FEBRUARY / MARCH 2016 Bi Monthly Community Newsletter covering Piopio, Aria & Mahoenui Districts K nighthood for Sir David Fagan Grounding his roots and learning the art of shearing on a farm in Waitanguru, west of Piopio in his earlier days, Sir David Fagan has now claimed one of New Zealand s most prestigious titles, a Knight Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit Services to Shearing. With an extensive list of trophies to his name, Sir Davids first win at the New Zealand Golden Shears in 1986. He has C hristmas Parade draws community together continued his championship rein with 16 undefeated titles, including 10 world records and winning 5 world, 6 world team, and 16 national titles. As chairman of Shearing Sports New Zealand, he accredits this title to the 2400 people running the 60 plus competitive events, all voluntarily," "A bit of this is for each of them. It's not so much about me, as for the sport, and he will continue his involvement within the rural industry which supports our the sport. sport." Although Sir David has officially retired the Lions Club, and a couple of stalls and entertainment by Trae Aitken with live music, Moa street once again was filled with Christmas cheer. Creative flair and the festive spirit were A longstanding not dampened by the drizzle on tradition to host Christmas Eve. Supported by Sir david Fagan Golden shears this event attracted twelve float entries and more people involved than previous years. Results follow on page 6. WWW.PIOPIO.NET.NZ
Coming soon 2016 CHICKENS TWILIGHT TENNIS FOR SALE Piopio Club -Every Tuesday at 5.30pm Varying sizes Everyone Welcome Andrew 8778855 Ph Carmen 8778480 Piopio Hall Hireage crockery hire: Table $10 per table Chairs $2 per chair Wine flutes/ glasses 50c per glass Tumblers 50c per glass Place settings $2 per setting includes (dinner, side and dessert plate, mug, knife fork and spoon) Bond 150.00 Audio Equipment Bond 50.00 Hire (Daily Hire age) 185.00 Rental per hour (max 4 hours) 18.00 Audio Equipment Hire Fee 50.00 The above are all to be booked and paid for through the Waitomo District Council. The below is to be booked and HOUSIE paid for through the Hall An enthusiastic group Committee. meet to play Housie. TARANAKI KING COUNTRY ELECTORATE All Saints Church 1.00pm each Thursday at the Senior Main Road, Piopio Citizens Rooms Worship service 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month. Service at 10am You are welcome to join us for fun, laughter and serious involvement in trying to be the winner!! Come and have some fun, along with an exchange of news and views. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS Rev. carol Hancock THURSDAY 4TH FEBRUARY 2016 Ph: 8788026 7.30pm Te Kuiti, Waitomo, Benneydale Venue: SENIOR CITIZENS St Lukes, 83 The Esplanade, Te Kuiti FRIDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2016 12.30pm Piopio, Aria, Mokauiti & Mahoenui Venue: Senior Citizens Hall, Piopio ELECTORATE AGM FRIDAY 1ST APRIL 2016 3.00pm Venue: Lyceum Club Rooms, 4 Hinerangi Street, Te Kuiti. Gay Andrews, Secretary Ph 06 7525870 P AGE 2 Kristen Pari 8778185 whanau@k04d025.kohanga.ac.nz Thursdays All Saints Nga Pononga Church, Moa Street Piopio 10am Allison 877 8840 Don t wait for us to come to you! We welcome everyone to join. We have monthly meetings at our Senior Citizens Rooms and generally have an outing during each month. Beryl huia 877 8353
HEAT WAVE The Piopio Community Pools have been swimming along since after Christmas, with Sheryl Johnson ironing out little matters and keeping the pool areas clean and tidy. We have had an incredible amount of visitors to the pool, so it has been great to see this community asset being so well used. The pool is still in desperate need of funds to maintain and upgrade the facility, so if you are interested in purchasing a brick for $200 please contact Sheryl. Sponsorship and Pool Update The Trust has received grants from The Mustard Seed Opportunity Shop, Rural Communities Trust, the Piopio Charitable Trust, and Len Reynolds Trust and Max Lamb of Lamb Bain Laubscher Lawyers has very generously completed all the setting up of our Trust at no charge. Other grant/ sponsorship applications are still in the pipeline, people have donated cash, and slowly people are buying bricks. We are currently investigating making major changes to the filtration and chemical distribution system to optimise