Stacy George with his parents Natasha and Kipa. A Givealittle page has been created to assist the family and two fundraising events planned.
Givealittle and two fundraisers for young Kerikeri boy
Stacy George is a typical teenager, an active 14-year-old who plays rugby league for the Mako Club in Kerikeri and who made the Northland age group Nines.
At the beginning of February he was swimming with family and friends at a popular local spot in Haruru on the outskirts of Paihia. He jumped into the water and hit his head.
He was pulled from the water unconscious and was flown to Starship Hospital by the rescue helicopter. He was transferred to Middlemore Hospital, his C5 vertebrae was shattered.
He has had two surgeries to date, one to replace the shattered vertebrae and a second surgery to place rods in the back to help keep his spine still.
As of last week he was woken from an induced coma and had the breathing tube removed so he can now swallow. He can move his arm but he hasn’t any feeling in his hand and none in his legs.
He worked part-time at the Pioneer Bar and Restaurant in Waipapa where his mother Natasha worked full-time. Annette Reddy, one of the staff there, has created a Givealittle page to assist the George family with expenses associated with being at the hospital.
“Stacy is a vibrant, humble, compassionate, hard-working young man who we have all adopted as our own,” she said.
“We hope this can ease a little pressure on this family so they don’t have to worry about how they are going to pay the bills.”
Current and former staff of the Pioneer and owner Tyler Bamber are also holding a fundraiser quiz night on March 1 and conducting an auction of donated items from the community. The Mako Rugby League Club intends to hold a fundraiser as well.
To donate: Givealittle Stacy George family, to donate goods to the Pioneer Bar and Restaurant: admin@thepioneerbar.co.nz
Cruz’n into the Bays
The second annual Cruz’n the Bays motoring extravaganza takes place around the Bay of Islands over four days from March 7 to 10 inclusive.
One more day has been added this year to the schedule. Thursday March 7 is designed for those who arrive early with a “meet and greet” at Waitangi Golf Course.
Organisers are hoping to attract 200 cars to the event which in turn will attract about 4500 visitors over the weekend.
There are 12 categories for which prizes can be won and not all of them are about the cars. There is the Miss Diva competition and a tug-of-war with combatants testing their strength against a competition machine.
Of the car categories there is the longest distance travelled, the best Ford, best Chev, best Holden, the mayor’s choice, and the people’s choice awards. Then there’s the hard luck award, best “other”, best hot rod, and best classic car awards.
Friday is called the Poker Fun Run, starting at Waitangi with a pōwhiri, on to the Matthews Car Museum and to Taipa and then a cruise back through Mangōnui township to Paihia.
On Saturday the fleet goes to Kerikeri for the Kerikeri Klassic Car Show in the Domain. After lunch they head to Kaikohe to visit the Pioneer Village before heading back to Paihia where the movie Grease is showing on an outdoor screen set up in the village.
The beneficiary of the raffles, sausage sizzle in the Domain and collectors raising funds this year is Hato Hone St John.
On the final day, Sunday, they cruise to Russell and walk around the town before going back to headquarters at the Waitangi Sports Grounds where there is a slow cook competition, entertainment and prizegiving which includes the draw for a trip to Rarotonga.
Here came the judges
A group of 67 judges from around New Zealand were in the Far North to take part in the Waitangi Day celebrations. The Russell community took advantage of their presence.
They were drawn from all spheres of the judiciary, from the Chief Justice to High Court and District Court judges and Family and Youth Court judges and in the group was Northland judge, Greg Davis.
The visit had, in fact, been planned three years prior. The first cancellation was because of Covid-19. Last year Cyclone Gabriele caused the revocation of the visit so this year was the first opportunity to finally make it happen.
They were welcomed first to Haratu Kororāreka Marae with a pōwhiri by marae principals Debbie Rawiri and David McKenzie.
They visited Christ Church, Te Whare Karakia o Kororāreka, the oldest working church in New Zealand built in 1835. Original services were held in both English and Māori and the church was occasionally used as the local courthouse.
They went to Maiki (Flagstaff) Hill which was the sparking point for the Northern War and became the focus of protest against British control of Northland. It was where Hōne Heke famously chopped the flagstaff down four times.
On Maiki Hill the Kawiti whanau delivered a korero to the judges on their ancestor Te Ruki Kawiti, a prominent rangatira who can trace his ancestry to the Ngātokimatawhaorua canoe, the ancestors of Ngāpuhi. He was a contemporary of Hōne Heke.
They visited Pompallier House, the 19th century adobe building on the waterfront named after Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier. Over 30,000 books were printed here including the first printing of the Bible in Māori.
Water restrictions imposed on some areas
What a difference a year makes. This time last year water catchment zones in the Bay of Islands and other areas were full to overflowing, thanks to Cyclone Gabrielle and the rainy aftermath.
This year Ōmanaia-Rāwene has already had Level 2 restrictions applied last month to help preserve the Petaka Stream and this will remain unchanged for the time being.
From Monday there has been a council-initiated ban on outdoor sprinklers or irrigations systems which affects Kerikeri-Waipapa, Kaikohe-Ngāwhā, Paihia-Ōpua-Waitangi and Ōpononi-Ōmāpere.
A Level 2 restriction is in place as a precautionary measure to try to reduce demand.
Ōkaikau, Kaitāia and Kawakawa-Moerewa are currently at Level 1 restriction. There is no limit to water use but Far North District Council asks that consumers use water sensibly.
Water restriction levels for the remaining four Far North water sources will be reviewed this coming week.
The restrictions are a response to high summer temperatures which have seen Northland characterised as ‘dry’ in a recent drought risk assessment report by Northland Regional Council. The report was based on information from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa Taihoro Nukurangi).
Some folk are getting a little bit tetchy, writes Kevin Page