Te Awamutu News | December 21, 2023

TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 1

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

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DECEMBER 21, 2023

Viv Posselt talks to the 2023 Te Awamutu News Person of the Year – Paul Walker

Paul’s on the money

If you want to get a kid to do something, dangle the dosh… that could be the mantra of Te Awamutu News’ Person of the Year for 2023.

Paul Walker is driven to get a new generation of players involved in indoor bowls. While the game might never be as popular as in its heyday, he hopes to rekindle interest by encouraging parents to join their children in playing.

“The number of players nationally has been declining since its peak membership of 73,100 in 1973. It is currently at just over 4000,” he said, “but I haven’t given up hope of a revival.”

Paul loves the game as much for its dexterity as for its sociability. Such is his passion for it that he has launched several initiatives and adopted some nifty ideas aimed at holding youngsters’ interest.

“I’ve been known to put a $5 bill under the jack with the challenge to draw your bowl to stop on the money. If they’re successful, they keep the cash. You’d be surprised at how it focuses their attention,” he said. “I’ve had to pay up quite a few times over the years.”

Paul has been bowling for more than 45 years. He started playing at the Pyes Pa club in Tauranga in 1978, mainly because playing at night freed him up for daytime family commitments. He is a life member of the Te Kuiti Indoor Bowling Club, currently playing at both the Pokuru and Waipā clubs, and has been district coach for many years.

In 2022 he resurrected the King Country Junior Singles Championship – the first time it was played in 15 years, and he has held numerous official posts with the King Country Indoor Bowls Centre, also representing them at several New Zealand Indoor Bowls annual meetings in Wellington.

Central to it all is his fervour for building the Jim Goddin JP and Helen Carter Funeral Directors

ranks of junior players. He took the game first to pupils at Te Awamutu Intermediate. Covid scuppered plans for the establishment of an interschool competition, but in 2022 and with some assistance, he got Wharepapa South and Paterangi schools into a coaching programme.

This year, he finally established a junior club based at Te Awamutu Intermediate, and six of the pupils under his tutelage took part in September’s Aims Games in Tauranga, where 186 Year 7 and 8 pupils played in the singles.

Next, he hopes to work with Special Olympics Te Awamutu in the running of a 24-week programme of six weeks each in Te Awamutu, Cambridge, Ōtorohanga and Te Kuiti in an effort to revive indoor bowls locally at Special Olympics level.

Born in Tauranga and educated at Eketahuna and Marton, via Hunterville, Paul entered the banking sector and worked primarily in city roles before returning to his rural roots and settling with his wife Marlene and family in Te Kuiti for 34 years. It was in 2014 that they moved to Te Awamutu.

You don’t have to look far to find the origins of Paul’s volunteering gene.

“My mother was still driving people from Hunterville to Palmerston North for their medical appointments at the age of 90… she was playing golf, too,” he said. “She also coached three generations of families to swim. Many of my siblings either volunteer or help support their partners who do.”

Aside from his indoor bowls activities and enjoying his seven grandchildren, Paul also volunteers with the Hato Hone St John op-shop in Te Awamutu.

Grateful for the help he has received in growing indoor bowls among the young, he said: “I wouldn’t be able to achieve what I have without their help.”

• Go to cambridgenews.nz to read about Cambridge’s person of the year – Shirlee Bennett Paul Walker – the ultraunassuming winner of this year’s Te Awamutu News Person of the Year award.

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The Te Awamutu News is published by Good Local Media Limited.

Waipā District Council may have cut Destination Te Awamutu funding without knowing whether or not there is an historic arrangement stating what the building could be used for.

The News’ enquiries have so far corroborated some statements by Destination Te Awamutu chair Shane Walsh, who said last week that when Destination Te Awamutu’s predecessor - Te Awamutu Community Public Relations Organisation was formed, one of its aims was to establish an i-Site in town.

Walsh also told The News the Gorst Ave building was purpose built by the community, then gifted back to the council for its current use.

The building is on a reserve, and Destination Te Awamutu leases the building back from council for the purposes of running the i-Site.

Information has also been sought regarding how long the i-Site building has been in Gorst Ave, and how long the lease arrangement between council and Destination Te Awamutu has been in place.

The answer to these queries though won’t likely be known until the new year, because enquiries last week were treated by

On the beat

the council as a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request and would be, a spokesperson said, answered in “due course”.

Te Awamutu Community Public Relations Organisation’s application for incorporation documents dated August 1980 and viewed

by The News confirmed Walsh’s statement regarding the establishment of an i-Site.

A foundational goal, the document said, was to “…establish and operate a public relations information centre to carry out the business and affairs of the public relations officer and public relations department in all its branches for the community’s benefit…”

The document also said the organisation would “…purchase, lease, acquire, hold, manage, let, sell, exchange, improve, maintain and deal with any real or personal property which may be necessary, or convenient, for the promotion… of the organisation…”

This would include a building.

The council has decided to pull its annual contribution to Destination Cambridge – which runs the Cambridge i-Site – and Destination Te Awamutu.

It amounted to $157,000 for each i-Site per year, and the funding cut has left Destination Te Awamutu reassessing its future.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

Nicholl books in

with Constable Ryan Fleming

A time to say thank you I’m going to depart from my weekly roundup of the events police have attended to write about gratitude.

Last week I had the privilege of being a small part of a large team of people from the community who helped to pull together Operation Christmas hampers.

During the week we were able to deliver approximately 180 hampers to families in the Waipā region.

This could not have happened without the efforts of the committee and the community who really came through with donations, financial contributions and labour.

Volunteers washed cars, knocked on doors, walked the streets, wrapped presents and assembled hampers in the chaos that was last week and I would like to thank each

and every one of you.

Our coordinator Kellie did an incredible job in connecting with the business community and we even received donations from a Hamilton business.

Delivery of the hampers is one of the most humbling experiences I have in the police. It’s not just because I finally get to understand the meaning of it being better to give than to receive, but also due to the rewarding experience of working with a wide group of people from the community who just want to do something nice.

Thank you Te Awamutu. I hope everyone who reads this gets a good break at some time over the summer.

And a special thanks to the Zion community for hosting us.

He’s gone from fact to fiction.

Cambridge born economist Peter Nicholl, who appears fortnightly in The News with his Talking Economics column, has released a political thriller book.

Sanctions in Paradise has South African infiltrators attempting to sabotage a Finance Ministers’ Conference in Seychelles, leading to “explosive results” Nicholl says of his first book, which has been a decade in the making.

“I actually wrote the book sometime back in the 1980s when I lived and worked in the Seychelles for a year. About two years ago a copy reappeared in a box of papers from my mother’s estate. So I went back over it, made a few changes and decided to try selfpublishing.”

