The Nelson Mail back issues from August 1998:
Private land
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Property owners of New Zealand and in particular propertyowners of Nelson should be concerned about the conduct and attitudeof the MP for Nelson as reported in ``Delaware Bay access issuesfrustrating'' (Nelson Mail, July 27). It seems to me the Nelson MP has scant regard for ...
Reeling
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, One day 3.5 million Kiwis have shares in Auckland airport,the next day 68,000. This is democracy 1990s style. The haves haveit, the have-nots don't. And while I was still reeling from this blow, another this timebelow the belt from Boston University School of Medicine saying ...
Relentless
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, M. Wallace (Mailbox, July 27) completely misses my pointwhich, believe me, is very hard to make in 200 words or less. To recap: capitalist competitiveness has moved through its birth,growth and maturity stages and is now in its decline. As in all competitions, losers are ...
TDC's publicity
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, The Tasman District Council Newsline Update (Nelson Mail,July 11) takes almost half a page to show by way of self-praise, justhow great the TDC is. Let's take two or three council highlightsover the past 12 months, and point out what they didn't tell ...
Broadway Baby
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Congratulations. Broadway Baby was another fantastic show toadd to the already memorable ones. It was an excellent show.Spellbound is the word. There have been many exceptional shows, butthis one ``takes the cake'' for the 40th anniversary. The soloists,both male and female, were ...
Winter programme
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, On behalf of Sealord Group Ltd, Nelson City Council, SportsTasman, Nelson Community Arts Centre and the Children, Young Personsand Their Families Service, we would like to thank the followingcompanies for their support to hold the Winter School HolidayProgramme in July for five to ...
Road rules
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Could Cr Mike Ward please answer the following: When he travels on the road with his cart, does he obey the samerules as the other road users? If the answer is no, why not? If the answer is yes, could heplease explain why on Saturday, July 18, he travelled the wrong ...
Amalgamation
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Regarding the amalgamation of the Tasman District Council andNelson City Council, who in their right mind would want to join inwith Nelson, when it appears to be in so much ...
Phone problems
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Rod Dean called to account by the minister for thousands ofsubscribers in two main centres having their lifeline strangled(phones cut off). We, the Nelson Independent Thinkers' Society, suggest theconversation went like this: ``Now look here, Mr Dean, this is a disgrace ....
Be kind
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, The gold star award for letter of the month goes to Owen H.Taylor for highlighting some glaring editing faults (Mailbox, July18). One of my own letters I am sure cried out in agony while beingsavagely mutilated by the editor just recently. I could imagine himsinging ``click ...
Council contract
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Good one, Tui France (Nelson Mail, July 21). If the samepeople are doing the same job, how come we are going to get savings?It all comes back to the amount of accountability by our electedrepresentatives ...
Nelson water supply
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, In regard to the recent problems of Nelson's water qualityand availability, I recall about 20 years ago an idea was mooted totap water from the Nelson ...
Here we go again
Aug 01, 1998 ... With the October 10 local body elections looming, the Nelson Mailtoday presents its entirely subjective assessment of the Nelson andTasman councils' past three years, to help spark debate on keyissues. Also, Nelson humourist GEOFF RENNISON and Nelson Mailcartoonist DEAN RAYBOULD offer ...
Secret meeting
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, We read in your newspaper (July 24) that Mayor Kerry Marshallof the Tasman District Council has planned another secret meeting,with the public banned. What does he have to hide? The ratepayers of Tasman already know that the TDC has squanderedmillions of their hard-earned ...
Snap election
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, In your editorial (Nelson Mail, July 29) on the departure ofNeil Kirton you state ``the calling of a snap election would be ahuge risk for the coalition and much more importantly, would not begood for New Zealand''. You don't go on to justify this wild assertion. How can it be ...
Stereotypes
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, I concur with M. Wallace (Mailbox, July 27) that thestereotyping of Maori is erroneous and causes a lot of misconceptionsand harm. There is also erroneous stereotyping of the mainstreamEuropeans by Maori activists and politicians, who say that the plightof the economically and ...
Community funding
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, I am worried by the power Nick Smith is wielding overcommunity groups. While I concede his point that funds for theCommunity Funding Agency have been misused in the past, this alsosmacks of insufficient accountability by the agency when releasingthe money. Surely each application ...
Council praised
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Our eight-year residency in the Tasman district has beenenhanced by the quality of our elected council, mayor and staff. Ittherefore follows that we view our mayor's decision not to presenthimself for re-election with great regret. The recent editorial inthe Nelson Mail (July 13) ...
Aluminium in the water?
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Thank you Seddon Marshall for voicing strong opposition tothe possible addition of an aluminium-based coagulant to Nelson'sdrinking water (Nelson Mail, July 15). Environmental engineer Andrew Watson's claim that there is noconclusive evidence that aluminium directly causes ...
