HARD WORK: Firefighters work to extinguish a burning shed at the former quarry on Wairaka Road on Saturday afternoon. Photo Louis Klaassen D4129-103

SPECTATORS drawn by large plumes of smoke billowing into the air above Whakatane on Saturday afternoon from the old quarry on Wairaka Road blocked roads and delayed some firefighters trying to reach the blaze.

The fire is the second in the past few months at the address and while an official cause is yet to be identified, police are treating it as arson.

On Saturday at 3.30pm a passer-by noticed smoke coming from a building at the old Blue Rock quarry, recently purchased by the Liberties Ministries Trust. Emergency services were called after a person entered the building and discovered the fire.

Whakatane brigade deputy chief officer Malcolm Rowson said when firefighters arrived at the site, the fire was “well engaged” and there were several explosions, most likely from tyres stored in the building.

He said they called for back-up from the Ohope and Edgecumbe brigades because it was important they had as many firemen with breathing apparatus as possible.

“Our main issue was the protection of the hillside to the back of the building. We didn’t want it getting into the bush on the hill.”

Mr Rowson said the fire drew many spectators, who blocked roads and made it difficult for the Ohope and Edgecumbe brigades, as well as other Whakatane firemen, trying to reach the site.

“People should think about that. They should watch out for fire-engines turning up because they just slow everything down. In fact some of our other brigade members were trying to get there but they were blocked by members of the public and they had to park about 500 to 600 metres away.”

Mr Rowson said the building was used to store an old fire-engine, a bobcat, two trucks, several cars and piles of tyres. It took more than hour to bring the fire under control but Mr Rownson said by the end the building was completely destroyed.

“Overall it was a good response and the job, including the tidy up, was over by 6.30pm [that night].”

Fire investigator Jon Rewi said he was still looking into the cause and it would take at least month before he could give his findings.

AND AGAIN: Firefighters were able to bring a fire that started behind the metre board at a house on Eastern Boundary Road under control and limit the damage. D4140-28

However, police are also investigating the incident and Detective Sergeant Ant Hay said the fire was most likely the result of arson.

“As a result of the scene examination by fire and police investigators, the cause of the fire is suspicious and is being treated as arson. Inquiries are being conducted in relation to reports of children playing around the building shortly before the fire.

“Investigators are very keen to speak to anyone else who was in the area at the time of the fire or have information about the fire.”

Meanwhile the Whakatane fire brigade attended another fire yesterday at a house on Eastern Boundary Road.

Chief fire officer Ken Clark said the fire started behind the meter board but firefighters were able to contain it so it did not cause further damage.

karla.akuhata@whakatanebeacon.co.nz

BOLSTERED by a 12.7 percent average increase in dairy prices at last week’s Global Dairy Trade auction, dairy farmers are optimistic but also continue to be cautious.

The average has hit its highest point since October of last year, the biggest winner being whole milk powder, which shot up 18.9 percent to $US2695 per tonne, GDT said.

That translated to $4.75/kg milk solids for farmers. The increase was credited to a smaller worldwide milk supply.

“It appears that the low prices are impacting other dairy producers around the world, too. It looks like they’ve eased back on production, making supply and demand [forces] kick in,” Edgecumbe dairy farmer Greg Malcolm said.

He said economic factors would still be at play that could scupper further recovery for the industry.

“The price is still low and the dollar is working against us. We won’t count our chickens yet,” he said.

The New Zealand dollar rose to 72c against the United States greenback in recent days.

In the meantime, Mr Malcolm said he would continue with the cost-saving methods that he and other dairy farmers across the country had adopted in an effort to pay down debt while the price was up.

“We’ll keep farming conservatively and try to recoup our losses from over the past couple of years,” he said.

Other developments over the past week point to recovery in the industry. Last Monday, DairyNZ announced it had dropped the estimated break-even point for dairy to $5.05 per kg ms, down from $5.25 previously.

Fonterra also announced on Thursday that it would increase the per share dividend by 10 cents to a forecast 40 cents per share.

Mr Malcolm said he was aware of the market volatility. He said it was too early to say where prices would go from here.

“Things can change rapidly.”

HAPPINESS SHOWS: LJ Dobbin from 1XX shows her delight at Lisa Carrington's double Olympic medal wins. D4127-21

RADIO 1XX paraded through The Strand on Friday following the second of Lisa Carrington’s double Olympic medal wins.