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TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 3

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

Briefs…

Big spenders

Waikato continues to be the fourth hottest spot (behind Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington) in New Zealand for visitors to spend their money, according to the latest figures released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment.

At a district level, Waitomo (up 28 per cent to $101 million), Waipā (up 21 per cent to $216 million) and Ōtorohanga (up 23 per cent to $40 million) saw the largest leaps in visitor spending in the 12 months to October 2023, compared to the same period the year before.

Scout jamboree

More than 4000 scouts, leaders and staff will be at the 23rd NZ Scout Jamboree at Mystery Creek Events Centre for a week from December 30.

Road works

Work on a right turn bay to enable easier access to McAndrew St in Kihikihi is expected to be completed today.

Daniel wins

Para athlete Daniel Kitts, from Te Awamutu College, won the T37 category of the 800m at the New Zealand Secondary Schools track, field and road championships in Christchurch earlier this month.

Dam opens

The Karāpiro Dam road will temporarily open from tomorrow (Friday) until 7am on Monday January 8 and then again for the Waka Ama event from January 14 to January 22. The road will then close again until August while Mercury Energy removes and replaces the second unit and headgate in the dam building itself.

Bad luck comes in three

By Mary Anne Gill

Waipā ratepayers could do it tough over the next three years with rate increases of 14.8, 9.1 and 10.9 per cent proposed.

But the cumulative 38.9 per cent rise could have been worse, council deputy chief executive Ken Morris told a council workshop last week.

The first cut of the 10-year Long Term Plan showed an increase in the first year of 34 per cent, he told councillors, but staff were able to pare that back in the weeks leading up to the public workshop.

“We’ve done four significant iterations of the 10-year budgets,” he said.

Ratepayers will be consulted on the plans from February and asked to comment on timing for the major capital projects already underway.

Inflation, interest rates, cost of compliance and recycling blowouts impact all local government as well as Waipā, said Morris.

On top of that capital heavy projects such as the Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant, Te Ara Wai Museum, Cambridge Town Hall, and a new Cambridge Library/Heritage Hub are planned over the next decade.

The council plan is to spend more on infrastructure than debt, Morris said and all of it was happening in the early years of the Long Term Plan.

In a comprehensive look at its grants, the council is proposing cutting funds to community organisations via its two community boards and ward committee and to its district-wide promotion fund.

Gone would be a $30,000 community event fund used to support smaller scale grass-roots events which help build and celebrate community pride within the district.

A lot of community groups will be quite concerned about the drops, said Morris.

The impact of rate rises

Through the years: how the rate increases will look over the next 10 years.

projects here. I’m anxious in the climate we are in financially and the need for us to be prudent, I just want us to bear in mind that is where those dollars are falling currently. I would favour pushing the library out further.”

St Pierre said while every project on the capital list was “completely worthy,” she was unhappy with the “propensity” to have Cambridge featuring – three in Cambridge and none in the west.

“It doesn’t have that balance, it’s a little bit

skewed.”

Stolwyk said the big capital projects in the Long Term Plan had been well consulted but she set staff and councillors the challenge of looking at its urban villages of Kihikihi, Pirongia and Karāpiro where momentum had been lost.

Strategy manager Melissa Russo told the council the consultation document – required by legislation - would be signed off by council next month and then go through a “rigorous process of sharing with our community.”

Waipā District Council revealed the size of a proposed rate increase last week. The News’ Mary Anne Gill, the only journalist who follows the council’s work, reflects on a process which enabled councillors to formulate their plans without her knowing.

A council in control

As The News was rolling off the presses at 4.20pm on Tuesday, we got a huge surprise.

A Waipā council media release announced: “Proposed rates increase 14.8 percent due to increased costs.”

Earlier in the day I attended a full council meeting which lasted just 20 minutes. When I left, I was unaware that a public “workshop” discussion

Forty up

The Te Awamutu Wheelchair Wagon, a voluntary service providing transport for people in wheelchairs, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this month. Its first trip was made on Christmas Day 1983.

would be felt more in Cambridge, because of higher capital values.

The 21 per cent increase proposed for Pirongia was “just too high” and inequitable, said Cr Clare St Pierre because of the services the village got compared to Cambridge and Te Awamutu.

Cr Roger Gordon said he was worried the budget contained some “nice to haves” like Te Ara Wai - $33 million over three years.

“Perhaps it’s not the right time,” he said and best pushed out to year four.

Deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk sought an assurance the tenure of the land identified for the museum in Te Awamutu was secure. Part of the site is leased from the Parish of St John. “That needs to be resolved before we start rushing into spending money.”

Mayor Susan O’Regan was concerned at the amount of capital expenditure planned for Cambridge – Town Hall, Library and Water Tower.

“We’ve got three big

Waipā District Council transportation manager, Bryan Hudson and Cambridge Construction Company executive director, Chris McCoy in Kihikihi.

camouflaged under the heading “LTP Budget and Consultation Document” was about to confirm a rates figure – not that decisions are supposed to be made at workshops.

I have watched the recording of the workshop – all two hours and 37 minutes of it.

Councillors discussed and aired opinions on big projects – Te Ara Wai Land Wars Museum, a new Cambridge Library, changes which would make recycling “pay as you throw”, Cambridge Town Hall upgrades and demolishing the historic water tower outside Resthaven.

They talked about cutting the funding to Hamilton and Waikato Tourism. Slashed, too, would be funds for community board and ward committee grants given to organisations across the district.

But $65,000 would be given to the council’s communications team for “online visitor promotional activity.”

In Waipā the $12.8 million provided to make street more cycle and pedestrian friendly has caused a lot of consternation – most recently, over

plans to remove 32 carparks from the centre of Cambridge. A public meeting called went ahead behind closed doors, but the Government Mary Anne Gill decision to pull the rug from the initiative won’t have any impact here.

But in the wake of council’s decision to slash $150,000 in funding from Waipā’s two i-Sites, one councillor has still to receive an appropriate answer to a point of order he raised which questioned the impact of a late agenda change.

We are waiting too.

The council determined questions we asked should be considered under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. It appears the council can wait until late January before giving us answers.

The council held another meeting recently to discuss the Ombudsman’s concerns about the use of workshops.

The thrust of the Ombudsman’s report was about openness.

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THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

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TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 5

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

Waste to energy: government’s call

By Roy Pilott

The new government will be asked to approve or decline the waste to energy plant application for Te Awamutu.

A statement from the Waikato Regional Council last week announced it is asking Environment minister Penny Simmonds to “call in” a waste to energy plant consent application to enable greenhouse gas emissions to be considered.

