Te reo o te KUKI AIRANI
$2 thursday, february 6, 2014
More Bishop raids made Law enforcement oficials
raided the office of Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament Teina Bishop on the same day his Aitutaki home was searched by members of local and New Zealand-based police forces. Bishop, who represents the constituency of ArutangaNikaupara-Reureu, also had his rental unit in Nikau searched by police. It is believed at least three
search warrants were executed by oficials on Monday in relation to a police investigation looking into allegations of bribery and corruption against the minister. Cook Islands Police offered few details yesterday on the latest developments of the investigation, which has been ongoing for roughly six months. “ ... this is a complex investigation,” wrote Commissioner Maara Tetava in an email. “We
MFEM letter upsets Grey Power VP THE LATEST correspondence by
the government to seniors who had their bank accounts raided by the treasurer late last year to collect ‘back taxes’ has infuriated a leader with pensioner activist group Grey Power. Recently, the government sent a letter to the pensioners requesting address details for a letter to be sent by Financial Secretary Richard Neves “...outlining the government’s offer...” of reimbursement. “Recently, the government has advised that it is willing to reimburse these superannuitants if they promise to enter into a payment arrangement to pay their tax owing,” reads
the letter sent by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management’s (MFEM) revenue management ofice. Grey Power vice-president Dennis Tunui said when the government made an announcement to reimburse the money last month, no conditions were attached. The MFEM letter – which is believed to have been sent to all six pensioners affected by the announcement – says consent is needed due to confidentiality provisions of the Income Tax Act 1997. “We thought they would be sending letters of apology,” he - ES said.
are progressing according to plan.” Tetava said police will not be making any further media releases until the investigation is complete. An official with New Zealand’s Serious Fraud Ofice has neither confirmed nor denied any involvement in the investigation. Bishop forwarded media inquiries to his lawyer Tony Manarangi yesterday. Manarangi said he is looking into Monday’s conduct by police “... to determine the warrant meets required standards and processes.” “The way that the investigations were handled is under review,” he said. No decisions on the matter have been made, said Manarangi who, along with Bishop, said he is complying with the requests of police with regards to the investigation. “Everyone’s co-operating,” he said. In addition to the Aitutaki search, it is believed items were also confiscated in both Rarotonga searches as well. Authorities are investigating Bishop’s relations with foreign ishing entity Huanan Fishery (Cook Islands) Company, a subsidiary of Luen Thai Fishing Venture. - Emmanuel Samoglou
Blessed farewell
14020508
Sister Celine plants a warm kiss on the forehead of a St Joseph School student during a special farewell ceremony for the former principal of the Catholic school. The school gathered together to thank Sister Celine for 11-years of service to the school – eight as a teacher and three as school principal. Each child at the school presented Sister Celine with lowers and shell ei as well as well as gifts of pareu and woven baskets. In return each child received a warm hug and kiss from Sister Celine who returns home to India next week.
Aere Ra Sister Celine and God bless, page 12
Pensions to go up from March 1 KEEN Ly-ANTICI PATED in-
creases to the pension and social welfare payments will be coming into effect at the start of next month. The Government will be lifting the local Cook Islands pension by 25 per cent from March 1. That means people aged over 70 will now collect $7,500 annually and those between 60 and 70 will collect $6,000 an-
nually. For those over 70, this is a $125 a month increase and for those above 60, this is a $100 a month increase. James Webb, economic adviser for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM), said Cook Islands pensions will now become part of an individual’s taxable income. This is to “ensure fairness, and direct the increased pay-
ment towards those most in need”. Webb said most pensioners are unlikely to see any change in their tax obligations because their incomes will remain below the tax-free threshold. “For these people, they will receive the entire 25 per cent increase. However, for individuals who earn other income, this will mean that they may pay some tax on their pension pay-
ments, depending on how high their other income is.” Meanwhile, all other ongoing social welfare payments will be increasing by 10 per cent on March 1, but remain exempt from tax. The child benefit payment will increase to $792 a year, destitute and carer’s allowances will increase to $1,800, and the power subsidy will increase to $264 a year.
The changes are a result of recommendations made by the Cook Islands Tax Review. Webb said the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) will be managing potential tax deductions when it makes pension payments – similar to the PAyE system used by many employees. This is to make sure people receive the correct payments and are not left with tax debts
at the end of the year. Anyone receiving a Cook Islands pension needs to declare their Revenue Management Division number to the MIA. Webb encouraged pensioners to contact a welfare oficer in the MIA in Rarotonga, or the Internal Affairs Oficer in Pa Enua, to ensure the correct payment is made at the relevant tax rate before February 20. - Ben Chapman-Smith
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
worldnewS nuti no teIa neI ao Bill sent for torture music A CAnAdiAn rock band has sent a bill to the US military after being told its music was used to torment suspected terrorists at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay. The band, Skinny Puppy is seeking $666,000 for use of its music. A fan who had served as a guard informed the group its music had been used. it has been reported that the US military blasted loud music into detainees’ cells, ranging from Metallica and nine inch nails to Queen and Sesame Street.
Child abusers must go The Un says Vatican must remove known child abusers immediately rome – The UN has said that
the Vatican should “immediately remove” all clergy who are suspected child abusers. The UN watchdog for children’s rights denounced the Holy See for adopting policies which allowed priests to sexually abuse thousands of children. In a report, it also criticised Vatican attitudes towards homosexuality, contraception and abortion.
world BRIEFS FRENCH KISS LEADS TO ROBBERY ARREST FRANcE – An alleged jewelery store robber who says he kissed a hostage out of compassion was tracked down through his DNA, a Paris newspaper reports. He and another man were said to have seized an employee of the store in the French capital last April. Tying her up, they poured water on her, saying it was petrol, and threatened to burn her if she did not co-operate. Now in prison in the south of France for separate ofences, the suspect, 22, said he had kissed her to “relieve her trauma”. Detectives later traced the DNA from the woman’s cheek to the suspect. Once freed, the store employee alerted police and a DNA sample was taken, which inally led to the suspect in his prison cell in the Nimes area on 22 January.
SLOW PROCESS WAKING UP SCHUMACHER SWITZERLAND– As doctors continue their eforts to bring Michael Schumacher out of his coma, it will be a stressful and frightening period for close relatives watching his recovery. Schumacher’s wife Corinna has spent the past ive weeks by the seven-time Formula 1 champion’s bedside. She has been joined by other relatives including her husband’s racing-driver brother Ralf Schumacher and the couple’s children, Gina Marie, 16, and Mick, 14, who was skiing with his father when he fell and hit his head on a rock on 29 December 2013. “Waking from a coma is not like how it is portrayed in the movies,” says Luke Griggs, spokesman for Headway, the UK’s leading charity for people living with brain injuries. “It can be a very gradual process that can take several days or weeks.”
17,000 luxury sport cars recalled ENGLAND – UK car prestigious manufacturer Aston Martin is recalling more than 17,000 cars because of a potentially defective part. The luxury car maker said the recall accounted for most of its sports cars built since late 2007. It follows the discovery that a Chinese sub-supplier was allegedly using counterfeit plastic material in part of the accelerator pedal. There are fears the pedal arm may break although there have been no reports of any accidents, the irm said. The irm is recalling a total of 17,590 cars worldwide afecting about 75 per cent of all cars built bertween 2007 and 2012. A spokesman said it would now bring manufacture of the pedal arm back to the UK. “It’s very important to say that there have not been any incidents or accidents,” the spoeksman said.
ORGANISER OF SUICIDE BOMBINGS SHOT RUSSIA – Security forces in Russia’s troubled Dagestan region have shot dead the suspected organiser of the Volgograd suicide bombings during a house siege. Dzhamaldin Mirzayev, 30, died along with another man after opening ire on security forces surrounding the house. A third man surrendered during the siege in the town of Izberbash. Two attackers killed 34 other people in the bomb attacks in Volgograd on consecutive days in late December. The bombers, both male, were oicially identiied last week as members of an Islamist militant group based in the Dagestani town of Buynaksk. Russia is conducting the biggest security operation in Olympic history for the Sochi Winter Games opening on Friday.
The Vatican responded by saying it would examine the report – but also accused its authors of interference. In its indings, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) said the Holy See should open its files on members of the clergy who had “concealed their crimes” so that they could be held accountable by the authorities. It said it was gravely concerned that the Holy See had not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, and expressed its “deepest concern about child sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic churches who operate under the authority of the Holy See, with clerics having been involved in the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children worldwide”. It also lambasted the “practice of offenders’ mobility”, referring to the transfer of child abusers from parish to parish within countries, and sometimes abroad. The committee said this practice placed “children in many countries at high risk of sexual abuse, as dozens of child sexual offenders are reported to be still in contact with children”. The UN report called on a Vatican commission created by Pope Francis in December to investigate all cases of child sexual
abuse “as well as the conduct of the Catholic hierarchy in dealing with them”. The report’s findings come after Vatican oficials were questioned in public last month in
Geneva about why they would not release data and what they were doing to prevent future abuse. The Vatican has denied any oficial cover-up. In December
it refused a UN request for data on abuse on the grounds that it only released such information if requested to do so by another country as part of legal proceedings. - BBC
Storm lashes UK’s south
newhaven Lighthouse is battered by waves during damaging stormy weather on the southern coast of England. AFP LonDon – Parts of Britain
have been hit by a storm which destroyed a section of railway, forced people out of their homes and left others without power. A section of the sea wall in Dawlish, Devon, collapsed and left the railway to Cornwall suspended in mid-air. It could take four to six weeks to ix the line, which is the main rail link between south Devon and Cornwall. Residents of more than 150
homes have been evacuated amid fears lood defences could be overwhelmed. David Cameron has announced an extra £100 million for lood works. More heavy rain and gales are forecast for Friday night into Saturday. Dawlish resident Robert Parker said the storm was “like the end of the world”. He said: “It was like an earthquake. I’ve never experienced
anything like it. I’ve been in some terrible storms in the North Sea, but last night was just a force of nature.” Western Power Distribution said about 44,000 customers had been affected by power cuts since Tuesday afternoon and 9680 were still without power across the South West. In Cornwall 7800 are cut off. The company said around 800 staff were working to restore supplies. - BBC
Work stops on canal expansion project PANAMA C ITy – Work has been halted on the expansion of the Panama Canal, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. The stoppage follows a breakdown in talks between the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) and the Spanish-led consortium behind the project. The two sides are engaged in a dispute over who should foot the bill for cost overruns totalling $1.6 billion.
