Te Awamutu Rural sales specialist Noldy Rust 027 255 3047 | rwteawamutu.co.nz YourC community newspaper for over 100 years Thursday, April 18, 2019 Rosetown Realty Ltd Licensed REAA2008 Swap crops On a local mission Crop Swap Te Awamutu meets on Sunday, April 21 from 2pm to 3pm at Mahuika House, 114 Downes St. The free, all-ages event brings together backyard gardeners, home bakers and food foragers keen to swap high-quality local food on a regular basis. Bring your excess produce, baking or preserves. Rotary Book Fair collection Te Awamutu Rotary’s annual Book Fair isn’t until June 25 – 29, but they need your books, records, CDs and DVDs now for sorting. Restoring war graves to Items can be dropped off at Mitre 10 Mega or Paper Plus & Toyworld. honour wartime veterans Please no magazines, Reader’s Digest books or videos. Contact Laurel on 027 618 4454 for further information. Money help The Te Awamutu Bible Chapel is offering a free money management course. The three-night course offers a smart, simple way for people to build, balance, and stick to their budgets. The course is at 7pm on Rowan Miller is on a mission to restore the graves of veterans buried in the Waipa¯/King Country as part of a national initiative by the New May 6, 13 and 20 at Te Zealand Remembrance Army. She is pictured at the Te Ku¯iti Old Cemetery, holding a photo of her great-grandfather George Miller, who Awamutu Bible Chapel. is a World War I veteran and is buried there. Photo / Todd Ward, Waitomo News For more details visit capnz.org/get-help/cap- BY BETHANY ROLSTON could be hundreds. father — fought in World War II, serving in money-course or phone 871 Then she will organise working bees to the Solomon Islands and later in Egypt. Both 8667. Rowan Miller is embarking on a project of identify and clean each grave. men survived the war but chose to have a remembrance and respect — and she’s invit- Rowan is unsure how long the project will veteran’s grave. Bible Chapel ing the community to join her. take, or how many veterans’ graves are in her “They were both passionate about vet- The Te Awamutu woman is on a mission to area, but it could be more than a year of work. erans’ affairs and ensuring veterans were foodbank restore the graves of veterans buried in the For Rowan, it’s a family connection and treated fairly and appropriately,” Rowan Te Awamutu Bible Chapel Waipa¯/King Country. passion for history that inspired her to says. is changing office hours to She is part of a national initiative run by volunteer. “They were also both longstanding mem- the New Zealand Remembrance Army Her grandfather and great-grandfather are bers of the Te Ku¯iti RSA.” 9am-3pm weekdays. (NZRA), volunteering as a regional co- war veterans and buried in Te Ku¯iti. Rowan is passionate about history and The change will take place ordinator. Rowan is in charge of identifying “When I heard about the NZRA I wanted to genealogy and keen to give back to her from Tuesday, April 23 and and cleaning veteran’s graves at seven cem- put my hand up and do something to help community. will affect collections and eteries — Te Awamutu, Kihikihi, Pirongia, honour my grandfather and great- The role is voluntarily and Rowan is doing pickups — one being the O¯ torohanga, Te Ku¯iti, Pio Pio and Aria. grandfather,” Rowan says. the work outside of her full-time job of Bible Chapel Foodbank She is one of about 30 regional “This is my home patch and where most of administrator for the Te Awamutu Museum. collection. coordinators managing the volunteers in her my family are from, so this is the logical place “I have a lot of respect for the RSA and For queries phone 871 area. Her first goal is to raise awareness and to do it.” what it does, and this is one way I can help,” 8667. rally keen volunteers. Rowan’s great-grandfather George Miller she says. She will then organise a survey of each served as a medic in World War I. cemetery to count veteran graves — there His son Frank Miller — Rowan’s grand- ■ Continued page 2 YOU’RE MORE THAN JUST A NUMBER. At GW Accountants we make it our business to understand yours. From business and farm accounting to taxation services and business consultancy, we take pride in delivering our clients personal, practical and professional advice and service every time. For a thorough service delivered with expertise and integrity get in touch with us today. Graeme Wansbone, CA, Director 195 Mahoe Street, Te Awamutu ACCOUNTING | TAX | CONSULTANCY P: 07 872 0585 2 Te Awamutu Courier Thursday, April 18, 2019 Officers injured by inmates BY CHELSEA BOYLE several incidents