct 24th - Nov 22nd) Your creativity can be very high. With the Moon in your sector of pleasures you may be in the mood to celebrate. Even if there is not a clear event to salute it may not stop you. In fact, if you do decide to have fun, you may take an ‘at any cost’ attitude, with money no object. If you can afford to be frivolous, great. If not, try not to go too far.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23rd - Dec 21st) The Moon in your sign is set to oppose Jupiter your ruler and square Venus. All this is going to happen very quickly but you may just need to quell a temptation to use non-stop enthusiasm around a home plan in order to get someone onside.

Whilst they may cave in and agree, especially about a home furnishing idea, will they resent it?

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“It’s why more people are choosing McGregors”

CAPRICORN (Dec 22nd - Jan 20th) You may feel like spending some time pottering around and catching up with tasks that have got behind.

But even if you decide to keep a low profile, someone may try to seek you out. There could be almost too much of a good thing about one discussion.

If you feel they’re being unrealistic, say so. Don’t just go along with things to keep the peace.

AQUARIUS (Jan 21st - Feb 19th) Someone could bombard you with plaudits and praise, and you could hum with pleasure. Then again, if think it is all a bit too much and feel they are using flattery in order to get on your good side, then politely resist.

A tendency to mask real intent underneath social niceties is not usually your style and can quickly put you off.

PISCES (Feb 20th Mar 20th) There remains a cluster of energies in Pisces, and if you have been feeling that progress has been slow, it’s simply because you’re seeing things quickly just now and are probably keen for action.

So far the responses you have may not have come back as you wish. It may be midmonth before things really power on, yet some good news can emerge today.

Ashburton College Newsletter

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

9

‘Individual Excellence in a Supportive Learning Environment’

Issue 03, March 4, 2013

Forthcoming Events

Congratulations

March

Canterbury Mazda Secondary Schools’ Rowing Regatta – Lake Hood

04

Rowing Coach Steve Beveridge and the College Rowers continue to build strong results as they look towards the pinnacle of the rowing season, Maadi Cup in two weeks’ time to be hosted this year at Lake Karapiro.

05

At this Regatta Ashburton College rowers claimed seven medals:

05-06 06

Gold Medals Kate Hayman Matthew Beveridge Matthew Beveridge, Adam Hodge

Girls’ Under 17 Single (pictured left) Boys’ Under 16 Single Boys’ Under 18 Lightweight Double

Silver Medals Matthew Beveridge, Matthew Rae Kate Hayman, Georgia Lysaght

Boys’ Under 16 Double Girls’ Under 17 Double

Bronze Medals Sean McCormack, Benji Barry, Lachie Davidson, Mark Tait and Coxswain Madeleine Davidson Kate Hayman, Georgia Lysaght Girls’ Under 18 Pair

07

07-08 08 09 8-10 12 13

Boys’ Under 18 Novice Four

Additionally (pictured right, front to back), the Girls’ Under 16 Coxed Four of Olivia Fleming, Georgia Lysaght, Jemma Rotch, Jessica Jary and coxswain Matthew Parker (obscured) showed good improvement to claim 4th place.

The next event for the rowers, the South Island Secondary Schools’ Regatta at Lake Ruataniwha, will be reported on in our next newsletter.

Aoraki Secondary Schools’ Touch Tournament

Governor-General’s Youth XI Cricket Selection

Coach Kevin O’Pele and Manager Nathan Busch and the team of Aidan Achten, Xavier Bartlett, Brittney Davis, Harry Ferguson, Amanda Fleming, Beth Jopson, Nathan McCloy, Kaweau Patea, Ella Robertson, Max Sexton, Elliotte Strange, Hemi Tahuri and Devaun Thompson very successfully participated in this tournament in Timaru mid-February.

Ashburton College’s Shaun Stagg was delighted to receive a letter from Jerry Mateparae, New Zealand’s Governor General, advising of his selection to play in the Governor General’s Youth XI team against a past New Zealand XI team at Loburn, North Canterbury on Sunday 24 March 2013.

With comprehensive wins over Waimate High School (5-1) and Geraldine High School (9-0) and a 3-1 win over Waimate High School again in the final the team has now qualified to compete in the South Island Secondary Schools’ Touch tournament to be held 23-24 March in Christchurch.

A Youth vs Previous New Zealand players’ fixture is an annual event made available by ‘The Willows’ Cricket Club.

Former Ashburton College student, Ben Mably, has also been selected to the Youth team.

14 15 16 16-24 19 20 21 25 26 27

9GK Ropes Course, Geraldine Inter-school Sailing Regatta-Rotary Cup, Mt Pleasant Yachting Club, Christchurch 9GL Ropes Course, Geraldine Year 12 BMA E-Day, Timaru Year 13 NCEA History Field Trip, Akaroa 9OL Ropes Course, Geraldine Year 11AGR/PIA Practical Skills Day Year 11 Art Field Trip, Okains Bay Year 11AGR/PIA Practical Skills Day, Chertsey 9OM Ropes Course, Geraldine Boys’ 1st XI Cricket vs Timaru Boys’ High School, at Ashburton Year 13 NCEA History Field Trip, Akaroa Year 13 Tourism Food Safety Course, Aoraki Polytechnic 9RJ Ropes Course, Geraldine Aoraki Lawn Bowls Japan Tour Disco, 7:30 - 10:30pm, Ashburton Sports Hall National Bank RSA Regional Speech Competition Canterbury Volleyball 9BK Ropes Course, Geraldine (new date) Aoraki Athletics, Timaru Year 11AGR/PIA Practical Skills Day, Chertsey Thai Group of students and staff visit (to 14 May) Aoraki Senior Volleyball Aoraki Mountain Bike Championships Secondary Schools’ Summer Tournament Week Canterbury Equestrian Show Jumping Year 11AGR/PIA Practical Skills Day, Chertsey University of Otago Junior Mathematics Competition, Years 9-11 Year 12 AGR Sheep Crutching Course, Chertsey Ash-Dance, 7:00pm, Ashburton Trust Event Centre Board of Trustees meeting, 7:00pm, Menorlue Year 9 Parent-Caregiver Interview Evening, Hotel Ashburton (refer balance below)

Parent/Caregiver/Teacher Interview Schedule - Hotel Ashburton Year 9 Year 11

Wednesday 27 March Monday 20 May

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Phone 022-174-4102.

YAMZO - Asian new sweet exciting classey 25 year old.

Busty DD, nice body.

Amazing massage. Phone 021-048-6053.

Guardian Classifieds phone 307 7900

GENERAL hire.

Lawnmowers, chainsaws, concrete breakers, trailers, and more.

All your DIY / contracting work, Call and see U-Hire Ashburton. 588 East Street.

Open Mon-Fri 7.30 - 5.30pm; BUSINESS Sat 7.30am - 5.00pm; SunWANTED/SELL day 8am - 12.30pm. – Ph: 308 8061 A/h: 308 7460 OWN your own business, www.ashburtonuhire.co.nz and be your own boss.

Advertise in the business HIRING is cheaper than wanted section of buying, next time you need the Ashburton Guardian an item for a one-time job Classifieds. Phone 307-7600. check the Guardian Classifieds.

LOST, FOUND LOST something? Need it back? Place a classified in the Ashburton Guardian, for a prompt response. Phone 307-7900.

DAILY DIARY MONDAY MARCH 4 9.00am. ST DAVID’S UNION CHURCH. Real women circuit training in the hall. 48 Allens Road.

9.00am - 4.00pm. ASHBURTON BUDGET ADVISORY SERVICE INC. For free budget advice and workshop enquiries. Phone 307-0496. 60 Cass Street, Consultancy House.

9.30am - 10.30am. AGE CONCERN ASHBURTON. Ladies exercise classes start today. Senior Centre, Cameron Street.

10.00am. ASHBURTON COUNTY VETERANS GOLF ASSOCIATION. Members will play a BB Stableford round. Drawn pairs. Mayfield Golf Club.

10.30am. ST DAVID’S UNION CHURCH. Play group in lounge, 48 Allens Road. Allenton.

10.30am - 11.30am. AGE CONCERN ASHBURTON. Men’s exercise classes start today. Senior Centre, Cameron Street.

1.00pm - 3.00pm. ASHBURTON AVIATION MUSEUM, Classic aircraft on display including DC3. Seafield Road.

6.00pm. ST DAVID’S UNION CHURCH. Real women circuit training in hall, 48 Allens Road. Allenton.

7.30pm. CATHOLIC WOMENS LEAGUE. Euchre in the Parish centre, Cnr Burnett and Winter Streets.

TUESDAY MARCH 5 9.30am. ST DAVID’S UNION CHURCH. Walking group meets outside church. 48 Allens Road.

9.30am. M.S.A. T’AI CHI CLUB. Beginners class, new comers welcome. M.S.A. Social hall, Havelock Street.

10.00am. WAIREKA CROQUET CLUB. Singles competition. Waireka Croquet Club Ashburton Domain, Philip Street.

10.45. M.S.A. T’AI CHI CLUB. Maintenance class and exercises. M.S.A. Social hall, Havelock Street.

12noon - 3pm. ASHBURTON JUSTICE OF THE PEACE ASSOCIATION (INC). Signing centre. Community House, rear of Westpac Bank, 122 Tancred Street.

1.00pm - 3.00pm. ASHBURTON AVIATION MUSEUM, Classic aircraft on display including DC3. Seafield Rd. 1.30pm. R.S.A. Cards “500� R.S.A. Cox Street.

7.30pm - 9.30pm. MID CANTERBURY BADMINTON. Great fun, everyone welcome, racquets provided.

Sports hall, 35 Tancred Street.

MOTORCYCLES ROAD bikes buy or sell in the Motorcycles Section of Ashburton Guardian Classifieds. Phone 307-7900.

MEETINGS, EVENTS MEETING REMINDER Ashburton Highland and National Dancing Committee AGM Wednesday the 20 February 7.30pm 40 Farm Road Ashburton ALL WELCOME

Mid Canterbury Canine Obedience Club

A.G.M. Wednesday, March 13, 2013 7.30pm Upstairs room A&P Showgrounds.

Sale of Liquor Act 1989

Public Notice

William David Thomas and Penelope Jane Thomas, in partnership, have made application to the District Licensing Agency at Ashburton for the grant (or renewal) of an On Licence in respect of the premises situated at 1718 Longbeach Road, RD4, Ashburton 7774 and known as Longbeach Cookshop.

The general nature of the business conducted (or to be conducted) under the licence is- Function Centre.

The days on which and the hours during which liquor is (or is intended to be) sold under the licence are: Monday to Sunday: 11.00am to 1.00am the following day.

The application may be inspected during ordinary office hours at the office of the Ashburton District Licensing Agency at 5 Baring Square West, Ashburton.

Any person who is entitled to object and who wished to object to the grant of the application may, not later than 10 working days after the date of the first publication of this notice, file a notice in writing of the objection with: The Secretary Ashburton District Licensing Agency P O Box 94 ASHBURTON 7740 This is the second publication of this notice.

The first publication was made on Monday, February 25, 2013.

REAL ESTATE BUYERS for houses, every day in the Ashburton Guardian. Phone 307-7900.

RURAL TRADING POST 30 TON silo available for hire, Westerfield area. Phone 027-408-7008.

TRACTOR parts, sell yours in the Rural Trading Post section of the Guardian Classifieds. Phone 307-7900.