The radio station’s cars were decorated with gold balloons to celebrate Carrington’s accomplishment in winning a gold in the women’s single canoe sprint 200 metres and a bronze in the 500m. Passing cars tooted their support.

PARADE: Talia Clark from Radio 1XX holds a "Congratulations Lisa" banner during a street parade on Friday. D4127-03

LONG ARMS: Pickers Duane Changalee and Dido Eden use hydraulic-powered Hydralada machines to pick the high fruit. Photo Grant Fraser

THIS year’s bumper avocado crop means a late harvest as growers wait for fruit to mature, but prices will plummet when they do, an Opotiki orchardist says.

“It’s a very big crop this year, and generally speaking that means everything matures a bit later and next year it’ll be a significantly smaller crop,” orchardist Grant Fraser said.

He had harvested one-third of his crop, which was behind where he would typically be at this stage of the season.

He said it was a common theme among the country’s growers.

“I’ve been at an avocado field day and everybody’s testing their dry matter, which is how we test the fruit’s maturity, and it’s frustrating for everybody that it’s not quite coming together yet,” he said.

After reaching an 11-year high of $6 each last May, avocado prices had already dropped to $1.50 each at Whakatane New World.

“I would say they’ll be half that in a few weeks to a month. That’s a bit of a wild guess, but that’s what I would say will happen,” he said.

As recently as last June, police were warning avocado growers to be on the lookout for thieves after 12 reports of thefts were reported to Tauranga police in a six-week period.

Mr Fraser said the conditions that made theft worthwhile would not last much longer.

“There’s always a good 20 percent of the crop left to go on the local market. So there’ll be cheap avocado pretty soon,” he said.

The majority of the crop would be headed for New Zealand’s biggest avocado market and main competitor, Australia.

“There will be a lot of fruit coming out now and exporting to Australia has kicked off. The Australian crop is not looking particularly strong so that means we’ll get quite a good return,” he said.

With a limited number of pickers and lifts to harvest the fruit, growers would have to time their picking in such a way as to make best use of available resources.

UPLIFTING CROP: Dido Eden picks avocados at Grant Frasers Tirohanga orchard.

“The logistics of harvesting the biggest crop ever in New Zealand is quite a challenge, but everybody’s getting organised and co-operating really well,” he said.

Once the fruit reaches maturity, packing and storage facilities will be stretched to their limits.

“There is such a big crop that they’ll be struggling to harvest. The pack houses will be working six days a week,” he said.

Not all growers were in a rush to harvest.

“The end of February to March is the tail end of the New Zealand harvest. There are a few people who hang on and harvest later because the prices will build up again,” he said.

Keeping avocado on the trees until full maturity was a result of tougher guidelines for growers.

“The industry has really tightened up and tried hard to make the product a good eating experience because in the past people had cheated and dumped fruit on the market early and [quality] was horrible,” Mr Fraser said.

mark.rieder@whakatanebeacon.co.nz

Lost trampers

THE BayTrust Rescue Helicopter flew in to Rotoma forest at 6am on Sunday to rescue a 40-year-old female and her 14-year-old daughter.

Pilot Todd Dunham said they went tramping on Saturday, strayed off the track, became lost and then suffered from fatigue.

Whakatane Land and Search Rescue was alerted and located the pair at 3.53am. An unsuccessful attempt was made to walk them out.

A decision was made to wait until first light and winch them out with the helicopter.

Mr Dunham said the heAlicopter flew the walkers to Kawerau, where they were met by police and St John staff.

They were said to be cold and weary, but otherwise in good health.

Managing social media

TRIDENT High School is hosting a managing social media evening for families with teenagers tonight.

In a world of ever-changing technology, the meeting will look at the social media world of young people taking into consideration student views and school procedures, and hear from Netsafe, the police and the wider community with regard to the new Harmful Digital Communications Act.

The meeting is open to all and will be held in the school auditorium, starting at 6.30pm.

HANDS FULL: Clifton Watkins rounds up three of the four lambs in an attempt to gather them all together. D4124-66

WHEN one of Clifton Watkins ewes gave birth to quadruplets last week it was only one example of the amazing lambing rates he has had from his flock.

The former sheep farmer and current kiwifruit grower said the lambing rate on his Poroporo property was at 200 percent. Five of his eight ewes had already birthed 16 lambs.

He was impressed with the good health of the lambs.

“I’ve seen sheep who’ve had twins that were smaller than these,” he said.

He speculated that because the Dorper ewe wintered in his orchard, that might have played a role in the lambs’ good health.