recently, on we are working with forensic sanctioned with a loss of priv- 14,045 one occasion saving a mental health services to en- ileges such access to hobbies Two Waikeria prison cor- prisoner’s life. sure that he receives the care or telephone calls or visits in rection officers have been A remand prisoner entered that he needs.” excess of minimum 14,045* punched in the face within custody and was placed in the Neil said none of these entitlement, forfeiture of earn- CIRCULATION 14,045* nearly as many days, while Intervention Support Unit on incidents were linked and ings, or cell confinement. fighting between prisoners has Friday due to significant con- prisoners involved in the vio- “Prisoner-on-staff assaults also been reported. cerns for his mental wellbeing, lent altercations would be held have also been referred to On Monday, a prisoner Neil said. accountable and charged. police.” punched an officer in the face “While being placed into a The spate of violent More than 75 per cent of the and another officer was also cell he became very aggressive altercations included one prison population have injured when he stepped in to and staff worked hard to de- prisoner punching another convictions for violence. help. escalate his behaviour, how- prisoner on Friday, which was “We are constantly working The assisting officer was ever pepper spray was used. caught on camera. While on to ensure our prisons provide taken off site for a knee injury “On Sunday, staff were Sunday, two prisoners had to the safest environment pos- to be assessed. required to intervene to save be separated and moved after sible for staff and prisoners,” [email protected] The altercation comes after the prisoner’s life after he being caught fighting. Neil said. an officer was threatened and made multiple serious “We have a zero tolerance “We have invested sig- punched on Saturday. attempts to harm himself.” for violence policy, and any nificantly in training and tools [email protected] There have also been two Emergency services were violence or assaults against to keep our people safe. recent reports of prisoners called and the prisoner was other prisoners or staff is not “This includes tactical [email protected] fighting among themselves. required to be restrained. tolerated in prisons,” Neil skills, such as de-escalation, Chief custodial officer Neil He was sedated by ambu- said. “Their charges will be through to the introduction of [email protected] Beales said he was proud his lance staff before being heard by a hearing adjudicator stab-resistant body armour, staff who “responded bravely escorted to hospital. or by a visiting justice. on-body cameras and the and professionally” to resolve “He remains in hospital and “If found guilty, they can be expanded use of pepper spray.” [email protected] [email protected] Honouring veterans in cemeteries ■ From page 1 The NZRA will work with former army major Simon headstones and plaques left in veteran organisations, iwi, Strombom. disrepair. “I’m interested in mucking hapu¯ and marae, schools, ca- There are an estimated “Many families of our fallen in and am keen to hear from det forces, and anyone inter- 350,000 to 400,000 war graves in have since moved on and they anyone else also interested in ested in helping with the pro- New Zealand, based on the can no longer maintain the doing their bit.” ject. numbers of New Zealanders graves. [email protected] The NZRA aims to raise the In New Zealand there is no who served in World War I and “The need for this work to standard of New Zealand’s war single organisation that World War II. Many of these be done now is beyond ur- graves to be the same or higher oversees the maintenance and are scattered throughout New gent.” than those overseas. upkeep of war graves, accord- Zealand’s service cemeteries It is hoped that once the ing to the NZRA. and public cemeteries. ■ Rowan wants to hear from project is completed, any New Various agencies contri- “These graves are the final people keen to help identify and Zealander or visitor to their bute to maintaining the resting place of New Zealand’s clean graves in the Te Awamutu, Kihikihi and Pirongia cemeteries. We’re online at nzmecommunitynews.pressreader.com local cemetery, memorials or graves, yet the responsibility service people who returned plots would be satisfied that remains largely that of the home,” Simon says. She can be reached on service graves were well cared families and respective “Unfortunately, many have [email protected] or 027 2016 for. councils. The NZRA is led by been long forgotten and their 200 5485.