Jenny Bartlett wants to know how they will rehome 2900 plus greyhounds. Photo: Jesse Wood
Scheme plan for school
Increases to the student roll at Ōtorohanga Primary School has seen the Ministry of Education consult stakeholders to find a suitable enrolment scheme for the school.
Director of Education for Waikato Marcus Freke said the roll increase had largely resulted from the opening of its Rūmaki pathway, where teaching and learning take place primarily in te reo Māori.
The Ministry of Education is collating and reviewing feedback from the consultation process and will confirm the final enrolment scheme in the coming weeks.
Report complete
Attorney-General Chris Bishop said this week the results of an inquiry into the how public agencies responded to the disappearance of Marokopa man Tom Phillips, and his three children, have been delivered to the government and should be released by mid-August. Phillips and the children spent three years in the bush, before he died in a shootout with police last September.
Speed limits
Making 80 the new 50. Photo by Igor Miličević: https://www.pexels.com/photo/red-and-white-speed-limit-road-sign-10481428/
The New Zealand Transport Agency is proposing a series of speed limit changes through the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. Included on the list is cutting the limit from 100 to 50kph on a section of SH30 at the entrance to Te Kūiti south from 100km/h to 50km/h, permanently reducing the limit from 70 to 50kph in part of Pirongia, and removing the Piarere intersection speed zone.
Petition on track
Karen Barrett has started a petition to promote the merging of the Ōtorohanga and Waitomo district councils and stand against a potential Waikato super city.
A petition calling for a combined Ōtorohanga-Waitomo council in preference to a Waikato wide one has hit its target.
The News reported last week that Karen Barrett, wife of Waitomo mayor John Robertson, was the driving force behind the petition which had been backed by 390 people.
Barrett told The News this week “we’ve managed to get well over 500 signatures so far, a total that is increasing daily”.
The Government has set a deadline for submissions from councils under a Head Start programme, having decided to restructure local body political boundaries and remove the regional council layer.
Barrett will send the petition to both ministers Simon Watts and Chris Bishop and Taranaki-King Country MP Barbara Kuriger around the time the Head Start applications are due on August 9.
As this edition went to press the online petition had been signed by almost 700 people.
See: From apples to pairs
Last race
Greyhound racing in New Zealand will be banned from the end of July – and Cambridge Raceway will host the dogs for one last time next Thursday. The track is one of just six in the country which still hosts greyhound meetings. Waipā-based greyhound advocate Jenny Bartlett said their priority now is ensuring every dog has the opportunity for a happy life beyond racing. Great Mates in Cambridge and Te Kūiti are among the rehoming agencies involved across the region.
Deer oh deer
The Government is designating New Zealand’s 25,000 strong Sika deer population in the Kaimanawa and Kaweka Forest Parks as the North Island’s first Herd of Special Interest. Sika deer, prized for their meat, were introduced to New Zealand in 1905 and the country has the only established wild herd in the Southern Hemisphere.
Gulf report
Waikato Regional Council says a new report reinforces the need for action across land, freshwater and coastal environments to restore the health of the Hauraki Gulf. The State of the Gulf 2026 report says decades of sediment, nutrient and contaminant inputs, habitat loss, biodiversity decline and climate change continue to place significant pressure on its ecosystems.
Guides celebrate
Te Awamutu Girl Guides will celebrate 100 years of community service, learning and fellowship next week.
Scam charges
Fending off the scammers
Police say a woman facing seven charges of scamming people out of an estimated $100,000 over a two month period on the social media Marketplace site has been remanded on bail after appearing in court in Hamilton. The 26-year-old was arrested after a police investigation into online scams Detective Sergeant Logan Oliver said. She is due back in court at the end of the month.