Global Contracting Solutions Limited plans to build a plant in Racecourse Road to incinerate 150,000 tonnes of rubbish a year.

The “call in” means the decision would be made at ministerial level rather than by the two councils.

The regional council expects Waipā district councillors to make its own decision when they meet next in February.

“We understand a decision on requesting a call in will be made by Waipa’s elected members at their

February 2024 council meeting,” acting regional consents manager Hugh Keane said.

Members of the Te AwamutuKihikihi Community Board have made their opposition to the plant clear, but the issue has not been debated in public by district councillors.

The move to send the issue upstairs will leave opponents nervous given the new government’s more relaxed attitude to burning fossil fuels and

Waiting for a skate

By Jeremy Smith

Waipā District Council looks set to miss the start of its tentatively scheduled February build date for a skate park in Kihikihi, as discussions continue about where to put it.

And the committee behind the project, Te Paparoa, has a message for the council amid fears the project has stalled – get it rolling.

Community services manager Brad Ward said Te Paparoa had not come to a halt, but factors including the project being reliant on community funding were still at play.

“Before we can look at that completion wise, we need the site.

Then, we need to complete planning and design to enable community fundraising.”

Frances Te Ao is a member of

the Te Paparoa committee which submitted the plan to council as part of the 2021-2031 in April 2021.

She said watching “impending” completion of a similar skatepark in Pirongia only heightened the urgency the committee was feeling to get Te Paparoa across the line.

Te Ao said it felt as though while Te Awamutu and Cambridge celebrated the completion of their skate parks, Kihikihi “lingered in anticipation”.

Ward said council had investigated possible sites for the Kihikihi skate park including Kihikihi Domain and behind the Kihikihi Town Hall.

“Staff are currently considering other locations and working through site intricacies with project partners and our stakeholders”.

Te Ao told The News committee

offshore oil and gas exploration.

Hamilton-based Global Contracting Solutions said, though, it was disappointed the process may limit opportunities for iwi and community voices to be fully heard.

GCS national business manager, Roger Wilson said it was appreciated many New Zealanders would not be familiar with the benefits of the energy from waste plant process, or the positive environmental impact it would

members were discouraged that three years of collaborative efforts with Waipā District Council and mana whenua had not yielded a “positive outcome” location wise.

“It is disheartening for us as the Te Paparoa committee to witness neighbouring communities enjoying the benefits of these recreational spaces while our own project remains in limbo.

“The time for action is now. The youth of Kihikihi deserve a space where they can thrive, express themselves and contribute to the vibrant future of their community.”

She added the skatepark would have multiple benefits.

“It is not just a skate park. To us, it is a symbol of hope and community.

“We want to ensure Kihikihi’s tamariki and rangatahi have a place they can truly call their own.”

have, “especially compared to traditional waste processes like landfill and thermal electricity generation in Aotearoa New Zealand”.

“We are committed to ensuring the plant makes a positive environmental contribution and we are equally committed to ensuring the local community, wider stakeholders, regulators and central government have the facts about the proposed plant and its processes,” he said.

Te Awamutu’s new skatepark opened in September last year.

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The Te Awamutu Medical Centre Team wishes you a very happy, healthy and safe Christmas and holiday season.

We will be closed on 23-26 December and on 30 December to 2 January.

We will be open for our normal opening hours on all other days.

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6 | TE AWAMUTU NEWS

Get Gardening

If you are worried about leaving your indoor plants while away on holiday just remember its important they are not left in too much water or too dry. Most plants will make it a week or so without being watered, just make sure to move them out of direct sunlight. Putting them in the bath without their bases on top of a wet towel is a good way to ensure they don’t dry out. In the veggie garden make sure to be watering consistently, inconsistent watering can lead to vegetables becoming bitter if they dry out too much. It also increases the chance of pests and diseases attacking. Plants benefit more from being watered in the early hours of the morning or at dusk. Lastly, the team at Amber would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe & happy New Year! Happy gardening

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

Julie Guest St John’s Church Have you ever had a calamitous Christmas? One where things went very wrong, or were not at all what you planned or hoped for? What immediately comes to mind for me was the time someone fell into the Christmas tree, knocking it right over and spilling the water from the bucket onto our new carpet and over the presents beneath. That created deep disappointment that was hard to dispel for the rest of that day. Although upsetting at the time, such experiences eventually become part of the collective family memory; one of the stories that strengthens our joy of being together. What those experiences show us is that our relationships are strong enough to overcome calamity. That love means commitment to each other, rather than a perfect event. I guess the calamity they were facing had a similar effect for Joseph and Mary as they faced rejection after rejection searching for a place to stay in Bethlehem. But Love was at the heart of their actions - love for each other and love of the God they had each agreed to serve. And when their baby was born, that Love was simultaneously magnified and coalesced - expanded and concentrated in and through the baby; the Christ child, Jesus. Jesus’ love is as real and available today is it ever was.

Without Jesus, Christmas is a shopping spree. With Jesus, Christmas is love. How will you live out Jesus’ love in your family, neighbourhood and Te Awamutu this Christmas?

Norris Hall Let there be Light. In today’s world there seems to be an absence of light, that warm glow that pierces and drives away the darkness; we read and hear of and see the news of suffering in the various conflicts and turmoil which affect the lives of many, innocent and otherwise. And even closer to home, in our midst, there are those who must endure the darkness of social and economic deprivation, without glimpsing the light of hope in their lives. The world was no better perhaps when Jesus Christ was born in a town called Bethlehem. His homeland was gripped in the darkness of Roman occupation and the corrupt rule of Herod. But the birth of that one, influential person later became the light of the world, preaching his Gospel of love, redemption, rededication and reconciliation to name but a few themes. Christmas means many things to many people.

To Christians, it is a reminder and celebration of God coming down in human form to dwell in our midst, for us to bask in the light of his unconditional love, to be given that promise of salvation, to be fulfilled in the days of Easter. It is a time to celebrate that peace, joy, love and hope. John, in the opening chapter of his deeply spiritual Gospel, writes “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” And the Psalmist says in an inspired no. 118, “This is the Lord’s doing, [and] it is marvellous in our eyes.” May the light of God’s generous love and presence radiate into our Christmas this year.

Monsignor Joe Stack St Patrick’s Catholic Church God’s Blessings and Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all people of good will.

Christmas is the one holiday that so uniquely offers a brief moment of hope that peace and human goodness can and eventually will conquer our wars and division.

This year this hope seems ever more fragile and tenuous as hostilities break out all over the land of Jesus’ birth. If there’s joy in giving gifts that are sometimes frivolous, how much more can there be peace in giving something that will restore the humanity of those who suffer.

The reality of the Christmas message is that Jesus comes forth from the bosom of the Trinity to take on our flesh and all the complexities of human life, right up to the point of dying on a cross to save humanity.

