Wednesday it is
Waipā councillors rubber stamped a staff recommendation around meeting days at a council meeting last week – put to them and verbally approved in a workshop last year. The public was aware of their decision before they voted – revised days for Wednesday meetings appeared in adverts in Good Local Media a week earlier.
Water tower
Cambridge Water Tower
Testing, which includes drilling and ground testing, will be done on the Cambridge Water Tower’s bricks and foundations next week to determine its load capacity for a detailed seismic assessment. The fence will then come down.
Domain at play
Workers get the playground upgrade underway. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Leamington Domain’s $1.5 million transformation to a new destination playground featuring water, sand, and nature-themed play areas is underway with workers dismantling equipment this week. The playground theme draws inspiration from the historic use of borrow pits in Māori gardening and crop cultivation on the marae.
Some of the other features include a toddler mound and slide, a kumara flower bowl spinner, timber hut, trampoline, slides, musical play and a three-bay swing set. The iconic domain steam roller will stay in the park but be moved to a more interactive position allowing it to better connect with the other play features.
Construction will be completed in May. During this time the existing playground and toilet will be closed, and the Cambridge Model Engineering Society will temporarily suspend operations due to health and safety risks.
Cycling festival
Cambridge Cycling Festival
Cambridge’s Cycling Festival will revert to Anzac Day afternoon following what organisers say was “serious community consultation (and a lot of thinking)”. The popular event made its debut nine years ago and a move to March 23 was mooted for this year, but retailers became concerned that two significant street closures – for the earlier Maadi Cup parade and the cycling – would impact trade.
Singing the blues
The Slims blues band have started the new year how they mean to go on, practising under Cambridge’s historic rotunda in Thornton Rd on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Two visitors from Raglan on a Triumph motor-bike came for the entertainment provided by from left Jono Knapp, Mark Taylor, Paul Taranaki on the drums, Ken Emery, and in the background, harmonica player Beaudene Bate. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
From left Jono Knapp, Mark Taylor, singer Maree Wilson, Ken Emery, harmonica player Beaudene Bate and in the background, Paul Taranaki on the drums. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Tutty steps up
Karl Tutty
Waipā District Council’s compliance manager Karl Tutty has been appointed Civil Defence Local Controller by the Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management. Tutty is also deputy chief of the Te Awamutu Volunteer Fire Brigade.
Road blocked
The northbound lanes of SH1 at Fergusson Gully Road near Piarere were blocked on Monday morning following a truck breakdown.
What it cost
Less than two hours into the three-hour event, the public had mostly left. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Good Local Media readers should know soon how much it cost Waipa District Council to host the Party in the Park in Cambridge on December 13 last year. The request for costs was lodged as a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request on January 9 giving the council until this Friday – 20 working days – to respond.
Back with a bullet
The story of childhood friends Linda Pennock and Diane Pevreal catching up after 50 years was the best-read Cambridge News online article last month. Visits were 50 per cent up to cambridgenews.nz on December and a whopping 88 per cent from January last year.
Community constable Deb Hann’s first column of the year was second followed by the New Year’s Eve online story about Waipā’s Honours recipients. Waikato Regional Council chair Pamela Storey’s announcement she is up for another term was fourth and fifth was columnist Janine Krippner’s piece on the Boxing Day tsunami 20 years ago.
The home page, online publications, contact and advertising are the best read pages in that order.
Another council-organised event
Bridleways Estate playground
Waipā’s newest destination playground at Cambridge’s Papatakohe Park will open with a celebration event on Saturday, February 15. Children can explore the new playground and enjoy a free sausage sizzle put on by – contractors Camex Civil, a scavenger hunt and colouring activities. The highlight will be a free throw competition on the full-sized basketball court, with great prizes to win. Built by developers 3MS in collaboration with Waipā District Council, the new park is located in the Bridleway Estate subdivision, part of one of Cambridge’s growth areas. This development includes residential housing, a retirement village, supporting infrastructure, and future commercial spaces.
A school next to the playground is not going ahead robbing the playground of participants in the near future.
The park boasts a range of exciting attractions, including a double flying fox, exercise equipment, water and musical play features, a sandpit, a custom-designed tower, and three distinct play areas designed for pre-schoolers, intermediate-aged children, and older kids.
Papatakohe Park playground in Bridleways Estate.
Orcas sighted
Orca pod sightings in Raglan and Kawhia harbours have prompted DOC staff to remind people about the rules for interactions with marine mammals after reports a boat chased the pod. Vessels should stay 50 metres from orca. A family pod of five orca has been in the harbours for two weeks.
