Ashburton Courier: September 02, 2021

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NEWS 6 Ashburton Courier, September 2, 2021 www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz Donna steps up to help in lockdown Lockdownhas once againseen St Vincent de Paul Ashburton shopmanagerDonna Collins step up to be amultitasker. With the shopclosed and a sizeable pool of volunteers stayingsafely athome, she is the one answering phone inquiries and assisting those in need. Donna puts together and then delivers food packages to families and individuals around Ashburton. Her twosons, who areintheir early 20’s, have been her supportcrew, as they were duringthe last lockdown. So far thenumbers needing foodparcel assistance had not risen noticeablythistime around, she said. There wasasteady and constant need butitwas the logisticsthat had changed duringthe covid lockdown. St Vincent de Paul Ashburton shop manager Donna Collins has been busy supporting people in need during lockdown. Deliveriesthat have been made have followed the strict noncontact regulationsin place. St VincentdePaulAshburton president Mike Hanham said Donna wasdoingatremendous job. Shehad taken it uponherself to keep things running and was doing the work normally done by volunteers. ‘‘Our volunteers are in the older age bracket andwe don’t wanttoo manypeopleatthe foodbank during lockdown. ‘‘Donna’sabit younger and she’s getting on with it,’’ he joked. Itemsgoing into the St Vincent de Paul food parcels are carefully selected and typically have avalueofaround $120. Demand varies eachweek. People needing assistance cancall Vincent de Paul Ashburton on 027 607 0107. They may be asked to leavea message but will receive acall back and short interview to determine their needs. Demand for Sallies food parcels increases The emergencyfoodbank run by theSalvation Army in Ashburton has seen an increaseindemandduring lockdown, but reserves are good andpeopleare being askedtocallahead to access food parcels. Demand wastwo or three timeswhat it normally was, saidElizabethRatu, whowith husband Semi, is thecoofficer overseeing thecorpsservices in town. Mrs Ratu said theSallies weregratefulfor the donations of food that continued to come in. Demand hadbeensteady,but had spikedalittleafterthe announcement of extending level4. Shesaid thefoodbank had good reserves andnormally bulk bought, something it could notdoatthe moment. Freshvegetableshad in come and been distributed. Strict covid restrictions were in place and 90 percentoffood parcels were picked up by people at an allocated time, she said. Deliveries had gone asfar afield as Rakaia and Mt Somers andwerecontactless. Mrs Ratu said there was still aneedfor support in lockdown,but anxietylevels werenoticeablyless the secondtime around. Because of the free lunch schemethatran at some schools,parents were now faced with providing lunches at home fortheir children that they didnot usually have to budget for. CivilDefence,social service agencies andthe hospitalhave allreferred clients to the SalvationArmy. Clients are singles, couples andfamilies. The AshburtonSalvation Armyisasking people in need to call ahead on 03 308 7610 or to message throughthe Facebook page. Salvation Army Ashburton corps officer Lt. Semi Ratu prepares to deliver afood parcel. Installation and Servicing of: •Heatpumps •Electrical Appliances •DairyRefrigeration •Ventilation •Refrigeration 2413826 We have procedures in placeto keep staffand clients safeasper COVID-19 guidelines and requirements. Phone 308 7182 On Call 021 597 517 211/D Alford Forest Rd,Ashburton admin@stewartandholland.co.nz www.stewartandholland.co.nz German Style Handcrafted SAUSAGES Pork flavours include cumberland,jalapeno and cheddar (not hot), caramelised onion and apple, roasted pumpkin and walnuts Venison and pork Lamb,mint,garlic and caramelised onion Oursausages have no preservatives,flour or water. Allnatural ingredients,salt, pepper and spices.They are filled out into natural hog casings –not synthetic. 027 206 0503 Phone todayfor contactless delivery. 2413799
