Selwyn Times: May 17, 2016

SELWYN TIMES Tuesday May 17 2016 7
NEWS
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Award haul for athlete
Storms stretch
council budget
FRASER WALKER-PEARCE
Selwyn runner Rosa Flanagan
has her sights set on next year’s
world championships in London
after taking out three awards at
the regional athletics evening.
Flanagan, 20, was awarded the
junior athlete of the year, distance
athlete of the year, and junior
out-of-stadia athlete of the
year at the Athletics Canterbury
awards evening on Friday.
She said the awards were a
huge step for her development.
“It was good, I was really very
happy . . . I think I’m probably
most proud of the junior athlete
of the year award,” she said.
The awards came after a “year
of ups and downs” for Flanagan.
In February, Rosa and her father
Chris Flanagan made front
page news after they caught an
intruder in their garage. The alleged
intruder, Luke Alexander
Reich, has been charged with
more than 40 burglaries across
Selwyn.
Mr Flanagan rugby tackled
the man to the ground, and Rosa
helped him hold the man down,
while Rosa’s mother Juliet
called the police.
Rosa’s year was highlighted
by competing at the senior world
AWARDS FOR PROGRESS: Rosa Flanagan, 20, received three regional athletics awards for her progress in
long-distance running this year.
track and field championships as
a junior competitor.
She also broke steeplechase
records, and set a national under
20 record in the 5000m race.
However, she is now injured,
and is in recovery for the next
three weeks. She said this may
stop her from qualifying for the
Olympics.
“I’m currently injured at the
moment, and hope to get back
running in about thee weeks
. . . I was hoping to qualify
for the Olympics this year, but
(stuff) happens and now I can
look forward to next year’s
world champs,” she said.
Flanagan’s coach, Maria Hassan,
won coach of the year at the
awards evening, which Flanagan
said is a “deserved” reward.
“I couldn’t be at the awards,
but Maria picked up the awards
for me . . . she got coach of the
year, and she definitely deserves
that. She has so many athletes on
her hands – I don’t know exactly
how many, but there are loads,”
she said.
The district council has nearly
spent double their yearly budget
on tree maintenance due to storms
and growth in townships.
Areas have been hit by strong
winds and snow, leaving trees
damaged and in need of cleaning
up, adding to the cost of general
maintenance.
The full budget for tree maintenance
is $57,000 a year but $104,000
has already been spent on trees in reserves
and on council land.
District council parks and reserves
contracts manager Cameron
Warr said the full budget would
have been sufficient if not for the
bad weather damaging the trees,
growth in the area has also contributed
to the rise in spending.
Three townships have been
identified as the main contributors
to the over spending – Prebbleton
$14,000, Lincoln $37,000, and
West Melton $53,000.
Mr Warr said the spending
is higher in these areas due to
growth and because there are
more reserves in these areas.
The district council also attribute
the cost to contract rate negotiated
being higher than originally
expected and the amount
and standard of maintenance being
higher than anticipated in the
long term plan.
Don’t miss your opportunity to show
Selwyn how Sensational you are!
Nominations are open in the following categories:
Lincoln Event Centre
Saturday 30 July 2016
• Agri-Business
• Arts & Culture
• Community Service
• Environmental
• Large Business
• Small Business
• Sport
• Tourism
• Young Achiever
Please note nominations are open until Friday 17 June
All nominees will be offered one free ticket to the awards gala dinner at the
Lincoln Event Centre, Saturday 30 July 2016.
Nomination and award process
• The nominee must give their
permission to be nominated by
signing the form or by expressing their
permission via email/attached letter.
• Once nominations have been
received, the nominee will receive a
letter of acknowledgment and details
of how to redeem the free gala dinner
ticket.
• 2014 Award winners are not eligible
to enter the same category in 2016.
• You can be nominated for more than
one category, however they must be
on separate nomination forms.
• Finalists and the winner for each
category will be decided upon by
judges and announced at the award
gala dinner at the Lincoln Event
Centre on the 30th July 2016.
Visit selwyn.govt.nz/awards or you local Selwyn
library/service centre for nomination forms.
The Awards are a community run event so rely on the
generosity and support of sponsors. There is a variety of
options available so show your support for the Selwyn
District and contact selwynawards@cirrusinternational.com
For more information visit www.selwyn.govt.nz/awards
Nominations are open!
Don’t miss this opportunity to show Selwyn how sensational you are
Visit selwynawards.govt.nz/awards for more information
Application forms available online or from Selwyn library/service centres
AGRI-BUSINESS ARTS AND CULTURE COMMUNITY SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL LARGE BUSINESS SMALL BUSINESS SPORT TOURISM YOUNG ACHIEVER
Rolleston