Palmerston North Pitopito Kōrero: News in brief

Snippets to help you make the most of living in Mawawatū.

New police campaign no laughing matter

When it comes to speeding, highway patrol officers have heard it all.

From stuck jandals to stressed-out dogs, lead-footed motorists have tried just about every excuse in the book to get out of a speeding fine.

In the Central District, officers stopped one driver for speeding and when asked why, he told police it wasn’t his intention to drive too fast. It was just that a wasp was on the accelerator pedal and he’d stamped on it to kill it, which must have sped him up.

For one unlucky motorist, who was stopped after breaking the speed limit, the excuse was simple: “I’m almost out of petrol so I need to get to the service station quicker.”

Yeah, nah.

Central District road policing manager Inspector Ashley Gurney says while there is no excuse to speed, the reasons they hear daily are too funny not to share.

He is also hoping through the humour people will realise there is a consequence to their actions.

“From ‘I thought the road signs were in miles per hour’ to ‘my breasts were tingling’ [from the mother of a newborn], our police have heard everything,” Gurney says.

“There’s nothing funny about attending a road death.

“Every opportunity we can take to reduce speeds, even by a fraction, has the potential to make a huge difference to safety on our roads.”

Rangitīkei MP welcomes country schools

Rangitīkei MP Suze Redmayne with students from the Kanui Cluster at Parliament last week.

About 60 senior students from Kanui Cluster schools visited Wellington last Friday.

One of Suze Redmayne’s first parliamentary duties as the newly elected Rangitīkei MP was to greet the students from Bunnythorpe, Colyton, Hiwinui, Mt Biggs, Newbury and Taonui schools at Parliament.

Redmayne gave a brief talk on the principles of democracy in New Zealand. With a protest group behind her, she reminded the students that everyone in New Zealand has the right to their views.

The students were then given a tour of Parliament.

They also had a ride on the cable car, took a ferry to Days Bay and visited the capital’s botanic garden.

They travelled to and from Wellington on the Capital Connection train.

Globe Theatre manager Gerry Keating wins national award

Globe Theatre manager Gerry Keating has won the Venue Management Association Team Leader of the Year Award.

The Entertainment Venues Association New Zealand Awards were held in Dunedin last week.

Keating was live-streaming the event on the Globe Theatre Facebook page and had to quickly pass the camera to a colleague as his name was called out.

The nomination process included a video interview that was given to the judges as they made their deliberations.

The judges said Keating demonstrates a breadth of talent, experience and commitment to his venue, team, hirers and patrons.

He won registration to the Venue Management Association Congress in Brisbane next May.

Theatre technician Brayden Cowie was a finalist in the Team Member of the Year Award.