The consortium says 10,000 jobs are at risk but the canal’s authorities say they will not “yield to blackmail”. Canal Administrator Jorge Quintano accused the GUPC consortium of being “inflexible” in its negotiations. He did not rule out a deal could still be reached, but said that the window of opportunity was getting narrower “by the minute”.
The Panama Canal Authority had earlier broken off talks accusing the consortium of breaching its contract. The contract involves building a new larger set of locks to accommodate ships carrying up to 12,000 containers. At the moment the biggest ships that can navigate the canal carry 5000 containers. The consortium is made up of Spain’s Sacyr, Impregilo of
Italy, Belgian firm Jan De Nul and Constructora Urbana, a Panamanian irm. Sacyr blamed the Panama Canal Authority for the breakdown in talks, saying it had failed to respond to its latest proposal to settle the dispute. “Without an immediate solution, we face years of disputes in national and international tribunals,” Sacyr said. - BBC
Banana rescue
pro-gay rallies to target sochi
RUSSIA – Demonstrations are planned in 19 cities worldwide seeking to persuade sponsors of the upcoming Winter Olympics to pull out over the country’s anti-gay laws. Protests in New York, Paris, Saint Petersburg and elsewhere were held a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged that the Sochi games, which open Friday, will prove a hospitable event, amid a litany of concerns about its suitability as a venue. US telecommunications giant AT&T on Tuesday joined a growing international chorus of disapproval at Russia’s anti-gay law, as activists ramped up a global campaign for Olympic sponsors to boycott the Sochi games. Meanwhile gay Norwegian Health Minister Bent Hoeie said he would attend the Winter Paralympics, also in Sochi, with his husband.
Today’s Daily Bread Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
read: read: JamesMatthew 1:12-18 7:21-29
Text: Matthew Text:7:26 Verse 17
Men rescue ripe bananas from a looded plantation in Puerto Yumani, northeast Bolivia. The Bolivian government has declared national emergency due to looding which has left more than 40 dead and about 37,000 families afected. AFP
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
Cargo ship on the rocks
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a rescue helicopter hovers over the 100-metre long Spanish cargo ship containing diesel fuel which crashed into a dyke close to the port of Bayonne in south-western France. The ship was split in half and extent of the pollution caused by the diesel fuel leak is yet to be fully assessed. AFP
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BAyONNE – A Spanish cargo
ship slammed into a dyke and split in two near the French port of Bayonne on Wednesday, injuring at least one sailor and raising concerns of a fuel leak. The local mayor’s ofice said the boat, carrying 11 sailors, had run into the dyke amid heavy seas near the town of Anglet after leaving Bayonne in southwestern France. The prefecture for the Pyrenees-Atlantiques region said efforts to recover the sailors by
helicopter were successful but the rescue operation was hampered by winds of up to 110 kilometres per hour. Oficials said a fuel leak had been detected and an emergency plan had been activated to deal with maritime pollution. The ship usually carries a cargo of bulk fertilizer. The prefecture said one of the sailors was injured but provided no details on the extent of injuries. The 100-metre long Luno
had suffered engine problems before the incident. It was not immediately clear what volume of fertilizer it was carrying. Patrick Dallennes, a local government prefect, said the ship had between 120-160 cubic meters of fuel in its tanks at the time of the incident. “For the moment the pollution is limited,” he told Reuters. The ship lies a few dozen meters away from beaches. - Reuters
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
regionalnewS nuti no te Pa enUa
Survivor’s story appearing true Fisherman’s 14 months lost at sea backed by ishermen and oicials MAJURO – While castaway Jose
Salvador Alvarenga’s claim to have survived more than a year adrift in the Paciic in a sevenmetre fibreglass boat before washing up in the Marshall Islands last week still fails to convince many, accounts from
Mexico suggest that at least some of his story adds up. Alvarenga told diplomats and reporters from his hospital bed in Majuro that he set out from the ishing village of Costa Azul on the coast of the Mexican state of Chiapas on December 12,
paciic BRIEFS INMATE ACqUITTED OF MURDER CHARGE SAMOA – A Supreme court judge in Samoa has acquitted a prison inmate charged with murder over the death of a 38-year-old mentally ill New Zealand man. The victim, Hans Dalton, was found dead in a drum of water at Tafaigata prison on Boxing Day in 2012. The judge, Lesatele Rapi Vaai, on Wednesday overturned the decision of a four person assessors’ panel which found Jonathan Patrick crichton guilty after less than two hours of deliberation. crichton is already in prison serving a life sentence for another murder. He had changed his original plea of guilty to not guilty, telling the court he was misled by police questioning. The victim’s mother was present during the trial and she has accepted the acquittal and said she believes that her son was not killed by crichton and that his death was the fault of the police at Tafaigata prison. The judge is to deliver his reasons for overturning the assessors’ verdict on Friday.
WEAKENING EDNA LEAvES TWO DEAD NORTHERN MARIANAS – Tropical cyclone Edna has now been reclassiied as an extra-tropical cyclone. The low pressure system is weakening as it moves away from New caledonia in a south easterly direction. The New Zealand metservice says the system has winds of 70kph within 120 nautical miles within the southern semi-circle. A depression associated with the cyclone earlier in the week caused heavy rain in New caledonia, which according to police left two people dead and two missing. They say in Bourail, a six year old boy died when four cars were carried away by a swollen river. In Kone, a man drowned trying to cross a river. Police also say in Mont-Dore, near Noumea, two young people were carried away while trying to cross a river.
CASTAWAY NEEDS A REST FROM MEDIA MARSHALL ISLANDS – Marshall Islands oicials say the government is now trying to restrict international media wanting to interview, Jose Salvador Alvarenga, who washed up on Ebon atoll after more than a year at sea. They say he wants to get some rest. Medical oicials say Alvarenga was sufering from the efects of severe dehydration and a poor diet but was stable. He has been discharged from Majuro hospital and is in a hotel, where the government has stationed police guards outside his room. Foreign ministry oicials are co-ordinating with Mexican and United States oicials to process paper work for Alvarenga to ly to Honolulu on Friday, the irst leg of his return to his home country, El Salvador.
HENRI HAITI IN COURT FOR MURDER IN MAY FRENcH POLYNESIA – Reports from French Polynesia say a trial date has been set for Henri Arihano Haiti who in 2011 was arrested for killing a German tourist, Stefan Ramin, on Nuku Hiva. The Nouvelles de Tahiti says the murder trial will go ahead in May. The case made headlines after Haiti spent 50 days on the run in the mountains of Nuku Hiva in 2011. The young man is accused of murdering German tourist Stefan Ramin, and sexual assault of his girlfriend, Heike Dorsch. On eventually surrendering to police Hait said he killed Ramin because he had been raped by the German tourist. Ramin’s remains were found to have been burnt. Media coverage of the death of Ramin made suggestions of cannibalism.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING A ‘HUGE INDUSTRY’ NORTHERN MARIANAS – The United States Attorney for Guam and the Northern Marianas has called human traicking the secondlargest criminal industry in the world. Alicia Limtiaco says after illegal drugs, human traicking is the second highest alongside the illegal arms trade. But unlike the other two, human traicking has a reusable commodity that criminals can reuse time and again. She says human traicking is often prevalent in the sex industry but also common in the domestic help sector, sweatshop factories, cleaning jobs, and on construction sites, farms and in restaurants.
No Bad sMell expected FroM Fish plaNt AMERICAN SAMOA – The new Samoa Tuna Processors plant at Atu’u in American Samoa will be equipped with ilters that should get rid of the ish odour that is synonymous with canneries. A bioilter is to be installed in the reclaimed area where a dock extension is being built as part of the new development by Tri Marine International. Its new cannery should be up and running at the beginning of next year. Tri Marine’s chief operating oicer, Joe Hamby, says the local plant may be one of the irst in the world to have such a bio ilter where fumes are iltered through coconut husks, removing all the odour with no tell-tale bad smell being emitted to the atmosphere.
2012 with a young crew member called Ezequiel but they were blown into the ocean by bad weather. Mexican authorities say the actual date was November 17. Alvarenga said Ezequiel died about a month into the odyssey while he survived on a diet of fish, birds and turtles, and by drinking turtle blood and rainwater. Chiapas Rescue Services official Jaime Marroquin has conirmed that a boat manned by two isherman was reported missing from Costa Azul two days after it set out on November 17, 2012. The report was lodged by the boat’s owner, a member of the Camaroneros de la Costa co-operative, which Alvarenga had mentioned in an interview. Marroquin, who oversaw the search operation, said the weather had been very bad and it was perfectly possible the boat was blown out into the ocean. He said ishermen in the area commonly set off in similarly small vessels on one or twoday trips in search of shark or shrimp with no navigational equipment. “The winds were high,” he said. “We carried out an intense search but we had to stop the search lights after two days because of poor visibility.” The official report of the event names the two missing ishermen as Cirilo Vargas and Ezequiel Cordova. Both are said to be aged 38, which jars with Alvarenga’s description of his companion as a teenager, although Mexican oficial reports commonly contain mistakes. While Alvarenga’s name is not mentioned in the report, he has given his age as 37. Marroquin said the boat’s owner indicated that “Vargas” was from El Salvador and there were no family members following the progress of the search effort, while Ezequiel’s father had always been at the airstrip during the operation. Local fishermen from Costa Azul have told Associated Press that Alvarenga lived and worked in the area for years until he was lost at sea in mid-November. They said they knew him as “La Chancha”, a nickname derived from a slang word for pig, suggesting he was habitually corpulent. Alvarenga has said that while he had been based in Mexico for some 15 years, he was originally from a coastal town in El Salvador called Garita Palmera, near the border with Guatemala. The Salvadoran newspaper El Mundo tracked down his parents in the town. They said their son had moved to Chiapas because he wanted to work on shark ishing boats based there and the family had lost contact with him eight years ago when he stopped visiting home. “We thought that he must be dead,” Maria Julia Alvarenga said. “I cannot find the words to describe how I feel, as his mother, to know that he has been found.” She added: “I dreamed about him, I saw him alive in my dreams. But then he vanished.