“She was out there eating a lot of kiwifruit,” he said.

Ordinarily, quadruplet lambs were a rare occurrence. Last November a Cornwall, United Kingdom, sheep farm made the news when one of its 300 ewes gave birth to quadruplets. It was the fourth time quads were born on the farm in 25 years.

But this is the second set of quads that Mr Watkins’ ewes have delivered over the past three seasons.

In 2014 a ewe delivered quadruplets but one died shortly afterwards.

In 2012 and 2015 his ewes had sets of triplets.

The ewe that gave birth to the quadruplets was one of the quads born in 2014.

The unofficial record belongs to a ewe in Minnesota, United States that gave birth to a set of octuplets in April of 2015.

AS police appeal for further information about three suspicious fires on the Coast, long-serving Waihau Bay fire chief Bill Green has expressed suspicion the fires were linked to squabbles over property and land.

He is appealing to whanau in the area to get together to sort out their issues so there are no more homes burned to the ground.

The first fire occurred at Te Kaha on April 23, with a second fire at Waihau Bay on July 16 and a third at Te Kaha on August 12.

The most recent fire totally destroyed two separate dwellings while the owner Kiwi Skipper was away for a few days in Taranaki.

Mr Green said attending such callouts was becoming annoying and was “hurting” because firefighters knew the people affected.

“Both brigades felt it the other morning [in Te Kaha]. We are all human; we are just lucky nothing serious has happened.”

In their years fighting fires on the Coast, Mr Green said they had heard about, and seen, the results of houses being deliberately burned down.

To have had two fires so close together, as occurred on August 12, and the police investigating, it had to be arson, he said.

Mr Green said if they attended a fire that was the result of an electrical fault they didn’t mind as much, but when they had to attend a fire that was deliberately lit it soured their voluntary work.

These fires made no sense to him and were a waste of a perfectly good building – like the one that went up in smoke at Waihau Bay in July.

On that occasion, the owner and his family returned home from Tauranga to discover the ruins.

Mr Green described it as a “sad issue” and something fire crews in the area, including the Opotiki Volunteer Fire Brigade, did not want continuing.

He also questioned what sort of example the arsonists were setting for their mokopuna.

Detective Sergeant Darren Thomas of Eastern Bay police said all three fires were being treated as suspicious and had burned houses to the ground.

“Thankfully, no-one was injured but a significant amount of valuable property was destroyed.”

Police have arrested a father and son, aged 71 and 30, and charged them with arson in relation to the first fire at Hakota, near Te Kaha, in April.

Mr Thomas is optimistic these arrests will prevent any further damage to property in the area.

He said police were following other lines of enquiry with regard to the two more recent fires.

“We are grateful to the local community who have provided valuable information so far, which has allowed us to progress these investigations. We will continue to work with the community to bring these matters to a satisfactory resolution,” he said.

Anyone who knows anything about any of the fires can contact Whakatane police on 07 3085255, or information can be passed on anonymously through its Crimestoppers line 0800 555 111.

ross.mccullough@opotikinews.co.nz

POLLEN: Pine tree pollen drifts above pine forest at Lake Rotoma on Saturday . Photo Warner Haldane

IT is that time of year again when our cars are covered in pine pollen and puddles, creeks and gutters have ‘beaches’ of yellow pollen sludge.

This is hardly surprising when one sees in the above photo the sheer quantity of pollen drifting away from one small area of a local pine plantation on Saturday.

One has to ask what the effect of all this pollen has on people’s health and productivity, when even I, who am not very sensitive to pine pollen, am left coughing and sneezing several kilometres from the source.

If a study hasn’t been done, perhaps it should be.

Warner Haldane

MORE people may be using the Whakatane Aquatic Centre but the complex continues to cost more than expected to run, prompting a reassessment of its delivery.

Four years after bringing the contracted service back in-house, Whakatane District Council is investigating whether this remains the best way of running the activity, given the lower-than-expected cost recovery.

As part of a required service review, the policy committee agreed last week to initiate the investigation along with a registration of interest process to identify potential future providers.

All councillors were supportive of this process being used to “test the market”.
“If we don’t go out to the market to see how we could deliver the services differently, we are not going to know whether we could deliver them more efficiently,” Julie Jukes said.

The review is a relatively new requirement, under section 17A of the amended Local Government Act, which requires all councils to consider the cost-effectiveness of their services and determine whether there are more effective ways of delivering the quality of infrastructure and services the community needs.

Section 17A reviews are being undertaken progressively across council activities.

