Northland news in brief: Citrus for the South Island; Whangārei in the running for Six60 gig

Whangarei Lions clubs’ Citrus for the South campaign had about 5 tonnes of fruit donated by generous Northlanders.

Zest for helping out

Masses of winter fruit are headed from the North to residents in the South Island thanks to the 11th annual Whangārei Lions clubs’ Citrus for the South campaign. The campaign, held on Sunday, encourages Northlanders to drop off their excess oranges, mandarins, lemons and grapefruit, which will be sent to those in need in the South Island. The Whangārei district’s Lions clubs collected fruit donated by generous Northlanders at Trigg Sports Arena in Whangārei and the Ngunguru Sports Complex. North Rentals owner Gary Younger, who helped out during the day, said more than 250 banana boxes of fruit were donated. They will be sent to people in Christchurch, Dunedin, Clyde and surrounding districts via Mainfreight, which has once again offered to transport the shipment free.

Chance for Six60 gig

Aotearoa’s biggest band, Six60, have announced one more show for their Grassroots Tour, which took place in April and May — but there’s a catch. Five places are in the running and listeners are encouraged to get behind their town and vote. Whangārei is in the running, as well as Rotorua, Palmerston North and Balclutha. Head to onemoreshow.co.nz to cast your vote and make sure your town gets the final show. The winning region will be announced on Tuesday, July 23.

Lotto luck for 15

Fifteen lucky Lotto players will be celebrating after each won $21,952 with Lotto second division in Saturday night’s live Lotto draw. They include someone who bought a ticket at a Northland MyLotto store. Another lucky player also won Powerball second division, taking their total winnings to $44,114. That winning ticket was sold at New World Kāpiti in Paraparaumu.

Plant production awards

Jessica Jack, of Northland’s Kerikeri Plant Production, has been named runner-up in the 2024 Young Plant Producer of the Year awards. The awards celebrate dedication and innovation in the plant production industry. The four finalists undertook two days of challenges at Lincoln University last week, followed by an awards dinner on Wednesday night. Jack is studying level 3 in plant production. Outside of work, she enjoys being outdoors, including hikes in the bush, taking photographs and horse riding.

Library project launched

The start of a new library project in Kaikohe was launched by iwi and hapū, community leaders and council representatives on July 10. An early-morning ceremony was held at the site where a new public library will be built, at the intersection of Broadway and Raihara St. Demolition of two vacant buildings that occupy the site — the former Save Mart second-hand shop and Petersen Motors showrooms — began on Monday. The Kaikohe Library will remain open at its present site for most of the construction project, which is expected to start next year.