An undated ile picture of Salvadorean castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga before setting sail and after he was rescued. AFP I kept dreaming like that for several days.” His daughter Fatima Alvarenga told the paper she was looking forward to seeing her father again. She reportedly said: “The irst thing I’ll do is hug him and kiss him.” Alvarenga has now been shorn of his long, sun-bleached hair and beard, courtesy of a haircut in a hotel room in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, where he has been based since leaving hospital. The haircut was paid for by the US embassy. El Salvador’s foreign ministry released a statement saying it was co-ordinating with the Mexican authorities and that the castaway would return irst to Mexico and then go on to El Salvador.
From the Marshall Islands a spokesman from the foreign affairs ministry conirmed that Alvarenga had been discharged from hospital and was staying in a hotel. “Other than some swollen ankles his overall condition is okay,” Anjane Kattil said. “According to the doctors his immune system is weak, but not as weak as we expected.” The idea that anybody could survive so long at sea in such a small boat with no cover from the elements, while living on such a restricted diet, let alone end the ordeal with little more than swollen ankles, has ishermen scratching their heads in Mexico as well. “It’s incredible to survive that long,” boat owner Cesar Castillo said. “There was a case from around here of ishermen who
survived 27 days before they were rescued by a Japanese ship but it’s hard to think how anybody could go more than six or seven months without getting scurvy at least.” But if Alvarenga’s survival surprises many, few are positing theories to explain how else he might have crossed 12,500 kilometres of open ocean to arrive on the Marshall Islands in a boat that is, at least, very similar to the one it appears he set out in back in 2012. “It’s hard for me to imagine someone surviving 13 months at sea,” the US Ambassador in Majuro, Tom Armbruster, told the Associated Press. “But it is also hard to imagine how someone might arrive on Ebon out of the blue.” - The Guardian/PNC
The mother of Salvadoran castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga, Maria Julia Alvarenga, speaks on a mobile phone to her long-lost son in Majuro from her house in Garita Palmera, El Salvador. His family lost track of him eight years ago. AFP
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
regionalnewS nuti no te Pa enUa
But some doubt ‘incredible saga’ MAJURO – The story of the Sal-
vadorian castaway, washed up in the Marshall islands after what is now believed to be 14 months adrift in the Pacific, is quickly becoming one of the most amazing oceanic survival stories in modern times. The world’s media has gone into overdrive to verify or disprove the details so far known of Jose Salvadore Alvarenga’s incredible saga. Attempts have been made to find out more about Alvarenga’s crew member,who he says was a teenage boy named Ezequiel, who died after about four months into the ordeal. Alvarenga said Ezequiel was a boy aged between 15 and 18. Media have now identified the “teenager” as Ezequiel Cordoba, aged 24 – just one of the many details that has given rise to some sceptical thinking about Alevarenga’s story. An aunt of Cordoba confirmed to NBC News that her nephew had left with Alvarenga on November 17, 2012, but never returned. Alvarenga said the teenager died of starvation and he was forced to surrender his body to the ocean: “What else could I do?” Alvarenga said he tried to keep track of time as the sun moved across the sky but weeks and months eventually blurred. Despite growing doubts about some of the details of Alvarenga’s story that have found their way out of the Marshall’s capital Majuro, some experts have said his extraordinary tale is, at least, possible. Mike Tipton, a professor of physiology and co-author of the book ‘Essentials of Sea Survival’ told the Guardian newspaper: “I have no idea whether he did this or not, but it’s not impossible.” “The isherman’s appears to have drunk as little as 200ml of water a day and feasted off turtles, easily caught from his raft with rudimentary tools.” Alvarenga could have harvested a litre of blood – described as the “elixir of life” by other survivors – from a 20kg turtle, experts insist.
Fat from the turtle would also be a vital source of protein. Fish-eyes also provide a useful source of liquid and of another vital nutrients. Survival experts agree Alvarenga’s years of sea-going experience helped him stay calm when other less experienced people may have panicked. The overriding golden rule for anyone drifting at sea is never to allow crippling thirst to drive a person to drink salt water, the experts say. But the Daily Mail reports that Mexican fishermen who knew the castaway said they have “doubts” about his story. And doctors who have examined him have expressed surprise at how good he looked after his ordeal. His lips were not cracked and swollen, his skin was not burned almost black by the relentless sun, and doctors who examined him in the small island hospital in Majuro expressed surprise that he was in such a relatively good condition that they released him from their care after 24 hours. “He has no cough, no fever, no runny nose, plus he’s not that thin,’ said a bewildered Dr Nestor de Vesi, from the Solomon Islands, who was the irst of two doctors to examine Alvarenga. A second doctor, Roner Mendoza, who conducted a more intense examination, found indications that Alvarenga had a swollen liver but his kidneys were normal. He admitted, however that it was hard to believe that someone can survive for 13 months in a small boat – “but we also want to give him credibility”. Using his words carefully, Dr Mendoza said: “ It’s not a question of whether he was out for four days, four months or 13 months – we’re just glad he’s okay.” Medical staff at the hospital agreed that if Alvarenga’s story proves to be true, he is a “walking medical miracle”. One theory amongst sceptics is that the “plump-looking Alvarenga” might have spent some time recovering on a deserted
‘I have no words to describe the joy I felt when I learned he was alive. There are things that don’t match up. I knew him, but I have a lot of doubts.’ island before being “found” on Ebon Atoll. Bellarmino Rodriguez Solis, a fishing boat owner in Costa Azul, and a former employer, said Alvarenga was a heavy set, quiet man who had set out with “teenager” Ezequiel Cordodba despite warnings that day about heavy rains and high winds. “you can imagine a lot of things, but that is something that he should explain,’ said Solis. “There are things that don’t match up. I knew him, but I have a lot of doubts.” According to the Daily Mail isherman in Costa Azul, knew Alvarenga as ‘La Chancha’ – or ‘The Pig’. They said he had lived and worked in the area for years. Solis told the El Universal newspaper Alvarenga’s survival was a “great surprise”. He added: “Nobody survives more than two or three months in those conditions. We even laid flowers in the palm hut where he lived.” However Solis said there was no doubt it was Alvarenga, telling CNN: “All of my fellow ishermen were elated because this is nothing short of a miracle. “I have no words to describe the joy I felt when I learned he was alive. He’s a wonderful human being and I’m glad he made it.” “In 27 years I haven’t seen anyone survive so much time at sea until this guy, who is a world record for all ishermen,” another isherman, Jose Luis Ovando Corzo, told CNN. Those are the same sentiments expressed by Gee Bing, acting secretary of Foreign Af-
A former boss of Salvadoran castaway Jose Alvarenga, Bellarmino Rodriguez Solis, talks about the last time he saw Alvarenga before he set of on a ishing trip in late 2012. AFP fairs in the Marshall Islands, who admitted after meeting the isherman: “I’m not sure if I believe his story. When we saw him, he was not really thin compared to other survivors of the past. I may have some doubts.” There is also a discrepancy in the names given in the oficial report when the pair went missing. The records at the civil defence ofice in the Mexican state of Chiapas note that two men – Cirilo Vargas and Ezequiel Cordoba – disappeared during bad weather on November 17, 2012, and no trace of them or their seven-metre boat was found despite an intense two week search. There has been no immediate explanation of the discrepancy – however, Alvarenga’s parents in El Salvador say that he was known by the nickname “Cirilo” in his home town. Alvarenga may have used multiple nicknames but why the isherman gave Marshall Islands oficials the name of Jose Salvador Alverenga rather than
The daughter and parents of Salvadoran castaway Jose Alvarenga – Fatima Mabea Alvarenga, Jose Ricardo Orellana and Maria Julia Alvarenga – after hearing news of the isherman’s survival. AFP
the name he was known by in Mexico and El Salvador is just one of the details being questioned. There has also been no immediate explanation of the discrepancy in dates given by Alvarenga and Mexican authorities.
Alvarenga said he set sail on December 12, 2012, but ishermen in Costa Azul said he had been lost since November 17, 2012 – making his ordeal now at least 14 months adrift at sea. - PNC/ Daily Mail
Family says man’s survival a miracle GARITA PALMERA – The family
of a Salvadoran isherman who says he survived at 14 months at sea in an open boat had thought he was dead after losing touch with him eight years ago and are calling his astonishing story of survival a miracle. While authorities said questions remained about his tale, relatives have provided details that might help explain how Jose Alvarenga could survive loating across 12,500 kilometres of the Paciic in a small boat. They said he was always unusually strong and resilient and was an experienced sailor. “The sea was his thing,” Alvarenga’s father, Jose Ricardo Orellana, who owns a store and lour mill in the seaside Salvadoran town of Garita Palmera, said. He said his son first went off to work at sea as a stocky 14-year-old. Alvarenga’s family reacted with joy after two phone calls from their long lost son, who told them he was getting medical treatment and food in the Marshall Islands. Alvarenga, who says he is 37 years old, later got a shave and a haircut. He also confessed to his mother he didn’t really know where he was. Recounting their talks, his 59-year-old mother, Maria Julia Alvarenga, broke into tears. “We hadn’t heard from him for eight years; we thought he was dead already. This is a miracle, glory to God,” she said. The fisherman’s 14-year-
old daughter, Fatima, said she didn’t remember her father, who left El Salvador when she was just over a year old. “I’m so very happy to know he’s alive,” said Fatima. “He’s alive and I’m going to see him.” Gee Bing, the Marshall Islands’ acting secretary of foreign affairs, said Alvarenga also spoke by phone on Tuesday to his brother in Maryland for the irst time in years: “He got very emotional.” Bing helped relocate Alvarenga from the hospital to a hotel in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, on Tuesday. “He requested that we give him some time to rest. I don’t think he got enough sleep at the hospital, and he wanted to rest and also get a haircut,” Bing said. “When we dropped him off at the hotel, there was someone there to take him to the barber.” Bing said a constant stream of journalists and well-wishers had flowed into the hospital wanting to talk to Alvarenga and bringing him blankets, pillows, clothes and fruit. He said the hotel had increased its security to try to provide Alvarenga with some privacy. The oficial said medical tests indicated Alvarenga was doing well. He was taking vitamins, and Tylenol to ease joint pain. Bing said that he expected it to take one to two weeks for authorities to inalise Alvarenga’s repatriation, and that the Marshall Islands government would likely pay the cost of his stay.
