Tony Haslett (left), Fonterra's area manager for Hawke's Bay, Weber resident Kay McKenzie and Hamish Crosse, of the Weber Hall committee, with the new portable defibrillator paid for from the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund.
Tony Haslett (left), Fonterra's area manager for Hawke's Bay, Weber resident Kay McKenzie and Hamish Crosse, of the Weber Hall committee, with the new portable defibrillator paid for from the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund.
There have been 13 successful applications to Fonterra's Grass Roots Fund in the Tararua in the last two years, the latest a lifesaving defibrillator for Weber.
"We've funded everything from kindergarten worm farms to shade sails for schools, with two rounds of funding a year," Tony Haslett, Fonterra's area managerfor Hawke's Bay, said.
The new portable defibrillator, now located on the outside of the Weber Hall, will be a vital piece of life saving equipment, with so many vehicles on the road in the district, Hamish Crosse of the hall committee said.
"There is a unit in the Weber Fire Brigade's appliance, but it's not easily accessible and having one here is a more sensible option," he said.
With more and more tourists using the roads around Weber and the summer attracting holidaymakers to Akitio and Herbertville beaches, it won't just be locals who could call on the defibrillator, Mr Haslett said.
"People who don't know the roads could come to grief on these roads," he said. It was Weber resident Kay McKenzie who took the initiative to have the defibrillator placed at the hall, after attending a pony club first aid course in March.
"I realised there wasn't one between Herbertville and Weber which was accessible to the public and with no cellphone coverage in this district, it can be a real worry if something happens.
"It's fantastic the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund is supporting the whole community, not just dairy farmers," she said.
