Kaitaia tobacconist Raymond Jujnovich didn't have much to defend himself with when he was confronted by a knife-wielding robber early yesterday morning, so he made do with what was at hand - an unoccupied rabbit cage.

The weather didn't provide much of a welcome but that didn't worry the 30 Riders Against Teen Suicide who rolled into Kaikohe on Saturday as part of the Green Ribbon campaign.

A close call at Whangape has prompted another warning that the Far North remains tinder dry, and a fire ban, imposed in October, has yet to be lifted.

A large crowd turned out to watch a rare and thrilling display of freestyle motocross riding at the Kaitaia A&P Show on Saturday.

On February 19, while fishing north off the Three Kings Islands, Donna Pascoe spent just over four hours fighting to bring a monster 411.6 kg Pacific bluefin tuna on board Gladiator in weather not for the faint-hearted.

Spare the rivers

A lack of respect

More than 200 people marched through Kaikohe on Thursday in a show of opposition to the government recognising Tuhoronuku as the mandated authority to negotiate settlement of Ngapuhi's Treaty claims.

"This is a year to refocus and reassess," Mayor John Carter said last week in announcing the Far North District Council's adoption of its 2014-15 draft annual plan.

Broadwood-raised Selwyn Semenoff had his impressive woodchopping career recognised at the North Hokianga A&P show at Broadwood.

A local wahine is gearing up to return to the ring where she'll represent the Far North in a Muay Thai kickboxing fight in Thailand in April.

No reason for haste

Two very small birds, known to their human protectors as Hope and Faith, have a big role to play in the future of their species at Ahipara.

Northland Regional Council area manager Peter Wiessing took little time to identify the owner of bags of rubbish dumped into the Awanui River from Kaitaia's Allen Bell Drive bridge.

The Omapere Fire Brigade will be at Saturday's Wild West Festival at Waimamaku and will be actively hunting recruits.

Elder fears for safety in backlash over deal

The long-term focus of an innovative programme launched by a Kaitaia kura earlier this month is to provide students with healthy eating and lifestyle choices.

The Kaitaia Athletics Club recommenced for the final term of the 2013 summer last Tuesday evening on the Kaitaia College bottom fields....

A 15-year-old boy who sparked a violent incident at Kaitaia's skatebowl on Sunday evening was to appear before the Youth Court in Kaitaia yesterday, where police intended to oppose bail.

Saturday's North Hokianga A&P show attracted the biggest crowd in years to the grounds at Broadwood, a fitting response to the effort that had gone into staging the 100th annual event.

The Northland Regional Council has no doubt that the local government restructuring process that is now under way represents a great opportunity for Northland to establish a new regime that will benefit the entire region...

To describe Patric Nussbaum as one unhappy camper risks becoming one of the understatements of the year so far.

The weather played an important part in the Centennial Bay of Islands Sheepdog Trials which were held on Te Ahu Ahu mountain last Friday and Saturday.

Changing vocations is not especially unusual, but few could match what 53-year-old Earl Joe has done.

It is nearly 50 years since the Mansbridge family left the Broadwood district, but my family and I remain very proud of our on-going association with this beautiful valley and the people who live here, or have lived here.

Different song sheets

Like his father Neville before him, Sandhills Road (Ahipara) farmer Dion Masters is happy to provide a spot just inside his roadside gate where people can dump their green waste, without charge.

A 60-year-old woman died at the scene of a head-on crash between a car and the motorcycle on which she was a pillion passenger at the foot of the Karikari Peninsula.

A local mother and her son both returned good results at the North Kaipara A&P Show held from January 31 to February 1.