Waimea Weekly Locally Owned and Operated
Wednesday 6 December 2023
Dairy farmer Brian wins ‘Miss Murch’ crown ELOISE MARTYN Nine Murchison lads took to the stage to compete in a mockery beauty pageant for the title of ‘Miss Murchison’ to raise funds for the local theatre - and there were plenty of laughs and ripped pantyhose. “We thought if we can get some guys who are brave enough to get up there it could be a really fun, light-hearted night,” say Murchison Theatre’s Cheryl Monahan. The beauty pageant consisted of the ‘lad-ies’ competing in categories, including own talents, evening wear and questions, and a swimsuit section. “The swimsuit section was certainly interesting,” Cheryl laughs. Brian Dineen, a 6’4 tall dairy farmer, was crowned Miss Murchison, the overall winner, who was chosen by the audience in a voting process. “The whole thing was pretty unnerving to be fair,” Brian says.
“The hardest part was trying to get the make-up off. I was milking the cows the next morning with mascara and nail polish on thinking, ‘I really hope no one turns up’.” Brian says that Murchison is a great community that sticks together and he was pleased to be part of giving back. “The boys were all very brave. It’s not easy to put yourself in a vulnerable spot, but if it helps the local community, you just have to take a deep breath and dive in.” Cheryl says that the Murchison Theatre can’t thank the ‘lad-ies’ enough for taking the time to help raise the much-needed funds and for putting themselves completely outside of their comfort zones. “Everyone had such a good time, there were so many laughs as well as ripped pantyhose. We raised much-needed funds for the theatre which is a community-owned building.”
Local dairy farmer ‘Brianna’, aka Brian Dineen (centre), was recently crowned Miss Murchison 2023, with the event hosts dressed as lads - Gabrielle Babcock on the left and Cheryl Monahan on the Right. Photo: Supplied.
New generation of nicotine dependency ANNE HARDIE A local vape shop owner says the high number of young people vaping in New Zealand is a legacy of the late Labour Government, and its new legislation coming into force will ultimately encourage a new generation of nicotine dependency. Instead of banning disposable vapes as it intended, he says that from 21 December the dispos-
able vapes simply need to have removable batteries, a child-safety mechanism, and not exceed nicotine levels of 20mg/ml. He says that means the industry now has clear rules to follow for compliant, disposable vapes which will be rapidly mass-produced to fit the rules. That will make disposable vapes cheaper and they will appeal even more to younger people who will buy them via someone older than 18 who can
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED
legally buy them. However, Nelson MP Rachel Boyack says the Labour government put regulations in place to try and make it harder for young people to pick up and continue vaping through a suite of measures to make vapes less accessible and less attractive to young people. “When it comes to harm reduction measures for things like vaping and smoking, a constant
response is needed. What’s really important is government and opposition parties work together.” The vape shop owner’s name is withheld as businesses selling vapes face fines up to $200,000 if they advertise or promote vaping, and talking with media could be interpreted as promotional. He says it has made it difficult for the vape industry to put their side of the story across and says it is frustrating to see what has hap-
pened in an industry intended to help people quit smoking and save lives. He is a former heavy smoker who had life-threatening health issues due to his addiction and says he would not be alive today without vaping to replace smoking cigarettes. His own success led him to run his own specialist vape business
SEE PAGE 2
waimeaweekly.co.nz