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FOR LOCAL ADVERTISING<br />
Annabel Judd<br />
Ph: 021 457 469<br />
annabel.judd@starmedia.kiwi<br />
Quarry could get fenced dog area<br />
FOR LOCAL ADVERTISING<br />
COMPLAINTS about off-leash<br />
dogs could see a fenced dog area<br />
created at Halswell Quarry Park.<br />
A fenced dog exercise area,<br />
two walking paths and tree<br />
plantings are being planned as<br />
part of the Halswell Quarry Park<br />
improvement plan.<br />
City council acting head of<br />
parks Roslyn Kerr said the area<br />
is a popular community space<br />
and The has Star, seen January increase 23, <strong>2025</strong> in use<br />
with the urban growth in the<br />
surrounding areas.<br />
“There has been a significant<br />
increase in visitors to the<br />
Halswell Quarry Park dog<br />
exercise area, and we’ve had<br />
requests The Star, from<br />
January<br />
the community<br />
23, <strong>2025</strong><br />
to make some changes to the<br />
way dogs are managed in the<br />
area.<br />
“There are currently no fenced<br />
areas in the southwest where dog<br />
owners can exercise their dogs<br />
off leash, The Star, in<br />
January<br />
a dedicated<br />
23, <strong>2025</strong><br />
space<br />
that allows dogs to play in a<br />
controlled environment.”<br />
Kerr said public feedback from<br />
the Dog Control Policy and<br />
Bylaw hearings in March was a<br />
main factor behind the proposal.<br />
The Star, January 23, <strong>2025</strong><br />
“We have received complaints<br />
about dogs off leash in public<br />
where they shouldn’t be and<br />
there have been several dog<br />
related incidents reported in the<br />
Halswell Quarry area.<br />
“The proposed plan is to also<br />
make it clearer where the on/off<br />
leash areas are in the park.”<br />
The planned fenced area will<br />
be larger than the current section<br />
and will incorporate the lower<br />
field and a new area towards<br />
Kennedys Bush Road.<br />
The plan is also looking at<br />
allocating an area for native<br />
forest planting and creating<br />
two walking tracks – one<br />
inside the dog exercise area and<br />
DOG AREA: The proposed plan for a fenced area for dog<br />
users at Halswell Quarry Park, indicated in yellow, starnews.co.nz is open<br />
for feedback.<br />
PHOTOS: CCC<br />
an extension of the existing<br />
accessible track around the<br />
outside.<br />
Staff are investigating<br />
appropriate sites. In the<br />
meantime, people can provide<br />
feedback on what they would like<br />
to see at the dog park.<br />
Jenny Wright<br />
Ph: 021 220 3484<br />
jenny@starmedia.kiwi<br />
starnews.co.nz<br />
starnews.co.nz<br />
• Share your thoughts on<br />
proposed improvements<br />
to Halswell Quarry Park.<br />
The dog area plan is<br />
open for feedback starnews.co.nz<br />
until <strong>June</strong> 29 at<br />
letstalk.ccc.govt.nz/<br />
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Volunteer honoured for getting club<br />
• By Geoff Sloan<br />
A BIG EFFORT to keep a small<br />
BMX club alive has seen Rick<br />
Houghton recognised for his<br />
dedication.<br />
The North Avon Christchurch<br />
BMX Club, based at Bexley Reserve<br />
off Pages Rd in Bexley, was<br />
left struggling after the February<br />
2011 earthquake devastated its<br />
facility.<br />
Life member Nigel Mahan<br />
led the charge to rebuild the<br />
wrecked facility from scratch<br />
until his untimely death in 2021.<br />
Following Mahan’s death,<br />
Houghton stepped up to lead<br />
the club’s revival, helping its 40<br />
members get back on track.<br />
“I didn’t want to see it end. I<br />
didn’t want the facility to revert<br />
back to a wasteland. And it just<br />
takes somebody to do it,” he said.<br />
For his efforts, Houghton was<br />
named volunteer of the year at<br />
Sport Canterbury’s Sport and<br />
Recreation Awards.<br />
“I was highly embarrassed. I<br />
really didn’t think I was going to<br />
win,” he said.<br />
Judges praised his “incredible<br />
dedication, generosity and tireless<br />
efforts,” saying his contribution<br />
has made a lasting impact<br />
on the BMX community.<br />
Houghton said the award was<br />
recognition for the often-overlooked<br />
sport of BMX, especially<br />
as he was up against volunteers<br />
