Hawke’s Bay news in brief: Dangerous driving on Waimārama Beach prompts calls for caution

Vehicles are banned on Waimārama Beach in an area in front of the surf club from 8m to 8pm from Labour weekend until April 1. Driving at speeds over 20km/h on any part of the beach is illegal at all times. Photo / Hastings District Council

Calls for caution driving on Waimārama Beach

Escalating issues with reckless driving along Waimārama Beach have residents, police and Hastings District Council all calling for beachgoers to respect the rules and others.

Resident Richard Gaddum said he had witnessed a number of incidents putting people in danger, including people driving at speeds of up to 100 km/h on the beach.

“We’ve had dirt bikes, some driving in groups of six to eight at a time, speeding up and down the beach with no regard to others wanting to enjoy the beach,” Gaddum said.

“Equally, there’s been four-wheel drive vehicles driving dangerously on the beach and in the sand dunes. People should not be driving on the dunes as they are home to fragile plant and animal species.”

He said the community was calling for all vehicles to be banned on the entire beach at all times as it was too unsafe.

“In co-operation with Hastings District Council the beach access at Tiakitai Road will be blocked to prevent these issues from escalating further and to keep beachgoers safe.”

Hastings District Council has a by-law that bans driving on the beach in an area in front of the surf club from 8am to 8pm from Labour weekend until April 1.

Driving at speeds over 20km/h on any part of the beach is illegal at all times

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said the Council would install additional signage from this weekend to remind everyone of the rules.

Anyone caught driving over the speed limit on the beach could be fined.

Council also has CCTV camera monitoring at various points in and around the village and can use this footage to assist with reporting to police.

Sport Hawke’s Bay chief executive to step down

Mark Aspden of Sport Hawke’s Bay is stepping down from his role of CEO.

Sport Hawke’s Bay Chief Executive Mark Aspden announced he will be stepping down from his role with the Regional Sports Trust.

Aspden has led the organisation since 2015 and said a highlight has been increasing its focus on people with greater barriers to participation.

”A highlight has been the creation of a role to support physical activity in the disabled community and seeing the positive impact this has had.“

”We have seen facilities better cater for the disability sector and we have seen greater sport opportunities,” Aspden said in a media release.

He said the biggest challenge has been trying to turn the tide of decreasing physical activity levels, which is a global issue that impacts the health system.

”While we know from feedback that we are making a difference, it can be very hard at times to precisely measure the impact that our efforts have on physical activity levels in Hawke’s Bay”, Aspden said.

A recruitment process will begin soon with a new chief executive expected to be appointed in early 2024.

Wairoa school goes into lockdown after reports of gunshots

Tiaho School in Wairoa briefly locked down after reports of gunshots on Wednesday.

A police spokesman said in a statement police were called at around 2.25pm after reports of possible gunshots being heard in the area around Rata Pl.

“Tiaho School was locked down for a short period as a precaution and road blocks were put in place, while Police worked to establish what had occurred,” he said.

“Officers subsequently confirmed that nobody was injured.”

The spokesman said inquiries were ongoing to determine the circumstances, including whether there was any connection to a report of a fight outside Wairoa District Court the same morning.

Napier Pak’nSave brawl ends with two arrested

A fight in Napier Pak’nSave on Friday ended with two people arrested.

A police spokeswoman said police responded to reports of a fight involving about six people at 11.32am.

The spokeswoman said two people were taken into custody and no ambulance was required.

Entries and Nominations for the Tararua Excellence in Farming Awards are open now

The Property Brokers Tararua Excellence in Farming Awards are open until February 2, 2024.

Created to recognise and celebrate the excellence in Tararua’s agricultural sector the awards are open to anyone in the agriculture industry in the Tararua District.

This year the premier awards will return, Tararua Shepherd of the Year, and Tararua Sheep and Beef Farm Business of the Year.

Three new categories have been introduced and include the Tararua Women in Agriculture Award, Tararua Agricultural Professional of the Year Award, and Tararua Agriculture Industry Champion.

Each award has a special application and selection process and can be found on the Tararua Excellence in Farming Awards website.

The date for the awards evening is yet to be confirmed.

Person flown to hospital after Wairoa crash

A person was flown to hospital after a single-vehicle crash near Wairoa on Wednesday afternoon.

Emergency services responded to the incident on State Highway 2 about 3.55pm.

A police spokeswoman said a vehicle had gone off the road and into a ditch.

She said the road was closed and diversions were in place until 5.45pm to allow a helicopter to land and transport the sole occupant to hospital.

A Hato Hone St John spokesman said two people were assessed at the scene and one was taken to Wairoa Hospital by ambulance in a minor condition and one taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital by helicopter in a moderate condition.

New TV series features Hawke’s Bay women

A brand new TV series celebrating life in rural New Zealand starts this Sunday night, October 22.

SHEPHERDESS features three women per episode, with the episode featuring Pōrangahau women airing on November 12.

From women of mana whenua to overseas expats, each woman shares her unique, personal perspective of life in rural Aotearoa.

The series is on Sky Open.

Register now to receive your power dividend

A power dividend payment of $240 will be paid in 2023 from Hawke’s Bay Power Consumers’ Trust to all power consumers in the region who are connected to Unison Networks.

All power consumers in Hawke’s Bay who were connected to Unison’s electricity network on September 30 will receive one payment per connection, with a maximum of three payments for any one customer.

The $240 after-tax payment will be made to every power account holder in Napier and Hastings who is registered for direct credit.

The online registration portal is now open and power consumers who register before 5pm on November 16, can expect to receive dividend payments from Friday, November 24. Any registrations after November 16 will be paid on later dates.

If you have not registered yet or details have changed in the last 12 months you will need to register the correct information to receive payment.

If you registered last year it is recommended that you check bank and address details are correct through the portal.

Consumers who were disconnected due to Cyclone Gabrielle or had a change in address will be entitled to payment through the new connection.

Electricity down briefly for hundreds of Napier homes

Power was briefly switched off to about 1400 properties in Napier on Wednesday evening after power company Unison received a report of a power line down.

As a safety step, the power was switched off around Maraenui, Awatoto and Te Awa, but was quickly switched back on when staff investigated and found there was no power line down.

Instead, there was just a damaged telephone cable.