North Canterbury News: July 27, 2023

OPINION
6 The North Canterbury News, July 27, 2023
Focus on
Waimakariri
with Mayor Dan Gordon
July wet and wild
in the Waimakariri
Once againJuly has proventobeawet
andwildmonthinthe Waimakariri.
Morethan150mm of rain fell in some
areas between last Saturday nightand
Mondaymorning.
Council staff andCivilDefence set up
an Emergency OperationsCentre (EOC)
on Saturdaytodealwiththe level of
servicerequests, andtomonitor roads
andriverlevels.
Ispent quite abit of timeinthe EOC
over the weekend­Iliketokeep up to
date withwhat is happening.
Thankyou to council staff,
contractors, CivilDefence volunteers
andour emergency services personnel
whoworked tirelessly assisting
residentswithfloodingand drainage
issues,and keeping abreast of the
changing situation.
Thankyou also tothe residents of
Tuahiwiwho self­evacuated atthe
request ofCivil Defencewhenthere
were concernsthe Cam River may
breach itsbanks onSunday night.
Thankyou to the Civil Defence
volunteers teams who supportedthe
welfarecentreatRiverside Church in
Kaiapoiovernight on Sunday.
Nowasweshiftour focus to the
clean­up, staff willendeavour to make
their waythrough the largenumber of
servicecalls.
Thesecalls aretriaged,withthe most
seriousonesbeing dealt withfirst.
Events like this can result in months
of work to getthrough the volume of
requests.
Iwould liketoacknowledge the sad
passingofCharles Wiffen.Iattended
hisfunerallast week.
Charleswas thepresident of
Canterbury Country Cricket andhada
long associationwithCountry Cricket
having served onthe Executive for 11
yearsfrom 1984 to 1995 before taking
overasPresident in2018.
This month MayorMarieBlack andI
were madehonourablemembers of the
NorthCanterbury Soroptimists.
Ifeltvery privileged to receivethis
honour.
Iamabig fanofthe work the
Soroptimists doinour community to
educate, empower andenable
opportunities for women andgirls.
Like the rest of New Zealand Ihave
also beentaken overbyFootball World
Cupfever!
Theopeninggameagainst Norway by
theFootball Ferns wasjustfantastic,
andsoexciting for us to have Gabi
Renniefromour districtinthe squad.
Iknowweare allgetting behindGabi
andthe team.
Iwelcome contactfrom anyone who
needsassistance or has an issue they
maywanttodiscuss.
Emailmeatdan.gordon@wmk.govt.
nz or phone021906437. I’mhere to help.
Rob
oby
byn’s Ramb
mbl
bli
ling
ngs
Mud, glorious mud
Peppa Pig losing her golden boots, and
finding them in timetocompete in a
muddypuddle jump with her friends,
has got nothing on the real deal.
Although the sequence in this case
for my farmer husband happened in
reverse order, and there certainly
wasn’t any excitement aboutmuddy
puddles, or just mud in general really.
In fact Iamguessingwhat was
uttered whenhefound himself stuck
firmly, knee deep in mud in his
gumboots, would not have been fit for
achildren’s book, or any book for that
matter.
It began with adaringmove to
unhook abungeecord fromagate way.
The vehicle being usedhad already
had to be rescued byaneighbour
when it got stuck, so using it was right
out of the question to get to said
bungee.
Simple justtippytoe down the fence
line where the cows hadn’t turned the
ground to mud, then somehow get
across the gateway whichwas abit of
abog hole,tounhook thebungee.
Midway the gumboots became firmly
planted.
After alot of wiggling, pulling and
nearly ending up facefirst in the mud,
there wasnothing else for it but to
abandon the gummies.
Carefully taking one foot out of one
gumboot at atime, stripping his jeans
and socks off, he then plunged his bare
feet and legsinto the unknown.
Apparently it is an amazing
experience feeling the oddities
hidden in the mud sliding up between
your toes as you eventually get to the
post where the bungee can be undone.
