IT'S POSSIBLE to feel a smidgen of sympathy for the Far North District Council as it continues to take flak for ending its northern rubbish contract with Clean Stream Northland.

A $14 million rebuild of Northland College will lift the entire Kaikohe community according to principal Jim Luders.

The Local Government Commission's proposal for one unitary authority in Northland is no longer "on the table" but the Commission wants to have new proposals for change in the region ready within 12 months, sooner if possible.

Northland MP Winston Peters has responded to the "crashing" of the benchmark price for whole milk powder by calling on Fonterra to temporarily suspend its participation in the GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) process.

Two men have been arrested after an incident at Mangonui on Wednesday afternoon, which a woman did her best to foil by pushing a shopping trolley into the path of the suspect as he sprinted out of the Four Square.

Taipa Area School will have three netball teams taking the court next season thanks to an ANZ Netball Grant worth more than $3000.

Last Saturday, following the conclusion of the Mangonui senior club rugby finals, Eastern flanker Leon Emery was bestowed with the EJ Thompson Taiaha as the best player over the 2015 domestic season.

Seven Far North primary school students have received Sir Peter Blake Young Leader Awards, in recognition of their outstanding leadership qualities.

I had to write a response to Hone Harawira's letter to Obama (Northland Age, August 4.) I am Native American, from the Rosebud Sioux tribe in South Dakota, Sicangu Lakota Oyate (the Burnt Thigh Nation).

Project Haere, a joint initiative between Te Aupouri Maori Trust Board and the Ministry of Social Development, has won the 2015 Institute of Public Administration NZ (IPANZ) award for excellence in Crown-Maori relationships.

The dream of a talented teenage athlete born in Taiwan to represent his adopted country of New Zealand at an elite international boxing championship in Russia in September will now be realised thanks to the kindness of family, friends and strangers.

The 100th anniversary of the battle of Chunuk Bair will be marked on Saturday, with particular relevance for the Far North. One of the most famous battles of the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign, it saw modern-day Ngapuhi warrior Harding Leaf emerge from obsc

The Far North District Council's decision to "dump" Clean Stream Northland (CSN) and give the northern rubbish and recycling contract to Whangarei's Northland Waste was a real "kick in the guts."

IT MIGHT be too late to save some endangered species, but the uproar that has followed the shooting of a reportedly iconic lion in Zimbabwe could well make a major contribution to putting an end to trophy hunting.

Hey hey, mah bruddah!! Heard you were able to get back to your dad's turangawaewae last week. Mean ... hope you had a good catch-up with the whanau.

Department of Conservation rangers are hoping DNA testing will lead them to a kiwi killer on the loose near Kerikeri.

Kaitaia rest home Switzer Residential care celebrated another milestone yesterday, one that trustee Eric Shackleton said had once been regarded as out of reach.

Marion Palmer wants to catch up with women with whom she went through nursing training at Kaitaia Hospital in the 1960s.

Tripling of Ngawha power station's output could make the Far North self-sufficient in electricity and create up to 200 new jobs, a Top Energy boss says.

Prime Minister John Key will be invited to attend when a unique war memorial in Kaitaia is rededicated for its centennial on March 24 next year.

Having just read "An end to those 'dark az' nights" (Northland Age, July 16) I write in an emotional state bordering on apoplexy.

A Big Latch On event for local breastfeeding mums will be held at the Bay of Islands Hospital maternity unit in Kawakawa at 10am on Friday.

Northland Regional Council members have started delivering $20,000 worth of Environmental Curriculum Awards (ECAs) to more than 20 schools around the region, including seven in the Far North.

Crime in Kaitaia will come under increased scrutiny when a partnership between police, the Kaitaia Business Association (KBA) and a non-profit security company funded by the Te Aupouri Maori Trust Board begins increased CCTV surveillance of the town.

All of my life I have eagerly waited for the 'potential' of this region to blossom, unfortunately in economic terms the word potential is a meaningless gesture.

Police are appealing to motorists to slow down, wear restraints and not drive after drinking alcohol.

Government funding has increased by 23 per cent to $77.7 million for the maintenance, operation and renewal of Far North roads over the next three years.