29
The Weekend Sun
Te Puke commuter driven mad with slow motorists I live in Te Puke, but commute to Mt Maunganui for work Monday to Friday and I am noticing the traffic getting worse every week as more people refuse to do 100k/h outside of the SH2 work zone between Baypark corner and Domain Rd roundabout. The amount of people Sunday driving during the week is crazy, they are making the situation much worse than it needs to be. Every night on my way home I seem to be doing 70 to 80km from the Domain Rd roundabout all the way to Te Puke, then when in the 70km zone in Te Puke people are doing 50km, then just when you finally think it’s over, they do 30km in the 50km zone. Where are the traffic cops giving out fines to the people not doing the speed limits required outside of the roadwork zones?
And the ones having a ciggie for breakfast doing 70 - 80km from Te Puke all the way to Tauranga? And the smokers that throw ciggie butts out the window, instead of their own ash tray.
I honestly don’t know if I can wait till the SH2 roadworks are complete if this continues, it just makes my commute more stressful than it really needs to be. If you are one of these people that aren’t doing 100km p/hr etc. when required, just take a look in your rear vision mirror (that rectangular thing with glass stuck to your front windscreen) and see how quick it can backlog up from Te Puke to the SH2 roadworks and vice versa, and see the damage you are creating, as I am now starting to see some crazy overtaking as a result of this, and to be honest I don’t blame them for passing. Seriously considering selling my house in Te Puke and moving to Tauranga because of this issue, which is a shame cause I do like it here. Simon Loveridge, Te Puke.
Cruelty on the harbour has parallels with dolphin slaughter Annual animal cruelty on our harbour – just because it is efficient? The annual black swan cull that took place this weekend at Blue Gum Bay has some parallels to the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan, which drew worldwide condemnation when the film ‘The Cove’ was released. In both cases stressed out animals are herded into a bay and are slaughtered on mass with little chance of escape. Why are we condoning this treatment of a native bird which mates for life and can live to 29 years? Many of the reasons given to justify the cull seem largely anecdotal. I am a harbour-side property owner with swans off shore and they have never bothered me. How many harbour-side owners have complained about crop grazing and are the complaints serious? If aviation is under threat by bird strike, does killing a small percentage of the population help much anyway, and why are the swans being herded from the Bowentown end of the harbour? Over grazing of sea grass may well be an issue if the swan population gets out of hand, but is there sufficient evidence that the current
population is doing damage? I’d like to hear the real science behind it, see more research done. What are the population numbers of black swan that the harbour can sustain? I’d also like to hear DOC and the Regional Council being vocal about this and backing up their policy with research. It doesn’t seem right that Fish and Game are the spokespeople, the group justifying the hunt and determining the numbers of birds shot, when their members see this as a good day’s entertainment. That is not impartial. If research shows that swans numbers need to kept in check, are there not more humane methods of control? Fish and Game comment that “egg pricking is not suitable for the Tauranga population as swans do not breed there”. Where is the natal lake that the swans breed? Can egg pricking not be done there? Even small scale shooting of swans in the same manner as duck shooting seems preferable to the annual mass slaughter. Maniisha Wiessing, Katikati.
Power price responses Following Duncan Evans’ letter regarding power charges, we have a reply from Duncan to Graeme Purches’ response, plus another two on the subject from Richard Prince and Jurgen Giess, too long for publishing here. These three letters plus a reply from Graeme are posted on: http://www.sunlive.co.nz/ news/4_28_letters-to-the-editor.html
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Teen murderer’s appeal dismissed
A Bay of Plenty teenager’s appeal against a life sentence for the murder of an Opotiki school teacher has been dismissed. Lori-lea Te Wini, 18, was sentenced to life with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years in the High Court at Rotorua last year. She earlier pleaded guilty to the 2008 murder of 79-year-old retired school teacher John Rowe. The school teacher was beaten to death with his walking cane as he lay in bed in his Opotiki home.
Bad driving leads to drug charges
Illustrated:
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One of two men accused of assaulting and robbing a Domino’s pizza delivery man is facing a fresh charge of robbery in relation to the incident. The 24-year-old man was originally arrested along with a 16-year-old following the assault of a 23-year-old Domino’s worker at a Maungatapu address on May 9. During his last appearance in court, the 24-yearold had his charges dropped, while his teenager counterpart was bailed. The accused has been released on bail and is due back in court on July 1.
Police investigating the fatal fire in Rotorua that killed a 14-year-old girl have found no evidence the blaze was started by a molotov cocktail. Western Heights High school student Mihinui Tamiana died in a blaze in an industrial building on Riri St on Sunday morning. Police shut down a party at the building a few hours earlier and Mihinui was sleeping on a mezzanine floor in the building at about 2.30am when the fire started. Detective Senior Sergeant Zane Smith says a number of other people were also injured in the fire. Police are asking anyone with information about the fire to contact their local police station.
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New charge for accused basher
Fatal fire: no cocktail evidence
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A bad driver is facing drug charges after a complaint led police to find seven grams of methamphetamine and $40,000 cash in his car. Rotorua man Renata Tako, 37, was stopped on State Highway 5, near the Old Waiotapu Rd, on Sunday. Bay of Plenty Police communications manager Kim Perks says police found around seven grams of methamphetamine and $40,000 in the vehicle when they stopped it around 10.30pm. Police also found an extendable baton in the forbidden driver’s car. Tako was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply.
Accused carjackers behind bars
One half of the Auckland pair accused of carjacking three people in the Kingsview carpark pleaded guilty in Tauranga District Court on Friday, May 31. Tepee Snow Laison pleaded guilty to one charge of robbery in relation to the alleged carjacking and assault on May 10. The 33-year-old also pleaded guilty to unrelated charges. Her co-accused Conrad Oscar Rewita, 30, is yet to enter a plea on the charges of robbery, drinkdriving causing injury and operating a vehicle recklessly causing injury following the incident in Durham St.The pair has been remanded in custody. Laison is due back in court on August 5, while Rewita is back on July 10.