TRADES, SERVICES 4 TINT-A-WINDOW solar protective films, UV block, fade, heat and glare control, privacy and safety films for glass.

FREE quotes 20 years local service.

Bill Breukelaar phone 0800-368-468 www.tintawindow.co.nz

PUBLICITY for upcoming events, tell Mid Canterbury in their preferred source for information the Ashburton Guardian. Phone 307-7900. BRICKLAYERS, carpenters, plumbers, all advertise in the Ashburton Guardian Classifieds. Phone 307-7900.

MOTORING

HATCHBACKS, coupes sedans, wagons, vans, utes, trucks. All for sale in the Motoring section of the Ashburton Guardian Classifieds. 307-7900.

WHEEL Alignments at great prices. Maximise the life of your tyres with an alignment from Neumanns Tyre Services Ltd, 197 Wills Street. – Phone 308-6737.

SUN CONTROL WINDOW TINTING, UV, heat, privacy etc. Vehicles - Homes Commercial. Phone your only local applicator Craig Rogers 307-6347, member of Master Tinters NZ.

WANTED RARE or hard to find items can be found by advertising in the Wanted section of the Ashburton Guardian Classifieds. Phone 307-7900.

Photo Joseph Johnson 020313-JJ-029

Young duathletes run the Rakaia

Winner of the boys aged 8-10 duathlon Ryan Allan, of Tinwald School (pictured) was among 65 youngsters who took part in the junior duathlon at Rakaia Domain on Saturday. On the back of Ride the Rakaia, Sport Rakaia put together a duathlon event for children to compete in, the race taking the 8-10 year olds around the pony club while competitors aged 11-15 ran and biked the Rakaia walkway. In the girls’ section of the 8-10 grade Emma Johnston, of Leeston, took the spoils, while in the 11-12 grade Taylor Allan, of Tinwald School, was the top girl. Mount Hutt College’s Kaycee Jones was the eventual winner of the girls’ 13-15 age group. Mount Hutt College pupil Josh Sheridan won the 11-12 boys’ duathlon, while Bradley Proud took out the 13-15 year old boys’ section.

Docherty not fazed by Kona challenge

By Patrick McKendry The lava fields of Kona in Hawaii have dashed the hopes of many New Zealand triathletes but Bevan Docherty, fresh from a stunning Ironman debut in Taupo, can’t wait to test himself at the spiritual home of the event. “I’m excited about Kona to be honest,� said Docherty of the World Championships in October. “I still have a lot of work to do but it’s [victory in Taupo] a step in the

right direction. To be honest, I’ve been holding back. I know it’s a long year ahead of me and I didn’t want to play all of my cards at once going into this event.�

Docherty didn’t hold back on Saturday, however. The two-time Olympic triathlon medallist but longdistance rookie scorched to a course record in perfect conditions, leading home Marko Albert of Estonia and 10-time winner Cameron Brown of New Zealand.

Although apprehensive and entering the unknown going into the

finish line before revealing Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain sponsored event, Docherty stayed that he had to walk near the glued to renowned swimmer end of the run as the pace and cyclist Albert until the took its toll. final 40km of the 180km “I don’t think I’ve ever dug that deep before. I hit the wall cycle leg and then increased at 10km to go. his lead on the 42.2km run, enduring the pain of the “It was painful.� final 10km to come home The unique conditions in in 8hr 15min 35sec, almost Bevan Docherty Kona will present Docherty with new challenges - the three minutes quicker than heat and wind on the cycle and run Brown’s time set in 2009.

It was a popular victory for Docherty, legs sap the energy of even the best born and raised in Taupo. athletes and the field is always high He hugged his mother, Irene, at the quality.

- APNZ

10

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

www.guardianONLINE.co.nz

OUR PEOPLE

020313-JJ-040

Above: Amelia Taylor, 10, is congratulated by Lydia Taylor after the Junior Duathlon.

020313-JJ-021

Above: Lockie Atkinson, 9, Luke Harley, 7, Jasmine Harley, 5, Nina Atkinson, 9, Holly Boag, 5, Timothy Boag, 8, cheer on the riders on the home straight.

Right: Riders wind their way along the back blocks.

Left: Noah Wright, 4, gives a hand cleaning his dad’s Six Shooter.

Below: Riders head along River Road in the Ride the Rakaia.

020313-JJ-067

030313-JJ-015

020313-JJ-003

To see more or purchase photos go to

ONLINE.co.nz

RACING

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

www.guardianONLINE.co.nz

Temple Way LOOKING FOR A Bristol

Quinn runs a mighty race

Central Press Features Ltd

Im Themightyquinn has cemented his place in harness racing history with a comefrom-behind win to claim an amazing third Inter Dominion title yesterday.

On a rich afternoon of racing at Menangle in Sydney’s south west, Im Themightyquinn turned in a star performance after being at the tail of the field with fellow $3.20 equal favourite Terror To Love for the first half of the 3009m feature.

Gary Hall Jnr let him stride down the back straight the second time and Im Themightyquinn was poised to make a run at the leaders on the home turn.

He gathered them in with ease, running down a game Mah Sish which had assumed the lead early in the race.

Excel Stride was third with Terror To Love fourth.

The win was a family affair with trainer Gary Hall Snr struggling to speak.

“I’ve almost lost my voice,” Hall said.

His son was more vocal, saying he believed Im Themightyquinn had silenced those who said he was lengths better in his native Western Australia.

“It’s unbelievable.

“I’m just overwhelmed,” he said.

“This has silenced the critics who said he couldn’t win in the east.

“But we did have a lot of supporters in Sydney.

“During the week a lot of people wished me luck.”

Hall said the eight-year-old’s acceleration gave him a thrill like no other horse.

“Every driver should get the right to sit behind him.

“He’s that fast,” Hall said.

Im Themightyquinn’s first Inter Dominion victory came after Smoken Up was disqualified by New Zealand stewards for a positive swab, while last

11

year he won the title in Perth.

New Zealander Christen Me won the Chariots of Fire (1609m), a race for four-yearolds which is seen as a pointer to future Inter Dominions.

The $2 favourite, trained by Cran Dalgety, was driven by Dexter Dunn, the star driver Nonew 12,134 of New Zealand harness racing circles.

“We came here with big expectations but you never know how these things will go,” Dalgety said.

Luke McCarthy drove two of the other big winners on the program to claim a classic double, steering Itz Nosurprisesthere in the NSW Oaks and Lennytheshank in the NSW Derby.

Our Sixpence won the Ladyship Mile, Gaius Caesar the Bohemia Crystal Free For All and Keystone Del took out the main event for trotters.

- AAP

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No 12,135

Palmerston North greyhounds Palmerston North Greyhounds Venue: Manawatu Raceway Meeting Date: 4 Mar 2013 NZ Meeting number : 9 Doubles: 1 and 2; 3 and 4; 5 and 6; 7 and 8; 9 and 10; 11 and 12 Trebles: 1, 2 and 3; 4, 5 and 6; 7, 8 and 9; 10, 11 and 12 1 12.11pm (NZT) AWAPUNI DASH C0 C0, 375m 1 2 Danny Sheen nwtd...........................L Ahern 2 2 Got Value nwtd..................................L Ahern 3 Pink Bouquet nwtd......................D Schofield 4 73 Black Hennessy (c2) nwtd F &.......Turnwald 5 77255 Tepirita Jazil nwtd........................ C D Brider 6 55 Fastback King nwtd........................... A Clark 7 6855 Sheeza Flower nwtd S &..................Bonnett 8 54626 Amy Wineglass nwtd.................A Duganzich 9 55845 Mic Player nwtd.......................... W Hodgson 10 3668 Looptastic nwtd S &..........................Bonnett 2 12.31pm WOODWILLE DASH C1 HT1 C1q, 375m 1 44564 Mac Tan 22.04 B &....................... G Atwood 2 57835 Aykroyd nwtd S &..............................Bonnett 3 41741 Sam’s Flyin Norm nwtd S &..............Bonnett 4 85461 Bolt Rama nwtd S &.........................Bonnett 5 76736 Dogged Dan nwtd....................T McCracken 6 48852 Motor Mouth nwtd..............................R Hunt 7 25567 Snap To It nwtd........................... T R Pilcher 8 66436 That’s King 22.36........................ B Hodgson 9 45847 Canvas Rider nwtd S &....................B Evans 10 77557 Sand Buster 21.73.................... S Gommans 3 12.49pm J P PRINT PETONE C1 HT2 C1q, 375m 1 32744 Hazza’s Got Swag nwtd S &.............Bonnett 2 57262 Merely A Dream nwtd S &................Bonnett 3 32856 Lotus nwtd...............................T McCracken 4 54753 No Lane 21.91............................. M Roberts 5 1177 Boss Lady Sloy 21.94.......................L Ahern 6 54376 Rijeka 21.76...................................M Gowan 7 84641 Cawbourne Brooke nwtd...........J McInerney 8 67465 Bizarro nwtd S &..............................B Evans

9 55766 Black Mercedes nwtd................ S Gommans 10 77557 Sand Buster 21.73.................... S Gommans 4 1.07pm MANAWATU RACEWAY DASH HT3 C1q, 375m 1 11 Bumpa Sticker 21.87........................L Ahern 2 14654 Kapai Max nwtd.......................T McCracken 3 63867 Jimmy The Buck nwtd................... P Denbee 4 66465 New Order nwtd S &.........................Bonnett 5 65577 Hazza’s Lad nwtd S &.......................Bonnett 6 54374 Easy Silence nwtd.....................J McInerney 7 46557 Kate Rose nwtd........................... C D Brider 8 57867 Raveon 22.18.................................M Gowan 9 45847 Canvas Rider nwtd S &....................B Evans 10 77557 Sand Buster 21.73.................... S Gommans 5 1.26pm PETER SINCLAIR PHOTO FINISH HT4 C1q, 375m 1 77614 Cover To Cover nwtd S &..................Bonnett 2 26455 Bullabakanka nwtd...................T McCracken 3 25478 Cyclone Six nwtd.............................. G Ross 4 65832 Homebush Lestat nwtd..............J McInerney 5 66564 Lavender Sal 22.30....................... P Denbee 6 77566 Rebel Joe 22.41................................ A Clark 7 67537 Diggin’ On You 22.12................... B Johnston 8 71371 Max’s Lad nwtd S &..........................Bonnett 9 55766 Black Mercedes nwtd................ S Gommans 10 77557 Sand Buster 21.73.................... S Gommans 6 1.50pm CLOVERLEA DASH C2 C2, 375m 1 52574 Dyna Brownlow nwtd C &.............D Roberts 2 2134F Your On Fire 22.06...................... B Johnston 3 44113 Talk It Over 21.88................................. L Bell 4 42372 Floating Away 21.64........................S Maher 5 24363 Ramessee 21.82............................M Gowan 6 11141 Uno Allegro (c3) 21.74......................L Ahern 7 14424 Hello Ello nwtd............................ B Johnston 8 25233 Red Moova Hoova 22.11 G &.............Denby 9 34248 Fearsome McKay nwtd S &.............B Evans 10 65772 Winsome Achiever nwtd................A Speight

tV1

MORNING

6.00 9.00 10.00 11.00 12.00 12.30 1.30

Breakfast.

Good Morning.

Ellen. (G, R) Cowboy Builders. (G, T) ONE News. (T) Emmerdale. (PGR, T) Come Dine With Me.

