Sandy Myhre.
A Russell motoring writer is in South Korea this week to present the supreme award for the Women's World Car of the Year.
Sandy Myhre, of Okiato, founded the award and is one of three members of the all-women judging panel who will present the trophy to Hyundai Motor Company.
Hyundai's Ioniq, which is produced in hybrid and all-electric versions, edged out five other category winners to win the 2017 title.
The trophy will be presented at the Busan International Motor Show this Friday.
The other judges accompanying Myhre are Sara Soria from Spain and Rita Cook from the USA. The judging panel comprises 33 journalists from every corner of the world.
While in South Korea, the trio will meet top Hyundai and Kia executives, take a tour of Hyundai's research and development facility and get their first look at the Hyundai Nexo, a hydrogen fuel cell-powered crossover SUV.
Myhre founded Women's World Car of the Year in 2010 amid frustration with the World Car of the Year awards, which had long failed to include women in its judging panels despite women influencing an estimated 80 per cent of vehicle purchases.
Pipiroa Bay working bee
Conservation group Living Waters is holding a working bee at Pipiroa Bay, near Russell, from 2-4pm tomorrow, June 7.
Volunteers are needed to help plant wetland plants on the western side of the bay (bring gumboots or footwear you don't mind getting wet), as well as removing weeds along the walkway such as ginger, tobacco weed, blue iris and pest vines. Bring a grubber, spade or sickle.
Meet at Pipiroa Bay, near the ferry landing at Okiato, at 2pm if you're keen to lend a hand.
Plan for premier sports venue
A recreation centre with multi-purpose courts, gym, spectator areas and offices is one proposal in a Draft Reserve Management Plan for Kaikohe's Lindvart Park.
The Far North District Council's draft plan details the sports ground's current facilities and key users, and lists numerous proposals on how the venue can be developed to encourage greater sports use and other activities.
The vision is to make Lindvart Park the "premier sports venue for the Far North District with attractive, well-maintained and well-used facilities", the draft plan states.
Other proposals the council wants feedback on include an athletics track and establishing a sculpture trail on a former landfill site. The trail will tell the story of Kaikohe, Ngāpuhi and Lindvart Park.
Some proposals are prioritised for immediate action, while others have one, five or even 10-year time frames.
Residents are being asked to give their input on the draft management plan, with formal submissions open until 4.30pm on Friday July 27.View the plans on www.fndc.govt.nz/lindvart2018 or visit any council service centre.
Shellfish toxin alert
People are still warned not to take shellfish from anywhere within the Bay of Islands.
Higher than usual levels of paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) in shellfish has seen the Ministry for Primary Industries issue a health warning from the outer heads between Cape Wiwiki on the north to Cape Brett on the south.
The warning includes all inlets and estuaries, and has been in place since mid-May.
Similar warnings are in place in Hawke's Bay, Gisborne and parts of Marlborough Sounds.
PST develops in filter shellfish that have fed on blooms of microscopic dinoflagellate algae.
The chain reaction can lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in people. The shellfish look and taste normal, despite their poisonous cargo. Anyone who becomes ill after eating shellfish from where a warning is in place should seek medical attention immediately.
Sustainable viewing
A documentary film about New Zealanders' efforts to live more sustainable lives will be screened in Kaikohe on Friday evening.
Living the Change will be shown at 68 Broadway, next to Thai Takeaways, at 7pm on June 8. Topics covered in the movie include food forests, composting toilets and timebanking, to name a few.
Tickets cost $10 or 1 Timebank Credit.
Trio to perform
The Mazzoli Trio will perform at the Turner Centre Theatre Bar in Kerikeri from 7.30pm this Friday.
The young Auckland-based musicians got together in 2015 and have already won international acclaim.
They will play a wide-ranging programme with works from Anthony Ritchie, Schubert, Haydn, Françaix, the Dohnanyl serenade and Missy Mazzol.
Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for Friends of Aroha Music Society and free for students aged 18 and under.
Call for rāhui extension
Fish Forever and other marine conservation and recreational dive groups are asking Fisheries NZ for a two-year extension of the rāhui at Maunganui Bay (Deep Water Cove) in the Bay of Islands, which expires in October.
Ngāti Kuta and Patukeha hapū were the main drivers of the rāhui, initiated in 2010 to give depleted fish stocks a chance to recover.
The 1.6km square no-take area is the only one in the Bay of Islands, and represents only 0.5 per cent of the Bay's waters. The rāhui expires in October and the hapū has asked Fisheries NZ, under Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), to extend it for two years.
MPI has called for submissions until June 11. with a deadline of June 11. A simple form can filled in at https://fishforever.org.nz/rahui.html or through MPI: submissions@mpi.govt.nz
Do you have news or an upcoming event you'd like to see in this column? Send it to us, including your full contact details, to baynews@northernadvocate.co.nz .