News briefs from around Northland: Bridge work and child burned

Whangārei's Te Matau a Pohe bridge is getting its spring clean.

Bridge clean-up

Over the next three weeks the Whangārei District Council will doing its annual clean-up on the Te Matau a Pohe and Kotuitui Whitinga bridges. The work started on Monday and will end on Saturday November 3. Most of this work will require one footpath of Te Matau a Pohe to be closed at a time and a partial closure of Kotuitui Whitinga, but the bridges will still be open for pedestrians and road traffic. Boats will be able to travel through the bridge as normal, but there could be a delay of up to 15 minutes to enable workmen to clear the bridge.

Toddler burned

A 2-year-old girl was taken to hospital with burns after her brother sprayed a fly spray can at a gas heater. The couch the girl was on caught on fire but adults at the Kaikohe property were able to put the fire out. An ambulance and the volunteer firefighters from Kaikohe were called to the house about 9.30pm on Tuesday. The boy was not hurt and the fire was out by the time the brigade arrived.

More constables

Three more police constables destined for Northland are in the latest wing to graduate from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. In all 78 new constables will graduate at the ceremony. Commissioner Mike Bush, Police Minister Stuart Nash and wing patron Carolyn Tremain will also be among those attending. Aged between 18 and 46, Wing 319 begun their studies at the Police College in July and come from varied backgrounds. The new constables will have a one-week break before starting work in Northland.

DHB strike action expected

Apex, the union representing Northland DHB anaesthetic technicians, is expecting further strike action after what it described as the collapse of negotiations with the DHB. A notice of strike action on October 10 had been lifted in the belief that a settlement was close, but that did not eventuate. Apex national secretary Dr Deborah Powell said this week that tensions were rising, and further industrial action seemed inevitable.

Dog day in Moerewa

All dogs will be welcome at a Far North District Council "chipping and snipping" day at Simson Park in Moerewa tomorrow, starting at 10am, with demonstrations, spot prizes and on-the-spot free microchipping. Dog owners will also be able to sign up for free neutering, and responsible owners may be offered free registration for a year. All dogs must be on leashes.