(G, T)

2.00 Britain’s Best Dish.

(G, R)

3.00 Dickinson’s Real Deal.

(G) David Dickinson proves that one man’s trash really is another man’s treasure.

3.55 Te Karere. (T) Te Karere brings you key events and stories of interest to Maori, as well as bringing a Maori perspective to the day’s news and current affairs.

4.25 Ellen. (G, T) 5.25 Millionaire Hot Seat.

(T)

late

eVeNING

6.00 7.00 7.30 8.00

tV2

8.30 Criminal Minds. (AO, T) The BAU travels to Santa Monica when burned bodies of homeless people begin showing up by the famous pier.

9.30 The Following. (AO, T) Maggie devises a plot to put an end to Hardy, and tension rises as Paul reveals a secret that Jacob has been keeping from Emma.

10.30 ONE News Tonight. (T) 11.00 Damages. (AO, T) 12.05 Beyond The Darklands.

(Final, AO, R, T) 1.05 Te Karere.

(R, T) 1.30 BBC World – GMT With George Alagiah. 2.00 Impact with Mishal Husain. 3.30 HARDtalk.

4.00 Global With Jon Sopel. (G) 5.05 Believer’s Voice Of Victory.

5.35 Te Karere. (T)

3 News: Firstline.

Infomercials. (G) The Shopping Channel.

Everybody Loves Raymond. (G, R, T) 12.00 3 News.

12.30 Home And Away.

6.00 8.30 10.30 11.30

(G, R, T)

1.00 Dr Phil. (AO) 2.00 The Dr Oz Show. (PGR) 3.00 The Biggest Loser Australia. (G) 4.00 Rachael Ray. (G) The New York Knicks’ Tyson Chandler faces off against the Brooklyn Nets’ Jerry Stackhouse to see which hoops star’s recipe is a slam dunk.

5.00 Entertainment Tonight.

(G)

5.30 Home And Away. (G, T) Brax has to fix the mess Heath has made of Angelo’s in his absence.

6.00 Friends. (G, R, T) R 6.30 Neighbours. (G, T) 7.00 Shortland Street.

6.00 3 News.

7.00 Campbell Live.

7.30 Crime Exposed.

7.30 My Kitchen Rules.

8.00 Territory Cops.

(PGR, T)

(PGR, T)

1 15733 Another Raewyn 21.98..............J McInerney 2 11213 Chemically Free 21.56.....................M Olden 1 77557 Sand Buster nwtd..................... S Gommans 3 42447 Theodore West 21.19.......................L Ahern 2 3x522 Eric’s Song 26.56........................ B Johnston 4 17F61 Wise Crack Lad 21.76.....................M Olden 3 74165 Time For What nwtd..................... M Roberts 5 57132 Daddy Lowe 21.17............................L Ahern 4 74488 Thrilling Sound 25.97 S &................B Evans ACROSS DOWN 6 62212 Moody Man 21.73..............................D Edlin 5 45558 Flying Rebel nwtd........................ C D Brider Quirk 1. Havoc Defynwtd.........................G (5) 6. Dexterity 6 11111 Ostapchuk (c2) 26.18.......................L Ahern (7) 7 48421 Thrilling Buddy 21.73.....................M Gowan 7 83546 Opawa Stu 27.32..............................G Quirk (5) 8 33516 Thrilling 2.

Changeable (6) 7.

Skinflint 9 37571 Cosmic Mack 21.47....................D Schofield 8 74775 Sapphire Phoenix 26.43.............. J Chatfield FrierTimid nwtd C &.....................D Roberts (3) 9. Gloomy 9 65876 Miss Moet nwtd.............................P Blanche (5) 10 71718 Dyna 3.

11 3.59pm FOXTON STAKES C1/2 C1/2, 457m 10 87888 Wandy Kyle 26.14......................J McInerney 4.

Gallows (6) 10. Tax (7) 8 2.36pm WWW.RACINGDOGS.CO.NZ C3/4 C3/4, 375m 1 22112 Red Crystal nwtd........................ B Hodgson Wreck (7) 12. Loss (11) 2 44356 Baby 5.

James nwtd......................J McInerney 1 73424 Little Blackspot 21.27.................D MacAuley Wonder nwtd C &.(7) ............D Roberts 3 55856 Wonnie 2 67662 Thanks Charlie nwtd..................J McInerney 8.

Personal 14. Difference (11) 4 42668 Party Rock nwtd S &........................B Evans 3 66854 Flag Waver 21.29..............................L Ahern 11. 26.24.

Hard stone (7) Olden 18. Lie (7) ................................M 5 27743 Deceiver 4 88317 Krussian 21.59...................................D Edlin (c3) nwtd S(7) &........B Evans 5 31443 Bob’s Your Uncle 21.68......................R 13.Midnight Testimony 19. ApartHunt (5) 6 76661 Opawa 6 51486 Parra Sparra 21.70....................J McInerney 7 25545 Bound By Pride nwtd........................G Quirk 15.

Gullet (6) 21. Academy 7 22231 Sahara Rama (c5) 21.37..................L Ahern Award 8 76681 Triple Aye 26.56......................... W Hodgson 8 33425 Bigtime Jet 21.77..............................L 9 65876 Miss16.

MoetForce (c1) nwtd.....................P Blanche (5) Ahern (6) 9 78874 Chelsea’s Beauty 21.75................ T Downey 10 87888 Wandy Kyle (c1) 26.14...............J McInerney 22.

Aversion (7) 17. STAKES Coppice (5) 10 87525 Homebush Hayley (c3) nwtd......J McInerney 12 4.20pm BULLS C4 C4, 457m 9 3.06pm MARTON DASH C3 C3, 375m 20.

Fastener (3) Schofield 1 11111 Fancy Dasher 26.12....................D 1 55454 Yaldhurst Edward nwtd..............J McInerney 2 17786 Dyna Groll 25.94 C &....................D Roberts 2 44111 Kazillion 21.83...................................D Edlin 3 53338 Retaliate First 26.14 &.................Turnwald SOLUTIONS TO PUZZLE No F12,133 3 47841 Gem’s Conquest 21.87.....................G Quirk 4 86636 Another Course nwtd.................J McInerney 4 F5224 Fire Boy Baxter 22.13................J McInerney 5 F3375 Kango 26.47..........................B Across: 1 Preferment; 7 Burst; 8Klink Trainer; 10 Ill-fated;Mitchell 11 5 44458 Run Junior Run 21.97..................A Turnwald 6 78254 Lochinvar 26.44...................D Plug; 13 Abduct; 15 Censor; 17 Elle Oust; 18 Foretell;Schofield 21 6 74363 Real Clever nwtd......................... B Johnston Rita 26.16........................A Turnwald Younger; 22 Amiss; 7 2382118 Tepirita Meagreness.

7 63582 Chelseas Babe 22.02...................

T Downey 8 23357 Dyna Diego 25.95 C &..................D Roberts Down: 1 Maher Peril; 2 Entrance; 3 Esteem; 4 Meal; 5 Nonplus; 8 41436 Monty Dosh nwtd.............................S Emergencies: Emergencies: 9 1x754 Upahut Cindy 26.47....................

B Hodgson 6 Obligatory; 9 Regardless; 12 Generate; 14 Dispute; 16 9 72433 Magic You nwtd C &......................D Roberts 78874 Chelsea’s Beauty nwtd................. T Downey Source; 19 Evils; 20 10 Agog.

10 35455 Thrilling Halo 21.80........................M Gowan LEGEND: fsdt - First Start Here nwd - No Win this Distance fstd 10 3.33pm SHANNON SPRINT C5 C5, 375m - First Start This Distance 31 13 - Best Winning Time This Track

tV3

6.00 Creflo Dollar. (G) 6.30 Hi-5.

(G, R, T) 7.00 Pinky And Perky.

(G, R, T) 7.25 Back At The Barnyard. (G, R, T) 7.55 Ben 10: Omniverse. (G, T) 8.20 Dinosaur Train. (G, R, T) 8.35 Guess How Much I Love You. (G, T) 8.45 Fireman Sam. (G, R, T) 8.55 Bird Bath. (G, R, T) 9.00 Infomercials.

(G) 10.30 Neighbours. (G, R, T) 11.00 Shortland Street. (PGR, R, T) 11.30 Spin City. (PGR, R, T) 12.00 Desperate Housewives. (AO, R, T) 1.00 Jeremy Kyle. (PGR) 2.00 Anderson Live. (G) 3.00 Buzzy Bee And Friends. (G, T) 3.05 Everything’s Rosie. (G, T) 3.20 Mike The Knight. (G, T) 3.30 Kung Fu Panda. (G, T) 4.00 H2o Just Add Water. (G, R, T) 4.30 The Erin Simpson Show. (G) 5.00 Horace In Slow Motion. (G, R) 5.01 America’s Funniest Home Videos.

(G, R, T) 5.30 8 Simple Rules.

(G, R, T)

ONE News. (T) Seven Sharp. (T) Piha Rescue. (PGR, T) Rapid Response.

7 2.18pm FEILDING STAKES C1 C1, 457m

(G, T)

8.45 The Big Bang Theory.

(G, R, T) Raj must find a new job or be sent back to India.

9.45 Kitchen Nightmares.

(AO, T) Gordon Ramsay and his team pay a visit to a California dining establishment that has not been doing so well.

10.45 Necessary Roughness.

(PGR, T)

(PGR, R, T)

12.40 Off The Map. (AO, R, T) 1.40 Infomercials. (G) 2.40 Primeval. (PGR, R, T) 3.30 Secret Life Of The American Teenager.

(PGR, R) 4.15 Emmerdale. (PGR, R, T) 5.05 The Erin Simpson Show. (G, R) 5.30 Infomercials.

6.00 Home Shopping. (G) 6.30 The Crowd Goes Wild.

4.00 The Late Show With David Letterman. (G, R) 5.00 Deal Or No Deal. (G, R) 5.30 Prime News.

(G)

(PGR, T)

7.30 Tony Robinson Down Under. (PGR) Tony Robinson uncovers the key events and major influences that define Australia today.

8.30 Never Mind The Buzzcocks. (AO) Lee Mack resides over a musical battle of wits.

9.00 Qi. (AO) 9.35 60 Minutes. (G) 10.35 The Crowd Goes Wild.

(G, R)

12.05 Home Shopping. (G) 1.35 The Crowd Goes Wild. (G, R) 2.05 Home Shopping. (G)

(G)

FOUR 6.00 Sesame Street. (G, R) 6.55 Pingu. (G, R) 7.00 Sticky TV. (G, R) 7.30 Avatar: The Last Airbender. (G) 7.55 The Winx Club. (G) 8.20 Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot. (G) 8.40 HUMF. (G) 8.50 Bob The Builder. (G, R) 9.00 Thomas & Friends. (G, R) 9.10 Peppa Pig. (G, R) 9.15 Peppa Pig. (G, R) 9.20 Barney And Friends. (G, R) 9.45 Raa Raa The Noisy Lion. (G) 9.55 Infomercials. (G) 2.00 Sesame Street. (G) 2.55 Peppa Pig. (G, R) 3.00 Sticky TV. (G) 4.30 FOUR Live. (G)

Everybody Hates Chris. (G, R) Futurama. (G, R) The Simpsons. (G, R) How I Met Your Mother. (PGR) When Ted and Jeanette break up, Barney tries to help him land a new girl by using the infamous playbook Robin thought he had destroyed.