from more high-profile sports<br />
like rugby, hockey, and bowls.<br />
IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE? No, it’s super volunteer of the year Rick Houghton in his trademark<br />
sweatshirt. “It’s nice and warm in winter, and at events it’s easy for people to spot me when<br />
they’re told to go and see Rick in the superman top.”<br />
Houghton was quick to point England, Houghton moved to<br />
out he is one of a six person Christchurch with his family in<br />
committee which oversee the 2005 to take a job with ENGCO<br />
facility.<br />
consulting engineers.<br />
“They put me up for volunteer A structural draftsman, he has<br />
of the year, but we all do it.” contributed to many of the city’s<br />
Originally from Leyland, post-quake rebuilds, including<br />
PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN<br />
the Westpac Christchurch Central<br />
on Cashel St and developments<br />
along The Terrace.<br />
His involvement with the<br />
BMX club began almost by<br />
accident.<br />
“We live in Parklands, and my<br />
Our Great<br />
Volunteers<br />
CALL TO ACTION<br />
Do you know someone<br />
doing valuable volunteer<br />
work in the community?<br />
Send their details in 200<br />
words or less to geoff.<br />
sloan@starmedia.kiwi<br />
wife sent me down here with our<br />
two boys during a give-it-a-go<br />
day about nine years ago.”<br />
The boys quickly took to the<br />
sport, and Houghton, a keen<br />
mountain biker since his 20s,<br />
got tired of just watching.<br />
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ack on track<br />
“I thought, I can do this –<br />
there’s nothing difficult about it.”<br />
Now 53, he’s also the reigning<br />
men’s over-50 national pump<br />
track champion, a title he has<br />
held for the past two years. He<br />
will defend it again in Rotorua in<br />
September.<br />
Volunteering runs in the family.<br />
His wife, Jane, is chair of the<br />
Shirley Boys’ High School PTA,<br />
while sons Andrew and Thomas<br />
are both volunteer cadets with<br />
Hato Hone St John.<br />
“It’s just part of our life,”<br />
Houghton said.<br />
In 2023, the club completed a<br />
$650,000 sealed pump track next<br />
to its existing site. The 2500sq m<br />
all-weather facility, named the<br />
Nigel Mahan Pump Track, was<br />
gifted to the city council, which<br />
now maintains it.<br />
Houghton said the publicaccess<br />
pump track was popular,<br />
slowly helping to raise the club’s<br />
profile in the east.<br />
“It just feels like we can’t we<br />
can’t let this club go, because of<br />
all the work Nigel did.”<br />
Houghton said he draws<br />
inspiration from club founder<br />
and life member Roy Leaning,<br />
who is in his 70s and still rides<br />
from time to time.<br />
“He rolls off the gate and<br />
cruises around at his own pace,”<br />
he said.<br />
“When I first started racing at<br />
the club, Roy used to absolutely<br />
whip the pants off me.”<br />
Asked if he sees himself doing<br />
the same one day, Houghton<br />
smiled: “Hopefully, hopefully.”<br />
TIMEKEEPERS: Rick Houghton and his son and Andrew,<br />
15, hard at work during round 1 of the Winter Pump Track<br />
Series at the weekend.<br />
PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN<br />
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City2Surf fundraising still<br />
making waves for families<br />
IT HAS BEEN three months<br />
since the annual CORDE<br />
City2Surf, but the Home &<br />
Family Charitable Trust says the<br />
event’s impact is still being felt in<br />
the community.<br />
As the event’s official charity<br />
partner, Home & Family recently<br />
awarded St Martins School a certificate<br />
for raising $605 to support<br />
local children and families<br />
affected by family violence.<br />
The charity’s Te Hononga<br />
youth mentoring programme<br />
leader Simone Soares said it<br />
was thanks to supporters like St<br />
Martins that she and her team<br />
were able to support children<br />
and families to make positive<br />
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net.nz/donate or<br />
email: fundraise@<br />
homeandfamily.net.nz<br />
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Bike repair<br />
programme<br />
helps prisoners<br />
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cycles of life<br />
