North Canterbury News: December 16, 2021

Subdivision planned near airfield
By SHELLEY TOPP
Anew subdivision proposed near the
RangioraAirfield will deliver a‘‘wow
factor’’ to the area, amember of the
RangioraAirfield Advisory Group says.
PaulWilliams, whoisalsoa
WaimakaririDistrict councillorand a
Rangiora­AshleyCommunityBoard
member, believes thedevelopment
willfuture proofthe airfield,make it
safer, because of plans to extendthe
runway,and helpmake it financially
selfsustaining.
The airfieldisowned andoperated
by theWaimakariri District Council
withassistancefrom the advisory
group.
‘‘Atthe moment the airfield is acost
to ratepayers but my ambition is for it
to be runprofitably andIbelievethis
development can go alongway towards
achieving that,’’ he says.
The new development, includes
nine,four­hectare residential lotson
thesouthwestsideofPriors Roadand
20 smallerlots on the opposite sideof
PriorsRoad, closertothe airfield, for
residential houses with hangars.
Thereisalso provisionfor additional
commercialhangarsinthe proposal.
Theprojectisbeing developedwith
aviationenthusiastsinmind by
Fernsidecivil engineeringcontractor
DanielSmith, of DM andADSmith
Investments.
Mr Smith met withthe advisory
group latelastmonthtooutline details
of hisproposal forthe area.
‘‘Thegroup supportsthe proposal
100percent,’’ Mr Williams says.
Thedevelopmentproposal includes
tarsealingand straighteningpart of
Priors Road.
Althoughthe proposal willincrease
thenumberofsmall planes using the
airfield, Mr Williams does notexpect
thenoise level to increase
substantiallybecauseofthe new
development.
‘‘Thehouses in the new development
areall offthe flight path. Planes are
alreadysubjecttonoise restrictionsat
theairfieldbut theseplanesaquite
small so it is not likea747 taking off,’’
he says.
‘‘We don’tget many complaints about
aircraftatthe airfield becausethey all
take offoverthe AshleyRakahuri
River.’’
Curly Cat: The tale of atail
By ROBYN BRISTOW
CurlyCat was bullied and teasedabout his
tail.
He tried desperately to rid himself of the
taunts and evenresorted to ironing it —
unsuccessfully —and washing it at the
‘laundrocat’.
But eventually an eccentric cat groomer,
Barber Cat,sees the potential in Curly’s
tail.
CurlyCat is the eighth picture book by
Oxford author, JenniferSomervell, who
releaseditinOxford recently with her
illustrator,Zerika van Jaarsveld.
It has been lauded by Children's and
YoungAdult Book Reviewer, Bob
Decarchy, as ‘‘one of the picture books of
the year’’.
‘‘Anyone who has been bullied or teased
will relatetoCurly Cat,’’ Jennifer says.
‘‘He is mocked for his super long curly
tail,and goes to ridiculous, and hilarious
lengths to solve his problem.’’
His friends try to protect him, but
Barber Cat finally puts paidtothe poor
cat’sridicule.
Jenniferand Southland­based Zerika
decided at the end of 2020, that 2021 would
need abook with lotsofhumour.
‘‘Littledid we know,’’ saysJennifer.
‘‘We thought 2020 was difficult, but this
book’s journey to print was the roughest
ride yet.’’
Jennifersuffered aheathcrisis, from
whichshe is stillrecovering, amonth
before upload,putting the whole project in
jeopardy.
‘‘With extra help, we managed to get the
book to printontime, onlytosee it
languish in Singapore forsix weeks, as
ship after ship was cancelled or delayed.
‘‘No­onecould say whenitwould get
here,orwhat the freightwould cost. And
with Covidwedidn’t know if there would
even be amarketwhen it arrived,’’ says
Humourous tale ... Oxford author Jennifer Somervell and her illustrator Serika van
Jaarsveld sign copies of Curly Cat,the eighth book by Jennifer.
Jennifer.
Like CurlyCat who had to accepthelp to
have his tail accepted, Jennifer realised
she had to havehelp getting the book to
print.
But she says it has all been worth it.
“In theclassroom, thethemesare
comingthrough powerfully to children –of
accepting differences, of staying
connected, the power of speaking kind
words,and forgiving quickly.’’
Laughter, happytimeswith the
illustrator, andthe clear vision the pair
had for book,keptthe project on track.
‘‘Zerika and Ihad both been bulliedat
school, and we feltthe bookwould bring
comfort,and encouragepositive
conversations.’’ Justasthe bookwas going
to print, Jennifer’s animal­themed nativity
story, ABaa­rilliant Adventure,had added
to its silver medal, witharaftoffirst place
awards in the PurpleDragonflyBook
Awards.
‘‘That gave us ahuge lift at the toughest
timeinthe process. And yes, it was all
worth it.’’
Curly Cat and ABaa­riliant Adventure
are availableatEmma’sofOxford, North
Canterbury Books, Wee Kiwisand onlineat
talesfromthefarmpublications.com.
NEWS
The North Canterbury News, December 16, 2021
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Another challenging year, but
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We are taking awell-earned
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Wishing everyone asafe and
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