Whangarei Boys' High school carrying out an investigation following an incident between a staff member and a student during school hours on November 1.
Neither Principal Karen Gilbert-Smith or Board of Trustees chairman Don Robertson would give details about the type of incident, or whether or not the male student was still attending the school.
"It's being investigated by the school and I'm not making any comment until the investigation is finished," Robertson said.
"It's the purpose of the investigation to find out what happened. I'm satisfied it is progressing properly."
The investigation should be finished by the end of this week, Robertson said.
Court Far North deputy mayor
Far North Mayor John Carter says his new deputy Ann Court is a ''safe pair of hands'' with unmatched governance experience. Court, a five-term councillor, was appointed deputy mayor at the inaugural meeting of the Far North District Council in Kaikohe last week. Carter said her extensive local government experience made her an easy choice. As well as serving 18 years as a district councillor in the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Ward, Court has served six years as a community board member, three years as deputy mayor (under former mayor Wayne Brown), five years as an elected representative on the Northland Regional Land Transport Committee, six years as chairwoman of the District Licensing Committee, and almost 14 years as a Top Energy Consumer Trust trustee. Carter said she was a ''hard-working councillor dedicated to serving her community''.
New Mangawhai fire station
Mangawhai has a new fire station. At the official launch last week, Fire and Emergency New Zealand chairman Paul Swain said, "it is fantastic the community now has a high-quality fit for purpose station."
The new station is part of a major investment programme for Fire and Emergency to rebuild, upgrade and relocate our fire stations around the country.
It replaces the former station that was built in the 1970s, and has two drive-through appliance bays, operational areas with decontamination facilities, a training room, modern IT equipment and a mobile generator that can power the entire site. It also has environmentally sustainable features like double glazing, thermal and acoustic insulation and LED sensor lighting.
Escape after crash
A driver and three restrained children escaped unhurt after the car they were travelling in slammed into a barrier.
The crash happened on State Highway 10, just past the Puketona Rd intersection on the way to Kerikeri, about 8.30am Friday. Senior Sergeant Brian Swann said part of a bridge was also damaged.
The damaged Holden Berlina had to be towed away.
Kaipara council success for Joyce-Paki
A recount of election results for the second seat to represent Dargaville Ward on Kaipara District Council has confirmed Karen Joyce-Paki as councillor.
Candidate Brian McEwing requested the recount after narrowly losing out to Joyce-Paki in the final election results. Following the vote count iterations used under the single transferable vote system, McEwing received 452 votes to Joyce-Paki's 455.
The recount was carried out in front of a District Court judge and gave McEwing 453 votes and Joyce-Paki 456.
Joyce-Paki was sworn in as a councillor based on the final election result at the inaugural Council meeting on Friday 25 October.
No change in Far North
A recount of Te Hiku Ward votes cast in the Far North District Council elections earlier this month has not changed the outcome of the elections.
Final results released on October 18 confirmed Felicity Foy (2644 votes), David Collard (1876 votes) and Mate Radich (1870 votes) as the three councillors for Te Hiku Ward. A vote recount requested by Hazely Windleborn, who had 1860 votes when final results were declared, was granted by the Whangarei District Court and undertaken late last week. The ranking of candidates remains unchanged after the recount. Seven candidates' votes increased by one vote, while four candidates' votes decreased by one vote. Two candidates' votes went down by two votes and three candidates' votes remained unchanged. The number of blank votes decreased by three votes.
Foy, Collard and Radich were sworn in as councillors on Thursday.
