School locked down
An 18-year-old was questioned by police after Kamo High School was placed into lockdown yesterday after a threat was made. Police were called about 11am and the school placed in lockdown, which ended about 11.37am. Principal Jo Hutt said the school received information about a threat that could compromise the safety of the school community. ''Our school went into lockdown and police were alerted of the potential threat. Parents and caregivers were informed via our text messaging service and that students were safe and free from harm. They were asked to not visit the school or attempt to collect students so that authorities could focus on establishing the validity of or removing the threat. Our systems and processes worked well and police have a young man with no history or connection to Kamo High School helping them with their inquiries. I am really proud of the responsible manner in which our students conducted themselves." Bug Man teaches
Bug Man Ruud Kleinpaste is in Whangārei this week to impart his knowledge to children and educators. Dragonfly Springs & EDUCARE Whangārei are hosting Kleinpaste on October 12 at Dragonfly Springs Centre in Onerahi. It will be an all-day event with a focus on educating the educators on Education Outdoors from 10.30am to 4pm. Kleinpaste will later get together with students and the public from 5.30pm to 6.30pm at Forum North. Up to 300 Northland educators will attend the main event at Dragonfly Spring. For more details email shirley.1.peterson@gmail.com.
Factory oven catches fire
A blaze at a factory in Kerikeri was caused by plastic residue on the oven floor, a fire investigator says. About 20 firefighters from the Mid North were called to Promax on Waipapa Rd on Monday afternoon after a fire in an oven used for making large plastic tanks. Investigator Gary Beer, of Fire and Emergency NZ, said he believed the fire was caused by a build-up over time of plastic residue on the oven floor. When the oven door was opened the influx of oxygen was enough to ignite the heated residue. Staff tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher but the smoke became too thick. Beer said the fire turned out to be small but produced a lot of thick black smoke.
Community Centre open day
Bay of Islands Community Centre is holding an open day at its new premises upstairs in Paihia Lanes this Saturday, July 7. Locals are invited to drop in any time between 9am and 6pm to check out groups running in the centre and suggest other activities that could be offered. The official opening will be at 5pm. The new venue is behind Moby Deck's Cafe, up the stairs (or the lift) at the Marsden Rd entry to Paihia Lanes (formerly Paihia Mall). The community centre was previously based in the back rooms at the Memorial Hall on Williams Rd.
