Ashburton Courier: June 18, 2020

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Page 8, Ashburton's The Courier, Thursday June 18, 2020 Council meetings back to normal The Ashburton District Council looks set to resume its normal schedule of meetingsafter today, with councillors expected to suspendthe Covid19 response committee, which has met weekly since late March when pandemic restrictions wereimposed. Since March 25, council delegated all of its decisionmaking to the Covid19 committee. Councillors met online via Zoom to hear updates about essential council activities. Councillors are expected to vote to reinstate the standing committees and the Methven Community Board today. Scheduled meetings would resume on June 29 for the Methven board and in July for council. The environmental services, community services and infrastructure services committees are planned to meet on July7,with bylaw and policy and audit, risk and finance on July 9. Areport for councillors said the response committee had done its job of allowing council to function through the pandemic alert levels 4 down to 2. Reinstating the committees would signal business as usual and allow greater community engagement and attendance at meetings. • Additions and Renovations • All types of maintenance • Commercial and Farm buildings • New Housing Local news at www.starnews.co.nz Trail users watch for machines People walking and riding on the Ashburton River trail are being warned to watch out for machinery and vehicles near Milton Road. Contractors working for the Ashburton District Council are installing anew and larger wastewater pipeline under the river from Milton Road south to Wilkins Road. The pipe will connect to anew pump station being built on Wilkins Road. The contractors are now more than halfway across the river with the new pipe and people who use the river trail are being warned to be mindful of more machinery and increased traffic in the Milton Road area. Work on the $7 million wastewater upgrade was halted during lockdown, but is back on track. Contractors Seipp Constructions have also begun the pump station construction. Chair of council's infrastructure services committee Stuart Wilson says the project is making good progress and that it will help support Ashburton's growth for many years to come. ‘‘Significant infrastructure upgrades like this are as important as ever as we look to support our community and Pipe progress under the Ashburton River. encourage growth in the years ahead. The council is very pleased to be investing in this project for the benefit of residents now and well into the future. ‘‘The technical skill to install this pipeline while also keeping the water flowing and looking out for the wellbeing of fish and birds in the area is also impressive.’’ An estimated 900 fish were rescued from a200m stretch of the river and relocated under the supervision of Environment Canterbury. Anumber of councillors and staff visited the construction site recently to assess progress and were shown the work currently happening on the pump station. At the end of May, contractors poured more than 50 cubic metres of concrete to form the pump station base which is 10m below ground level. They have since begun working on the steel reinforcement for the walls. To date, more than 1100m of sheet piles have been dug into the riverbed to help control the flow of water and allow for the pipeline to be installed. In some places, the pipe is being laid up to 6.8m underground. Service Delivery Group Manager Neil McCann says managing the water is one of the biggest ongoing challenges for the project. ‘‘Water from the river surface is one factor, but controlling the water table underground is also abig consideration. There are five large dewatering pumps working to keep the water table below the pipe installation level. ‘‘This water is then stored in asettling pond before being discharged in an environmentally friendly manner.’’ He said that although the Covid19 restrictions over March and April pushed out the construction schedule, extra resource was being allocated to help get the programme back on track. Work began on the project in November last year and contractors hope to have it completed by this December. Noble Wilde 2020 winter range in store Merino-possumknitwearprovidesan unbeatable mix of warmth andcomfort. Seeour range ofNoble Wilde premium mensand womensmerino andmerinopossumsweaters, tops, jackets andwraps. Find us just 1Kmoff Hwy 1atRangitata on Hwy 79. Open 7days9am to 5pm, Ph 0508 504006 thetinshed.co.nz 18 Tin 2020 Snow 2281757 Longbeach event pays dividends Organisers of the Ruralco Longbeach Coastal Challenge are hoping aresurgence of people biking over lockdown will see entries for this year’s event come flooding in. The challenge is on November 29. Organising committee chair Matt Galbraith said the annual event, run by Longbeach School and Hinds and District Lions, had been wellsupported in the past with both groups playing vital roles in its running. They provide manpower across the year and on the day, including track readiness and maintenance, health and safety, registrations, marshalling, cooking on the barbecue or towing trailers. Mr Galbraith said it was a community event, run by community people with money raised benefitting the community. It also had the backing of business sponsors from within the community. It raised both groups $11,000 each last year. Ruralco’s Jono Pavey, Longbeach School Board of Trustees chair Toni Durham, Longbeach Coastal Challenge’s Matt Galbraith and Hinds and District Lions president Malcolm Read following the transfer of proceeds from last year’s Ruralco Longbeach Coastal Challenge. Longbeach School board of trustees chair Toni Durham said the money helped fund teacher aides and educational support. She said the support of the lions and the school’s families was a“very cool partnership” and the school was grateful. Hinds and District Lions president Malcolm Read said discussion on future projects would be raised once the group was able to get together again postCovid19. The 50strong members are not due to formally meet until July, but planned asocial catchup this week. In the past the Lions have contributed to community projects such as the Carew Peel Forest School pool repair work, but also to projects that benefit the wider community such as those undertaken by Maia Health’s Christchurch Hospital rooftop helipad campaign. Mr Read said now they were keen for an event to “restore the heart in the community”. “We’re just looking forward to getting back together as a group.” Mr Galbraith said there has been renewed interest in cycling which he hoped would see more people enter this year’s event. The challenge, which includes run, walk or bike options, ranging from 5km up to 35km distances, also gives people a local event to train toward. He said 1500 people took part in the 10year anniversary event and “it was busy” but the key was knowing registration numbers early and being prepared for the day. Registrations open on August 1. More work needed at Rangitata corner Anew intersection speed zone on State Highway 1atRangitata is aimed at preventing serious crashes but locals and Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon say more work is needed. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has installed electronic signs that detect when someone is turning into or out of State Highway 79 and will temporarily reduce the speed limit on SH1 from 100km/h to 60km/h. The electronic signs are part of apackage of work designed to make the intersection safer. Barrier arms were installed in 2019, the road shoulder on SH1 has been widened and an escape bay installed for traffic caught on the rail line. Geraldine and Rangitata locals campaigned for improvements and met with Mr Falloon,who took their suggestions to the national roading agency. They sought to have the turning bay for southbound traffic turning on to SH29 lengthened, better and earlier signage advising motorist of the turnoff,wideningthe road to include amerging lane for northbound traffic turning into State Highway 1and areduction in the speed limit throughthe Rangitata township either side of the intersection. “It’s positive that anumber of those requested changes are under way,” Mr Falloon said. “Lengthening the turning bayis badly neededaspreviously it has filled up with just one milk tanker or two campervans, which is entirely inadequate when you consider the trafficvolumes that turn right southbound. “A lot of the tourist traffic that turns right to go to Mt Cook and Queenstown are following GPS and turn very late. More and earlier signage is needed, and I’m hopeful NZTA will install that as part of the upgrade.” He said while locals had campaigned for apermanent reduction in speed, at least electronic signs like those in Burnham wouldsee traffic slowed when the intersection is busy. “At present some northbound traffic turning on to State Highway 1does so without stopping, which has caused accidents there in the past.’’
