SO there he was, The Offsider, watching as a rotten apple nearly spoiled the bunch.......

It's far from a secret society, but much of the work that has been done by the Kaitaia Rotary Club over the past six decades has probably gone unremarked upon by most of the town's citizens.

Tamariki first

Shelley Sullivan is back home in Kaitaia, and back in front of her class at Pamapuria School, but still bubbling with the excitement of her latest foray to Uganda, her first in five years.

A new policing team, charged with nipping crime in the bud, has scored some impressive results.

Police are once again urging motorists to be particularly vigilant over the dark, wet winter months, and calling on farmers to ensure their fences are secure after three crashes in the Far North in 24 hours.

HELL FOR LEATHER

The Mangonui Netball Centre took five age-grade teams to the first representative tournament of the winter season at Northcote earlier this month.

Matariki, which signals the Maori new year, has traditionally been a time to reflect on those who have passed and celebrate life, culture, language and the forthcoming year.

Two key hapu have come out against a proposal for a marine reserve in the Bay of Islands.

Police and the Fire Service agreed on Sunday that the fire that destroyed a residential garage in Bonnett Road, Kaitaia bore all the hallmarks of arson.

No one was quite sure what to expect from the inaugural Far North Pacifica Beats competition, staged at Kerikeri's Turner Centre on Friday night.

The 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil kicked off to massive fanfare last Friday (NZ time) and already the event has delivered some exciting results and upsets.

RUGBY LEAGUE

Twenty-six schools were represented at Te Tai Tokerau regional Nga Manu Korero speech competition, hosted by Te Rangi Aniwaniwa Kura last week, and as always the standard was impressive.

Smoke and mirrors

Laurie Austen is not your average conservationist, but he is passionate about saving one of the Far North's most prized delicacies from extinction.

One of the less surprising results of this year's Reader's Digest list of most trusted professions was that doctors ranked highly once again.

Young local netball enthusiasts have been spoiled for choice during the opening weeks of winter with two junior tournaments taking place on the Kaitaia netball courts over consecutive weeks.

Spare us the claptrap

Dear Jenny Petera

Kaitaia police apprehended a 14-year-old local boy on Sunday morning, moments after he allegedly burgled Birdie's Cafe in the town's main street.

Anyone who thinks police officers spend their days walking around with their hands behind their backs saying 'ello 'ello 'ello would have abandoned that image if they were amongst the scores who toured their local Far North police station on Saturday.

An adult female Northland brown kiwi that was caught in a leghold trap near Waipapa four weeks ago has been released back into its home territory...

Few artists/craftsmen can say the first commission was ordered on behalf of their country's leader, but 17-year-old Dylan Hall can.

SO there he was, The Offsider, feeling a little out of sorts as he wandered aimlessly through winter's opening salvo wondering if the west coast was ever going to fire again.

Mangonui seniors

A happy patient

Healthy recreation is in Manuera's Rewai's blood.

At the age of 87 Alice Ratu (Ngati Kuri, Te Aupouri) would seem entitled to put her feet up and let others do the running around.