North Canterbury News: January 23, 2020

NEWS AND ACTIVITIES
The North Canterbury News, January 23, 2020
33
On the job training ... Utilities officer apprentice Riki Pugh fixes an underground water leak.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Vacancy draws 76 applicants
By ROBYN BRISTOW
Youngpeople are lining up for an
apprenticeshipbeing offered by
the HurunuiDistrictCouncil in its
building department.
Atotal of 76 applications were
received from budding
apprentices whenapplications
closed last Friday.
The successful cadetwill finish
with aNational Diploma in
BuildingSurveying, after afouryear
internshipwhichincludes
sitting unit standards and on­thejob
work experience.
The council’steam leaderin
BuildingControls, Kerry Walsh,
says the cadetship will givealegup
to someonestarting acareer
journey and also support the
industry.
“Buildingofficersare in very
shortsupply New Zealand­wide.
It’s really important that we look at
the bigger picture and do ourpart
to put morequalifiedindividuals
out intothe local industry.
“It’s agreatcareer, and the cadet
role offers jobcompetency as well
as the official qualification.’’
Mr Walsh saysinthe past the
council had taken peopleonfrom
otherrelatedprofessionsand
trained them. ‘‘Now we are
offering aqualification from the
very beginning as well.”
This willbringtothree the
number of apprenticeships being
offered by the council. Two threeyear
apprenticeships have been
running in the Three WatersTeam
—the council’s water department
—since 2018.
Riki Pugh, from Cheviot, and
Ethan Dellaway, from Waipara,
will gain an industry­recognised
NZQA Level3Utilities Freshwater
and Wastewater Qualification.
Ethan says he has enjoyed
working in remotelocations
aroundthe district, meetingso
many local people and to have the
opportunity to workinthe
Hurunui district to gain a
qualification.
“The first year and ahalf is about
learning how the waterschemes
work and getting to know the
district.
‘‘The bookwork side of things
came nextand helpsunderstand
the theory as well. WhenIfirstsaw
the job Ithought it was agreat
opportunity to be close to home
and learn ausefultrade.”
Riki said he felt it was important
to learn by workingonthe job,
instead of sitting in aclassroom
fulltime.
“I’ve really valued making a
livingwhilelearning. It just seems
like abig bonus to avoid astudent
loan and have foundanemployer
that willsupport my study.”
Book fair
Abook fairwill be held at St
Bartholomew’s ChurchHall, 23
Cass Street,Kaiapoi, on Friday,
January 31, and Saturday,
February 1, from 9am to 2pm, to
raisefunds to help with
maintenance of the church and
hall.Books will be $2 each or
six for$10. Teaand coffee will
be available.Donations of good
quality books,CDs, DVDs and
jigsaws are mostwelcome —no
tapesplease. Donatedgoods
can be left at the church hall.
Contact Norman Clarkon327
5552 or Ray Maw on 327 6404.
Growing seasonal veges
Sarahand William Hughes­
Gameshave avege garden
producingyear­round produce,
something they havebeen
doinglocallyfor 20 years.They
feed their familyand sellsprayfree
vegetables and seedlings
from theirWaiparaGardens
shop.Visittheirgarden to learn
aboutplanting crops for
seasonalproduce, and share
your own ideas and tips on
Tuesday, February 4, from
10.30am to 12pm, Waipara.
Cost:1.5 TimeBank Hurunui
credits or $12. Registrations:
Ph (03) 314 3406 or email
tbhlearningexchange@
gmail.com.
Beekeepingbasics
Lindsay Moirhas spent his life
with bees and is abeehive
inspector who runs courses
nationally.Hewill talk at the
Hurunui Library, Amberley, on
Monday, February 10, from
7.30pm to 9pm. He will show a
videoand discuss whatis
involved in setting up and
registering hives. He will
outline the ongoing cost and
time demands, keepingbees
healthy, and makingagarden
bee­friendly.Cost: 1.5
TimeBank Hurunui credits or
$12 suggested. Registrations:
Ph (03) 314 3406 or email
tbhlearningexchange@
gmail.com
CAB North Canterbury
Citizens Advice Bureau North
Canterbury, whichprovides a
confidential, objectiveand free
service, is looking forward to
helping morepeople thisyear.
Trainedvolunteershave access
to ahuge varietyofresources
and can provideinformationon
awide varietyofsubjects. The
CAB investigatesissues and
problems and provides clients
with options to go forward. No
questionorenquiry is
considered too small.Call in at
the Trevor Inch Memorial
Library, 141 PercivalStreet,
Rangiora, on MondaytoFriday
from 9am to 4.30pm, or
Saturday 10am to 1pm,or
phone(03) 313 8822,free phone
0800 367 222 or email
northcanterbury@cab.org.nz.