Now covered in mud,cold, pretty
dam angry, and with no footwear, the
operation began to dig out his
gummies.
Ihave no idea how long this took, but
it was getting pretty dark, no doubt
along with his mood, when I
eventually called him to discover it
had been aparticularly hard slog in
the mudfor muchofthe day —toput
it politely.
He had to hose himself down, before
getting dressed and into his vehicle
for the drivehome. However, this
muddy adventure wasn’t afirst.
Afew days earlier, at another
property while checking stags, he had
also got stuckinthe mud, andwas
almost on all fours as he just managed
to pull himself to safety.
During this adventure he had his
hand on his phone at one stage
thinking the onlyway out might be to
ring ahelicopter to comeand pluck
him to safety.
While we can look back and laugh —
and it is even funnier whentold first
hand —the mud, wet and daily grind,
isn’t aload of laughs for the farming
community at the moment.
Farmers plug on each day to ensure
the health of their stock, albeit bare
footed, bare legged or not.
But even in these dire times being
able to laugh aboutthe day’s follies is
helping them to keep on going.
What is working well for Waimak elderly and what is not
Health services, transport, housing and
safety are the key areas identified as
needing improvement after consultation
with the elderlyinthe Waimakariri
community.
The Waimakariri AgeFriendly Advisory
Grouphas been consulting and askingthe
elderly whatthey think is working well,
and where theythink things could do
better.
The basis of consultationwith groups
and individualswas achecklist developed
by the World Health Organisation which
listscriteria thatdefinewhat an Agefriendly
Community looks like.
In Junethe group received areport on
This
Week
Sun
Fishing
Guide
Moon
Wind
Ok
Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Jul 27 Jul 28 Jul 29 Jul 30 Jul 31 Aug 1 Aug 2
Rise 7:47am
Rise 7:46am
Rise 7:45am
Rise 7:44am
Rise 7:43am
Rise 7:42am
Rise 7:41am
Set 5:24pm
Set 5:25pm
Set 5:26pm
Set 5:27pm
Set 5:28pm
Set 5:29pm
Set 5:30pm
Best
Times
6:55am
7:20pm
Set 1:48am
Rise 11:54am
Gentle SW becoming
moderate W
Ok
Best
Times
7:46am
8:13pm
Set 3:00am
Rise 12:25pm
Moderate Wturning
SE
thethinking and views aboutthe priorities
forthe area.
The collated results will shortly be
reported to the Waimakariri District
Council and the age­friendly advisory
group will seekendorsement fromthe
district council for action.
Theconsultation process identified four
areas forimprovement, but there also
many features older people likedabout
livinginthe Waimakariri:
It is afriendly community.
Thereare great service organisations
andagenciesfor support,ifneeded.
Services across the community –shops,
supermarket, cafes’etc. are very good.
Fair
Best
Times
8:42am
9:12pm
Set 4:15am
Rise 1:04pm
Gentle Wturning
S
RANGIORA OCEAN WATCH
Best 9:43am
Good
Times 10:15pm
Set 5:28am
Rise 1:57pm
Gentle SW becoming
moderate SE
Good
There is agreat range of recreation and
social opportunities.
Somegood healthservices­X­ray and
BloodService in particular.
The collation of feedback also clearly
identified four priority areas where
improvement is needed:
Health Services.
Transport.
Housing.
Safety.
Key suggestions were:
Health Services:
The need for more home helpand
improvementsincommunity nursing
availability and consistency.
Best 10:48am
Times 11:21pm
Set 6:35am
Rise 3:04pm
Gentle Wturning
S
Best 11:53am
Good
Times
Set 7:31am
Rise 4:23pm
Gentle SW becoming
moderate SE
Best 12:25am
Good
Times 12:56pm
Set 8:15am
Rise 5:47pm
Moderate Wturning
SE
Less waiting timefor health checksand
appointments.
Improved local access to accident and
emergency facilities.
The need for after hours services.
Transportation:
Easieraccess to buses and car­parking.