efficiency and maintenance. These investigations include increasing the solar heating of the pools with the aim of extending the season so that Learn to Swim programmes and school swimming could get under way at the beginning of summer rather than after the summer holidays. Quotes for painting the small pool have been sought and Trudy Denize is giving advice about giving colour to the changing sheds and pump shed. Using the Pool Once school starts back he pool will be open MondayThursday 5.00-6.30pm and Saturday-Sunday 1.005.00pm, entry is $2 per person and togs and towels are a must if you are swimming (no clothing is to be worn in the pool). School age children cannot be left at the pool without an adult supervising them and will not be let into the pool without an adult, and whilst visiting the pool it is the adult s responsibility to supervise their children. It is important to remember that we do have a volunteer lifeguard on duty, however it is not their job to look after people s children, they are there to assist swimmers if they get into any trouble. Www.Piopio.net website If there is something coming up in your organisation or club please tell us about it. Our Community EvEnts page is an ideal location for any events of community interest and this could include team sports draws. From early February we will be able to include files which are easy to download on the same page as your event. For more information talk to Jenny Brodie or Donna Pari. For all news or events (or even ideas for the website) you can use the Contact Us page on the website or email piopiobirdtalk @gmail.com. The more we use our local website the better it will become. Finally thanks again to Sheryl for all of your hard work and to James Young who has volunteered to handle the filter system that was aging Sheryl incredibly. Thanks to all the volunteers and all the fantastic support from the community, we are heading in the right direction. To keep up to date with everything that is happening at the pool, follow our Facebook page Piopio Swimming Pool Until the next Birdtalk, see you at the pools. On a journey in Panama City recently, local resident Joyce Smith captured this sign. Deep fried chicken (similar to KFC) Jenny and Donna P AGE 3
Cycle Group to ride into Piopio A group of 33 cyclists are cycling from the top to the bottom of the North Island to raise money for Rural Support Trust. They are cycling about 150kms per day and one leg is to finish in Piopio on the 19th February. Final arrangements are still being made but we do know CounCillor s update New property valuations for Waitomo District were recently released as part of the three yearly revaluation cycle. The new valuations will be used as the basis for striking next years (2016/17) rates, but will only affect that portion of your rates that are based on your Capital Value. This breakdown is shown on the reverse side of your Rates Invoice. Generally, for Waitomo, Dairy properties increased by an average of 1.8%, Pastoral by 1.3%, Industrial by 4.7%, and Commercial properties by 1.4%. Residential property Capital Values decreased by an average 1.2%, however Benneydale reduced by 11.6% and Piopio by an average of 11.5%. The new valuations have been set after analysis of property sales over the last couple of years. Council has recently reviewed its Dog Control Policy and Dog Control Bylaw. Previously, dogs were prohibited from Kara Park in Piopio, and the Village Green, along with the schools, Kindergartens, Playcentres, and public swimming baths. Phil Brodie Rural Ward Councillor Ph: 877 8033 Em: brodieauahi@xtra.co.nz that our local branch of Rural Women NZ are catering for dinner and that there will be an evening public function including speakers, some around rural mental health. Further information will follow in the media or you are welcome to contact: Wendy Coup Ph: 877 7885 Jenny ph: 877 8033 After two stakeholder meetings and a public hearing, we considered that as a lot of travellers are accompanied by dogs, we needed to make provision in Piopio for a dog exercise area near to our famous toilets and popular Café. An area of Kara Park will be designated as an on leash area, although the specific site of that area is not yet finalised. If you have any thoughts or ideas, please get in touch with me. Piopio Memorial Hall now has a new roof and spouting, the old wiring in the roof cavity has