The Press back issues from February 2001:
9% drop in burglary rate Community groups lauded
Feb 01, 2001; ... Targeting career criminals and teen offenders has allowed policeto cut Canterbury's burglary rate by 9 per cent. Provisional figures released yesterday by Canterbury policedistrict commander Superintendent John Reilly show that the numberof home burglaries in the region dropped 9 ...
Principals happy to play ball on sport plan
Feb 01, 2001; ... The Principals' Federation has welcomed a report on sport,fitness, and leisure which puts greater onus on the education systemto boost New Zealanders' health. The principals' stance flies in the face of Christchurch schoolswho say they are sick of being the dumping ground for ...
Harness helped save pilot
Feb 01, 2001; ... A Blenheim topdressing pilot, who had to swim ashore after anemergency ditching in the Marlborough Sounds, says he is thankful hewas wearing a full safety harness. Jet Bishop was trying to force-land a disabled Patchett Ag AirGA200 top-dressing plane on the beach at Titirangi on ...
Quake brings prayers and call for cash
Feb 01, 2001; ... Christchurch's Indian community will pray for the victims andsurvivors of the Gujarat earthquake. The community will hold a memorial service this weekend to prayfor family, friends, and strangers caught in the biggest earthquaketo strike India in 50 years. Most of ...
NZ work sparks Qantas row
Feb 01, 2001 ... SYDNEY -- Qantas maintenance employees are holding stop-workmeetings because the airline is considering moving some work to NewZealand. Qantas is looking at transferring heavy maintenance on its 36Boeing 767s to either Auckland, Brisbane, or Melbourne because oflack of space at ...
Te Anau businesses to fight gondola plan
Feb 01, 2001; ... Opponents of a proposed $80 million road and gondola link betweenQueenstown and Milford are stepping up their battle against theproposal. Te Anau business people have formed a Stop the Gondola group tofight the project, which if successful would divert traffic from thetourism- ...
Bill may await bogus hunter
Feb 01, 2001 ... WELLINGTON -- Police want to send a $600 bill to a man theybelieve wrote a bogus entry in a back country hut log, sparkingfears a hunter was missing. Murupara police Sergeant John Wilson said the alarm was raised onTuesday by hunters at Skips Hut in the Whirinaki Forest Park, ...
Real estate row triggers police probe
Feb 01, 2001; ... Christchurch police are investigating allegations of fraud,perjury, and breaches of the Real Estate Agents Act against a cityagent. Ronol Developments, a property management company, alleges that aChristchurch real estate agent acted for both buyer and seller whileselling a ...
Brownlee: man in a hurry
Feb 01, 2001; ... The rise and rise of Gerry Brownlee shows no bounds. Promoted yesterday to National's front bench, Mr Brownlee alreadyhas his eye on the party's deputy leadership. Some say his ultimate ambition is to become prime minister. At the rate he is going, who knows? ...
Longevity due to hard work
Feb 01, 2001; ... Ida Chambers, who turns 100 today, hates to be idle. She knits or reads, buzzes up to the Rangiora library on hermotorised scooter to change her library books, and on Sundaysentertains other residents at Holmwood in Rangiora with some livelypiano playing. This bright ...
TranzAlpine train back after bridge fire
Feb 01, 2001 ... The TranzAlpine rail service between Christchurch and Greymouthresumes today after a four-day hiatus caused by a rail bridge firein the Craigieburn Range. Passengers had been transported by bussince Saturday after fire badly damaged the Avoca rail viaduct, nearBroken River ....
Nelson police probe vehicle break-ins
Feb 01, 2001 ... Nelson police are investigating a spate of vehicle break-inswhich have plagued the city and the wider region for more than aweek. Yesterday, a police spokesman said 38 cars had been interferedwith since January 22. The offences had ...
4WD fans can visit landfill area
Feb 01, 2001 ... Four-wheel-drive enthusiasts will be able to climb Mount Cass andvisit Kate Valley, the site of the proposed regional landfill,during a rally next month. The Lions Club of Amberley district isrunning the 26-kilometre rally, which starts at Mount Cass road,near its junction with ...
Buskers hit right note
Feb 01, 2001 ... NELSON -- If broad smiles and tears in the eyes are anything togo by, then Nelson's busking season has got off to a great start. Yesterday, inner-city streets erupted with howls of laughter whendance floor outlaws Barry and Yvonne went through their zanyroutine, demonstrating such ...
Anglers told of fish threat
Feb 01, 2001; ... Fishing in the Rangitata River will be devastated unless it isprotected from increased irrigation, a Christchurch meeting has beentold. About 130 people attended the meeting on Tuesday night organisedby the Instream Users Group. They heard that the future of the river ...
