North Canterbury News: December 04, 2020

NEWS
North Canterbury News, December 3, 2020
11
Land lease
approved
by Little
By DAVID HILL
Creative mates ... Bruce Osborn, left, and Pete Hollobon displayed their wood carvings and sculptures at the recent Dunedin Art Show.
Pair carve out aniche market
By TRACEY BINGHAM
Two down­to­earth blokes fromNorth
Canterbury are carving out aniche in the
art worldfrom their Mandeville base in
North Canterbury.
Artisan woodcarvers Pete Hollobon
and Bruce Osborn,who call their
business Kaimahi Toi New Zealand,
exhibited at the DunedinArts Show
recently, bring their carvingand
woodworking skills together to form
beautifuland unique art pieces.
Both originally had alove for native
timbers when they werestill at school,
which remained withthem through their
chosencareer paths in the construction
industry. As friends and neighboursfor
over20years,they have now combined
their skills.
Theymostly use recycledSouth Island
totara sourced mainly fromthe
aftermath of the 2011Christchurch
earthquakes.
New Zealandkauri and swamp kauri
fromNorthland (carbon­datedat1200
years old)also featurestrongly in their
artworks.
Having initially been inspired by
North American sculptureartistSalam
Baker, who Pete sharedtime with while
in Illinois in 2019, theirworks are now
mainly inspired by the nature and
weather of New Zealand, and
Canterbury’senvironment.
Piecesinclude theirnor’ westseries,
the braided river series,and the seismic
squeeze.
Each piece is created mainlybyhand
with the help of hand­held electric power
and air tools,followed by sanding to
createthe shapes.
The sculpturescan be finishedwith
water­resistant sealantsfor increased
durability for outsidedisplayifrequired.
The pair will be exhibiting at the
Mandeville Craft Festival at Swannanoa
on Sunday,December 6from 10am.
For further information, email
kaimahitoi@gmail.com or go to the
Kaimahi Toi Facebook page.
Authorities to review tsunami risk zones
By DAVIDHILL
Waimakariri Civil Defence willreview
tsunami evacuation zones after fresh
modelling showed flooding could travel
further inland than previously thought.
EnvironmentCanterbury(ECan)
commissionedGNS Science to model the
impacts of various tsunami scenarios for
NorthPegasusBay, afterwork completed
for Christchurch last year resulted in
larger evacuationzonesfor the city.
The reportshowsthe largesttsunami
threats could affect parts of the Kaiapoi
and Pegasus townships, further inland
than previous modelling indicated.
Waimakariri DistrictCouncil
emergency management adviser Brennan
Wiremu welcomes the modelling, which
will helpthe districtbebetter prepared.
‘‘It was really important to have afull
picture of how it could affect our district
beforemakingany changes.We’re now
able to make decisions based on the latest
and mostaccurate science available.’’
Waimakariri Civil Defence is working
withECan, neighbouring councils and
emergency services to draw up new
tsunami evacuation zones and response
plans, Brennan says. It is hoped the new
zones will be ready early in the New Year
and will be accompanied by apublic
education campaign.
‘‘While it’s too early to say exactly what
the new zones will look like, it’s likely to
change fromfour distinct zones centred
on our beach communities to alarger
rectangle that extends the lengthofthe
coast,’’ he says.
After­hours doctors in Rangiora are a
step closer to becoming areality.
Newly appointed Health Minister
Andrew Little approved the lease of
Canterbury District Health Board land
to enable after­hours healthcare at the
Rangiora Health Hub.
He gave the nod during aZoom
meeting with Waimakariri Mayor Dan
Gordon last week.
“After­hours provision is amatter
important to our community and a
matter Ihave been involved in
advocating for over anumber of
years,” Mr Gordon says.
“The minister approving this lease
is excellent news.’’
Mr Gordon said he looked forward to
continuing to work with the board to
see after­hours healthcare available
at the Rangiora Health Hub in the
near future. ‘‘It’s apriority for me and
the community.”
The board had been awaiting
approval from the minister to lease
the land to aprivately owned GP
practice to enable the extension of
hours.
Part of the agreement is that the GP
practice provides extended hours and
is open seven days aweek.
Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey has
been lobbying for after­hours health
care in North Canterbury and says the
announcement is awin for the
community.
“This is an exciting milestone for
our residents and Iwant to
acknowledge our community who
worked together to bring this over the
line.’’
Mr Doocey acknowledged Sandi
McLean for her ‘‘tireless’’ efforts in
collecting signatures for apetition to
the board, community advocate Paula
Thackwell and former board planning
and funding general manager Carolyn
Gullery.
“We can’t have aconversation about
after­hours health care without
acknowledging Paula Thackwell for
her energy and persistence in raising
this as an issue of importance for our
residents.’’
Following the recent loss of
leadership within the board, Mr
Doocey met with acting chief
executive Andrew Brant in person to
ensure timeframes and delivery of the
after­hours facility would remain a
priority.
‘‘I was reassured that he was
keeping after­hours on track,’’ Mr
Doocey said.
WaikukutoLineside Road
NEW PERMANENT SPEEDLIMITS from 15 December 2020
LOCATION
NEW SPEED
LIMIT
LOCATION
NEW SPEED
LIMIT
Thesetting of the permanent speed limits follows
public consultation.
We thank everyone who provided feedback.
Waikukutownship: 130m north
of WaikukuBeach Road, Waikuku,
to 210m south of Gressons Road,
Waikuku
South end of Waikukutownship to
Pegasus: 210m south of Gressons
Road, to 270m north of Pegasus
Blvd
South end of Woodend township to
Pineacres: 140m south of Rangiora
Woodend Road, to 220m south of
the Cam River Bridge
60km/h
80km/h
80km/h
Pineacres intersection: 185m north,
to 220m south of Williams Street
South of Pineacres intersection to
Lineside Road interchange: 220m
south of the Cam River Bridgeto
Lineside Road
80km/h and
variable
60km/h
No change
Formoreinformation, visit:
nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh1-waikuku-to-lineside-roadspeed-limits/