Seed­saving
Harvesting bounty from our
gardens can be taken astep
further by saving seeds to
replant every season. Cofounder
of the local Seed
SentinelsGroup,Richard
Watson will show how to
harvest,processand store
seedsand discuss breeding
strategies at Medburyon
Saturday, February 15, from
2pm to 4.30pm.Cost:2.5
TimeBank Hurunui credits or
$15. Registrations: Email
tbhlearningexchange@
gmail.com or call (03) 314
3406.
Sewer works to affect roundabout
By DAVID HILL
Largesewerworks are
continuing to cater forgrowthin
Rangiora.
The King Street/Johns Road
roundabout will be out of action
over coming months as work to
installlarge sewerpipesthrough
the intersection begins.
This latest workisthe fourth
stageofthe nine­stage Rangiora
central sewer projecttoreplace
old and deteriorating pipesand
to cater for future growth in the
town.
During this stage, the sewer
will be laid across Johns Road
and the roundabout, whileageing
waterand stormwater pipes
within the intersection will be
replaced.
Before contractors install the
LOST AND FOUND
The following property has been
reported as lost to the North
Canterbury police:
Abrown wallet (Rangiora), a
black leather wallet (Woodend),
agrey and black Apple watch
(between Bishopdale and
Pegasus), agold banddiamond
ring (Rangiora), agold wedding
band with diamonds and an
new pipes, the roundaboutand
traffic islandsare being removed.
The work was due to begin
yesterday.
Once thesehave been
removed, new sewer pipeswill be
installed on the eastern side of
the intersection, followed by the
western side.
Work at the intersectionis
expectedtobecompletedinmid­
May and will include various
effects on traffic as contractors
work to get the pipes in the
ground.
Waimakariri District Council
threewatersmanager Kalley
Simpson says this is asignificant
upgrade to central Rangiora’s
sewers.
“Currently it is undercapacity,
and overflowscan occur during
heavyrainfall, he says.’’
engagement ring with alarge
diamond in the middle and two
diamonds on either side
(Hanmer Springs), ablack wallet
(Kaiapoi), asilver wedding band
with three diamonds, ablack
iPhone (both Hanmer Springs), a
black keyless car key with an
attachedbutton (Kaiapoi).
The following has been found:
‘‘We apologise for the traffic
disruptionduring the works.
However we’re confident the end
result will provide foramore
reliable,future­proofed sewer
network.”
Mr Simpson says how quickly
the work is completed is subject
to weather,groundconditions,
and the locationand condition of
underground services.
“If there are any changes to
thesedates,the council will
ensure the publiciskept well
informed.”
Once work is completed at the
roundabout,the installation of
pipeswill continueover the
coming years northalongKing
Street to High Street.
The final stage of work will be
alongHigh Street,west from the
King Street intersection.
Keys —car/house/dog clip and
broken greenstonekey chain
(Rangiora), aPine Tree chest
protector (Kaiapoi), aTrailpro
trailer (Woodend), an iPhone
(Amberley), aCDfolder with
photo discs (Rangiora), ablack
jacket “Gear for Life”(Kaiapoi),
and two pairs of reading glasses
left at abus stop in Rangiora.
Barker's of Geraldine: 50 years preserved,
by Michael Barker
At atime when consumers are looking for
more and more connection with the foods
they eat, MichaelBarker proudly shares
the Barker’s of Geraldine journey —the
people, the innovations and the
philosophies that still guide them.This is a
storyofentrepreneurial spirit,creativity,
fun, dedication to community and findinga
way to bringitall together to build astrong,
profitable values­basedcompany.The
journey wasn’talways straightforward but the founders never
gave up and alwaysempowered those aroundthem to help. It is
a50­year story of relentlessinnovation, humble tenacity and risktaking
to create alastingfuture on the family farm for the brand
that means so much to theentireBarker’s
team.
The Big Loop:BikingCoastalNew
Zealand, by Duncan Wilson
In August 2015,Dunc Wilson became the
first person to circumnavigate New
Zealand on abike. This 10,940km journey
followed one rule—cycle the closest
available route to the coastline. The Big
Loop candidly details Wilson's 240­day
cycling adventure, through native bush,
raggedcoastlines, farm stations and more
—demonstrating how acquaintingoneself
with our country is bestachieved under
100kmh.
The Brilliance of Birds:ANew Zealand Birdventure,bySyke
Wishart
Who knew that the morepork,our forest
owl, can turn its head270 degrees? Or
that the easternbar­tailedgodwit
triples its bodyweight before undertaking
an epic migration of 11,000km?
Or thatthe tui has two voice boxes,
enablingitto duet with itself? Zany, offkilter,
wondrousand wild, The
Brilliance of Birds gives abehind­thescenes
glimpseinto the lives of New
Zealand’sfeathered friends.