Northland's three district and one regional councils are set to be merged into one Northland-wide unitary authority, the Northland Council, if the region accepts the draft proposal

A thief has thoroughly inconvenienced Kohukohu

A Mangamuka farmer who went to the aid of a log truck driver who lost control of his trailer on Tuesday last week says she will think twice before doing so again.

The father of one of Daniel Luke Taylor's victims had described the Kaitaia man's prison term of five years and 10 months as a joke.

Cat's out

There isn't a civilization on earth throughout millennia that hasn't adopted some form of esoteric philosophy, recognizing there is something more than we mere mortals. You'd have to wonder, then, why it's called New Age.

A last-minute try in a come-from-behind win saw Moerewa take out the third and final leg of the 2013 Northland Rugby Sevens at Simson Park on Saturday.

More Year 13 graduates from Bay of Islands than usual will enter tertiary institutes next year.

Praise for police

The Kaitaia Fire Brigade had just 50-odd metres to travel to a blaze at the Sea Dragon restaurant in the town's main street on Friday afternoon.

A major brain fade

Two women were flown to Whangarei Hospital by rescue helicopter after separate incidents over the weekend.

Several hundred people converged on Ahipara's Korou Kore Marae on Friday to discuss government proposals for oil exploration and mining in the Northland region.

Totally professional

The Russell RSA will commemorate Armistice Day once again on Monday, but this time much of the focus will be on the mystery of three WW1 medals.

Kaikohe beat Kaitaia by 19 runs in a Twenty20 match on Sunday, in what was the first serious game of senior cricket played in Kaitaia College in quite some time.

Three gymnasts from the Far North representing Northland scored well at the Gymsports NZ Artistic National Competition in Napier from October 2-4.

The Young Enterprise Scheme has been the catalyst for any number of bright ideas over the years.

This isn't working

Times have changed

Detective Senior Sergeant Kevin Burke, Northland's acting manager of criminal investigations, said last week that fresh allegations and reports of sexual abuse in Northland were beginning to flood in via police hotlines.

The Kaitaia Fire Brigade was called to another house fire at Kareponia, east of Awanui, shortly after midnight on Saturday, immediately next door to the house that was damaged by an apparent arsonist.

All seemed to agree that Thursday's inauguration of the Far North's new Mayor, councillors and community board members represented the launch of a new era.