Delaware Bay
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Two generations of Hollymans have meticulously preserved thespirit of Delaware Bay, this sacred and historic spot. At their ownexpense of energy and finance, the family and other residentsmaintain the private road, which they own, and the family provideskeys to the gate to the ...
Luxton should not be written off -- Jennings
Aug 01, 1998 ... Sir, Commerce Minister John Luxton has come in for heavy criticismover his stance on producer boards. Those like R. Wagner (Mailbox,July 17), who wrote him off an ideologue with little practicalknowledge should reflect on the fact that he is a successful farmerand was chairman of the ...
Heim, heim on the range
Aug 01, 1998 ... The changing or reinventing of a name is often the last act of thedesperate, but as Hyacinth Bucket and some other individuals closerto home have learned, it doesn't always produce satisfactory results.Indeed, it often carries a taint of pretension that leads towhispering, suppressed ...
Supervision for assault
Aug 01, 1998 ... A 27-year-old Motueka man tried to kick his ex-partner in the headwhile stressed about their relationship, the Nelson District Courtheard yesterday. John Benjiman Israel Corbett appeared for sentencing before JudgeJohn Walker having previously admitted a charge of assaulting ...
Councillors to keep hands off
Aug 01, 1998 ... Tasman district councillors were yesterday urged to keep theirhands off the day-to-day running of council operations and insteadfocus on setting policies and a vision for the council. Consultant Graeme Nahkies said if councillors mastered the art ofpolicy-setting the council should ...
NCC to appeal water consent; Roding decision could put pressure on council
Aug 01, 1998 ... The Nelson City Council is appealing a resource consent which willimpose new controls on its use of the Roding River for the city'swater supply. The council is in the unusual situation of technically appealingagainst itself over its future use of the river, though the decisionwas ...
Jandals a priority for Knox's first Nelson gig
Aug 01, 1998 ... It may have taken alternative rock musician Chris Knox 20 years tofinally play a gig in Nelson, but locals can be sure he took away alasting reminder of his first solo performance here -- a nice newpair of jandals. As well as the reputation he has earned for his lengthy ...
Man cut from car after collision
Aug 01, 1998 ... Motueka firefighters had to cut a man out of a car this morningafter it collided with a parked vehicle. The accident happened shortly before 5am in High St, Motueka. Motueka Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Les Simpson saidthe car appeared to have collided with a ...
Snow falls at Rainbow
Aug 01, 1998 ... Rainbow skifield can finally consider opening after receiving 25cmof snow over the last two days. The field had a 15cm coverage up to last night and a further 5-10cm fell this morning, said Rainbow's guest services manager PeterClinton-Baker. More snow was forecast for ...
Ball partners given the `once-over'
Aug 01, 1998 ... Anybody accompanying Waimea College or Nelson College for Girlsstudents to their school ball must front up for inspection first aspart of efforts to make this year's school ball season a safe one. Nelson College for Girls is hosting its Snow Ball tonight andassistant principal ...
Forced landing a load of bull
Aug 01, 1998 ... A bull was killed in a paddock at Neudorf in October last yearwhen a topdressing pilot hit it with his plane during a forcedlanding. The unusual incident has just come to light in a Civil AviationAuthority newsletter on various minor aircraft occurrences which theauthority has ...
Maori ask council for liaison committee
Aug 01, 1998 ... The Tasman District Council has been asked to create a newmanagement position and committee to help it liaise with Maori. Five iwi -- Ngati Tama, Ngati Rarua, Ngati Kuia, Ngati Koata andTe Ati Awa -- have asked the council to appoint an iwi manager andiwi management ...
Crop shortfall hits British shoppers
Aug 01, 1998; ... When the New Zealand apple crop plummeted this year, it forcedBritish supermarkets to make up the shortfall from other countries --and miffed the largest of them all, Tesco. Tesco has more than 30 percent of the supermarket share in the UK,and is Enza's biggest buyer there, but ...
Council too optimistic over savings
Aug 01, 1998 ... A senior Nelson City Council manager has conceded that predictionsof $300,000 savings by contracting out environmental healthactivities are over-optimistic. The true level of savings the council expects to make by puttingthe work out to contract is unknown, but resource management ...
Drug-crazed attacker sentenced
Aug 01, 1998 ... A Wakefield man who smashed his way into a house with a pickaxeand assaulted a man would not have remembered if someone had beenkilled because of the combination of substances he had taken, a judgesaid yesterday. Scott John Blackmore, 23, sickness beneficiary, appeared in ...