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
LetterS reta
‘We must not neglect the outer islands’ setting aside moneys to rebuild the Tauhunu Harbour and to provide people of the north with renewable energy. All designed to ease the cost and pressure of living of our people up there. It is disturbing that she thinks that Cook Islanders up north do not deserve such consideration because there is just a few of them. Really Mata? you talk about core values, yet where is yours? This government's core value is that every Cook Islander is entitled to the same standard of services and facilities regardless of which island they are on. yes, Rarotonga is the key but we must not neglect the outer
islands. Government has just spent $30 million on upgrading Avatiu Harbour. Why should Mata begrudge the spending of nearly $3million on not upgrading but repairing Tauhunu Harbour? you also complain that one harbour is good enough for Manihiki. Obviously you do not know (or care?) that there are two separate villages on two separate islands in Manihiki.
KiiKii robbery ‘not ‘Island’ boy owes the manager’s fault’
Dear Editor, We wish to thank the doctors, nurses, laboratory staff, radiographer and other staff members of Rarotonga Hospital who took care of my husband when he had a unexpected chest pain while we on holiday in late January. My husband, Tim Gregg, is himself a surgeon employed at Wellington Hospital, was pleased with the prompt care and good protocol in treating a patient with his symptoms. We chose to leave for NZ the next
Island boy Tai Mackenzie and his dad Henry Hof back in the good old days. These days Tai is pursing a career in modelling and acting and is one of 12 in the New Zealand Cleo Magazine’s ‘Bachelor of the year’ competition. 14020501
all to his father Thank you MW and CI News for a great article on Tai Mackenzie and his achievement in making it as one of 12 Bachelors of the year with Cleo NZ Magazine! I want to take this opportunity to thank the one person who put the “Island” in “Island Boy Tai” and that is Tai’s Dad, Henry Hoff. If not for the love, guidance and discipline
received from Henry, his Mum – Grandma Mere and Papa Charlie and Mama Ana Hoff, the feeding of pigs, kana te akari, speaking te reo and all that is of this island would not have been. Meitaki Ma’ata to everyone out there that has and will continue to support Tai in his endeavours! Kia Manuia, Teina MacKenzie
Here’s what people think Letters to the editor. Express yourself. Email: editor@cookislandsnews.com
Dear Editor, In response to Mata-Atua McNair’s letter to the editor (‘Too many public servants’, CINews January 22): Freedom of speech is a cherished feature of our society that must be protected. But there is also a responsibility that goes with this freedom...to ind out the truth and to speak the truth. Too often people like Mata McNair who live elsewhere make out that they know it all when they do come home but instead only expose their prejudices and ignorance. Manako ratou e e apinga tikai rai ratou! A clear case in point is Mata's criticisms on government for
Dear Editor, I can't help but think that the wonderful manager of the KiiKii has been hard done by as she has been asked to leave her job there. It is hardly her fault that cowardly thieves stole money, passports and jewellery from the safe at the hotel! Even if the owners had bolted
the safe down things may have turned out differently. It must have also been terrifying for her to realise someone with such illegal ideas had been so close to her and her sleeping child. Frightening indeed. Reinstate this hard working and innocent women please! Name and address supplied
It is good to see our returning Cook Islanders contributing to discussions about our country. It signiies continuing interest in our welfare. But for goodness sake, get your facts right or try and ind out the true facts before you open your trap. Otherwise you risk being characterised as an idiot with nothing useful to say. Name and address supplied
Previous intern thanks hospital day whereupon my husband had further medical tests but is now in good health. We also wish to thank our landlord, Mark Boyd, for his advice and care of us too. Incidentally my husband was a trainee intern at Rarotonga Hospital back in 1989 but never thought he would end up a patient at our favourite holiday spot. Meitaki ma'ata to all once again. Sally Thomson-Gregg, Wellington, New Zealand.
Be ‘voice of the nation’ Dear Editor, The national Radio Cook Islands have DJs that desperately needs to go with the time and just get out of their comfort zone and think outside the square. Often I hear during the
early morning show that I know quite well the same old music aired every minute and on the hour up to 8am and, to make it worse, when the morning show DJ comes on until he completes his weekly shift at around mid-
day that he kind of airs mostly Araura enua muso and also loves to hear himself and his son sing on the radio. Come on guys; why not spend time and think outside the square and change your mind set because you are a national station and we tend to hear repetitive songs on the minute every morning. The station should have thousands of music for your playlist other than airing songs to your own personal liking but play all around and real island music please. Keep up to your
slogan - the voice of the nation, then you should be okay. Proud of my national voice but? Name and address supplied
Noted Teuira Ka , Secretary for the Cook islands Grey Power Commission: Thank you for your letter regarding the first Grey Power meeting, but the matters raised have already been well canvassed in the past. Editor
No commitment to dog control Dear Editor, Every government has grandiose schemes, few if any bear fruit, and so we should not judge our government for its failures in this regard. Better we judge them on the day-today things that make life good or make life not so good. Take dog control for instance. Do we lack laws? No, we have adequate dog control laws. Do we lack manpower? No, we have lots of police constables. Do we lack horsepower? No, we have lots of
Cook Islands News Building Maraerenga Avarua Rarotonga PO Box 15 Rarotonga Tel (682) 22999 Fax 25303 Email: editor@cookislandsnews.com or adverts@cookislandsnews.com
www.cookislandsnews.com Daily Monday to Saturday
police vehicles. Do we lack willpower? Well, yes, yes indeed. When will that change? When a Cabinet Minister’s child goes to hospital after a dog/motor bike collision. When a Cabinet Minister’s child goes to hospital after being savaged by a pack of dogs. Sad? yes. Depressing? yes Discouraging? yes. Don’t hold your breath for any change in the utter failure to control dogs on Rarotonga. Who let the dogs out? Name and address supplied
Managing Editor John Woods john@cookislandsnews.com Financial Controller Liz Woods lizw@cookislandsnews.com General Manager Tony Fe’ao tony@cookislandsnews.com Editor Mark Ebrey mark@cookislandsnews.com Deputy Editor Matariki Wilson matariki@cookislandsnews.com Online & Social Networking Editor Briar Douglas briar@cookislandsnews.com Reporters Emmanuel Samoglou emmanuel@cookislandsnews.com Ben Chapman-Smith ben@cookislandsnews.com Rachel Reeves rachel@cookislandsnews.com Court Reporter Merita Wi-Kaitaia merita@cookislandsnews.com Advertising adverts@cookislandsnews.com Oice Manager Tere Joseph tere@cookislandsnews.com Accounts Manager Tangi Tauira tangi@cookislandsnews.com Reception Kura Tauira reception@cookislandsnews.com Oice staf Apii Tua apii@cookislandsnews.com Graphic Design & Layout Mahai Daniel mahai@cookislandsnews.com Adam Tutuvanu adam@cookislandsnews.com Web Developer Daniel Rolls dan@cookislandsnews.com Print Manager Dan Johnston danj@cookislandsnews.com Printers Dennis Campos, Lai Gukisuva
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
Members of the volunteer youth group rotaract Club shared the “ngakau aroa” spirit giving $500 donations each to Avarua School, Nukutere College, Philippines community, Tonga community and the Esther honey Foundation animal clinic. 14020523
Rotaract show their ‘ngakau aroa’ spirit THE SPIRIT of ‘ngakau aroa’
was evident yesterday when local youth group Rotaract Club donated funds to various community groups on the island yesterday. Funds raised during the club’s major fundraising event in December – the Christmas in the Market festival – were donated to ive groups the club deemed in need of the funds. The club donated $500 each to Avatea School and Nukutere College, which both lost blocks of classrooms in October last year in an arson attack as well as
to the Cook Islands Tonga community to support the relief efforts for the islands struck by cyclone Ian earlier this month and to the Philippine community who are also raising funds to support people back home still recovering from the devastation of super typhoon yolanda. The island’s only animal shelter, the Esther Honey Foundation, also received $500 from the youth group to continue their great work in looking after island animals. Each group that received the
donation shared their heartfelt gratitude to the youth group and encouraged the volunteer members to keep up the fantastic work they do in raising funds for community projects. Rotaract Club president Maru Mariri told the group the funds were just a small token of support from the group. She also encouraged each group that received funding from the club to also support them in their efforts to raise funds for more worthwhile community projects. - Matariki Wilson
THURSDAY 6TH FEBRUARY 2014 PROGRAMME wiTH ExPEcTED OUTcOMES 8.25AM OPENiNG PRAYER 8.30AM REcAP OF DAY ONE 8.45AM PANEL DiScUSSiON 3 GROwiNG TOURiSM iN THE SiSTER iSLANDS Key elements of a working plan to grow tourism in the sister islands are ideniied by relevant stakeholders 9.45AM
PANEL DiScUSSiON 4 TOURiSM EDUcATiON AND TRAiNiNG Key elements of a human resource development plan are ideniied by relevant stakeholders
10.30AM 10.45AM
MORNiNG TEA PANEL DiScUSSiON 5 NATiONAL iNFRASTRUcTURE AND EVENT iNFRASTRUcTURE Key elements of infrastructure are ideniied for development by relevant stakeholders
11.30AM
wORKiNG GROUP SESSiON 2
Break-out sessions focused on acion items that individuals or organisaions can take ownership of to address or improve on the issue / focus areas given.