This is the meaning of the Christmas that we celebrate in our Churches. We do not expect that God will wave a magic wand to bring about the much-longed for peace. But let’s do as the leaders of the Christian churches in the Holy Land ask: hold in our thoughts and prayers our brothers and sisters affected by this war and its consequences, and offer fervent prayers for just and lasting peace for our beloved Holy Land.

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HOLIDAY HOURS

Thursday, Dec 24 8am-6pm Friday, Dec 25 9am-1pm Saturday, Dec 26 9am-3pm Sunday, Dec 27 9am-3pm Saturday Dec 9am-3pm Monday, Dec 28 23 9am-3pm Tuesday, Dec 29 24 8am-8pm Sunday Dec 9am-3pm

Wednesday, Dec 30 8am-8pm Thursday, Dec 31 8am-6pm Friday, Jan 1 9am-1pm Saturday, Jan 2 9am-3pm Saturday 9am-3pm Sunday, Jan30 3 Dec 9am-3pm Monday, Jan31 4 Dec 9am-3pm Sunday 9am-3pm

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9am-1pm Monday Dec 9am-1pm Monday We wish25all our patients a1 Janwonderful 2 Jan 9am-3pm Tuesday 26 Dec 9am-3pm Tuesday Christmas a prosperous 2021.

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We wish all our patients a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous 2024

TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 7

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

TALKING ECONOMICS

Waiting on the Reserve Bank

By Peter Nicholl

ON SHAKY GROUND

When volcanoes fall down

By Janine Krippner

The year 2023 is finishing with more gloomy economic news than good news. But I will start with the good news. Inflation is on the way down again globally and in New Zealand.

House prices have stabilised in New Zealand and may even be beginning to rise a little. Despite a strong flow of New Zealanders moving to Australia, we have had a record increase in our population because of strong inward migration. That tells you a lot about the state of the rest of the world.

On the downside, our current account deficit in the year to September, 2023 was a whopping 7.6 per cent of gross domestic product and our GDP fell in the September quarter, despite the strong growth in population. On a GDP per capita basis, it fell a large 0.6 per cent. It took the Reserve Bank and others by surprise. The Reserve Bank had forecast a rise of 0.3 per cent only a short time before. This is a concern as the Reserve Bank bases its policy decisions on its forecasts. If its forecasts are wrong, its policies will be wrong too.

The Reserve Bank said in its last Monetary Policy Statement in November that there would be no cuts to their official cash interest rate until 2025 and there could even be another rise in 2024. At present, the New Zealand financial markets don’t believe the Reserve Bank. The market is edging medium and long-term interest rates down. They are paying more attention to what the US Federal Reserve is saying. The Fed recently changed its tone and it is now very different to the Reserve Bank. They said that their official interest rate could fall by 75 basis points next year – and I emphasise next year.

The new government has already changed

the Reserve Bank’s policy mandate back to a single target of price stability.

The quantitative target is still the same, to have the Consumers Price Index between one and three per cent over the medium-term. But the Reserve Bank no longer needs to also target a ‘sustainable level of unemployment’.

This could, and should, mean it will wait a little longer to see more evidence that inflation is fading in New Zealand before reducing their cash rate. But the Reserve Bank has said frequently over the last two years that their past decisions would not have been different even if they had had a single mandate of price stability. I will be interested to see if they continue to say that now that they do have a single target.

The Reserve Bank’s next Monetary Policy Statement doesn’t come out until February 28.

That’s a long time to wait with the economy and inflation at a turning point. The economy doesn’t stop in January and I don’t know why the Reserve Bank delays its decision-making for such a long period. They are going to have to say or do something before then or interest rate policy will be totally taken over by the financial markets.

We now get selected monthly price data from Statistics New Zealand. The recent November data showed some prices, such as food and petrol, continuing to fall. We will get another set of this monthly price data around January 13 and a full figure for the CPI in the December quarter on January 27. We will know by then what is likely to happen to inflation and interest rates in New Zealand in 2024. The market won’t wait until the end of February.

During my time working for the Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program part of my job was gathering satellite images of volcanoes around the world and describing what they show.

Looking at thousands of volcanoes during my time there, something that struck me was just how often large chunks of volcanoes fall down. This is speaking in geological timescales, not our comparatively very short human lifetimes.

When a large part of a volcano collapses, we call this flank collapse. This is usually made up of a mix of layers of loose debris (volcanic ash, ballistic ejecta or rocks that are thrown out during eruptions, lahar (volcanic mudflow) deposits, and pyroclastic flow deposits), solid lava flows, domes, and magmatic intrusions that didn’t reach the surface, plus water and maybe ice. Some of this might be hydrothermally altered, which can turn glass and minerals that make up the rocks into more of a slippery clay that can be very unstable.

Flank collapse can be triggered by volcanic activity, like at Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, when magma rising up into the volcano pushed out the north flank and eventually this failed, or during times when there is no volcanic activity. If magma is ready, this can trigger an eruption. Either way, the result is catastrophic for the landscape.

The three most scary thing about these processes in my mind are 1) they can happen when the volcano is otherwise quiet, so with little or no warning, especially if we aren’t watching closely, 2) they can be enormous, travelling many kilometres from the volcano and emplacing thick debris avalanche

deposits over vast areas, and 3) they can move very fast.

The rock is what we call very mobile – it can move much faster than we can run and travel great distances, with the rock breaking down into smaller chunks as the whole mass races along the landscape. When it stops moving and settles on top of the landscape, we call it a debris avalanche deposit.

At Mount Shasta in California, an old debris avalanche deposit covers an area of around 675 square kilometres - travelling at least 45 km from the volcano. Large chunks of the mountain can stay intact as it moves to form what we call hummocks that stick out of the landscape. You can do a short walk around these on the way to Ruapehu when travelling from the north, you can also see them around Taranaki. Oliver McLeod recently found a 3.3 square kilometre debris avalanche deposit at Pirongia that reaches more than 20 km from where it began. They have contributed to shaping our beautiful landscape.

Thankfully for us, these are relatively rare in our lifetimes. We do take them seriously though, studying the deposits of past events so we understand how they moved and what triggered them, using computer models to see what areas could be impacted in the future, and looking at the stability of volcanoes to see which areas might be more at risk. Volcanoes are a critical part of our landscapes and our planet. This is one more of those processes that we need to understand and respect so that we can get out of the way, then begin to recover once it has stopped.

