Ministry for Primary Industries staff have found six incidents involving Northlanders offering crayfish for sale on various Facebook buy/sell/swap pages in the past two weeks, prompting a warning from acting district compliance manager Stephen Rudsdale.

The Far North District Council has voted to appoint Mayor John Carter and Cr David Collard as its representatives to Te Oneroa a Tohe (90 Mile Beach) Governance Board, which will be formed as part of the Treaty settlements for four Te Hiku iwi, against st

Northland shepherds and their dogs found themselves out of their comfort zone and struggling in the icy conditions which arrived at the start of the national sheep dog trial championships at Taihape during the last week of May.

Fifteen Mid North teenagers were put to the test on Saturday in a large-scale exercise involving a plane crash, people lost in the bush, badly injured patients trapped in a car and a massive fire.

There are so many excellent reasons for believing in euthanasia. Here are some from a country where euthanasia has been practised for 10 years now.

Lauren Barclay's deck might well have been the sunniest spot in the Winterless North on Tuesday morning. It's a spot they share with Hugo, the cat from the Mangonui police station right next door, who calls over on a regular basis to soak up some rays.

Northland College principal Jim Luders, who last week described his classrooms as possibly the worst in the country, can now see a very bright light at the end of the tunnel.

"Our goal will be to assist both communities to reach sufficient consensus on the changes required and the best form of local government."

Local primary schools took an even share of the spoils as various titles went up for grabs at the Kiwi Netball Field Days tournament last month.

"People say it must be good to be back to normal but we're not there yet," her mother Jo said last week, but the future was certainly brighter than it was at the beginning of the year.

Constable Leslie Cooper reported to the Kaitaia police station yesterday morning to officially begin his career in the force, but he wasn't needing a great deal of orientation.

Normally, when John Johnson thinks he hears a nocturnal possum, he goes after it with a gun. He didn't do that on Saturday night, and was mightily relieved that he hadn't.

A Kaitaia man who reportedly declined the offer of being winched from a sinking six-metre Ramco boat on Monday last week claimed that a commercial boat was just 20 minutes away, but did not respond to a call for assistance.

A former Northland College student is the latest Far North-based rugby league player to attract the interest of Penrith Panthers franchise.

Terrible weather may have kept plenty away from the Explore Paihia Half Marathon and 12km run/ walk on Sunday, although organisers reported the event was still a well-attended success in spite of the conditions.

The annual community lunch at Victoria Valley Hall is one of the big events of the community's calendar, and this year's was especially gratifying for Paddy Tracey, kitchen hand and champion of tradition.

Every night we had a chorus of the morepork and the high-pitched kiwi calls. Although very well camouflaged and hard to see, kiwi used to track across the front lawn.

A teenager from Matawaia, west of Moerewa, was last week named runner-up to the Young Mori Sheep and Beef Farmer of the Year at the Ahuwhenua Awards in Wanganui.

This was decent entertainment, as good an advertisement for local women's football as anyone amongst the decent sized crowd who braved the wet and soggy conditions could wish to see.

Renee says the dictionary defines 'local' as food grown close (100km) to where it is bought and consumed. But what is so great about buying food locally? Is everything all good or are there some bad parts?

An American-born inventor believes the Far North is home to a number of locations that would be ideal for his award-winning energy-harnessing device.

I want to share a short moment in the life of my baby girl. I never intended to share this story, but I believe it should be told.

A WORLD-CLASS education system that is available to all regardless of class, income or anything else, has always been the foundation of the egalitarian society that is New Zealand. But it has never been free.

The cat and four black kittens that were dumped on Julianne and Aaron Bainbridge's farm at Waiharara were in luck when Mrs Bainbridge found them, but that luck might soon run out.

Yesterday Nora Tawhi Rameka was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday honours in recognition of that devotion to others.

Aupouri came out with a strong start in this college grade netball clash in Kaitaia last Thursday evening, scoring off the first three centre passes, giving themselves an early lead.

The above heading is the message for local motorheads from organisers of the Percy Poharama Memorial Queen's Birthday Weekend Meet at Taipa Speedway this coming weekend.

A fundraising challenge that involves running up more than 1000 steps while breathing from an oxygen tank and weighed down with 25kg of gear is not for the faint hearted.

There was sun, there was wind. There was also rain and large swells, but such are voyages aboard the R Tucker Thompson, albeit this time with one big difference.

The current Kaikohe Youth Action Plan reports that: "Northland youth drank more frequently and more heavily than youth in the rest of New Zealand.