The aquatic centre was built in 2001 and was initially operated under contract by Total Leisure Concepts.

This contract continued until 2012 when the council reviewed delivery of the service, and decided to bring it in-house.

In a report to the policy committee, strategy and community general manger Julie Gardyne outlined the key benefits of bringing the operations in-house, including providing an opportunity for the council to grow the business, gain better knowledge of its operational requirements and possible savings to be made.

It had been hoped that revenue from the gym and pool complex would cover 85 percent of the costs of running them, but the actual cost recovery had been just 48 percent.

Areas of concern for the council on takeover in 2012 included maintenance, energy costs, relationships with pool users and the community, and the facility’s health and safety culture.

Mrs Gardyne said while initial improvement was slow, more people were now using the upgraded centre.

Membership of the fitness centre increased 43 percent between September 2013 and September 2014, and grew a further 27 percent between September 2014 and June 2016.

“This increase was achieved despite the number of gymnasiums and fitness offerings in Whakatane having grown during this period.”

Pool admissions increased 54 percent from 82,257 in 2012-13 to 126,600 in 2015-16.

Improvements to the facility have included the replacement of the gas boiler, resulting in energy savings and a more consistent and comfortable pool temperature; a new ultra violet disinfection system and a major upgrade of the staffroom.

A redesign and upgrade of the reception area was planned for this year, but higher-than-expected tender prices and the need to replace the main heating compressor system for the pool, meant the work was deferred.

The 2016 Communitrak survey results show a marked improvement in the community’s perception of aquatic activities with 73 percent of residents surveyed saying they are satisfied with the public swimming pools – up from 69 in 2015.

WITH a terrible record of beating his partner and breaching protection orders, it was almost inevitable that Percy James Junior Whalley would be sent to jail.

He appeared in the Whakatane District Court last week for sentencing having previously pleaded guilty to one charge of male assaults female and contravening a protection order.

The charges related to an incident where Whalley had been drinking and started arguing with his partner when he lost his temper and punched her several times in the head with a closed fist.

The victim had to be admitted to hospital with severe swelling on the back of her head and suspected broken ribs.

Judge Peter Rollo said the incident occurred only six weeks after Whalley had been sentenced to community work and supervision for similar offending.

He said Whalley had a terrible record of being abusive toward his partner, including notching up a conviction for male assaults female, common assault and several breaches of a protection order in the past year.

“You say you want some help to change and you hope that in time she will be able to forgive you.”

However Judge Rollo said in order to change, Whalley would need to give up alcohol because that was at the heart of most of the offending.

He sentenced Whalley to 14 months in jail but gave him leave to apply for home detention if he found a suitable residential alcohol rehabilitation course.

Other court appearances

Meth addict

IT took Gavin Fitzgerald Kingi less than a fortnight to re-offend after he was released from jail.

Appearing in court last week, Kingi pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, failing to stop for red and blue flashing lights, and shoplifting.

He pleaded not guilty to possession of methamphetamine and driving dangerously.

His lawyer, Rebecca Plunket, said the cause of much of Kingi’s re-offending was his addiction to methamphetamine.

She said he was first sent to prison in 2002 and since then he had been in and out of jail.

Alcohol and drug practitioner Matetu Mihinui said Kingi met the criteria for severe methamphetamine use disorder and, as a result, was eligible for assistance.

“His subsequent offending has been around methamphetamine and finding methamphetamine. However he has never been offered a rehabilitation course.”

He said Kingi had started using methamphetamine following the death of his son about a decade ago.

“At the time he was gainfully employed but since then he has not worked. If he does have the opportunity to do such a course he will make some changes that will help him, and he is still young enough.”

However Mr Mihinui said before Kingi could undertake any rehabilitation course he would need to participate in one-on-one and group counselling.

“If Mr Kingi was sentenced to jail he would not be able to undergo one-on-one counselling or group counselling.”

Mr Mihinui said one-on-one and group counselling was only offered to prisoners who were serving sentences longer than two years and as a result Kingi had never had the opportunity because he had only completed short periods in jail.

Judge Rollo said Kingi’s track record meant that he should be sentenced to jail.

He said he recognised the best way of ensuring Kingi did not reoffend would be for him to undertake the rehabilitation course and so he called for a presentence report to be prepared.

“I accept, Mr Kingi, looking at your history, you have spent a hell of a lot of time in jail.

“You have to change that by dealing with the cause of your offending. But if you can put yourself into a position where you can put that behind you then there are so many positive opportunities available to you.