FOcUS AREA c: Sister island Niche Markets GROUP A: AiTUTAKi and ATiU triangle route GROUP B: EVENTS iN THE SiSTER iSLANDS cA: CA: Lists of expanded experiences for triangle route. cB: Lists of events and infrastructure required to open up sister island events.
FOCUS AREA D: Tourism Educaion and Training GROUP A: PLACEMENTS FOR STUDENTS IN INDUSTRY WORKPLACES GROUP B: TOP FIVE TRAINING NEEDS FOR THE INDUSTRY DA: Lists of operators willing to take student placements, and process to share this around the industry. DB: Updated lists of training needs from the industry.
FOCUS AREA E: Naional Infrastructure and Event Infrastructure
Year 8 students John Jessie, Brideena Kaiaruna, Athena Piri and Daimzel Rongokea sift through some donated goodies that were dropped of by an unidentiied woman at the school on Monday afternoon. 14020505
GROUP A: NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP B: EVENT INFRASTRUCTURE EA: 5 Naional infrastructure requirements to serve the Tourism Industry EB: Top 5 Event infrastructure projects for government to invest in 12.15PM
Unknown woman leaves gift at Avatea School AN UNKNOWN Good Samari-
tan delivered a hoard of learning materials to Avatea School on Monday. The books and stationery were gratefully received by Apii Avatea, which lost many resources in an act of arson in October last year. However, the person responsible for the donation remains unknown to the school.
Principal Nga Charlie said a woman walked into her office with some boxes on Monday afternoon. “At the time I was finishing off a meeting with four teacher aides. I directed her to the chair – but then I happened to look up and she was gone, but her things were still there.” Charlie said a staff member rushed outside to see if they
could spot the woman, but she had gone. More than 50 books were among the gifts, as well as colouring pencils, pens, rulers and other stationery. Charlie said Avatea School would like to express its appreciation for the gifts, and hopes the woman will spot this article and visit the school again. - Briar Douglas
REPORTiNG ON wORKiNG GROUP SESSiON 2 Group reports acion items, recommendaions, and issues raised, to be used in strategic planning and reporing FOcUS AREA c: Sister Island Niche Markets (Groups 5 mins each) FOcUS AREA D: Tourism Education and Training (Groups 5 mins each) FOcUS AREA E: Naional Infrastructure and Event Infrastructure (Groups 5 mins each)
12.45PM
PRiORiTiSATiON AND OwNERSHiP OF AcTiON iTEMS wiTH cLOSiNG REMARKS Formal ideniicaion and prioriisaion of acion items, recommendaions and issues and adopion of these in CI Tourism work-plans and aciviies
1.00PM
END OF FORUM – BUFFET LUNcH If you have any quesions regarding the above please contact Noeline Mateariki on telephone (+682) 29435 or email noeline.mateariki@cookislands.gov.ck
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
Damage hot forum topic needs to be addressed now.” He challenged leaders of government ministries in attendance to take responsibility for the issue and put more money into waste collection. Titikaveka MP Selina Napa said the amount of rubbish being left at Wigmore’s Waterfall is a real problem. “I was up there last week and the place was in a shocking state. What are we doing about it? I’m really concerned for the tourism industry.” She also said the road leading to the waterfall is in terrible condition and appears to be neglected. Environment Service director Vaitoti Tupa responded that his team used to look after the waterfall until the landowners
told them not to touch the area. Napa also expressed worries about the number of lagoon cruise boats operating in Rarotonga. “Over the Christmas I have been doing a bit of fishing on the reef and I’ve seen oil on the reef. It could be ish but it could come from these boats,” she said. Napa suggested a levy be imposed on these businesses and the money used to preserve the lagoons. Those in attendance were grouped into workshops later in the morning to come up with solutions to the problems. The Tourism Stakeholders Forum continues today at the Assembly of God Church in Takuvaine, wrapping up at 1 pm. - BCS
Kristina Tatam, general manager of Island Car and Bike Hire, and Titikaveka MP Selina Napa chat during morning tea. 14020535
tomer service and whether the Cook Islands culture is being watered down. One major issue raised was damage being caused to the local environment and the impact this could have on tourism. According to an international visitors’ survey, the natural environment is the most appealing feature of the Cook Islands to tourists. Even so, many at yesterday’s forum expressed fears that the environment is not being looked after. Noel Bartley, Tourism Industry Council representative, said many popular tourist sites can be found strewn with rubbish. “The condition of some of these sites is abysmal. The problem needs to be addressed and it
Forum participants put their heads together to ind ways of growing the Cook Islands tourism industry. 14020530
Metua Vaiimene, director of destination development for the Tourism Corporation, addresses the 80 people who turned out for yesterday’s forum. 14020532
DAMAGE being caused to the
country’s environment was a hot topic at a major tourism gathering yesterday. About 80 people turned up for day one of the Cook Islands
Tourism Corporation’s Stakeholders Forum in Takuvaine, designed to address issues facing tourism growth. On the agenda were crime rates, dogs, the quality of cus-
Temu Okotai, general manager of Cook Islands Tours, poses a question to the panel. 14020536
Toa customers advised to review rights VEHICLE owners affected by
Local solar expert Bob Riley seen here with friend Mary Smith installing a solar system at the Esther Honey clinic last year. 14020434
Tenders sought for airport solar work LOCAL COMPANIES are being
invited to tender for the construction of a large solar power system at Rarotonga International Airport. As part of the Cook Islands Renewable Energy Project, a new 900kw array of photo-voltaic panels will be built to the west of the terminal on airport land. Energy commissioner Roger de Bray said a system of that size will generate enough energy to meet about ive per cent
of Rarotonga’s total electricity needs each year. He said its output on any particular day will depend on customers’ electricity usage and sunlight hours. “Some days it will generate more, some days less but at certain points in time when there’s low usage and high sunlight hours, you could get away with turning the power station off,” de Bray said. New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and
the Cook Islands Government have issued tender documents for the work, which will be funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme. The job includes the supply and installation of the photovoltaic array panels, including electrical cabling and connection to the local grid. There will also be associated civil works, including the array frame foundations and construction of an inverter building.
Although international companies can bid for the project, the governments have previously said they are keen to see local companies involved. Tender documents are available on www.mfem.gov.ck and www.gets.govt.nz and tenders close February 20. The project is part of an overall plan by the government to have the Cook Islands 100 per cent reliant on renewable energy by 2020. - Ben Chapman-Smith
Toa Petroleum’s high-sulphur diesel over the past two months have the option of turning to the courts, says the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Toa’s director Brett Porter issued a statement on Friday advising owners of modern diesel engines to stop using his fuel because it contained sulphur levels of 5700 parts per million (ppm). Internal Affairs said the Cook Islands does not have laws to regulate sulphur levels in fuel but follows standards set by New Zealand and the region, which regulate levels to no more than 50 ppm. “While Toa has not breached any speciic standards in Cook Islands laws in providing fuel with a high sulphur content, the company has an obligation to ensure that consumers are aware of the sulphur content of product that they are selling,” said Consumer Commissioner Edward Herman. He said Toa also has an obligation to correct statements it made last year “that may have misled consumers”. His comments refer to Porter’s earlier assertions - based on a mistake made by his New Zealand consultant - that his fuel contained only 57 ppm of
sulphur. Herman said consumers who have been adversely affected by use of the high sulphur fuel have recourse through the courts under rights provided in the Consumer Guarantees Act 2008. “Following Toa’s admission, consumers that continue to use the high sulphur content fuel do so at their own risk,” he added. The problem with Toa’s fuel - supplied by the Luen Thai ishing company - was only picked up after a member of the public complained to the Ministry, which then carried out its own tests. “The veriication conirmed that the fuel purchased from the Luen Thai ishing company had a very high sulphur content in comparison to standards used in other regional countries,” Herman said. The Ministry then informed Toa of its obligations under the Fair Trading Act 2008 and advised Porter to issue a public statement informing consumers of the actual sulphur content and the effect of its use. Herman said the Ministry will be monitoring all future fuel imports for sulphur content. - Ben Chapman-Smith
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
Delegates at yesterday’s opening day of the GOPAC anticorruption conference, held at Edgewater Resort and Spa. 14020526
Cooks seek to become fourth GOPAC nation
COOK ISLANDS Parliamentarians, government oficials, and Paciic region dignitaries gathered yesterday for the opening of a regional anti-corruption conference. The meeting has been organised by the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), a Canadian-based organisation with roughly 50 chapters on six continents. The two-day meeting - held at the Edgewater Resort and Spa - has brought together traditional Cook Islands leaders, elected oficials, and legislators from parliaments throughout the Oceania region to develop the capacity of parliamentarians to support anti-corruption
efforts. Prime Minister Henry Puna opened the conference with a speech that focused on a theme “... of adopting three R’s” - recognising corruption, responsibility to take action against it, and a resolve to work “collectively and co-operatively for better practises”. “The Cook Islands is the right place to host this meeting as I believe this country is a leader in the region for transparency and accountability,” reads an excerpt of Puna’s speech. “Acceding to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption just over two years ago, the Cook Islands Government is irmly committed to the de-
velopment and strengthening of public accountability and oversight, both at the national level and in the building of regional and international cooperative networks and frameworks to ight corruption and other criminal activity.” G O PA C’s Oceania chair John Hyde said the Rarotonga meeting “is about empowering Parliamentarians to take a stronger role in oversighting anti-corruption in their governments and countries”. Co-ordinator Tangata Vainerere of Pacific Legislatures for Population and Governance (PLPG) said the Cook Islands is aiming to become the fourth nation in the region with a national GOPAC chapter, joining
New Zealand, Kiribati, and Australia. “Discussions have already taken place to start this process,” he said. Over the course of the conference, attendees are scheduled to participate in various sessions on oversight, the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, strategy development, and discussions on drafting plans of action. GOPAC is funded by the Government of Kuwait through a $3 million dollar project, which includes inancial assistance for a period of ive years. The conference concludes today. - Emmanuel Samoglou
Chamber proposing 50% local by 2015 A PUSH is coming from the Chamber of Commerce to have local companies delivering all Cook Islands infrastructure programmes by the end of this decade. It is proposing a target of achieving 50 per cent delivery of all infrastructure by local irms by 2015, and 100 per cent by 2020. “The goal has always been for the private sector to deliver 100 per cent of infrastructure projects and increased local engagement in the initial project design process will make them more likely to be successful,” said Chamber president Steve Anderson. Anderson will be presenting his thoughts at a major meeting for Cook Islands donor partners next week.
