News 4
Ashburton Guardian
Thursday, December 17, 2015
www.guardianonline.co.nz
■ WEEKEND PHARMACY
In brief
Service well received By Caitlin Porter
Caitlin.p@theguardian.Co.nz
Wises Pharmacy’s stint as the permanent after-hours weekend pharmacy has been so successful it will carry into next year. The pharmacy, located within the Countdown complex, decided to opt in as the only afterhours pharmacy in November of last year and owner Steve Wise said so far it had been a success. “It’s been very well received, it’s provided consistency and made it easy for the hospital. The hours are consistent and the place is consistent,” he said. Because of this, the pharmacy will continue to operate as the sole after-hours provider next year. “We will be providing the cover every day,” Mr Wise said. “It has worked out well, the community has responded well and we are very grateful.” Prior to Wises Pharmacy taking over, five Ashburton pharmacies worked on a roster system to ensure a pharmacist was on hand at the weekend. The status quo could have remained, however the roster system is no longer in place, Mr Wise said. No feedback from other pharmacies within the district had been received since the change,
Caitlin.p@theguardian.Co.nz
Christmas lilies around Canterbury are likely to be in short supply this year, after Sunday’s hail damaged thousands of buds. Ashburton grower Helen Hargreaves said all was looking well for her large lily crop until the storm ravaged the buds and she lost nearly half her crop. Thankfully 3000 buds had already been taken to the farmer’s
Steve Wise of Wises Pharmacy said the permanent weekend service they now provide is tracking well. PHOTO DONNA WYLIE 081214-DW-085 he said. Legally, a pharmacist within the district needed to be on hand at weekends and at any point when a pharmacy was open. With three pharmacists in tow Mr Wise said it could be a challenge to ensure after-hours staffing but that was part and parcel
market and another 3000 were residing safely in her chiller. “It’s not a total loss,” Mrs Hargreaves said. While the damage was unfortunate, Mrs Hargreaves said this year’s crop was a sure sight better than last year’s. With a warm winter and multiple late frosts her 2014 crop could only be described as “terrible”. Other factors, such as botrytis – a fungus caused by humidity that
Hospice Mid Canterbury building up its services Less than one year after it was launched, Hospice Mid Canterbury is building its service and team of volunteers to increase its ability to make life easier for people with life limiting illnesses. Among the services on offer are biography writing, massage, counselling, home support and a reiki therapist has recently been added to the team. A large pool of volunteers has also been established and another push for more people who can give a little time to help clients and their families will be undertaken next year, hospice trustee Jane Wright said. “We’ve got a wonderful calibre of volunteer and they all came from our public meeting in May but we’re keen to build as large a pool as possible in order to meet
A Pendarves man, aged in his 40s, was transported by St John ambulance to Ashburton Hospital with moderate injuries after falling from a stationary truck at a private address on Hamptons Road at 12.55pm on Tuesday. St John Ashburton sent an ambulance to an address on Lyndhurst Road after a boy, aged under 5, fell off a trampoline at 2.54pm on Monday. The boy was assessed at the scene but not transported as he only had minor injuries. At 6.40pm on Monday, two ambulances were sent to Carew Hall on Trevors Road, Carew, to transport a woman, aged in her 70s, in a moderate condition after she collapsed.
Flag vote praised
of the deal. “It’s always a challenge seven days a week to make sure there is a balance of people, so that is always there.” However he said he hasn’t run into any issues and staff had been very obliging. The pharmacy’s hours align
with the duty doctor. On Saturday the pharmacy opens from 9am until 1pm and reopens from 6pm to 8pm, on Sunday the hours run from 10am until 1pm and 6pm to 8pm. Wises will also be open throughout the holiday period, with reduced hours.
All hope not lost for damaged Christmas lilies By Caitlin Porter
Man injured in fall
the wide range of requests that might come through and to ensure we don’t overload people,” she said. The organisation has put together a brochure outlining its services and this will be circulated shortly to raise awareness of the services Hospice Mid Canterbury offers. “We also want to dispel the misconception that we only deal with people who are at the end of their lives; we don’t, we welcome people from when they’ve had their diagnosis as there are things we can do that might help, such as our counselling service,” she said. Hospice Mid Canterbury works alongside other agencies and organisations, such as the Ashburton Hospital palliative care team and the Cancer Society.
can result in the lilies developing spots – also played a part. Not this year though. Mrs Hargreaves said the lilies that survived the hail were great with excellent buds and long stems. The damaged flowers will likely be sold at a discounted price later on as while they might not look the best, they still smelt great, she said. Even though the weather put a dampener on things, Mrs Har-
greaves said more than a hundred orders had already been logged for lilies, with the majority of the orders for the shorter stemmed variety. While last year she didn’t sell a single lily outside Ashburton, this year orders were coming in from further north. However Mrs Hargreaves is holding off sending any more bunches to Christchurch as she wants to make sure her local customers got their fair share.
Split school lunch breaks gain popularity By ruBy Harfield
ruby.h@theguardian.Co.nz
Two Ashburton schools are joining a small group of education facilities in Mid Canterbury to have split lunch breaks. Over the past few years schools around the country have trialled splitting their usual hour lunch break into two shorter ones. Allenton School principal Graham Smith said they decided to trial changing their break times next year to give them an additional work block during the day to aid better concentration. They would continue to have a 20 minute morning break but then they would have a 15 minute eating break and another
15 minute play break starting at noon and a final 30 minute break from 1.30 to 2pm. The feedback he had from other schools was that it was very successful, Mr Smith said. To go from six periods to seven next year, Ashburton Intermediate School would also be changing their break times. Acting principal Judy Jemmett said they would have a 10 minute eat and 15 minute play break around lunchtime and 45 minutes of breaks later on. Other Mid Canterbury schools that have implemented these types of breaks are Tinwald School, Ashburton Netherby School, Fairton School and Chertsey School.
Selwyn MP Amy Adams had given voters in her electorate a pat on the back for taking the time to vote in the first referendum on the New Zealand flag. Selwyn had the highest voter turn out, (60.1 per cent) of any electorate in New Zealand. With the Silver Fern (black, white and blue) confirmed as the most preferred alternative, Ms Adams said she was looking forward to a similar strong vote from the electorate for the second referendum in March 2016. Voters will be asked to choose between the Silver Fern and the current flag. The flag that receives the most votes will be the official flag of New Zealand.
Gunbie arrested Steven Gunbie has been arrested after police raided a number of properties in the Coromandel area yesterday. The 37-year-old has been on the run since late last month and was wanted in connection with the disappearance of Waiuku man Lance John Murphy. Mr Murphy, 57, went missing on November 21 and was found dead in a paddock near Wellsford at the weekend. A 51-year-old Waiuku man has been charged with murder. He was granted interim name suppression in the Manukau District Court on Monday afternoon. Gunbie was arrested yesterday in Waihi, after a search warrant was executed. He has been charged with kidnapping and will appear in the Manukau District Court today. - NZME
Charter school to close The Government has spent $4.8 million on a charter school it now plans to close. Education Minister Hekia Parata announced yesterday she is proposing to terminate one of the country’s first charter schools because of poor teaching, low achievement and an inadequate curriculum. Te Pumanawa o te Wairua, at Whangaruru in Northland, has until January 15 to give feedback on the proposal, but it seems unlikely the school will continue. - NZME
Attacker jailed A man who viciously bashed his mother with an axe handle has been jailed for 14 years. Douglas James Archer, 62, attacked his 81-year-old mother, June Geary, and her 72-year-old husband, Arthur Easton, in their Christchurch home on May 1, 2013. The couple received fractured bones and bruising. - NZME