MERI KIRIHIMETE FROM THE WHĀNAU AT WAIPĀ NETWORKS Our faults team are available 24/7 during the holiday season.

talk2us@waipanetworks.co.nz 0800 800 769 waipanetworks.co.nz

8 | TE AWAMUTU NEWS

Christine Bryant Lay Minister, St John’s Anglican Church A generous friend phoned me yesterday to ask if she could help prepare food for one of our Christmas services. We got to talking about who she and her husband would celebrate Christmas with. “The family is all coming here”, she said; “I’ve already started to prepare”.

She then told me that she had also invited a distant relative plus new partner because the children of them both would not be with them for Christmas. “I couldn’t let them have a sad, lonely Christmas!” This clearly reminds me of Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem with nowhere to stay. It was Joseph’s ancestral village, his marae, but no distant whanau invited them in. It was left to the innkeeper who was already full up to show them to a stable area where they could shelter. Little did he know that the Son of God would be born is his stable that night. More than any other time of the year, Christmas is about being generous – not with material goods – but with time, hospitality, love and caring. “Te harinui” said the angel; “I bring you good news”. The Son of God came to bring love and peace. Whilst Christians everywhere pray for peace among peoples, especially between Israel and Palestine, also Ukraine and Russia, on behalf of all at St John’s, I wish you peace in all your homes and whanau. And I ask: Is there room for one more at your inn this Christmas?

Christmas Messages

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

Phil Strong Senior Leader, Zion Each week in the news we read about local stories, some of which are positive, and others are challenging to process. Sadly, I recently read online about a family who had lost their son’s bike (and other things) as thieves had paid them a visit one night.

Christmas is a season of joy, that is true, but sometimes our joy is laced with an undercurrent of sadness. In other news, our daughter married her beau this year, which has been an ongoing source of joy for our family. But, as happens when two families join, this year we will not have the newlyweds at our Christmas table. It’s a moment of joy laced with sadness.

And that’s life. In other news, the Zion Church family moved locations this year which has provided excitement around the future and sadness at the end of a 40-year season on Racecourse Road. Looking forward to grasp the future always requires letting go of some kind. Joy is often laced with sadness. Christmas is a time when we remember the arrival of the Son of God who came into this world so that sons of men could also become sons of God. This event demonstrates hope personalised, promise realised, and the pathway to salvation clarified. Amidst the suffering of the world, then and now, hope arrives for everyone in the Person of Jesus Christ.

And yet, amid this joyful receiving, we find sadness. Not all who celebrate Christmas will celebrate Jesus. And that is sad, because Jesus is the reason for the season.

Bruce Judd Pastor, Te Awamutu Christian Centre Last Friday afternoon folk of all ages gathered to enjoy singing joyous Christmas carols in the Church-yard outside the Presbyterian church, in celebration of the birth of Jesus our Lord and Saviour. It certainly felt like Christmas with the familiar happy atmosphere there. We remembered the mother of Jesus, a young Jewess woman named Mary, who was visited by the angel Gabriel who said to her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest.” The ancestor of Jesus was Abraham (the father of the Jews), he was given the following promise from God, which holds true to this day: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.” May New Zealand always stand with Israel, because we need God to bless our country. Through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob including Jesus and his disciples Peter, James, John and Paul (who were all Jewish) we were given the Bible, with its message of God’s love for every person on earth. Christmas is the time to be joyful, good to each other and giving. It reminds us to trust in God who is love, and not to be afraid of the future.

Young farmer dates announced Halberg nominations Ngatea will host the Waikato-Bay of Plenty regional finals of the national Young Farmer of the Year competition.

The current holder of the title is Emma Poole from Pirongia, and the 2024 national finals will be held in the Waikato – though a venue has yet to be announced.

Seven regional finals will be held in March and April.

The practical day of competition in the Waikato region will be held at the Hugh Hayward Domain and the evening show will be at the Ngatea War Memorial Hall.

Poole won her title in Timaru – and as the first female winner of the award which has run since 1969 – was presented with her trophy by the 2022 winner, her brother Tim Dangen.

Eight Waipā names feature in the 2024 Halberg sports awards nominations. They include Otorohanga para cyclist Nicole Murray, former Cambridge High School students - motocross rider Courtney Duncan and mountain

biker Sam Gaze - track cyclist Ellesse Andrews, rower Emma Twigg, para cyclists Devon Brigg and Eltje Malzbender and rowing coach Mike Rodger.

The awards are in Auckland on February 24.

CHRISTMAS CHURCH SERVICES Kihikihi Anglican Church Christmas Service at 9.30am on 24 December.

No service on Christmas Day

All are Welcome

St Andrews Presbyterian Church

Christmas Services: 24 December Christmas Eve – 10am ADVENT FOR PEACE 25 December Christmas Day – 10am EVERYONE is welcome to join us 07 871 6609 80 Mutu St, Te Awamutu

Message for Te Awamutu from TACCLA (Te Awamutu Combined Churches)

By Convenor, Monsignor Joe Stack reetings for the Christmas and New Year to all readers of Te Awamutu News!

Aspects of the first Christmas are familiar to many: the angel’s announcement to the shepherds can both reassure and challenge us also. It can be our agenda for our life giving glory to God and seeking to share peace and good will with those whom God wants us to treat as his friends.

But the run up to Christmas and the start of a new year is not all sweetness and light this time around. War and terror rage in the very land where Jesus was born. Russia’s war on Ukraine carries on as do armed

conflicts elsewhere claiming innocent victims. Yet Christmas is the one holiday that so uniquely offers a brief moment of hope that peace and human goodness can and eventually will conquer our wars and divisions.

St Patrick’s Catholic Church

A WALK THROUGH

G

Christmas Eve, Sunday 24 December 4pm Kawhia 5pm Piopio, Senior Citizens Hall 7pm Otorohanga 7.30pm Te Awamutu, Carols at 7pm Christmas Day, Monday 25th 10am Te Awamutu, Carols at 9.30am 9.30am Te Kuiti, Carols at 9.15am Boxing Day, Tuesday 26th 8.15am - Te Awamutu New Years Day, Monday 1st 8.15am - Te Awamutu 9.30am - Otorohanga

The late Queen Elizabeth II offered wisdom in a speech to the Women’s Institute: “As we look for new answers in the modern age, I for one prefer the tried and tested recipes, like speaking well of each other, and respecting different points of view; coming together to seek out the common ground, and never losing sight of the bigger picture.