“You have to be determined.”

Judge Rollo remanded Kingi to reappear on September 21.

Three times

WITH two previous convictions for drink driving, Mark Andrew Dunn was back in court last week.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of driving with excess breath alcohol, third or subsequent.

Dunn had been driving on State Highway 34 near Kawerau on July 9 when police saw him cross the centre line into oncoming traffic and pulled him over.

His breath alcohol level was 785 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, more than three times the limit of 250mcg.

His lawyer, Steve Franklin, said Dunn thought he would be alright to drive but had miscalculated.

“He doesn’t want to make any excuse, he exercised poor judgement on the evening. He is very sorry and has said this won’t happen again.”

Judge Rollo said Dunn had two previous drink-driving convictions incurred in 2004 and 2005. He ordered him to pay a $1000 fine plus $130 in court costs and disqualified him from driving for 12 months and one day.

“With three convictions, a fourth could result in a loss of liberty possibly even jail time.”

Last chance

AFTER several adjournments to find an address to serve a home detention sentence, and with his last option having fallen through, Mark Louis Hohua was resigned to going to jail.

He was in court last week for sentencing after he pleaded guilty to driving with an excess breath alcohol, third or subsequent.

His lawyer, Cate Andersen, said Hohua had been hoping he could serve a home detention sentence at an address in Murupara but it had fallen through because those living at the house would not be able to financially support him.

Judge Rollo said Hohua was stopped by police on Bracken Street in Whakatane on May 7. His breath alcohol level at the time was 614 micrograms.

He said Hohua had several other convictions but he was prepared to give him a chance.

“I’m going to step back from an earlier indication from another judge of home detention.”

He sentenced Hohua to nine months supervision and disqualified him from driving for 12 months and one day.

No further penalty

David Ahmat Yellub’s passport was returned and he was convicted and discharged on a threatening behaviour charge, as promised, after completing a sentence of community work.

In June, Yellub was sentenced to 75 hours community work for injuring with intent, and his passport was taken off him.

Lawyer Steve Franklin said when Judge Paul Mabey imposed the community work he told Yellub the remaining charge of threatening behaviour would be discharged if the hours were completed.

Police prosecutor Chris Howard confirmed a note to that effect was on his police file.

Still assault

JUDGE Rollo told Kawerau man Reece Aaron Wimutu that assault under New Zealand law did not require him to hit anybody.

The 32-year-old appeared for case review having earlier pleaded not guilty to assault on a child.

Through his lawyer, Steve Franklin, Wimutu changed his plea to guilty.

Mr Franklin told the court there was no marking, harm or bruising done to the child.

“He was really more intimidating in his actions than anything.”

Judge Rollo said on April 28 at Kawerau, the child was provoking him in the car, pulling his hair and kicking his chair.

“You essentially lost your cool and got out of the driver’s side and opened the door where he was.

“You threw a number of right hand closed fist punches but didn’t strike him.”

Judge Rollo said assault under New Zealand law didn’t require him to hit anybody but to bring about fear in the person that was going to be struck.

“It would have been a very scary incident for that boy.

“When you’re in a parental role, as you are with this boy, the right example must be given at all times.”

Wimutu was sentenced to 65 hours community work, nine months supervision and ordered to take a parenting programme.

Drive away

DESPERATE to avoid further conflict with his partner during a heated argument, Christopher Tebutt drove while his licence was suspended.

The 24-year-old from Manawahe pleaded guilty to driving while his licence was suspended and common assault.

Lawyer Cate Andersen made an application under Section 94 of the Land Transport Act for no further disqualification to be imposed on her client.

Judge Rollo said when Tebutt’s partner refused to leave the house, the defendant pushed her forcibly out of the door causing no injury.

He said, according to police, the driving was a sensible response to the circumstances and the assault was at the low end of the scale.

Tebutt was fined $400 for driving while suspended and a further $150 on the common assault charge.

A MORE holistic approach to managing drinking water is proposed for the Whakatane district.

A report received by Whakatane District Council’s policy committee last week indicates existing strategic documents focus on individual supply schemes, or combinations of schemes, rather than the district’s drinking water supply infrastructure as a whole.

Planning, regulatory and corporate services general manager David Bewley said the existing documentation provided a wealth of information about the state of the water supply infrastructure and the issues, risks and opportunities relating to the district’s 10 supply schemes.

“Those reticulation networks require continued investment to maintain the quality of the assets and improve the security of supply to consumers,” he said.