Interest brings Coast trust account to $95m
Feb 01, 2001; ... At least $95 million will be handed to the proposed West CoastDevelopment Trust as soon as trustees are confirmed in April. An interim trust banked the original $92m forestry compensationpackage from the Government in mid-September. It has since been quietly building interest ...
Top-selling writer guest speaker
Feb 01, 2001 ... GREYMOUTH -- Gordon Dryden, co-author of one of the world's top-selling books, will be guest of honour at a reunion for his almamater in Greymouth next month. Mr Dryden attended Grey Main School for three years in the early1940s and returned to Greymouth in 1951 as a journalist ...
MP takes stand on stevedores
Feb 01, 2001; ... The argument of South Island waterfront workers that local jobsshould be retained for local people is as shallow as a birdbath,Nelson MP Nick Smith says. Outlining reasons for his opposition to the Port of Nelsonstevedoring pickets Dr Smith said he had met with all ...
Apprenticeship scheme powers up
Feb 01, 2001; ... Two West Coasters have been signed up as the first of a new breedof apprentices in the South Island electricity supply industry. As modern apprentices, 17-year-old school leavers JonathonWilson, of Greymouth, and Kelly Davidson, of Hokitika, will do threeyears training on the job ...
Street name decision pleases family
Feb 01, 2001 ... A quiet campaign to correct the spelling of Pankhurst Drive inWoodend should soon end for descendants of the colourful publicanthe street is named after. According to West Melton man Ron Panckhurst, the drive was namedafter his great-great- grandfather, Edwin Edward (Ned) ...
$400,000 for oaks star's half-sister
Feb 01, 2001 ... AUCKLAND -- Last year retired Melbourne businessman Peter Whitecame to the Karaka sales, in South Auckland, to buy fillies, andwent home with colts by Zabeel, Octagonal, and Danehill. He was not going to miss a filly this year and paid $400,000yesterday for the Zabeel half-sister ...
Dismal night in Napier; SCOREBOARD
Feb 01, 2001; ... New Zealand's one-day cricket stocks slumped further with apitiful performance from its batsmen, who tumbled to a dreadful 61-run loss to Sri Lanka at McLean Park in Napier. Seeking an attainable 214 to win the opening match of the five-game National Bank series, an inept Black ...
Brassy Brits trumpet success on tour
Feb 01, 2001; ... The British band immortalised in the popular movie Brassed Off isnow trumpeting its success worldwide. In Christchurch for a one-off concert, the Grimethorpe CollieryBand is performing to sell-out audiences around the globe. The band was formed in 1917 by workmen at the ...
Ex-bankrupt buys arcade
Feb 01, 2001; ... Former bankrupt and crusader against the Inland RevenueDepartment David Henderson has bought the Chancery Arcade inChristchurch in a multimillion-dollar deal. Announcing the sale yesterday, Real Estate firm Colliers Jardinesaid Mr Henderson had ambitious plans to redevelop the ...
Porridge and chips to go, please
Feb 01, 2001; ... Christchurch Prison inmates ordered in fish and chips last Sundaybecause they missed out on their special Christmas barbecue. The Corrections Department said yesterday that one inmate winghad put money aside for the barbecue but its numbers fell overChristmas so the special meal ...
Strategy brings 9% drop in burglary rate
Feb 01, 2001; ... Targeting career criminals and teen offenders has allowed policeto cut Canterbury's burglary rate by 9 per cent. Provisional figures released yesterday by Canterbury policedistrict commander Superintendent John Reilly show that the numberof home burglaries in the region dropped 9 ...
DIARY
Feb 01, 2001; ... Beyond help AFTER A telephone call to a patient, a Mid-Canterbury healthprofessional set off to make a follow-up visit. Knocking on thedoor, he identified himself and cheerfully told the woman that hehad been speaking to her husband that morning. "That's amazing," shesaid. "He's ...
Two die in highway crash
Feb 01, 2001 ... Fire and police officers surround the wreckage of a car in whichtwo people died yesterday at Dromore corner on State Highway 1,north of Ashburton. They were identified last night as MervynHackett, 65, and Ailsa Hackett, 63, both from Invercargill. SeniorSergeant Arnold Kelly, of the ...
Te Anau businesses to fight gondola plan
Feb 01, 2001; ... Opponents of a proposed $80 million road and gondola link betweenQueenstown and Milford are stepping up their battle against theproposal. Te Anau business people have formed a Stop the Gondola group tofight the project, which if successful would divert traffic from thetourism- ...
$600 bill may await 'missing' prankster
Feb 01, 2001 ... WELLINGTON -- Police want to send a $600 bill to a man theybelieve wrote a bogus entry in a back country hut log, sparkingfears a hunter was missing. Murupara police Sergeant John Wilson said the alarm was raised onTuesday by hunters at Skips Hut in the Whirinaki Forest Park, ...
