Maurice McKeown used to be a dentist - but these days he likes sinking his teeth into community issues. The 63-year-old Papamoa father-of-two frequently writes letters to the editor, expressing his views on local issues or reporting in the paper. "I haven't actually been writing to papers for a long period oftime though. Maybe two years? I sometimes respond to health-related matters for whatever reasons." However, traffic woes in the Bay are top of Mr McKeown's whinge list at the moment. He believes troublesome roundabouts should have traffic lights installed, to be used only during peak hour traffic. Mr McKeown urged the Bay Times to encourage reader feedback and suggestions to curb traffic congestion. He has a penchant for writing himself, having done a journalism course at the Auckland Polytechnic. "I still do some journalism for websites and magazines in the health field." Mr McKeown retired six months ago and has enjoyed the quiet life at his Papamoa home since - pottering around on his computer and having the odd hit of tennis. He also travels to Ireland from time to time to visit his folks. Born and raised in Bangor County Down, Northern Ireland - "a seaside town about the size of Tauranga" - Mr McKeown spent 10 years in Canada before moving to New Zealand in 1981. His Canadian wife Donna hailed from Alberta, but the couple lived together in chilly Saskatchewan. "It's a pretty brutal climate there. I think it's below zero about six months of the year. I like the weather here much better," he said in his Irish-cum-Canadian accent. Mr McKeown marvelled at how alike Canada and New Zealand were and how little that was taken advantage of. "New Zealand has so little contact with Canada, but we are probably two of the countries with the most in common." "Hospital waiting lists never get shorter for example, despite what politicians promise." His son Jonathan, 28, lives at home and works in information technology. "That's why the house is a bit of a festival of computers."