To me these approaches are timeless, and I commend them to everyone.”

as m t s i r Ch Drama, Cafe, Carols A fun and interactive experience of the Christmas story

Saturday 23 December Sunday 24 December 6.00pm – 8.30pm Groups departing every 10 minutes Free event for the whole family TE AWAMUTU

625 Alexandra St, Te Awamutu

BIBLE CHAPEL

110 Chapel Drive 07 871 8667 tabiblechapel.org.nz

St John's Anglican Parish

CHRISTMAS SERVICES Christmas Eve - Sunday 24th Old St John’s: 8.00am St Saviours: 9.15am St John’s: 10.30am St Paul’s: 4.00pm – Paariha o Rangiaowhia Old St John’s: 11.15pm – Carols & Midnight Mass

Christmas Day: Monday 25th St John’s: 9.30am – Family Service

New Year’s Eve: Sunday 31st St John’s: 9.30am – Combined Service

24 December: All-age Christmas Family Service 10am.

25 December: Christmas Day celebration 10am.

31 December: Café style service in the church lounge 10am.

All Welcome

Te Awamutu Methodist Church 261 Bank St

TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 9

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

Men against the pests

By Jeremy Smith

It’s a trap - about 170 of them.

And Te Awamutu Menzshed members are now about halfway through completing what’s thought to be one of the group’s biggest contracted projects this calendar year.

Menzshed members have been building wooden traps which will be shared between two Waipā organisations working to protect the district’s wildlife.

President Richard Cato said

members were grateful because the profits would be put back into paying for the running costs of the shed.

About 120 of the completed traps will be given to Go Eco for use in its Bush to Burbs initiative.

Funded by Waikato Regional Council for three years, the scheme is designed to support landowners with their predator control.

Go Eco biodiversity community co-ordinator Karen Barlow told The News the newest traps – due for collection this week - will be given

Malcolm Perano with an example of what one of the completed traps looks like.

Photo: Jeremy Smith

to landowners between Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari and Cambridge in an effort to provide both safe corridors for native birds who leave the mountain and the restoration planting happening.

Of those 120 traps, Barlow said, the first 50 will be placed on the northern side of the maunga.

The remaining 50 will be given to those organising the Taiea te Taiao project, an initiative seeking to establish an ecological corridor between Maungatautari and

Pirongia which last month marked 200,000 plantings in the two years it has been running.

“We’re really grateful for the work menzshed members do for us,” Barlow said.

“Not only are the traps they make well built, but being wooden they are also environmentally friendly.”

“We are pleased to collaborate with these organisations and help in this way,” Cato said.

When The News visited the

menzshed last week, a team of five members were manning the assembly line.

Meanwhile, sales of Te Awamutu Menzshed’s book Sheddies – which tells the stories of about 10 shed members – have remained steady since it was released in late October, Cato said.

There are several locations from which to purchase the book in town, or anyone wanting to get a copy can contact the menzshed directly.

Te Awamutu Menzshed members, front from left, Bevan Boddie, David Phillips, Malcolm Perano (at back) Graeme Watson and Bill Bailey at work putting the latest batch of traps together last week.

Photo: Jeremy Smith

Seasons greetings

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR Thank you for the support this year!

HOLIDAY HOURS OPEN 23RD & 24th DECEMBER 2023 9.30am – 3pm

Christmas hours: 8.00am – 5.00pm Mon – Fri 9.00am –12.00pm Sat Closed stat days.

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Cambridge Life would like to thank the Cambridge community for their support throughout 2023.

All of the staff and residents would like to wish you a veryMerry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you

From the staff at the Te Awamutu News and Cambridge News to all our readers and advertisers throughout the Waipa region for supporting us this year.

Contact us to arrange a visit.

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We wish you a happy Christmas and a safe holiday period.

Your last paper of the year is Thursday 21 December

– we take a two-week break then are back publishing again on Thursday, January 11 next year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

10 | TE AWAMUTU NEWS

& HAPPY NEW YEAR

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

murray hunt furnishers The team at Murray Hunt wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday season.

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and aquality safeand and Happy New Year.

Experts providing farmers businesses quality Experts in providing farmers andinbusinesses advice in all aspects of accounting and professional advice in allprofessional aspects of accounting and Our Te Awamutu office will close noon 22nd December taxation planning taxation planning and re-open Monday 8th January 2024.

- including GST, FBT, Individual/Employer PAYE, - including GST, FBT, Individual/Employer PAYE,

Our Otorohanga office will also be closing

- Succession planning and family - Succession planning and family guidance December 22nd andguidance reopening 3rd January 2024.

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- Windups including company liquidations - Windups including company liquidations Supporters of local community events Supporters of local community events

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Hours: 5 December to 23 December, Open Monday to Friday 9 -5 Saturday 9 -1 Sunday 10-2 Christmas Eve 24th December 9 - 3

Kara and the team at Focused Physiotherapy would like to wish you and your family a very

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We are open over the Christmas period for all of your Physiotherapy needs excluding Public Holidays

FOCUSED PHYSIOTHERAPY TE AWAMUTU 13/670 Cambridge Road, Te Awamutu p 07 871 4321 e info@focusedphysio.co.nz w www.focusedphysio.co.nz

Merry Christmas from our team We will be closing on Friday 22 December and re-opening Monday 8 January 2024

Andrew Giltrap and the team would like to thank all our customers for their support in 2023 and wish everyone a prosperous 2024!

On call staff will be available through the break for urgent refrigeration breakdowns.

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The team at Strawbridges wish you all a very

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MONDAY - FRIDAY 9am-5pm SATURDAY by Arrangement

TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 11

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

A policeman’s lot – William Jones’ story William Jones did not want to see a doctor despite his wife, Tema’s, insistence.

The 51 year old Irishman had been in bad health but always refused medical attention.

On this March night in 1909 he was worse than usual but he would be all right next morning and went to bed. The couple were staying with his wife’s parents, the Turners, at Pirongia and his wife Tema went to get her mother. She was only absent two or three minutes but by the time the women returned William was unconscious. They tried to wake him and get him to speak but he quickly expired.

William had once been a policeman and court clerk in the Te Awamutu district and a no more popular or charitably-inclined officer had been stationed in the area. He had been appointed Constable No. 303 with the Armed Constabulary, the early colonial police force, in June 1878, when he was 21. By 1886 the national New Zealand Police Force had been established as a separate organisation from the military and he was stationed at Alexandra. He immediately distinguished himself by arresting near Otorohangā man who burgled Mr Hill’s store at Alexandra. It was the first regular arrest in the area and was called a ‘clever capture’. The next year he was promoted for his zeal and promptness in allaying a disturbance between Māori and railway contractors at Otorohangā. By the end of 1887 William was stationed at Te Awamutu.

Eight years later William married Tema Turner and they started a family.

The policeman’s lot in the Te Awamutu district in the late 1800s involved dealing with theft, obscene language, enforcing hotel licensing laws and stopping furious horse riding and larrikinism. William’s work included the extremes of the larceny of two

watermelons in 1892 to pitching in in 1894 when the Te Awamutu Town Hall burned down. He saved the courthouse with the help of a bucket brigade.

