Snippets to help you make the most of living in Mawawatū.
Parts of the Botanical Rd/College St intersection in Awapuni will be closed for two weeks from today.
Palmerston North City Council is upgrading the traffic signals at the intersection.
Each side of the intersection will be closed for a couple of days to enable Fulton Hogan to install a right-turn arrow.
The work is being done during the school holiday to minimise disruptions.
The first section is in Botanical Rd on the side of West End School. The second section is in College St by the West End School side. The third section is in College St at the Awapuni end.
Signs are in place to assist with detours.
A tip-off by a member of the public led Feilding police to a commercial-size cannabis plot on an unsuspecting farmer’s property.
A person walking on a river accessway in the Kimbolton area noticed the plants and informed the farmer, who contacted the police.
Acting Sergeant Ben Stanley said a team of officers went to the property on April 3 to seize the plants.
“We ended up pulling 143 plants from a small clearing that had been created relatively out of sight,” he said.
“The plants ranged from half a metre high to 2.5m high, and most of them were ready for harvesting.”
Environment Network Manawatū (ENM) is running a “community vibe check” on herbicide use in public spaces.
The survey says ENM is hearing worries about herbicide use in parks, playgrounds, school grounds and sports fields, and along streams, drains and riverbanks.
Suggestions for next steps include a public meeting to raise awareness about herbicide use and alternatives to it, testing low and no-spray solutions, and a petition to councils to implement low and no-spray policies.
The survey is at surveymonkey.com/r/TQ38WRT.
On average, 18 people die every year in recreational craft incidents in New Zealand.