Northland in brief: local Lotto player strikes it big

One person in Northland won almost $50,000. Photo / File

Lotto win

One of five players who each won $47,346 with Lotto Second Division was from Northland. The player bought his or her lucky ticket from MyLotto while the other four winning tickets were sold in Auckland and Arrowtown. In the Lotto First Divison draw, Christmas came early for an Aucklander who won $1 million after playing on MyLotto. Powerball was not struck on Saturday evening and has rolled over to Wednesday night, where the jackpot will be $7 million. Strike Four has also rolled over and will be $500,000 on Wednesday night. The winning Lotto numbers were 6, 25, 26, 30, 34, 39 with Bonus number 10 and Powerball 3.

Pouto multisport event

A multisport challenge which raises money for the Cancer Society is back again next year. The Pouto Lighthouse Challenge was created to establish a community event to attract new visitors to experience the beautiful shores of Pouto Point. It will be held Saturday, February 9 next year. The challenge - which starts at Waikaretu Marae goes through to the lighthouse and finishes at the marae - includes a 15km bike, a 15km run and a 15km walk. There is also an running and cycling event for tamariki along the beach to Tauhara and back. All proceeds from the event will go to the Cancer Society. For more information visit www.facebook.com/PoutoLighthouseChallenge.

Manslaughter sentence looms
A young Northlander who pleaded guilty to manslaughter over the death in January of Kaikohe resident Christopher Vujcich will be sentenced this week. Patrick Dennis Tarawa, 21, also of Kaikohe, entered his guilty plea in the High Court at Whangarei last month. Vujcich was believed to have been the victim of a road rage incident resulting from a relatively minor driving error, when he pulled out in front of another motorist. The other driver allegedly followed him to Kowhai Ave and confronted him when he pulled into a driveway. As Vujcich, 58, turned away to go inside, he was allegedly king-hit from behind. He died in the Bay of Islands Hospital the next morning. Tarawa will appear for sentencing on Thursday.

Drive-by shooting leads sought

Police are still investigating a suspected drive-by shooting in Whangarei in the early hours of Friday. A commercial vehicle parked beside a house at Warwick Pl in Raumanga was shot at about 3am. No one was injured. A woman and her partner who lived in that house were woken up by a loud bang but they thought a car had backfired so went back to sleep. No one has been arrested yet.

Cause of death probed

The death of a 12-year-old Kawakawa girl on Thursday was not caused by meningococcal disease. The Northland District Health Board said the girl's death has been referred to the Coroner. It is believed she had been unwell for a couple of days before becoming very ill at school. She was airlifted to Starship children's hospital in Auckland, where she died. The DHB is about to start its free vaccination programme for MenW meningococcal strain from which three people Northland people have died. Children from nine months to 5-years-old and teens from 13 to 19 will be given the first vaccines to be available. They will be administered at Northland-wide clinics at schools and community centres.