all been replaced and there are now new steps with an adjacent ramp, gracing the Hall front. Along with the new toilets at Kara Park, Piopio has had a good spruce up, to give us a little town to be proud of. If you have any problems, or concerns, with any Council services, please take the time to phone (878 0800) to lodge a Service Request, or do it via the website, so we can remedy the situation as soon as possible. ural Women New Zealand and R Brake, the road safety charity, are urging drivers to stick to the law and slow down to 20km/h when passing a school bus. As schools start to return for the new term, school buses will be back in operation taking children to and from school. The speed limit is 20km/h when passing school buses that are stopped to drop off or pick up children. The rule applies whichever direction you re travelling in. The organisations say that lots of drivers either don t know the law or choose to break it, so are urging drivers to slow down and help save kids lives, because 20 s plenty around a school bus. Drivers are also being reminded to slow down around schools and in communities. At speeds of under 30km/h drivers have a much better chance of being able to stop in time if a child runs out than at higher speeds. www.ruralwomen.org.nz/ news-and-inspiration/ rural-road-safetyaround-school-buses PAGE 4
wakino Tunnel bypass - A construction expected in three years. The recent announcement by prime minister John Key has delivered major economical news to the Waitomo District. Key improvements: Awakino Tunnel bypass expected to start within three years. Awakino Gorge to Mt Messenger corridor-wide improvements expected start within two years. Mt Messenger bypass expected start within three years. Waitomo District Mayor Brian Hanna said the $90m allocated for Mt Messenger would build a "serious bypass". "That is one highway that has probably been neglected for a long time," said Hanna. Regionally the improvements are expected to attract larger visitor numbers and with certainty improved transport efficiencies. Local Fire services and St Johns services welcome the news, as significant accident call outs are attended through the Awakino gorge. Semi -Retirement at Greenmount Llamas We didn t quite envision Bob working 5 days a week 7am to 5.30pm but it is an income and he is enjoying building with Pete and his boss Kurt.. Started with a week s work and has been full time just about ever since Any one that wants a house built, alterations, woolsheds etc, get in touch with Kurt. We really are loving our new house, (that we designed and won gold in Master Builders House of the Year) and lifestyle and wouldn t change anything in the house it is our dream. Too slow down in life (me not Bob Haha) and live the dream of our llama trekking business Once again we have been busy trekking with llamas and guests, self - contained rustic accommodation and Airbnb. We are now enjoying the time to wander across our property with our adorable llamas and visitors, we have decided to run a special for local. Anyone living in Piopio and wanting to do a half day llama trek, including lunch, with a beer or a wine, we will do half price for a group of 6 people. All will get to lead a llama take note you walk and lead the llama you do not ride the llama. We would like you to see what Piopio has to offer at a cheaper price. Greenmount Llamas also offers social events, team building, tours and group events, eventually hoping weddings with llamas carrying the bride on a cart, or being led by a llama in to the ceremony. Let us know what you want and we will accommodate. We have rustic selfcontained accommodation for 1 x couple and 4 singles, also B & B accommodation for 1x couple, 1 single, 2 x single or 1 x king (2 people), 2 singles or 1 x double. All rooms have a view and you can visit the llamas if you want. Our house is completely off the grid, but don t worry we have diesel boiler and generator back up if needed though our solar energy is very reliable we don t go without using anything straighteners blow waver dishwasher you name it we use it. While Bob goes out to work when required (more than our plan of 3 days a week), he takes the day off to do the Llama trek or go on holiday. More relaxing than full time farming and what our semi -retirement is all about. So if you are keen to learn more or want to get a group of 6 together text me on 0275143423 or email us at greenmount@farmside.co.nz www.greenmountllamas.co.nz PAGE 5