• By Gwenaëlle Chollet<br />
YOUTH OFFENDERS are<br />
learning life-long skills while<br />
providing transport for released<br />
prisoners and their families.<br />
The bike repair programme<br />
at Paparua Christchurch Men’s<br />
Prison youth unit has been<br />
running for more than 10 years.<br />
Volunteer bike mechanic “Bike<br />
Mike” Nixon has been involved<br />
since the early days, when a<br />
church initiative partnered with<br />
Pathway Trust to repair and<br />
supply bikes for recently released<br />
prisoners.<br />
When keeping up with the<br />
demand for bikes became a<br />
struggle, the programme was<br />
taken behind bars.<br />
Nixon said he enjoys working<br />
in the youth unit every second<br />
Friday with the “young fellas”,<br />
who are “quite keen”.<br />
“They’re going to finish their<br />
sentence, they’re going to go to<br />
work, they’re going to ride a bike<br />
… I’m passing this skill on that<br />
lasts a lifetime, that they can pass<br />
on to their own kids,” he said.<br />
Nixon works with groups of<br />
two to three 18-20-year-olds<br />
at a time. Some he has for six<br />
months, others for up to three<br />
years.<br />
He teaches them how to use<br />
tools, strip down the bikes,<br />
replace parts and service them.<br />
“We just work together<br />
building bikes,” he said.<br />
The budding mechanics also<br />
get to build their own bike,<br />
which “slowly gets better and<br />
better, because they know all the<br />
good bits and they start putting<br />
them on”.<br />
When they leave, it is with a<br />
top-quality bike.<br />
At the start of the programme,<br />
Nixon said, some youth don’t<br />
know which way to turn a<br />
spanner. By the end, they’re all<br />
quite good mechanics.<br />
One inmate said the<br />
programme taught him<br />
many useful skills, which<br />
could help him find work once<br />
released.<br />
“It’s good keeping busy,<br />
and good that the bikes go to<br />
someone that’ll use them,” he<br />
said.<br />
Nixon reckoned they refurbish<br />
up to 50 bikes a year, with<br />
mountain bikes a speciality.<br />
They also repair children’s and<br />
women’s bikes for families.<br />
Old bikes are donated and<br />
“scrounged” from places such<br />
as the Eco Store and Recycle A<br />
Dunga (RAD) and restored with<br />
new parts.<br />
“They just need love and care,<br />
and hey presto, you get a really<br />
nice bike,” Nixon said.<br />
Extra bikes go to Pathway<br />
Trust’s Navigate Initiative, which<br />
helps recently released prisoners<br />
reintegrate into society and find<br />
work and accommodation.<br />
Having a means of transport<br />
is crucial for finding and<br />
getting to work and for keeping<br />
appointments such as probation<br />
meetings.<br />
Pathway Trust’s website says<br />
“an efficient, cost-effective mode<br />
of transport can make all the difference<br />
in settling back into life<br />
on the outside.”<br />
Nixon is delighted that some<br />
former prisoners have even<br />
found work in bike shops.<br />
“We’ve had a couple of guys<br />
that loved it that much.”<br />
Wanting to continue the cycle<br />
of help, Nixon is looking for a<br />
new volunteer to help him run<br />
the programme and eventually<br />
take it over.<br />
Corn Cob Catastrophe: A Labrador’s Close Call<br />
As we all know, Labrador’s love their<br />
food! But what happens when some<br />
seemingly innocent scavenging turns into<br />
something more serious…<br />
One of our patients was brought into the<br />
clinic after he suddenly started vomiting. He<br />
had been crying and seemed painful on his<br />
tummy. Not his normal bouncy self at all.<br />
Being a Labrador we’re always suspicious<br />
about what they could have been eating<br />
but the owner could not think of anything<br />
unusual he may have eaten recently, but<br />
noted that he had chewed on a corn cob a<br />
couple of weeks previously.<br />
With another spectacular bout of vomiting<br />
The foreign body (piece of corn cob)<br />
is circled<br />
in the clinic we decided this case definitely<br />
warranted further investigation.<br />
He was sedated and abdominal x-rays were<br />
taken. They showed an unusual gas pattern<br />
in his small intestine and a suspicious<br />
looking foreign object that could be causing<br />
