ISSN 1170-1099 120TC049/04 Published Tuesday and Thursday THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2008 Circulated FREE to all households throughout Te Awamutu and surrounding districts. Extra copies 40c. BRIEFLY Pirongia plan in Thieves put lives at risk pipeline Transit New Zealand is disap- of no use to anyone and its theft can pointed efforts to warn motorists of only be described as an irresponsible Pirongia Residents and Rate- potentially fatal dangers are being act of vandalism. payers Association is looking thwarted by ongoing vandalism. “The sign no longer works and we to co-ordinate input from all Ongoing damage to safety signs have removed it to replace the broken interest groups towards a plan installed by Transit New Zealand on components. This is very disappoint- for Pirongia’s development. State Highway 39 near Pirongia last ing as the signs were put there to A meeting is being held on year has resulted in them having to help save lives, and the thoughtless March 12 at Pirongia Memorial be removed for repair. actions of vandals have disabled an Hall from 7pm to discuss the Transit area engineer Gerhard van important warning.” future direction of Pirongia. Blerk says vandals have put their The signs are located 5km south “This is partly due to the own lives and those of other motorists of Pirongia village and 21km north initiative by (Waipa District) at risk by stopping on the side of the of Otorohanga on the approaches to Council to have a plan for highway to damage the signs. two reverse ‘S bend’ curves, which Pirongia as other areas already The vandalism began in November have been the scene of seven crashes have,” says Peter Grierson, act- last year with the signal casing being over the last fi ve years, including two ing secretary of the Residents damaged with an axe or sharp instru- fatalities. and Ratepayers’ Association. ment. Since then, numerous objects “Experience with these electronic Mr Grierson says repre- have been thrown at the sign and warning devices indicates they have sentatives of groups who parts have been stolen. The most re- the potential to noticeably reduce the cannot attend that meeting cent theft of a solar panel, on Monday number of speed-related crashes by could provide comments to last week, would have required some- increasing the impact of the warn- a committee member. More one to climb up a fi ve-metre pole. ing message,” says Transit acting information is available from Transit installed the two speed-ac- regional manager Kaye Clark. [email protected] or tivated warning signs near Kiwi Road “Transit’s aim is to effectively en- [email protected] or phone on SH39 to strengthen the warning to courage drivers to slow down through 871 9342. motorists of the winding road condi- the curves and avoid any further tions that require a slower speed. crashes.” “The stolen solar panel is specifi cal- Anyone who noticed suspicious ac- Protecting our ly designed for this type of application tivity near the sign is asked to contact and can not be reused. It is therefore Te Awamutu Police at 872 0100. peat lakes DEPOWERED: The warning sign on SH39 is blank. Photo supplied. A draft plan for the manage- ment of peat lakes and re- serves is about to be adopted by Waipa District Council. ‘Green light’ for climate fi ght Tony Roxburgh, project manager for heritage develop- Waipa District Council is among 31 councils who ment and reserves planning, have joined a Communities for Climate Protection - told Council’s policy committee New Zealand programme. the plan would help address The emphasis is on identifying realistic and afford- known threats, conserve herit- able measures to support involvement in the pro- age sites and retain recreation- gramme. al opportunities. It is expected that the measures taken will be Mr Roxburgh said in recent common-sense, effi ciency actions that provide net fi - years Council had responded nancial benefi t to councils and their communities, as with extra resources to ad- well as contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas dress threats to pet lakes and emissions - things like energy effi ciency, vehicle fl eet reserves from agricultural and choices, street lighting, waste, water, recycling and con- other land activities. But a servation measures. greater level of administration As well as tackling its own corporate contribution to and management is required. greenhouse gas emission, Council will work with other The committee has recom- agencies and businesses to reduce emissions from pub- mended Council adopt the lic events and activities. management plan. The programme involves meeting fi ve target mile- It does not include Lake Nga- stones - conducting a greenhouse gas emissions inven- tory, analysis and forecast, setting emission reduction roto, which is the subject of goals, developing a local action plan to achieve these a separate management plan, goals, implementing the action plan, measuring ben- currently being revised. efi ts and monitoring progress. Other Waikato councils among the participating Rats says Board councils are Hamilton City, South Waikato District and Te Awamutu Community Environment Waikato. Board has written to Environ- Council’s policy committee was advised that admin- ment Waikato expressing con- istrative cost of achieving the milestones was around cern about the number of rats $10,000 - mostly made up of staff time. sighted in Kihikihi recently. There is also a one off cost of $800 to join the pro- SUNRISE on a misty morning at Korakonui. Joanne Chick captured this scene on The Board wants Environ- gramme. the Chick family’s Wharepuhunga Road farm last week - it shows fog hanging ment Waikato to explain what Council’s policy committee resolved last week that over paddocks in the continuing drought conditions. She says the recent rain monitoring, observations and Council join the Communities for Climate Protection has helped green up their 128ha property, but has not yet provided real growth. trapping is currently under- - New Zealand programme, but report back to the com- “There’s nothing really in the rain gauge and we certainly need a lot more rain.” taken in Te Awamutu area. mittee on how the milestones in the programme might That may happen this week with ‘possible’ showers forecast for Thursday, Friday be achieved before taking action. and rain expected in the weekend. Photo supplied. 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Between them, the couple are doing two ‘jobs’ - one in the workforce and the other in the home with their children. NOW It’s not charity - it is fair treatment of those who choose to provide the stability and pres- ence at home that sta- OPEN! tistics clearly indicate is benefi cial to society as HOLLY BARKER of Te Awamutu does the splits parting company with her mount in the local calf (Previously The Olde Bank) a whole. ride at Waikato Rodeo, Kihikihi Domain on Saturday. Sportpix - David Wheadon. I know low and middle income families already OPEN FOR receive Government aid Truck and trailer driven by suspended man impounded BREAKFAST AND LUNCH for young children, but I It was a case of who was the Ngaruawahia man currently Acting Waikato Road Policing FROM 7AM MON - SAT still believe the key tax most surprised, Police or the under suspension. manager, Senior Sergeant Bruce change would be a dol- driver, at a random checkpoint Space had to be found at the Lyon, says it is a reminder to peo- lar-on-dollar effective set up to check trucks coming impound yard for the truck and ple who loan their cars to others Rae & Sonja investment. into Hamilton on Monday night. trailer unit. The trailer was re- or companies who employ people Tel: 07 870 4055 Of course parenting is The fi rst truck to be stopped leased to the trucking company a to drive trucks that they need to 201 Alexandra Street important - it’s downright at the Airport Road checkpoint short time later leaving the truck ensure those people driving them 052TC050-08 valuable.