8.00 New Girl. (PGR) Jess catches the eye of a professional football player.

6.00 6.30 7.00 7.30

8.30 Up All Night. (PGR) Reagan and Chris take an interest in their hip new neighbours and Ava is upset that Amy doesn’t like her and seems to prefer Calvin.

9.00 Whitney. (PGR, R) 9.30 30 Rock. (Final, PGR) In the series finale, Liz continues to settle into her new role and Jack reflects on the developments in his life.

10.00 Community. (PGR, R) 10.30 Alphas. (AO, R) 11.25 Entertainment Tonight. (G) 11.50 Infomercials. (G)

the bOx 6.00 NYPD Blue. (M) 6.50 The Simpsons. (PG) 7.15 Pawn Stars. (PG) 7.40 America’s Funniest Home Videos. (PG) 8.05 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (PG) 8.30 Cash Cab USA. (PG) 8.55 24. (M) 9.50 Law & Order. (M) 10.45 Main Event. (M) 11.35 Smackdown. (M) 1.20 NYPD Blue. (M) 2.15 Whose Line Is It Anyway? (PG) 2.40 Cash Cab. (PG) 3.05 24. (M) 4.00 Pawn Stars. (PG) 4.30 The Simpsons. (PG) 5.00 Law & Order. (M) 6.00 America’s Funniest Home Videos.

(PG)

6.30 7.00 7.30 8.30

1.45 2.10 3.05 4.45 5.35

(G, R)

11.05 David Letterman. (G)

Across: 6 Sleight; 7 Miser; 9 Murky; 10 Tribute; 12 Deprivation; 14 Distinction; 18 Untruth; 19 Aloof; 21 Oscar; 22 Disgust.

Down: 1 Flout; 2 Fickle; 3 Shy; 4 Gibbet; 5 Destroy; 8 Private; 11 Granite; 13 Witness; 15 Throat; 16 Oblige; 17 Copse; 20 Zip.

9.30 10.30 11.30 12.30 1.20

6.00 Deal Or No Deal. (G) 6.30 Millionaire: Hot Seat.

7.00 The Crowd Goes Wild.

12.10 Infomercials. (G) 5.00 Joyce Meyer. 5.30 City Impact Church.

A Good Year

sky sPORt 1 6.00 Golf. US PGA Tour. The Honda Classic Round Three. Highlights. 7.00 Golf. US PGA Tour. The Honda Classic Round Four. Live. 12.00 Golf. European PGA Tour. Tshwane Open Round Four. Highlights. 1.00 Cycling. Paris-Nice.

Prologue. Highlights. 1.30 Rugby. Super Rugby.

Bulls v Force. From Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria.

Replay. 3.30 Basketball. NBL. Sydney Kings v Townsville Crocodiles. Replay. 5.30 Soccer.

A-League. Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Heart. Highlights.

6.30 Cycling. Paris-Nice. Prologue. Highlights.

7.00 Sky ARENA Access.

7.30 Rugby. Super Rugby. Blues v Crusaders. From Eden Park, Auckland.

Highlights.

8.30 Rugby. Super Rugby. Reds v Hurricanes. From Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. Highlights.

9.30 Rugby. Super Rugby. Chiefs v Cheetahs. From Waikato Stadium, Hamilton. Highlights.

10.30 Crowd Goes Wild.

11.00 Premier League Review.

12.00 Cycling. Paris-Nice. Prologue. Highlights.

12.30 Pool. World Cup. Fourth Quarter-final.

1.30 Pool. World Masters. Fourth Quarter-final.

2.15 Cycling. Paris-Nice. Prologue. Highlights.

2.45 Cycling. Paris-Nice. Stage One. Live. 4.15 Rugby. Super Rugby. Waratahs v Rebels. From Allianz Stadium, Sydney. Replay.

DOWN 1. Hated (8) 2. Examine (5) 4. Rogue (6) 5. Interpretation (12) 6. Prospect (7) 7. Team (4) 8. Sizeable (12) 12. Calculated (8) 14. Reservation (7) 16. Zephyr (6) 18. Join (5) 19. Tart (4)

SOLUTIONS TO PUZZLE No 12,134

MOVIe

Movie Greats, 8.30pm, M (G, R) (2005) 7.00 Deal Or No Deal. (G, R) This teaming of Russell Crowe 7.30 Home Shopping. (G) (below) with director Ridley Scott 12.00 The Doctors. (G) (who now have Gladiator, American 1.00 The Jeff Probst Show.

(G) Gangster, Body of Lies the upcoming 2.00 All Saints. (PGR, R) Robin Hood in common) is a stylish Steve’s anger at being and sophisticated offering. Crowe unable to help Claire in is cold-hearted trader Max Skinner, the aftermath of her rape creates tension. who gets a rude awakening when he 3.00 © SeaCentral Patrol. (PGR, R) Features Press finds out that his once-beloved uncle A team building exercise Henry (Albert Finney) has passed for the junior away. Max’s visit to Henry’s vineyard Hammersley sailors turns into a deadly is prolonged when he falls for the nightmare, while long beautiful Fanny (Marion Cotillard). kept secrets are reaching A nice way to spend an evening. HHH crisis point on board.

(PGR, T)

8.30 The Blue Rose. (AO, T) Jane’s work crisis leads to shocking discoveries, and a safe cracking job, as Sonya tries to save a lost soul with dark secrets.

9.30 The Americans. (AO) Philip and Elizabeth are tasked with infiltrating the FBI’s communicationsencryption system.

10.35 Nightline.

11.15 Medium. (AO, T)

11.45 Hot In Cleveland.

PRIMe

ACROSS 1. Dingy (4) 3. Valuable (8) 9. Tiresome (7) 10. Famous (5) 11. Pleasure (12) 13. Incorporate (6) 15. Bend (6) 17. Shocked (6-6) 20. Ascend (5) 21. Feeling (7) 22. Bad verse (8) 23. Remit (4)

The Simpsons. (PG) Pawn Stars. (PG) NCIS. (PG) CSI: New York. (M) CSI investigates the homicide of a street dancer, which leads the team to an unlikely killer who has a shocking motive.

CSI: New York. (M) Law & Order. (M) NCIS. (PG) 24. (M) America’s Funniest Home Videos.

(PG)

Cash Cab USA. (PG) NYPD Blue. (M) CSI: New York. (M) 24. (M) Whose Line Is It Anyway? (PG)

sky MOVIes 1 6.00 Biography: Joaquin Phoenix.

(2009, PG).

6.50 Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.

(2011, G) Justin Bieber.

8.35 Hereafter. (2010, M) Matt Damon, C?cile De France, Bryce Dallas Howard.

10.45 Making Of Battleship. (2012, M).

11.00 Scream 4. (2011, 16) Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox. 12.50 This Means War. (2012, M) Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine.

2.30 Yogi Bear. (2010, G) Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake.

3.50 Biography: Morgan Freeman.

(2010, PG).

4.40 Courageous. (2011, M) Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel.

6.50 The Big Year. (2011, PG) Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Steve Martin.

8.30 True Justice 2: Dead Drop.

(2012, 16) Steven Seagal.

10.05 The Sitter. (2011, 16) Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor.

11.30 The Tooth Fairy. (2006, 16) Lochlyn Munro, Chandra West.

1.00 Swinging With The Finkels. (2011, M) Mandy Moore, Martin Freeman.

2.25 True Justice 2: Dead Drop.

(2012, 16) Steven Seagal.

3.55 The Tooth Fairy. (2006, 16) Lochlyn Munro, Chandra West.

5.25 Courageous. (2011, M) Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel.

MOVIe GReats 6.35 Making Of Fast & Furious.

(2009, M).

7.05 Ray. (2004, M) Jamie Foxx, Larenz Tate.

9.35 A History Of Violence. (2005, 18) Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello.

11.10 Underworld Evolution. (2006, 16) Kate Beckinsale.

12.55 The Score. (2001, M) Robert De Niro, Edward Norton.

3.00 The Pursuit Of Happyness.

(2006, M) Will Smith, Jaden Smith.

4.55 Poseidon. (2006, M) Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell.

6.35 Saw 3. (2006, 18) Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith.

8.30 A Good Year. (2005, M) Russell Crowe. A success-driven investment banker’s life begins to change when he travels to Provence to look after a wine estate he inherited.

10.30 Death Race. (2008, 16) Jason Statham.

12.15 Biography. Woody Harrelson.

(2009, PG).

1.05 Poseidon. (2006, M) Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell.

2.45 Saw 3. (2006, 18) Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith.

4.40 Making Of Fast & Furious.

(2009, M).

5.05 A Good Year. (2005, M) Russell Crowe.

sky sPORt 2

DIsCOVeRy

shINe

7.00 Rugby. Super Rugby. Chiefs v Cheetahs.

From Waikato Stadium, Hamilton. Replay. 9.00 Athletics. Contact Tri Series. Sixth event. From Takapuna. 9.30 Swimming. The State New Zealand Ocean Series. La Grande Swim. From Akaroa, Canterbury. 10.00 Sky Sport What’s On. 10.30 Pool. World Cup. Fourth Quarter-final.

11.30 Soccer. English Premier League.

Manchester United v Norwich City. Highlights.

12.30 Soccer. English Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal. Replay.

2.30 Golf. US PGA Tour. The Honda Classic Round Four. Highlights.

3.30 Golf. European PGA Tour. Tshwane Open Round Four. Highlights.

4.30 Darts. Premier League. Night Four.

Replay.

7.30 Premier League Review.

8.30 Crowd Goes Wild.

9.00 Athletics. Contact Tri Series.

Sixth event. From Takapuna.

9.30 Soccer. English Premier League.

Manchester United v Norwich City.

Highlights.

10.30 The ITM Fishing Show.

11.00 Golf. US PGA Tour. The Honda Classic Round Four. Highlights.

12.00 Soccer. English Premier League.

Wigan Athletic v Liverpool. Replay.

2.00 Soccer. English Premier League. Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion. Replay.

4.00 Soccer. A-League. Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets. Replay.

6.30 Dirty Jobs. (PG) 7.30 American Loggers.

(PG) 8.30 Deadliest Catch. (PG) 9.30 Mythbusters. (PG) 10.30 Nightmare Next Door.

(M) 11.30 I Shouldn’t Be Alive. (PG) 12.30 Stalked: Someone’s Watching. (M) 1.00 I Was Murdered. (M) 1.30 Disappeared. (M) 2.30 Auction Kings. (PG) 3.00 Auction Hunters. (PG) 3.30 American Loggers. (PG) 4.30 Deadliest Catch. (PG) 5.30 Mythbusters. (PG) 6.30 Auction Hunters. (PG) 7.00 Auction Kings. (PG) 7.30 Auction Kings. (PG) 8.00 Auction Hunters. (PG) 8.30 Mythbusters. (PG) On this explosive episode MythBusters, it’s Revenge of the Myths as the whole team gets together to take fan favourites to another level.

