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New life to old treasures
Crime Line by Constable Greg Nolet We have dealt with a number of complaints this week of offensive behaviour, fighting and bullying. The common factor here was too much alcohol. Please monitor the amount of alcohol you are consuming and don’t consume to excess, look after your mates and don’t stand by if you see them acting up.
“New Life to Old Treasures” garage sale – we thank the New Life Church for organising this as a fundraiser for us. Many goods were donated and there was such great support from New Life Church because they believe in what CN does... We’d love to hear from other community groups or businesses that would like to partner up with us to support the community. Farewell to Barbara Jungen After 11 years as the face of Community Networks, Barbara has decided to move on to other adventures and leaves us on July 10. She started in this role in 2004 when the office was based in what is now the Cardrona office on Dunmore Street. The role has changed considerabl with many more health and social service organisations now visiting Wanaka, and an increase in demand for these services Barbara is one of those people who has an amazing ability to be compassionate, calm and maintain a sense of humour. She meets each person who comes into our office in a warm friendly way, and always goes that extra mile to make sure their needs are met.
A breach of bail sees a local man arrested. We (and I’m sure many other people in the community) will miss her. We are having a farewell function for Barbara on Thursday July 9, and anyone and everyone is welcome – just please let us know so that we can make sure we have enough nibbles! Volunteer Awareness Week This is from June 17 to 21. We have an amazing team of volunteers helping us in the front reception, at the School Holiday Club, delivering the Meals on Wheels and helping out in the food bank.
“We offer a sincere thank you to the members of the Wanaka Masonic Lodge and the Graham and Olive West Trust for the donations received. The Masonic Lodge donated funds for the community food bank which will help make the food parcels a lot more robust. The Graham and Olive West Trust funds were for meeting room furniture, activity books for a resiliency building programme in schools and as a contribution towards our operational costs.”
An unlicensed motorcyclist crashed after his bike’s engine seized. He will now be attending Queenstown Court for driving while suspended.
- Kate Murray
New Fish & Game officer for district
A car pulling out of a parking space clipped a passing 4wd causing it to roll onto its roof. I was at the crash within a couple of minutes and was pleased to see a great community response, with people helping the drivers, with traffic control and getting the vehicle righted. Thank you for this.
Caroline Harker Wanaka Sun A Wanaka-based man who loves to hunt and fish has been appointed as Fish & Game’s new field officer, based in Cromwell. Paul van Klink replaces Clare Morris, who resigned in January. Fish & Game’s mission statement is to “manage, maintain and enhance sports fish and game birds and their habitats in the best long-term interests of present and future generations of anglers and hunters”. The non-profit organisation is funded through fishing and hunting licences and sees itself as “user pays, user says”. Paul said his role involves fisheries and gamebird population monitoring and management, compliance and law enforcement, and habitat monitoring, particularly in relation to water flows and the effects of instream use. There will also be a fair amount of advocacy, working to maintain water flows in Central Otago as mining rights expire and are replaced with consented water takes.
We attended a couple of crashes this week. One on the Crown Range where someone had stopped to take a rock off the road after it had burst the vehicle’s tyre. A following car drove around this vehicle and then the next following vehicle crashed into the first. Lesson learnt here. If clearing rocks off the road, please park in a safe place off the roadway.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
As F&G chief executive Niall Watson said, Paul brings a great deal of knowledge and experience in wildlife conservation to the role. After many years working fulltime at the Department of Conservation, Paul set up his own contracting business – NZ Wildlife Solutions (2006) nine years ago, and worked on contract for DOC and other organisations. “It was mostly bird work – monitoring populations all around the South Island. It was a great job but I was always away from home.” Now a single man in his forties, Paul was keen to be more home-based, so the F&G
job seemed ideal. Only three weeks into the position he is already busy doing spawning surveys in rivers around the district and monitoring fish numbers in Lake Hayes. He’s also busy getting to know the region, its angling and hunting resources and the leaders of various water users groups. When he’s not fishing and hunting himself, Paul likes tramping, taking photographs and “tinkering with old Japanese motorbikes”. He’s probably best known in Wanaka as the organiser of the Upper Clutha Scooter Hooter, an annual motorbike rally for machines 50ccs, or less. The next one will be held in September.
Lastly, we dealt with the recovery of a stolen vehicle that was taken in September last year. Let me take this moment to remind everyone to lock their vehicles and please don’t leave your keys in the ignition. The ski fields open soon. If you are travelling up and down the mountain please don’t speed, wear the seatbelts, clear the windscreen and windows before you drive; not as you drive. Put chains on when requested. And enjoy the snow.
Bee Corridor Project Alongside the Central Otago Enviroschools team, Wanaka Wastebusters is running a Bee Corridor Project, inspired by dwindling bee populations in New Zealand and abroad. Starter packs of “Wild Forage – Wildflower Seed Rescue Remedy” have been donated by Environschools Otago to Montessori Children’s House Wanaka and Wanaka Primary School, which can sow 50 square metres of plants. The project aims to raise awareness and encourage positive action to help the bees. By sowing wildflower seeds which will produce bee-friendly plants – bee corridors – the children will help the bees towards a sustainable future. Schools and the community will identify suitable areas
of land within the school or region for the planting of the seeds. Organiser Simon Williams will also be available to give presentations to schools about bees on request. Additionally, Steve Brown has created a “padlet” of relevant information which teachers can access by googling the project. A competition has been organised in conjunction with the project. Children will be encouraged to sell fivedollar single packs of wildflower seeds, and for every 50 packets the school sells, they will earn another fifty gram bulk pack for planting. All proceeds from the sale of the seeds will go to the National Beekeepers Association.
THURSDAY 11.06.15 - WEDNESDAY 17.06.15
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