A $3 million-plus tender has been let for the replacement of the Northland Regional Council's main work boat the Waikare. Northland firm Circa Engineering was awarded the tender recently and expects to begin physical works on the new 17.5 metre vessel in July. Regional Harbourmaster Jim Lyle said the new vessel - informally dubbed Waikare 2 - will replace its almost 20-year-old namesake, the 16-metre Waikare, which has served as the council's main work boat/pilot vessel since its launch in 2003. The new vessel - to be based out of Ōpua - will be used to carry out maintenance on the council's buoys and beacons, for oil spill response, and attending incidents such as wrecks and sinking vessels. It will also act as a pilot vessel for the Bay. Circa built the original Waikare.
Covid letter from school
Whangārei Boys' High School sent an email out to parents and caregivers yesterday afternoon regarding a case in their school community. The email was addressed to the whānau of Year 9 students and Year 13 prefects. "The health and wellbeing of our children, staff and community is a top priority. You may have heard there's a confirmed Covid-19 case in our community," the email said. The school is working to identify any close contacts of the confirmed case, and will give an update on the situation by 11am today. The school will remain open while they work through the list of contacts. "If your son is in H5 you will receive separate correspondence once we have more information from the Ministry of Health''.
Girl hit by truck
An 8-year-old girl was taken to hospital after being hit by a truck in Whangārei yesterday. Police responded to the incident at around 3.35pm on Smeaton Drive in Raumanga. She was taken to Whangārei Hospital in a serious, but stable condition, police said. No further details were available at edition time.