9.30 Magic Of Science. (PG) 10.00 Auction Kings. (PG) 10.30 A Haunting. (M) 11.30 Deadly Sins. (M) 12.30 I Shouldn’t Be Alive. (PG) 1.30 American Loggers. (PG) 2.30 Auction Kings. (PG) 3.00 Auction Hunters. (PG) 3.30 Mythbusters. (PG) 4.30 Magic Of Science. (PG) 5.00 Auction Kings. (PG) 5.30 A Haunting. (M)

6.00 Life Questions. 6.30 Unlocking the Bible.

7.00 Buzz and Poppy. 7.30 Bedbug Bible Gang.

8.00 Hillsong Kids. 8.30 Impact for Life. 9.00 In Touch. 10.00 From Heartache to Hope. 10.30 Life Questions. 11.00 Hearts Wide Open. 11.30 Why Dig That Up? 12.00 Impact for Life. 12.30 Enjoying Everyday Life. 1.00 The 700 Club. 1.30 From Heartache to Hope. 2.00 Give Me An Answer. 2.30 Hearts Wide Open. 3.00 Buzz and Poppy. 3.30 Bedbug Bible Gang.

4.00 Hillsong Kids.

4.30 Xtreme Life TV. 5.00 YouthBytes.

5.30 Why Dig That Up? 6.00 Life Questions.

6.30 Destined to Reign.

7.00 The 700 Club.

7.30 Facing the Canon.

8.00 The Way of the Master.

8.30 THE BIBLE SERIES: Jeremiah.

10.00 Impact for Life.

10.30 The 700 Club.

11.00 Hearts Wide Open.

11.30 Why Dig That Up? 12.00 Give Me An Answer.

12.30 In Touch.

1.30 Life Questions.

2.00 Impact for Life.

2.30 THE BIBLE SERIES: Jeremiah.

4.00 Hearts Wide Open.

4.30 Why Dig That Up? 5.00 From Heartache to Hope.

5.30 Connection Point.

KEY: T Teletext R Repeat S Stereo P Premiere F Final RATINGS: G General exhibition PG Parental guidance recommended M Suitable for mature audiences AO Adults only 16 Approved for persons 16 and over 18 Approved for persons 18 and over c Content may offend l Language may offend s Sexual content may offend v contains violence

LOCAL RADIO: AM Newstalk ZB 873; FM Classic Hits ZEFM 92.5; FOX FM 94.9, 98.9 AND 95.7

0403

12

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

SPORT

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Fairton takes out a thriller

By Jonathan Leask Fairton finished on top in a thrilling finish to the second round of the Open A Grade tennis on Saturday.

Heading into the final round three points separated the top four, with Allenton and Fairton tied in first.

Dorie started the day two points in arrears but gave themselves every chance of coming out on top with a whitewash win over Tinwald, and round one winner Hampstead took Allenton out of contention with a 5-1 win to boost their chances of the double.

However, Fairton did just enough recording a 5-1 win over Methven to finish on top by a solitary point.

The top doubles was a terrific struggle but Fairton’s Peter Leonard and Rebecca Robinson won both sets in tiebreaks 7-6, 7-6 over Jayden Cromie and Ben Wright.

Leonard was uncompromising sweeping aside Cromie 6-2, 6-0 and Wright had no answers to Robinson’s game plan that produced a 6-2, 6-1 win.

In the number threes youth prevailed as Methven 12-year-old James Watt beat Phil Crozier comfortably 6-1 in the first set, before Crozier made a determined comeback in the second set 6-4 only for Watt to belie his age playing a composed match tiebreak to win 10-4.

Bradley Chisnall played impressively to beat Charlie Stock, making his A Grade debut, 6-3, 6-4 to ensure Hampstead’s victory in the match.

However, the second doubles match was played last and was ultimately the deciding match of the second round.

The two 12-year-olds Watt and Stock won the first set in a tiebreak 7-6, but Crozier and Chisnall hung on to take the second set 7-5 and nudged ahead in the match tiebreak to take it 10-6 and claim the crucial point that would elevate Fairton to the top of the ladder to end the second round.

Elsewhere, Rhys Cromie had been a man in a hurry winning both matches comfortably to lead Dorie to a comprehensive 6-0 win over Tinwald.

Cromie and Don Lake breezed

past Luke Glendining and Michael Donaldson 6-2, 6-1 while Todd Boag and Mary-Anne Thyne had a 6-2, 6-4 win over Isaac Langley and Angus Rollinson.

Cromie then crushed Glendining 6-0, 6-0 while Lake had an absorbing battle with Donaldson, particularly in the second set before Lake took the honours 6-2, 6-4.

Boag had a good 6-4, 6-4 win over Langley and Thyne was too good for Rollinson, who fronted up after a tough A Reserve schedule earlier in the day, 6-0, 6-0 for the Dorie clean sweep.

Injury and unavailability of the regulars meant a lot of new faces for both Hampstead and Allenton, but the standard did not suffer.

The top doubles was a game of two halves finished off with a dramatic match tiebreak.

Andrew Hunt was back at the helm for Allenton to partner last week’s unbeaten Peter Kirwan, but the combination of Tony Brosnahan and Greg Feutz, making his return to Saturday tennis, made a successful start taking the first set 6-4.

Kirwan’s thundering serve came good in the second set and Allenton levelled with their own 6-2 win sending the match to a deciding tie-break.

The tie-break could have gone either way but Brosnahan and Feutz managed to close it out 12-10 to take the match.

In the singles Brosnahan was able to take advantage of Hunt’s lack of recent match play for a 6-2, 6-1 in the number one singles win, while on the adjacent court Feutz and Kirwan played out a tight first set which Feutz claimed 7-5 before running away with the match, not dropping a game in the second set.

With an A reserve game under his belt already Duncan Rollinson made a strong start against Brentton Donaldson winning 6-0, 6-4, and the number fours also backed up from A Reserve with Flynn Ness prevailed in a match tiebreak over Connor Brosnahan 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6) to get Allenton on the board.

However, Brosnahan combined with Rollinson to win the bottom doubles in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 over Donaldson and Ness to complete Hampstead’s victory.

• Black Sox unbeaten The Black Sox batters carried their side to a 7-2 win over Japan in Albany yesterday, continuing New Zealand’s perfect start to the Softball World Championships.

After the hosts’ offence had struggled to break the shackles in shut-out victories against Mexico and Colombia, some power hitting ensured a stellar outing from relief pitcher Jeremy Manley was enough to clinch a third straight victory at Rosedale Park. Nathan Nukunuku - a late call-up to the squad after initially being excluded - crushed a two-run home run, while veteran Thomas Makea also drove in a pair of runs as part of a five-run second inning. Brad Rona provided the other telling contribution with the bat, hitting a two-run homer in the fifth to all but seal the game. - APNZ

• Boost for Black Caps New Zealand should take heart from England’s three-wicket loss in Queenstown, but feet will certainly remain firmly grounded.

The first test starts at Dunedin’s University Oval on Wednesday.

England’s premier quicks, James Anderson and Steven Finn, will ensure a stiffer inquisition of New Zealand’s batsmen than was put on the New Zealand XI batsmen.

England’s last first-class tour defeat was seven years ago to an Indian Board President’s XI in Vadodara. The New Zealand XI did the test side a world of good. Anderson and Finn notwithstanding, they showed what can be achieved.

- NZH

• Black Sticks impress A batch of experienced players had been warned beforehand they were taking a risk by opting for a break from playing for the New Zealand women’s hockey side, and that has been brought into sharp relief after the Black Sticks’ impressive showing in Argentina last week. Argentina won the fifth and final test 1-0 to take the series 2-1 - there were two draws - but a young and inexperienced New Zealand side showed they were the equal of a full-strength Argentina who won silver at last Olympic Games. The Black Sticks, ranked third in the world after narrowly missing out on a medal in London, had also never beaten Argentina in South America let alone win a series. In the end, they probably could and should have won the final match and, with it, the series after dominating for - APNZ long periods.

• Nadal triumphs

Photo Joseph Johnson 020313-JJ-075

Hampstead’s Greg Feutz serves during the second round match against Allenton on Saturday.

Henry defends Hills crown Phoenix grab rare victory

By Daniel Richardson Kiwi Michael Hendry has defended his NZ PGA Championship title at The Hills after he beat Australian Scott Strange in a playoff yesterday.

Hendry and Strange were tied at a course-record-equalling 19-under after four rounds after they shot 67 and 66 respectively yesterday and had to replay the 18th hole to

decide who would be the champion.

On the playoff hole Hendry made a clutch putt to register a birdie, which made him the first back-toback champion since Frank Nobilo achieved the feat in the mid-1980s.

Overnight leader Rohan Blizard faded on the final day as he shot a one-over 73 and had to make do with a share of fifth at 14-under alongside Chinese 17-year-old Li Haotong and Vietnamese pro Michael Tran.

Kiwi Josh Geary made an impressive run during the final round as he made four birdies on the front nine then an eagle at the par-five 13th.

His momentum halted when he made bogey at the par-three 16th but still finished with a six-under 66.

Veteran Steven Alker finished in a tie for eighth at 12-under, alongside a collection of players including fellow Kiwi Jared Pender. - APNZ

By Hayden Meikle Dunedin has again provided a happy venue for the Wellington Phoenix.

After a rather traumatic week that featured the resignation of longserving coach Ricki Herbert and a midweek loss to Newcastle, the Phoenix rebounded with a 1-0 win over the Melbourne Heart yesterday.

Jeremy Brockie scored the only goal of the game in the first half as the Phoenix won a second successive A-League game at the covered Forsyth Barr Stadium.

The Phoenix are still bottom of the competition but the win - their first in a month - was a welcome boost of confidence.

They played with freedom and enterprise for good chunks of the game, inspired by the talismanic

Paul Ifill, who found gaping holes in the Heart defence, and the suddenly in-form Leo Bertos.

Stein Huysegems was also involved in much of the play, though he rather blotted his copybook by receiving a second yellow card and missing the final seven minutes of the game.

The Heart, winless in 15 games on the road, barely threatened the Phoenix goal.

- ODT

‘Perfect day’ for Jo Giles Memorial race

By Jonathan Leask The Ashburton Speedway pit areas were overflowing as over 80 cars turned out for the Jo Giles Memorial race day yesterday.

The commemorative race for the TV and speedway personality who lost her life in the February 2011 earthquake drew big entries across all the classes.

“We had big fields in most races and probably getting up near a record number of cars for us.” Ashburton Speedway president Lance Maher said.

It was Maher’s first day in charge after taking over as promoter from Fiona Moffitt and president from Ross Butterick, and everything went his way.

“The track was looking a bit dry but we got just the right amount of drizzle overnight and it stopped right on queue before we had to make the decision to race or not.

‘

“From there we got an almost perfect day.”

The Jo Giles Memorial was raced in the A grade saloons, with Terry Catlow putting together the best three races to finish on top, one point in front of Ryan Marsden with Graeme Duff third.

The production cars held their Mid Canterbury Grand Prix with two qualifying races before the championship race with Nik Fraser taking the chequered flag from Josh Turner and Ron Koole in third.

In the stockcars there was little room on the track with 13 cars on the start line and Nick Sidaway took the win with Mike Buchanan second, and joint leader after two races Rene Bovendeerd could only manage third.

Mathew Anderson was the quickest draw in the six shooters, converting a lead after two races to an overall win with Jeremy Wright producing a super third race to move up into second and Matt Doncliff putting in a similar performance to take third.

Grant Hansen took out the adult ministocks with Amty Jory second ahead of Jason Frether.

The next race is on April 7.

ONLINE.co.nz

We had big fields in most races and probably getting up near a record number of cars for us

To see more or purchase photos

Left: Jimmy Bains’ stock car lies in a swirl of smoke and dust after slamming into the wall at the Ashburton Speedway yesterday.

