Selwyn_Times: January 10, 2024

Wednesday January 10 2024 Selwyn Times
NEWS 7
BACK TO SCHOOL DEALS
10- 70% OFF ALL FOOTWEAR
DIARDORA FLEX TRAINER V JR
WAS $80 SAVE $30
NOW $50
DIADORA STUDY SNR
WAS $130 SAVE $40
NOW $90
ON BOARD: Malvern Community Board newcomers John Verry (left) and
Phil Freeman. Verry will fight for community halls to stay in the hands of
the community, while Freeman intends to give smaller groups a voice.
NEW BALANCE 624 M+W
WAS $150 SAVE $50
NOW $100
SAFTEY JOGGER BERLIN M
WAS $160 SAVE $20
NOW $140
New year, fresh
faces for troubled
community board
• By Daniel Alvey
THE REBUILDING of the district’s only
community board is under way, with two
new members joining it.
John Verry, of Darfield, and Phil
Freeman, of Hororata, have been elected to
the Malvern Community Board following
a by-election, with Verry winning the
Hawkins seat and Freeman the Tawera
seat.
The by-election was triggered after
infighting and name-calling between
former board members. Sean Ellis
resigned in late August followed by chair
Ken May a week later.
May took a swipe on his way
out at his fellow board members
saying, “I’m too old to be pissing
around with children.”
He singled out Calvin Payne
and Sharn Nu’u as “no brainers”,
and said Ellis thought he was
“god”.
But Nu’u and Ellis shot back
saying May was not acting
appropriately as chair, with Ellis calling
May’s comments “vulgar” and “uncouth”.
Now the board is looking to move
forward with council chief executive
Sharon Mason ready to implement a new
direction.
“We’re going to set up an orientation
day in early February and we are going
to bring the whole community board
together and orientate everybody from
scratch,” Mason said.
She said the orientation will cover
what it means to be a community board
member, roles and expectations.
Also to be decided is who will take the
role of chair, with Bruce Russell interim
chair.
Mason said the chair may not be
Sharon
Mason
decided at the first meeting.
“What we’re keen to do is let the new
members get their feet under the table.
Perhaps at the second or third meeting
they can determine the chair.
“I think the key thing is they have to get
to know each other,” she said.
Verry, who moved to Darfield from
Auckland a year ago, was happy to get the
vote from the community over others who
have been in the area longer.
“I was batting a bit uphill being a
newcomer with the two other people being
fairly long incumbents of the area so it was
quite pleasing to get there.”
Verry will try to ensure the
community halls identified
by the council as having low
utilisation stay in the hands of the
community.
Verry has held senior
management roles in tertiary
education. He has worked for
many years as a lawyer at district
councils, including manager,
legal and in-house counsel, and
was a legal adviser for Honiara City
Council in Solomon Islands. He is now
retired.
Freeman has spent about 25 years in
Hororata and has been the owner of
Bossman Engineering since 2013.
Freeman has been involved in school
boards in the past and has been the
chair of the former Hororata Reserve
Committee, as well as helping out at the
Hororata Trust.
Freeman’s focus will be ensuring the
smaller communities are heard.
“When they got rid of all the
community committees they lost their
voice and contact between the community
and council,” Freeman said.
MIZUNO RIDER 25 M+W
WAS $260 SAVE $100
NOW $160
DIADORA FLEX TRAINER L
WAS $80 SAVE $30
NOW $50
HUGE RANGE OF KIDS SHOES
INSTORE & ALL REDUCED
NB YP860P11
WAS $140 SAVE $70
NOW $70
ASICS 550TR PS
WAS $120 SAVE $40
NOW $80
ASICS 2000V10 GS
WAS $160 SAVE $50
NOW $110
50% OFF ALL BACKPACKS*
NB HOODIES ALL $40*
WERE UP
TO $120