A senior citizen suffered a medical event and crashed his car into a steel barrier outside the front entrance to Countdown in Okara, just before 8am yesterday. A police officer at the scene said the man, instead of turning right out of the carpark in front of the Whangārei supermarket, went straight and slammed into the steel barrier. He did not require medical attention. His car is a write-off.
Body recovered from lake
Police are investigating after a body was found floating in a Northland lake. Emergency services went to Lake Waro, in Hikurangi, about 15km north of Whangārei, after a body was found about 1.30pm yesterday. Whangārei police confirmed officers and emergency services staff went to the scene, but could not release any further details at edition time yesterday. However, the Northern Advocate understands the body was found by swimmers. The body was recovered about 2.30pm by a Search and Rescue team.
Architecture awards
The designers and owners of two Northland buildings will find out on Wednesday how they stack up against the best architecture in the country. The winners of the 2020 New Zealand Architecture Awards will be a announced on Wednesday night. Forty-five projects from Whangārei to Wanaka have been shortlisted. Hihiaua Cultural Centre, in Whangārei, by Moller Architects, is a finalist in the Public Architecture category. Bowden House, in Tutukaka, by Belinda George Architects and Mandeno Design, is a finalist in the Housing category. Category winners also compete for the prestigious John Scott Award for Public Architecture.
TV channel to launch
Channel Northland Te Raki TV will be launched at an event in Whangārei. Northland TV station Channel North is being resurrected with a former TVNZ head of entertainment at its helm. The community free-to-air channel broadcast from 2008 until 2015, before the Government withdrew funding when analogue TV moved to digital and it became a production company. However, thanks to Covid-19 border closures, Peter Grattan was in town and was approached to get the channel running again. Northlander Grattan, who was TVNZ's head of entertainment, will relaunch the channel at Onerahi's Flames Hotel on Sunday from 2pm to 5pm, in association with the Northern Jazz Society. Entertainers will perform, including Grattan, John Leigh Calder, June Hayes, Walter Bianco, Matt Watson, Alex Ward and kapa haka. The channel will be streamed on www.cntv.co.nz.
Nature's Lens exhibit
A new show opens at Village Arts Gallery in Kohukohu at 11am today. Called Nature's Lens, it brings together Heather Randerson's digital images of Milford Sound, new 3D work by Lindsay Antrobus Evans and new photography by Marg Morrow. It will run until November 29.