3 little BIRDS WELL that s that for another year! Another Christmas and New Year gone... time just goes way too fast these days. We ll blink and another Christmas will be looming. In any case, I hope you got to have a break and spent it wisely... relaxing with family and friends hopefully on a beautiful beach but even if it was at home I hope it was rejuvenating. FAT PIGEON CAFE: Our wonderful Head Chef/Kitchen Manager Dee has left the pidgee crew, much to our disappointment. She will be sorely missed and leaves the BIGGEST boots to fill. She is an amazingly talented and efficient manager who had our cafe running as smooth as Kojak s head! I m sure you all (along with us) wish her and her family all the best. The pidgee crew are doing an amazing job given the sometimes unbelievably busy days. So, thank you guys and gals for consistently striving to provide the best service, food and coffee. Don t forget our Tuesday Treat of an espresso coffee or tea, with either a muffin or a scone for just $8 pop in on a Tuesday and treat yourself. THE NIGHT OWL: LOVE YOU LOTZ! Say it like you mean it this Valentine s Day by bringing that special someone along for a special Valentine s Dinner at a special price at our special Night Owl. Full details on our Facebook page or in-store. Picnic in the Park is coming up in February. For a set price per group you receive a sumptuous picnic hamper and picnic blanket, set yourself up on the lawn at Owl Green, sip away while enjoying the sultry tones of our locally owned LA Vocals (aka Mark & Lauren Anderson). More details soon. Don t forget our specials: Thursdays Half-Price Desserts / Fridays Merry 60 (Happy Hour) / Sundays 2 Pizzas for $40 / Sundays Kids dine for $5 (conditions apply). OWLS NEST MOTEL: We have just the loveliest rooms I can tell you... pop in and take a look. Of course Lyn and Dave welcome your booking, phone 07 877 8767 or flick an email to theowlsnest@xtra.co.nz. Of course you can book via our website www.theowlsnest.co.nz CRAFTY PIGEON: Some most excellent items have just arrived... come and check them out! Plus BIG discounts on all Christmas stock. Pop in and see Carley and Justine. Piopio s Christmas Parade was another huge success well done to the organisers and congrats to 3 Little Birds who took out the Business/ Organisation Section. ravel talk T Welcome to Harvey World Travel Talk with Lorrene It is going to be an exciting year for my office. Next month (date to be confirmed) Harvey World Travel will be re-branding to helloworld. Although helloworld is a fresh new travel brand, helloworld comes with a long and solid history in the industry. New technology, better buying power with our suppliers to access the best deals for our customer and Flybuys. There will be the choice and flexibility when you book with me, in store, over the phone or online. helloworld as a group is committed to sharing our combined knowledge, curiosity, expertise and passion for travel. Keep a look out in the Waitomo News for the helloworld launch date. If you want to be updated with all of the details feel free to call in or view my web page for all of my contact details. www.harveyworld.co.nz/tekuiti Christmas Parade Float Awards Club/ Education 1. Curious Keas 101 Dalmatians 2.Piopio Playcentre Noahs Ark Maniapoto Family Violence Aria Primary School Organisation / Business 1.3 little Birds aka (Fat Pigeon Café, Crafty Pigeon, Night Owl) - Shrek the owl and the Pigeons 2. Belle Birds Themed Black and White Caravan St Johns Ambulance Barrowcliffe Shearing Friends / Family 1. Pari Family Pari-dise - Summer holiday fun 2. Mahoenui Hall Hunting Christmas Parade Raffle was won by Steve and Moetu at the Oily Rag. PAGE 6