HAVE YOUR SAY
Aug 01, 1998 ... It's election time for Nelson City and Tasman District Councilsand that means it's your chance to have a say about the issuesbugging you. The Nelson Mail invites readers to rate the two top issuescandidates should be addressing -- that way you get to tell thefuture councils what ...
Our man ousts the Griffin
Aug 01, 1998 ... The Griffin, the long-serving mascot of the Nelson Bays rugbyteam, was given the bullet last night by a cocky Lord Nelson . In his his last appearance, he was left for dead meat after beingshot at high speed out of a canon at Trafalgar Park, leaving the wayclear for his ...
Patient move cost alarms local residents
Aug 01, 1998 ... Neighbours of a coastal highway property being bought to resettlesix Ngawhatu residents believe the spending of almost $500,000 for itis unjustified. The property purchase is part of the planned closure and sale ofNgawhatu Hospital, and Nelson-Marlborough Health Services has said ...
Suffering in silence
Aug 03, 1998; ... Some doctors recognise the chronic relapsing condition `myalgicencephalomyelitis (ME) as genuine while cynical others attribute itssymptoms to a person's mind. Nelson doctor and ME sufferer Ken Jollyhas no doubts and recently spoke frankly to reporter DEIDRE ...
Rainbow finally opens
Aug 03, 1998 ... The Rainbow Ski Area finally opened this morning after coldweather brought another 20cm of snow to the mountains around StArnaud. The skifield's director of marketing, John Cooper, said theweekend's snowfall was on top of 25cm which fell late last week. The chairlift, novice ...
Health petition
Aug 03, 1998 ... Sir, I see on the front page of the Nelson Mail (Saturday, July25) that Mr Woollaston has abandoned his petition on health spending. As one would expect from a socialist, he blames the failure to getthe required signatures on a variety of reasons, none of which hesays were his ...
Cannabis, schizophrenia
Aug 03, 1998 ... Sir, In an article published in the Nelson Mail on July 30, DrJohn Marks, who heads Capital Coast Health's drug and alcohol unit,and who is a member of the Drug Policy Forum Trust, was credited withsaying that cannabis use could aggravate the condition of some peoplewith schizophrenia -- ...
New theatre
Aug 03, 1998 ... Sir, The statement by Mayor Philip Woollaston (Nelson Mail, July29) indicating that a new theatre for Nelson could be paid for out ofexisting assets deserves comment. With $114 million required in the10-year plan for improving essential services and capital works, anyassets sold off ...
Tarakohe boat ramp
Aug 03, 1998 ... Sir, Takaka boatie Steve Webster (Nelson Mail, July 30) still hashis city attitudes and expectations. Here in Golden Bay there ismuch achieved by volunteer groups rolling up their sleeves and justdoing it. The Tarakohe ramp and pontoon are prime examples. The Pohara Beach Boat Club ...
Purely wrong
Aug 03, 1998 ... Sir, Last Saturday night (July 25) I ventured into the city tosample a few iced-water cocktails (serious, pure healthy water). Thefirst publican I encountered couldn't fill the glass quickly enoughwhile breathing a sigh of relief, though I didn't like the way acertain patron asked me if ...
Good service
Aug 03, 1998 ... Sir, We purchased an inbuilt gas log fire from Mitre 10, theretail agents for the manufacturers. From the time it was installed,we had unsatisfactory performance. Mitre 10 had its expert inspectand attempt to seek a remedy. Finally, it was decided the unit wouldnot work. The ...
Bishopdale
Aug 03, 1998 ... Sir, A recent public meeting in the Nelson School of Music heardthe substance of much research into the past of Bishopdale. The mainpoint to emerge was that, by virtue of the trusts by which it becamethe permanent residence of the bishop of Nelson, the property legallycannot be ...
Park foreshore
Aug 03, 1998 ... Sir, The Department of Conservation is in the throes of acquiringthe foreshore of the Abel Tasman National Park. The public has untilOctober to comment. Under current Tasman District Council control,the public has unrestricted access by boat to the coastline and mayeven exercise dogs in ...
Let's have more balloons and more fun
Aug 03, 1998 ... Sir, What a classic piece of Nelsoniana -- Ms Campbell's plea intonight's Mailbox (July 29) that balloons not be released incelebrations because ``5-10 percent do not burst in the air'', andsome of these may float out to sea to ``pose a threat to marinelife''! I like the image of free ...
A visitor with a touch of Xena
Aug 03, 1998 ... American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has done more forrelations with New Zealand during her brief stop here at the weekendthan any other visitor from her country for decades. She showedgenuine warmth for New Zealand, but warmth on its own is not enough.After all, Presidents ...
Policeman moving up
Aug 03, 1998 ... Eight years ago Arthur Clarence was Golden Bay's sole policeman.Last week he went from constable to sergeant and, with the job of afourth officer having just been advertised, he will soon be in chargeof a four-person station. The appointment of a sergeant for the Takaka station has ...
