Ashburton Courier: October 07, 2021

NEWS
18 Ashburton Courier, October 7, 2021
Plants potted at library
Theoutside came in at
potplanting session held
at the AshburtonPublic
Library last week.
Held as part of aseries
of localevents to mark
andsupportMental
Health Week, thelibrary
teamed up with
Ashburton District
Council’s (ADC) open
spaces team and invited
thoseaged between 12
and17tobringinapot
andtowalk awaywith a
plant in it.
The plants on offer
were succulents and
advicewas given by the
gardeningteam on
watering, checking soil
andre­potting.
The benefits of indoor
plantsincludetheir
ability to produce
oxygen,removal of toxins
andpurifying the air, as
well as enriching health
andwell­being and
fostering happyvibes.
FINAL FLIGHT
NOTICE OF HELICOPTER USE
FOR VISUAL INSPECTION OF
TRANSMISSION LINES IN
YOUR AREA.
Transpower, the owner and operator
of the national grid, will be carrying
out aroutine visual maintenance
inspection of transmission lines in
your area by helicopter.
We have been undertaking inspections
of the structures on the Glenavy to
Waitaki 110 kV line and also our
Roxburgh to Islington 220 kV line
(as shown on the map) by alow flying
helicopter over the last month.
Ourfinalflyoverdate is planned for
Monday 11October 2021.
The helicopter will fly at aconstant
speed of about 30 km/h, starting at
Waitaki and will take approximately
4hours per session.
Aviemore
Waitaki
Livingstone
Black Point
Bells Pond
Geraldine
79
Oamaru
Timaru
Ashburton
It’s important to us that you are kept informed and updated on our activities.
If you require further information, please call Myles Stichman 0274 779 693 or 03 688 2689.
TPAC23971021
Potting up succulents are (from left) Amalia Worsfold, 13, Charlotte
Syme, 14, and ADC open spaces horticultural team leader Letitia
Smart.
Cup meeting moved
The Methven Trotting Club’s
annual Methven Cup meeting,
planned for October 10, has
beenmoved to the Geraldine
Trotting Club's trackatOrari
due to stormdamage.
TheMethven Cup is touted
as akey lead­up race to the
New Zealand Cup at
Addingtoninearly November,
but the Methvencourse was
litteredwithtreesand debris
after strongwinds hit the
districtinearly September.
The decision to hold the
meetingatOrari wasmade
after detailed inspections of
both coursesbyHarness
RacingNew Zealandvenue
inspectorJohn Denton and
generalmanager ­racing
CatherineMcDonald. It is the
Helicopter will be
operating at low
levels inaroundthe
transmission line in
highlightedzone.
83
8
8
82
secondmeeting this year
Methvenhas had to relocate
becauseofthe storm damage.
Thelast time, on September
12, raceswere transferred to
Ashburton.
More inspectionsare
planned for the Methven
course, with theexpectation
it will reopenfor ascheduled
meetingonOctober29.
1
Helicopter
operating area
Substations
Highways/Roads
Other
transmission lines
Please note this
inspection is weather
dependent, and we
would look to fly the
next day if required.
www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
Council has
questions on
water reforms
Ashburton District councillors
have expressed reservations
about the Government’s
proposedThree WatersReform,
andsay theyneed alot more
information about how it would
affect the district, and time to
properly consultits residents,
before deciding whethertoopt
in or out.
Government is proposing four
newwater serviceentities to
takeoverthe running of
drinkingwater, stormwater, and
wastewaterservices aroundthe
country.
That job is currentlydoneby
67 separate councils; Ashburton
would be partofalargely South
Island entity.
Atanextraordinarycouncil
meetinglastweek,councillors
resolvedtonote the reform
proposaland go backto
government with 17 specific
questions, includinghow the
Ashburton community could
have guaranteed influenceover
its three watersservices in the
future andhowthe community
voicewillbeheard by such a
large neworganisation.
Councillors also noted the
results ofapublic survey, in
which 97 per cent of 504
responderssaid it was
important for the communityto
be able to have theirsayonthe
matter.
Ashburton mayorNeilBrown
saidcouncil couldalso not make
such an important decision on
threewaters services without
knowing howother pending
government reforms like the
Resource Management Act
review, theReview on The
Futurefor Local Government,
andhowfuture water regulation
would playout.
‘‘We still don’t know the
details of howthe new national
water regulator Taumata
Arowai will enforce drinking
water standards, nor have we
seen anydetail of theproposed
Economic Regulator ­and so it
is likeputting thecart before
thehorse if we make adecision
nowtoopt in or out withoutthe
full package of information.
‘‘We, like all othercouncils,
have beenasked to give
preliminary feedback on the
reform, not make adecision.
‘‘That decision will be hugely
significant, andwecannot make
it without consultation with our
community.
‘‘We believe we are wellplaced
in terms of our existing
budgets and planned work
programmes intothe immediate
future.’’
Other questions remained
around matters like governance
arrangements of thenewWater
Entities, future pricing policies,
theinclusion of stormwaterin
thereform proposals, how
Ashburton’s investment
prioritieswill be guaranteed
and theregulation of private
water supplies.
Restorative justice
services delivered
MICK.JENSEN
@ashburtoncourier.co.nz
Safer Mid Canterbury is now
delivering restorativejustice
servicesinAshburton,Timaru
and Oamaru.
Services havebeendelivered
in Ashburton for the last 22
years, but Timaru cameon
board in 2020 and Oamaru
earlier this year.
Last year there were 101
referrals through the
Ashburtonand Timaru courts.
Runningthe servicefor three
courts made it much more
viable,Safer Mid Canterbury
manager Kevin Clifford said.
Incomefromthe three
locations cameback into this
districtand underpinned the
work donehere.
Fivestaff were employed in
restorative justice, three with
guaranteed hours as court coordinators
and all five were
able to facilitate conferences,
he said.
Safer Mid Canterbury is paid
on pre­conferences,which take
place separately with the
victim andthe offender and
also for conferences,which
bringbothparties together.
Workload fluctuates for staff
dependingonoffending levels,
but there were times when they
can all be busy, andothertimes,
like during lockdown, when
Kevin Clifford
courts do notsit, Mr Clifford
said.
There was no fixed income,
but asteadyflow of referrals
overthree courts could result
in acappedincome figure of up
to $338,000per annum.
Taking part in the restorative
justice process is voluntary and
will onlygoahead if the
offender andvictim agree and
it is determined suitable.
Following the process, a
detailed report is provided to
the judge for consideration
duringsentencing.