Waimea Weekly
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Wednesday 14 December 2016
All I want for
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Give Local Taggers will be caught on camera
Page 16-17
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Crown up for grabs
Simon Bloomberg Security cameras will soon be installed at sites around Richmond’s shopping centre in response to a wave of tagging and petty crime that is sweeping the central business district. The tagging has become so bad that Richmond Unlimited, police, Tasman District Council and Menzshed Waimea launched a joint initiative last month to paint-out graffiti after an increase in tagging on buildings and signs around Queen St. However, that has so far failed to deter the taggers and last week Richmond Unlimited announced that funding had been secured from the Pub Charity to purchase and install seven security cameras around the town. Richmond Unlimited chairperson Marina Buonocore says they had been approached by a number of businesses and organisations about the tagging and petty crime “that had been escalating over the last few months”. Marina says they applied for a grant from Pub Charity in mid-November and last Thursday found out the grant had been approved. “The guys from Menzshed have been painting over the tagging but you come back the next day and there’s a new canvas. We looked into CCTV systems and approached Pub Charity and put in application for a proposal and they have just come back and said ‘yes’
SEE PAGE 5
Bus driver Julie Eddy celebrated 25 years driving passengers between Nelson and Richmond with one of her passengers, Brian Gabites [insert, with Julie] proposing marriage to her. Photo: Andrew Board.
Driver finds love on the bus
Andrew Board
In her 25-year career driving buses between Nelson and Richmond, Julie Eddy has come across all sorts of passengers: abusive passengers, funny passengers, kind passengers, passengers that have become friends and even one that is set to become her hus-
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band. Julie has just celebrated 25 years as a Nelson bus driver and, although she says she’s had many friendships with her passengers, it’s clear who her favourite is. Brian Gabites started catching the bus from his Stoke home to Nelson, where he works at NBS, four years ago. They got
talking while on the bus and became friendly. Then Julie’s lawn mower broke and Brian offered to lend her his. She gratefully accepted and, after using it, dropped it back to Brian, who suggested dinner. Several months later, the pair announced in front of their families last week that they were engaged to be married.
Julie says it’s been the highlight of her career. “I guess the job has given me a lot over the years and now a fiancée.” Julie started her bus driving career in Waiau, in North Canterbury. There she drove the school bus but she left Waiau with her two children
SEE PAGE 2
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