Bay Harbour: September 04, 2019

PAGE 10 BAY HARBOUR
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Wednesday September 4 2019
Your Local Views
HAVE YOUR SAY: If you have an opinion on an issue in the Bay Harbour News
area, email jess.gisbson@starmedia.kiwi
Readers respond to the
article which showed what
Collett’s Corner in Lyttelton
will look like when it opens
in 2022
VITTORIA
& Matt
Ben Griffiths – I have
just read about the proposed
development at Collett`s Corner
and if this is the best Warren
and Mahoney can come up with,
then I think I would prefer to
see the area developed as part of
the Saturday market. Lyttelton
deserves better than this. It
would be totally out of place.
Drucilla Kingi-Patterson
– More than 20 years ago, while
visiting my future stepdaughter
with my future husband in
Melbourne, my stepdaughter
took me up to the ladies toilet
20 storeys high so we could look
over the city. The toilet had glass
top to the floor. It was well worth
Sumner
resident
and former
Selwyn
district
councillor
Jens
Christensen
explains
why the proposed CCTV
crime cameras should be
put in Sumner
SUMNER LENDS itself to
having surveillance cameras
at each end of the village with
number plate recognition
technology. This would also be
a tool for the police to identify
offenders entering and leaving
the village.
From experience, I totally
support the installation of crime
cameras in Sumner and they
should also be incorporated into
the design of the proposed skate
park without a doubt.
In establishing a youth skate
park on Rolleston Reserve in
2010, we obtained a bus and
30 kids for a day. We visited
HIVE: What the planned Collett`s Corner development will
look like.
doing and a highlight of our trip.
I have been visiting Lyttelton
every six months to follow the
rebuild, plus look at the Naval
Point development plans. I just
Pays to have crime cameras
skate parks at Moorhouse Ave,
Harewood Rd and Rangiora
and in a questionnaire, we asked
them what features they wanted
at their skate park compared to
what they experienced on the
day. They quickly identified the
features they did and did not like
– and identified they would like
security cameras for their own
safety.
Rolleston Reserve now has 22
cameras, Brookside Park has
nine and the Foster Dog Park
has three. We have expanded
the cameras to areas of the park
to protect public property and
identify offenders committing
think it is very important that
the public could have access to
the roof garden in the planned
Collett’s Corner or can they come
up with some other solution?
wilful damage and graffiti
artists. The reserve management
committee has adopted a zerotolerance
policy on crime and
all offences and video images of
the offenders are reported to the
police.
Who knows if this early
intervention is the act that turns
a youth away from a life of
crime? At the request of police,
the cameras at Rolleston Reserve
were connected to a monitor
at the police station and the
police have identified this as an
important tool in their toolbox.
I am certain that the cameras
are a major deterrent but
importantly they have been used
to identify offences resulting in
prosecutions for assaults, thefts
and vandalism.
NEW FRIENDS: Vittoria and grace share a moment.
Bonding with cousins
I’M PLEASED to say that I
believe the seeds have been sown
for a grand ambition of mine.
A solid friendship between
Vittoria and her similarly aged,
Italian-based cousin Grace seems
to be growing.
I dearly hope the two will have
a lifelong intercontinental mateship
with constant communication,
visits and bilingual teenage
gossip. Although I dare say it
started off a little rocky.
We’re still in Italy and took a
quick trip to stay at my sister-inlaw
Christine’s place in Roveredo,
a town about 30min drive north
of Pravisdomini. It’s roughly
Rangiora-size and is pretty close
to the alps and a large United
States Air Force base.
Christine’s place is 2min up
the road (literally the same road)
from her son William, his partner
Sara and their daughter Grace’s
place. Although the two cousins
had briefly met a week after we
arrived, they were both tired and
we went out to eat soon after.
On our way to Christine’s, we
stopped in for a long and leisurely
lunch at William and Sara’s, giving
the two the perfect opportunity
to start bonding. But being
a toddler is tough they say, and
sharing is a hard lesson to learn.
So of course Vittoria rushed to
claim all of her cousin’s toys as
soon as we arrived.
As I’m a bloke, and because
there was a barbecue on, I made
a beeline for the beer and banter
outside, cleverly escaping the ensuing
screaming match between
the cousins. From what I did see
they seemed like they’d never
learn to peacefully coexist.
But, lo and behold, after Grace
had a nap and Vittoria had a
(huge) feed they were suddenly
like two different, non-screaming
people. There was even a few
cute wee cuddles. Although we
weren’t together all day, every day
while we were there, you could
tell they were growing fonder of
each other each time they met
up; touching hands, sharing toys
(mostly) and babbling away to
each other. Vittoria even learned
to say her cousin’s name.
What really proved it for me
was when we were saying our
goodbyes. Vittoria was waving
away in my arms to Grace as she
sat in the back of her mum’s car.
As the car started to move and
Vittoria realised her new friend
was leaving, she burst into tears
(the real ones with the big bottom
lip) and reached out for the car.
I love seeing a plan come
together, especially mine.
•Former Bay Harbour
News journalist Matt
Salmons has become a stayat-home
dad. We follow his
journey weekly.
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