President Steve Anderson of the Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce. 14020441 The fourth annual Development Partners Meeting, which runs from February 10-14, will include government represent-
atives from Australia, New Zealand, China, plus oficials from development agencies such as the United Nations and European Union. An important focus of this year’s meeting is improving the ability of the private sector to take part in setting the development agenda. Anderson will also be presenting the results of a recent survey of local businesses involved in the construction, contracting, building services, logistics and building supply areas. “We want to work closely with government, funding agencies, and the infrastructure committee and we would like to see them support and adopt the same targets,” he said.
Anderson said allowing local businesses to participate in infrastructure delivery has multiple knock-on economic beneits to the country. The Government sees greater tax revenues, more people are employed, and Cook Islanders are enticed home by wellpaid jobs, he said. Anderson said the Government’s water tank subsidy project highlights the effectiveness of public-private partnerships. “We see this as a model for future partnerships with the private sector. you end up getting a multiplier on the funds – a $1 million project can result in several million dollars in value to the economy.” - Ben Chapman-Smith
GOPAC’s Oceania Chair John Hyde addressing dignitaries at yesterday’s opening of the anti-corruption conference. 14020524
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Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
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1pm sharp. Material deadline for display adverts 24 hours prior.
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICES
FOR SALE
Kia Orana Mama Mata’s FREE Cook Islands language class, change of venue due to amount of space. Opposite Vonnias West shop in Arorangi at the Ministry of infrastructure cook Islands. (Orange and grey wall). Starts at 6.30pm, Phone 27156. You are Welcome. E noo ra Mama Mata.
Mongoose Rugby Club Annual General Meeting THU 20 FEBRUARY 6.30pm At Roses Garden - The House of Knowledge. Agenda: Opening Prayer Presidents Report Financial Report Election of Oicers Other Business All members please attend. 76769 / /2511
A meeting for the landowner(s) of Pouara section 11E, Matavera, Rarotonga is scheduled for: Time: 6.30pm Date: Monday 10 February Venue: Vaa’ipu and Tamarii Tutangata’s resident (brown house, opposite Island Living) Matavera. To discuss a lease proposal and a right of way. Your attendance is appreciated. Thank you Tamarii Tutangata.
Tiare Taina blooms, $10 a bag. Phone Joyce 20201.
76759 /36249 /1931
COOK iSLANDS GAME FiSHiNG CLUB WEiGHMASTERS COMP The annual weighmaster’s comp will be run on Saturday 8 February between the hours of 0600 and 1700 with prize giving at 1830. This comp is open to inancial members of the club and $20 boat registration must be paid at the bar before 2330 on Friday 7 February. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The AGM of the Cook Islands Game Fishing club will be held on Saturday 1 March at 1400.
OFFICE OF ThE PRIME MINISTER Cook Islands Government The Cook islands Government and new Zealand Ministry of Foreign Afairs and Trade have issued tender documents for the construction of a 900kw Photovoltaic Array at Rarotonga international Airport. The site is to the west of the terminal and on airport land. Planned total output will be 900kw and energy generated will provide approximately 5% of Rarotonga requirements. The project is funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme. Tender documents are available both on the website of the Ministry of Finance and economic Management (www. mfem.gov.ck) and the new Zealand Government electronic Tenders website (www.gets.govt.nz). Tenders close February 20. interested Cook islands companies should access the tender documents on the website. Queries can be addressed to the Project Manager, Mr John Youdale at email john.youdale@beca.com or Rob Hills at email – Rob.hills@beca.com. Those interested in tendering should register with the project manager to ensure they receive any additional notices to tenderers. 76756
Nau Mai Haere Mai The Aotearoa Society will be celebrating Waitangi Day. Where: Aoteroa centre Tupapa When: Thursday 6 February At 6pm BYO Pot luck to share BYO Drinks Entertainment Provided. Every one is welcome to celebrate Waitangi Day. The Aotearoa Society. 76794 /36291 /1931
Titikaveka Rugby League Club notice Our village will be hosting the Aitutaki Sharks to a spread after the Premier game. Friday 7 Feb 2014 Starts 7pm @ Kent Hall Please bring a plate Meitaki Maata President, club captain and Aronga Mana. 76766 / /2557
For the sake of your family
GET HELP Call AA - 71744
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Sunset BBQ w/ GarTh younG - PIANO 6PM Sunset Cocktails w/ w/RuDY AQuINO 5.30PM – 7.30PM Sat Seafood BBQ w/ JAKE NuMANGA - uKuLELE 6PM
Our food our passion 6pm till late
Renewal of Liquor Licences and Manager’s Certiicates for Year 2014 To all Liquor Licence and Manager’s Certiicate holders, you are reminded that your licences and certiicates expire on the 31 March 2014. Anyone who wishes to renew their existing liquor licence or manager’s certiicate are requested to contact the Liquor Licensing Authority on phone 28810 or email: liquor@transport.gov.ck or come in person to the Ministry of Transport oice to uplift an application pack. Your applications must be lodged to the Liquor Licensing Authority by 19 March 2014. Failure to lodge your application before the expiry date may result in the suspension of your licence or certiicate. Secretary Liquor Licensing Authority 76797 / /1764
Classiieds • Phone 22999
• adverts@cookislandsnews.com
TUATUA AKAKITE Oire Teimurimotia Uipaanga Ka raveia tetai uipaanga nate Oire Temurimotia ki roto rai i to tatou ngutuare Kent Hall. Ruirua 11 February 2014 ite ora 7 ite aiai. Patianga kite au Pu tapere, te au mata ote au taokotaianga - sports, TA, Kent Hall committee, Neighbourhood watch, education, religious ete vai atura. Aere mai oronga mai i toou marama ei tauturu rai ia tatou. Akamaroiroi mai Nate Tekeretere. 76789 /36290 /2557
SERVICES RENOVATiONS: DECKS, KITCHENS OR COMPLETE HOUSES, MORTGAGE ARRANGEMENTS. FREE QUOTE, NO OBLIGATION. RING RIMATOA BUILDERS on 55070 or see Gus at our workshop in Nikao (opp Dentist, formerly Land Holdings Premises). 76748 / /2625
FOR RENT Beach Front studio unit, Long or short term available as of the 12/2/14, Fully furnished, $200 weekly. Phone 71570. 76798 /36308 /1931
2 bedroom modern house in Tikioki. Available for rent, fully furnished at $250 per week. Phone Mii 27258. 76760 /36251 /1931
Rooms $70 wk, suitable female with sober habits. Ph 20201 Monday to Friday, 9 to 5pm. 76768 / /1917
5.30pm to 10pm 7 days
Mon to Sat $7.00 Lunch pack takeaway
Mon-Tue: $12.95 specials Thursday: Indo Chinese Specials Friday: Bufet Nite ($19pp) All you can eat Sunday: Tandoori night Other nights: A-la-carte
$10.00 Dine in special
DonTmISSThISLEgEnDARyREmAKE!
ThuRSDAy-SunDAy 6Pm&8.30Pm Ph 189 foR uPDATES on ThE moVIE hoT LInE
BIgSCREEn,DoLBySounD,unBEATABLEBLoCKBuSTERmoVIES every Monday & Thursday - call Advertising on 22999 or adverts@cookislandsnews.com
76793 / /1917
Stainless steel Oven - $600 for 5 burner cook-top with oven. In good working order. A great bargain. For inspections call 55366 - Minar or 55369. 76795 / /1758
VEhICLES FOR SALE 2012 White Toyota Hilux petrol, Aluminium Tray Rust proof, 29,500 ono Contact Mariana 55286. 76777 /35033 /1931
SITUATIONS VACANT Caregiver required. Must have drivers license, experience and references. Phone 51767. 76763 / /2414
Female Waitress required for a restaurant. Training provided for the right candidate. Experience preferred. Phone 22279 or 75422. 76723 / /2199
Childcare/Tutor with at least 3 yrs work exp., knowledgeable in child care, fond of playing with kids, love to read educational books and tutorial job, must be honest, reliable, friendly,nonsmoker and non-drinker. Please email your CV to ciral09@yahoo.com and application closes 19 February 2014. 76650 /36283 /1933
CHEF REQUiRED. Full time position available. Must have at least 5 years experience in a head or 2nd chefs capacity. Applicant must be reliable, honest and able to work unsupervised. A knowledge of food costing and the ability to create and implement menu changes is required. Please email current cV to bullibaise@gmail.com or call 54668 for an interview. 76786 / /2592
Local Charter Business looking for experienced Deckhand/Skipper Experience in management, mechanics, engineering an advantage. Please apply in writing to PO Box 276, Avarua. 76737 /36223 /1931
SITUATIONS VACANT
SITUATIONS VACANT
Paciic resort Hotel Group
DInnER
11am to 2.30pm
Ph 22 279
“WhAT’Son”
76716 / /1956
76790
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday Reservations recommended Ph: 27619
LunCh
AVARuA ToWn
casual ads must be prepaid. cancellation fee $6.40 incl. VAT. Quotations on request.
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICES
RESTAuRAnT
RATES Minimum $5.80 incl. VAT for 1-15 words.
