New infrastructure being installed in Duke Street as part of the project to move overhead power lines underground along State Highway 3, helping improve network reliability and reduce future disruptions caused by oversized load movements.
Pole position
Installing a new pole for overhead to underground project, Te Kuiti
New infrastructure is being installed in Te Kūiti’s Duke Street as part of a Lines Company project to move overhead power lines on SH3 underground. The result will be improved network reliability and fewer disruptions caused by oversized load movements.
A weaver of dreams
Tama at the Te Kuiti office
Tama Blackburn sees himself as a weaver, bringing together strands of passion and care for the Pureora Forest Park and surrounding areas, to produce something everyone is proud of.
Blackburn, 41, is the Conservation Department’s Project Co-Lead for Pureora, a relatively new role in the Maniapoto team.
He is focused on developing a long-term vision and plan for the forest.
“The attraction of this role was the enormity and complexity of it,” Blackburn says. “It’s not just the Pureora Forest Park, it’s the surrounding areas too.”
He is in close contact with staff from Horizons Regional Council, Waikato Regional Council and Waikato River Authority, Te Awa Tupua, and representatives from Te Nehenehenui, Raukawa, Te Kōtahitanga o Ngāti Tūwharetoa, and Ngāti Hāua.
He is also working alongside project co-lead Kiri Diamond (Tuwharetoa), and Doc treaty partners who connect to Pureora.
“The aspiration for the project is for our treaty partners and communities to lead how we manage and protect Pureora to bring it all together.”
Tama says it’s been a steep learning curve as he develops knowledge and understanding of what people and organisations see for the future of Pureora.
“When people ask me, ‘what is your job?’, I sum it up as ‘I am the weaver of your dreams.
The role marks his second stint with DOC. He previously worked as a ranger in the Taranaki team, assigned to the Taranaki Maunga Project.
With his Te Nehenehenui affiliations, the position represents a homecoming. His broader whakapapa encompasses Ngāti Maniapoto, Kinohaku, Uekaha, and Pākeha.
Ka pai
Piopio’s Village Bakery is the home of a gold medal winning pie. Tour Khin’s creamy paua and cheese pie won the gourmet meat section of the Bakels Supreme Pie Awards announced this week.
Final fling
Tahāroa Steelers will feature in two Waikato rugby league finals this weekend at Huntly’s Davies Park. The Senior A final features the Steelers against the Hauraki Tigers on Saturday and the following day the Steelers take on Taniwharau in the women’s premier final.
In the ring
Te Awamutu boxer Floyd Masson will face Hamilton’s David Nyika in Auckland on Saturday. The Queensland based pair will square up for a mandatory shot at the vacant IBF cruiserweight title.
Powerful tips
Heartland Services will host free Home Energy workshops in Te Kūiti later this month to help residents better understand their power bills and reduce household energy costs. The one-hour sessions on August 18 and 19 presented by The Lines Company will discuss keeping homes warmer, reducing heat loss, ventilation, hot water lighting savings, appliance running costs and choosing the best power plan.
Seven stand
Seven candidates are chasing three seats on the Waitomo Energy Services Customer Trust. They are Shane Carr, Cathy Prendergast, Andy Connors, Maria Ralph, Shelley Mitchell and sitting trustee Yvette Ronaldson. Sitting trustees Janette Osborne and chair William Oliver are not seeking re-election. The online and postal vote will include a poll to determine the future of the shares now held by the Trust.
Powered up
A new electric vehicle presented last week will help the Tūrangi Foodbank team continue delivering support to families across the wider Tūrangi area, thanks to a partnership between The Lines Company and Genesis.