Photo Joseph Johnson 030313-JJ-001

’

Former world number one Rafael Nadal cruised to his 38th claycourt title at the Mexican Open yesterday, claiming his second title in three ATP events since returning from a sevenmonth injury layoff. Nadal, who has never lost to a fellow Spaniard in a final, kept his perfect record intact by routing reigning three-time champion David Ferrer 6-0 6-2. Second seed Nadal, who also won this event in 2005, was appearing in his third final of the year. He won in Sao Paulo on February 17 and was runner-up in Vina del Mar, Chile, the previous week.

Nadal needed just 65 minutes - AFP to clinch the title.

• SBW ‘training well’ Luke O’Donnell says fellow Sydney Roosters recruit Sonny Bill Williams has trained as though he’ll take his place in Thursday’s NRL season opener against South Sydney at Allianz Stadium. Williams is in doubt for the match and will have to pass a fitness test later on Sunday to allow him to make his debut for the tri-colours against the Rabbitohs. The star back-rower’s build-up to the season was restricted by a pectoral muscle injury suffered playing rugby in Japan. O’Donnell, who is making his first NRL appearance for the Roosters against Souths, admits he’d be disappointed if Williams didn’t play. “He’s trained like he’s going to be playing,” O’Donnell - AAP said.

• Treble for Kagawa Shinji Kagawa scored a hat-trick as Manchester United warmed up for the visit of Real Madrid with a 4-0 rout of Norwich City yesterday that sent them 15 points clear in the English Premier League. United will resume their last-16 tie against Madrid on Tuesday following a 1-1 draw in the away leg and Kagawa’s first United treble ensured they will approach the game brimming with confidence. “He is a good finisher,” said United manager Alex Ferguson. “His injury in October, November set him back a bit, but he’s getting his form back slowly and gradually. His second and third, in particular, were terrific.”

Chelsea drew a line beneath interim manager Rafael Benitez’s attack on the club’s fans by winning 1-0 at home to West Brom Albion to reclaim third place from Tottenham Hotspur, while Queens Park Rangers gave their bid to avoid relegation a huge shot in the arm by winning 2-1 at Southampton to close to within four points of safety.

- AFP

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

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Ellis happy Karate kids going for gold with form

By Jonathan Leask Hinds cyclist Lauren Ellis is making the most of her time on the road, coming in third in the opening race of the Benchmark Elite Cycling series on Saturday.

Left in the dark as to her future on the track with BikeNZ cost-cutting, sending reduced teams to international track meets, Ellis has been racking up big kilometres on the road and hit the start line in Oxford for the Benchmark Homes women team, which also included Methven’s Julia Grant.

Their team-mate Sharlotte Lucas outsprinted Samantha Michael (Soul Star Racing) to win the 117 kilometre women’s race in 3 hours and 27 minutes.

The two riders managed to slip away from the women’s field with 20 kilometres to go and worked well to slowly extend their lead to finish almost four minutes clear of Ellis, who won the bunch sprint to claim third ahead of Karen Fulton (Soul Star Racing) while Grant was back in 12th.

In the men’s race the new-look team Calder Stewart Road, based out of the Tinwald Cycling Club, produced their best race results yet to start their

second season in the 159km race.

An early break including Calder Stewart’s Kyle Wood was caught with 30kms before a series of attacks which were shut down by several teams bringing the bunch all back together over the last 10 kilometres.

Over the closing stages it was Brad Evans (Fitlab) who took the advantage to win a sprint finish from Bradley Tuhi and Joseph Chapman.

Jason Christie was the best of the local team coming in 11th alongside new recruit Tim Rush in 13th.

Andy van der Hayden was next best in 21st with Nathan Tew 41st, Kyle Wood finished up back in 45th next to team-mate Nick Clark. Brendan Whalley and Patrick Jones did not finish.

Alex Hooper, riding for Breads of Europe All About Plumbing this year, was the last rider in 53rd.

The series opener also featured the debut of the stand-alone Masters Series which was won by Lee Johnstone (Warmup Cycling).

Tony Ward was the first Calder Stewart master home in 14th with Glenn Gould in 20th, Nigel Douglas 33 with Simon Earl and Ryan Dunstan further back.

Round two is raced in Nelson on April 7.

Semi-finalists sorted

By Jonathan Leask Coldstream got the crucial win, Fairfield defaulted and the Tech Stags were stomped as the Muirhead Rosebowl top four were decided in Mid Canterbury Senior cricket on Saturday.

The top three were already set but the other four teams all had a shot at the final semi-final berth.

It could have been a complicated process to determine fourth place, but Fairfield defaulting ruled them out of contention and the Stags suffered a mammoth defeat at the hands of Allenton, then it was Coldstream that came up trumps in what was a sudden death match against Methven.

The Sharks will host Coldstream while Muirhead Rosebowl holders Allenton will head out to Line Road to face Lauriston in this weekend’s semi-finals to decide who will play in the final at the Ashburton Domain Oval on March 16.

Tech Stags v Allenton The Muirhead Rosebowl holders sounded a warning as Allenton recorded an empathic 273 run win over the Tech Stags.

Allenton chose to bat first produced a commanding 369-7, easily the biggest score of the season.

Mark Andrew and Josh Worsfold produced a 67 run opening stand with Andrew doing most of the damage for 46 before Allenton was 73/2.

Enter Jeff Naish and Matt Tait to

push the score through to 264/3, a 191-run partnership.

Naish was eventually out for 83 and Tait fell agonisingly short of a century, caught out on 97.

Cawte Whiting clobbered 46 and the tail had a license to swing away to push for the big total.

It was a tough day in the field for the Stags, made tougher by the fact they played one man short.

The Stags’ chase got off to a terrible start with both openers gone at 5/2.

Sean Strange mounted the recovery with a well struck 41 but found little help from the other end, as the Stags lost five wickets for 21 runs in the middle, slipping from 45/2 to be 66/7, before being all out for 96.

Allenton’s Scott Wooffindin finished with 4/36 from his six.

Coldstream v Methven Coldstream claimed a four wicket win over Methven in what was essentially a quarter-final clash.

Batting first Methven again struggled to score limping to 97 all out with Tom Suyker’s 37 the only score of note. Coldstream’s Grant Watson and Tim Penno both finished with figures of 3/8, with Watson bowling nine overs and Penno six.

Coldstream only needed 98 to win, and lost six wickets on their way to the target. Richard Print top scored with 23 with the rest of the order making dribs and drabs but it was all that was required to chase the mediocre total, and more importantly earn a place in the semi-finals.

By Jonathan Leask Junior karate exponents showed off their skills in the second Mid Canterbury Karate Championship at the Tinwald War Memorial Hall on Saturday.

The championship had competitors from the host dojo Jion I.K.D.A. and from the Sankukai Allenton Dojo and 28 contestants competed across the 12 categories for the 5 dan grade referees, led by head referee and organiser Thorsten Windhorst, 4th Dan Karate New Zealand.

The top performers was Neo TamuraGoodman who won gold in both the 6-8-year-old kata (forms) and boys’ kumite (sparring), the only contestant to win two solo-gold medals.

Taylah Burrowes claimed the gold in the 9-10-year-old kata and silver in the girls’ kumite, where Jenna Borthwick won the gold after taking bronze in the kata.

Rosie Gray won the silver in the 6-8-yearold kata and girl’s kumite with Isla Russell the bronze 6-8-year-old kata and gold in the girls’ kumite.

In the 11-13-year-old kata Alyssa Jones took gold, Leanne Walsh silver and Tamzyn Barnes bronze, but the order was reversed in the girls’ kumite.

Kalia Russell won bronze in the 6-10-yearold kihon, for ungraded beginners, and girls’ kumite.

For the first time there were also three team events held.

The team kata was where three kids performed synchronised forms and the team kumite pitted teams of three against each other in best of three sparring matches.

Photos Joseph Johnson 020313-JJ-077

Right: Kalia Russell competes in the kihon at the Mid Canterbury Karate Championship.

020313-jj-079

Above: Kalia is congratulated by her father Sid Russell for winning bronze.

Blues are on the right track, says Blackadder

By Wynne Gray The Blues have surprised many this season and the Crusaders admitted they were caught out by their cohesion.

Courteous visiting coach Todd Blackadder delivered the public niceties while he grappled with the patchy work of his group who were well beaten 34-15 at Eden Park.

The five tries to none margin which favoured the Blues was a weighty reflection of the sides’ potency. They challenged across the field while the Crusaders lacked rhythm and variety.

“The Blues are further down the track than everyone expected,” Blackadder conceded.

“They played really, really well and looked like they were a team and they have got some strike power.”

SCOREBOARD Results Basketball NBA results NBA results yesterday (home team in CAPS): PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 104 Golden State Ws 97 CHICAGO BULLS 96 Brooklyn Nets 85 PORTLAND T-BLAZERS 109 Minnesota T-wolves 94 MILWAUKEE BUCKS 122 Toronto Raptors 114 OT

NBL Results Standings Round 21 NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 104 (C Jackson 18 T Abercrombie 16 D Corletto 15) bt ADELAIDE 36ERS 79 (A Petrie 16 A Gibson 15 D Johnson 15 S Weigh 15) at Vector Arena.

CAIRNS TAIPANS 78 (C Gliddon 26 C Tragardh 15 A Loughton 13 A Grabau 0 B Hill 0 D Rychart 0 K Williams 0 J Wilson 0 M Andronicos 0 S Bruce 0 S Edwards 0 C Steindl 0) bt PERTH WILDCATS 72 (K Lisch 20 M Knight 19 J Wagstaff 12 D Martin 0 S Redhage 0 B Robbins 0 C Tovey 0 J Trueman 0 G Hire 0 E Bartlett 0 M Dunigan 0) at Cairns Convention Centre.

WOLLONGONG HAWKS 88 (A Deleon 31 L Davidson 23 O Forman 8 D Gruber 8 T Coenraad 8 T Demos 0 D Jackson 0 G Saville 0 R Martin 0 Z Delaney 0 M Grant 0 L Hurdle 0 A MacMillan?

0) bt MELBOURNE TIGERS 82 (C Goulding 21 L Walker 18 J Flynn 13 A Ballinger 0 M Burston 0 T Greer 0 B Lewis 0 L Rush 0 K Braswell 0 S Scott 0 N Tomlinson 0) at State Netball and Hockey Centre.

SYDNEY KINGS 83 (B Madgen 33 D Lazare 21 I Crosswhite 13) bt TOWNSVILLE CROCODILES 67 (P Crawford 22 M Cedar 9 G Ervin 9) at Sydney Entertainment Centre.

P W L Pts Won NZ Breakers 24 21 3 111.52 87.50 Perth Wildcats 25 19 6 114.61 76.00

Wollongong Hawks Sydney Kings

Melbourne Tigers Cairns Taipans

Townsville Crocs Adelaide 36ers

25 11 14 100.27 44.00 25 11 14 95.31 44.00 23 10 13 97.50 43.48 23 9 14 97.47 39.13 24 8 16 91.21 33.33 25 8 17 94.68 32.00

Football A-League Results, Standings Round 23 BRISBANE ROAR 1 (Ben Halloran 82m) bt ADELAIDE UNITED 0 at Hindmarsh Stadium. Crowd: 6,878. Referee: Shaun Evans.

WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS 1 (Labinot Haliti 81m) bt CENTRAL COAST MARINERS 0 at Bluetongue Stadium. Crowd: 18,721. Referee: Alan Milliner.

