News in Brief
Birthday teed up
Jill Morgan, pictured on her home training turf at the Cambridge Golf Club, represented New Zealand.
Cambridge Golf Club will celebrate its 125th anniversary over two days later this year and is recognising past members of the club who have represented the province and country. Cambridge is Waikato’s oldest golf club, established in 1900 and on the current site since 1924.
Board appointment
Waikato broadcaster Karyn Fenton-Ellis has been appointed to the Board of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, an independent Crown entity that receives and determines complaints from people dissatisfied with the outcome of complaints made to broadcasters about the standards on television and radio.
In the running
Ahu Ake at Cambridge Market
Ahu Ake – Waipā Community Spatial Plan has been named a finalist in the Local Government NZ SuperLocal Awards announced tonight (Thursday). The plan is in the SuperEngaged – Tū Hononga Award category, which celebrates councils that use creative ways to involve their communities, including voices that are not always heard from. The approach included a ‘World Cafe’ and saw staff and elected members take to the road, visiting 11 towns and villages across the district.
Drug bust
Police found cocaine, cash and a pump action shotgun during raids in Cambridge and Matamata last week. About 85 grams of cocaine and $20,000 in cash was found at the Cambridge address. The shotgun and a half-kilo bag and five 30g bags of cocaine were located in Matamata. A 39-year-old man is due to re-appear in the Hamilton District Court on July 28, facing drug and firearms charges and others are expected to be charged.
Library stats
Te Awamutu Library
New figures show a surge in Waipā library use for the year ended June 30. Te Awamutu Library saw a 3.5 per cent increase to 172,023. In Cambridge book issues rose by 24,097 – nearly eight per cent – to 328,911. Visitor numbers also climbed: Cambridge was up 5.3 per cent to 84,594, while Te Awamutu rose 3.3 per cent to 86,829.
On the move
Ahu Ake – World Cafe group photo
Te Awamutu Museum Education and Research Centre’s temporary Rickit Road site closed this week, and staff will now prepare for the move back to Roche Street which was deemed earthquake-prone in October 2022. Since then, extensive strengthening work has been completed, ensuring it is safe for visitors, staff and taonga.