Housing:
More pensioner housing and a
commitment to asuitablehome for every
older person.
Safety:
Greater availability of help with
internet for older people.
More visible police presence plus
patrolsatnight.
Swell
Pegasus Bay
Tide Chart
3
2
E1.3 m E1.5 m E0.9 m E0.9 m E0.9 m E0.9 m E1.0 m
3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9 3 6 9 NOON 3 6 9
1
0
Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows Highs Lows
Waimakariri 11:33am 2.1 5:18am 0.7
6:06am 0.7 12:46am 2.1 6:56am 0.6 1:40am 2.2 7:49am 0.6 2:34am 2.2 8:44am 0.5 3:29am 2.3 9:42am 0.4 4:24am 2.4 10:39am 0.3
Mouth
11:54pm 2.1 5:50pm 0.8 12:24pm 2.2 6:44pm 0.7 1:18pm 2.3 7:39pm 0.7 2:14pm 2.4 8:33pm 0.6 3:09pm 2.5 9:28pm 0.5 4:03pm 2.6 10:22pm 0.4 4:57pm 2.6 11:16pm 0.3
Amberley 11:33am 2.1 5:18am 0.7
6:06am 0.7 12:46am 2.1 6:56am 0.6 1:40am 2.2 7:49am 0.6 2:34am 2.2 8:44am 0.5 3:29am 2.3 9:42am 0.4 4:24am 2.4 10:39am 0.3
Beach
11:54pm 2.1 5:50pm 0.8 12:24pm 2.2 6:44pm 0.7 1:18pm 2.3 7:39pm 0.7 2:14pm 2.4 8:33pm 0.6 3:09pm 2.5 9:28pm 0.5 4:03pm 2.6 10:22pm 0.4 4:57pm 2.6 11:16pm 0.3
11:42am 2.1 5:27am 0.7 12:03am 2.1 6:15am 0.7 12:55am 2.1 7:05am 0.6 1:49am 2.2 7:58am 0.6 2:43am 2.2 8:53am 0.5 3:38am 2.3 9:51am 0.4 4:33am 2.4 10:48am 0.3
Motunau
5:59pm 0.8 12:33pm 2.2 6:53pm 0.7 1:27pm 2.3 7:48pm 0.7 2:23pm 2.4 8:42pm 0.6 3:18pm 2.5 9:37pm 0.5 4:12pm 2.6 10:31pm 0.4 5:06pm 2.6 11:25pm 0.3
11:44am 2.1 5:29am 0.7 12:05am 2.1 6:17am 0.7 12:57am 2.1 7:07am 0.6 1:51am 2.2 8:00am 0.6 2:45am 2.2 8:55am 0.5 3:40am 2.3 9:53am 0.4 4:35am 2.4 10:50am 0.3
Gore Bay
6:01pm 0.8 12:35pm 2.2 6:55pm 0.7 1:29pm 2.3 7:50pm 0.7 2:25pm 2.4 8:44pm 0.6 3:20pm 2.5 9:39pm 0.5 4:14pm 2.6 10:33pm 0.4 5:08pm 2.6 11:27pm 0.3
11:43am 1.5 5:26am 0.4 12:06am 1.4 6:13am 0.4 12:56am 1.5 7:01am 0.3 1:47am 1.5 7:52am 0.3 2:40am 1.5 8:46am 0.2 3:34am 1.6 9:41am 0.2 4:29am 1.6 10:37am 0.1
Kaikoura
6:00pm 0.4 12:33pm 1.5 6:53pm 0.4 1:25pm 1.6 7:46pm 0.3 2:18pm 1.7 8:39pm 0.3 3:12pm 1.8 9:32pm 0.2 4:06pm 1.8 10:26pm 0.1 5:01pm 1.9 11:20pm 0.1
*Not for navigational purposes. Wind and swell are based on apoint off Gore Bay. Maori Fishing Guide by Bill Hohepa. www.ofu.co.nz www.tidespy.com Graphic supplied by OceanFun Publishing Ltd.
RANGIORA