Blaze destroys garage
A garage of a Whangarei home was gutted after a blaze on Saturday. Duty fire investigator Roy Brickell said crews from Kamo and Whangarei battled the blaze on Tuhangi St, Kamo, about 1.30pm on Saturday.
Mr Brickell said the cause of the fire had not been determined but it appeared the fire had started with an old couch in the garage. He said one of the occupants of the house, which was set up as a flatting situation, arrived home to the fire and tried to douse the flames with a hose before calling emergency services.
Mr Brickell said the brigades did a good job getting the blaze under control.
Gum trees to be felled
A project to make the historic kainga (village) site more visible by cutting down some of the gum trees at Kerikeri Basin is due to start today. The trees earmarked for felling are in a stand on the ridge leading to Kororipo Pa and along the track between the Pear Tree Restaurant and the pa.
The area will be closed at times for safety reasons. The project, by the Department of Conservation and the Kororipo Heritage Park Management Group, aims to get the basin ready for the 200th anniversary of Kerikeri Mission Station in 2019.
Council delegates visit
Northland will be showcased to delegates from 10 regional and unitary councils ahead of a national local government conference. Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) will hold its three-day annual conference in Auckland from July 23-25.
Northland Regional Council (NRC) chairman Bill Shepherd said the council would host some of the 16 regional and unitary councils from LGNZ's regional sector group on a pre-conference tour of Northland.
The programme includes a visit to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, a kauri forest bush walk and visit to an award-winning farm with pest control work and bush restoration.
Delegates will also travel along Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē/Ninety Mile Beach to find out about co-governance arrangements and visit Oturu's award-winning Enviroschool.
Powerball prize up to $25m
A ticket sold in Hamilton won $1 million with Lotto First Division on Saturday. Powerball was not struck and will be worth $25 million while Strike Four also rolled over and will be $400,000 on Wednesday.
The winning Lotto numbers were 01, 06, 14, 16, 20 and 31 with the bonus number 19 and Powerball number 2. The winning Strike numbers were 06, 01, 31 and 14.