Ashburton Courier: March 12, 2020

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Page 4, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday March 12, 2020 No virus impact on Sister Cities Organisers of the national Sister Cities conference in Ashburton at the end of next month say the event will go ahead, despite uncertainties caused by the coronavirus. President of Sister Cities New Zealand Hiromi Morris said the organisation had been fielding inquiries from members about whether the conference would proceed and about 70 people are expected to attend. International visitors are among the guest speakers at the threeday conference, which is being held at the Ashburton Trust Event Centre on April 30, May1and 2. ‘‘We haven’t received any cancellations from overseasorganisations so far,’’ Mrs Morris said. ‘‘Everyone is dealing with uncertainties, which is difficult.’’ Tickets: $15 School age ChildrenFREE Mayfield A&P Show Saturday14th March 2020 “A true countryshow” Arundel Rakaia GorgeRoad,Mayfield Guns Akimbo Reviewed by Rowena Hart After Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) insults a death match boss he awakes with guns bolted to his hands and in afight tothe death with Nix, the deadliest playerinthe world. Miles manages to bumble his way through the game in a bathrobe with fuzzy slippers, zero skill and become enormously popular to the massiveonline community. Yeah, not high art but packs alot of fun into 95 minutes. This film reminds me of Crank, ahigh energy, funny, violent joy ride that really seems about 20 minutes long. Written, directed and filmed (Auckland) all in New Zealand. Also Rhys Darby is a national treasure. bookings ph 307 1230 www.regentcinema.co.nz The New Zealand Government has imposed travel restrictions on people from China (where the virus started), Iran, northern Italy and South Korea. Sister Cities New Zealand has been in touch with the city and people of Wuhan, and with other New Zealand Sister Cities in China, to express condolences about the difficulties the virus has caused. ‘‘Being part of the sister city community, it is our responsibility to reach out to love them and support them in any way we can.’’ She said Sister Cities relationships were important to help different cultures accept and respect each other, and that trust would be important after the virus to reestablish connections. 2263512 2264775 Check private wells regularly By Linda Clarke Ashburtonpeople who draw theirdrinking waterfrom private wellsshould be regularly checkingnitrate levelsand considering if they need to treat theirwater,says an expert. Seventyfive water samples tested by the Federation for Freshwater Anglersin Ashburtonlast month showedsix over the maximum allowable health level of 11.3mg of nitratenitrogen per litre (nitrateNmg/ l); 37 were over 5.3mg/l, the level authorities use as ared flag. Professor Jenny Webster Brown, adjunct professor at the Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management in Canterbury, saidprivate well owners should also pay attention to red flag levels. They should havetheir water testedfour times ayear,every five years that would account for both seasonal fluctuations and trends over a longer timeperiod. Water withnitrateN over Ashburton April 16, 17, 20, 21, 22 &23 Jenny Webster-Brown 11.3mg/l is an immediate problem for pregnant women or babiesuptothree months as it contributestoblue baby syndrome, where the blood is unabletocarry oxygen around the body. Professor WebsterBrown said there was also growingconcern 2265774 GREAT RATES that lowerlevels of nitratein drinking water,consumed over a lifetime, may be carcinogenic. Nitratelevelsinrural Canterbury are affected by farmingpractices up to 100 years ago,aswell as currentpractices. Recent contributions were evident in nitratelevels that fluctuated seasonally, she said. ‘‘This has beenanongoing problemfor ruralpeople for a while but it is difficulttoget people to realisethey mightbe vulnerable.’’ She said many privatewell owners often did not realise it was their responsibilityto monitortheir own water quality and take action. ‘‘The responsibility is for them to find out what is in the water and treat it. Whereas when water is supplied by council, it is the council’s responsibility.’’ The nitrate safelevel is set by the World Health Organisation and adopted in New Zealandby the Ministry of Health and local authorities. PC Repairs, Set-up and Tutoring Icome to youday or evening! NewPCs and Laptops forsale •PCRepairs/Sales •Networks/Servers •Firewalls/Security •Spyware Clean-up •Training 20 YearsExperience Microso Cerfied Professional NETWORKS FIREWALLS AND PCS LTD Robin Johnstone 67 Aitken Street, Ashburton P: 03 308 1440 C: 027 768 4058 robinbj@xtra.co.nz Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Keen interest in nitrate tests Rakaia Huts veterinarian Peter Trolove says 10 per cent of well water samples tested in Ashburton recently were above the maximum allowable value for nitrates. Mr Trolove tested 75 well water samples from 62 properties around the district as part of monitoring conducted by the New Zealand Federation of Anglers. He said people were queuing to have their water samples read by anitrate photometer. Six of the wells were above 11.3mg/l nitratenitrogen, the maximum allowable value set by the World Health Organisation. These wells were at Hinds, Winslow, Willowby, Tinwald and Fairton. About half (37) were over Environment Canterbury’s aspirational limit of 5.3mg, Mr Trolove said. All those who brought water for testing appreciated the chance to test it and some left concerned, he said. Mr Trolove has also been testing nitrate levels in central Canterbury streams, including Water testing under way at the Ashburton Racecourse. the Hinds, since August. Hinds River at Poplar Road was 5.84mg in August, 7.94mg and 7.15mg in September and 5.93mg in October. Anglers say fisheries cannot thrive if nitrate levels are above 3.5mg. Mr Trolove says increasing dairy cow numbers, an increase in synthetic fertiliser use and irrigation, all on vulnerable soils, were contributing to high nitrate levels. He said proposed new national freshwater standards held the key to solving the country’s water pollution. Consultation on the new standards was controversial though, with farmers saying the proposed targets were not achievable and would spell economic diaster for agriculture, and the country. Mr Trolove said Environment Minister David Parker and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor must signal their intent before the September elections. ‘‘We will soon learn if they can hold their nerve and not kick the can down the road for future generations.’’ Mr Trolove, president of the anglers’ federation, said he had longstanding links to Ashburton, where his parents still lived on Racecourse Road. He worked as avet in Ashburton in the 1980s and now spends time researching and trying to raise awareness of Canterbury’s water quality and quantity issues. Professor WebsterBrownlives in rural Canterbury and treats her drinkingwaterwith a distillation system that removes nitrates as well as other chemicals and bacteria. Her well water fluctuates between911mg/ linthe summer and between 45 in the winter. Distillation systems are relativelylow maintenance and costbetween $400and $4000, depending on the volume of water being treated and the rate of waterproduction required. Nitrates cannotbefiltered out of water. She said researchers,councils and changing farming practices wereall targeting this problem. ‘‘Itisabattle to which we need to bringall the armory we have. It is not beingignored but the more resources we can put towards finding solutions,the better.’’ Arecent report to the Ashburton Water Zone Committee said there was evidenceof groundwater impacted before dairy farmingexpansion. 2245342 Circus on its way The Great Moscow Circus is coming to Ashburton later this month. The circus, last inNew Zealand 20 years ago, will have 12 shows in Ashburton, including seven evening and five matinee performances, between March 26 and April 5. The circus will set up in the Ashburton Domain; it is part of anationwide tour that has been getting rave reviews. The show features animatronics, motorbikes and classic trapeze all under abig top. Tickets can be bought from iTicket or over the counter at the Regent Cinema in Ashburton.
Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday March 12, 2020, Page 5 Recipes for one or two Power savings Arecipe book aimed at seniors cooking for one or two people is now available through Senior Chef. The book, Easy Recipes for One or Two, has been released by Pegasus Health and is based on the recipes offered through their Senior Chef programme, afree eightweek cooking course for people aged 60 years and older. Senior Chef is open to any senior who is looking to improve the cooking skills they have or wanting to gain motivation in the kitchen. Senior Chef’s Angela Leadley says the programme, funded through Pegasus Health, had proved valuable for people who had lost a partner and found themselves needing to do more cooking than in the past, for people who were not confident in the kitchen and for those in need of socialising and learning new skills. It runs between 10am and 1pm and covers healthy eating with agesavvy foods which include high fibre breakfasts, calcium for bones and plenty of vegetables. It also includes budgeting, menu planning and cooking for one or two people. “It’s a really cool course,” Mrs Leadley said. Senior Chef's Angela Leadley and the Senior Chef recipe book. The cooking class, with up to adozen people, is a sharing experience. It involves cooking together, then eating and doing the cleanup, which were all part of the process, she said. It is run twice ayear with the next course in July. The recipe book, which costs $20, is given to graduates of the Senior Chef programme. It includes popular meals such as baked potato and macaroni cheese but also offers meals in two to four person servings and options suitable for freezing. A dedication on the inside page, from Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, says: “As we get on in years, it is even more important that we continue to eat healthily, so Ihope that you will all find recipes in this lovely cook book that will inspire you to get cooking!” EA Networks customers will see a decrease in their power bills from April with the average residential customer paying about $110 less over ayear. The company says network prices will reduce on average 14 per cent as aresult of a decrease in the return that the Commerce Commission allows network companies to earn, as well as areduction in costs from Transpower, the national grid operator. EA Networks chief executive Roger Sutton said the Ashburton community will benefit from the lower network charges from April 1. ‘‘Simply put, there will be more money in the back pockets of customers across the district and that is agood thing.’’ For the average residential customer, the price drop equates to asaving of about $110 over 12 months. Mid Canterbury has a CEO Roger Sutton high number of irrigation connections and those customers should see reductions of about $2200 for every 100kW of installed capacity. These reductions relate to network prices charged to electricity retailers in the region. Actual reductions seen by customers in their monthly electricity bill are determined by their retailer. ‘‘All customers should benefit from the network price drop and we would be extremely disappointed if electricity retailers were not passing these through to mums and dads in our region,’’ Mr Sutton said. The company recommended customers check their electricity accounts carefully from April to ensure the benefit of these reductions is being reflected by their electricity retailers. The RUN OUT is on so don’t MISS Out SAVE ridiculous amounts off the entire NEW Holden Range The prices are too HOT to print so get in TOUCH with usTODAY Contact Richard or Shane Richard 027 889 3870 Shane 027 669 5656 PLUS remember every new Holden comes with 3years/100,000km FREE scheduled servicing Offer available strictly while stocks last. Not available with any other offer. Free scheduled service 3years/100,000kms (whichever occurs first) for Holden vehicles sold in New Zealand by aHolden dealer. See Holden.co.nz for details. WARRANT OF FITNESS CHECK + EXPRESS SERVICE ONLY $ 199INC GST ASHBURTON: Main South Road, Tinwald \ 03307 9028 \ Facebook: SmallboneAshburton Mon -Fri: 8am -5pm \Sat: 9am -12noon smallbone.co.nz 2265442
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Ashburton Courier: March 12, 2020

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