Treats for the team...Trust Tairawhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter air crew officer Max Neustroski with this year’s delivery from dedicated supporter Sarah Laurie.
Treats for the team...Trust Tairawhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter air crew officer Max Neustroski with this year’s delivery from dedicated supporter Sarah Laurie.
Every year Sarah Laurie sends biscuits and chocolates to rescue helicopter teams around the country to offer Christmas cheer at a busy time of year. But this year one team will be seeing her in person.
Sarah has signed up to walk the First Light Marathon – the half-marathon (21.1km) option in her case – to raise funds for the Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust.
It will be her first visit to Gisborne but not her first marathon. She’s done at least 30, some in person and some “virtually” wearing a track around her Maramarua property.
Her father Max often accompanies her, but this time he’s out of action while waiting for knee surgery.
“We’ve always supported rescue helicopter services both personally and through our landscaping business,” Sarah said. “But it ramped up a lot after Dad had an accident and desperately needed the service himself.”
On that day in late 2017, Max was not far from his own home in Maramarua when his ute rolled in a road accident. He suffered a traumatic head injury, broken facial bones and his arm was trapped out the vehicle window.
Once extracted, he was flown by the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter to hospital where he received emergency surgery.
“The doctors told us that if it wasn’t for the rescue helicopter he would not have survived,” Sarah said. “That’s why we are both so committed to fundraising.”
Events like the marathons aren’t huge money-spinners, but Sarah believes every little bit helps and hopes her efforts will encourage others to support rescue helicopter services.
“You do get a bit buggered after all the walking, but I never tire of the fundraising itself,” she says.
“That feeling that you are doing something to help is a great driver and I’ll be doing it for a long time yet.”
New Zealand registrations for the 2025 First Light Marathon (January 25), which will take in the rising sun and views of Pacific Ocean, close on January 10.
The council is urging people to take more care with what they put in their recycling bin over the festive season.
Spare a thought for kerbside recyclers over festive season
Gisborne District Council has made a plea on social media about proper recycling as the district heads into the busy festive season when it comes to waste disposal.
Summer barbecues, alfresco gatherings, additional guests and other factors equate to a lot more recycling.
“The next time you put that recycling bin kerbside, spare a thought for the team doing the mahi to deal with our city’s waste,” a council spokesman said.
“While the majority of households are recycling right, Waste Management drivers are regularly seeing contaminated items such as nappies, bottles with rotten milk, broken glass and rancid meat trays in recycling bins.
“Aside from being unpleasant to deal with, it’s also unsanitary for drivers, can cause injuries from broken glass, as well as increased pest problems from the likes of maggots and rats.
Whāngārā School and Campion College are among the Tairāwhiti recipients in NZ Community Trust’s latest funding round.
Whāngārā has been granted $15,000 to go towards a synthetic turf with basketball hoopes.
Campion has got $$7,307 for equipment.
Gisborne Bandroom has been granted $4560 for a kitchen upgrade while the Nōnā Te Ao Charitable Trust, which provides leadership workshops and programmes for rangatahi, got $2571 to purchase sports equipment.
The grants totalled over $29,400.
Lotto ticket bought in Toko wins $14.1k
A player who bought their ticket on the East Coast was among the 23 Second Division Lotto winners in Saturday’s draw.
Each of the winners pocket $14,117. The winning East Coast ticket was bought at Four Square Matakaoa, Tokomaru Bay.
Other winners came from as far north as Auckland to as south as Christchurch.
Tickets can be checked in-store, on MyLotto or through the MyLotto App.
Cruise boat Scenic Eclipse II was back in Gisborne at the weekend - the seventh cruise ship visit so far this season.
Photo / Murray Robertson
Seventh cruise ship visit a good one
It’s a perfect seven from seven when it comes to successful cruise ship visits to Gisborne this season.
The Scenic Eclipse 11 came calling again on Saturday and the 180 or so passengers onboard who came ashore for the day were involved an enjoyable range of excursions.
A ship’s agent said the visit was another good one.
