Get set for the Battle for the Bay

• A tough week at the office and I see our frontline responders in the North Island are also putting in the hard yards. Our thoughts are with our FENZ colleagues as they continue the search for their missing colleague.

• 6 February: Two local males were warned for fighting after an altercation in Edinburgh Street.

• 8 February: A local driver was issued a $150 infringement notice for dangerous overtaking following a crash on Abel Tasman Drive. Thankfully nobody was injured.

JO RICHARDS

Last year’s inaugural Battle for the Bay was a great success. Next weekend’s event promises to be bigger and better. File photo. Golden Boot and Golden Glove awards.

Football clubs from across the region will converge on Tākaka next Saturday for the second annual Wholemeal Café Battle for the Bay tournament.

The day-long footie festival promises to be serious fun for both players and spectators.

The serious bit is about the raising of funds and awareness by the football family and the wider community, who have come together to support the Hope Is My Homeboy suicide prevention campaign.

Its message to “check on your homies” is a reminder of the importance to look out for one another – something that Battle for the Bay organiser and GBAFC president Phil Smith says is key to tackling mental health issues. “Everyone knows someone affected by suicide. Let’s raise the awareness that it’s OK not to be OK. Go and check on your brother, sister, aunt, and mate.”

That serious message, along with generating the means to make a difference, is the focus of Saturday’s fun tournament, which features several mixed-gender teams. The first match kicks off at 9.30am and the action continues throughout the day, as teams vie for top honours and individuals strive for the

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Winners won’t be limited to the players on the pitch; anyone can enter the lunchtime “Crossbar Challenge” and/or buy a $10 raffle ticket for draw prizes that include a chainsaw, a welding kit, and a state-of-the-art chilly bag, plus heaps of vouchers and other goodies. All prizes, as well as cash contributions to the cause, have been donated, explains Phil. “It’s been really awesome how all the businesses in the Bay have been so generous.”

Phil is hoping the biggest winners of the day will be those “homies” who will receive support, care, and hope in time of greatest need. “It doesn’t really matter how much money we raise; the biggest message is that we need to remove the stigma from mental health and look after each other.”

Raffle tickets can be purchased at various locations, including NBS Tākaka, First National Golden Bay, Hammer Hardware, Collingwood Tavern, and Collingwood On the Spot, or via email at president.gbafc@gmail.com.

The Wholemeal Café Battle for the Bay kicks off at 9.30am on Saturday 25 February at the Rec Park Centre Tākaka.

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• All drivers need to be very mindful of the farm machinery (tractors and trucks) using our roads during the summer months. These vehicles travel slower than most and often turn into paddocks, not roads or driveways, so it’s important to take extreme care when overtaking them. The drivers of these vehicles report having many near misses and feel this year is particularly bad for the speed of other road users and their impatience. Please take care out there and moderate your driving accordingly. It is only a matter of time before we have a very serious crash on our hands. Police are encouraging commercial operators to install CCTV cameras on their vehicles so that we can take enforcement action to rectify dangerous driving.

• 8 February: Two local males were trespassed from an address near Milnthorpe in relation to a civil dispute that was recently ruled upon by the High Court.

• 11 February: A 37-year-old local male was charged with careless driving, driving outside his restrictions and driving with excess breath alcohol following a crash on Tākaka-Collingwood Highway.

• School is back – lots more pedestrians and traffic moving around. Keep your speeds down please.

Mā te wā, Tākaka Pirihimana

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