Water done well. pexels.com
Person charged
Police have arrested and charged one person in relation to a spate of burglaries overnight Friday in Cambridge. Police received a number of reports of cars being broken into and items stolen from inside, at some point during the night. Police, including a Dog Unit, attended and while at one of the scenes, a dog was able to pick up a scent and track it where they located a man and some of the items reported stolen.
An 18-year-old man was taken into custody and is due to appear in Hamilton District Court on Friday 30 January. He is facing charges of unlawfully interfering with motor vehicles and burglary, and Police are not ruling out further charges or arrests.
Water appointment
Elena Trout
Neil Brennan has been appointed interim chief executive of Waikato Waters Ltd, the council-controlled organisation formed by Hauraki, Matamata-Piako, Ōtorohanga, South Waikato, Waipā, Waitomo, and Taupō district councils to collectively manage and deliver drinking water and wastewater services. The appointment was announced by establishment board chair Elena Trout today.
Brennan is an accomplished chief executive and managing director with more than 40 years’ industry experience, including 32 years in senior executive leadership roles. He has led small, medium and large organisations through complex commercial, operational and regulatory environments, delivering strategies that support growth, innovation and strong organisational performance. Programme director Vaughan Payne finishes with Waikato Waters Ltd this week have been involved in the establishment of Waikato Waters.
French connection
Former Cambridge resident David Miller has been given a host of excellent leads in his search for information about World War II French resistance agent Andrée Baker, who married Cambridge resident AB Baker. A call for help in last week’s Cambridge News attracted nine positive responses.
Health hack update
Manage my Health portals
A clearer picture of the damage from the Manage My Health cyberattack has emerged. Fewer than 80 patients from Pinnacle Midlands Health Network’s Waipā practices and fewer than 30 at its northern King Country practices have been affected. However, these numbers are still indicative only, a spokesperson from the Primary Health Organisation said.
Thoroughly prepared
Jade Davidson of Pirongia leads this brown filly at the Breckon Farms Class of 2026 parade. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
There was a lot of work going on behind the scenes at Breckon Farms to make the 35 yearlings look their best in the parade ground at the Ōhaupō standardbred breeding and training facility this week. Out came the baby oil, hair spray, brushes and hoof polish to have the Class of 2026 primed and ready for the 80 plus potential buyers. All were born on the property including the brown filly, pictured with Jade Davidson of Pirongia, which foaled on October 3, 2024, the progeny of leading Woodlands Stud sire What the Hill and Breckon broodmare Love Ya Doosie. Next big show is the National Standardbred Yearling Sale at Karaka, South Auckland next month.
One of the best set of eyes in the business for picking champions is Tamahere’s Luk Chin, still working as an anaesthetist and pain specialist at 83. He has also trained four winners this season with his last driving victory coming in October last year. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Tourism funding
Taupo MP Louise Upston with South Waikato mayor Gary Petley and Waikato River Trails Trust general manager Glyn Wooller.
Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston – the MP for Taupo – has announced more than $450,000 in funding for an international tourism campaign. The funding will support seasonal travel deals and itineraries designed to attract international visitors, particularly from Australia, to experience the heart of the North Island via direct flights to Hamilton Airport.
Polo clash
Bramble, the best playing thoroughbred with owner John-Paul Clarkin at left after the NZ v Zambia polo match last year. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Mystery Creek club players John Paul Clarkin and Dean Fullerton have been selected for the New Zealand team to take on a rest of the world combination at the club’s Kaipaki Road home on January 30. The day is billed as a premier day of top-level polo, and also feature the New Zealand women’s team taking on an invitational South African side.
Craft Fair
St Andrew’s Craft and Collectable Fair
St Andrews Anglican Church in Cambridge will host its 30th Giant Craft Fair next Monday and feature around 140 stalls. Organiser Ian Dunn said the first fair was held on a wintry Queen’s Birthday Weekend in 1996 with 30 stalls. Some stallholders have remained with the fair for the entire 30 years.
Wetlands day
Volunteers help feed the chipper while clearing slash at Lake Rotopiko. Photo: supplied
A free event at Lake Rotopiko just south of Ōhaupō on February 1 will mark World Wetlands Day and celebrate work done over the past few years at Rotopiko’s wetland forest and lake. World Wetlands Day is held annually to raise awareness about the importance of wetlands. This year’s theme is ‘Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage’, and visitors will hear Ōtorohanga’s Ringi Morgan-Fifield talk about the medicinal plants – Rongoā – found within wetlands. This will be the seventh such collaborative event organised by groups including the National Wetlands Trust, district and regional councils, Landcare Trust, the Department of Conservation and Te Awamutu Rotary.
Property values
Waikato has been the standout property price rise performer among the major centres over the past decade. Realestate.co.nz figures show prices rose an average 95.9 per cent to almost $800,000. The national average asking price increased by 55.1% to $863,747 and the Central North Island recorded the third highest increase overall of 119.2% to an average to $764,000.
Roundabout work
Road closures during construction of Matangi roundabout
Hamilton City Council says some roads will be closed when work starts on its figure of eight roundabout at the intersections of Matangi, Silverdale and Morrinsville roads next month.
Concept design of Matangi roundabout
Tree disease on four fronts
On the stump of an elm can be seen how the elm disease killed the tree from within. Photo: Creative Commons
Vaccinated trees are on Waipā’s healthy list – but more cases of Dutch Elm Disease have been revealed by the district council.
Suspected cases of the fungal disease, initially detected in the district two years ago, have been found in Cambridge, Te Awamutu, Kihikihi and Ōhaupō.
The council started using a vaccine on about 250 specimen street and park elms on council land in late 2024 and it was repeated this year. The disease has not been found this season in any of those trees.
“The increase in cases is not unexpected,” council arborist planner James Richardson said. “Dutch Elm Disease spreads fast and there is no cure or treatment. We’re keeping a close watch on all our elm trees.”
Two of the suspected cases involve trees on Waipā District Council land. One is a stand of around 20 mostly saplings near the Gaslight Theatre in Cambridge, the other is a single tree on the edge of the SH3 road reserve just north of Ōhaupō.
Wood samples are being tested to confirm infections, and the trees will be removed. There is no cure for the disease.
One victim of the disease last year was a 100-year-old elm in Cambridge’s Victoria Square.
Councils use a product called Dutch Trig, a harmless fungus strain which is injected annually into trees and boosts their natural defence against Dutch Elm Disease. It is believed the cost works out to about $100 a tree.
Signs of an infection in elms, include wilting, curling or yellowing leaves, and dead or dying branches.
How a tree with Dutch Elm disease can look. Photo: Creative Commons
Report backed
Fish and Game New Zealand says the Outdoor Access Commission’s inaugural State of Public Outdoor Access Report is a crucial step toward protecting and enhancing access for anglers and game bird hunters.
“This report represents a vital first step in ensuring future generations can continue to enjoy the outdoor traditions that are part of what it means to be a New Zealander,” chief operating officer Richie Cosgrove
The findings align closely with Fish and Game’s own licence-holder survey, which reported access remained the top priority for anglers and hunters across the country.
Nearly one in five respondents reported experiencing blocked access in the past 12 months
