Portland crash
A crash involving two vehicles just south of Whangārei during rush hour yesterday caused a traffic queue but no one was hurt. The crash on State Highway 1 near the intersection with Portland Rd happened about 7.55am. One of the cars had to be towed and both lanes were open again by 8.40pm.
Meet the candidates
Local voters are invited to meet local body election candidates at the Cornerstone Church in Kerikeri next Monday, August 26. The 10 mayoral candidates have been invited along with candidates standing for the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa ward of the Far North District Council and the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board. Doors will open at 6.30pm with speakers from 7pm. The event will follow the 5.30pm annual meeting of the Kerikeri Ratepayers Association, which is hosting the event with Transition Towns Bay of Islands. Cornerstone Church, or Te Whare Karakia o Manako, is at the corner of the Heritage Bypass and Kerikeri Rd.
Community vision
A new community group aiming to get Kerikeri residents more involved in shaping their town will launch its vision at a public meeting at the Turner Centre on Wednesday, September 4. The vision is based on feedback from a series of community meetings and the views of more than 1000 residents. Speakers will include Ash Howell of Whangārei and Grant Harnish and Sarah Greener of Focus Paihia, a community group which transformed Paihia and provided the inspiration for Our Kerikeri. The doors will open at 6pm; the meeting starts at 6.30pm. The next step in the plan is to come up with concrete projects to improve the town.
Best of student art
From August 22 to 30 the Geoff Wilson Gallery in Whangārei will be showing the very best works of New Zealand's high school art students. The TOP ART annual exhibition, which tours NZ, features a selection of NCEA Level 3 portfolios that achieved excellence in visual art in the previous year. Five streams are covered: design, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. This diverse multimedia show displays their works in 29 portfolios and 4 digital works.
