LOCAL NEWS

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Fatality In Kaiaua

Thursday May 15th 2008 

A car accident in Kaiaua yesterday morning left one person dead. Police and emergency services were called to a vehicle collision on East Coast Road, near the intersection with Rangipo Road, Kaiaua. Only one vehicle was involved and the sole occupant is deceased. A diversion was in place at the intersection of East Coast Road and Front Miranda Road for a number of hours and Police have been looking for any witnesses to the incident.

Coromandel Bucks Regional Trends Again

Thursday May 15th 2008 

The Waikato region including Franklin, Coromandel and Taupo took a hit in the numbers of guests staying the night according to the latest numbers from Statistics New Zealand. But where Waipa, Hamilton, Matamata-Piako, Otorohanga, South Waikato and Waitomo went down 8.6%, the Coromandel had a rise of 8.4% in guest nights. I-Site Manager Maureen Sheary says this highlights the work of i-Sites in promoting the area to guests and encouraging them to stay for one and preferrably more than one night.

Lease Extension Granted

Thursday May 15th 2008 

The Tairua Camping Ground has been granted an extension on its lease for another year as endorsed by the community board. The new library has been built on part of the old campground and the lease extension means it will be at least another year before the decision has to be made on how much land will be available for the campground and how much will be used for library parking.

Ngatea Filmmakers Show Their Films Tonight

Thursday May 15th 2008 

You may have an opportunity to meet the filmmakers of the future while they are still at primary school tonight. Last year Ngatea primary school students won the top award for their eco-documentary and this year an even longer film will be released. The films will be shown 7:00 o’clock tonight at the Ngatea Hall and this year, a DVDF has been released featuring the top films from both last year and this year. The latest film is the investigation of one of Ngatea’s old UFO stories.

Bruce Gibson Has His Say

Thursday May 15th 2008 

Bruce Gibson, the neighbour of the Whangamata community hall whose complaints about noise control have prompted TCDC to restrict community use of the hall, gave his side of the story this morning, putting the blame on TCDC. HE said he can hear activities in the hall from his lounge 75 meters away.Other neighbours say they hear nothing of consequence. Bruce operates his camping site on a shut up or pack up policy and expects TCDC to do the same. He says he even gave them an extra 5db at the consent hearings taking the noise control limit to 84db for a community hall designed to accommodate balls, weddings and shows where audience applauds. Currently, audience applause alone sets off the noise control meter. Bruce says the hall is a barn and the person who designed it and signed it off at that consent db rating should pay for the solution to the problem. When asked if the community shouldn't just work together to have a hall, Bruce curtly replied "No. It's TCDC's problem."

NZ's Best Steak from Waihi

Thursday May 15th 2008 

New Zealand’s best steak comes from Waihi – that’s the word from the judges of the Steak of Origin competition held in Fielding earlier this week. Waihi farmers Alistair and Patricia Sharpe are the 2008 Meat and Wool New Zealand Steak of Origin Grand Champions out of a record 300 entries. They entered one of their angus’ into a very convoluted judging process including a Lincoln University mechanical tooth test where the tenderness was finely measured and finally ended up with the Streak of Origin trophy, and prizes including 6-and-a-half thousand dollars cash. At the grand final at the Beef Expo in Fielding the top 16 steaks, including other finalists from our local area, were tested by a panel of judges and rated on their aroma, juciness, tenderness, texture and taste.

The First Of The Population Numbers Are Out

Wednesday May 14th 2008 

The Peak Population survey breakdown recently released shows the largest numbers of visitors were primarily from Auckland and Waikato. Thames i-site Manager Maureen Sheary says the weekend of the Hamilton V8s also saw unexpected large numbers of Auckland and Hamilton visitors. In addition, the AA is running a campaign featuring the Coromandel on their 101 must do list, publicised through major magazines, newspapers, radio and high-profile web sites. The I-Sites say this trend can be used to strengthen a tourism driven regional economy by encouraging people to stay more than one night. Similarly the Hostel Association with sights in the region from Coromandel and Whitianga to Opoutere and Thames experienced its highest guest nights total in March 2008 for any month since New Zealand Statistics accommodation surveys began in 1996, and say this is a sign that Kiwi families are embracing a wider variety of holiday accommodation options than previously thought. I-Site managers say the region needs more accommodation if the region is to sustain itself with tourism.

Employment Expo Tomight

Tuesday May 13th 2008 

Work and Income are holding the employment expo this evening at 5:30 for workers and contractors affected by the Carter Holt Harvey Kopu Sawmill Closure. Representatives from a number of employers will be available to talk to – from local employers to large regional, national and government organisations with work opportunities. The Employment Expo starts at 5:30 this evening at Thames Work and Income on Pollen Street. Meanwhile, Carter Holt Harvey has done an about face over the ditch with the purchase of the Australian arm of a US timber mill company which had its assets for sale. The deal has consolidated about 35% of the Australian market.

Electricity Prices Rise

Tuesday May 13th 2008 

Thames Valley electricity customers have been hit with price increases across the various retail companies. Contact points at rising costs including higher gas prices and the company's commitment to spending $2.5 billion over the next five years on geothermal and wind generation. It’s not just Contact, 25% of New Zealand’s electricity supply is generated by Gas-fired power stations and with rising gas prices and the carbon trading issue paramount, electricity generators like Contact have to invest in new generation technology.

Lines Cut North of Tairua Yesterday

Tuesday May 13th 2008 

Whitianga, Great Barrier Island and generally places north of Tairua on the east coast of the Peninsula were without some phone lines, EFTPOS, cellphone and broadband services for a large part of the working day yesterday. Not all services were affected in the same way in all places, for example, cellphone users connecting to the Redcliffs cell sites were cut off while users connecting to the Tairua cell sites were fine. Similarly, some phone lines in Whitianga were working but data and network connections were lost. Chorus contractors had the repair job finished by about 4:30.

Waihi Benefits from Trust Waikato Funding

Tuesday May 13th 2008 

Waihi’s community has benefited from the first of three rounds of Trust Waikato funding this year. Trust Waikato’s Judi Wilson says they are pleased to grant funds to various Waihi Community groups. GO Waihi received $2,000.00 for the Goldfest 2008. Vision Waihi Trust was granted $5,000.00 for a review of Waihi Community Vision. The Volunteer Coastguard at Waihi Beach received $2,000.00 for the automated door and Waihi Bowling Club was given $750.00 for greens maintenance. The largest amount this funding round was for Waihi Community Resource Centre. Judi Wilson said they were pleased to support the Centre by granting $25,000.00 for overheads and wages - along with Waihi District Walkways Inc who received $12,000.00 for the Mill Stream Loop, website, history, quarry development and operating costs. The Waihi Drama Society was given $1,500.00 for seats and trestle tables and Waihi Family Life Trust was granted $5,000.00 for operating costs.

NZ Short Film Festival Re-Take

Tuesday May 13th 2008 

Thames South School’s second annual New Zealand Short Film Festival is on this Friday and Saturday. The evening, which includes a complimentary glass of wine and supper as part of the $15 dollar or $25 dollar double ticket price, was so popular last year that it is running the programme again on Saturday night as well.