Ashburton Courier: August 20, 2020

16 Ashburton Courier, August 20, 2020
NEWS
New JPs sworn in
at court ceremony
Ashburton Justices of the
Peace have welcomed new
JPs Kevin Clifford and James
Anderson to their ranks.
Mr Clifford, general
manager for Safer Mid
Canterbury,and Mr
Anderson, afarmer at
Lyndhurst,were sworninto
theirnew rolesbyAshburton
District Court Judge Quentin
Hix.
JPsare called on to witness
signatures andadminister
official documents.
Mr Clifford has spentthe
past 15 years at the helm of
Safer MidCanterbury and
worked before that in the
non­profitsector. He grew
up on afarm at Mitcham
before leaving for school
and travel; he completed
degrees in philosophy and
political sciencewhen he
returnedhome for
university.
He spentanumber of
years with the Red Cross,
recruiting andtraining
volunteers in emergency
rescue and alsoanumberof
years with Search and
Rescue,the Westportfire
brigade and as an outdoor
instructor with the
Mountain Safety Council.
He has alsospent many
years on awide range of nonprofit
governance boards
and currentlyholds five
trusteeships locally.
Outside work, he is an avid
outdoor enthusiast and
enjoys time with the family
camping, tramping and
exploring. He enjoys
hunting and is acompetitive
clay target shooter and a
member of the Mead Te
Pirita ClayTarget Club.
Mr Andersonand his wife
Jan farm an intensive mixed
cropping property at
New Justices of the Peace Kevin Clifford (left) and James
Anderson sweartheir oath of allegiance and office on the
Bible.
PHOTOSUPPLIED
Lyndhurst where
generations of the Anderson
familyhave lived for the past
century.Their sonAngus
hopestobethe next.
Mr Anderson completed a
bachelor of commerce at
Lincoln and workedfor
Brophy Knight before
leavingaccountancy in 2001
to farm full­time. He has had
leadership roles in the
YoungFarmers and
MethvenA&P Association
and has beeninvolvedwith
Methvensporting groups.
Another community
project, which he shared
with his late father Doug, is
the development of the
Lyndhurst Reserve. The
reserve was established
when the local community
banded together to buy and
develop the former
Lyndhurst school site.The
reserve operates today as a
community facility with
heated pool, playgroundand
tennis courts. It is also home
to the Lyndhurstwater
scheme, whichsupplies
domestic and stockwater to
the surrounding community.
What areyou hopingfor?
BY REV HEATHER KENNEDY
Ashburton Methodist Parish
CHRISTIAN COMMENT
Many of us have hopes and
desires that go unfulfilled.
Some of us hope the
Crusaders will win Super
Rugby every year, some of us
hope to win millions on
Lotto, some of us hope to be
cured from aterminal illness
and some of us hope to live
forever.
Some of us however, are a
bit more realistic; we hope to
stay well, if possible, we hope
to have loved ones around us
who care for us, we hope to
enjoy each and every day and
share time with friends.
Currently though, many of
us are probably hoping for a
return to normality, that we
now have as adim memory;
of times prior to Covid­19
restrictions.
We hope to get back to the
sports, clubs and activities
we enjoyed beforethis
pandemic reared its ugly
head. We hope that one day
we will be able to travel
overseas again, we hope that
loved ones overseas will be
able to travel to New Zealand
again and we hope that noone
else will die slowly and
painfully from this disease,
or others like it.
We hope the government
has got it right, in the
measures been taken. We
hope that all the things we
are doing, like contact
tracing, hand sanitising and
social distancing are worth
all the effort. We hope that
the team of five million will
work together and achieve
the outcome we all hope for.
Is that what you are hoping
for?
When theearthquakes
struck in September 2010, the
Methodist Church buildingin
Baring Square was damaged
and could not be used for
church services or
community events.
Members of the parish
hoped the repairs would be
done quicklyand activities
could return to normal.
However, that was not the
case.
So, when the Ashburton
Methodist Parish,
ceremonially handed over
the church keys, to the
contractors on Sunday
August 16 and the first sod
was turned, the hopes and
dreams of the parish
members, are about to be
fulfilled. Through their faith
and love for each other, their
hoped­for strengthening,
restoring and addition to
their home church building,
sees all their planning being
rewarded.
Some of our hopes are
unrealistic, some are
genuine, some through faith
and love can be achieved. We
hope the Ashburton
community and Baring
Square will benefit from the
endeavours of the Methodist
church, for along time into
the future.
The Apostle Paul, wrote
these encouraging words to
the people of the early
church in Corinth ­these
three things remain: faith,
hope and love; and the
greatest of these is love (1
Corinthians 13: 13).