Rotary digs in to give pupils shelter

Pupils sheltering outside Lakeview School on Colombo Rd will soon have some comfort from winter storms, thanks to Masterton South Rotary and kind commercial donors.

The Rotarians started construction of a bus shelter outside the school on Saturday.

Member Rob Irwin explained how every school morning, buses arrived outside Lakeview School with country pupils.

Those pupils who head on to other schools wait for their assigned buses.

"During fine days, such as those of the summer just gone, the wait is not a problem, but in the winter and on miserable wet days there is nowhere to go."

He said Rotary received a letter from Julie Paget, who worked at the Air New Zealand desk at Hood Airport and passed the school regularly.

"She was compassionate enough to write asking if it was possible for the club to provide a bus shelter for the children.

"It surely was, this was just the sort of community project that Rotary enjoy doing."

He said the Lakeview School principal, Ed Hodgkinson, and PTA chair, Rachel Callaghan, were both very supportive and already had plans for a shelter.

"But they lacked the finances to provide it."

He said a variety of businesses stepped up to help.

"Affordable Sheds came to the party through Alistair Bruce, who helped with the plans, donated reinforcing and provided labour.

"Buchanans dug out the site and put in basecourse free of charge. The next day Allied donated a load of concrete which was screeded and groomed by local Warwick Dean and Tony Waelen, Tony's Concreting, Auckland, who got roped in.

"Richard Wilton of the Hire Shop loaned all the necessary concreting gear."