“There are new challenges coming in the form of legislation and policy changes which will match water allocation rates and volumes to community need. That will mean that future resource consent applications will have to be based on established use and foreseeable demand.”

To prepare itself for those changes, he said the council should take an active leadership role in managing water supply priorities and a long-term, integrated approach to decision-making.

Mr Bewley said the need for community involvement in infrastructure decisions was also increasing. “Our decisions are no longer just about engineering solutions – we also need to consider other values associated with water and competing demands for the resource.

“Greater attention needs to be paid to factoring community engagement into our planning, particularly with iwi and hapu.”

The council operates supply schemes serving the urban communities of Whakatane and Ohope, Edgecumbe, Te Teko, Matata, Murupara, Waimana, and Te Mahoe, with further rural schemes supplying the Rangitaiki Plains area and Ruatoki.

Scheme assets have an estimated value of $98 million and include 525 kilometres of pipelines, 35 reservoirs, nine treatment plants-headworks, and 15 pumping stations, supplying water to some 12,530 properties.

Key focuses

Key focuses of the district-wide approach will be:

• Security of water sources – managing supplies to reduce risk and increase resilience
• Treatment and storage – providing efficient and affordable treatment systems and increasing storage capacity to a minimum of 48 hours supply
• Distribution priorities – maintaining and replacing ageing reticulation networks
• Efficient water management – identifying and preventing wastage and better demand management
• Reviewing levels of service – ensuring that water supply services are appropriate for community needs.

INDUSTRIAL Symbiosis Kawerau chose a new chairman and deputy chairman last month.

At the quarterly meeting, the group unanimously elected David Turner of Sequal Lumber its chairman.

Spence McClintock, of Ngati Tuwharetoa Holdings, was named deputy chairman.

Industrial symbiosis is a term describing collaboration between different enterprises whose geographic proximity allows for the sharing of resources, increasing their viability and competitive advantage of the other.

It involves the exchange of materials, energy, water, by-products, services, knowledge, intellectual property, social capital and networks to reduce resource costs, increase revenues and create new business opportunities.

WINNING TEAM: Mark Thompson, Mark Bruce, Patrick McCullough, Michelle McAnulty and Brendan Mitchell are part of the Beaver Kitchens team that won two New Zealand Kitchen and Bathroom Association awards.
Photo Louis Klaassen D4148-06

BEAVER Kitchens has won two awards in a New Zealand Kitchen and Bathroom Association competition for a high-end wardrobe and a one-of-a-kind bathroom.

Beaver Kitchens managing director Mark Bruce said though the company was no stranger to winning awards – have won 27 in the past 13 years – he was especially pleased with the Spacial Innovation Award they received for the wardrobe.

“We win this or similar awards most years. But the significance of this one is that winning a spacial innovation award is a little bit different for us; it’s not an area we normally compete in,” he said.

A lot of detail went into the design, specially produced for a client.

“It’s quite a large wardrobe, about 3.5 metres by 3.5 metres. It’s personalised and compartmentalised and has a lot of luxurious items, like marble tops and detailed mirrors,” he said.

The design included a lot of pigeonholes for shoes, and drawers with internal lights that illuminated when they were opened. It took 200 hours of work to complete.

“There’s a lot of technology and a lot of lighting in it,” he said.

The second award was for the best bathroom design, which beat out seven other submissions from Bay of Plenty builders.

“It was a luxury bathroom that utilised north-facing elevations with beautiful views of the coast and a lot of marble. It had custom-built vanity bowls that we had made out of Carrara marble,” he said.

With 22 years’ experience it the industry, Mr Bruce said he had seen customer preferences change.

“Clients are becoming more discerning and are seeking a kitchen designer.

“Rather than just going to a joiner or relying on a group housing company to come up with a plan, they’re prepared to invest in a good design,” he said.

Mr Bruce said New Zealand builders took much of their design preferences from European styling, which made the materials they used easily accessible.

“We’re actually really lucky in New Zealand because we have always followed European trends and our suppliers are very quick in importing the products currently in vogue.

“So there are no limitations, we can still get our hands on the very best products at an affordable price,” he said.

He said there was a growing desire by homeowners to use quality materials in their homes.

“They want to get value for money but that’s not always the cheapest price.

“They’re quite happy to pay a premium because they know the cabinets are going to last for 20 or 30 years without any issues,” he said.

mark.rieder@whakatanebeacon.co.nz

Photo Louis Klaassen D4144-3

KOPEOPEO Lions Club has donated $10,000 to St John for new communications equipment.

