News in brief: tsunami siren testing, Kaitaia Intermediate School reunion to go ahead

One of the hundreds of tsunami sirens throughout Northland that will be tested. Photo/Supplied

Northland's tsunami sirens will be tested on Sunday morning as part of twice-yearly checks at the start and finish of daylight saving. The sirens, from Te Hapua in the north to Mangawhai in the south and Ruawai in the west, will sound twice: at 10am for 10 minutes and again at 10.30am for 30 seconds. The network will be monitored for any faults. Northland has 190 outdoor tsunami sirens, more than any other region in the country. Plug-in indoor tsunami sirens that are synchronised with the outdoor sirens will also be part of the check for the first time.
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A 20-year-old Kaitaia man who led police on a two-kilometre pursuit around the town on Tuesday was admitted to hospital with injuries described as moderate, suffered when he crashed his car on Matthews Ave. Charges will be laid once the result of a blood test for alcohol is known.
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Whangārei District Council is expected to adopt its annual report for the 2017/18 financial year at a meeting this morning. The report outlines the council's finances and summaries the services the council provided and the facilities it has built in the past year. In the 2016/17 year the council had an operating surplus of $9.6 million but posted a $19.2m deficit predominantly due to handing over Mangakahia, Otaika Valley and Loop Roads to form part of State Highway 15, which was registered as a $38.9m loss. The council meeting starts at 10.30am at Forum North.
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A celebration of the lives of Richard and Cheryl Lee will be held on level two of the Northland Events Centre tomorrow at 1.30pm. The Whangārei couple were killed in a crash in Idaho, in the United States on September 7. Cheryl was the manager of the Whangārei i-SITE, while her husband had previously worked in the venues and events team at Whangārei District Council.
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The organisers of next month's Kaitaia Intermediate School reunion have committed to staging the event, after expressing doubt there would be enough registrations to make it worthwhile. A committee member said too much work had gone into it to think of cancelling, and the school's first reunion would proceed. On Tuesday paid registrations had reached 150, up about 40 in a week. The deadline has now been extended to October 12. Most who had registered would be attending all three functions, she added, starting with a "mix and mingle" on Friday October 19, followed by photos etc at the school on the Saturday and a dinner at Te Ahu that night, with former teacher Dave Gorrie in charge of the music.