Far North news in brief: Big Lotto win; Ngāpuhi meet and water hose ban

A Lotto first division ticket worth $500,000 was sold at Mangonui’s Gloss store for Saturday’s night’s draw and a second division winner was sold in Houhora.

Triple Lotto luck

Northland Lotto players had triple success on Saturday, with a first division and two second division winning tickets sold in the region.

A ticket sold at Gloss, Mangonui, was one of two that split the first division prize in Saturday’s draw, earning its holder a cool $500,000.

As well, two tickets sold in in the region were among 13 nationally that each won more than $23,000 with Lotto second division on Saturday.

The tickets, on sold on MyLotto in Northland and the other at Four Square Houhora Wharf, each won their holder $23,383.

The winning numbers were 7, 9, 11, 16, 28 and 37 with the bonus number 15 and Powerball number 4.

Powerball was not struck and will be worth $15 million on Wednesday.

Ngāpuhi hapū meeting

The hapū of Ngāpuhi will again come together again in congress today, at the Parawhenua Marae in Te Ahuahu, Ōhaeawai. The main kaupapa include the sharing by hapū collectives of their Treaty settlement aspirations and progress as well as the unpacking of the recent Waitangi Tribunal Stage 2 Report on Te Paparahi o Te Raki (the Northland inquiry). The pōwhiri starts at 10am.

Water hose bans

Level 3 water restrictions banning the use of hoses, sprinklers and irrigation systems are in place for Kaikohe and Ngāwhā after flows in the Wairoro Stream, the town’s primary water source, dropped to minimum levels allowed. Level 2 water restrictions will also be applied to Kawakawa and Moerewa from Monday due to decreasing flows in the Tirohanga Stream. Level 2 restrictions ban the use of sprinklers and irrigation systems, although watering gardens with handheld hoses and buckets is allowed. They are also in place in Kerikeri-Waipapa, Paihia-Ōpua-Waitangi, Ōpononi-Ōmāpere and Ōmanaia-Rāwene.

Grooming charge

A Kaitāia social worker has appeared in court charged with grooming a girl aged under 16 for sexual contact.

Shane Johannes Timmermans, aged 43, appeared in Kaitāia District Court on Friday charged with one count of communicating by words with a person under the age of 16, intending to facilitate the young person engaging in conduct that would be an offence under the Crimes Act (grooming for sexual contact with a young person).

The offence is alleged to have happened at a Far North beach community in October, last year.

Timmermans did not enter a plea and was remanded to reappear in the court on June 6.