Youth involved with battle of the towns contest FRIDAY nights can sometimes be a dangerous time for young people. But thanks to a Raising Potential through Reducing Risk initiative, a number of North King Country teenagers were involved in a Friday night Battle of the Towns contest. Designed to engage secondary school students in positive activities at high risk times, the battle was held across three consecutive Friday nights (beginning on November 13) featuring teams of six from Piopio College, Otorohanga Township, Te Kuiti High School, Te Wharekura o Maniapoto and Number Twelve youth centre. Week one included a number of tasks at Centennial Park Gala where contestants ran a stall, took part in an Amazing Race-style challenge and completed a scavenger hunt hosted by Kevalena Rata of Number Twelve. They were then taken through their paces in a cross-fit physical challenge hosted by DRS Weighting Room Coach, Craig Bell, this proved to be very popular with the students. The next Friday, the students planned a party. They identified the good and not so good things about parties and many of the safety aspects to reduce the risks. Highly detailed, all of the plans included a venue layout, and example invitations and ways to manage the events, considering age restrictions, parental supervision, a one-way door rule and courtesy vans. They then had to create mocktails (alcoholfree drinks) and make a burger which were judged on preparation, taste, presentation, creativity and clean up. The final night was a Pool Party held at the Waitomo District Aquatic Centre featuring a number of fun activities after which the Piopio College team was announced as the winning team and was presented with the a Battle of the Towns trophy. Raising Potential through Reducing Risk (RPtRR) team leader Clowdy Ngatai says the aim of the initiative was to engage young people in positive activities at high risk times particularly Friday nights after exams and heading into the holiday season. It certainly doesn t mean we don t have young people in our community engaged in drinking but what it does mean is that those that took part for that period of time weren t. Reducing alcohol and drug related harm is about increasing resilience in young people and we have begun to work towards this. Increased resilience leads to better decision making both now and in their future. All of the teams and young people that took part in the activities should be proud that they put themselves out there and got involved in something different. The Piopio college team had proved to be a strong contender right from the beginning and they came out on top. Our Raising Potential through Reducing Risk team would like to congratulate the young people and are wrapped that the Bird Talk newsletter will be a type of formal recognition for the students that have now moved on from secondary school. PAGE 7
Business directory Whitebait Inn mokau 07 877 8399 / 021 266 7768 Community feedback and articles are welcomed and appreciated. The views published in this publication are not those of the editor but of the contributors. Articles must not be longer than 280 words and may have accompanying photos. We reserve the right to edit any material. ADVERTISING CHARGES Local Business: $35/issue - approximately business card size Clubs & Organizations: Free up to 75 words Co-Editors Donna Pari piopiobirdtalk@gmail.com P AGE 8 Out of Area Casual: $45/issue - approximately business card size Classified Advertisements: $5 per 3-line advertisement Package: Annual $200. Includes six advertisements and one special 1/3 page My Business article annually Yvette Ronaldson yvettegibson@gmail.com
okau Fishing Club Take a Kid M Fishing What a great day, beautiful sunshine, good seas and happy kids. Thanks to Taranaki Coastguard for attending our morning which enabled us to take the kids out across the bar. Also thanks to everyone who helped out on the day. All kids from 5-15 who registered had a fish to weigh in and received a great prize, certificate, sausage sizzle and a lolly scramble. Thanks to our main sponsor of this event, Piopio Lions Club. we had four good days fishing, an excellent turnout, no major mishaps and lots of fish caught and measured. Throw in an amazing array of prizes and good BBQ on the final night lent to a very successful event. Our entries doubled from the year before so if you didn t manage to get there, make it a must for the next one. Once again I d like to thank the many people involved in the running, registrations, radio, cooking and general helpers. They all contributed to it. Thank you! Last but not least, the Sponsors of this event have given very generously so please support them back where possible. Congratulations to all the prizewinners for their efforts ASB Xmas competition results Boat Section Longest Snapper Kahawai weight Gurnard weight 1st Andrew Cook 1st Wal Death 1st Stanley Robinson 2nd Carey lee Cook 2nd K Stott 2nd Iovani Stott 3rd Glen Stewart 3rd B Stott 3rd Gavin Laughton 4th Paul Symonds 4th Dale Casford 4th Bill Harrison 5th Cathy Langston 5th Tania McCrae 5th Josh Hamer Heaviest Trevalli - Janine Neal Best Other Jayden Wilson Crane Surf Casting Kahawai 1st Mark Fagan 2nd Tyreece Strickland 3rd Tui Roach PAGE 9