www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz Rock opera show in ‘limbo’ MICK.JENSEN @ashburtoncourier.co.nz There wasjustaweek left of rehearsals when covid haltedthe progress of the local productionofrockopera Jesus Christ Superstar andnow organisersare waiting,andhopingalertlevels come downquicklyand anewperformanceslot canbefound. The castof65, alivebandand many volunteers haveclocked up countless hours in preparingforthe musical. Ashowbudget of$120,000 alsoputs pressureonVariety Theatre Ashburton andAshburtonTrustEvent Centre,which areusing theproduction asajoint fundraiser. Show director and event centre managerRoger Farr saidlockdownhas putabig dampenerofthings andnowthe productionwas in limbo. For the show to go ahead later in the year there needed tobesomecertainty around alert levels. ‘‘A lot of ducks have got to line up over the nextfew weeks. ‘‘Thereisalsothepossibilitythat we mighthavetopull theplug,butwedon’t want to dothatunless absolutely necessary.’’ Mr Farrsaid therewaslot at stake financiallyand that wasaconcern. ‘‘We can’treallyafford to cancel it,but we’llhavetosee howthingspanout.’’ Hesaid so mucheffort hadbeenput in by some many peopleoverthe last few months. The wardrobeand set werefinished and therewas onlyaweek remainingof Minister steps up technology use MICK.JENSEN @ashburtoncourier.co.nz rehearsalsandfinal technical workwhen lockdownstruck. Mr Farr saidrehearsals couldstart againunder level2,but it neededlevel 1 to be abletoperformthe show andto bringinthe audience. November is beingeyedasapossible monthforthe production. Ashburton Trust Event Centre manager Roger Farrand Variety Theatre Ashburton president Nicky Milmine were in ahappier mood when they announced the rights had been securedfor Jesus Christ Superstar back in May. NEWS Ashburton Courier, September 2, 2021 7 Survey uptake best ever Asurvey conducted by the YMCA South &Mid Canterbury has had itsbest everuptakewith hundreds completingthe threepart biennial survey. The survey asked questionsaboutattitudes, educationand employment, andwellbeing. Data to dateshows1243 respondentscompleted partone,862 part two, and 853 part three. The high uptakeispartly attributedtothe decision to splitthe survey into three parts making it more manageabletocompletefor the first time and also becauseofthe YMCA’s decisiontospeakatsome school assembliesabout the survey for the first time. Thesurvey seeks to givea voicetoyoung people and the results will be shared with decisionmakers in government,business, health, education and social sectorssothat the collective youth voiceis represented. The full results are expected to be revealedin the next week or so. Rev HeatherKennedy has adapted her usual communication methods duringlockdown and technology has become her new friend. TheMethodist minister is confident online, aregular at Zoommeetingsand has found browsing Facebookand YouTubeuseful and entertaining. ‘‘The older generation, like myself, have generally learnt technology as they’ve gone along andatafairly slow pace. ‘‘For me, andanumber of others, lockdown has forcedus to change theway we do things, particularly they way we interactwith others.’’ Rev Kennedy said churches in generalhad become more innovative because there were no facetofaceservices and contact. ‘‘The Methodistchurch, for example,has been sharing information andlinks about servicespeople can watch online at home. ‘‘Others arelive streaming servicesfromthe homes of ministers.’’ Rev Kennedy’s typical Sunday service forthe Baring SquareMethodist Churchhas beenemailedout to the congregation along with YouTubelinkstohymns. Mostofthe congregationare on email andthose not online have been givenprinted material. As well as being aMethodist minister, Rev Kennedy is involved withadministration for the Presbyterian Church General Assembly, which has a Rev Heather Kennedy biannual conference lined up in Christchurchatthe endof this month. Zoom meetings have allowed her andothers to discuss and put forward businessagenda items for the conference, which is shapinguptobeadigital event. Rev Kennedy also has abig Methodist church conference lined up in November and a decision on whetherthat goes aheadisstillbeing debated throughonline conferencing. ‘‘Sometimes there willbe30 people online at Zoom meetings andit was the same lastyearinlockdown,’’she said Rev Kennedy said level 3 wouldbenodifferent from level 4for the church community, or the country as a whole. There was someangst in the community andmembers of her congregation wereconcerned for fellow Tongans caughtupin the spread of covid froma church gathering in Auckland. Rev Kennedy said shefelt for those in resthomes whocould not receivevisitors at this time. Proudly supportedby 2414143
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Ashburton Courier: September 02, 2021

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