an obstruction. There was a possibility<br />
that it would slowly make its way through<br />
so we started 24 hours of supportive care<br />
including fluids and anti-nausea medication<br />
to see if he would improve. However, by the<br />
next day he was deteriorating so our team<br />
made the decision to go to surgery to see<br />
what we could find…<br />
During the operation, we discovered the<br />
foreign object lodged in the small intestine<br />
– more concerningly, a small section of<br />
the intestinal wall was beginning to die<br />
off meaning it needed to be resected.<br />
The damaged portion of intestine was<br />
removed and the two healthy ends rejoined<br />
in a delicate procedure known as an<br />
anastomosis.<br />
The offending object turned out to be a<br />
rotting piece of corn cob. It’s likely that this<br />
had been eaten two weeks previously and<br />
rattled around in the stomach for a while<br />
before finally moving into the intestine<br />
in the last 48-72 hours where it became<br />
lodged.<br />
He recovered well from the surgery but was<br />
continuing to vomit and had no interest<br />
in eating. With the weekend approaching<br />
we transferred him to the After Hours<br />
Clinic — our excellent local emergency<br />
facility — where he received round-theclock<br />
care. Gradually, he began to regain<br />
his energy and, more importantly for any<br />
self-respecting labrador, his appetite!<br />
Now fully recovered, he’s back home with<br />
his family — and hopefully steering clear of<br />
food scraps and compost bins.<br />
A Word of Caution: Corn cobs are a<br />
common cause of intestinal obstruction in<br />
dogs. They’re the perfect size to become<br />
lodged in the intestinal tract and cannot<br />
be digested. If you think your pet may<br />
have eaten something they shouldn’t have<br />
— especially something like a corn cob —<br />
don’t wait. Contact your vet immediately.<br />
We’re happy to report a happy ending in<br />
this case — thanks to timely surgery, a<br />
dedicated care team, and a very resilient<br />
dog. Best yet, his enthusiasm for coming<br />
into the clinic to get his fill of tasty treats<br />
has not been dampened by his experience!<br />
Another happy customer!<br />
Consultations • Surgery & Diagnostics • Locally Owned & Operated<br />
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60 new bus shelters<br />
for ‘well-used stops’<br />
CLEAN UP: Renewal work on Addington Brook will improve<br />
biodiversity and water quality.<br />
PHOTO: CCC<br />
Brook renewal project<br />
making good progress<br />
STAGE TWO of the Addington<br />
Brook renewal programme in<br />
South Hagley Park is well under<br />
way, with half of the earthworks<br />
and all tree removals now<br />
completed.<br />
The project aims to naturalise<br />
the spring-fed brook to improve<br />
biodiversity and water quality,<br />
enhance park safety, and restore<br />
the brook’s drainage capacity.<br />
Stage one, completed last<br />
year, focused on flattening and<br />
stabilising the banks, which were<br />
then planted with native riparian<br />
vegetation to reduce erosion and<br />
filter contaminants.<br />
Stage two began in January<br />
and has seen significant progress,<br />
with earthworks ongoing and<br />
tree removals carried out both<br />
alongside and within the brook.<br />
About 500 new trees will be<br />
planted in the next few months, to<br />
allow for a range of tree species of<br />
various ages and heights along the<br />
waterway.<br />
Some of the removed timber<br />
will be repurposed for natural<br />
play features like balancing logs,<br />
stepping posts, and seating in<br />
future playground upgrades.<br />
Other portions will be used<br />
to enhance the brook’s habitat,<br />
providing shelter for eels and fish.<br />
As one of the most polluted<br />
waterways in Christchurch, the<br />
renewal of Addington Brook will<br />
have multiple benefits, including<br />
improved biodiversity, increased<br />
stormwater drainage capacity and<br />
enhanced landscaping and safety<br />
for park users.<br />
The current stage of the project<br />
is on track for completion by<br />
spring, with a future filtration<br />
initiative planned to further<br />
improve water quality.<br />
WAITING FOR the bus in the<br />
city’s east is set to become a bit<br />