DEADLiNES Deadline for next day’s classiieds is
22999
preferred
A Great Place to Work… Te MATO VAi PROjeCT MAnAGeMenT UniT
Project Administrator We are seeking an experienced Project Administrator to carry out the administrative and inancial tasks for the PMU. The position is an interesting and challenging one and will appeal to anyone who enjoys working in the water industry and with a range of stakeholders. If interested, please contact oice or email sarah@kew. com.ws for copy of a job description. All applications should include a covering letter, recent CV, evidence of qualiications and relevant references and be emailed to the Project Manager with details below. Project Manager Te Mato Vai Project Management Unit iCi Compound, Arorangi latu@kew.com.ws Closing Date: Monday 10 February 2014 For more information, contact Ph 28851 76749
We are currently seeking the following: • Restaurant & Bar staf • Chefs, Cooks and kitchen hands • Team Leaders & Supervisors • Project Coordinator • Housekeeping Staf • Beach Activities staf • Carpenter/ Handyman • Groundsmen To apply email: work@paciicresort. com or contact Ani Thompson on 53731
www.paciicresort. com 76521
11
Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
SITUATIONS VACANT
SITUATIONS VACANT
WANTED TO BUy Honda 90 engine, working condition. Phone 26575 Sonny.
HEAVy DiESEL ENGiNEER Production/Sales Position (Fulltime) We are looking for an energetic, well presented person to join our organisation. The successful applicant must also have a “can do” attitude and be a team player. Manufacturing experience will be an advantage. The role will require some heavy lifting at times. A current cook Islands driver’s license is essential. Application forms are available from our premises in Ruatonga. Application closes Monday 10 February.
76638 /36279 /1720
We are currently seeking the following: 1. Assistant Chef/Cook 2. Pastry Chef 3. Professional Bartender/ Supervisor All positions require skilled, experienced, matured and hands on person. To apply: Email cV to beachbar@waterline.co.ck or call 56214. 76571 /36270 /2247
We are on the move
76746 /36226 /1931
To maintain 36 tonne excavators, trucks, generators, water pumps, hydraulic systems etc. Top Rates of Pay. Must be able to start work mid- March 2014. Send CV to Landholdings Ltd landholdings@oyster.net.ck or drop of to oice in Panama.
BEREAVEMENT
Front oice Looking for energetic with a good personality positive person to join our Reception operation. Fulltime work available and must be keen and willing to learn. Experience deinitely a bonus but not essential.
76562
BIRThDAy
Carpenter / Handyman The oicers and ire ighters of the Puaikura Volunteer Fire Brigade wish to advise after a long battle with illness the passing away peacefully of
Full time work for the right applicant who is versatile and able to help our small team complete our renovation project. Contact Louis 55369 or email: Louis@clubraro.co.ck 76733
Rex Cooper
76751 / /2107
The Ministry of Health has the following vacancies: 1.Laboratory technician (Phlebotomist), Rarotonga Hospital 2.Dental trainee An application form and job description is available upon request. Address applications or queries to Human Resources Manager, PO Box 109, Ministry of Health, Rarotonga, cook Islands, Phone (00 682) 29664 or email m.anguna@health.gov.ck Date for inal receipt of applications: 7 February 2014.
SITUATIONS VACANT
aruia Tarita-m ulholland Isabel m
happyBirthday to our beautiful "Waitangi"girlonyour 19th Birthday. may you be truly blessedandmaygod continue to be the foundationofyourlife andguideineverything you do. haveagreatdaywith allyourfriendsandall With lots and lots of love yourfamilyinRaro.We mum,AuntyVira,nanamary willbethinkingofyou andPapa,andallyourfamily on your special day. in nz and London.
yesterday after noon 4 February at his home in Russell the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Rex was the instigator of the information of this brigade 11 years ago and has been a very strong supporter with annual visits and tireless canvassing around NZ brigades for equipment for us. He will be sadly missed by us and many others he got to know here on Rarotonga. Rex is receiving full Fire Brigade Funeral by the Russell Volunteer Fire Brigade at 2pm, Saturday 8 February in Russell Bay of Islands, New Zealand. A Brigade service will be here on Rarotonga at a later date. Barry Hill Chief Fire Oicer PVFB. 777
Autism Cook islands Ph 24065/55976
Job Opportunities Kia Orana! - The edgewater Resort & Spa are currently seeking full time and part time staf. If you are a team player and have the ability to work under pressure and multitask - then we are looking for you! All applicants must have: Good communication skills, be honest and reliable, conidence and personality - full training will be provided for the right applicants. The positions available are: • Restaurant cleaner (6-12midday) • Waitress / waiter (full & part time) • Demi chefs • Kitchen hand • Housekeeping Supervisor • Housemaids For further queries, please contact the HR & Training Manager Jef TIKITAU on ph 58008 or Lynn MATAIO on ph 55469. Application forms are also available from Reception. Look forward to meeting you! 76629
tiateura@oyster.net.ck
SITUATIONS VACANT
BIRThDAy
Finance Oicer – Cook Islands To our Papa happy 80th Bday hope you have a Awesome Day Papa. Lots of Love & Kisses from your Kids, grands, 2 mokos, Also from James and Ally.
To our Lil miss Pain Luv u heaps! Mum, Mama, special kiss from your bro Isaia God Bless
FOUND Notices are FREE To encourage honesty and good citizenship. A Cook Islands News public service.
As the finance oicer you will support and work closely with the finance manager, Westpac Cook Islands to ensure the administration of the Westpac business is streamlined and eicient. your role is responsible for accounts payable including liaising with suppliers for conirmations and updates on balances. Additionally you will prepare and analyze various inancial reports. you have core personal principles that see you behave as a dynamic, focused and disciplined professional. your ‘can do’ attitude allows you to be nimble yet operate with a sense of accuracy and urgency in all that you do.
Knowledge and Experience:
ABighappy3rdB'day Babygirl.Todayisyour daysoyou'retheboss. Loveyouheapsfrom mummies,DaddyTravel, yourmamaAke&Papa maaraandyouraunties& &uncles.Specialonefrom ur fav Aunty Loulou
Overseas advertising We can place your message in newspapers around the world. We will get quotes for classiied advertisementsandpre-billing. Contactouradvertisingdepartmentphone22999email:adverts@cookislandsnews.com
•
Evidence of being a strongly organized and structured person, with a ‘can do’ attitude to all activities and challenges
•
Strong oice Administration experience
•
Proven skills in written and verbal communication
•
Exemplary technology skills using applications related to the Administration function of a business.
•
Proven track record in contributing to business performance through operational eiciency.
•
Ideally you will be tertiary qualiied with a relevant Accounting Degree.
Tell us why you think you are the right person for this job by submitting your written application along with your CV, by 10 february 2014, to: nick Rous, finance manager, Westpac Cook Islands, Email: nickrous@ westpac.com.au or deliver to Westpac Branch, Avarua. 69221
12
Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
Former St Joseph School principal is lead to a special farewell ceremony to thank her for her 11-years of dedication to the Catholic school. 14020514
Aere ra Sister Celine and God bless you
after 11 years of teaching at St Joseph School – Sister Celine will return home to India. 14020507
you all in my heart and pray for you everywhere I go.” Sister Celine spent eight years as a teacher at St Josephs and three years as principal. In that time she has overseen the complete rebuilding of the school and, on the eve of her departure, she sees the inal refurbishment project completed in the new pre-school building. Before moving to Rarotonga in 2002 Sister Celine was principal at St Joseph of Cluny School in Pondicherry province, India for 16 years. Sister Celine has spent the last month helping new St Joseph School principal Kathy Nubono (nee George) settle into her role and she is satisied the school is in good hands as she prepares for the long journey back home to India. - Matariki Wilson
St Joseph School student Kubethrena Taripo dances in honour of outgoing school principal Sister Celine. 14020506
WORDS OF gratitude and love
overlowed at St Joseph School yesterday as the Catholic school gathered together to officially farewell long time principal Sister Celine. Sister Celine returns home to India next week after spending 11 years working in the Cook Islands and serving as principal of the Catholic primary school. In his opening prayer, school chaplain Father Freddy Kaina paid special acknowledgement to Sister Celine, “for 11 years of sharing of herself with so many Cook Islanders.” Sister Celine walked to the special ceremony through a guard of honour formed by the students. Once seated, the entire school greeted their former principal with, “good morning Sister Ce-
line – God bless you.” Every child in the school then presented Sister Celine with a gift including lower and shell ei, hand painted pareu (sarong) and tivaivai as well as woven baskets and coins. Addressing the school, Sister Celine commented, “I’ll miss that ‘God bless you’ when I go back.” Sister Celine shared sincere words of gratitude and love to her staff, the school Parents and Teachers Association as well as the wider Catholic community for their support of her and the work of the school. “I sincerely thank you for this special function to share and express love and giving me the chance to say goodbye to you,” says Sister Celine. “I thank the good Lord for his
goodness, blessing and wonderful protection.” Sister Celine spent time thanking various individuals for their support of her from past Cook Islands Bishop Stuart O’Connell, current parish Bishop Paul Donoghue, school chaplain Father Freddy as well as her staff and fellow sisters in the Sisters of Cluny and Daughters of Charity order. “I look back at the 11 years I’ve spent here and I would like to share my heartfelt gratitude for all the people that have crossed my life and enriched me with their love, generosity and support.” In return for their gifts, each child received a warm kiss and hug from Sister Celine. “I will miss you all who have been so good to me – I will hold
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13
Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
FLiGHT FROM ARRiVES ThuRSDay feBrUArY 6 NZ748/749 AKL 12.30AM NZ46/745 AKL 4.10PM VT35/36 PPT 2.50PM friDAY feBrUArY 7 VA163/162 AKL 11.55PM NZ46/61 AKL 1.55PM
TO
DEPARTS
AKL AKL PPT
1.30AM 5.25PM 3.50PM
Air Rarotonga
International Flights
Flight Times | Voyage details
1.05AM 3.05PM
AKL SYD
RARO TO ARR DEP ThuRSDay feBrUArY 6 0800 AITUTAKI 0850 0910
TO
ARR
RARO
1000
1030
AITUTAKI
1120
1140
RARO
1230
1530 1800 1100
AITUTAKI AITUTAKI ATIU
1620 1850 1145
1640 1910 1205
RARO RARO RARO
1730 2000 1250
DEP
TO
OLOMANA 23 - ETD AUCK 15/02, ETA RARO 23/02, ETA AITUTAKI 26/02
Shipping TIARE MOANA 21 - ETD AUCK 24/02, ETA RARO 07/03, ETA AITUTAKI 09/03
GOT A STORy? or call us at Cook Islands News
Su-Do-Ku EASy
Crossword
instructions
instructions
Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the blank squares so that no digit is repeated in each row, each column or each 3 x 3 square.
Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the blank squares so that no digit is repeated in each row, each column or each 3 x 3 square.
AnswertoWednesday’spuzzle
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hÄgAR the horrible
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see your business/products in this space. PhonE 22999
Weather Forecast to Midnight
Tides
Issued at 2pm at Rarotonga Situation: A southeast wind low prevails over Southern Cooks. Meanwhile, a weak trough lies over the group. A weak trough of low pressure lies slow moving over northern Cooks. Forecast to midnight for the Southern Cooks: Cloudy periods with some showers, possibly heavy at times north of Rarotonga. Brief showers elsewhere. Moderate southeast winds. Moderate seas. Further outlook: Fine apart from brief showers. For Rarotonga: Fine apart from brief showers. Further outlook: Fine apart from brief showers. For the Northern Cooks: Cloudy periods with some showers. isolated thunderstorms and heavy falls expected. Moderate northeast winds. Moderate seas. Further outlook: Cloudy periods with some showers
humidity
7
By Lee falk & Sy Barry
®
[ FRI
By Dik Browne
®
ThE PhAnTom
6
TIARE MOANA 20 - ETD AUCK 04/02, ETA RARO 15/02, ETA AITUTAKI 17/02
text us on
Su-Do-Ku HARD
Thu
ARR
Morning
75%
night
77%
Morning
71%
night
74%
Forecast thanks to Cook Islands Meteorological Service.
Rarotonga Thursday, February 6, 2014
Forecast Map 2pm Thursday
Thu high 2.19AM 0.94M 2.44PM 0.99M
6
Low
FRI
high 3.06AM 0.87M 3.30PM 0.93M
7
Low
2m S
8.31AM 0.34M 9.02PM 0.35M
N
9.17AM 0.39M 9.55PM 0.40M
29°
Sun, Moon & Arapo
E 12kts new Moon Feb 28 10.00PM
First Quarter Feb 6 9.22AM
Full Moon Feb 14 1.53PM
Sunshine hours
Third Quarter Feb 22 7.16AM
10
ArApo - AkAoti AmiAmA thu 6 Tanu (Planting)
Tanu i te painapa, maniota Marie te marama. Kua e tae ua atu ki te 13 o te po. teitei Po ika. Moon is slow, Time to plant pineapple up high. Fish nights. and maniota right through to the 13th night (from akaoti amiama).
Thu Sun rise 6.25AM Sun Set 7.21PM
6
FRI
7
Moon rise 1.09PM Moon Set Sun rise Moon rise
2m S
TauTaI (Fishing)
6.25AM Sun Set -
7.21PM
Moon Set 12.37AM
Front Key:
Cold
Warm
Occluded
1.4m S
y
Swell direction and size
Stationary
Outer Islands Weather Outlook Thursday, February 6, 2014 Aitutaki
26° E 12kts
Mangaia
27° E 10kts
Mitiaro
28° E 12kts
Atiu
Penrhyn
28° E 12kts
30 N 08kts
Mauke
28° E 12kts
14
Thursday, February 6, 2014 cook Islands News
tarekareka
SPORT
Strickland has Olympic hopes FROM SWIMMING at Avarua harbour to Olympic pools, it’s clear 14-year-old Temaruata Strickland is excited to take the plunge and represent the Cook Islands. Strickland has been selected for the Cook Islands youth Olympic team preparing to represent the country at the games in Nanjing, China, from August 16 to 28. Strickland was back on the island to attend the funeral of his grandfather Kura Strickland and returns to his New Zealand home in Tauranga to continue training for upcoming swim meets. As an eight-year-old, Strickland was enrolled into a ‘learn to swim’ programme and since then has taken it up as a sport. Strickland says he specialises in freestyle and backstroke, however, at the 2013 New Zealand division two age group meet – Strickland competed in
eight events and made the inals for all events winning three silver medals and one bronze. He says he missed out on a gold medal by .01 of a second. On being selected to represent the Cook Islands at the Nanjing youth Olympics, Strickland says he excited at the news. “I was pretty excited and pumped!” says Strickland. The Otumoetai College student swims with the local club with the same name in Tauranga and has sevens sessions a week in the pool as part of his training programme. Before the Nanjing youth Olympics, Strickland will wear the green and gold national colours in the pool when he represents the country at the Oceania Championships in Auckland which will be followed by the 2014 New Zealand age group swimming competition. Both events are being seen
as fantastic opportunities for Strickland to switch into competition mode ahead of the youth Olympics. Winning a medal at the youth Olympics will be a bonus for Strickland. “My goal is to get in to the inals of all my races and maybe win a medal – that would be bonus!” Cook Islands Aquatic Federation president Romani Katoa is thrilled to have another homegrown Cook Islands swimmer prepare for national representation. “We are really excited to see a born and raised Cook Islander, who is now training in New Zealand, represent the country in the pool,” says Katoa. The humble teenager returns to New Zealand today and will head straight to the pools and get back into training. - Matariki Wilson
14-year-old Temaruata Strickland is set to don the green and gold national colours and represent the country in the pool at the August Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China in August. 14020527
Juniors kick start week two of rugby league RISING rugby league stars kick
off week two of the 2014 season with the Titikaveka Bulldogs and Arorangi Bears taking to the Titikaveka ield this afternoon. The age grade clash will set the scene for the senior reserve
grade match between the two neighbouring clubs. The under 14 clash starts at 4.15pm with the reserve grade taking to the ield at 5.15pm. Tomorrow’s main match between the premier Bulldogs
team and visiting Aitutaki Sharks is sure to be a thriller at the Titikaveka ield with the game scheduled to kick off at 5.15pm. Last week the Bulldogs just managed to edge out the Taku-
Kaura Vai host league masters FULL OF stars from the glory
days, the Ngatangiia Sea Eagle master league team took on ‘the rest’ of the masters at Nukupure Park in last Friday’s rugby league game. Strong support play by Amoa Amoa, Tom Weeks and Ricky Cowan contributed to three unanswered tries in the first five minutes of the game. For the opposition, persistent
attacks by Wilkie Rasmussen at the Eagles’ defensive line, resulted in some amazing tries scored, one of those by the ‘man of the match’ Kiripa Ruaporo, who ran 70 metres leaving three or four would-be tacklers in his wake. Dawn Crummer, the only female referee in paradise, assisted by Tua Manea, Arthur Emile and Simi Teiotu, ensured that the game was played in the true
spirit of the masters. Gary Izard from the Auckland masters enjoyed the game so much that he extended his stay here so he could play another game this Friday. This Friday, the masters head to the Happy Valley in Takuvaine where the host Takuvaine Koura Vai will tussle with the Avatiu Eels in the irst game at 4.45pm. - Slow and Steady
vaine Warriors and will want to have a stronger performance against the Sharks who on the other hand will no doubt be amped up for their first game of the season. - MW Thursday February 6 Titikaveka Bulldogs vs Arorangi Bears at Titikaveka – 4.15pm-Under 14,
Eagles at Avatiu – 2.30pm-Snr
Takuvaine – 1.10pm-Under 19,
Reserve, Ref-Tuaitu Ngaputa, Touch Judges-Paul Peyroux/Tutai Taurarii, 4pm-Premier, Ref-Simiona Teiotu, Touch Judges-Tuaitu Ngaputa/ Tutai Taurarii (Sub Official-Pio Mitchell).
Ref-Ngavavia Tou, Touch JudgesDawn Crummer/Poto Ngaroi, 2.10pm-Snr Reserve, Ref-Nga Takaiti, Touch Judges-Tangi Taomia/ Johnny Hosking, 4pm-Premier, RefArthur Emile, Touch Judges-Bishop Bishop / Ngavavia Tou (Sub OficialTua Duyer).
Saturday February 8 Takuvaine Warriors vs Tupapa Panthers
Ref-Paul Peyroux, Touches JudgesDawn Crummer/Arthur Emile, 5.15pm-Snr Reserve, Ref-Nga Takaiti, Touches Judges-Paul Peyroux / Arthur Emile.
Friday February 7 Titikaveka Bulldogs vs Aitutaki Sharks at Titikaveka – 4.15pm-Under 16, Ref-Arthur Emile, Touches Judges-Simiona Teiotu/Tutai Taurarii, 5.15pm-Premier, Ref-Tuaitu Ngaputa, Touches Judges-Arthur Emile/Tutai Taurarii (Sub OficialSimiona Teiotu).
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Saturday February 8 Avatiu Nikao Eels vs Ngatangiia Sea
memorieso f SummER eaders are invited to send us your summer holiday photos and capture the moment in full colour! The best photos will be published weekly in Cook Islands news. A weekly winner will be selected and recieve a blown up print of their photo. All winners will then go into the draw for a digital camera sponsored by CInews. PRInT. So share your happy holiday memories
age grade teams will kick of week two of the rugby league season and pictured are the rising stars of the Tupapa and Eels club in their under 16 clash on Tuesday.
with us! All you need to do is take your photos and email them to editor@cookislandsnews.com with your name and a caption describing the place, and full name of the people in your picture. PRInT uP To A1 on CAnVAS, mATTE, VInyL oR hIghgRADE PoSTER PAPER. Ph 22999
Send us your memoriesosfummer!
Entries close 12pm friday!