Selwyn Times: January 17,

FREE TUESday JaNUaRy 17 2017 379 7100 Selwyn Times Proudly locally owned and published by Star Media Award winning publishing group Kea (Nestor Notabilis) Come and see us for a full supply of fresh fruit and vegetables. OPEN 7 DAYS Phone 349 5952 Cnr Springs Rd & Marshs Rd, Prebbleton (next to Milanese Restaurant) Ladbrooks, Tai Tapu, Leeston, Lincoln, Southbridge, Prebbleton, Halswell, Rolleston, Templeton, Burnham, West Melton, Darfield, Arthurs Pass Mt Horrible fire thought to be work of arsonist DETERMINED: Darfield teenager Kylie Schnell, 17, isn’t letting diabetes stop her entering the Coast to Coast. ​ Teen’s tough Coast to Coast bid WHEN DARFIELD teenager Kylie Schnell lines up for the Coast to Coast she will be facing an even bigger challenge than the rest of the field in this tough event. The 17-year-old was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes three years ago and during the race she will need to regularly monitor her blood glucose levels to make sure they don’t spike too high or drop too low. Kylie is determined not to let the condition limit her active, adventurous lifestyle and she has entered the Kathmandu Coast to Coast to show other young people with diabetes that it shouldn’t hold them back. “I want to show them they can still compete in the big things, it’s not impossible, and it’s not stopping me from doing it,” she said. The Darfield High School student was one of two winners in the city council’s Kathmandu Coast to Coast free entry competition. She wrote a compelling argument about why the 243km Coast to Coast was on her bucket list and won the $595 two-day event entry fee for a high school student. Hearing she was a winner was fantastic, she said. •Turn to page 4 • By Tom Doudney A FIRE which burned through 100ha of hillside near Arthur’s Pass last week and four more fires on Saturday are suspected to be the work of an arsonist. Now firefighters are hoping they don’t strike again this weekend. Like the first fire, which broke out on Monday last week and took more than two days to put out, the latest fires were in the area of Mt Horrible. They were spotted by a passing train driver just after midnight. They ranged in size from 50m by 20m up to more than a hectare. Department of Conservation deputy rural fire officer Bruce James said a rural fire investigator had determined the fires had been deliberately lit, and arson was suspected. “There are a lot of tired firefighters and now some upset firefighters [that have had to] keep on going back there,” Mr James said. “It’s a huge burden on the taxpayer fighting these fires – lots of helicopters, lots of personnel, it’s quite expensive.” The first fire had cost in excess of $150,000 and while the bill hadn’t come in for the latest four yet, it would be in the tens of thousands. “We’re hoping he doesn’t strike this Friday night, Saturday morning,” Mr James said.