Northland news in brief: E-scooters popular with vandals; and Lions' study awards up for grabs today

Beam e-scooters are proving a popular mode of transport in Whangārei - they are also a popular target for vandals. Photo /Tania Whyte

Vandals target e-scooters

Last Saturday five e-Scooters were pulled out of the water at Onerahi Wharf by two workers at Beam. They had been intentionally thrown off. Vandalism has become increasingly common since the e-Scooters were introduced last year, often dumped on roadsides, or helmets stolen. The trend follows a similar case in Hamilton, which saw eight lime scooters destroyed per-week in 2020.

Lions club hosts awards

Mangakahia Lions Club will host the Lions Zone 2, Young Ambassadors Awards Competition for2022 in Whangārei today, from 5.30pm at NorthTec, Raumanga.
Six Year 12 or 13 students from four Whangārei secondary schools will compete for tertiary study awards of $1,000 for 1st, $300 for 2nd and $200 for 3rd. The six finalist students are from Huanui College, Kamo High School, Whangārei Boys High and Whangārei Girls High. The prize money and running costs are funded by the generous sponsorship of Whangārei businesses, assisted by the seven Lions clubs in Zone 2- Hikurangi Mountain, Tutukaka Coast, Onerahi & Whangārei Heads, Kamo, Whangārei Hatea, Whangārei and Mangakahia. The students have been nominated by their schools and filled out an application, which has been judged to select the six finalists. On the afternoon of the Young Ambassadors Awards Competition Dinner at The Apprentice Restaurant at NorthTec, each student will be interviewed by a panel of judges and each student will then be judged on a five-minute presentation at the evening Dinner Function.
This Lions clubs annual event has not happened in the past two years due to Covid.

Daffodil Day on Friday

Daffodil day is this Friday, August 26, and two members of the relay for life team at the cancer society are "chopping the mop" in a bid to raise some money, with almost $3000 collected so far. Friday will see Mara and Donna shave their colourful hair alongside Whangārei Primary School Principal Danny Jewell at 11am. The event will be live streamed on Whangārei Primary Schools Facebook page.

Freshwater Plan brewing

Northland Regional Council is working on new plans for freshwater management in the region. Sediment and E. coli are the two greatest threats to freshwater health throughout Northland as the deadline for implementing national policy directives to stop further degradation looms. Under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020, regional councils have until the end of 2024 to notify new plans aimed at maintaining or improving freshwater. NRC chief executive Malcolm Nicolson said creating a new Freshwater Plan will set a new direction for the way freshwater is treated and will include new rules for activities that impact on freshwater. "Freshwater has long been managed as a resource to use and not as a taonga to treasure and as a result, many of our freshwater ecosystems are in a dire state," Nicolson said. Wider public engagement on the Freshwater Plan would take place before a draft was then released for public feedback in mid-2023.