PERTH GLORY 2 (Chris Harold 20m, Shane Smeltz 35m) bt SYDNEY FC 1 (Alessandro Del Piero 29m) at nib Stadium. Crowd: 8,378. Referee: Strebre Delovski.

WELLINGTON PHOENIX 1 (Jeremy Brockie 19m) beat MELBOURNE HEART 0 at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Referee: Brenton Hayward.

P W D L GF GA GD Pts Standings Western Sydney 23 15 2 6 32 18 14 47 Central Coast Mariners 23 13 6 4 43 19 24 45 Adelaide United 23 11 3 9 34 33 1 36 *Melbourne Victory 22 11 3 8 36 38 -2 36 *Newcastle Jets 23 8 6 9 28 34 -6 30 Brisbane Roar 23 8 4 11 27 26 1 28 Melbourne Heart 23 8 3 12 29 31 -2 27 Sydney FC 23 8 3 12 36 46 -10 27 Perth Glory 23 7 4 12 22 25 -3 25 Wellington Phoenix 24 6 6 12 26 43 -17 24 *(denotes teams yet to play)

English Premier League English Premier League results and standings Wigan Athletic 0 Liverpool 4 (Downing 2, Suarez

The team concept would have been the best remark for the Blues to digest after their opening appearance at Eden Park this season.

For too many seasons they have lacked cohesion and failed to understand how to nail individual skills to a team flow.

That is evolving under the concerted teachings from an experienced Blues coaching staff. They assess certain areas of the game

against markers like attitude, commitment and technique.

Against the Crusaders, they would get high marks for their defensive surety but at the other end of the scale unpick why they had some lineout problems.

Overall though, John Kirwan was pleased with progress and the approach his squad was showing.

That included the reserves who helped out late in the last quarter

as the Crusaders looked as though they might grind out a late result.

“We have been working on getting back to basics and getting back to what we do as our primary roles,” captain Ali Williams said.

“You can see the passion and desire in their eyes, and I am getting feedback when I am talking to them.

“People aren’t afraid to say what they feel and we are committing to

something and all going through with it.”

Kirwan said the group was determined to play a high tempo, high impact, high skilled game and that brought some risks. But the staff had to trust the players to make decisions which suited them.

There was still a great deal of refinement needed but the victory showed they were heading in the right direction.

- NZH

18, 34, 49) Swansea 1 (Moore 85) Newcastle United 0 Southampton 1 (Ramirez 45+1) QPR 2 (Remy 15, Bothroyd 77) Everton 3 (Fellaini 42, Pienaar 59, Mirallas 66) Reading 1 (Robson-Kanu 84) Stoke City 0 West Ham 1 (Collison 45+4) Manchester United 4 (Kagawa 45+1, 76, 87, Rooney 90) Norwich City 0 Chelsea 1 (Ba 28) West Bromwich Albion 0 Sunderland 2 (Gardner 37 pen, Sessegnon 70) Fulham 2 (Berbatov 16 pen, Riether 34) Standings P W D L F A Pts Manchester United 28 23 2 3 68 31 71 Manchester City 27 16 8 3 50 24 56 Chelsea 28 15 7 6 56 30 52 Tottenham Hotspur 27 15 6 6 47 32 51 Arsenal 27 13 8 6 52 30 47 Everton 28 11 12 5 44 35 45 Liverpool 28 11 9 8 53 34 42 Swansea 28 10 10 8 39 34 40 West Brom Albion 28 12 4 12 38 37 40 Fulham 28 8 9 11 39 44 33 Stoke City 28 7 12 9 26 33 33 West Ham 28 9 6 13 32 41 33 Norwich City 28 7 11 10 27 45 32 Sunderland 28 7 9 12 31 38 30 Newcastle United 28 8 6 14 38 49 30 Southampton 28 6 9 13 39 51 27 28 6 6 16 33 55 24 Wigan Athletic Aston Villa 27 5 9 13 26 52 24 Reading 28 5 8 15 34 54 23 QPR 28 3 11 14 21 44 20 Leading goalscorers: 21: Luis Suarez (Liverpool) 19: Robin van Persie (Manchester United) 16: Demba Ba (Chelsea), Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur) 15: Michu (Swansea) 12: Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Romelu Lukaku (West Bromwich Albion), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Motor racing

Luatua, G Moala tries Baden Kerr, Chris Noakes, Piri Weepu cons Weepu pen) bt CRUSADERS 15 (Daniel Carter 5 pens) at Eden Park. Referee: Chris Pollock.

NSW WARATAHS 31 (Bernard Foley, Michael Hooper, Paddy Ryan tries Brendan McKibbin 2 cons 4 pens) bt MELBOURNE REBELS 26 (Kurtley Beale, Ged Robinson tries James O’Connor 2 cons 4 pens) at Allianz Stadium. Referee: Rohan Hoffman. Crowd: 11,206.

QUEENSLAND REDS 18 (Digby Ioane, Rob Simmons tries Quade Cooper con 2 pens) bt HURRICANES 12 (Beauden Barrett 4 pens) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: Steve R. Walsh.

CHIEFS 45 (Ben Afeaki, Gareth Anscombe, Rhys Marshall, Liam Messam, Ben Tameifuna, Aseli Tikoirotuma tries Anscombe 6 cons pen) bt CHEETAHS 3 (Johan Goosen pen) at Waikato Stadium. Referee: Mike Fraser.

BULLS 36 (Jean Cook, Werner Kruger, Sampie Mastriet, Morne Steyn tries Steyn 2 cons 4 pens) bt WESTERN FORCE 26 (Angus Cottrell, Toby Lynn tries Sias Ebersohn 2 cons 2 pens 2 drop goals) at Loftus Versfeld. Referee: Jason Jafta.

SHARKS 12 (Patrick Lambie 4 p) bt STORMERS 6 (Joe Pietersen 2 pens) at Kings Park Stadium.

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan.

Bye-Brumbies, Highlanders, Southern Kings P W D L PF PA PD BP Pts NZ Conference Chiefs

2 2 0 0 86 30 56 2 10 Blues

2 2 0 0 68 35 33 2 10 Highlanders 1 0 0 1 27 41 -14 0 4 Crusaders 1 0 0 1 15 34 -19 0 4 Hurricanes

2 0 0 2 32 52 -20 1 1 Standings P W D L PF PA PD BP Pts Brumbies

2 2 0 0 54 19 35 1 13 Chiefs

2 2 0 0 86 30 56 2 10 Bulls

2 2 0 0 61 43 18 1 9 Blues

2 2 0 0 68 35 33 2 10 Sharks

2 2 0 0 41 28 13 0 8 Queensland Reds 3 2 0 1 49 53 -4 0 8

Southern Kings 1 1 0 0 22 10 12 0 8 NSW Waratahs 2 1 0 1 48 51 -3 0 8 Melbourne Rebels 3 1 0 2 69 84 -15 1 5 Highlanders 1 0 0 1 27 41 -14 0 4 Crusaders 1 0 0 1 15 34 -19 0 4 Stormers

2 0 0 2 23 37 -14 1 1 Hurricanes

2 0 0 2 32 52 -20 1 1 Western Force 3 0 0 3 59 88 -29 1 1 Cheetahs

2 0 0 2 25 74 -49 1 1 Leading Tryscorers 4: Frank Halai (Blues) 3: Jesse Mogg (Brumbies), Alfie Mafi (Force) 2: Tim Nanai-Williams (Chiefs), Sergeal Petersen (Kings), Aseli Tikoirotuma (Chiefs), Ged Robinson (Rebels)

Clipsal 500 Race 2 Results from Race 2 in the Clipsal 500, the 1st round of the series, at Adelaide Street Circuit (circuit: 2.5km) yesterday: Race 2 (78 laps) 1. Shane Van Gisbergen (Holden)

1hr51mins52.4116sec 2. Jamie Whincup (Holden) 1:51:54.6309 3. Craig Lowndes (Holden) 1:51:56.2409 4. Russell Ingall (Holden) 1:51:59.4847 5. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) 1:51:59.8002 6. Will Davison (Ford) + 1 Lap 7. James Courtney (Holden) + 1 Lap 8. Tony D Alberto (Holden) + 1 Lap 9. Scott McLaughlin (Holden) + 1 Lap 10. Jonathon Webb (Holden) + 1 Lap 11. Scott Pye (Holden) + 1 Lap 12. Dean Fiore (Holden) + 1 Lap 13. James Moffat (Nissan) + 1 Lap 14. Rick Kelly (Nissan) + 1 Lap 15. Tim Blanchard (Ford) + 1 Lap 16. David Wall (Holden) + 1 Lap 17. Lee Holdsworth (Mercedes) + 1 Lap 18. Jason Bright (Holden) DNF 19. Garth Tander (Holden) DNF DNF 20. Todd Kelly (Nissan) 21. Alex Davison (Ford) DNF 22. Jonny Reid (Ford) DNF 23. Tim Slade (Mercedes) DNF 24. Michael Caruso (Nissan) DNF 25. Maro Engel (Ford) DNF 26. Fabian Coulthard (Holden) DNF 27. David Reynolds (Ford) DNF 28. Alex Premat (Holden) DNF

Rugby Super Rugby Results Standings Rd 3 BLUES 34 (Frank Halai 2, Luke Braid, Steven

Squash Celtic Squash Club Results from last week’s round of the Celtic Squash Club’s summer league competition: James McCloy lost to Chris O’Reilly 0-4, Mick Hooper lost to Mark O’Grady 0-3, Rebecca Abernethy drew with Cath Blacklow 2-2, Lucas Hooper lost to Chrissie Stratford 1-2.

Steve Devereux beat Brendon Clarke 2-1, Billy Nolan beat Paul Cousins 2-1, Mark Holmes beat Petr Holub 3-1, Pat Summerfield beat Warren Mackenzie 4-1.

Tennis Mexican Open Results from Mexican Open yesterday Men, Final: 2-Rafael Nadal (ESP) bt 1-David Ferrer (ESP) 6-0 6-2.

Women, Final: 1-Sara Errani (ITA) bt 2-Carla Suarez (ESP) 6-0 6-4.

• Glenys in top form Mayfield golfer Glenys Carr touches down in South Africa today to play in the BMW International Golf Cup. Carr, the mother of former Black Stick Stacey Carr, won the regional and then the New Zealand BMW tournament to be one of 48 amateurs from across the globe who won their way to compete in the tournament.

• Trophy stays at gorge The Gorge retained the Dennis Queenan Trophy with a 15-10 win over the Plains at the Mt Somers Rugby Club 60th Jubilee on Saturday. The match hasn’t been played since 1995, with the gorge winning on that occasion and they retained the trophy again, but will not have to wait as long with the match scheduled to be played again next year.

Grass Roots Rugby was along to film the celebrations which will air in April.

• Fulton viable skipper Peter Fulton is the frontrunner to captain the New Zealand test team if Brendon McCullum is injured. Speculation rose about McCullum’s successor in the various forms when he twinged an abdominal muscle in the final one-day international at Eden Park. There is no vice-captain named in any NZ squad; the team prefers to rely on a leadership or strategic group as back-up. Ross Taylor is out of contention to deputise, despite allegedly being New Zealand Cricket’s preferred candidate to lead the test side when a split captaincy was mooted. Fulton has vast experience captaining Canterbury. He took over that role from Kruger van Wyk in the 2009-10 season. Canterbury won the Plunket Shield the following season. Fulton’s Plunket Shield form is outstanding, having made 902 runs at 56.37.