Lions spokesman Les Baker said the club had originally intended to establish a health shuttle service with the money, raised by the club’s 2015 Christmas raffle, but this did not eventuate.

After discussions with St John about how to best use the money, it was agreed the communications gear was “very worthy of assistance”.

Club members presented a cheque to St John yesterday at the St John depot in Arawa Road.

OVERNIGHT on Friday or Saturday morning the donation box at the Whakatane SPCA was stolen after the property was entered.

Whakatane police Senior Sergeant Mark van der Kley said that on Friday, in a separate incident, a house in Patterson Place was entered and electrical items were stolen, along with food from the freezer.

Also last week, two properties in Salonika Street and Olympic Drive were entered, however, nothing appeared to have been stolen.

Car thefts

CASH totalling $350 was stolen from a car in Landing Road on Saturday, August 20.

Senior Sergeant Mark van der Kley said that in a separate incident a day earlier, another car was broken into and a torch stolen.

On Thursday, a car in Domain Road was entered and a sports bag stolen.

HANGING BOARS: James Turei stands with a line-up of boars ready for weigh in at last year’s Big 3 competition.
File photo D2571-14

THE Kawerau Big 3 is expected to be as popular as always, according to president Rhys Dawson.

The land-based hunting and fishing event challenges individuals and teams of three to catch the largest snapper, boar and stag from August 25 to 27.

The competition begins tomorrow and tonight a very important briefing will take place at the Ex-Royal Navalmen’s Club at 6pm.

Mr Dawson said that at the briefing competitors would be told the rules and notified of some changes.

This year the competition begins on a Thursday and finishes on Saturday.

At previous competitions the final weigh in was held at Firmin Field in Kawerau. This year it would be held at the Ex-Royal Navalmen’s Club.

The competition’s Whanau Day, which usually took place on the final day, would no longer take place as there was no child category this year.

Mr Dawson said this year the Big 3 was an adult-only competition. A children’s hunting competition would be organised at another time.

Spot prizes would be given away at the briefing and one individual and one team would have the opportunity for their entry fee to be paid.

It’s also a chance to enter the competition as entries close tonight at 7.30pm.

Mr Dawson said usually 200 people entered the annual competition and this year registrations looked to match that.

Cash prizes would be awarded to the individual with the heaviest stag, boar and snapper and the team with the heaviest combined catch weight.

Mr Dawson said a new prize would be awarded for the boar closest to the average weight of all boars.

The final weigh-in, at 3pm on Saturday, would be followed by a prize giving ceremony.

TRAFFIC TRIAL: The new configuration for the Landing Road roundabout, which will be used while the benefits of unrestricted access from SH30 onto Landing Road are trialled. Photo supplied

A TRAFFIC flow trial beginning in September will test the effect that unrestricted right-of-way access from State Highway 30 through the Landing Road-Hinemoa Street roundabout has on delays experienced by motorists travelling into Whakatane.

The joint New Zealand Transport Agency-Whakatane District Council trial will begin on September 12 and involve reconfiguring the roundabout into a teardrop shape, which will mean only traffic entering the roundabout from the west, across the Whakatane River bridge, will be able to turn onto Landing Road.

Council infrastructure general manager Tomasz Krawczyk said the aim of the trial was to establish whether congestion issues at The Hub could be eased by providing right-of-way through the roundabout for eastbound traffic.

“The planned, three-month closure of the Pekatahi Bridge on SH2 from February next year will see at least another 2000 vehicles a day re-routed across the Landing Road Bridge, adding to the existing congestion issues at peak commute times,” he said.

“We believe the new configuration will have a beneficial effect and, if that is the case, it’s likely the trial will continue until the Pekatahi Bridge re-decking project is completed in late-April or early-May next year.”

Mr Krawczyk said the council was aware the priority system could see the current congestion problem transferred to the Eivers Road-King Street roundabouts.

“To address that situation, we will be encouraging CBD-bound traffic to use Eivers Road and Peace Street, rather than Domain Road and Commerce or McAlister Streets.

Motorists travelling from Hinemoa Street and city-south areas will be encouraged to divert through one of the link roads leading to the Valley Road-Commerce Street access route, or to use King Street and Domain Road.

“We will be installing CCTV cameras at both the Landing Road and Eivers Road-King Street roundabouts to closely monitor the situation and determine whether any additional traffic flow control measures are required.”