Tsunami havoc shocks doctor
Aug 03, 1998 ... Mapua doctor John Mills says he will carry with him lastingmemories of the shock of seeing the destruction of seaside villagesthat Papua New Guinea's tidal waves caused, and the warmth andgratitude of the people he has treated, Dr Mills and his wife, Charmaine Gaskill-Mills, who is ...
Flood-stricken Chinese sister city needs aid
Aug 03, 1998; ... Nelson people are being asked to come to the aid of their Chinesesister city, Huangshi, after devastating flooding there. The local branch of the New Zealand-China Friendship Society andthe Nelson City Council have launched an appeal to help with themassive relief effort needed in ...
Tourist has passport, cash stolen
Aug 03, 1998 ... A Japanese tourist is without her passport today after it and $300cash was stolen from a caravan parked at a Nelson backpackers' hostelyesterday evening. Senior Sergeant Selwyn Law of Nelson police said today the thiefpossibly reached in through an open window to grab the ...
Man lucky to escape burning campervan
Aug 03, 1998 ... A man narrowly escaped serious injury or death when he awoke tofind his campervan ablaze in Nelson early yesterday morning. The van, parked in the RSA carpark in Rutherford St, caught fireabout 3am after a bulkhead light left on near the sleepingcompartment overheated and ignited ...
Battle of the bands commences
Aug 03, 1998 ... Budding rock stars from Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast puttheir musical skills on display at the Nelson Community Arts Centreyesterday, as the battle for this year's Smokefree Rockquestcommenced. About 20 bands turned up for the regional heat, and 15 qualifiedto play at ...
Spray painting safety fails to measure up
Aug 03, 1998; ... A spray-painting audit by Occupational Safety and Health in theNelson and Marlborough regions has revealed that fewer than half thebusinesses checked fully complied with the appropriate regulations. Occupational Health Nurse Annette Baxter said the result of therecent audit was ...
Line dancers seek 2000 venue
Aug 03, 1998 ... Nelson is a favourite international line dancing destination andneeds a venue to support it, says a local enthusiast. Line dancing instructor and choreographer Dian Amberger has beenapproached by Australian line dancing clubs to research thepossibility of staging ``the celebration ...
No flies on these brass bands
Aug 03, 1998; ... Nelson city streets rang to the bold sounds of brass bands fromNelson, Marlborough and the West Coast on Saturday. The West Coast Brass Bands Association held its regional contestduring the weekend, beginning with a street march by five bands --the Fifeshire Classic Nelson City ...
Development plan gets backing, but no cash
Aug 03, 1998; ... A Commerce Nelson proposal aimed at developing a strategy for theNelson region's economic development has received general support butno firm commitment from the Tasman District Council. On Thursday the council's corporate services committee referredthe proposal to council staff ...
Mask parade to lead arts festival
Aug 03, 1998; ... Hardly an art beat will be missed before winter festivities giveway to spring and all it promises in the 1998 Nelson Arts Festival. The programme launched last week by Nelson City Council festivalcoordinator Annabel Norman features a broad selection of artists andperformers ...
Truck driver blocks police van escapers
Aug 03, 1998; ... A truck driver thwarted an escape attempt by six dangerous Nelsonprisoners yesterday by backing his refrigerated truck against theback of a police van. The van containing the prisoners was passing through Oaro south ofKaikoura about noon yesterday, taking seven prisoners, six male ...
Appeal door opens for German overstayers
Aug 03, 1998; ... Two doors have opened for German overstayers Guenther and PetraSchier of Maruia to appeal to stay in New Zealand. But the couple, who run Reid's Store in Maruia, are not raisingtheir hopes after four years of fighting to be allowed to stay. Their Nelson lawyer, Steven Zindel, ...
Staff layoffs follow energy firm selloff
Aug 03, 1998; ... Tasman Electrical Ltd is laying off 14 of its 58 staff followingthe sale of 60 percent of the company to North Canterbury electricitysupplier Mainpower. Tasman Energy sold the majority shareholding of Tasman Electrical,its electrical contracting subsidiary, three months ...
Big day in NZ rugby history
Aug 03, 1998; ... Things may be All Black in other parts of the country as far asrugby is concerned -- but not in Nelson. A public memorial to the founding father of rugby in New Zealandwas finally unveiled in Nelson yesterday and the organisers of theoccasion don't plan stopping there. Now ...
Musical mix a winner
Aug 04, 1998 ... Still going strong, Exponents frontman Jordan Luck belts outanother song in a career lasting more than 15 years. While the Exponents are regular visitors to this part of thecountry, last night's gig in Nelson took a different turn with theinclusion of Auckland singer, songwriter ...