- HOS

14

ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Monday, March 4, 2013

Guardian

SPORT

WEATHER GODS SHINE ON JO GILES MEMORIAL RACE P12 | KARATE KIDS GOING FOR GOLD P13 ONLINE.co.nz

Stephens leader of the pack

Check out our video

By Myles Hume

Photo Joseph Johnson 020313-JJ-010

Ashburton’s Jaron Stephens leads Ride the Rakaia on Saturday, which he eventually won in a sprint finish in a bunch of 24 riders.

With a bunch of 23 riders hungry for victory on his tail, Ashburton’s Jaron Stephens found the will and the leg power when called upon at Saturday’s Ride the Rakaia.

As the leading bunch headed east on the gradual downhill slope towards Rakaia’s Elizabeth Street finish line, the yellow jersey was up for grabs by any of the leading 24 riders.

But as he broke away in the final hundred metres, Stephens, 19, found his top gear, outsprinting the pack to win the 103km race in 2hr 33min 18sec with only one second splitting him from runner up Jeremy Crestani and third place getter Hamish McDonald.

“It was a pretty close finish and everyone was watching closely,” race director John Moore said.

In the women’s race Rachel Thow was the dominant figure, claiming the polka dot jersey for the first female at the top of the gorge, and then using that momentum to add a yellow layer to her outfit, crossing the finish line first in a time of 2hr 33min 21sec.

From the sideline Test yourself with the Guardian’s weekday quiz

What is this person famous for?

At the halfway stage in the men’s race, Luke Hurring was looking like a contender for the yellow jersey, being the first out of the 235 riders to reach the top of the Rakaia Gorge and claim the men’s polka dot jersey.

However, he relinquished his lead on the trek back to Rakaia, eventually coming in 20th.

“The bunch broke up around the gorge for the climb, but then it all came together as they made their way back to Rakaia,” Moore said.

Traversing 50km west to the picturesque gorge and back, Moore said he was impressed by the overall speed of the race, helped by ideal conditions - a stark contrast to last year.

But it was the calibre of riders that impressed him.

“It was really good, because there were some guys that decided not to race in the Benchmark Series,” he said.

Moore said the event went along relatively trouble-free, with only one competitor canning off near the start, but she regained her composure to finish the race.

In only its second year, he is expecting the event to grow in stature in the coming years.

Who said it?

“It’s better than my wedding ring. You can always get wedding rings.”

Today’s sports trivia question In the haka, what does Kapa O Pango mean?

Give us your caption ...

Flying Kiwi triumphant in Adelaide V8s Tongues were wagging about Kiwi star Shane van Gisbergen before he had even arrived at the V8 Supercars season opener in Adelaide - for all the wrong reasons.

However, the controversial driver walked away from the tight street circuit with a more positive buzz yesterday after holding out defending champion Jamie Whincup to win the second 250km race of the weekend.

Van Gisbergen was the talk of the track before anyone had turned a wheel after his former team threatened legal action in a bid to stop him from racing following a messy off-season departure.

And the flying Kiwi continued to dominate conversation by clinching

Guardian Weather

Monday, 4 March 2013

23

21

RANGIORA

Wa i m a k a r i r i

LAKE COLERIDGE

Map for today

23

23

DARFIELD

16

LYTTELTON

Rakaia

ASHBURTON

21

Ash

Geraldine

Ran

burto

n

gitata

TIMARU

23

Compiled by

© Meteorological Service of NZ Limited 2013

Waimate

For the very latest weather information, including Weather Warnings, visit metservice.com

Ra

18

ka

TODAY

TODAYFZL: Above 3000m, lowering to 2000m later

Areas of morning cloud then fine. However, a period of mostly light rain in the afternoon and southerlies freshening.

Fine during the morning, a period of rain from late afternoon north of Mt Cook, falling as snow down to 1600 metres in the evening.

Wind at 1000m: S 30 km/h.

Wind at 2000m: SW rising to 65 km/h for a time, then easing to S 30 km/h.

NZ Today

MAX

21 OVERNIGHT MIN 9

MAX

21 OVERNIGHT MIN 11

MAX

24 OVERNIGHT MIN 10 TOMORROW

MAX

23 OVERNIGHT MIN 10

Midnight Tonight 30 to 59

Auckland Hamilton Napier Palmerston North Wellington Nelson Blenheim Greymouth Christchurch Timaru Queenstown Dunedin Invercargill

60 plus

17 12 13 12 12 12 11 10 10 7 7 10 9

24 25 28 23 22 23 24 19 23 23 20 17 15

Becoming fine during the morning. Northeasterlies developing from afternoon.

TOMORROWFZL: Rising to above 3000m

WEDNESDAY

Becoming fine during the morning.

Wind at 1000m: NW 30 km/h developing.

Wind at 2000m: Turning W 35 km/h.

A southerly change, bringing scattered showers.

morning min max

fine fine fine fine fine fine late rain showers late rain brief rain fine showers showers

Shane van Gisbergen blasts around the Adelaide street circuit.

Canterbury High Country

ia

Wind less than km/h 30

Today’s answers:

Canterbury Plains

THURSDAY: Morning cloud, then fine.

NE developing.

AKAROA

Send your caption to steve.d@theguardian.co.nz Best of the week will be published in Saturday’s Guardian

TODAY: Cloudy periods, brief evening rain. Southerlies.

WEDNESDAY: A change to strong cold southerlies and showers.

21

LINCOLN

wall with 13 laps left. But he kept clear of the mad scramble that followed to claim line honours, almost making up for the disappointment of race one.

But van Gisbergen has sounded his intentions loudly in a Holden that was made by the same team that produced Whincup and Lowndes’ cars.

“It is exactly the same. If we didn’t do that then the championship may not be as exciting as it is but it hurts,” Whincup said.

“We are the factory team but the smaller guys trumped us today but full credit to them.”

Of the new entrants, Nissan’s best was James Moffatt at 13th while Lee Holdsworth’s Mercedes was last of the 17 classified finishers.

- AAP

Ashburton Forecast TOMORROW: Becoming fine. NE developing afternoon.

CHRISTCHURCH

22

METHVEN

an apt way to usher in an exciting era under new Car of the Future (COTF) specifications.

All 28 competitors boasted new vehicles, including newcomers Mercedes and Nissan, the first time an entire field had done so at the same round in touring car history.

Initially it seemed nothing had changed when Lowndes took out the opening 250km race by more than 20 seconds on Saturday after pole sitter van Gisbergen suffered gearbox trouble.

And it seemed Whincup would extend his Holden team’s dominance yesterday before van Gisbergen wrestled back the lead with a clever 42nd lap pit stop.

He lost a six-second buffer over Whincup when the safety car emerged after Alex Davison hit the concrete

THURSDAY

NZ Situation

A ridge spreads over most of the country from the Tasman Sea tomorrow, while westerlies strengthen near Foveaux Strait. A weakening front brushes over southern and eastern parts of the South Island on Wednesday, followed by a re-building of the ridge.

Morning cloud, then fine. Northeasterlies developing.

WEDNESDAY A southerly change, bringing scattered showers.

THURSDAY Becoming fine. Light winds.

FRIDAY A weak southerly change, bringing increasing cloud.

Mystery person: Italian volleyball player Francesca Piccinini has represented her country at four summer Olympics and has a world championships gold medal to her name as well.

Quote: Johnny Damon skating on thin ice as he receives his World Series ring in 2004 Trivia question: The team in black

his third career victory. He finished more than two seconds ahead of fourtime championship winner Whincup whose Triple Eight Holden team-mate Craig Lowndes was third in front of a sell-out 95,000-strong crowd.

Van Gisbergen snapped a 34-race winning run by Holden’s Triple Eight and Ford Performance Racing who had combined to claim every V8 Supercars event since November 2011.

He was in a more talkative mood yesterday, two days after brushing media when the topic of his ugly fallout with former Ford team Stone Brothers Racing was brought up.

“I have to apologise to everyone for the other day but I am just happy to talk about the racing,” van Gisbergen said.

The young upstart’s win seemed

By Laine Clark

FRIDAY Fine. Light winds.

World Today Adelaide Amsterdam Bangkok Berlin Brisbane Cairns Cairo Calcutta Canberra Colombo Darwin Dubai Dublin Edinburgh Frankfurt Geneva Hobart Hong Kong Honolulu Islamabad Jakarta Johannesburg Kuala Lumpur London Los Angeles Madrid Melbourne Moscow Nadi New Delhi New York Paris Perth Rarotonga Rome San Francisco Seoul Singapore Stockholm Sydney Taipei Tel Aviv Tokyo Washington Zurich

fine 20 fine -3 rain 24 cloudy -1 showers 21 rain 25 fine 13 fine 17 showers 12 rain 24 showers 25 fine 19 cloudy 1 cloudy 2 fine -2 fine -3 fine 15 fine 14 showers 20 fine 11 rain 25 thunder 15 cloudy 24 fine -2 fine 12 rain 6 fine 16 snow -10 showers 23 fine 12 showers -1 fine 0 showers 18 rain 22 cloudy 5 fine 8 cloudy -2 fine 24 fine -9 showers 21 fine 8 showers 13 cloudy 2 fine -3 cloudy -2

33 9 26 8 26 32 23 32 24 30 32 33 6 6 10 11 25 19 26 26 31 30 33 10 19 14 31 -8 31 28 5 11 28 28 15 14 8 33 1 25 17 19 11 6 9

River Levels

cumecs

Rakaia Fighting Hill (NIWA) at 9:45 am, yesterday Nth Ashburton at 2:00 pm, yesterday Sth Ashburton at 9:15 am, yesterday Rangitata Klondyke at 9:00 am, yesterday

111.8 4.62 6.08 44.6

Source: Environment Canterbury

Canterbury Readings

to 4pm yesterday

max

Ashburton Airport

15.8 10.7

Temperatures °C

Rainfall mm

min grass 16 hour Mar 2013 min to date to date

nc nc

Wind km/h

max gust

6.0

1.0

1.0 97.2

SE 26

Christchurch Airport 17.4 12.8 10.4

0.0

0.0 58.0

S 44

Timaru Airport

1.0

1.0 80.0

SE 26

Average Average

20.6

9.1

20.1

9.7

19.4

7.8

7.1

7.3

16.5 12.1

Average

–

Tides, Sun, Moon and Fishing m am 3 3

6

Monday 9 noon 3

6

9 pm am 3

6

Tuesday 9 noon 3

6

9 pm am 3

6

114

5

89

4

94

Wednesday

6

9 noon 3

6

9 pm

2 1 0

3:38

9:52 4:06 10:24 4:41 10:56 5:08 11:27 5:44 11:59 6:09 The times shown are for the Ashburton River mouth. For the Rangitata river mouth subtract 16 minutes and for the Rakaia river mouth subtract 6 minutes.

Rise 7:14 am Set 8:14 pm Good

Good fishing Set 2:06 pm Rise 11:48 pm

Last quarter 5 Mar 10:54 am ©Copyright OceanFun Publishing Ltd.

Rise 7:16 am Set 8:12 pm Good

Good fishing Set 3:09 pm

New moon 12 Mar 8:53 am www.ofu.co.nz

Rise 7:17 am Set 8:10 pm Good

Good fishing Rise 12:44 am Set 4:05 pm

First quarter 20 Mar 6:28 am

Maori Fishing Guide by Bill Hohepa