This illegal dump at Puhipuhi Rd is set to be cleaned up. Photo/Michael Cunningham
This illegal dump at Puhipuhi Rd is set to be cleaned up. Photo/Michael Cunningham
Dump clean up to start
Weather permitting, Whangārei District Council is planning to clean up a huge illegal dump on the side of Puhipuhi Rd tomorrow. The dump was first discovered in the middle of last year but inclement weather and the need to have the road graded beforethe crane needed for the clean up could be transported down it, has delayed the clean up. Among the rubbish at the Puhipuhi Rd site is a van, whiteware and domestic waste as well as building waste.
Kūkūpa is No 1
New Zealand's native wood pigeon, the kererū, or kūkūpa as it is known in Northland, has swooped in to claim the Bird of the Year competition. Amassing 5833 votes in the annual competition run by conservation group Forest & Bird, the kererū, kūkūpa, or wood pigeon, as it is variously known, finished well ahead of the second-placed kākāpō on 3772 votes. It's the first time the kūkūpa has taken top spot. A team led by Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick campaigned for the kererū to win by highlighting its prodigious appetite and size. The Bird of the Year is run to raise awareness about New Zealand's unique native birds and the threats they face.
Kerikeri power cut being investigated
Top Energy is still investigating the cause of a 10-hour power cut in central Kerikeri on Thursday. More than 500 businesses and homes lost electricity at about 11am, and while most were re-connected by 11.30am, more than 50 customers on Kerikeri Rd and Fairway Dr had to wait until about 9pm. A fault in switching gear on Cobham Rd was blamed, but the exact cause was not clear.
Two Fisheries officers and Customs joined forces last week to check the commercial fishing fleet, along with inshore nets and crayfish pots in nooks and crannies from of Northland. The five-day patrol saw them head from Whangārei to Houhora. A number of commercial and recreational pots and nets were lifted. One commercial crayfish pot and several recreational nets and pots, all unmarked, were seized.
A Hamilton man who allegedly removed his electronic monitoring bracelet in July, and had been on the run ever since, was arrested by Kaitaia police at Peria over the weekend. The man, who had reportedly been in the Peria area for some time, had been released from prison on convictions of sexual offending against women.