Robert Harris’ Sam Chapman shouts Julia Robins aflat white. 1000 coffees shouted Amateur coffee connoisseur Julia Robins was one of just over 1000 coffeeloving customers to pick up a complimentary flat white coffee from Robert Harris Ashburton during their shout the nation event. The event was part of anationwide offer by the coffee chain to recognise the efforts of the community over Alert Level 4lockdown and subsequent restrictions to get to level 1. Robert Harris Ashburton owner Sam Chapman said the company was incredibly proud of New Zealanders and what they had achieved in the fight against Covid19. ‘‘If everyone didn’t do the right thing in level four and level three we would still be closed down so it was nice that the community got together and was able to do that,’’ he said. At the Ashburton cafe, four baristas worked throughout the day to keep the coffee machine chugging away, backed up by ateam of 13 working flat out to serve customers. ‘‘There were some tired feet at the end of the day, that’s for sure,’’ Mr Chapman said. Afew customers did offer to pay. ‘‘Which was absolutely lovely, but from my side it was just saying to everyone thank you very much for doing what you did.’’ He said for all businesses in Ashburton, from asupport local sort of view, it’s been nice to see people back out supporting businesses. Comment by Labour MP Jo Luxton MP reflects on connections, achievementsoffirst term When Ifirst became a Member of Parliament after the 2017 General Election, 2020 seemed a long way off. Ijumped into aworld of policy, procedures and parliamentarians, knowing that Ihad three years to make my stamp and to advocate for this region. There are many moments to be proud of as amember of government led by Jacinda Ardern. Mid Canterbury schools will receive $3 million for infrastructure works to build and maintain quality learning environments for our children. The Opuke Thermal Pools and Spa received funding from the Provincial Growth Fund and is set to open next year. And of course, Ashburton College had avisit from Jacinda Ardern to announce more than $50 million for new classrooms, and other renovations. ECE teachers and teacher aides will have their pay increased after years of underfunding. We introduced the Winter Energy Payment, the BestStart payment for parents with babies, boosted the incomes of 384,000 families with the Families Package. We’ve built 5000 public houses. This short list of achievements is something to be proud of. I’m particularly proud of our response to the 1in100 year global pandemic that is Covid19. Just this past weekend, rugby resumed all across New Zealand. Southern took on the Harlequins in Timaru; the Highlanders took on the Chiefs at Forsyth Barr –life is beginning to return to as normal as it can be in the time of aglobal pandemic. At atime when other countries are still reporting tens of thousands of new cases and hundreds of Covidrelated deaths each day, New Zealand is relatively Covidfree and we are able to return to cafes, to bars, to rugby games. We are able to come MP Jo Luxton together without social distancing, and have those amazing facetoface connections that we so missed. We are only able to do this because every New Zealander stepped up. Going hard and early required great sacrifice, and tragically some lives were lost. But now Ithink our team of five million can reflect on the pretty big milestone of our achievements. We cannot take this position for granted, as there could still be undetected cases in our communities, and there are still New Zealanders returning home from overseas. But I think we can all be very proud of what we’ve achieved, and rightly enjoy our new freedoms. We said from the beginning that our best economic response to Covid19 was astrong health response, and the results speak for themselves. At Alert Level 1, New Zealand is now if not the most, then one of the most, open economies in the world. None of this happened by accident. It’s all part of the Government’s threestep plan to guide New Zealand through the global economic shock caused by Covid19: respond, recover, and rebuild better. And we will do it together. As Isign off on my last column in the Ashburton Courier before the election, I’d like to say thank you. Thank you for your continued support Mid Canterbury –ithas truly been an honour to be a Labour Party List MP based here in Rangitata. I’ve enjoyed the connections, conversations, and the work and help I’ve been able to provide to those that have needed it. That is what I’m most proud of –helping those that need it. Because that is why IamanMP–to help, to make changes, to be avoice. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, and hope to continue it after the election also. PamsFries 1kg Fresh NZ Quality Mark Prime Beef Mince 500g $ 2 99 ea Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta,L&P 1.5 Litre ANY 2FOR WEEK BACK ShoreS Mariner CrumbedC FishF Fillets 840g $ 9 49 ea Pascall Confectionery 150-180g $ 4 49 $ 1 99 ea SEEDLESS EASY PEEL IT’S &E P $ 7 99 Satsuma Mandarins Loose ea Product of New Zealand www.foursquare.co.nz $ 3 99 kg facebook.com/FourSquareNZ Specials availableSouthIslandonly from Monday15th Juneuntil Sunday 28th June 2020 or while stockslast.Wineand beeravailable at stores withanoff licence.Wineand beer purchases restricted to personsaged 18 years old and over.
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Ashburton Courier: June 18, 2020

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