Kahutara School seeks your votes

CONGA LINE: Parents and community members complete a train of tractors and front end loaders during a revamp and extension of the Kahutara School BMX track, which is a finalist in a nationwide contest to help limestone the facility and create what will be the only competition grade track in Wairarapa. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Kahutara School needs your votes to limestone a competition grade BMX track that will be unique in Wairarapa.

Jo Woodcock, chairwoman of the Kahutara Parents and Citizens group, said voting in the Stafix Powering Your Community contest closes on Sunday and the school had won a place as one of ten nationwide finalists with their community project to limestone their newly extended BMX track, which would become the only competition grade track in the region.

The track borders the school grounds and was founded in 2008 by a group of students. A stand of macrocarpa trees have since been felled for safety and parents also donated machinery, labour and time to improve and extend the track to about 300 metres, which is competition length.

"A lot of dads who have come in with their tractors and diggers and extended it and all we need now is laying the limestone. As I understand it, we're creating a track that would cost 50 grand to complete but we're doing it within a five grand budget," Mrs Woodcock said. "We're doing it all off our own backs with parents' help and now we need votes.

"It's quite expensive to put down lime ..."

Ngakuru School near Rotorua last year won the first prize of $5000 in the annual contest to fit solar heaters to their school pool. There was also a second prize of of $3000 and third prize of $2000 up for grabs.

Kahutara School principal Clare Crawford said the track would be open to the community once complete and she fully supported the region sharing in the benefits of the project.

"It's not just for our school or just our community, but for the whole of Wairarapa as well. It's going to be an asset for everybody ..."

Votes may be cast at www.yourcommunity.co.nz and voting closes midnight on Sunday. The winners will be announced on the Jamie Mackay Farming Show on Radio Sport on Monday.