Northland news briefs

A Kaitaia Lotto player is $24,272 richer after winning Lotto Second Division.

Tourists crash car

Two tourists had more adventure than they bargained for yesterday when they lost control of their car on a metal road east of Kawakawa and went down a bank. The pair were driving on the Waikare Rd, part of the famously rough back road to Russell, when the accident occurred just before 1pm.

They were uninjured and their vehicle was pulled back on to the road about 3.20pm.
Police and the Kawakawa Fire Brigade responded.

Kaitaia Lotto win

A Kaitaia Lotto player is one of 10 people around the country who will share Saturday night's second division draw. The Kaitaia ticket, worth $24,272, was sold at Marston Moor bookstore on Commerce St. The first division prize of $1 million, plus the $7m Powerball, went to an Aucklander who bought a ticket at Botany New World.

Murder remand

The reappearance of a man accused of murdering a Te Kao farmer has been rescheduled for September. Marcus Bax, 38, is accused of murdering Peter Linder Nilsson, 77, on August 4 last year. Bax was remanded back in custody until yesterday when he last appeared in the High Court at Whangarei in April. He will reappear on September 13.

Apprentice wins scholarship

Whangarei engineering apprentice Ryan Nethercott is $3000 better off as the result of winning a scholarship from Industry Training Organisation (ITO) Competenz to further his study.

Mr Nethercott, an apprentice at Northern Steel Products, won a Maori category scholarship to further his study towards a New Zealand Certificate in Mechanical Engineering. He was awarded his scholarship last week at a formal presentation at Northern Steel Products Limited.

Dome Valley roadworks

The highway through Dome Valley is to be made wider and have flexible safety barriers installed. The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) will begin improvements on State Highway 1 next year. Work will include widening the centre line and road shoulders and installing flexible safety barriers.

The 15km section between Wellsford and Warkworth has steep slopes, unexpected corners and poor visibility. Between 2005 and 2016 17 people have died and a further 42 have been seriously injured in the Dome Valley. More than 10,000 vehicles travel through the valley every day.

Meet the candidates

Two meet-the-candidate events for the general election are planned in the Far North. An evening for the Northland electorate will be held from 6pm to 8pm on Friday, July 28 at Kaitaia College.

Then on August 11 an event for the Te Tai Tokerau electorate will be at Korou Kore Marae, Foreshore Rd, Ahipara, from 6pm to 8pm. The events are hosted by the Far North Environment Centre, Transition Towns Kaitaia and the Kaitaia Timebank.

Watchdog urges action on Far North council

A petition asking the Government to urgently appoint a statutory manager or commissioner to run the Far North District Council will be launched by the end of this week.

Council watchdog Des Mahoney has written to Local Government Minister Anne Tolley asking her to implement her powers under the Local Government Act (LGA) to take control of the council. Mr Mahoney said a petition seeking thousands of signatures to support the letter will be launched by the end of this week and people will also be able to sign it on line.

Kaikohe school seeks trustees

Kaikohe Intermediate School is taking its first step back to self-governance with the Ministry of Education calling for "registrations of interest" from people keen to be appointed to the board of trustees.

The new board, which will come into effect later this year, will consist of three ministerial appointments, two elected parent trustees, one staff trustee and principal Freda Mokaraka. Full board elections are due to take place in 2019.

Mike Eru was made the school's limited statutory manager in August 2013 but was sent packing in May 2014 after disgruntled community members met the then Associate Education Minister Pita Sharples.