Leah and her mum Janelle Rumney who want Trikafta for Leah's cystic fibrosis. Photo / Andrew Warner
Leah and her mum Janelle Rumney who want Trikafta for Leah's cystic fibrosis. Photo / Andrew Warner
The Rotorua Daily Post is looking back at the stories of 2021. Here's what made headlines in February.
February 4
The mother of slain toddler Neveah Ager confronted the man who murdered her "little princess" at a heart-wrenching sentencing hearing in Tauranga.
Nevaeh's father, Aaron George Izett, 39, was sentencedto at least 17 years in jail after he was found guilty by a jury in November of his daughter's murder and two other assault charges.
Izett was also found guilty of assaulting Nevaeh's great-grandfather John Sturgess and Senior Constable Andrew McDonald during his arrest on March 21, 2019.
Rotorua Girls' High School embraced the past in an effort to stride more boldly into the future.
The school worked closely with Ngāti Whakaue for 18 months to better recognise and celebrate its culture and history.
The partnership resulted in adapting the school's name to now also be known as Te Kura o Te Rautāwhiri and a return to its original house names of Rangiuru, Hinemoa, Rukuwai and Karenga.
Rotorua Girls' High School head girl Helena Dou'ble (left) and deputy head girl Hope Waaka-Smith. Photo / Andrew Warner
February 10
Fighting, human faeces, broken bottles and wild nights in three Rotorua reserves were among issues putting young people at risk.
The Rotorua Lakes Council held an extraordinary meeting to discuss a proposed year-long liquor ban after concerns were raised about the safety of children and young people who use the Rotorua Community Youth Centre Trust reserve, the Marist St Michael's Sports Park reserve, the Shambles Theatre reserve and several adjoining council-owned lots.
Rotorua's Lynmore Primary School is getting its first brand new classrooms in 65 years.
The Iles Rd primary school of 630-plus children is finally getting a $3.5 million new classroom block after eight years of being a "squeaky wheel" to the Ministry of Education.
Principal Lorraine Taylor said the school has had more prefabricated, temporary buildings than it had permanent building blocks for as long as she had known it.
"The school hasn't had a new purpose-built classroom since the school was built in 1956 ... it's very exciting."
Lynmore Primary School is getting its first brand new classroom block since the school was built in 1956. Photo / Andrew Warner
A proposal to convert the Lava Bar and X Base backpackers into housing for homeless was met with strong resistance from Rotorua businesses.
A Chamber of Commerce survey found 89 per cent of the 365 people who had responded as of the time the story was published did not want the plans to go ahead.
A private property investor from Auckland, Peter Bidois of Torin Holdings, told the Rotorua Daily Post he had signed a deal to buy the lease of Lava Bar and X Base Backpackers for 15 years.
He intended, if the deal went unconditional, to sub-lease the Lava Bar to Whānau Ora to build a medical centre for those in need and sub-lease the backpackers to Visions of a Helping Hand Charitable Trust.
But it's a wish which broke her mother's heart because she knew she couldn't make it happen for her 11-year-old.
Not without Trikafta - a breakthrough treatment Cystic Fibrosis NZ says is widely heralded as having the potential to turn cystic fibrosis from a life-threatening condition to a manageable condition.
But it is not currently registered and funded in New Zealand.
And at more than $470,000 a year the drug is simply not attainable to many with cystic fibrosis, including the Rotorua girl.
Leah and her mum Janelle Rumney who want Trikafta for Leah's cystic fibrosis. Photo / Andrew Warner
February 18
Rotorua's Jason McMillan and his mates heard the sound of a boat crashing in darkness of the night, then the horrible noise of a revving engine that was clearly in trouble.
Two of them acted quickly, broke into a boat shed, stole a kayak and paddled into the darkness to help.
The drama unfolded when McMillan was staying at a Marlborough Sounds resort for a wedding he was to be a groomsman at the next day.
Jason McMillan helped save the life of two men trapped in a crashed and sinking boat. Photo / Andrew Warner
February 19
Rotorua Lakes Council spent more than $100,000 in the space of three months on an Environment Court case it later withdrew from.
The case was in relation to the council's plan to discharge treated wastewater into Lake Rotorua, which was challenged by Te Arawa Lakes Trust in 2018.
The action was withdrawn at the end of August, with the council, Central North Island Iwi Holdings and Te Arawa Lakes Trust working "collaboratively" toward a solution, according to a council release at the time.
An official information request revealed $113,116 of ratepayer money was spent on costs associated with the Environment Court application.
Some students were sacrificing food and study times and working fulltime jobs just to keep up with the costs of living in the Bay of Plenty.
Educational leaders said students were struggling to find affordable accommodation in the Bay and a students' union president says students should be able to study without this "ridiculous financial burden".
The news came as the Bay of Plenty's median weekly rent hit an all-time high of $550.