Principals welcome sport plan
Feb 01, 2001; ... The Principals' Federation has welcomed a report on sport,fitness, and leisure which puts greater onus on the education systemto boost New Zealanders' health. The principals' stance flies in the face of Christchurch schoolswho say they are sick of being the dumping ground for ...
WHAT THEY SAY
Feb 01, 2001 ... Only one-quarter of New Zealanders take part in at least oneorganised sport or physical activity competition over a year, andone in ...
Full safety harness helped to save pilot
Feb 01, 2001; ... A Blenheim topdressing pilot, who had to swim ashore after anemergency ditching in the Marlborough Sounds, says he is thankful hewas wearing a full safety harness. Jet Bishop was trying to force- land a disabled Patchett Ag AirGA200 top-dressing plane on the beach at Titirangi on ...
Quake relief fund, service
Feb 01, 2001 ... Christchurch's Indian community will pray for the victims andsurvivors of the Gujarat earthquake. The community will hold a memorial service this weekend to prayfor family, friends, and strangers caught in the biggest earthquaketo strike India in 50 years. Most of ...
Jiggernaut put through its paces
Feb 01, 2001 ... Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is a Britten Jiggernaut whichKieran Kortegast, obscured left, Karen Sangster, Stuart Johnston,obscured right, and Luke Hollister get up to speed in a test run atFerrymead. Jiggernaut races, using a Britten-engineered hand-cranked cart, will become a ...
Toddler named
Feb 01, 2001 ... A toddler killed when a truck reversed over him in a Flaxmeredriveway has been named as Ngatokoa Carl Fameitau. He was 16 monthsold. Hastings police senior sergeant Greg ...
Resort planned
Feb 01, 2001 ... Nelson-based Wakatu Incorporation plans to build a $10 million160-room beachfront resort on its 15ha Marahau site at the gatewayto the Abel Tasman National Park. Maori-owned Wakatu hoped to startconstruction this year and complete ...
Youth skills
Feb 01, 2001 ... A Rakaia mechanic will compete at the World Skills competition inKorea. Scott Baker, of Rakaia Automotive, was ...
Blood needed
Feb 01, 2001 ... The New Zealand Blood Service is short of blood types A-positiveand O-negative. Donations can be made at the service's RiccartonRoad ...
Gambling growth set to continue
Feb 01, 2001; ... There are no plans to stem the growth of New Zealand's boominggambling industry despite concerns about a steady increase ingambling addiction, says Internal Affairs Minister George Hawkins. Internal Affairs released figures this week showing massiveincreases in gambling last year ....
Army wants $100m more in equipment
Feb 01, 2001 ... WELLINGTON -- The New Zealand Army wants up to $100 million ofequipment on top of the money already committed to new vehicles,army chief Major General Maurice Dodson says. He was commenting after Prime Minister Helen Clark signed onTuesday a $653m contract to buy 105 armoured ...
Talks fail to head off vets' strike
Feb 01, 2001; ... Mediation has failed to settle the Government's dispute withveterinarians who are planning a strike that could threaten NewZealand's $1.4 billion meat trade to Europe. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) group manageroperations Grant Burney said a meeting between the ...
Blakie accused in court briefly
Feb 01, 2001 ... Timothy David Taylor was in court for only a few seconds afterbeing charged with the murder of 20-year-old Lisa Anne Blakie. He was yesterday remanded in custody to February 14 by JudgeStephen Erber. His counsel, Pip Hall, appearing with Tony Garrett, made noapplications ...
Anger over handling of mayor's plan
Feb 01, 2001 ... INVERCARGILL -- A Queenstown Lakes District Council committee hasbeen accused of foul play after it dealt with a developmentapplication from Mayor Warren Cooper without public notification. Notice was given last Friday that Warren and Lorraine Cooper'sapplication to build a ...
Off the couch
Feb 01, 2001 ... Teachers have reacted angrily but predictably to the report ofthe sports task force. This report slates the education sector'sapproach to physical activity as grossly inadequate. That might beso. But the teachers are also right to question whether holdingchildren back in school for an ...
The joy of reading whole sentences
Feb 01, 2001; ... I t's a literacy thing, the tattooing business. I blame it on theeducation system. If it would only succeed in teaching everyone to read, peoplewouldn't need reminders of their identity etched into their skin.And if it had only taught kids to spell, they wouldn't have ...
In a few words
Feb 01, 2001 ... * There are calls to ban One4b because it "can cause dangerouslylow breathing rates, unconsciousness, vomiting, seizure, and death".In that case, when are beer, wine, and spirits, to be banned as theycan cause the same symptoms? Is it hypocritical to ban onerecreational drug when another ...
Waterfront dispute
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--I agree with Forbes Taylor (January 31) that it isregrettable that it is "necessary to waste police manpower andresources on an industrial dispute on the waterside". The reason it has become necessary is that some protesters areregularly taking the law into their own hands, ...
