Taupō and Tūrangi thumbs up and thumbs down: off-duty police officer gets props for help

Autumn colours get the thumbs up from one Taupō local this week. Photo / Duncan Brown

Thumbs up

Thumbs up and a big thanks to our local police force. Special appreciation to the off-duty police officer who assisted me when my car was rear-ended. This took a lot of stress out of the situation for me.

We have much to thank for those people in the past years who had the opportunity to plant so many trees in our parks and reserves. This autumn has shown us how beautiful trees can be, even if we don’t like the mess when all the leaves fall. The large trees managed to grow through the years when there were no vandals to damage them.

Thumbs up to the team behind the Taupō Civil Defence posts on social media. They are always very informative but also good for a laugh.

Thumbs up to Jason at Resene Taupō, who went above and beyond when helping me out in-store this week. You’re awesome!

Thumbs down

Thumbs down to the cyclists who are taking over everything in Kinloch. There are too many people cycling at high speed along the Whangamata Stream trail, and kids have been digging holes to make jumps for bikes along the foreshore. They’re taking over the trail from walkers.

Some carparks in our town are dangerous, with nowhere to walk safely, especially for older people. I hope businesses are looking carefully at safety in their carparks and are looking to find solutions.

Email your thumbs up/thumbs down to news@taupoturangiherald.co.nz, message Taupō & Tūrangi Herald on Facebook or drop into our office, upstairs at 4 Starlight Arcade, Taupō. Messages may be edited or abridged. Thumbs down that refer to easily identifiable people, businesses or private groups won’t be published.