Northland news in brief, chocolate winners and Lemons Hill closed tomorrow

More than 320 people wanted to win bars of Whittaker's chocolate in a Northern Advocate competition.

Northlanders love chocolate, especially when it's free. The Northern Advocate received more than 320 entries into its competition to give away three prizes of Whittaker's chocolate - one large bar each of Dark Salted Caramel and Creamy Caramel. The three winners were Ray Cotterill, Sue Curran and Gay Lang.

SH11 closure
State Highway 11 past the Lemons Hill slip will be closed again tomorrow to allow planned removal of trees from the hillside. The road will be closed between 8am–5pm and motorists will have to use the detour route via State Highways 1, 10 and 11. Drivers should allow up to 30 minutes extra for the journey between Kawakawa and Paihia. Full road closures at Lemons Hill are scheduled on Sundays as traffic volumes are lower and there is the least impact to school and business traffic, NZ Transport Agency's Northland system manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult said. The road will open again 24/7 from Sunday at 5pm under the control of stop/go traffic managers.

Fia Fia night
Island food, performers and a live band will be in store at the Northland Samoan community's annual Fia Fia night. The event, to coincide with the Samoan Independence Day, will be celebrated at Forum North on June 2. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children. Under-10s are free. There will be limited door sales and prices will be $10 more than early bird sales. Contact Vicki on 09 436 3423 or Sharyn on 021 459 070 to buy tickets.

Youth in car-jacking
A 16-year-old boy allegedly involved in a car-jacking has appeared in court and been remanded to a youth facility. The boy faced charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle. He appeared in the Youth Court at Whangarei on Thursday after the incident on Wednesday that began in Onerahi.

Pest workshop popular
It was standing room only at the 2018 Northland pest control workshop held by Kiwi Coast and Northland Regional Council at Opuawhanga. Last week's workshop was attended by 120 people, representing more than 50 Northland community groups, hapu and organisations. It was a chance for 112 projects linked to Kiwi Coast to share knowledge and experience. In the past five years they collectively trapped 229,372 pests and reversed the decline of some threatened species and forests. The workshop was sponsored by Key Industries and the Department of Conservation community fund.

Meth case adjourned
Sentencing for three people found guilty of manufacturing methamphetamine in a Northland holiday home has been adjourned to August. Kimberley Gibbons-Hurinui, 32, Jeffery Hall, 35, and Tama Watene-Toi, 52, were scheduled to be sentenced in the Whangarei District Court yesterday. Each was charged with manufacturing meth, possession of equipment with an intention of manufacturing meth, possession of meth for supply, unlawful possession of a restricted weapon, unlawful possession of a pistol, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of an explosive. The meth lab in Dolphin Place, on the Tutukaka Coast, on July 10, 2016, was busted after a property manager became suspicious and called police. The trio will be sentenced on August 17.

Craft and food show
The Parua Bay Arts, Craft & Food show is back again on Queen's Birthday Monday, for the 13th year. Having now grown too big for the local kindergarten and school, Jodie Hannam of Northland Events was asked by the school to "take it on" to ensure that it stays in the community. Hannam has helped run the event four times before but admits to "being a bit nervous to be doing it on her own without all the help of wonderful parent volunteers we've had in previous years". Parua Bay Arts, Craft & Food Show is on June 4 from 9am-3pm at Parua Bay Community Centre, with more than 100 stalls of unique handmade products and foods and plenty of family fun and entertainment.