Ross on the road to long recovery

Mark Dawson, Editor of Wanganui Chronicle

VIRTUALLY the whole of Wanganui will be delighted with the news this week that local artist, letter-writer and agent provocateur Ross Mitchell-Anyon is on the mend.

One of the city's larger-than-life characters, he is in Wellington Hospital after a 12-metre fall, while working in a Taupo Quay building, which could have claimed his life.

Even though he faces a long road to recovery, the news that he is out of danger and now talking is wonderfully heartening.

One of the last causes he got behind before his accident was the building of a suspension bridge across the Whanganui River from Upokongaro jetty to Papaiti Road as a way of bringing the Mountains to Sea cycleway into the city.

Never one to stand on ceremony, he had suggested that the community should build it, and was ready to put in time, money and effort himself.

It is an idea that has plenty of merit. The cost of $397,000 plus extras compares well with $1.36 million set aside for completing the cycleway on the east side of the river; it takes the route away from the busy State Highway 4; and it circumvents issues with affected residents on the east side.

Ross would be delighted to hear that Wanganui District Council staff are adding the suspension bridge option to their report which will go before council next month. It is just the kind of news to perk him up even more.

A new bridge is a long way off, but so is Ross' return to full health. How nice if the two coincided ... he could even get to cut the ribbon.