easier this winter.<br />
The city council is putting<br />
in 60 new bus shelters using<br />
money from the Government’s<br />
Climate Emergency Response<br />
Fund.<br />
Said city council transport<br />
operations manager Stephen<br />
Wright: “We’ve targeted the<br />
most well-used stops, many<br />
around school routes in<br />
Christchurch east.<br />
“With more than 2000<br />
passengers expected to<br />
benefit every single day,<br />
the new shelters are going to<br />
make it more comfortable for<br />
people waiting for the bus,<br />
particularly in the biting winter<br />
months.”<br />
Fifty-five of the bus stops did<br />
not previously have shelters,<br />
while five are replacing older<br />
infrastructure.<br />
Wright said about 15 new<br />
shelters have already been<br />
installed.<br />
The work is expected to<br />
be finished by the end of<br />
September.<br />
“We’re also improving<br />
accessibility and bus waiting<br />
areas by putting in hardstand<br />
areas, tactile pavers, seating,<br />
new bus stops, and relocating<br />
the bus stop,” Wright said.<br />
WAITING:<br />
The city<br />
council is<br />
building<br />
60 new<br />
shelters.<br />
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CROSSWORD<br />
1 2 3 4 5 6 7<br />
8<br />
9 10<br />
404<br />
SUDOKU<br />
Every row, column and box should<br />
contain the digits 1 to 9.<br />
WordBuilder<br />
WORDBUILDER<br />
304<br />
6<br />
T K A<br />
E R C<br />
11 <strong>12</strong><br />
13 14 15<br />
words of three or more letters,<br />
How<br />
including<br />
many<br />
plurals,<br />
words<br />
can you<br />
of<br />
make<br />
three<br />
from<br />
or<br />
the<br />
more<br />
six<br />
letters, using each letter only once? No foreign<br />
words or words beginning with a capital are<br />
allowed. There's at least one six-letter word.<br />
once?<br />
TODAY<br />
Good 22 Very Good 33 Excellent 43<br />
letters, including plurals, can you make<br />
from the six letters, using each only<br />
No words beginning with a capital are<br />
allowed. There’s at least one six-letter<br />
Solution 303: ego, emu, erg, ergo, euro, gem, germ,<br />
goer, gore, gum, more, MORGUE, moue, mug, ogre,<br />
word. ore, our, roe, rogue, rouge, rue, rug, rum, urge.<br />
Good 22 Very Good 33 Excellent 43<br />
16 17 18 19<br />
20<br />
21 22 23<br />
24 25<br />
26 27<br />
Across<br />
1. Brusque (6)<br />
4. Affable (6)<br />
9. Opposed to (4)<br />
10. Teenager (10)<br />
11. Abscond (6)<br />
<strong>12</strong>. Occurred (8)<br />
13. Place of safety (9)<br />
15. Liability (4)<br />
16. Lucid (4)<br />
17. Moral strength or courage (9)<br />
21. Invention (8)<br />
22. Impetuously (6)<br />
24. Innovative, futuristic (5-5)<br />
25. Slightly open (4)<br />
26. Pantry (6)<br />
27. Take care of (6)<br />
Decoder<br />
Down<br />
1. Temporary loss of memory (7)<br />
2. Indian side dish (5)<br />
3. High area of flat ground (7)<br />
5. Excused (6)<br />
6. Stormy (9)<br />
7. Tolerant (7)<br />
8. Homeland (6,7)<br />
14. Shipping box (9)<br />
16. Wither (7)<br />
18. Harass (7)<br />
19. Imbecile (7)<br />
20. Laugh nervously (6)<br />
23. Tremble (5)<br />
Crossword<br />
Across: 1. Abrupt, 4. Genial,<br />
9. Anti, 10. Adolescent, 11.<br />
Escape, <strong>12</strong>. Happened,<br />
13. Sanctuary, 15. Debt,<br />
16. Sane, 17. Fortitude, 21.<br />
Creation, 22. Rashly, 24.<br />
Avant-garde, 25. Ajar, 26.<br />
Larder, 27. Attend.<br />
Down: 1. Amnesia, 2. Raita,<br />
3. Plateau, 5. Exempt,<br />
6. Inclement, 7. Lenient,<br />
8. Mother country, 14.<br />
Container, 16. Shrivel, 18.<br />
Torment, 19. Dullard, 20.<br />
Giggle, 23. Shake.<br />
WordBuilder<br />
ace, acre, act, arc, are, ark,<br />
art, ate, cake, car, care, caret,<br />
cart, carte, cat, cater, cert,<br />
crake, crate, creak, ear, eat,<br />
era, eta, kart, kea, race, rack,<br />
RACKET, rake, rat, rate, react,<br />
recta, ret, tack, TACKER,<br />
take, taker, tar, tare, tea, teak,<br />
tear, trace, track, trek.<br />
Sudoku<br />
DECODER<br />
Each number represents a different letter of the alphabet. Write the<br />
given letters into all squares with matching numbers. Now work out<br />
which letters are represented by the other numbers.<br />
All puzzles copyright<br />
T H E P U Z Z L E C O M P A N Y<br />
www.thepuzzlecompany.co.nz