PAGE 10 Community Notices
ACTIVITIES & ATTRACTIONS Hairy Feet Waitomo (07) 8778003 Piopio & Districts Museum John Petre (07) 877 8293 Key available at Piopio Superette Piopio POP (Tui Park) Snow Nicol (07) 877 8177 Key for toilet available from the Cloverleaf Tearooms or Snow Nicol BAR & RESTAURANT Aria Cosmopolitan Club (07) 877 7812 Cloverleaf Cafe (07) 8778368 Fat Pigeon Cafe (07) 8778822 Night Owl Bar & Eatery (07) 8778769 Piopio Cosmopolitan Club (07) 877 8204 Piopio Berry Orchards (07) 8778490 COMMUNITY SERVICES & business Belle Birds - Quality Preloved & New clothing (07) 8778583 (022) 1376410 Housie Afternoon (Thursdays) Shirley Bardsley (07) 877 8725 Justice of Peace Kath Tucker (07) 8777720 Laver Marine (07) 8778484 (021) 105 4737 Marriage Celebrants Rose Young (07) 877 8029 Oily Rag Garage & Tyre services (07) 8778159 Piopio College Community Library 18 Aria Road, Piopio Liz Jones (07) 877 8173 Ext 220 Piopio Garden Circle Cheryl Austin (07) 877 8771 Piopio Lions Club Noel Verry (07) 8778582 Gavin Todd (07) 877 7700 or Ken Perry (07) 877 8035 Piopio Memorial Hall Vikki Watson (07) 877 8289 Tracey Neal (07) 877 8009 Crockery/Cutlery/Glass Hire) COMMUNITY SERVICES & business continued. Piopio/Paearuhe Retirement Village Noel Verry (07) 8778582 Jenny Brodie (07) 8778033 Opportunity Shop/Mustard Seed Colleen Strahan (07) 878 7918 C OMMUNITY Seniors Exercise Classes contacts June O Donoghue (07) 877 8492 SPORTS & RECREATION Senior Citizens Organisation Aria Squash Club Bookings: Beryl Huia (07) 877 8353 Terry Alcock (07) 877 6670 The Old Piopio Post Office Art Gallery Light Horse Club (022) 437 0789 Amanda Maclachlan(07) 878 7182 Vanilla Blonde & Carley Jane Beauty Hayleigh Bird (07) 8786840 (07) 8778446 Line Dancing Club Waitanguru Rural Women Linda Oliver (07) 877 8313 Wendy Coup Em: wdcoup@gmail.com. Piopio-Aria Golf Club HEALTH Big Sky Physiotherapy & Acupuncture Erin Barclay (07) 877 7842 or 027 8879785 email erinbigsky@gmail.com Cancer Society Kaye Nelson (07) 877 7840 Helen Verry (07) 877 8582 Ear Health Ginny Opie (07) 877 6818 King Country Chiropractic Dr Scott Mouatt (07) 873 7376 Mob: 027 3301 339 email: kcchiro@xtra.co.nz Recreation Centre Kimberley Cody Evenings: 8778700 Mobile 027 2101860 kimberley@aroundtwelve.com YOUTH ACTIVITIES Aria Playcentre Michelle Carter (07) 8778495 Aria Toy Library Librarian: Karen Jones (07) 877 8945 Mainly Music Alison Singleton (07) 8778840 Piopio Playcentre Rachael Laver (07) 8778484 Tracey Mulligan (07) 877 8234 Piopio Bowling Club Jill Rattenbury (07) 877 8016 Piopio Domain Board Kate Carter (07) 877 8146 Piopio Rugby Football Club President: Peter Hurley (07) 8777577 Secretary: Joy Jefferies (07) 8778875 Treasurer: Susan Ngarotata (07) 8778143 Piopio Swimming Club Pres: Lee Alcock (07) 8777 754 E:shellalcock@hotmail.com Sec: Ana Wiseman (07)8777553 Pony Club Anna Nelson (07) 877 7744 Heather Pease (07) 877 8144 Scouts & Cubs Karen Petch (07) 87788100 Clive Knox (07) 8777781 Te Kuiti Tramping Club Jenny Brodie Ph (07)877 8033. Tennis Club Reon Verry (07) 878 8678 The King Country Hunt Master: Robbie Matthews (07) 8731898 Trail Bikes & Moto Cross Track Darren Lupton (07) 8778054 Waitomo Ski Club Ian Kerr (07) 878 7661 Waitomo Aero Club Pete Voyce (07) 877 8254 John Carter (07) 877 8290 Walking Group Jennifer Kearns (07) 877 8836 PAGE 11
We thank our local businesses for supporting our community news. The finer details... Community feedback and articles are welcomed and appreciated. The views published in this publication are not those of the editor but of the contributors. Articles must not be longer than 280 words and may have accompanying photos. We reserve the right to edit any material. PAGE 12 ADVERTISING CHARGES Local Business: $35/issue - approximately business card size Clubs & Organizations: Free up to 75 words Out of Area Casual: $45/issue - approximately business card size Classified Advertisements: $5 per 3-line advertisement Package: Annual $200. Includes six advertisements and one special 1/3 page My Business article annually Co-Editor - Design Donna Pari Ph: 877 8823 Piopiobirdtalk@gmail.com Co-Editor - Accounts Yvette Ronaldson Ph: 8777805 yvetteronaldson@gmail.com