Nor'West News: July 17, 2018

4 Tuesday July 17 2018
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
McMaster & Heap
Veterinary practice
Another heAP Vet in the
fAmily….
Our son Connor has
just been accepted
into the Veterinary
Programme
at Massey in
Palmerston North.
Steve and I are
super proud as we
know how hard he’s
worked these past
5 months to make
the cut. A big part of the selection process
now is a weekend of interviews involving real
life situations and personality testing which
accounts for a large percentage of your final
grade. This is new but I think essential in
choosing the kids with the right set of skills
and personality traits to move into a very
select, challenging and not easy profession.
In our experience the best vets we have
encountered were not the cleverest kids
by any means. The unforgettable students
were relatable and practical, enjoyed solving
problems quickly and talking to people,
cared about animals in general, loved the
team environment and were hard workers.
You have to have fantastic work ethic in this
profession and not be a
complainer –
the hours are
long, the days
throw at you
many real life
emergency’s
constantly but
the rewards
personally are
huge. Its not
a job – it’s a
way of life and
it’s a privilege
to care for
pets and their
owners.
All our 3 three sons have loved animals
from day dot. All their lives they have
grown up with cats and dogs and horses
(through my parents). All three boys have
always been kind, caring and respectful
of all our pets and taken responsibility
for them. Our pets have come away on
holiday with us and we are not complete
as a family without them. Right from small
children they spent a fair bit of time at the
vet clinic, whether it be afterhours callouts,
watching their dad operate on eyes, coming
in to medicate and feed sick patients in the
weekends, helping me clean and feed our
cattery cats on public holidays or being an
extra pair of hands at a caesarian. They have
never resented the amount of time we spend
at the clinic and they have always wanted to
hear about interesting cases and be involved.
Up until this year Connor was at UC Berkeley
in San Francisco on a tennis scholarship,
playing for the Cal Tennis team and studying
an undergraduate
degree in
sciences. He spent
18 months of a 4
year scholarship
there and loved it
but had decided
he’d had enough
of tennis and
wanted to give
Veterinary science
a crack. Connor had given his life to tennis,
first playing at age of 3 and I think he’d simply
had enough. Time for a change and to move
forward with his life. He could have finished
his Undergraduate degree at Berkeley but
then he still needed to do the first semester of
prevet at Massey to gain entry into the course.
So he decided at Christmas to enroll in prevet
and put his Berkeley qualification on hold. He
loved studying at Berkeley – ranked the 6th
Best College in the world. He can finish his
undergraduate studies back there whenever
he wants.
A lot has changed since Steve and I were at
Vet school back in 86 and 87. Many of my
classmates are now lecturers and the Vet
faculty has had a massive much needed
revamp. The campus is much the same
and from what Connor has reported
the campus food is still average – main
problem being “not enough food” plus
no one cooks like his dad.
Believe it or not, Connor has the same
room in the same hostel his dad 31
years ago.
The campus
is pretty and
Connor is
enjoying
exploring all
the old places
in town his
dad and I
did on a
Saturday
night. It
hasn’t
changed
much in nearly 30 years.
Its going to be great having Connor in the
same country for the next 4 or so years. I’m
sure he’ll get lots of visitors. Another “ Heap”
one day at McMaster & Heap, and I know for
sure he’ll not disappoint. Here’s to a fantastic
succession plan. It gets to stay in the family
for the next 60 years or so. We bought the
practice in 1999 – I wonder what it will look
like in 2099. Probably a lot different but I hope
its still called McMaster & Heap, even though
I’ll be long gone!
Dr Michele McMaster
News
Upgrade process slammed
Mike
Davidson
•From page 1
“We have signed up for
it, that was a long time ago,
but we are committed,” she
said.
There
was debate
among
councillors
around
the need to
make part
of the corridor
more
accessible
for cyclists,
and the safety of bus lanes
for the corridor, which will
see an increase in traffic by
30 per cent.
Cr Davidson said the “car
project” will create more
congestion.
“We missed a real opportunity
to create a peoplefocused
sustainable transport
network for the north
of Christchurch when this
project was agreed to.”
Councillor Yani Johanson
is firmly opposed to
the project, saying it was an
“unsustainable approach”
to development.
Councillor Sara Templeton
said she agrees with
both Cr Johanson and Cr
Davidson.
“I’m not going to support
UPGRADES: Plans for the Northern Arterial
Extension and Cranford Street Upgrade were
approved by the city council last week, however, not
without debate from several councillors.
it when it is not safe for all
road users,” she said.
Councillor Jamie Gough
supports the plan, saying
Christchurch is a growing
city and that future generations
will thank us for making
these decisions today.
Also supportive was
councillor Aaron Keown,
who suggested cyclists
wanting to use the Cranford
St extension once
it’s open should “move a
block over” and suggested
signs should be put up
warning them of the health
concerns around carbon
monoxide from busy roads
and that sucking it in “isn’t
Need a
better
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message out?
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03 364 7432
jarryd.adams@starmedia.kiwi
NOR’WEST NEWS
that smart.”
It comes after Environment
Canterbury said they
will not be looking into air
pollution concerns from
residents in the area.
Plans include keeping
on-street parking along
Cranford St after an Environment
Court ruling
in 2016. Businesses said
they would have to close
their doors if parking was
removed.
There will also be a shared
path for cyclists and pedestrians
on the west side and
two U-turning bays.
•Cranford St work starts,
p10
Open 7 days
Cnr Hoon Hay & Coppell place
phone 338 2534, Fax 339 8624
e. mcmasterandheap@yahoo.co.nz
www.mcmasterheap.co.nz
McMaster & Heap
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