Powerlifter honoured
Whangārei powerlifter Josh Cooke is among three people honoured by the New Zealand Down Syndrome Association for National Volunteer Week.
Cooke, a powerlifting champ and artist, has received the NZDSA National Achievement award, along with performer and TV show host Lily Harper and advocate Caroline Quirk.
Last year Cooke took three golds and a silver in powerlifting at the National Summer Games in Wellington.
Kiwi champions recognised
Two Kaipara conservation leaders dedicated to saving our national icon have been recognised at the inaugural Kiwi Awards, held at the annual National Kiwi Hui in Lyttelton.
The Good Egg - Northland Brown kiwi – was awarded to Kevin and Gill Adshead, of the Mataia Restoration Project in Kaipara.
The Adsheads established the Mataia Restoration project on their 1300ha working farm in 2006, with the aim of re-establishing the ecological values of the area and provide a safe place for kiwi to thrive.
Working with the Auckland Council, community, school groups and local iwi, Ngati Whatua O Kaipara, they have carried out extensive restoration work, including building an 8km fence, planting of native trees and pest control. Their efforts saw the first release of kiwi into the project in 2013, marking the return of kiwi to the Kaipara, where they had been absent for decades.
Kaikohe wellness expo
Thirty natural health providers will take part in a Winter Wellness expo at the Kaikohe Memorial Hall tomorrow and Saturday, offering workshops, mirimiri, reiki, readings, crystal taonga, naturopathy and more. The expo will open from 10am to 4pm each day, with admission by gold coin.
Mobile outage assistance
Top Energy customers can now keep up to date with power outages by subscribing to the lines company's web-based outage centre, or downloading the Outage App (compatible with Samsung and Apple mobile devices). All they have to do is enter the ICP number on their power bill to find out the cause and likely duration of planned and unplanned outages affecting their address. The app can be downloaded from Google Play or iTunes, or to subscribe to the web outage centre go to www.outages.topenergy.co.nz