Party drugs
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--Your editorial (January 31) takes the line that the partydrugs of a younger generation, such as marijuana and One4b, shouldbe illegal but the party drugs of the older generations, such asalcohol and tobacco, should remain legal, despite your statementthat they provide very high ...
Cannabis laws
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--In response to D. Gooder, P. Walker, and R. Scott (January30), Laila Harre is not advocating the use of cannabis by children.In fact what she is trying to achieve is better prevention andmanagement of a problem by way of removing the stigma of thisreadily available drug ....
Libertarian Laila Harre
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--In your article (January 25) on Laila Harre and her views onmarijuana there was, aside from the more serious issues, a good oldlaugh to be had. Did anyone else spot it? In one of the last few paragraphs you report that Ms Harre is ...
Subdivision
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--Christchurch City Council planning team leader Mr VilVabulis' reply (January 22) to my letter questioning the council'sdecision to approve subdivision and non-complying building consentson floodland in Old Tai Tapu Road, is a masterpiece of glossover. Neither he nor the ...
Internet adoption
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--N. Bolland seems to be saying (January 27) that if we cannot remember something traumatic which has happened to us, then itwill not do us any harm. I know many adoptees who would vehemently disagree -- people whoas babies had their blood ties severed, and family ...
Salmon fishery
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--For as long as I can remember the indicator for the successor failure of our unique South Island east coast sea-run salmonfishery has been the number of returns of adult salmon to theGlenariffe stream, where salmon spawn. Five years ago, 8000 adult salmon returned to the ...
Rescue helicopter
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--Along with many other Christchurch people, we visited theFamily Fun Day at Wigram on January 20. My family and I tookparticular interest in the WestpacTrust rescue helicopter as my son,Simon, had been rescued by them last year. Last July Simon was the innocent victim of a ...
Water supply
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--There is no water crisis. Environment Canterbury mediareleases have repeatedly stressed there is no immediate risk of awater shortage. In The Press (January 24) the Christchurch CityCouncil publicly stated "neither council believes there is a watercrisis". This is a period ...
Slower drivers
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--D. Gordon (January 30) asks: "Has the law been changed tomake the open road speed limit under 80kmh?" This question in itself answers his point; the posted speed is anupper limit and not the speed that must be maintained on any sectionof road. Not every driver is ...
Canterbury anniversary
Feb 01, 2001 ... Sir--My wife and I have now returned home after our visit to yourwonderful city, where we joined in your 150th anniversarycelebrations, honoured the memory of my great-great-grandfather JohnRobert Godley, and maintained the link between the Godley family andthe people of Christchurch ...
Great contributor to Canterbury sports
Feb 01, 2001; ... I f there is a fairway in heaven, Jim Gregg's ideal walk down itwould be with a golf club and rugby ball in one hand and a bowl inthe other to deliver when he reached the green. Golf, rugby, and bowls were the sporting loves of Mr Gregg, whodied in Christchurch on January 18 aged ...
Centenarian
Feb 01, 2001 ... Gladys Murray, who died in Whangarei on January 25 about a weekafter celebrating her 103rd birthday, was one of Northland's oldestresidents. Riverview rest-home manageress Joanie Guy said when Mrs Murrayarrived there in 1998, she was 100, and amazed staff with her goodhealth and ...
Mountain Mule creator
Feb 01, 2001; ... Arthur Bevan Napper, who died in Wanaka on January 16, aged 83,was best known for inventing the Mountain Mule pack, used by ageneration of New Zealanders from his friend Sir Edmund Hillary onMount Everest to thousands of ordinary hunters, trampers, andclimbers. Mr Napper began ...
Distinguished scientist
Feb 01, 2001 ... Professor James Duncan, who died at Mahau Sound, Picton, onJanuary 25, aged 79, had a distinguished life as a scientist inthree countries. Born in Liverpool, England, in 1921, he attended OxfordUniversity, graduating in chemistry. He was involved in Britain'satomic research in ...
MP touched the lives of many
Feb 01, 2001 ... Dunedin's longest-serving member of Parliament, William Alex"Bill" Fraser, who died on January 13, aged 76, touched the lives ofmany people in his electorate. Humane principles were central to Mr Fraser's life, who was MPfor St Kilda from 1957 to 1981, and a Cabinet Minister in ...
Stalwart of NZ surf life-saving
Feb 01, 2001; ... The Taylors Mistake Surf Life Saving Club was a central part ofBarry Turpin's life from his school days until just before his deathon January 13. He was the club's treasurer, and passed on thefinancial records only 36 hours before his death. Four days before his death he visited ...
No decision on search for bodies, Pope says
Feb 01, 2001 ... No decision has been made about whether to search the MarlboroughSounds for the bodies of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, DetectiveInspector Rob Pope says. He was repudiating media reports yesterdaythat suggested navy dive teams were planning to launch a new searchof the Sounds for the ...