The volunteer bridge builders of Paihia. Foreground Don Rushworth, background from left Tom Dawson, Mike Sullivan, Gary Ardern and Roger Toplis.
Paihia school footbridge gets a makeover
The small footbridge behind the St John's Ambulance station on Williams Rd that leads to Paihia school has been refurbished by a team of volunteers from the Rotary Club of Bay of Islands with the support of Focus Paihia and ITM Haruru.
First the bridge needed to be cleared of undergrowth and foliage and the soundness of the footings had to be checked. The footings were found to be in good order, so a series of working bees commenced in mid-February to clear the weeds beneath.
Focus Paihia provided the materials for the project and ITM Haruru donated all of the heavy bridge decking materials and provided the balance of the project materials and the paint at cost. The project is now complete and painting is being undertaken.
Helpers were the Rotary Club of Bay of Islands Communities "Dream Team" of Gary Adern, the engineer, and Roger Toplis, Tom Dawson, Thys van Lingen, Mike Sullivan, Donna Smith and Don and Liz Rushworth.
Don Rushworth, from Focus Paihia, said the project was a successful community initiative because numerous people pitched in to make the repairs to a valuable community asset that is used by both schoolchildren and the greater Paihia community.
Kerikeri author reveals new book
Catherine Lea has written five books in the thriller genre. Each of the five have been set in the US, and she has a good following there, but with her sixth book she decided to set it in the Far North of New Zealand.
"It's in a fictional Far North town that is a composite of many small Far North towns with the cultural diversity and the richness of the landscape," she said.
In the book, The Water's Dead, the body of a young Māori woman is discovered. Detective Inspector Nyree Bradshaw must not only find the murderer, she must find the six-year-old diabetic child last seen in the victim's care.
Lea's Nyree Bradshaw is to The Water's Dead what Ann Cleeve's Vera Stanhope is to her dozens of books in the Stanhope series. To go about writing her thrillers Lea does her homework including interviewing a couple of detectives as to how they go about solving a crime and the police procedures involved.
She moved to Kerikeri three years ago from Auckland. She launched The Water's Dead at Paper Plus in Kerikeri with around 50 people in attendance and she has received a favourable review in The Listener. Her books can be found at Paper Plus throughout New Zealand.
50 Years of Service Recognised
Mike Fleet, of Kerikeri, has chalked up 50 years of service with various fire brigades around the North Island, now called Fire and Emergency New Zealand. A couple of weeks ago in front of around 30 family and friends he received a medal and a plaque to acknowledge his commitment.
The 50-year medal was presented to him by past United Fire Brigades Association President Ray Topia. He received a plaque from Michael Chamtaloup on behalf of Fire and Emergency.
Mike joined Porirua as a volunteer in 1968 and became a paid staffer the following year. He has variously served in Whanganui and Kawerau and took a year off to go to Papua New Guinea in 1978. In 1984 he joined Kerikeri as a volunteer before moving to the Muriwhenua Area Office as a casual paid staff member where he has been ever since.
There have been 12 members of both sides of his family (Fleet and Carey) who have served with Fire and Emergency. They began in 1885 when Matt Carey Senior joined Patea, then Ben Fleet joined Lower Hutt in 1905. Throughout the subsequent years there has been a member of both families in the service up to the present day, with Ross, Mike's younger brother, joining Patea in 1970. He will qualify for his 50-year medal in November this year.
In total, these two families have committed a combined 438 years of service to Fire and Emergency which is believed to be a record for New Zealand.
In attending fires and car accidents and various other incidents, Mike has seen the best and the worst of times. The worst was an incident he attended several years ago where were seven people involved and four of them were dead.
After that experience he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and had to take four years off. He had counselling, worked through it and went back to active duty in 2009. He is now a support person for those in the service who might be suffering the same disorder.
The best was being in New York City for a 9/11 memorial service in 2014.
"I was wearing a uniform and caught the ferry from New Jersey to New York, and they said you don't have to pay because you are in uniform. Everywhere I went people would say 'God bless you' and salute you, it was very moving and a very humbling experience."
Kerikeri Retirement Village appoints new manager.
Kerikeri Retirement Village has appointed Grant Cochran as Village Manager. He replaces the long-time incumbent Frances Shaw.
Cochran is a Registered Nurse with a clinical background in intensive care. He has extensive management experience including working for five years as nurse manager at Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa. He helped develop the new hospital and worked in construction and landscaping.
He spent much of his childhood in Paihia and Whangārei and his family moved to Kerikeri in 2016. He loves spearfishing and his favourite thing is spending time with his kids.
Councils working on flood mitigation
Work has commenced on a $5.1 million project to reduce flooding in Moerewa and Ōtiria.
The work is being led by Northland Regional Council (NRC) and begins by constructing a 150-metre spillway from Pokapū Road to Waiharakeke Stream. In severe flooding, around 80 per cent of the Ōtiria Stream has been known to spill over nearby land and is joined by 70 per cent of water from Waiharakeke Stream.
Floodwater flows are diverted by the railway and Ōtiria and Pokapū roads towards homes and two marae.
The new spillway will redirect those flows and will cost $500,000. NRC plans to commence the second stage of the $3.9 million project in May, with the final stage due to start in December 2022 and running through to June 2023.
The project is also part of the Far North District Council Long Term Plan 2021/31 and is listed in the Infrastructure Strategy as one of four key stormwater projects.
Both kiwi, a male and female, were wild-hatched.