Kaipara District Council has appointed Jason Marris as interim chief executive, while an external recruitment firm undertakes the search for a permanent appointment. The process for recruitment of both the interim and permanent CEOs was agreed to by KDC's remuneration and development committee at their meeting on July 26. The decision to appoint Marris was made by the full council at its meeting on August 31. Marris is currently KDC's general manager for engagement and transformation and will step into the interim CEO's role on October 29 when the current CEO Louise Miller steps down.
CORRECTION
On August 5 the Northern Advocate published an article titled "Northland kiwifruit company wrong to dismiss worker after 90-day period". The article incorrectly stated that the worker had been dismissed after the expiry of the 90-day period, that Mr Farrand made a verbal employment offer on March 17 and that the worker Mr Tane had relocated with his family to Kerikeri. The photo caption incorrectly stated that Mr Farrand had appealed to the Court of Appeal. We regret and apologise for these factual inaccuracies which have been corrected in the online article.
Mum and baby with smoke inhalation
A mother and baby ended up with smoke inhalation after a pot above a stove caught fire in Awanui on Thursday. The Kaitāia Volunteer Fire Brigade used a fire extinguisher to snuff out the flames before ventilating the house. The callout was one of many for the brigade that day. The others included occupants of a William St house in Kaitāia managing to get out in time when a vape resting on a bed as it charged caught fire; a car fire that threatened a house on Kumi Rd but was quickly brought under control by Kaitāia firefighters, and a blaze in a mobile home. The home caught fire around 1pm in Cable Bay, Mangōnui, with flames burning through batteries, electricals, and the solar panel system. The owner wasn't home at the time and the Kaitāia brigade was able to extinguish the blaze.
Dog team places
A Northland police dog handler and his canine placed second in his category at the Police and Detector Dog National Championships. Senior Constable Patrick Derbyshire and Ripper competed in the narcotic detector dog category against teams from Corrections, Customs and Police. The category - and the Alan Symes cup - was won by the other police handler and dog, Senior Constable Chris Harris and Floyd from Auckland.
Hundertwasser painting wins awards
A professional paint company in Whangārei brought home three major awards from the Master Painters Awards of Excellence held in Blenheim for their work on the Hundertwasser Art Centre. McNabb Decorating Ltd won Commercial Master Paint of the Year and took home two gold awards for new interior - large (commercial) and porters decorative speciality paint finishes (commercial). It was the third time the company has won at the awards - in 2018 for the Oceans Resort in Tutukaka and in 2020 for the Waitangi Māori Battalion War Memorial Museum.
