Wednesday 7 April 2021
Hamish dancing for a cause
Val's new football gig
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Boaties’ petition plan for Delaware Bay access Erin Bradnock A petition has been launched to help secure a controversial boat launch site at Delaware Bay. The estuary has long been an unofficial launching area for sea-goers, as a safer alternative than nearby Cable Bay, but it is also an ecological and culturally significant site for local iwi. In 2019, tensions boiled over with local iwi handing out trespass notices at the site to bemused boaties after an agreement between them failed to materialise. Now, a group of boaties called the ‘Delaware Bay Access Group’, plans to
petition Parliament to investigate the boat launch site and add it back into the Nelson City Council’s coastal plan. From late January 2020, council enforcement officers have been monitoring boat launching activity at Delaware Bay. While vehicle access was technically forbidden, the council had not enforced that rule since 2001. The site’s historic and cultural importance has been debated for decades. Ngāti Tama wants to protect the culturally significant area and wants access stopped.
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Petitioners Peter Ruffell and Nick Smith with the Delaware Bay Access Group. Photo: Erin Bradnock.
Teacher aide’s 150km mission Erin Bradnock
Katie Hughes is taking the title 'teacher aide' to a whole new level for six-year-old Ellie Davis. She is racing 150km to fundraise for her Hira School student Ellie, who lives with hypotonia and Down syndrome, so she’s able to compete in next year’s Weetbix
Tryathlon. Hypotonia is a common musculoskeletal effect among children like Ellie which leaves her with weak muscle tone, loose ligaments and problems with stability. After years of physiotherapy, and Ellie’s hard work, she now loves to run and swim but due to her
hypotonia, she’s unable to use a regular bike. When Katie was at this year's Weetbix Tryathlon with her own kids, she was inspired to start a fundraiser to ensure Ellie would be able to compete next year with a costly custom bike. “When my kids had just completed the Tryathlon, one
of my kids asked ‘could Ellie do this too?’ and I thought 'yeah, of course she could' and that evening I began to research the bikes,” she says. Katie will be running 150km over two weeks these coming school holidays to raise money for a custom $2500 bike and $300 shipping from Levin.
The bike will be built just for Ellie and her measurements, with two wheels at the back for stability. It was at her primary school's triathlon two weeks ago that Ellie’s passion for running was made clear.
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