Northland police remain hopeful their canine crime fighter shot in the muzzle during a shootout near Dargaville last year will return to work. The police dog - whose name was never released - grabbed national headlines when it received life threatening injuries as an armed man allegedly shot at police in Tangowahine on December 1. A police spokesperson said the dog, who returned in time for Christmas from specialist vets at Unitec in Mt Albert, continued to recover at home and decisions were yet to be made about whether he will return to the beat but they are hopeful.
Keelboat regatta
Two weeks out from NZ's largest multi-day keelboat regatta the first 100 entries have been received for CRC Bay of Islands Sailing Week, which starts on January 26.
The 100th entry this year was Bullrush, owned by Janine and Ant Robinson, who have been regular competitors at CRC Bay of Islands Sailing Week for many years. Janine describes them as "repeat offenders" and says they "just can't help themselves" from entering the regatta each year.
With border restrictions preventing sailors from abroad arriving in the country, the regatta is light on overseas entries this year. But organisers are very pleased with the support received, despite the upheaval and uncertainty many have experienced due to Covid-19.
CRC Bay of Islands Sailing Week takes place from January 26-29. This year will be the 19th edition of the hugely popular event and entry form and further details can be found at www.bayofislandssailingweek.org.nz.
Road incident at Otaika
A car collided with a tow truck during morning rush hour near the Otaika shops in Whangārei yesterday. The driver of the car was suspected to have pulled out in front of the truck at the Mt Pleasant Rd and SH1 intersection in Raumanga shortly after 9am. Emergency services transported one person with serious injuries to Whangārei Hospital and the remaining three people were treated for minor injuries.
Incident at workplace
A person was moderately hurt in a workplace incident in Puketona yesterday afternoon. St John staff transported the patient to the Bay of Islands Hospital from the scene of incident near SH10 and Puketona Rd intersection around 2.30pm yesterday. A WorkSafe spokesperson said at edition time they were yet to be notified about the event.
Study options
Anyone thinking of studying at NorthTec this year is invited to attend next week's open day at the polytechnic's Raumanga campus.
The event will run from 10am to 2pm on January 22 and will be held at the Interactive Learning Centre.
Potential learners can find out about the fees-free courses on offer, with additional programmes now added to the fees-free list which as part of the country's
post-Covid recovery scheme.
This includes the New Zealand diploma in enrolled nursing and the New Zealand certificate in conservation (operations).
Staff from the different study areas will be on hand to answer questions and help people make decisions about their future.