Over the next few years his rounds included censuring hoteliers who failed to keep their lamps burning at night and being stationed on the ground at Kihikihi to prevent any serious fracas at a land dispute. In September 1897 he helped Auckland police in the chase, on horseback, of a burglar who was eventually captured in a King Country river standing up to his neck in water. In November he dealt with perhaps one of his worst cases – the murder of a Harapepe man over a boundary dispute, and endured a long and rough ride bringing the prisoner back to Te Awamutu.

In 1898, at the age of 40, “our good friend Constable Jones”, whose position was “so long and ably filled” by him was transferred to Auckland where he worked as watch housekeeper. A year later he was discharged from the police on compensation. He took up land at remote Karamu but in 1907, tempted by rising prices, sold up and moved to his Pirongia in-laws, until he could purchase another property. But William was noticeably debilitated and he did not live long enough to enjoy his new venture. An inquest found he was somewhat emaciated and his heart was in a deadly state of fatty degeneration.

The policeman who served and protected life in his community resolutely refused to take medical advice for his own life up to the last moment. William is buried at Pirongia cemetery.

Opportunity knocks

By Jeremy Smith

Shane Walsh has had a few setbacks putting forward ideas he says would benefit Te Awamutu - but he doesn’t take the disappointment personally.

He believes a “great opportunity” will be missed if a proposed Te Awamutu market space doesn’t go ahead.

Walsh - Te Awamutu Business Chamber’s chief executive and Destination Te Awamutu’s chair - is buoyed

by Waipā District Council confirming more work will be done to investigate creating a proposed $550,000 hub at the former Mahoe St Holmes Garage site, despite a Beca feasibility study concluding the proposal appeared prohibitive.

It has been championed by the Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Board and Te Awamutu Business Chamber.

Of late, Te Awamutu landlords rejected a special rate proposed by the chamber which would have provided funding to promote retail business in the town centre.

Then, council announced it was cutting its funding to the two i-Sites in Cambridge and Te Awamutu.

“It is clearly disappointing,” Walsh told The News of fighting for his

An artist’s impression of a potential market space in Te Awamutu.

Photo: Supplied

ideas.

“But they are not just mine.

I’m not just an individual, I’m here on behalf of organisations.

“I understand times are tough. My role is to work hard to activate ideas on behalf of those I represent.

“The sense of disappointment ideas wise is never personal. I am pleased though that market space discussions will continue.”

Council’s deputy chief executive Ken Morris acknowledged the property, purchased by council in 2016, was strategically important.

“We want to make the area a vibrant space… but we need to make sure we’re investing ratepayer resources wisely, and not compromising wider opportunities.”

Walsh said the market space offered several economic and community-related benefits while acknowledging the site’s cultural and historic

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significance.

The proposed design would have a “unique New Zealand” feel – including a mural recognising the Selwyn Park site of the Otawhao mission station.

Walsh said initially the site would house a weekly Sunday artisan and produce market.

“I foresee it becoming a venue for many other cultural, creative and artistic expressions in our community.”

The site could fit 36 stalls and could be complete in a few months, Walsh said. “…when you consider the cost of the project against the economic and communityorientated benefits it would bring, I think a great opportunity will be lost to Te Awamutu if we don’t do this.

“It could potentially be an amazing space people would undoubtedly talk about,” he said.

12 | TE AWAMUTU NEWS

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

COME JOIN US MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR The Executive Committee & Staff wish all our supporters and members a Merry Christmas and Safe New Year.

We are closed Christmas Day and Boxing day

OPEN: 11AM TO LATE 7 DAYS A WEEK BOOK YOUR FUNCTION TODAY CALL 07 871 3707

EVERY MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY LIVE ENTERTAINMENT NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH JOHN KEMPT & MIKE BECK

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Across 1. Impetuous (4) 4. Put money in a scheme (6) 8. Glitzy charm (7) 9. Blusher (5) 10. Sausage (inf) (4) 11. Educated guess (8) 13. Short-term (9) 17. Skyscraper (4-4) 19. Mythical monster (4)

21. Disorder (5) 22. Feast (7) 23. Complain (6) 24. Compassion (4) Down 2. Resolute (7) 3. Amusing person or thing (4) 4. Reckless (13) 5. Upright (8) 6. Steam room (5)

7. At no time (5) 8. Pant (4) 12. Hold in jail (8) 14. Dairy product (7) 15. Startle (5) 16. Experienced (4) 18. Chart (5) 20. Break suddenly (4)

Last week Across: 1. Swarm, 4. Casual, 8. Liaison, 9. Apart, 10. Samba, 11. Average, 12. Appear, 14. Pastel, 17. Stopper, 19. Music, 21. Idiot, 22. Inertia, 23.

Belong, 24. Stoke.

Down: 1. Salesmanship, 2. Alarm, 3. Mascara, 4. Cancan, 5. Shake, 6.

Adamant, 7. Steeplechase, 13. Promise, 15. Aimless, 16. Crying, 18. Patio, 20. Set-to.

Sudoku

V O L U M E U R K I L O G R A M U T U H R N U Y C G F A Y U H G G C T Z L E B I C E D C N T O X D R E C U S T D N A L L E G I S Y L C L A Z C I H E Z H J N S C Q E R U C O E K H C G P W C T T A P T O L I M U T T P C I T D U R P O F G G U I E N R P A I E H R O A U L A C S A P M C D L G R H Y M C N N E T E R U S S E R P O T T O R D S E X H N H N O L L A G C E G R A M I C R O N S E E L H C N I M N T E E WW U M E F T C I R Q Z D H E H Y T A R E C E K U N T O N N E H L T W R T H O I E Z N A R A Y Y F A B R R E T N T Z G W I T E R R A O N A I W I D T H R C H M S O U X E R D C G N U M B E R H G T I H O T K Y D S C S M G N O L R U F D P H F H E K ANGSTROM CABLE CAPACITY CELCIUS CENTURY CHAIN DECIBEL DEPTH DISTANCE FATHOM FOOT FURLONG

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Quick crossword

381 Alexandra St , Te Awamutu

MICRONS MILE MINUTE NUMBER OUNCE PASCAL POUND PRESSURE RATE SECOND SIZE TONNE

TROY VOLUME WATT WEIGHT WIDTH YARD YEAR

324

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

MEDIUM

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TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 13

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

Dishy desserts

Even family and friends who have stuck with a slimming diet all year can be tempted with decadent desserts during the festive season. And the best desserts to concentrate on are those that can be prepared in advance. Trifle is one such delight.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a trifle was a simple combination of cream anda rosewater, flavoured with ginger and sugar, a light frothy dessert, closer to a syllabub (cream whipped with fruit juice and liqueur) than today’s trifle. By the middle of the 18th century, trifles included ratafia (almondflavoured biscuits) or macaroons soaked in sweet wine, covered with custard and topped with whipped cream. Later trifles were decorated with glacé angelica and cherries. Now fresh fruit is a more important component.

