Te Awamutu local Corban George-Potterton has won the Riding for the Disabled (RDA) Young Volunteer of the Year Award for 2023 from a pool of 48 RDA groups across New Zealand. He is a Riding for the Disabled (RDA) Volunteer for the Cambridge Group. Corban has an intellectual disability and ADHD and is supported to live as independently as possible in the community, by local disability support provider ConneXu.
Corban George-Potterton
Best coach
Cambridge equestrian coach Ella Rutherford has been named New Zealand Pony Club’s young coach of the year. Two years ago the 21-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury when her horse reared and she fell off. She was unable to speak properly, walk without help, study, work, drive or ride her horses. She now coaches riders from all over the Waikato.
On their bike
Cycleway stats in both Cambridge and Te Awamutu show the last two months have been busy. There were 7871 users in April and 7112 in May on Hamilton Road in Cambridge with the busiest day, not surprisingly, on Anzac Day – the day of the Cambridge Cycling Festival – with 357 and 407 users on May 4.
In the money
Cambridge brothers Mat and Nick Mowbray are New Zealand’s richest people, according to National Business Review. They are the founders of Zuru, a toy company with a global presence based in Guangzhou, China. Nick started out selling a mini hot air-balloon, door to door when he was a student at St Peter’s School, Cambridge in 2004.
First goodbye
The first of what is going to be undoubtedly several farewells to departing Waipā District Council chief executive Garry Dyet was made by independent Audit and Risk committee chair Bruce Robertson this week. “One of the things I have valued is my ability to hold my head high around the country saying I chair Waipā,” he said. “This place will miss you massively.
Jobs held
Waipā District Council has 21 vacancies with 17 positions on hold due to the current economic situation, Human Resources group manager Stephanie Shores told the Audit and Risk committee this week.
Bid thwarted
A staff suggestion that Waipā District Council ditch its Age Friendly policy Ahas been thwarted by a former veteran councillor. Kihikihi-based Hazel Barnes successfully argued at last week’s Strategic Planning and Policy committee that getting rid of the policy was not the right move. She argued the community had thousands of senior citizens who were riding bikes, swimming, hiking and having a great lifestyle who had the skills to help and be part of the council’s engagement. Staff had been keen to see the policy revoked and turned into a strategy.
Waipā winner
A Waipā man has been named the Riding for the Disabled Tom Atchison Young Volunteer of the Year Award winner for 2023. Corban George-Potterton was nominated from a pool of 48 RDA groups. Corban is an RDA volunteer with an intellectual disability. He is supported to live as independently as possible by disability support provider Connexu.
Ombudsman’s call
Waipā District Council was involved with five complaints to the Ombudsman – including one from The News over behind the doors workshops – according to the council’s Quarterly Assurance report. Two are long standing, one is preliminary – understood to be this newspaper. A complaint about council’s refusal to maintain trees on private property was dismissed and another complaint related to a late Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request will not proceed.