He said the trial would undoubtedly cause some inconvenience for Whakatane Rowing Club members and residents of properties on the short, western extension of Landing Road.

“To travel to the CBD or other destinations in Whakatane, those people will have to turn west over the bridge, circle the eastern roundabout at The Hub – with right-of-way access – and then travel back across the bridge before continuing their journeys,” he said.

“We apologise for the disruption that will cause, but given the need to address the growing congestions issues at The Hub, we hope that the few minutes of extra travel time involved will be viewed as an acceptable inconvenience.”

SCOOTER CHECK: Waiariki Bay of Plenty Polytechnic automotive student Nathaniel Mahaki checks a scooter.
Photos supplied

A WINTER Pit Stop set up in Kawerau on Wednesday last week by the Eastern Bay Road Safety programme checked 86 vehicles for roadworthiness and has been hailed a success.

Preliminary statistics from the event show nearly 40 percent of vehicles checked in the Kawerau area had an issue that affected safety. The national average is 30 percent.

Tyre tread proved to be the most common issue, with more than 20 percent of vehicles seen on the day just on the just legal limit of around two millimetres of tread.

Whakatane District Council community development adviser Lorreen Hartley said she was pleased with the number of drivers who participated.

“These events play an important role in educating drivers about the safety of their vehicle and the responsibility they have in keeping their vehicles roadworthy and safe,” she said.

Participating drivers had their vehicles checked in the New World Kawerau car park free of charge by a NZ Transport Agency certification officer and automotive students from Waiariki Bay of Plenty Polytechnic.

Referred to as the ‘TWIRL’ check, vehicle tyres, windscreens, indicators, rust and lights were inspected – along with wipers and mirrors.

Drivers who participated in the checks were rewarded with more than the knowledge around the safety of their vehicle. While they waited, drivers were able to enjoy free refreshment. All participants received a road safety pack including a hand sanitiser, pack of tissues, car cleaning cloth, key ring and a TWIRL chocolate bar.

AN important stormwater upgrading project begins in Ohope next week with the installation of soakage modules and associated structures at three beach access points on Pohutukawa Avenue.

Each of the beach accessways involved – at 123-125, 133-135 and 143-145 Pohutukawa Avenue – will be progressively closed for up to three weeks and, weather permitting, the project is expected to be completed before the end of October.

Infrastructure general manager Tomasz Krawczyk said major facets of the upgrade included the installation of new catchpits and inlet chambers at 123-25 and 133-35 Pohutukawa Avenue and improvements to the existing catchpit system at 143-45 Pohutukawa Avenue.

“The collected stormwater will be piped to soakage modules in the beachside dunes at each point and a range of erosion prevention measures will also be put in place to protect the foredune at the existing beach outfall at 143-45 Pohutukawa Avenue.”

The project is one of a series of initiatives designed to address beach erosion issues resulting from stormwater discharges.

Mr Krawczyk said work would be undertaken during daylight hours on weekdays from 7am and parking and pedestrian access in the work areas would be restricted while the project progresses.

WHAT is billed as the biggest update to education in New Zealand in 27 years was introduced in Parliament this week by education minister Hekia Parata.

“The Education (Update) Amendment Bill is about enabling schools to provide a flexible 21st century education focussed on the achievement of every young New Zealander,” Ms Parata said.

“The overall approach of the Bill is to enable choices that ensure parents and whanau have options for their children’s education; early learning providers, schools and kura have flexibility to meet the particular needs of their students; and that those students are getting real results.”

Ms Parata said the bill provided for a government statement, the National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP), setting out objectives for education.

“The purpose of the NELP is to move to a system that is not just about delivering education, but about student achievement, with clear accountabilities for early childhood centres and schools,” Ms Parata said.

“With this legislative change we’re making it clearer to our educators what success for students looks like. We’re also enabling them to be innovative and creative with how they deliver education in this digital age.”

One of the bill’s proposals is to modernise online learning through the establishment of Communities of Online Learning (COOL).

“This innovative way of delivering education offers a digital option to engage students, grow their digital fluency, and connect them even more to 21st century opportunities.

“There will be a rigorous accreditation process alongside ongoing monitoring to ensure quality education is being provided.”

Ms Parata said there was an option for parents and schools to enrol new entrants on the first day of a term closest to the child’s fifth birthday.

At the earliest, children could start up to eight weeks before they turn five, although parents would still have the option to delay their child starting at school until their sixth birthday.

Other key proposals reflected a drive to enable schools and kura to work together.