Cheesecakes are a Christmas godsend because most can be frozen for up to three months. However, those containing fresh fruit may thaw unevenly. Cheesecakes can also be cut into serving-sized pieces before freezing.

Meringues are another of my ‘must haves’ during summer.

Sandwich your meringues together with whipped cream and crushed berries and pile high on the platter. Serve drizzled with Christmas Mincemeat Sauce. Or combine with berries and cream to make an Eton Mess BLACK FOREST TRIFLE 300mls cream icing sugar to taste, optional 175g plain chocolate sponge 1/3 cup kirsch 1 cup chocolate custard or chocolate yoghurt 700g jar morello cherries, drained small mint sprigs to garnish Beat the cream, until thick. Sweeten with icing sugar, if preferred. Cut the sponge into thin wedges or 3cm cubes depending on the type of serving dish you are using.

Arrange 1/2 of the sponge in the base of the serving dish.

Drizzle with 1/2 the kirsch. Spoon 1/2 of the custard on top.

Then add a generous layer of cherries.

Top with 1/2 the cream. Repeat the layers reserving a few

with Jan Bilton

Black Forest trifle

Gluten-free pecan pie cheesecake

cherries for the top.

Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. Serve garnished with the mint. Serves 6.

bringing the crumbs about 3cm up the sides. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool.

To make the pecan base, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring often, until thick. Cool. Pour onto the base.

Reduce the oven to 160°C. Filling: Using an electric beater, whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add the brown sugar and cornflour. Beat until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the cream and vanilla essence. Pour over the pecan mixture.

Bake for 1 hour or until the sides are set but the centre is still a little wobbly. Remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil, and cool on a wooden board. Chill for 12 hours before serving. Serves 10.

GLUTEN-FREE PECAN PIE CHEESECAKE Crust: 250g gluten-free gingernuts 75g butter, melted Pecan Base: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup golden syrup 75g butter, melted 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 1/2 cups (130g) pecans, coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon vanilla essence Cheesecake Filling: 750g cream cheese 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons cornflour 4 large eggs 1/2 cup cream 1 teaspoon vanilla essence Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 23cm springform cake pan. Line the base with baking paper. Wrap foil around the outside and base of the pan.

To make the crust, crush the biscuits finely and combine with the butter. Press onto the base and sides of the cake pan

CHRISTMAS MINCEMEAT SAUCE This sauce is great poured over ice cream, cheesecake, meringues or apple pie.

1 1/2 cups fruit mincemeat 1/4-1/3 cup pineapple juice 3-4 tablespoons brandy or orange liqueur Combine the mincemeat and pineapple juice and bring to the boil. Add more juice if too thick to pour. Add the brandy or liqueur and serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

We put you first

Waipa Real Estate Ltd, MREINZ Licensed REAA 2008

Get your Festive Season Berries Delicious Fresh Organic Blueberries & Raspberries

Open 7 Days, 9am – 4.30pm PYO available visit www.monavaleblueberries.co.nz/pick-your-own

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Our office closes for the www.waiparealestate.nz Christmas period from the 22 December 2023 until the 15 January 2024.

You can still contact us by phone or email.

07 280 7536

Te Awam

We wish you all the best for the New Year!

Vayle Hammond Ph 027 226 9532

waiparealestate.nz

Tania Cortesi-Western Ph 027 203 8261

35 Alexandra Street, Te Awamutu

14 | TE AWAMUTU NEWS

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

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TE AWAMUTU NEWS | 15

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

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PUBLIC NOTICES

FUNERAL SERVICES

Christmas Hours:

Friday 22nd – OPEN 9am – 1pm Monday 25th & Tuesday 26th – CLOSED Wednesday 27th – Friday 29th – OPEN 10am – 1pm Monday 1st & Tuesday 2nd – CLOSED Wednesday 3rd – Friday 5th – OPEN 10am – 1pm Normal hours resume Monday 8 January 2024.

For enquiries outside of these hours, please phone 871 4111 or 0800 367 222 and leave a brief message.

JP Clinic: Last JP clinic for 2023 is Friday 22nd December, JP’s will then take a 2-week break and be back Monday 8th January 2024 at 9.30am.

We would like to thank you all for your support over the past year and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

Jim Goddin JP Funeral Director

Celebrating Life - Your Way Dedicated to providing personalised and meaningful funeral services.

07 870 2137 262 Ohaupo Road, Te Awamutu www.rosetown.co.nz

Garth Williams

2/213 Alexandra Street Te Awamutu Ph: 07 871 4111 teawamutu@cab.org.nz Mon – Fri: 9am – 4pm

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Call Janine 027 287 0005 e: janine@goodlocal.nz HOUSES WANTED

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Delivery runs available in the following area: • Pirongia area • Teasdale/Rewi Street areas Please contact us on E: admin@goodlocal.nz

CALL LIZ ON 027 809 9933 or email liz@goodlocal.nz

Provide your name, phone number, and the area you are located.

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Work acknowledged

Waipā District Council staff who helped other local authorities during the Cyclone Gabrielle emergency earlier this year were acknowledged last week. They were, from left, Emergency Management Coordinator Cathie Shaw, Emergency Management Operations Manager Dave Simes and Project Support Administrator Janice Downard. They were presented with certificates of appreciation by councillor Lou Brown on behalf of the Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group and Waipā District Council.

Roundabout work set Work is set to start on a controversial roundabout at Piarere.

The Waka Kotahi project is designed to deal with a bottle neck which sees traffic waiting to turn on to State Highway 1 backed up on highway 29.

The roading agency survived an appeal by Cambridge resident John Hansen who argued a flyover similar to that at the foot of the Bombay Hills south of Auckland was a far superior option.

Waka Kotahi Regional Manager Infrastructure Delivery for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Jo Wilton, in a statement last week, said the roundabout was the best option.

A blessing of the site was held last weekend.

The roundabout will be constructed by Downer NZ and work will start in early 2024.

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16 | TE AWAMUTU NEWS

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21, 2023

murray hunt furnishers Murray Hunt Furnishers wishes everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Safe and Happy Holiday.

We will be closed from Saturday 23rd December at 1pm and reopen Wednesday 3rd January at 9am.

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63 Maniapoto St Otorohanga | Ph 07 873 8640

220 Alexandra Street Te Awamutu | Ph 07 214 2161

45 Arawata Street Te Awamutu | Ph 07 214 2244