Not such a cracker

The death of a horse at Kaikohe, believed to be the result of taking fright when revellers welcomed the new year with fireworks, orphaned a 10-day-old foal and has reignited calls for fireworks to be banned.

New Year's Eve diners at Kerikeri restaurant The Italians enjoyed a particularly evening thanks to Neil Mayfield and his long-time girlfriend Tracey Tutin.

Far North District Council chief executive David Edmunds has resigned.

The Maori name for the largest township in the Far North is ‘dig, dig’. Not surprisingly, given the name, it is known as the horticultural centre of Northland and has been for centuries.

The name means ‘how sweet is the penguin’ - korora (blue penguin) and reka, meaning sweet. Russell was named after Lord John Russell, Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Named for the aromatic shrub held sacred by Maori and used for medicinal purposes. Kawakawa leaves (also known as peppertree) were placed over cuts and boils to speed healing and used for kidney disorders. Tea was made from an infusion of its leaves.

Kaikohe is a shortened version of the original, Kai kohekohe – meaning ‘to eat berries’. When early Maori were besieged, they were forced to hide in kohekohe trees where they survived by eating the fruit.

As house prices in Auckland and other main centres continue to soar, there's an emerging trend to sell the family home and move north.

Anyone turning up at Waipapakauri Domain on a rainy afternoon last Saturday could have been forgiven for thinking that the Northland league season had begun early.

Much appreciated

Let's have standards

The organisers of the 2014 90 Mile Beach Snapper Bonanza surfcasting tournament sat down to their Christmas dinner happy in the knowledge that the five-day tournament was shaping up well.

Te Runanga o Te Rarawa has resolved to oppose deep sea oil drilling within its iwi area of interest in the Far North.

Ahipara couple Doug and Jackie Klever could not have wished for a better Christmas gift than the egg laid by one of New Zealand's most endangered birds on the beach at Ahipara.

A Kaitaia teenager has been charged with the aggravated robbery of a Kaitaia service station shortly before midnight on Boxing Day.

In securing the NAKFA Cup last Wednesday, the Rest of the World side cast a long shadow over the annual 7-a-side social midweek summer soccer series on the Kaitaia College top fields.

Throwbacks won the Awanui touch tournament played in fine midsummer conditions on Sunday, after taking out Algeezys in a nail-biting finale by 3-2.

By Shania Howard

A Kaikohe teenager with big dreams wants to shatter Northlanders' stereotypes of Maori, her school and her home town - and she's made a great start to that with a poem that has taken social media by storm.

The Independent Police Complaints Authority will be investigating a collision between a police four-wheel-drive vehicle and a small sewage truck on State Highway 1 at Pukenui yesterday morning.

Appeals on behalf of Far North families who might not have much to celebrate this Christmas have attracted an extraordinarily generous response, and that continued last week courtesy of a Northland charity and a number of Mid and Far North businesses.

The Far North District Council is still saying nothing about the future of chief executive David Edmunds, despite discussing the issue behind closed doors last week.

Kids first