Northland news in brief: $3M for new NRC boat; and Covid case linked to school

Northland Regional Council has spent $3 million replacing its patrol vessel Waikare (above), which was launched in 2003.

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.

Nine new cases in Northland

There were nine new cases of Covid-19 in Northland reported yesterday. Five cases were reported in Kerikeri and four in Whangārei. All remain under investigation to determine any possible links to previously confirmed cases. There are now 136 active cases in the region, and 116 cases have recovered and have been released from isolation. There have been no new locations of interest reported and no case is currently in hospital. Another 104 people have to receive their first to reach 90 per cent partially vaccinated in Northland. Northland DHB is hosting two Big Boost events this coming weekend in Dargaville and Kerikeri which will focus is on boosters and 5-11-year old vaccinations.
Covid vaccination and testing sites in Northland can be found at www.northlanddhb.org.nz/home/covid-19/

Men on drugs charges

Seven people arrested after a heated clash in Kaitāia led police to discover 117gm of methamphetamine, a shotgun, and $88k in cash have appeared in court. Jana Webb, 28; Leroy Webb, 36, Bruce Webb, 39, and Thomas Murray, 32, were remanded in custody and are set to reappear in the Kaitāia District Court on February 14. The foursome, all from Kaitāia, was charged with possession of methamphetamine for supply. A further three people: Ian Spicer, 31; Patrick Rangi, 31, and Troy Rapihana were remanded on bail with conditions and scheduled to reappear in the Kaitāia District Court on February 25. The trio face charges related to unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and possession of an offensive weapon – namely a hammer and metal baton.